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Jonathan stares at the tip of the several boxes he holds, slowly reaching one of his hands towards the doorknob blindly.
"Don't drop that! I think that has the big glass heart in it!" His mother's voice calls out, and he wobbles slightly after hearing that. He can feel a drop of sweat dribble down his back as his hand finally finds the handle. He slowly twists it and opens the door, bringing his hand back to stabilize the boxes he's been doing his damndest not to drop and pushing the rest of the door open with his hip.
"I know," Jonathan responds, however, he's more so talking to himself considering his voice was barely above a whisper. He traverses through the house at a brisk pace, slowing only when the top-most box wobbles a little too much to be safe. When he nears the kitchen table, he slides the boxes onto the table, letting out a sigh when the weight is relieved from his shoulders. He doesn't give himself much time to rest and turns on his heel, opening the door for his mom and letting her bring in the last two boxes of decorations.
"Do you think this is enough?" Joyce asks, staring at the multiple boxes with owlish eyes. Jonathan raises an eyebrow at the countless boxes before letting a small smile take over his face.
"Yeah, I think it's alright." He says, then looking over to his mother with soft eyes. "Mom, I promise he'll enjoy this no matter what." The boy assures, and Joyce holds her arms close to her body as she stares. A frown is adopted by Jonathan's lips. However, he mentally shakes it off and begins to unpack the first box, holding up a small strand of cute paper hearts.
"We should probably start decorating before it gets too late and he's already here," He starts, and Joyce seems to snap right out of her trance because she's immediately pulling things out of the boxes.
Valentine's day is usually Jonathan's least favorite holiday. It definitely held that title for quite a while until a few years back when Lonnie left them. The bastard used it as a day to make things about himself. Joyce had to get him gifts, Joyce had to make him a valentines day dinner, Joyce had to do all the decorating and setting the mood. If Joyce didn't do something that was asked of her by Lonnie, he would throw a fit. Sometimes he would just go out and get heavily drunk (the only reason he would go out and do it is that Joyce had stopped feeding into his alcohol addiction) only to come back and take out his anger of spending valentines day alone on his family. He never hit Joyce, but he didn't hold back on Jonathan. Constantly calling him queer, horrendous slurs, hitting him in the ribs, and throwing him against the floor. It began to get harder on Jonathan as he got older; he wasn't a fighter, and he didn't want to hurt someone that he was supposed to consider a father. So he would just take the beatings and take the harsh words. They hurt more often than not, but eventually, they had begun bouncing off his tougher skin. He began getting more practice because of the things kids would say to him at school, so it began to hurt less and simply anger him more. The only reason valentines day wasn't as bad anymore was because Lonnie wasn't there anymore, and the Byer's family has just been spending the day as a family of three with a poorly made heart-shaped cake to eat from.
There's another reason why Jonathan disliked Valentine's day, and it was normally because he didn't have someone to spend it with. This wasn't a problem at first, but whenever he would go out and see couples sticking together like glue, it made a pit form in his stomach. Whenever he would look into doing things on his own, he was stared at like an absolute freak (well, stared at like a freak more than the usual). One time he was in the store looking at getting more film for his camera, only to be startled by a heavily making-out couple in the adult film section. He was a bit embarrassed, but he made it through the day.
It's not like Jonathan hates being alone - it's quite the opposite, actually. He enjoys the alone time he gets and the opportunity to let his mind wander. Or he'll spend time with his brother and listen to elaborate stories about him and his friends' DnD campaign they played for six hours straight. He doesn't mind doing these things, never really had a time where he did mind, but things started to change.
He started to come to the realization of a few things. Perhaps he really was growing up and that natural human urge to be with someone else was growing inside of him - violently eating away at the shell he had created specifically to keep people away - and he didn't quite know how to handle it. It's not like he could suddenly just go to school one day and start talking to some of the girls there with the hopes that she'll like him back. He had tried things with Nancy, only for her to go back to Steve, and then go back to him, and then come to the conclusion that she didn't want either of them in the first place. And that only seemed to deepen his urge for some sort of relationship with another person.
And then, the most surprising thing of all, things seemed to just fall in place with Steve Harrington. Things began to make sense when the two of them were hanging out more and more. At first, Jonathan only really saw him when Nancy was around, and then Steve began to pop up more and more, and sooner than later Steve was sneaking in through Jonathan's window even though he was very much welcome through the front door. Then one day, Jonathan was suddenly pinned down against his own bed with Steve Harrington feverishly kissing him. And surprisingly, he reciprocated.
And voila, boyfriends for three months.
"Steve's coming, right?" Joyce asks as she adjusts a heart-shaped candle for what had to be the tenth time. Jonathan blushes slightly as he places down heart-shaped placemats onto the dining table, biting the inside of his cheek slightly before nodding.
"Yeah, he should be here soon." He says softly, and Joyce lets out a hum of acknowledgment, ending the short conversation with a comfortable silence as the radio plays "I wanna know what love is" by Foreigner. He was glad she didn't press the subject any further, he wasn't the type to talk about his relationship, even three months in.
It's not like he was ashamed. Sure, at first he was desperate to keep it secret from everyone, but Steve surprisingly didn't seem all too worried. Didn't care that his reputation could tank because he was queer (bisexual? Jonathan was freaking out over the labels but Steve seemed incredibly calm over the whole thing, which is very unlike Steve whenever something unusual happens), and didn't seem to care about what other people could be thinking. When they were a little more comfortable with public affection (Jonathan absolutely refuses to hold hands in public, much to Steve's dismay), the only person who could get underneath his skin was Billy Hargrove. But they've been at each other's throats for a while so that truthfully was something that would never stop. Other than that, Steve didn't seem to have a care in the world for what people thought. Some of that rubbed off on Jonathan, and paired with his already strong talent of not caring too much about what people think of him, it actually started to get easier for him to just accept the fact that he really was Steve Harrington's boyfriend.
Steve helped him through so much it was unreal. Jonathan was inexperienced with pretty much everything; social interactions, romantic interactions, dating as a whole, confidence, anything a socially awkward individual would need help with. Steve was Jonathan's stepping stone, and he was helping him through everything. Jonathan still cannot thank Steve enough for all of that.
Even though they've been together for three months, he's nervous about today. Steve seemed so nonchalant about spending valentines day at Jonathan's house (more specifically his room), but Jonathan was truthfully a nervous wreck. It was the first Valentine's day that he was excited for, not scared. He really wanted it to be perfect. Sensing his nerves even over the phone, Steve said that it didn't need to be perfect. They would just get each other a small gift, maybe Steve would grab a movie and some chocolates on his way over, and they would just hang out in Jonathan's room. Joyce even said that Steve could stay the night if he desired, and Jonathan isn't sure if he wants that yet. But perhaps that's just the nerves talking.
Joyce notices her son is clearly distraught, because he keeps picking at a loose strand of the heart-shaped placemats, and she rests a comforting hand over his own.
"Lighten up a bit, this day shouldn't be so stressful on you," She says, and Jonathan looks down at her smiling face. He stares and nods slightly, looking away when he realizes how long he had been looking, and her grin seems to get a bit wider. She squeezes his hand a bit before gently pushing him away from the table. "Do me a favor and check on your brother. And if you want, you can take the car to go find him a gift." She offers and Jonathan's ears seem to stand at attention at that statement.
"Oh, I already have his gift, actually." Jonathan states and Joyce is taken aback for a second.
"Really? I hadn't seen you leave the house at all. Oh, maybe you got something while I was at work-"
"No, I mean," One of his arms comes up and rubs his other one awkwardly. Just thinking about it made him blush. "I, uh, I made it."
Joyce stands still for a second, seemingly processing the information before smiling.
"Oh! Well, that's even sweeter! What did you make?" She asks, expecting a relatively simple answer. When she sees that her son can't seem to conjure up the words, she's marginally surprised, but her smile doesn't fade. "I'm sure whatever you made he'll love." She assures, and Jonathan seems to have a doubtful look on his face. A soft sigh leaves her face before she begins to shoo him towards the youngest Byer's family member. Jonathan lets out a soft laugh as he begins to head towards Will's room, and Joyce watches him enter.
A proud smile graces her features as the door closes.
"Hey Will," Jonathan says, eyes meeting the back of Will's head. He walks in, glancing around really quickly. Will's room was the clean mess that it usually is; everything in their place yet out and about. The room of a creator. Jonathan always told him not to be ashamed of it. He looks back at Will, who now looks at him with an indiscernible look in his eyes. "What's going on?"
Will takes in a long breath as he looks back at what he was working on at his desk. He turns in his chair as he grabs the paper off of his desk and allows Jonathan to see what he had been working on.
A very well-drawn picture of a red-and-black-scaled dragon, and two people sitting on top of the dragon. One stands tall and proud, while the other individual stares at them with an endearing smile on their face. Jonathan smiles at the picture and gently takes it from Will's hands, examining the fine details.
"Hey, this looks really good!" He says genuinely, his thumb running over the dragon's well-drawn body before giving back the picture. "Is this what you've been working on for the past couple days?"
"Yeah," Will responds, his shoulders drooping as he sets the picture back down onto his desk, black colored pencil in hand tapping the desk gently with its dulled tip. Jonathan's smile drops when he sees that Will clearly didn't seem happy.
"What's up? You just made this incredible drawing and I don't see you jumping for joy." He partially jokes, pulling up the other chair near the window and sitting beside him, watching as he sighs heavily.
"I made this as a gift for..." He pauses, a clear look of uncertainty in his eyes before he continues. "...someone, and I don't know if they'll like it." He says simply. Jonathan is only partially hurt that Will didn't trust him enough to tell him who it was, but he wouldn't pressure his younger brother to tell him. With time Will will eventually become comfortable enough to tell Jonathan about who it was. As of right now, Jonathan will just think of this person as a faceless individual. Sort of. "I mean, it's not like it's a fancy game or a cool new dice set, or even add-ons for walkie-talkies. It's just a dumb picture that I drew." Will's words become more venomous towards the end, and Jonathan is genuinely surprised to hear Will talk like that. He doesn't remember ever hearing him call his own drawings dumb, so this was definitely a surprise.
"What makes you say that?" He asks, and Will takes in a breath, silent for a moment before his mouth opens to speak.
"Everyone prefers expensive gifts; things that cost a lot of money to show that you'll spend a lot on them. Besides, expensive gifts are always the best." He explains it simply. Yet Jonathan is still confused. Where is all this coming from?
"Who told you that?" Upon hearing the question, Will just shrugs, and Jonathan purses his lips before he scoots a little closer looking back at the picture. "How long did it take you to make this picture?" He asks simply, and Will looks at him with a confused expression.
"What?"
"How long did it take for you to draw this incredible picture?" He asks again, and Will can't help the sliver of a smile that graces his face, but soon he's back to his serious and solemn one.
"Like, three days of constantly drawing." He answers, and Jonathan nods.
"Didn't you always say you had trouble drawing elaborate poses?" Jonathan asks again, and Will looks back at his picture, his artistic side coming back for a second as his eyes light up.
"I did! But I had been practicing ever since you and Steve started dating because I wanted this picture to be perfect." Will answers, and Jonathan feels his stomach go fuzzy momentarily.
Steve Harrington really was his boyfriend.
"So you had been planning on drawing this for at least three months, and it took you three days at minimum to actually create the drawing, which you took months to perfect certain skills so the picture could come out to your standard of perfect," Jonathan looks up at the ceiling, pretending to count something. Will looks at him and then to the ceiling, curious if there was something up there that he wasn't seeing, but then Jonathan looks back at him.
"It took you a long time to make this picture. It would take me just a few hours at work to buy a pair of dice, or some new add-on for a walkie-talkie," He says, and Will furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Jonathan smiles as he then holds up Will's drawing. "This took a lot of time and effort. Not only that, but it has your passion written all over it. You clearly care for this person a lot to spend months working towards creating this image. The effort, thoughtfulness, and passion are more than enough to create the perfect gift."
Will looks back at the image and there's a different kind of glint in his eyes. Jonathan cant pinpoint if it's excitement or love for the drawing, but it was newfound happiness at the very least. Will takes the drawing and looks at Jonathan with a genuine smile, and Jonathan smirks at Will and raises his eyebrows.
"Wanna make a cool-looking envelope to give it to them in?" Will vigorously nods, and Jonathan spends the rest of the time helping Will create a lovely package for the drawing while Joyce sets up the decorates around their home for those who will arrive in only a few hours.
Jonathan can already tell that Mike is going to love the drawing.
When the doorbell rings, Jonathan is suddenly standing and heading towards the door. Joyce steps out of her room, adorning a lovely red dress that Jonathan knows she had been saving up for the longest time. He takes in a deep breath and opens the door, not expecting to see a full-beard and partially balding head to be in front of him.
"Hopper-" Jonathan starts, but suddenly his mom is heading towards the door as well, and the call of the name "Jim" is heard. Hopper had opened his mouth, presumably to at least thank the person who opened the door for him, but the moment his eyes land on Joyce, he's clearly speechless.
"Jonathan step aside! Let our guest in!" To anyone else, Joyce may have seemed a little bossy, but Jonathan is well aware that she's simply excited to finally have a date for valentines day after so long of not having one. Besides, Hopper seems like a great guy despite the temper and the often foul language that falls from his lips.
Jonathan steps aside just like his mother had asked, and he hears both of them converse softly. The vague words of "you look beautiful" and "gorgeous" grace his ears, but he isn't entirely sure what the conversation consists of. As Hopper fully gets himself inside, Jonathan lets out a sigh, beginning to close the door to go back to his designated spot on the couch. However, before he could close it all the way, there's suddenly a hand stopping the door from closing fully. His eyes widen slightly, and he internally panics for a second. Whether it was because of a memory of attempting to shut Lonnie out of his room only to fail by a second, or because of everything their family has gone through, he's unsure, but the panic is there. It's only subdued when the door is opened a little more and he catches sight of perfectly brushed hair and a bouquet of flowers.
Steve grins at Jonathan and winks at him, his eyes shamelessly looking Jonathan up and down. Now Jonathan was panicking for a different reason, and he's violently trying to remember how snug his clothes fit on him back when he was trying on clothes before settling on a grey wool turtleneck and black skinny jeans.
"Hey," Steve greets simply, and Jonathan is silent as he just stares for a long moment. Why is it that ever since they started dating, Jonathan can help but think that Steve is the most beautiful human being he's ever seen? Steve was already attractive, so maybe now that Jonathan could call Steve his amplified that by one thousand. "Can I come in? The Indiana weather is starting to make my nose numb."
Jonathan snaps himself back to reality and nods, stepping aside once more and allowing Steve to step inside of the house. Upon walking in and hearing Jonathan shut the door, Steve smiles and greets the other individuals in the room.
"Hey, Ms. Byers," He says, and Joyce shoots him a friendly grin in return. "Hey there, Jim."
"It's Hopper to you, Harrington."
"Yeah, I don't really care," He says, and Hopper rolls his eyes, but there's the slightest hint of a smirk on his face as he looks away. Steve looks back to Jonathan, who looks like he's absolutely star-struck and grins, leaning close enough that their lips are only inches apart.
"Take a picture, I promise they last much longer." He whispers, and Jonathan blushes deeply at both the statement and proximity. He would've closed the distance, but when his eyes dart to look behind Steve, two pairs of watchful eyes stare at them, and he shies away instantly. Steve stares at Jonathan warmly before pulling away, not quite wanting the other to overheat just yet.
"We can uh, go to my room," Jonathan says, his voice clearly very shaky as he speaks. He begins to walk, and Steve follows close behind. He mouths a thank you to Joyce, who shoots back a thumbs up and a joyful grin on her face.
Once they're both in the room and Jonathan closes the door, Jonathan lets out a sigh of relief. One day he'll be able to display things in public. As of right now, the best he can do is an arm slung around his shoulder, and even that's only on occasion. Jonathan looks back at Steve, who looks around his room as if it were the first time ever seeing it. Newsflash: it was indeed not the first time.
"Valentine's day decorations? I thought only stores decorated for this day." Steve seems to talk to himself as he says those words, but Jonathan responds anyways.
"My mom put these in here when I was taking Will over to Mike's place," He says, hand rubbing his arm nervously. "I uh, I didn't even really know they were here until a little while ago." God, he wants to punch himself in the face for how awkward he's being.
He watches as Steve sets a bag, the bouquet, and a heart-shaped box on Jonathan's desk, and sits down on his bed. The elder male looks over to Jonathan and pats the spot beside him gently. As if he were an obedient dog, Jonathan follows Steve's command and is quick to sit beside him. He opens his mouth to say something, but suddenly he pulled down and pushed against the bed. His back to the mattress, hands pinned to the sides of his head, and one of Steve's legs are between his own. His eyes are wide for only a second, but they soon return to normal as a warm feeling bubbles inside of him. This also isn't the first time Steve has done something like this.
Their faces are close together again, and this time Jonathan gets a good whiff of the other's cologne. It isn't the usual that Steve wears, it was something different. It smelled so good though; damn near impossible to describe. It was a nature-esc scent, but not like wood chippings or wet grass. It wasn't like other colognes that would usually give off a manly scent of something indescribable. It was something sweeter... flowery perhaps? This was...
"Are you wearing perfume?" Jonathan asks with a grin on his face, and even though they're so close, Steve grins slightly as well. Their kiss can wait.
Steve moves and falls to Jonathan's side, no longer pining the other male to the mattress. Jonathan immediately turns and stares at Steve, taking in the beauty of the other as he lays beside him. Is this what waking up next to Steve Harrington would look like?
"The perfumes always smell so much better than the colognes," Steve pretends to complain, and Jonathan finds it absolutely adorable. He doesn't express this, however. "And I wanted to smell good for you." At those words, Jonathan wishes that the turtle neck could cover his face as well to hide his blush.
"You didn't have to get a perfume to smell good for me. Your natural scent is just fine," Jonathan entertains. He wasn't lying. It was however, in his opinion, a silly thing to worry about.
Steve's hand comes up and rests gently on Jonathan's cheek, his warmth seeping straight into Jonathan and spreading throughout his body, mixing in with the warmth that had already pooled inside of him. His thumb caresses Jonathan's soft skin as he then leans forward. Jonathan takes in a breath, closing his eyes and waiting for their lips to touch.
"Can I kiss you?" Steve asks, and Jonathan slumps into the pillow lazily again, a hint of a smile on his face.
"How many times do I have to tell you that you don't need permission?" Jonathan says, and Steve looks away for a second as his lips form a mini duck face as he presumably thinks. He looks back to Jonathan and shrugs, his thumb moving and tracing over Jonathan's plush bottom lip.
"I don't know, remind me again." He asks, and Jonathan rolls his eyes.
"After the first kiss, I told you that you didn't have to ask. And then, at your room, I had told you-" Jonathan is cut off when a pair of soft lips are pressed against his own suddenly. His eyes close and he takes in a breath, immediately reciprocating the action and moving one of his hands towards Steve's jugular. He caresses the soft skin, a soft smile on his face at the fact that he really allowed Steve to catch him off guard like that.
Their lips press against one another gently at first. Just a simple press was all. When it doesn't go anywhere for a few seconds, Jonathan decides that he'll make the first move this time. It was always Steve who does it, and today was a day where they could be carelessly affectionate, so why not take it up a notch? Jonathan brushes his tongue against Steve's bottom lip, secretly giddy when Steve lets out a small noise and opens his mouth. His tongue wanders inside, his body shivering at the wet feeling. Steve's tongue brushes against their own, and their tongues dance with one another as their kiss gets deeper.
Steve's hand travels downward and goes down to Jonathan's waist, pulling him closer before allowing his hand to mindlessly wander. It feels strange for that sort of touch, but not in a bad way. It's just a new type of strange, nothing bad. More wanted than anything else.
The only reason they stop is when Jonathan's head begins to spin (whether it was from the pleasure or the lack of oxygen, Jonathan isn't quite sure), and they pull away partially breathless. Jonathan stares at Steve's eyes, admiring their beauty as the moon begins to rise higher. Steve stares back, winking at the breathless boy. Jonathan blushes and then looks away again, and Steve chuckles, hugging Jonathan close for just a second.
"You're cute." He says simply, then kissing Jonathan's forehead. "And getting better at kissing. A little sloppy on the tongue play though," He says in a teasing tone. Jonathan gently pushes Steve away, a lazy grin on his face as he shakes his head.
"Well I don't have a very good teacher," He retorts, and Steve lets out an offended gasp, acting as if Jonathan just shot him in the heart.
"I don't know what you were expecting when you had Steve Harrington as your teacher."
"The same Steve Harrington who's claimed that he's a sex god? Yeah, I was expecting him to be a decent teacher in this aspect." He teases, and Steve lets out a short laugh, heading towards the things he had set on the table. He grabs the flowers and the heart-shaped box, spinning towards Jonathan and handing them to him as if he were royalty. Jonathan sits up and gently takes the things from Steve's hands, a soft red hue growing on his cheeks. "Steve, you really didn't have to get me these things." Steve just shrugs at those words.
"I'm aware I didn't have to. But you’re kind of my boyfriend, and I want to spoil you." Steve says, and Jonathan hides the lower half of his face with the flowers. How could he not? It's not like it's the first time Steve has said that Jonathan was his boyfriend, but it was still so delightful to hear from his mouth. "Besides, chocolates are a necessity on valentines day."
"It is?" Jonathan inquires, genuinely curious. Steve tilts his head at the younger, confused if the other was joking or not, but concluded that he wasn't. He nods but doesn't elaborate, leaving it at that. Another day he can educate him on the subject.
"So, the movies I brought are pretty bland considering the only thing I wanna focus on is you," He says, and Jonathan rolls his eyes, but he attempts peeking in the bag of movies from his spot on the bed. "I have Grease, A Room With a View, and Halloween. Take your pick."
"You brought a horror movie?" Jonathan asks with a raised eyebrow, and Steve grins.
"So you would get scared and cuddle up against me, obviously." He says as if it were the clearest thing in the world. Jonathan stares at him for a second, but when Steve just stares back and wiggles his eyebrows, Jonathan shakes his head before motioning to his TV.
"Put in Halloween." At those words, Steve fist bumps the air before setting the other movies away, putting in Halloween, and setting the TV up to play the movie. He rushes back towards the bed and sits beside Jonathan. The younger sets the flowers and chocolates on the bedside table before moving back to his original position. Steve loosely throws his arm around Jonathan, and they sit in relative silence as the movie begins to play.
They both had seen the movie before, so instead of watching it legitimately, they mostly just sit and point out plot holes and how hideous the mask is. It's fun for the first thirty minutes or so, but when the humor of it all begins to die down, Steve lowers the volume and looks to Jonathan, his hand gently caressing the other's shoulder. Jonathan looks to him, getting a surprise kiss before Steve speaks. Of course, Jonathan blushes.
"Can I give you the gift I got you?" He asks softly, and Jonathan's stomach clenches. He does nod, however, and Steve is quick to sit up and head towards his bag once more. As he pulls out a medium-sized box wrapped in a pretty pink and red wrapping paper, Jonathan looks over to the table.
His gift was so much smaller than Steve's was.
He swallows hard.
"Okay, so I put a lot of thought into this one, and I really think you're going to like it-"
"Is it going to be a framed picture of you?" Jonathan asks, acting somewhat confident even though on the inside he was screaming. Steve pretend to be offended once more, pouting slightly.
"I would hope that if that was the gift, you would still love it." Steve's tone makes Jonathan laugh softly, and Jonathan nods as he begins to rip open the wrapping paper. Mostly white, hints of black, specs of blue and-
Oh my.
Jonathan stares wide-eyed at what had to have been the most expensive camera on market at the moment. His mouth sits ajar as he stares at the box and Steve had stars in his eyes with how happy he looks!
"Surprise! This is the newest model of the polaroid camera that's out right now," He starts. "I was talking with the guy for two hours, not letting him rip me off on anything. The guy was a total scumbag..." Steve keeps talking, but Jonathan had tuned him out. He just stares down at the box with a conflicted look on his face before looking over to the table, where his tiny gift lay. The gift that cost little to nothing to make. He swallows hard as his heart begins to race. He feels his hands begin to get warm and sweaty, and suddenly the room is uncomfortably hot.
"... And- hey, is something wrong?" Steve suddenly stops his tangent, and Jonathan is snapped out of his mind, nervously swallowing. "Is this not a camera you wanted? It makes it so that you don't really have to process the film too much after taking the photo, all you have to do is refill it from time to time-"
"No. No, Steve, this is," Jonathan feels his throat getting tighter and his face getting warmer. His eyes attempt to water, but he doesn't let them. "I love this. This is something I've been looking at getting for so long and now you've just- I- I appreciate it." He says, wanting to assure the other that the gift truly is something that he loves. Steve tilts his head, clearly confused about Jonathan's reaction.
"Well... what's with the long face then?" He asks softly, and Jonathan feels like an asshole. An asshole for not getting Steve chocolates or flowers. He feels like an asshole for not suggesting movies or going out to pick them with Steve. He's an asshole for allowing Steve to get him such an expensive gift while what he made is surely comparable to trash. Miraculously, he's able to keep his breathing to a slight shake. He looks back up at Steve and clutches the gift as if it were the most precious thing to him.
"The gift that I got you, it's not - it's not as good as yours," He says, licking his lips and swallowing down the damn lump in his throat that won't stop forming. "I know some stores are open at this time, let me go and get a new one. I won't be long-" Jonathan stands and sets the camera on the bed before grabbing the gift for Steve, attempting to exit the room.
His wrist is grabbed and he's stopped in his tracks, and he whips around quickly.
"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second," Steve stops him, his voice calm yet assertive. As much as Jonathan wanted to leave the room, he doesn't do so. He waits, just like Steve asked him to. "Are you worried I won't like your gift?" Steve asks softly, and Jonathan stares at him without an answer. His lips part and he looks like he wants to say something, but nothing comes out. He doesn't quite know what he wants to say. After taking in a breath and allowing his brain some oxygen, he conjures up a few words to finally spill out of his mouth.
"Yes. I... money was a bit tight so I couldn't get something expensive, but I can get something better. Even if I have to work overtime I don't mind-"
"Hey, hey hey hey," Steve cuts Jonathan off, holding both of Jonathan's shoulders marginally tightly as he keeps him close. "I don't need a more expensive gift, Jonathan. I don't care if the gift is fifty cents or fifty dollars, I just want it to be from you." He says softly, and Jonathan's eyes just stare at Steve's soft ones for a long moment. He doesn't quite know why he allows them to stare for so long, but he's thankful that Steve doesn't rush him. As much as he doesn't want to, Steve's words comfort him. It reminds him of what he had told his brother.
Jonathan releases his death grip on his gift and holds it out with his palm. Steve gives him a small smile as he takes the small gift, gently pulling Jonathan back towards the bed. When they both fall onto the bed and sit close to one another, Steve gently begins peeling away the carefully placed wrapping paper. As the wrapping paper begins to get fully unfolded, Steve's eyes widen slightly as he pulls out a small cassette tape and looks at the title.
Our Playlist
It's silent for a long moment, and Jonathan looks away, that lump beginning to form again. "I-I know, it's dumb. It was the best idea I had and I thought it would be nice at the time but-"
"I love it."
"I- what?" Jonathan looks back at Steve, who stares at the tiny cassette for a moment longer before standing and heading towards the player. He pulls out a different cassette and pushes the new one in, making sure it was pushed in properly before pressing play. A song he doesn't quite recognize begins to play, but the same goofy smile sticks to his face.
"I love it! This is great," Steve repeats, yet Jonathan can't seem to wrap his head around it. Despite Jonathan's gift being so little compared to Steve's, the other seemed to be enjoying every second of using it. Steve sits back down onto the bed, clearly absorbing the music as he bobs his head to the rhythm. It's a slow melody - one that feels like it numbs the mind just listening to it. It's a little different from the usual songs that people would expect Jonathan would listen to, but he doesn't mind if it seems a bit odd.
Just hearing the song being played seemed to instantly relax the younger. His shoulders fall from their once tense stature, his neck loosens up a bit, and his eyes feel a bit droopy. Steve notices the change in attitude, and he gently tugs Jonathan to lay down.
"Do you mind if I spend the night?"
"Mmm."
"Is that a no?"
"No." Jonathan didn't want Steve to leave. He was comfortable. He would much rather he stay all night. And then stay all day and all night tomorrow. Just wants him to stay.
When Jonathan lays down there's a sudden warmth that wraps around him, and his eyes open to see if Steve had wrapped a blanket around them or not. He's astonished to see that the heat was not coming from the blanket but from Steve himself. Their legs are tangled together, Steve has one arm over Jonathan to hold him close while the other goes up and plays with his hair. Jonathan swallows hard, feeling his backside completely flush with Steve's front as if he was meant to be there. Jonathan felt like it was two puzzle pieces clicking together, and he didn't want to ever break apart.
That lump in his throat began to form again, and he couldn't stop his eyes from forming tears. He desperately tried to stop those tears, he's trained so much throughout his years of living with Lonnie how to make himself not cry, why is it all failing now? He bites his bottom lip harshly, but no matter what he did, he couldn't stop the soft whimper that escapes his mouth.
Hearing the noise, Steve gets impossibly closer, and Jonathan can feel his tears soaking right into his pillow.
"Hey... are you crying?" His voice is soft like silk, and the considerate tone he uses causes Jonathan to tremor. Worried he did something wrong, Steve begins to move his hand from the other's body, but his hand is grabbed and pulled back down towards Jonathan's body. Befuddled, Steve leans closer, breath tickling the back of Jonathan's neck as he begins to speak. "If you need something just let me know."
"I need you to keep holding me," Jonathan says all of a sudden, and Steve is taken aback by the sternness in the other's voice. It was most definitely out of character. "I- please. I... I need this." Not going to refuse the request, Steve keeps Jonathan close to him. And for the longest moment, he's the most confused person alive, until it all clicks in his mind.
He knows Jonathan had a terrible father figure. He's aware that Jonathan was much too old to be coddled when that father figure was eventually gone... did Jonathan ever get held by someone like this?
Steve's gotten to have affection like this. He's gotten it from a majority of relationships he's been in. But Jonathan hadn't had the experience like he's had - hell, he hadn't even gotten experience from his own family from the looks of it.
Steve holds Jonathan against himself tighter, and Jonathan lets out a short gasp. But after the noise, Jonathan makes himself home in Steve's arms. And just like that, both boys stay entwined with one another as the music slowly cycles from one song to the next, their heartbeats syncing with the rhythm.
"Babe?"
"Mmm?"
"When did you say we can do the thing?" Steve's voice sounds like a curious child as he speaks, and Jonathan's eyebrows just furrow in confusion.
"What?"
"Ya know- the deed."
"You mean sex?" Steve giggles at the word that Jonathan uses, and Jonathan rolls his eyes at the immaturity.
"Yeah."
"We could've done it tonight." Suddenly Steve is sitting up, and he's staring down at Jonathan's resting body.
"Could've?"
"Protection is important, Steve."
"I could do your thighs."
"So is lube." Jonathan chuckles at Steve's audible pout, but hums as Steve's arms wrap around his body once more. "Why do you ask?"
"I like you. A lot."
"Is that it?"
"I like your voice."
"My voice?"
"Kinda wanna hear you scream my name."
"Steve!" Jonathan shouts incredulously, and Steve grins.
"Just like that, but breathier, and a tiny bit less coherent. But we'll get there."
"You're ridiculous."
"And you're ridiculously cute."
Jonathan opens his mouth for some sort of rebuttal, but nothing comes to mind. So instead, he just relishes in the heat of Steve's body as he relaxes.
"Steve?"
"Mmm?" Steve's voice mocks the humming that Jonathan had been giving him on occasion. Jonathan rolls his eyes, but his hand that grips Steve's interlocks their fingers, holding him tightly before letting out a breath.
"Thank you. For... for everything. Really." He says softly, a soft pink gracing his cheeks. "I really appreciate everything you do for me. It's new, it's- a weird feeling for me, but I'm enjoying every second of it." His voice is so genuine is actually makes him want to cringe, but he can't help himself. It's the truth. The way his heart beats so fast whenever he's around them or simply on his mind was unreal. He wouldn't want it any other way.
"I don't really think a thank you is what I deserve," Steve says, thumb caressing the back of Jonathan's hand. "I just love you is all."
Jonathan's breath catches in his throat. Butterflies explode in his chest and traverse throughout his body, never ceasing to flutter around in his stomach. Something about hearing those words from someone that he's aware cares about him. It didn't make him feel weird or even scared to hear it. He's heard those words from Will and Joyce of course, but Steve? Steve told him that he loves him? Jonathan's glad that Steve can't see the giddy grin that appears on his face.
"I love you too." He responds, and he could practically feel Steve's face contort to a smirk. They don't say anything after that. Just in each other's arms and listening to the tunes that connect them.
If this is what Valentine's Day is like, then Jonathan doesn't think it's bad at all.