Chapter Forty-Four: I Can't Say It Yet

"I just don't get it! Its so unfair! Why do you two get to wear pants?!"

I was currently sitting on top of the table in the Scoops Ahoy break room. Steve was standing directly in front of me, and we were both dressed in our ridiculous sailor uniforms, only Robin and Steve had uniforms with shorts while I was stuck in a skirt with pockets.

"Because, they ran out of shorts, Barbie. The skirt was all they had, and Robin applied before we did. I mean, I'd be more than willing to take one for the team, but..."

"Yeah, that will be the day, when Steve Harrington does something outside of his cool guy persona."  I said jokingly.

"Do you see what I'm wearing right now?" He asked, gesturing down to his outfit before putting his hands on either side of me on the table, leaning down so that his face was directly in front of mine.

"Yeah, and somehow, you still look adorable. Its incredibly annoying." I said, my fingers lightly playing with the red tie around his neck.

"Adorable, huh?" He asked. "That's a new one." I shrugged.

"I'm hot, you're adorable. You learn new things every day, now shut up HAIRington." I gently tugged on the tie and pulled him down to meet my lips. He didn't hesitate to grab my waist, pulling me off the table and pushing me back against the wall, kissing me back passionately. I took his Sailor hat off of his head, holding it in my hand as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He reached a hand up to my face, curling it into my hair as his mouth travelled from my mouth to my jaw, and down the side of my neck. I laughed. "Easy cowboy, we're still at work."

"So? We're on break. What we do on our break is our business." He said, bringing his lips back to mine. I rolled my eyes, pushing him away, but this only prompted him to go back to kissing my neck, his hands moving to rest on my hips, squeezing them in an insanely attractive way that made me really not want to stop. Logic won out, however.

"Steve...come on, Steve, I have no interest in getting fired, and I'm sure you don't either."

"We're not gonna get fired, Riley. You're hot and I'm adorable. Who would fire us?" He trailed his lips up my jaw, to the space just beneath my ear. I just laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Oh my gosh, HAIRington, you're an idiot. I love you." He froze and I felt my eyes widen as the words slipped out before I could stop them. He pulled back from me, looking at me with wide eyes of his own.

"What did you say?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Nothing...forget I said anything." I handed him his hat back and went to leave the break room, but he grabbed my wrist, stopping me. When I didn't turn around to look at him, he wrapped both of his arms around my waist, hugging me from behind.

"Riley..."

"Its ok," I said, turning my head slightly over my shoulder, "I know you're not ready for that yet. I didn't mean to blurt it out like that. Seriously...don't worry about it." he sighed, pressing his lips against my shoulder over my shirt.

"I'm sorry." He said. I shook my head, putting my arms over his.

"Don't be sorry. Its ok. I'm not gonna rush your healing process."

"That's because you're the best and I like you more than anyone in the world." He whispered, pressing his lips against my ear. "I just can't...I can't say it yet." I nodded.

"I know."

"Riley, Dingus, your children are here!" We heard Robin shout from the other side of the wall. Steve put his hat back on, opening the sliding window and we popped our heads out of it to see Mike, Lucas, Max, and Will all standing behind the counter.

"Again? Seriously?" Steve asked. Mike just gave him a bored look, ringing the bell on the counter.

"Come on." I said. They came into the back room and Steve and I both led them back into the service hallway behind the stores. Steve held the door open for them.

"Come on, come on!" He said hurriedly. "I swear, if anybody hears about this-"

"We're dead!' They all yelled in unison. I smiled between Steve and the retreating kids before leading the way back into the ice cream shop, going into the front this time and leaning against the counter beside Robin.

"Did you and Dingus get enough personal time on your break?" She asked.

"We didn't. Do you wanna hear all of the juicy details?" I shot back, smirking at her.

"I would rather use this," She held up her ice cream scoop, "To scoop out my eyes." I chuckled as Steve came up beside me. Just as he did, all of a sudden all the power cut out in the mall, leaving the place in darkness. 

"That's weird." Steve said. My eyes widened and I looked at  him, my heart beginning to race in my chest. I could feel the anxiety sneaking up on me, which still happened every now and again. Steve walked over to the light switch and beginning to flick it on and off.

"That isn't gonna work, Dingus." Robin told him.

"Oh, really?" He held the switch between two fingers and began flipping it rapidly. I wanted to smile, but found myself unable to do so as my breathing quickened. I braced my hands on the counter, trying to calm myself down.

Not long after that, the lights came back as Steve flicked the switch.

"Let there be light." He said, looking at Robin and I before going over to the counter to scoop some ice cream for a customer. Robin and I shared a look, but as she turned away I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up, causing the anxiety to creep up again. The last time this happened it was almost like...it was like an alarm almost. A warning that something bad was coming, something Upside Down related. "Hey..." I snapped out of my thoughts as Steve appeared in front of me. He pulled me into the back room again, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Are you ok? The power going out seemed to really freak you out." I nodded.

"I'm sure its fine, its just...electricity...you know." He nodded, reaching up and tucking my hair behind my ear before putting a hand on my face. I leaned into it.

"It came back on. I'm sure its all ok." He said. "Are you sure you're good? Do you need to call in sick or..." I shook my head.

"I'm fine. Thank you for checking." He nodded, stepping closer to me and kissing my forehead before leading me out into the front section again. I blew out a nervous breath before stepping out to join him.

~~~

We locked up for the night and began walking out of the mall, Steve throwing an arm around my shoulders.

"You sure you don't want to grab dinner with us?" Steve asked. Robin nodded.

"Trust me, I see enough of you two ogling each other during the day, Dingus. You guys go on without me." She said, a sarcastic tone in her voice. I smiled halfheartedly and she walked ahead of us, leaving me alone with Steve.

"Seriously, are you ok?" He questioned. "You've been off since the power outage. Did that really freak you out that much?" I shook my head.

"No I...I'm sure its nothing. Just some PTSD stuff. I'm a little shaken, but I'll be fine. I'll be better when I get out of this stupid uniform." He raised his eyebrows. "Say something suggestive, HAIRington, I dare you." He held up his hands in a surrender position and I smiled, reaching up and pulling his arm down, grabbing his hand and intertwining our fingers.