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Steve Harrington did not realize he was a jealous person until he started talking to Nancy Wheeler and he didn’t know how possessive that jealousy could get until Dustin Henderson’s hero worship for him transferred to another man. Up to that point in his life, Steve liked sharing all the things he had with his friends, especially Tommy H. and Carol. As the only child of wealthy parents who used money as a bandaid for their absence, both physically and emotionally, Steve knew he was classified as spoiled to most people. To himself, though, Steve thought it was merely compensation for accepting the way his parents were.
Things with Nancy were slow at the beginning and he blamed Nancy’s best friend for that at the time. Barb just never liked Steve and that only enhanced his agitation at having to share Nancy’s time with her. When he finally managed to break through Nancy’s walls, his annoyance with Barb only increased, but he knew that he had to play it cool with her if he wanted Nancy around more. After Barb went missing, his feelings of jealousy turned into relief for a split second before he got ahold of himself. It shouldn’t have shocked him that Nancy wanted to use all her time and attention to find Barb, but it did.
Jonathan entering the picture only made things worse. Steve didn’t understand what his brother or Barb had in common and Nancy wouldn’t tell him anything. Seeing her with another boy on her bed after getting canceled on broke something in Steve, so he allowed the green-eyed monster to take over and stood by as Tommy H. called the girl he loved a slut. It was a memory that would haunt him forever and was the exact moment he decided to really work on his jealousy problem. Nancy coming back to him after that crazy battle with the demogorgon kept him on track. It wasn’t until Halloween night when Nancy called him and his love bullshit that Steve realized he didn’t need her anymore. Oh, God, he wanted her, but he didn’t need her. Giving Nancy the grace to go with Jonathan with no ill will granted him the best gift the universe could have ever given him in the form of a curly-haired boy named Dustin Henderson.
It took Steve a long time to realize it, but Dustin didn’t just steal a bouquet of roses from him the day they officially met. His best friend had also stolen his heart or at least started the beginning of a robbery that was sure to last a lifetime and long after that. Steve decided it was normal for his feelings to be different since Dustin was unlike any friend he’d ever had. There was a freedom in being his friend that Steve grew addicted to because he was finally allowed to not be King Steve or Steve “The Hair” Harrington. Dustin liked Steve best at his most authentic.
Steve learned from his mistakes and guilt from everything that happened with Barb and Nancy and worked diligently at keeping his jealousy of Dustin’s other friends in check. There was no way he’d ever admit to being jealous of a bunch of fourteen-year-old nerds out loud. Steve tried to console himself by thinking anyone else would feel the same way in his place if they knew Dustin. He was just that special of a person. It was annoying that the Party cut into his one-on-one time with Dustin, but Steve knew that wasn’t fair. Dustin was their friend first, after all, and they had the advantage of being his age, but that really wasn’t the main cause of his jealousy towards them. It was that they seemed to understand Dustin in ways that Steve didn’t think he ever could and he was afraid that would become a dealbreaker one day. That fear was completely unfounded when it came to the Party, but Steve didn’t know it would come to fruition later on with someone who was much more of a threat than they ever were.
The Party wasn’t the only ones Steve felt jealousy towards. As embarrassed as it made him feel, Steve was also jealous of Dustin. His only friend had other friends, ones that were his age, and Steve stopped having that after things with Tommy H. and Carol went south and Billy came to town. Seeing Dustin with his friends made Steve long for some new ones of his own. He still felt mixed up around Nancy and Jonathan, so they weren’t an option yet. When he got a job at Scoops Ahoy while Dustin was at summer camp, he hoped to befriend his coworker named Robin. Unfortunately for him, King Steve’s past sins were now biting him in the ass. Robin didn’t like him at first. When he thought about how he and Robin did become friends, Steve wasn’t surprised it was largely thanks to Dustin. The feeling that gave him scared him, so he decided to spend more time with her and less with Dustin. Of course, Dustin starting high school also played a part in their growing distance.
Steve thought he was fine with Dustin drifting away from him. And he really was… until Eddie “The Freak” Munson entered Dustin’s orbit and started battling Steve for his position at the center of Dustin’s gravitational pull. Eddie took the fear Steve once felt about the Party and how they understood Dustin in ways he couldn’t and amplified to an alarming and distressing degree. There was a small part of him that tried to reason with the growing jealousy he had by making him consider that Dustin might have felt this way towards Robin all along, but Steve was too blinded by the color green to accept it. To counterbalance Dustin spending so much extra time with Eddie and the Hellfire Club, Steve got his mojo back and started going on a lot of dates again. It didn’t help as much as Steve would’ve liked.
When Eddie died, Steve was sure the jealousy he felt towards him would cease to exist, especially after Eddie told him that Dustin worshipped him and that he himself was jealous of Steve. That wasn’t the case. Dustin wasn’t the same after that fateful Spring Break in 1986 and it killed Steve. Steve’s jealousy was warring with a blinding anger he felt towards the dead man. He was outraged that Eddie broke Dustin’s heart so badly and in such a way that Steve couldn’t fix. Steve was hurt that Dustin only had eyes for a ghost instead of seeing the person who was still here with him. It was terrible to feel like Dustin would’ve rather Steve had died instead. He was on the cusp of finally accepting that and giving Dustin the distance he wanted when things in the Upside Down went horribly wrong. “Not you” were two words burned into his memory and that was the moment Steve’s feelings started changing for Dustin. It took him some time to notice and accept it, but he eventually did right before Dustin’s senior year of high school.
It was now winter break for Dustin and Steve had a hard time swallowing that Dustin only had one semester and summer left keeping him in Hawkins. The thought of having any kind of distance between them again terrified Steve and nearly sent him into panic attacks. He needed Dustin and Steve knew Dustin needed him, too. Steve was working up the courage to confess his love to Dustin, but it was hard getting over the fear that he’d ruin the best thing in his life by doing so. There were little moments that made Steve think Dustin felt similarly, but Steve also knew he was a wishful person.
Steve wasn’t sure why he was never expecting Dustin to find someone to date or fool around with in Hawkins. It was one of the constants able to keep his jealousy in check. Suzie wasn’t ever a viable threat to him because she wasn’t here physically. When Dustin came over a couple days after the start of 1989, Steve was immediately struck with the daunting realization he was a fool. Seeing two small hickeys on Dustin’s neck that weren’t from him made Steve snap. He couldn’t take it anymore.
“What the fuck are those things on your neck, Henderson?” Steve growled dangerously. His eyes were blazing and Dustin looked at him with mild embarrassment, but still stood his ground.
“Puh-leeze. King Steve knows what hickeys are,” Dustin sassed back. He had crossed his arms over his chest and popped out one of his hips with the most daring expression on his face. Steve wanted to grab him and show Dustin what he was missing right then and there, but had the decency to know it wasn’t time yet, so he rolled his eyes and pushed on with the interrogation.
“So, which girl was it? Did you leave some on her, too?” Steve snapped. His hands were gripping onto his own hips to keep him from pinning Dustin to the ground or wall. He almost lost his anger and jealousy when a beautiful blush colored Dustin’s face and his eyes closed as he took a deep breath.
Steve’s world was rocked by Dustin’s next words.
“It wasn’t a girl, Steve,” Dustin whispered shyly. He wasn’t ashamed about it, Steve could tell, but he was nervous. Steve’s stomach dropped at the revelation he could’ve given Dustin those bites if only he spoke up sooner. As much as Steve knew he should let Dustin know it was okay, his burning jealousy reared its ugly head once more and Steve went on the attack.
“Which boy did you let do that you?” Steve demanded in a deep tone. He stepped forward without even thinking about it and was pleased to see Dustin didn’t move back from him.
“It doesn’t matter, Steve. It was a one time thing, okay? I just wanted to have my first kiss already!” Dustin said, but he wouldn’t make eye contact with Steve and that just wouldn’t do.
Steve cleared the distance between them in three steps and grabbed Dustin’s chin with one hand making his best friend have no choice but to look at him. “I’m only asking this one more time, Henderson. Who the fuck was it?”
Dustin swallowed roughly and then licked his lips slowly. It drove Steve crazy and he was sure his brown eyes darkened even more than already had. With a spark in his eyes, Dustin finally answered.
“Jesus Christ, Steve. If you really want to know so badly, it was Chance, okay? Are you happy now?” Dustin challenged.
A laugh escaped Steve before he could stop it. “Wow, Henderson. Great choice in men you have there.”
Dustin’s eyes flashed now. “Yeah, well, at least he was man enough to kiss me!” He barked.
“I’m sure it was a magical first kiss and not just a way for him to mark you like he owns you.” Steve bit back harshly. Hurt flooded Dustin’s eyes for a couple seconds and Steve regretted those words so much.
“Is it a crime to want to be wanted and to have it be known by the world? You don’t know what it’s like, Steven. Everyone desires you and people know it without you needing to show it, but it’s not like that for me,” Dustin cried.
Steve’s heart broke at those words. He let go of Dustin’s chin and used both hands to cup Dustin’s face as he brushed his pink cheeks softly.
“Oh, Dustin. You deserve better than that and so much more and I should have been the one to show you that. I’m sorry I wasn’t braver sooner,” Steve whispered. “But I’m here now ready to make you feel things Chase never could.”
Dustin’s eyes opened in shock, but Steve also found hope swimming amongst the blue.
“Chance, not Chase,” Dustin weakly corrected. Steve adored the way Dustin’s eyes were practically glued to his lips.
“Who gives a fuck about Connor? I don’t and I know you don’t, either, so let’s stop talking about him.”
“Maybe you should make me then,” Dustin teased and then chewed on his lower lip. Steve’s hands gripped Dustin’s face a little harder.
“Tell me how first. You’re the genius,” Steve whispered into Dustin’s ear and relished the way Dustin’s body shuddered.
The shorter man’s arms went around Steve’s neck and he pulled Steve’s head down to reach him. As soon as their lips made contact, Steve was gone. There was no going back from this. Dustin wasn’t kissing Steve the way he wanted, so he licked Dustin’s lips and then thrusted his tongue inside when Dustin gasped. He swallowed down moans and whimpers from his best friend as he took great pride in licking every inch of Dustin’s mouth. It was pure bliss. When his neck started to cramp a little, Steve didn’t pull away or stop making out with Dustin. Instead, as he straightened up, he pulled Dustin with him to where Dustin was on his tip toes. Dustin didn’t seem to mind at all since their tongues were still tumbling over each other in desperate victory at finally getting to clash together and mingle.
But this wasn’t enough for Steve, not when Dustin’s neck had two small marks that weren’t made by his lips. There was a crazed possessiveness that took over Steve wanting nothing more than leave marks of his own all over Dustin’s body in places only he would ever get to see. He stopped fighting the urge at last and peeled his tongue and mouth away from Dustin’s. The whimper Dustin made at the loss of contact sent electricity all throughout his body. He felt like he was buzzing.
Steve looked at Dustin with his glossy eyes, swollen and bruised lips, flushed cheeks, and dazed expression and needed more. God, he hoped Dustin would give him more. He was a starving man who wanted nothing more than to devour the boy in front of him.
“If you want, we can move things to my bed,” Steve offered. His voice was husky and rough.
Dustin’s eyes twinkled in a way Steve hadn’t seen before and it melted him on the spot. A dopey grin came next as he nodded his head and reached for Steve’s hand, but Steve was mesmerized by the look on Dustin’s face and decided to pick him up bridal style to keep seeing it as they moved to Steve’s bed.
Steve laid Dustin down softly and then clambered on top of him. He traced the two hickeys on Dustin’s neck tenderly before lowering his mouth to them. “I’m going to show you what a real love bite should look like now, baby.”
Dustin’s response was to throw his head back and give Steve all the access he could. Steve groaned in delight and started kissing over the marks. Kissing quickly turned into sucking as hard as he could and even biting gently. The only goal he had in mind was to make those other hickeys disappear. After five minutes of attacking Dustin’s neck, Steve pulled back to look at his work. Pleasure filled his body when he saw those two red marks covered up by many deeper ones of his own. Dustin was breathing hard and had his hands playing in Steve’s hair.
“Did you do anything else beyond this?” Steve asked. He tried to keep his voice as light as possible in order to avoid ruining the mood.
“No, I swear,” Dustin replied. He opened his blue eyes and looked into Steve’s brown ones. Steve found nothing but sincerity in them.
“Why not?”
“Because he wasn’t you and pretending he was had stopped working. This was a last ditch effort on my part to see if it’d help.”
“And did it?” One of Steve’s hands was holding Dustin’s face as the other trailed up and down his side.
“No. That’s why I came straight here. I needed you to help me fix my mistake like you always do and you did,” Dustin breathed out. “I’ve been in love with you for so long, Steve, and I never thought it would ever be returned the way I wanted. This is a dream come true for me.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Steve sighed in amazement. “You’re one in a million. There was never a chance I wouldn’t fall in love with you.”
“I think you should go back to making me feel all the things Chad never could,” Dustin remarked in a flirty and playful voice that Steve was elated to hear.
“Thought his name was Chance,” Steve teased right against Dustin’s lips.
“Like you said earlier, who fucking cares about him?”
Steve kissed Dustin with a smile softly before pushing his tongue back into Dustin’s mouth. He moaned loudly wanting Dustin to hear how much Steve desired and loved him. Dustin was never going to feel unwanted ever again. It was Steve’s new life mission.