Older man that is so obsessed with you he becomes best friends with your dad. It's so fucked up but from the moment he saw you he knew he needed to have you. If being friends with your dad meant getting closer to you then he'd do it. It would give him easier access to you he wouldn't be such a hidden creep anymore. Now it's him being sweet and very involved. It's easy for him since your dad is such a shut in already. He becomes his only true friend.
You are noticing him so much now and it drives him nuts. He makes sure you get comfortable with him quick even if it comes off as weird. Your dad just excuses it says he's a lonely guy, no family of his own, and he enjoys being around people. He's over so much the couch is basically his now.
Your panties going missing more often? That's just the laundry machine. The shower door being slightly open? You probably didn't close it properly. The small touches? It's just his way of being nice. Your dad just pushes it off, that's his friend. Be nice.
The day he finally gets you under him is so...cute. A daughter just wants to be good for her father. Willing to take his best friends cock so that friendship can stay strong. He's so manipulative and good at playing this game that he has you spreading your cunt for him. Be nice to your father's friend, let him see that pretty hole. He is not nice with it! He is slamming his cock into you repeatedly with no breaks. Having to grip your own thighs that you are spreading. Eyes rolling back as his cock hits a little too deep.
But you better keep quiet since your dad is in the other room! He can't find out his so called friend only wanted to get with his daughter. It would break his poor heart so just take it. If he asks why you are limping you better make up a good excuse.
He eventually finds out but wants to keep his friendship so bad he's willing to let your older obsessed stalker keep fucking you as long as he has a friend.
A workplace where my job is to get high as fuck and let customers and staff fuck me and make out with me and essentially just let myself get raped because my only role is pleasuring men and filling myself with cum
My manager comes into the break room slaps me hard as fuck calls me a whore and rapes me before shoving a dollar up my pussy and returning to work
Been getting really into the idea of bruising someone’s cervix. Railing them so hard the pressure makes it feel like they‘re going to explode. Them losing their composure more and more every time my tip drives home. Shifting their organs around with my cock. Tenderizing them from the inside out. Pain making them writhe as I grip their hips and hold them almost all the way down my length. Closing their legs to try to stop me from forcing in the last inch. Me doing it anyway. Their writhing turning to shaking and screaming.
Starting out as “you’re way too big for me” and ending up as “why the fuck did you do that, that was awful. You’re still way too big, fucking hell. I don’t wanna do that again.”
Summary: Jack Abbott has always watched people closely- he observed. You, however? Are something else entirely. When tragedy leaves you drowning in grief, the one person who never leaves your side is the widowed ER attending who's spent months quietly learning everything there is to know about you. He understands your loss better than anyone. He knows exactly what to say, exactly when to show up, and exactly how to make himself indispensable.
After all...You spent your whole life taking care of everyone else.
It's only fair someone finally takes care of you.
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Warnings: Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Manipulation, Emotional Grooming, Dubious Consent (grief/manipulation), Power Imbalance (Doctor/Nurse), Explicit Sexual Content, Possessive Behavior, Emotional Dependency, Toxic Relationship Dynamics, Grief & Bereavement, Death of a Partner, Emotional Isolation, Praise Kink, Choking/Breath Play, Fingering, Unprotected Sex, Creampie, Biting/Marking, Dirty Talk.
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Authors Note: Well... this is probably the darkest thing I've written. This is not canon Jack lol. I've been itching to write something crazy... here we are! If you decide to read, please mind the tags- the warning.
As always, thank you for giving my stories a chance. I hope you enjoy🩵
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Jack has noticed you since orientation.
Not because you're the prettiest nurse—although he'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought so—but because you're kind.
Endlessly, recklessly kind.
You stay late when your shift ends because someone always needs something. You cry after pediatric codes when you think no one is looking. You bring coffee for the unit secretary every Thursday without being asked. You remember your patients' grandchildren's names. You braid an elderly woman's hair because she says it reminds her of home.
You give. They take; you give more. Happily.
He likes that. Perhaps not for the most honorable reasons, but he does.
It fascinates him, really. The way compassion seems to spill out of you without hesitation. As though you were made for it. As though there isn't a part of yourself you wouldn't hand over if someone needed it badly enough.
He wonders where your limit is.
Or if you have one at all...
...
He's watched you buy lunch for the nursing student who forgot her wallet.
He's watched you miss your own break because Room 14 couldn't stop crying.
He's watched you kneel on the filthy emergency department floor just to be eye level with a frightened little boy.
How cute. You are the perfect nurse. You were meant for this, to give. You like to give, because you care. Truly care.
It's what you do best.
One day, he thinks perhaps someone should return the favor.
So, he starts timing his breaks around yours.
Nothing inappropriate.
Nothing anyone could point to.
He tells himself he just wants to get to know the newer members of his team. That's all.
He knows you drink vanilla iced coffee when you're tired. Knows you tuck loose strands of hair behind your left ear when you're concentrating. You crochet. You bake.
Homemade sourdough, if the staff potlucks are anything to go by.
Chocolate chip cookies when you're stressed. Lemon bars when you're happy.
There aren't many surprises left. Not anymore.
He knows your routines almost as well as his own...
Which is exactly why, when you hurry toward the break room one Thursday, he follows without thinking much of it.
3:28 am. Your break.
His, too. By coincidence.
Mostly.
It isn't unusual. The two of you have shared countless breaks over the past several months.
Another conversation. Another cup of coffee.
Another reason to look forward to coming to work.
He pushes open the break room door just as you're twisting the cap off your water bottle.
He almost offers to help, then something catches the overhead fluorescent lights.
His eyes follow the glint automatically.
…
Diamond. Ring finger.
New.
He didn't know... not until now. An oversight. His.
It wouldn’t happen again.
...
Now he knows you met him a year ago. (Apparently, that's all it took.)
The first date was at the movies. (Predictable.)
He brings you lunch every other Wednesday. (Every other? He couldn't manage every day?)
Works in finance. (Boring.)
He still asks if you want oat milk or almond. (Jack remembered after hearing it once.)
Makes you laugh. Makes you smile. Makes you happy.
He knows you love him …
Jack tries not to think about that last part.
He tells himself that's where it ends. It isn't his place. He’ll never cross the line.
She loves him. She's happy.
That should be enough.
...
Jack is patient.
He's already waited years after his wife died.
What's a little longer?
For years after losing his wife, he hadn't noticed anyone at all. Grief had a way of making the world colorless.
Until you.
---------
Then your fiancé dies.
Just a trauma alert. EMS rushing in.
Wrong place, wrong time.
Jack knows whose fiancé it is before you do.
He works the code. He calls the time.
He signs the paperwork.
There are some things only the people in that room will ever know.
Jack is one of them.
He knows exactly what happened. He knows the injuries. He knows your fiancé didn't suffer.
He knows the last words spoken in the trauma bay.
He knows who was holding his hand.
He knows the monitors had already fallen silent before you ever got the call.
---------------
For days, everyone offers the same condolences.
I'm so sorry.
If you need anything...
I can't imagine what you're going through.
They're kind. They're sincere.
They also tell you nothing…
Jack won't tell you he's sorry.
He remembers what it felt like to hear those words after his wife died.
I'm sorry.
Again. And again. Until they became little more than background noise. Sympathy never answered the questions that kept him awake.
It never quieted the silence waiting for him at home.
It never brought her back.
He doubts they'll do much for you, either. So he offers you something no one else can.
He sits beside you in the empty staff lounge while your untouched coffee grows cold.
His voice is quiet. "He wasn't alone."
Your head snaps toward him. Questions spill out before you can stop them.
"Was he scared?"
"Did he know?"
"Did he..."
Jack has every answer.
Answers no one else can give. Answers only he can.
And for the first time...
You need something only Jack Abbot can provide.
You take.
He likes that.
---------------
At first, it feels harmless. Kind, even.
"You need groceries? I'll drop some off."
"You haven't eaten- I made soup."
"You shouldn't drive after crying this hard. I'll take you home."
He's simply helping. That's all.
Isn't that what people are supposed to do? Isn't that what friends are for? It becomes routine.
You stop reaching for your phone before realizing Jack has already texted.
Made too much chili. Bringing some over.
Your prescription should be ready. I'll grab it after work.
Storm's supposed to get bad tonight. Make sure you charge your phone.
He starts solving problems before you realize you have them.
Your sink is leaking? Somehow... Jack knows.
Your car won't start after a twelve-hour shift...
Jack is already waiting with jumper cables.
You mention therapy once. Just once.
"I went after my wife died," he says. (He did.) "...It helped."
Everything he says is technically true.
--------
And he listens. He’ll always listen to you.
You tell him your coworkers don't know what to say anymore. They change the subject.
They invite you out less.
They seem relieved when you tell them you're "doing better."
Jack simply nods."They're trying."
You nod back.
"They just don't understand."
Another nod. Then—
"They haven't buried the love of their life." ... "I have."
--------
Somewhere along the way, you stop calling other people first. Not because Jack asked you to.
But because he's already there.
You cry. Jack answers.
You can't sleep. Your phone lights up at 2:17 in the morning.
Jack: You awake? - Perfect timing, as always.
He always knows you need help, before you know it yourself.
He becomes your first call. Then your last.
Then the only one.
---------
One night, you apologize.
"I'm sorry," you whisper. "I feel like I'm relying on you for everything."
Jack smiles softly, maybe even a little sad.
Like he understands.
"That's what people do after they lose someone."
You nod.
"Eventually..." he says quietly, "they stop looking behind them."
You frown. "What?"
He looks down at the coffee in his hands.
"When my wife died... Everyone disappeared after six months."
Another pause. "You'll see." He knows.
That’s exactly what's going to happen. You just don't know it yet.
---------
Jack stops leaving after dinner. It only makes sense, you started watching his favorite series, so he'll watch it with you.
Then he stops leaving after midnight...
Then he stops leaving at all.
Your nightmares become less frightening if someone else is in the room. Jack learns that quickly.
"Try to get some sleep," he murmurs one evening, pulling the blanket over your shoulders. "I'll be on the couch if you need anything."
The couch becomes the guest room.
The guest room becomes the edge of your bed after another nightmare.
One morning, you wake with your head resting against his shoulder.
Neither of you mentions it. It simply happens again. It happens because you're lonely.
Because grief convinces you that reaching for the one person who never lets go must mean something.
Because he's there. He's always there.
--------
Over time, his careful hands become careless.
He allows himself to hold you now, no restraint. You let him. He holds you every night,
But tonight's not like the others.
His hands trail up and down your body, lingering where they never used to. You’re so soft in his hold.
So pliant. So gentle.
You don't even notice the moment the rules between you quietly change.
Jack does.
He notices everything.
And for the first time since the night of the accident, he stops telling himself he's only trying to help.
Carefully, he slipped a hand beneath your jaw, encouraging you to look up at him as he lifted his own head from where it had rested against yours.
His thumb found your lips, gently pulling them apart.
You stare up at him, trusting.
He closes the distance between you with unbearable care, pressing the gentlest kiss against your lips.
He pulls back, searching your face for regret.
Nothing.
You trust him.
He shifts, carefully guiding you onto your back without breaking the quiet between you.
For the first time, the embrace isn't about comforting you. It's about keeping you there.
He draws back just enough to look at you again.
Something in his expression has changed.
The restraint he'd worn for months slips, if only for a moment.
He leans in once more, pressing a kiss to your cheek.
Slow and lingering. Almost reverent.
He kisses your cheek as though asking forgiveness for something he hasn't done yet.
Because now he knows he can take,
because he knows you'll give.
His hands drift down your chest, your waist, up and down your legs. Now back up to your throat.
You gasp in surprise.
“You wanna give something back to me? Mhm?” Jack coos.
Words fail you. All you can manage is a small nod.
Something dark unfurls across his face—a smile too wide to belong to the man who'd spent months pretending to be patient.
“That’s it. Good girl, You gonna let me take over now, yeah?” He hums, grip tightening around your throat.
Against all reason, you don't feel fear. You feel relief.
The constant ache of holding yourself together eases, replaced by something dangerously familiar.
Take. You want him to.
“Please.” you whine.
It's all he's ever wanted to hear.
Jack began kissing you, rough now, pressing you into the mattress. The hand around your throat moved to your chest, grabbing at your breast.
Then to the hem of your top, making quick work of it.
He no longer cared to hold back.
Jack pressed his large frame against you, hand now at your waist, pulling you even closer where your hips met. The grip bruising on your side. The bulge in his pants now pressed against your thigh.
You bite your lip, suppressing the groan.
You knew he was big. You had felt him in the early mornings when he was still holding you close.
His other hand now playing with your hair, before bunching it in his fist and pulling your head back.
“Jack” you cry
“What, sweetheart...? You can take it.” He muses
His hand travels from your side to the apex of your thigh, cupping you gently.
“So warm, huh? You want me here, don't you, sweet girl?” He smiled against your neck, biting his mark deep in your skin. Your hips buck at his touch.
He chuckles, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you now.”
You couldn’t find it in yourself to resist. Not anymore.
“Pull these off— Come on.” Jack yanks at the fabric of your sleep shorts.
He always thought they were short, a tease. For him. This was all for him.
You obey, stripping out of them quickly, leaving you bare. He groans
“No underwear?’ He croons. Jack couldn’t take it anymore. His thick fingers glide up and down through your wetness. Your head falls back as you moan.
“So wet, So pretty. All for me...” He presses his fingers against your clit. You whine, grinding your hips up at the touch.
Jack groaned as he circled your clit, lazily. Now, flicking it sideways, building the tension flooding your belly.
“That feel good, Huh?” He smiles. He knows you need him. Now you’ll always need him.
“I’ll make it allll better baby; just take what I give.” He rubs tighter circles, bringing your orgasm close.
Your hands go to reach for him. You want him close. You need him close.
He feels so good. He feels right. This was right where he was supposed to be.
Then suddenly, he stops. You bring your head up from the pillow, eyes glossed over, looking for his touch.
“You want to cum, yeah?” He smirks, bringing his fingers to his mouth, now sucking the slick off them. A satisfied hum leaving him.
“Y-yes.” You watch as his hands drop to his waistband.
“Then you’ll cum on this cock, or not at all.” Jack nudged your legs further apart with his knee as he pulls himself out.
You watch helplessly as the length of his cock plops out, smacking against his thighs. Thick and long, size intimating.
He knew he was big, bigger than your fiancé especially by the look of fear on your face. He drags the red, angry head of his cock up and down your quivering slit.
“You can take. You’ll be good. You’re such a strong girl for me.”
“Please, Jack, I need you now.” You cry. He loved seeing you writhe underneath him.
It’s where you belong. Just like this.
“Say you’re mine.” He demands, pressing against your clit.
“F-fuck- Yes! A-All yours. I’m yours, Jack, please!” You sob.
He lines himself up with you and slowly pushes in. The stretch stealing the breath from your lungs. Unforgiving.
“Fuck, you’re tight.” Jack’s brows furrowed, now trying to press himself deeper.
“You gotta stop squeezing me like that, baby. Open up for me. Be good.” His hips draw back, then beckon forward.
You meet his gaze, his face slack-jawed. His eyes, half- lidded, hips now forcing themself forward, arching your back off the mattress.
Hands grip firm on your hips, holding them down. “There she is, good girl”
“You just needed me here, deep. Riighhht here, Huh baby?” He coos as he bottoms out— causing a high-pitched cry to fall from your lips.
“Yes Jack, I need you.” You babble, lost in the sensation. You want to be lost. Lost in him.
He licks wide stripes up your neck, to your cheek. You chase his lips, trying to kiss him.
He chuckles and pulls back.
“Aw, you want a kiss?” He coos, now picking up the pace, relentlessly pounding into you.
You cling to his arms. He loves your desperation.
You nod and plead, choked out cries begging for mercy. He smiles.
You still believed this was comfort. He knew better.
He kisses you deep, possessively. He’ll give to you.
He feels himself getting close, thrusts growing sloppy.
“It’s okay baby, I’ll take care of you. I’ll take care of you, and this pretty pussy. I’ve got you.” he purrs.
“I got you sooo good now. All mine.” He coos as you clench around him. His hips stuttering, a loud, guttural groan rumbling from his chest.
“I’m gonna fill this pussy up, Y-yeah? You just needed this cock to fill you and take care of ya, Huh? Ain’t that right?”
Sloppy thrusts now turning erratic. You feel yourself clenching, the tight band in your belly snapping as your orgasm hits you like a wave.
“Y-yes, Jack? F-fuck, Thank you, thank you!” You cry.
“Mine, all mine. Mine.” His hips snap with each word as he empties inside. You feel ropes spurt deep, filling you, claiming you.
Jack leaned forward, now placing a gentle kiss on your forehead. The contrast frightening.
His eyes lingered on your exhausted face, watching as your breathing slowly steadied.
Watching you recalibrate.
He knew what this was now, even if you didn’t.
Your eyes found his. Without thinking, your arms reached for him.
There she is.
He gathered you against his chest without hesitation.
He's got you.
You hadn't accepted it easily. You weren't used to leaning on someone else.
But grief has a funny way of changing people.
And Jack had been there to catch every piece that fell. You spent your whole life taking care of everyone else.
You give your patients everything.
You give your coworkers everything.
You gave your fiancé everything.
Now...
You give Jack everything.
He'd spent months wondering where your limit was.
Whether there was anything you wouldn't give to someone who needed you.
In the end, Jack simply waited until there was no one left to give yourself to...
but him.
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@amacphet @iheartshawn
just tagging my loves bc yall requested some smut- here ya go ;)
Summary: At long last, Zeno has finally acquired Wesker's widow. Unfortunately for him, nothing could have prepared him for how sweet you are when concussed.
Content: Reader has a concussion, fluff/angst wombo combo but mostly angst, mistaken identity, pretty sure this counts as dubious consent? Spolier for RE9 if you haven't already played it.
w/c: 4.3k
Ao3 Link
In the grandeur of his home office, Zeno leans patiently on the window by his desk nursing a cigarette between his fingertips with a smirk on his face. Further back in the room, you lay unconscious on the leather couch; your head bandaged and your breaths shallow.
Your kidnapping had proved to be easier than expected when an early opportunity presented itself. His hired goons were efficient and eager for payment, which Zeno handsomely rewarded. He didn’t even mind that you’d accidentally taken a hit to the head during extraction. You held precious information he’d been dying to get a hold of for years. Physical wounds would heal after all. He had access to any doctor in the world and enough money to get any one of them to make a house call. All he had to do now was wait for you to wake up.
He can wait.
Zeno is a patient man when he wants to be.
The Connections had been forthright with information regarding the infamous Albert Wesker in the years he’d worked through their ranks; his intelligence, his cunning, his ruthlessness, but not so much with matters regarding more exclusive, personal details. Zeno is not the type to live without knowing exclusive details.
Zeno is the type of man to act when he wants something. And for years, he’s wanted every bit of information on the man he begrudgingly shares a face with. For years he’d been looking for you.
And now he has you on his couch.
And you’re beginning to stir into consciousness.
Zeno’s lip curls, and he pushes himself off of the window, snuffing out his cigarette in the crystal bowl on his desk as he leisurely saunters closer to you.
“Mrs. Wesker, do you know where you are?” Zeno drawls.
He kneels next to the couch, his gaze never leaving your face as your eyes finally flutter open. Zeno smirks. “Or who I am?”
Your eyes finally come into focus on Zeno for a long moment, then you smile. “Honey, you’re back.” You coo sluggishly, your voice dripping in a sweetness that Zeno doesn’t expect. He stares at you, momentarily dumbfounded, only coming to his senses when he feels the heat of your palm moving to caress his cheek.
He uses his superhuman reflexes to catch your wrist before your hand makes contact, grip firm but not bone-crushing,
“Honey?” He parrots back, his voice low. “Who do you think I am?
“I know who you are, Albert.” You say sweetly, blinking slowly. With your wrist still in Zeno’s grip, you tilt your hand forward and run a finger gently over the T-Virus mark that mars Zeno’s face, causing him to stiffen. “You’ve been taking more viruses. You promised you’d tell me if you were going to take another one.” You utter slowly in a soft reprimand.
Zeno feels one of his eyes twitch and his jaw clench so tightly his teeth ache. You’re talking nonsense. You think he’s Wesker.
“You are delusional, woman.” Zeno grits out, jaw set in a barely contained rage. He’s been compared to a ghost his whole existence and your concussed brain mistaking him for your dead husband is doing nothing to curb his short temper.
You only smile back in a daze, completely unaware of Zeno’s anger. “I have eyes, darling. You didn’t have that before you left the manor. It’s okay. I still think you’re handsome.”
The way you smile is pissing Zeno off. This isn’t the way he thought this would go in the slightest. He’d expected shock. He’d prepared for anger. He expected fear and wariness. He was prepared to brush off empty threats. He was prepared for any number of insults to be hurled at him like in past interrogations with far more dangerous targets. Not flirting. Not loving touches meant for a man long dead.
“Woman-” Zeno spits, forcing himself to take a deep breath so he doesn’t blow his top on a deluded captive of all things. “You are confused. I’m not Albert. You need treatment.”
His words don’t breach the haze of affection on your face. “Your eyes are different.” You drawl brainlessly, looking at Zeno’s golden eyes through his sunglasses.
Zeno’s scowl disappears, a realization hitting him.
He could still get some of what he wants with you sweet and pliable like this. More ammunition to have at his disposal when you finally come to your senses.
“Different?” Zeno drawls, leaning closer to you to examine every micro-expression that crosses your face. A snakeskin gloved hand removes his sunglasses, meticulously picked among hundreds to highlight his bone structure, to reveal his otherworldly eyes to you more clearly while his other hand still grips your wrist with a less punishing grip. The glasses are discarded on a nearby table. “How so?”
“They were red like rubies when you left.” You continue, still gazing up at Zeno with a soft smile on your face. “Now they’re golden like amber, sunlight, turmeric…” You trail off, sighing up at him wistfully. “... still beautiful.”
Zeno stiffens. Your words are so genuine and unguarded that it’s stirring up warm feelings he’s unwilling to acknowledge. He’s used to attention, both negative and performatively positive. He’s used to empty praise from higher ups. He’s used to admiration from people always expecting something in return. He’s used to hollow flirting from people only interesting enough to spend a night with.
But your freely given affection gives him pause, cracking his cold expression into something more vulnerable, before quickly being covered in ice once again. “You’re delirious.” He utters, but the sharpness in his tone is weaker than before.
“-ly in love with you.” You coo, finishing a sentence that you’ve obviously said countless times with your real husband. Your dead husband, Zeno reminds himself. The husband that he looks so eerily like. Zeno clenches and unclenches his jaw. This softness he feels towards you is a byproduct of trace memories embedded in his borrowed DNA. Nothing more. Yet, he can’t bring himself to pull away from your gentle touch on his cheek.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.” Zeno mutters, unable to look away from the loving expression on your face.
You blink. “You got a haircut.” You continue, seemingly having tunnel vision on “your husband’s” different physicalities.
The edge of Zeno’s mouth twitches, fighting off amusement. Such a selectively observant thing you are when concussed. “I did.” Zeno lies, indulging your false reality for the time being.
“It’s shorter on the sides. Lighter too. Very modern. ” You compliment, that dazed smile still on your face. Your free hand fumbles into Zeno’s hair before he can protest, and the feeling of your fingertips brushing against his scalp has his breath hitching.
A better man would swat your hand away.
A better man would call for the doctor to sedate you until this fever dream of yours passes and Zeno can interrogate you properly, but he can’t bring himself to shatter your illusion just yet.
Zeno is a strong, powerful man in the eyes of others, but with you in this moment he feels utterly weak to your sweetness. Even the strongest steel can bend with enough patience, time, and force. And the sheer force of your affection on his guarded, lonely heart wasn’t something he was prepared to fend off.
Perhaps a small indulgence is in order. To keep you talking so freely, of course.
Zeno finds himself leaning into your touch, eyes fluttering closed from your gentle fingers sifting through his hair.
“There we go.” You whisper, flattening your hand against his face idly rubbing your thumb on his cheekbone. “You’re always so tense when you come back after a long trip.”
Your voice, the way you're speaking, and the warmth underlying your affections are helplessly addicting. Zeno doesn’t remember the last time he felt cherished like this and he can feel his shoulders sag and jaw relax under your careful touches.
“The suit’s new too. What’s the occasion?” You ask softly, your fingertips softly tracing the T-Virus marks snaking down his jaw.
The suit. Right. It is different from anything Wesker ever wore.
”It’s-” Zeno leans back slightly and clears his throat, adjusting his tie. A nervous tick he’d picked up and never managed to kick. A clear signal to others he’s rich, powerful and worthy of respect? Zeno’s carefully calculated attempt to be the most stylish man in the room to distract from his stolen genetics?
“-business. Nothing you need to trouble yourself over.” He says easily, slipping back into a more familiar (and comfortable) role as the suave, charming businessman. It’s not too different from a charming husband, he rationalizes in his mind.
“It’s really nice. White, three-piece. You’re not worried about stains?” You ask slowly with concern in your voice.
It’s astonishing how much you’re noticing about him while still missing the obvious. Zeno doesn’t bother to curb his smirk this time.
“It’s a special fabric. Stain resistant. Nothing to worry over, darling.” He replies. The pet name slips out before he can stop himself and he momentarily curses himself for it, but it’s quickly forgotten when you smile so warmly up at him. His answer seems to satisfy your worry and your hands start to wander once again. Zeno lets out a pleased hum as he leans into your touch.
He lets himself sink further into your touch when the hands on his cheek and head trace over his skin to rub the exposed sides of his neck and his clothed shoulders. He lets out a displeased grunt when you suddenly stop.
“Your ear’s pierced.” You sluggishly say with surprise, staring at the dagger dangling from his left ear.
That statement grounds him in an instant, his eyes snapping back open. A new suit is easy to explain away as wanting to try something new or needing one for an event. A piercing is a more challenging choice. For Zeno, he was seventeen and sick of everything being decided for him. He wanted to do something permanent for himself even if it was as small as a piece of metal in his ear. He’d stubbornly kept repiercing the same spot over the years whenever he’d accidentally left the jewelry out for too long and the hole closed up thanks to the menagerie of viruses running through his veins. He never minded the pain of it. It was a constant reminder of his own autonomy.
But Wesker had no such rebellion as far as he knew. Too out of character for even your hazy mind to rationalize. So Zeno opts for a simple approach.
“Yes.” Zeno finally answers, flexing and unflexing his fingers like he’s itching to reach out and touch you but stubbornly holding himself back. “It’s new.”
You stare, and for a frightening moment Zeno believes you may have come to your senses. He lets out a relieved sigh when your confusion morphs back into quiet affection, gently resuming your gentle touches on Zeno’s neck. “Well, now I know who to give those single earrings too. I feel bad for losing so many. You spent good money on those for me.”
“Don’t worry. I can always buy you more pairs.” Zeno utters, a sudden lump forming in his throat when you give him another hazy smile. He’s surprised at how easy it is for him to slip into the role of doting husband.
“Always so sweet to me.” You coo, the love in your eyes so earnest that it makes Zeno’s chest feel tight and his body to sink into your touch again.
It’s not for you. Stop indulging her whims. You’re better than this.
“Are you working in the next hour?” You ask sweetly, still caressing Zeno’s cheek.
The answer is always yes; Zeno has meetings to plan, notes to review, projects to check in on, angry calls to make. But with you like this, touching him, saying sweet things, he can’t bring himself to pull away from it just yet.
“No.” He utters reluctantly. “I have an hour free.”
“Care for a cuddle?”
Zeno is silent. He knows he shouldn’t give in more than he already has, but he finds himself torn between his common sense and his growing desire to keep entertaining your little fantasy. He’s painfully aware this whole situation is a byproduct of your concussed brain and that it’s not him you actually want, but with the way you’re looking at him, with that sweet, hopeful anticipation in your features, he finds it impossible for the word “no” to leave his lips.
“Alright.” He finally says lowly, a hesitance in his voice that betrays how suddenly nervous he is when he swallows. “A cuddle.”
Zeno finally sits on the leather couch, guiding you to sit across his lap. He leans back until he’s supported by the cushion, pulling you carefully with him. He’s acutely aware of every point of contact between you two; your plush thighs across his lap, his gloved hand on your hip, your hair tickling his chin from the height difference between you two. He unconsciously finds himself tilting his head to breathe in the scent of your hair. He can’t even think straight enough to decipher words to describe it; only indescribably good. Relaxing. Addicting.
This is ridiculous. He’s acting ridiculous. The sensible part of his brain is screaming that he’s a fool for indulging your delusions, but the affection-starved part that he had long convinced himself didn’t exist easily drowns out any remaining common sense.
You lazily snake a hand over his shoulders and tuck your head into Zeno’s neck, your other palm slipping itself onto his dress shirt below his waistcoat as you hum, content and comfortable. “I miss this when you’re gone.” You sigh into his neck.
Your words only make the unfamiliar ache that’s settled in his chest more pronounced. He struggles to identify the emotion, his analytical brain running through every possibility before it lands on longing. He doesn’t even think to feel ashamed. Your hands feel chilled against his furnace of a body from the viruses living in his blood. Your careful touch and sweet words have made him feel more alive than anything he’s injected into his veins, but Zeno would rather die than admit that to himself.
He only breathes you in deeper and holds onto you tighter, his nose burying itself in your hair.
You notice his tightened grip. Of course you do with Zeno’s hands dimpling your skin through your clothes. You only chuckle. “It’s alright, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
Zeno can feel how fast his heart has started beating. He’s certain you can feel it too under your hypnotizing touch.
His body betrays him and does the stupidest thing possible before he can stop it.
He feels his lips pressing a kiss into the crown of your head.
“... I know.” He breathes.
You giggle and lift your head to look up at Zeno, that hazy affection still painfully prevalent on your face, now made even more irresistible by the flush on your cheeks. “You missed.”
“Did I?” Zeno utters in a low, dangerously hungry tone. You only nod and try to tilt your head up to Zeno’s lips, but the angle you’re sitting at makes it impossible for you to close the distance on your own.
Zeno stares, staring intently at your lips.
He’s not that much of a glutton for punishment.
“You’ve got a head injury.” Zeno grits out, his restraint being held on by a thread of decency and the last shreds of his self-control. “I’m not taking advantage of you in this condition.”
You hazily chuckle, nuzzling back into his neck. “Always such a gentleman when I’m hurt.” Your hand is still rubbing Zeno’s chest. Your thumb catches just below a shirt button, guiding your thumb to brush against a pectoral muscle. The skin on skin contact makes Zeno shiver involuntarily and his breath hitch and a heat to kindle in his gut.
He is not going to get a hard-on from you touching his chest. God damn it, he won’t.
“Don’t get used to it.” He grits out, clearing his throat and trying to act as composed as possible and not like he’s moments away from kissing that grin right off of your beautiful face.
You only giggle and take a deep breath to relax into Zeno, but you pause. You breathe in again. “You smell different.” Your voice sounds almost hurt when you say that.
Fuck.
Zeno has no idea what expensive soaps or cologne Wesker used to douse himself in, or why you sounded so vulnerable when you pointed out his unique smell. His fingers flex from where they’re grasping your hip and shoulder, scrambling to come up with a reasonable response that won’t make you want to get out of his lap.
“Different how?” His voice comes out softer than intended, not wanting to upset you
“Did you change your cologne?” You ask slowly, blinking up at him with those mesmerizing eyes of yours.
An awkwardly long pause stretches between you two. “Maybe.”
“You didn’t like what I got you?” You ask softly with a frown.
“I…” Zeno utters, having no clue how to respond. He tries in vain to bring any kind of memory to surface from Wesker’s life from his borrowed blood that will help keep this fantasy alive, but any kind of trace memory he’s inherited is vague and more of a feeling or general emotion at the best of times. He has nothing. He’ll have to improvise.
What do you want to hear? No, you might see right through that and make this situation worse.
Tell you the truth? Out of the question.
“... I wanted something different.” Zeno finally finishes, carefully watching your reaction.
“I wish you would have told me. I never want to get you things you don’t like. Did it aggravate your nose too much?” You ask with painfully genuine concern in your voice.
Your expression is nothing but sincere and it makes Zeno’s chest ache even more. Is this what loving someone is like? Fretting over a stupid present that shouldn’t even matter? To care about their happiness with small gestures and sweet words?
Zeno forces out a bitter chuckle, trying to remain the illusion of composedness even as he swallows down a painful lump in his throat. “It was a bit strong. Too strong.” He rasps.
You frown and for a moment Zeno has a heartstopping fear that you’ll pull away, which is quickly overwhelmed by a much stronger feeling of possessiveness when he feels you nuzzle into him again and plant a chaste kiss on his neck. “I’m sorry. Do you not like cedar anymore?”
How can you expect him to respond after that? Zeno, embarrassingly, can’t even muster enough composure to form words, so he simply shakes his head.
“What do you like nowadays?” You ask, subtly resuming your gentle rubbing on Zeno’s chest.
Breathe you fool. Answer her.
“Pine.” Zeno finally grits out. He clears his throat again to compose himself. “I like pine.” He says, softer.
Another sweet smile from you. “I’ll remember that for next time. Promise.”
There’s a simultaneous warmth that Zeno feels around his heart, and a twist in his gut at the unwavering certainty in your voice that there will be a next time.
He can't let you say any more things like that. It will only hurt him more when you stop saying them after you come to your senses at some point. He logically knows this won’t last forever, but that doesn’t stop the soft, raw part of him to yearn hopelessly for more.
“Don’t. I might not deserve it.” Zeno breathes softly, frozen in place and not trusting himself to move or even look at you as he stares at the bookshelf stuffed to the brim with leather bound books.
You raise your head again, still sporting that disarming smile. “Doesn’t matter. I’m giving it anyway.” You say just as soft, gazing up at Zeno like he’s the center of your universe.
And that’s what finally makes him break.
He suddenly lunges forward with all of his earlier restraint a forgotten memory, his lips molding with yours in a borderline desperate eagerness and his hand on your back raising to cup the junction of your head and neck so he doesn’t accidentally aggravate your head injury further. He pulls you tightly to his chest so there’s no remaining space between the two of you; his hand digs into the flesh of your hip, your hand has once again finds itself cupping Zeno’s cheek, and Zeno’s chest feels as if it’s about to burst from the sheer amount of longing to have you in his arms until the end of time.
But you’re both still human for the most part and need oxygen, so at some point he pulls away to let you breathe. You’re flushed and panting and so beautiful with your eyes half-lidded.
Zeno takes a shuddering breath against your lips, fingers tangling into the hair at your nape while he gazes at you like a man starved. His whole being aches with a mixture of hunger and guilt because you looked at him like he meant everything to you and it’s not meant for him. Not really. But that doesn’t stop him from wanting to keep that addictive look on your face.
It’s not on your face now, though.
Your eyes are half-lidded and confused, he realizes.
“Honey, did something happen?” You pant with genuine concern, your hand still cupping his cheek. Your thumb rubs that damned T-Virus mark on his face like before, but instead of freezing up, Zeno leans into it, his eyes closing.
He can’t keep doing this.
Entertaining this delusion further is just setting up more emotional fallout down the line.
Damn that soft, worried expression on your face. That breathtaking, wide-eyed expression. That single-minded worry and devotion. It grips his heart so tightly that it unravels any rational thought he has left. Damn him for being too embarrassingly weak to reject your affections. Damn Albert Wesker for making his wife so head-over-heels in love with him that Zeno will never stand a chance at having it from you himself.
“No, nothing happened.” Zeno grits out, barely a whisper. The lie sits bitter on his tongue, unlike his easy excuses from before.
“You kiss different.” You say with concern.
“Different.” Zeno echoes, with fresh anxiety ripping through him. Of course he kisses differently. He kissed you like you were going to slip through his fingers any moment. Like this would be the first and only time he could get his mouth on yours.
“Bad different?” Zeno rasps, suddenly second guessing every kiss he’s had in his life
“No! No, not at all.” You reassure, your expression painfully tender. Zeno can tell you mean it, and it immediately cuts through the haze of his spiraling thoughts. His desperate grip on you loosens as he searches your face for a lie, or worse, pity. All he finds is softness. That unwavering affection and devotion that sparked this whole mess in the first place that makes him ache with a longing and greed for more.
“Then what kind?” Zeno utters reluctantly, like he’s nervous about the answer.
“It’s just… it’s less certain. Like you’re kissing me for the last time or something. Don’t get me wrong, I love the enthusiasm, but is everything okay?” You ask, concerned and still achingly sweet as you keep caressing Zeno’s cheek.
Zeno’s grip goes slack, then tightens again. He can’t deny that he never wants to let you go, even though this whole arrangement is something fleeting and doomed. Zeno only grunts and leans his forehead against yours, savoring the proximity and rubbing your skin through your clothes for a moment before he utters, “No.”
A long pause.
“I don’t know if I can give it back.” His words are barely audible.
“Give what back?” You whisper lovingly.
There are a hundred answers to that question that wouldn’t begin to cover what you deserve. The unwavering devotion? A loving look that could disarm a vengeful god? Tender care that makes you feel like a queen? You’re so soft and Zeno is anything but soft. Would you still look at him with such adoration if you knew he was only a broken copy of the man you fell in love with?
“... nothing. It’s nothing.” Zeno says, finally answering after a prolonged silence.
“Honey?” You whisper with worry and affection, lifting your other hand to cradle his face, and Zeno immediately melts into your touch despite his busy mind. He feels that same unfamiliar twist of guilt in his gut from earlier, stronger this time. He’s not the one you’re supposed to fuss over or care about.
But he’ll be damned if he gives it up now. He turns his face slightly to leave a light kiss on your palm. Your skin is comparatively cool against his lips and it only makes him want to sink into your affections further.
You smile at the kiss. “You don’t have to tell me now, but just know I’ll be right here if you want to talk. I’ll just listen.”
Zeno remains silent for a long time, simply allowing himself to indulge in your softness.Your emotional safety. His voice is rough when he finally speaks. “Why?”
“Because I love you. You’re stuck with me for a long ass time.” You say, like it’s the most obvious answer in the world, and with such earnest affection.
Zeno lets out a hoarse laugh. “That’s a dangerous promise to make, sweetheart.”
“Maybe I love danger.” You respond, once again, with an answer you’ve told your real husband countless times.
Silence.
Instead of trying to distance himself from the sweet response, Zeno’s face melts into a handsome smirk. “Even if the danger is me?”
“Especially if the danger is you.” You coo, giving his lips a light peck. Zeno’s lips chase yours again before you even have the chance to pull away.
Damn the future. He has you now.
And Zeno is not one to let go of things that he considers his.
a/n: I don't know what it is, but this man has me in a chokehold. Thanks for reading!
Every time i sleep nude i wish i was waking up feeling a thick hard warm cock sliding in and out of me. Heavy hips slapping against my ass making me feel the force of each thrust. I wonder what my thoughts would be, how wet Id already have gotten, how much Id submit and let him finish using me and filling me up only to lay on me and fall back asleep with his cock still stuffed in my cunt. A guy can only dream…
pairing: steve harrington/f!reader
wc: 9.1k
tags: sex pollen, dubious consent, multiple orgasms, [unsafe] vaginal sex, a lot of come. too much
a/n: thank you thank you thank you to @tinfoileddd, nice to write smth silly and fun. and disgustingly filthy yay
go read lid's sex pollen fic here!
&&
“Someone has to go,” Nancy says, looking around the room at the five of you, congregated outside of the Byers’ home. Each of you eye one another, no one wanting to volunteer for such a task.
You can tell Steve wants to, though. You can tell he wants to even though he’s still reeling from what happened the last time the group made the trek to the Upside Down, because that’s who Steve is and that’s what Steve does, and when he can step in to avoid anyone else having to, he will.
Steve opens his mouth, but you speak over him.
“Whoever it is shouldn’t go alone.” You cut him off, because if Steve is going to volunteer himself as the sacrificial lamb to see if something down below is causing the thick dust raining down onto Hawkins, you want him to at least have someone there with him.
“Well,” Robin says. “I don’t think it should be me.”
“That’s fine,” Jonathan quips, rolling his eyes a little, but you speak up again before Steve can, almost stumbling over your words as he opens his mouth because you want to get your idea out first.
“We should draw straws,” you suggest. “That way it’s random and fair.”
Steve clamps his jaw shut, looking over at you from the corner of his eyes.
“I agree.” Nancy nods. “I’ll go check with Mrs. Byers.”
“I’ll go,” Jonathan says. “I know where they are—she’s busy with Will.” He pauses, then sighs out the word, “Probably.”
He turns on his heel and leaves the four of you standing in a square, Robin’s shoulder pressed against Steve’s, while you look from them to Nancy, concern etched over your face.
“This just feels,” you say, “I dunno. Bad.”
“Yeah, because it is,” Robin says. “This is like, the worst bad it could possibly be. Like, Defcon level 5 bad.”
“That’s the least bad one,” Steve says.
“What?” Robin asks, absently, almost like she forgot what she’d just said.
“Defcon 5,” Steve repeats. “That’s the lowest one. Defcon 1 is the really bad one.”
“Ok, then it’s Defcon 1,” Robin echoes him. “Whatever. Any Defcon sucks!”
The group lulls into an introspective silence until the front door to Jonathan’s house opens and he returns, clutching a handful of straws. He returns to the circle, fidgeting with the straws until he’s back between Nancy and Robin, and then just holds out his fist so you can all pull a straw from his hand.
“Three long,” he specifies, “two short.”
He offers them to Nancy first, who takes a breath, chooses a straw, and—admittedly—looks a little bit miffed that it’s not a short one.
Robin reaches out next, plucking a straw from Jonathan’s hand before you can. She tugs it free.
Long.
Jonathan moves his hand over to you and Steve, and Steve gestures to you to pick first—there’s only one safe straw left, and he’ll suffer Jonathan if he has to, to make sure that none of the women in the little quintet you’ve cobbled together are in danger.
Taking a breath, you pinch the straw on your right between your thumb and index finger, before changing to the one on your left. You ease it out of Jonathan’s hand, and just swallow thickly when you see you’ve pulled a short straw.
A slight tension settles over the group as you huff a short laugh through your nose, because of course that’s your luck.
“Great,” you say, wanting to flick the plastic away but instead you hang onto it, watching as Steve and Jonathan stare each other down.
“You’ll be fine,” Nancy says. “Steve or Jonathan will be with you.” She steps closer. “Do you want to trade?” she adds surreptitiously. She’s more capable than you, she’d be the obvious choice—but you were screwed over by your own idea, so your integrity feels like it’s forcing your hand.
“No, it’s—you need to stay here with Mike. And…Will. If Jonathan ends up going with me. I’ll be ok,” you reply, glancing over at her. “Thanks, though.”
“Just pick one,” Jonathan is saying to Steve, and you watch as Steve reaches for the straw you almost chose first, taking it with no hesitation from Jonathan’s closed fist.
It almost pains you to see that it’s also short, so you’d have been going no matter which you chose. Typical.
Jonathan opens his hand to show his straw is long, just for the fairness of the game, and you turn to Steve, ignoring the way Robin is bouncing a little in place, hands curled into the hem of her sweater before she releases it and just crosses to you, putting her hands on your shoulders.
“You’ll be so fine,” she says. “Steve won a fight against a, like, Russian soldier.”
“He what?” you ask, but before you can get an answer, Steve just steps between you and Robin and meets your eyes.
“Let’s go,” he says. “We’re gonna need to gear up before we head down there again.”
&&
You end up with an old canvas jacket over a tank top, one that Mrs. Byers found for you in the back of the hall closet, the sleeves a little too long. Nancy approached you, shoving her own boots into your hands, and said you’d be better in those, as opposed to the tennis shoes you had on. Steve is still in his jeans too, now wearing an old t-shirt that Jonathan provided. It looks a little too small for Steve, his shoulders a little broader, but it’s hidden beneath his bomber jacket. He only shrugs his shoulders, stretching the fabric out over them before he leads you outside, Jonathan trailing behind, the designated driver to get you to the crossover point.
“You’ll be fine,” he says, mostly to you, because Steve looks a hell of a lot more composed than you do, your breath a little thin, your eyes unblinking as you fixate on nighttime scenery as it passes by. “It一shouldn’t be like, you know, before.”
“No bats?” you ask, almost laughing, because even though you saw the evidence of their story firsthand, even though you’ve been around long enough to know every detail they provided is true, it still sounds crazy to speak it aloud.
“No bats,” Jonathan promises, even though there’s no way he could realistically know.
“Ok,” you say, looking at Steve in the backseat. His jaw is set, and when he feels your eyes on him, he looks over at you.
“You can still sit this one out,” Steve says, and to his credit, Jonathan doesn’t speak for you.
“What do you mean?” you ask, frowning. “I一got a short straw.”
“Yeah, I know,” Steve says, “but you shouldn’t一have to. You’ve never gone down there, and you should keep it that way.”
Out of the corner of your eye, you see Jonathan glance up to look at Steve in the rearview, undoubtedly wondering if the fucking Hair is gonna try to pull him along and leave you with the car.
“It was my idea,” you say. “I pulled a short straw fair and square.”
“Having to go down there isn’t fair,” Steve says.
“Well, you went last time, so having to go again is what’s not fair, isn’t it?” you counter.
“That’s not what I said一” Steve tries to protest, but again, you speak over him.
“I’m going,” you say. “End of story. The quicker you accept that, the easier this will be. Stop一thinking about me and focus.”
Steve huffs a little noise of disbelief, but quietens down and the rest of the drive passes with just the sound of the engine and the tires speeding over the asphalt, potholes and cracks in the road making him slow the car to a stop.
“This is as far as we can drive,” Jonathan says, holding his foot on the brakes as you and Steve both hesitate, looking at the red glow of the rift a bit further up the street, the entire area abandoned and desolate, destroyed by the X-shaped fissure quadrisecting Hawkins’ downtown.
What look like ashes or fiery motes dance above the broken earth, and you force yourself to move so Steve has no choice but to follow.
You feel for the door handle, not taking your eyes off of the red glow ahead of you, and push open the squeaky door, stepping out of the car. The gravel crunches underfoot as you stand and move back a step, slamming the door. Behind you, you hear the rear driver side door creak and slam too, and you look back to meet Steve’s eyes over the roof of the car. Neither of you speaks, but neither of you has to.
“I’ll be here waiting,” Jonathan says, to Steve一he’s rolled down the window on his side. “As long as it takes. But don’t take too long.”
“No sweat,” Steve says, clapping his hand onto the roof, displacing some of the dust that’s already settled onto the car, just by virtue of idling in one place. “We got this.”
You wait for Steve to start walking forward, joining him as you traverse the rocky, destroyed street, the headlights from the Byers’ car illuminating you from behind as you go.
“What’s it like down there?” you ask, carefully stepping over a large chunk of blacktop.
“It’s…” Steve says, his voice trailing off. “Not great.”
“That helps,” you snip, because you’d like maybe a little preparation before you dive in.
“I’ll go first,” Steve says. “it’s一a little trippy. Just… give me a sec after I go through, and then I’ll catch you.”
“Catch me?” you ask, but Steve’s already adjusting his jacket, fiddling with the flashlight he’s holding, running a hand back through his hair, dusted with whatever the fine granules are that have been falling over Hawkins constantly for the last day.
“It’s一I mean, it’s called the Upside Down for a reas一you’ll see. Just. The dizziness will pass quick, promise.”
You open your mouth to say something else, but even as you do, you realize you have no idea what to say or to ask. So instead, you just watch as he crouches down beside the rift, fingers curling over the edge, and as he leans forward, you look back to Jonathan, who’s standing outside the car now, leaning against the hood, watching you both.
When you turn back to look at Steve, he’s gone.
You startle, because yes, you expected it, and yes, you knew this was all real, but for some reason his there-one-second-gone-the-next disappearing act throws you.
“You can go,” Jonathan says, encouraging. “He’ll一be ready by now.”
“Have you gone down there?” you ask.
He pauses, then shakes his head. “Not yet.”
You swallow the lump in your throat, then snicker. “I’ll send you a postcard.”
He hesitates, then smirks. “Bon voyage.”
You hold his gaze for another moment, like he’ll stop you一of course he won’t, you wouldn’t if you were him一and then replicate Steve’s movements as closely as you can remember. Crouching down. Gripping the edge. That was all you’d seen, but you close your eyes and tip yourself forward, expecting一actually, you have no fucking idea what to expect, and as your own body weight propels you forward through the rift, you feel strong hands grip your upper arms, pulling you through the rest of the way until you’re in an environment that feels colder, inherently. Like there’s no warmth here, no sun, nothing living, only death and decay and rot.
You stumble, because like Steve told you, there is a moment when your equilibrium is so completely off it’s almost like you have vertigo. He does catch you, as promised and your hands grip his arms back for a moment until your body reorients itself and you can stand without holding onto him.
“Thanks,” you say, looking around. It’s uncanny一you’re in Hawkins, downtown. It looks the same but still so drastically different that you feel as though you’ve just stepped into a nightmare.
“Come on,” Steve says, gently, and you can tell he doesn’t want to linger in one place too long. His hand is still on your arm, even though you’ve turned enough that you can walk beside him.
All of the air is stale down here, and as you walk through the inverse version of your hometown, you start to become attuned to the strange sounds of this place, the一odd clicks off to the side, a rushing roar occasionally from behind or above you, but you never see anything, never feel anything other than Steve’s fingers pressing into your arm through the jacket.
You don’t know how long you walk for, and you lose your bearings in the dimness of the Upside Down, but Steve is confidently striding forward like he knows exactly where you are and where you’re going. Between you, it’s silent, which you don’t mind一just the sound of your breathing and a few short exclamations when your foot twists on a rock, or Steve drops the flashlight, his quiet little “Oops” actually making you smile a little as he ducks down to pick it up, wiping the dirt from the lens.
You walk further, Nancy’s boots clomping alongside Steve’s quieter hiking shoes, and when you reach the base of a hill, you both stop.
“Up?” you ask, and Steve finally releases your arm. You feel the absence like a presence, because you hadn’t realized how much it was comforting you until it was gone, but he glances over at you, nods, and then gestures for you to head up first.
“I’ll follow you,” he says, “make sure you don’t slip.”
Making sure you don’t fall一It’s thoughtful in the way you expect from Steve, even though you don’t know him that well. You’re only wrapped up in this insanity because you know一no. Knew…Eddie. You knew Eddie. He was your neighbor, a couple doors over, and you were friends in that way where you waved to each other when you were grabbing the mail, or said hi if you happened to pass at the store, or noticed when a girl died in his trailer while he was screaming bloody murder and had to go on the lam. It was hard not to get involved when you’d rushed outside to see what the fuck was going on with all the noise only to watch him split seconds later, peeling out of the lot.
Your first mistake had been even stepping out your front door that evening. Your second mistake had been peeking inside his trailer, your third had been finding that Henderson kid he had mentioned to you a few times in passing…and probably your fiftieth fucking mistake had been suggesting drawing fucking straws to see who got to pay a fucking visit to this scenic fucking shithole.
“Over there,” Steve says, as you crest the hill, pointing vaguely in the direction of a thick copse of trees. “Pretty, uh, dusty.”
He’s right: The trees are surrounded by what looks like a hazy cloud of dust, dense enough to look like fog from afar. It’s practically shimmering even in the darkness, and as Steve shines the flashlight toward it, even though you’re a good distance away, it looks like you’ve agitated it, almost like being illuminated caused the fine particles to move faster. Like observing them made them, somehow, aware of your presence.
You dig the toe of your boot into the ground below you. “So that’s where it’s coming from then,” you say, eager to leave. “Let’s go tell Hopper and Dustin and everyone.”
You start to turn, ready to head back the way you came, but Steve’s arm hooks around your elbow again. You try to suppress how having him back in contact with you does make you feel a little bit better once again.
“No, come on. We need to see if something’s…doing that.”
“It’s just us, Steve,” you argue. “We don’t know enough about anything down here to just go walking into…whatever that is. It looks like…someone cast cloudkill or something.”
Steve quirks an eyebrow at you. “Please tell me you didn’t just bring D&D into this.”
“That’s what it looks like!”
“Dustin would be so proud.” He smirks a little to himself. “Ok,” he says. “I’m gonna go take a closer look. They’ll want to know more and I’d like to be able to answer whatever questions we can when we’re back topside. Just wait here.” He takes off down the hill, minding his steps as he goes.
“Wait,” you try to call after him, not wanting to be too loud. You watch as his flashlight beam moves over the dust again, the swirling almost appearing to move faster as he approaches it, like it wants him to reach it. “Steve!”
You hiss the word as loud as you dare, and he pauses, stopping at the bottom of the slanted ground.
“It’s ok,” he calls back up to you. “I’ll be right back.”
“Let’s just go back!” you say, glancing around behind you as something一somewhere back the way you came from一makes a noise that disrupts the otherwise quiet landscape. That clicking sound again.
“I promise it’s fine,” he says. “I won’t be long.”
“No, Steve—” you say, and he pauses, watching with pursed lips as you start forward.
“Come on, then,” he says, resigned, waiting for you as you also make your way down, the ground uneven and the dirt sliding beneath your feet as you descend.
He’s still in the same spot when you reach him, and he holds out a hand for you to take if you need it. Your gut wants you to reach for it, for him, but you ignore the impulse; you’re back on (mostly) flat ground now, you can walk without assistance. Besides… you both might need both hands readily available if shit goes sideways. Or, uh. Upside down.
You flinch at yourself for even thinking it, because that was stupid. So stupid.
“Hold on,” Steve says, holding his arm out horizontally so you stop walking, because while you were in your own little world lamenting your dumb joke, you’d gotten even closer to the treeline and the dust is very, very much thicker here.
“Oh,” you say, because the way it’s clouded there, it reminds you of when freshwater and saltwater meet but can’t mix, different viscosities preventing them from commingling. “That’s…”
“Weird,” Steve says, and before you can suggest that this is definitely enough information to bring back to the group, he steps forward, approaching the trees.
“Steve!” you hiss. “What the hell, why are you like this?”
He looks back at you, a faint smile quirking up one side of his mouth. “I wish I knew.”
You stand outside of the range of the… dust, or whatever the hell it is, until he reaches the trees. Even from where you’re standing, you can see when he shines the flashlight over them, they look diseased, dead, the bark crumbling, the trunks covered in thick vines. They shine a little in the light, covered in sap or… something far more vile.
“Come back,” you implore him, but he doesn’t listen, and you’re not sure if he can’t hear you or if he just ignored your request. “Steve!”
“It’s fine,” he says. “Come here, it looks like… just come here.”
You don’t want to, but you do, because the entire reason you’re even here is so Steve didn’t come down into this place alone. The air doesn’t smell or taste different when you take a step forward, but it feels softer almost, brushing against your skin like baby powder, and by the time you reach Steve, you feel like you’ve been wrapped in silk, or velvet maybe, like the very air itself is cradling you.
“Look at this,” he says, moving the flashlight closer to the vines. “Do you see that?”
You look closer, not sure what he means at first, until you do see it. It looks like a stem broken off of the vine, like a flower had been there and was now gone. You can see a scattering of them all up and down the vine, and the vines beside it; the entire tree is covered in the same stems. Like it had sprouted blooms once, but they’d shriveled, losing their petals but the central disc where the pollen collected remained.
“Flowers?” you asked.
“I don’t know…” Steve said, reaching out toward one of the stems.
“Hey!” you said, grabbing his wrist with both hands, stopping him before he can touch it. “We’re not touching them. No way.”
“It’s fine,” Steve said. “Just… back up a little.”
“Please don’t,” you say, not moving. Steve extends his arm again, using it to guide you back, and then presses one of the un-petaled flower stems down. You hold your breath, but nothing happens, and when Steve moves his hand back, the stem just rises back to its previous position, unremarkably.
“See?” Steve says, looking back at you. “It’s fine.”
You exhale heavily, nervous still, even though you now have the empirical evidence that yes一it was fine.
“I guess,” you admit, and before you can react, Steve is walking past the treeline, between the old, creaking trunks, twigs snapping beneath his feet. “I swear to god, Harrington…” You mumble it mostly to yourself, and then follow him, because you don’t want to have to explain to anyone that you lost Steve because you were too scared to follow him into some trees.
Even though you’re fairly certain, like, anyone would understand.
He’s stopping at random trees, shining the flashlight on them, but every flowered vine you find looks the same as the first one一flowers, no petals, the center bare of any pollen or residue.
“Maybe we can just一take one of the stems and bring it back. And leave. Now.”
“We don’t know that’s what’s causing the dust,” Steve says, and you actually grab him, spin him around, and stare him down with your hands on your hips.
“I think,” you say, lifting your hands exasperatedly into the air, “we can extrapolate that they are what’s causing it.”
But he’s not listening. You can tell because he’s looking behind you, the flashlight just a little bit off to your left. You turn to see what’s caught his interest, and find it immediately. It’s one of the flowers, but not barren. The petals are a sickly green-blue, the same as the rest of the vines, and the disc is very clearly covered in a thin layer of pollen. Steve shuts the flashlight off and you see how he noticed it一it’s bioluminescent.
“Oh,” you say again, looking back at him. “That’s…even weirder.”
“We should bring that one back,” he says.
“I still don’t think we should touch it,” you say.
“Yeah,” he agrees, surprising you. “Probably not, but一I mean…if we can learn anything about anything it’ll be from that one, right?”
“I…” you start to say, then sigh. “I guess.”
“All right, just,” he says, handing you the flashlight. “Hold this.”
“Do you need the light?” you ask, running your thumb over the button to turn it back on.
“No,” he says, stepping past you and reaching up toward the flower. “I got it一”
As soon as his fingers touch the stem, the flower reacts一actually reacts. It appears to contract, the way you’d expect a Venus fly trap to close when its prey triggers it, and then the petals fall away, down over Steve’s hands, his face, and the pollen follows, the glimmering particles landing on him, on you, wisping away through the trees to settle, no longer glowing, wherever they fell through the stagnant air.
“Steve!” you scold him, but even as you do, you start to feel… off.
“You ok?” Steve asks, turning to you. His eyes meet yours and you feel a pull, you feel the same vertigo you felt when you first arrived here.
“Yeah,” you say, before the world slides sideways. “Wait. No.” You move to brace yourself against the tree, pressing the side of your forearm against it, letting your forehead rest there for a moment as you try to compose yourself.
“No,” Steve echoes you. “Yeah, me… me neither.”
“What the hell was that?” you ask, turning the flashlight on. With the beam lit up again, you can see how shaky your hands are, because you angle it up and despite your best effort, you simply cannot keep the stem of the flower that exploded centered in the light. “Jesus Christ,” you mumble to yourself, dropping the lit flashlight because seeing yourself so obviously affected by whatever you just inhaled is making you feel even more scared than you already are.
You register Steve moving away from you, walking around in the tight space, shaking his hands out like he’s trying to rid them of something.
You suck in a breath.
“Are you like. Hot?” you ask, pulling off the heavy jacket and draping it over your shoulder, just to have something to do with your shaking hands.
“What?” Steve asks in return, but you can hear the tightness in his voice.
You swallow, stepping away from the tree, and because whatever the fuck is happening to the two of you is happening, you bump into him just as he nears you with his pacing, neither paying any mind to the other. Where his hand brushes your arm, your skin tingles, tightens—feels like it’s going to blister. And then it happens to the rest of your body.
But just as quickly as it does, it dissolves away, leaving you feeling cold, wanting.
“Are you ok?” Steve asks again, in a way that you can tell he felt whatever that was too. But also in the way that you can tell he’s, maybe, handling it a little better.
“Still no,” you say.
“Right,” Steve says. “Yeah. ‘Cause you just…” he trails off, and as soon as he mentions it you realize, belatedly, that the searing feeling of his bare skin against yours—your arms mind you—made you loose a moan from deep in your chest, low and unbidden, soft but heavy.
The moment hangs between you for a second, your heart hammering in your chest, an uncomfortable pressure starting to build between your legs.
“Hey,” Steve says, and you look up at him, and when you do you realize he’s much closer than he was moments ago, and he was already right beside you. “Hey, do you, um…” he trails off, and in the ambient light emanating from the flashlight on the ground beside you, you can see his gaze drop down to your lips.
Instinctually一because all of a sudden you feel like every single impulse and sense you have has been reduced to its basest level一you let your eyes lower to his mouth too, and when you see them, when you watch as his teeth worry his lower lip between them, when you see his cheeks hollow for a moment, when you catch a brief glimpse of his tongue, the same question that you’re certain he was about to ask you pops into your mind, and you answer what he didn’t even ask.
“Yes,” you say, and without further hesitation, without any thought at all, you take his face in your hands and press your lips to his.
Simultaneously you feel both immense relief and immeasurable desire, your stomach churning, your lips parting as Steve groans into your mouth. You can’t help but press your hips to his, parting your lips to let his tongue lick against yours, and your hands curl into his hair as you kiss him wildly, tongues and teeth and absolutely no reticence, the desperation clear on your part and his.
“Fuck,” you mutter as his hands tug your tank top up, pushing it over your tits, not bothering to unclasp your bra but just shoving that up and over your chest too, and you don’t even care that he’s undressing you in the middle of the weird ass woods in some alternate dimension. You don’t care that you’ve been stricken with the urge to fuck some guy you barely know, and only know because of some of the direst circumstances in history. You don’t care that he’s caging you in against the tree, the vines and bark scraping against your back as he leans down to bypass your neck completely and latch onto one of your tits, his mouth working at you in a way that you could tell on an ordinary night in an ordinary bed in ordinary Hawkins would feel wonderful, but now is only making the ache between your legs worsen, because you need part of him in contact with part of you and it’s not his mouth on your nipple.
“Steve,” you gasp, tone high, thready. “I need一oh my god, I can’t一” you stop yourself, because you know what it is that you want but you can’t very well tell him that you need his cock. You do not know each other like that, but as soon as the thought crosses your mind, he pulls back from you, shrugging off his jacket as well, letting it fall to the ground behind him as he undoes his jeans and shoves them down.
You’re on him before he even pulls his hands away from the waistband一both hands wrapping around his shaft, coaxing him to hardness even though he’s already most of the way there. Your entire being shudders with relief as soon as you feel his hot, girthy cock in your hands, and he rushes you back against the tree, mouth taking yours again as you stroke him with both hands, smearing the copious amount of precome he’s leaking all down his length. He’s so wet it coats your hands, your wrists even, as you accidentally let them brush against him as you jerk him off.
“This is”一you gasp out as he breaks away to move his lips down to your neck一“weird, right?”
“Yes,” Steve answers, but even as he says it, he’s moving his hands from your waist to your front, fingers curling into the waistband of your jeans and slipping the button. He undoes the zipper and doesn’t even bother trying to lower your pants down to your thighs like his are一he just shoves his hand into your underwear, palm skimming below your belly button until he reaches your mound, his middle finger sliding between your lips to touch your clit, the pad of his finger rubbing over it, not gently, but hard, harsh, immediate pressure that should feel good, but does absolutely nothing for you.
Strangely, you realize一you’re getting more enjoyment out of touching him, than you are from him touching you.
“God, that’s good,” Steve breathes against your mouth, and you realize he must be feeling the same一only getting any relief when he got his hands on you.
“What’s happening?” you ask, lips on the corner of his, breath warm on his cheek.
“I don’t know, I一” Steve says, licking into your mouth before pressing his forehead against yours, looking into your eyes as he thrusts his hand down further into your jeans, the force of it moving them down your hips without any help, and then his fingers are sliding through your folds. “You’re一so wet一I, I never felt anyone like, like this一”
“This is fucking,” you stammer, but the thought of exactly what it is leaves you as he curls two fingers inside of you, and he shudders in relief. You pull him closer by his cock, letting one hand move over it as you reach lower, cupping his heavy balls in your hand, massaging them and tipping your head back, eyes fluttering closed as you do.
“We should一stop,” Steve says, but you shake your head, then nod, then shake your head again.
“No, we can’t… Don’t want to,” you admit.
Steve’s voice is thick like honey, dripping with arousal as he speaks to you, tucking his cheek against yours so he can whisper directly into your ear. “Take一take everything off. Turn around.” It’s dark and deep and you reluctantly release his cock, let him slide his fingers out of you, and then the two of you strip the rest of your clothes off, denim landing on the dirt and leaves, his shirt landing in a heap as he helps you with your bra, and then you’re both naked in the cursed forest, and he’s pressing himself against your back, hands roaming your front. It feels nice but does nothing to assuage the arousal still coiling in your belly, and you push yourself into him, the heated skin of his cock smearing precome over your ass as his hips slide against you.
“Steve,” you whine, and your tone spurs him into action, his hands landing on your hips, pushing you down, down to your knees and then all fours, and then one of his hands is sliding down your spine to stop between your shoulder blades, and then the next thing you know, your shoulders and tits are being pressed into the dirt, your ass up in the air, presenting yourself to him. You turn your head as much as you can to look back at him, straining as he holds you down.
He’s kneeling behind you, and you watch as his eyes meet yours, hazy with lust, with desperation, and he only nods once at you before you see him reach for his cock with his free hand and press the head against your weeping slit.
Your whole body quivers, and you would have pushed back if he wasn’t keeping you firmly in place, your arms trapped beneath you, hands scrabbling for purchase on your own thighs, holding onto yourself as you feel the pressure on your pussy increase when Steve leans into you with purpose.
He enters you in one deep, thick stroke, and as soon as you engulf him, as soon as you feel him splitting your walls open on his cock, you shudder and come instantly with a loud cry, sobbing from momentary relief, pleasure raining down over you as the sheen of sweat on your skin worsens. Your entire body is aflame like you’ve got a fever, and you clench around Steve's cock when you feel his hips grinding against your ass as you realize that he came too, suddenly, with a harsh gasp.
But then he’s moving again, back out of you and then pushing in, pushing desperately, chasing the feeling again. Because your first orgasm wasn’t satisfying, barely any of the edge siphoning off despite how much it affected you, and the way he’s digging his fingertips into your hips as he pounds at you tells you his wasn’t either. He’s fucking his come back into your pussy, easing the slide, your thighs dripping with it already as flecks of his release land on your skin.
“Steve,” you say, voice watery, because you haven’t even come down from your first orgasm and you can already feel another one cresting on the horizon.
“Do you一does this一feel good for you, t-too?” he asks, and you know he’s asking because he must feel the same as you一unsatisfied, wanting more, chasing another and another and another.
“Yeah, it一” you say, gasping as he leans over you, drilling his cock into you even deeper, reaching places inside of you you’ve never felt on your own. “You feel so一so good, Steve, please just一” You falter again, but unless you say it how will he know? How will he know how badly you want this, want him, unless you tell him? “Just keep一going, keep, keep coming in一in me, oh, god, I…”
You’d feel embarrassed to sound so wanton and lewd if not for the way he answers you, pressing his hand more firmly against your back, sliding it up to your neck, and then finally, relenting for a brief moment so he can tangle his fist into your hair and use it to press your face down into the dirt.
“You have no一idea,” he replies, his hips snapping against your ass, his cock coated with his own spunk, your fluids, dripping down onto his balls, onto the forest floor. “How good you一you feel, around一fuck, you’re so一so一” He fucks into you again, and you feel his cock twitch deep within you, coming again, his release flooding you, his rigid cock not softening and not leaving your cunt, not fully anyway.
His voice sounds slightly more even when he speaks, but still frenzied.
“You feel that?” he asks, and you nod, sliding one of your hands up your stained thigh, sticky with your arousal. “Feel me inside you, right? Feel how一what you’re doing to me?”
“Steve,” you whimper, as he starts moving again, the wet sounds coming from between your bodies obscene, the sound of him fucking his own come loud, filthy, and it ensnares you, your lips parting of their own accord as you feel the saliva dribbling out of your mouth, but you can’t do much to stop it, not with him holding you down, with your arms tucked beneath you, with the way you’re now rubbing at your own clit because you feel so full with two loads in you that you need to come, need to feel it leak out of your hole around his cock, need the force of your orgasm to empty you so he can do it all over again on a clean slate.
“I can feel you,” Steve says, voice choked as he slams into you and stops, straightening up, releasing your head and your hair and clamping his hands down on your hips, rolling his front shallowly against yours, letting his cock just barely move out before it dips right back in, and the stretch of your slit around him, the feeling of your own hand working at your clit, finally sends you over the edge and you turn your face into the ground, hiding your shame as you realize he just came a third time, your pussy milking the orgasm from him as it spasmed and clenched down, begging it from him. The dirt sticks to your face, your lips and chin and you squeeze your eyes closed as you feel him pull out一again, not fully, only partly because you chase him, leaning back into him, wanting him to stay rooted deep within you一but even as you do, you still feel the thick drops of his come ooze out of you around him, rolling down your thighs, collecting in the crease of your knees.
“Do you feel any一better?” Steve asks, and in spite of the question, he pushes back into you, displacing more of his semen, forcing more of it out around him, staining your front along with his this time.
“Yes,” you answer, “no一can you fuck me a-again?”
Steve’s hands smooth over your back一you feel a little less heady, a little less one-track minded, but the burn is still there, the one that needs him moving into you again, pounding his front against your back, giving it to you over and over.
“I still need it too,” he says, and that makes you feel marginally better until he leans over you, letting his back rest against your front, letting your legs support his weight on top of you as he circles both arms beneath you, one hand pressing against up against your stomach, the other moving between your come-covered thighs to nudge your hand away and let his fingers work at your clit this time.
“Fuck一Steve,” you sob, because he’s not moving this time, just letting his cock sit inside you, heavy, slick with his own spunk, and his breath is heavy in your ear as he just rubs your clit, letting you squeeze down on him, unmoving inside you. Your walls flutter around him, gripping him tight, and Steve’s hand on your clit feels worlds different than your own did一your orgasm takes you over by surprise, hitting you out of nowhere so strongly that you buck back against him, wanting to feel him deeper even though he’s fully seated in you, riding out your orgasm with you until you sigh, eyes closed, cheek pressing to the dirty ground, smearing your own drool against the detritus below you.
His fingers slip away from your clit and he starts moving again, and even though you want it, you whine, the noise in your throat crackly and petulant, and without pulling out of you, needing to stay joined the exact same way you do, he holds you tight against him and rolls the both of you onto your side. He’s still inside you, and with the same arm that he’d just had looped around your stomach, he hooks your leg on his wrist, pulling your leg up to the side and holds it there, out of his way, exposing your cunt as he fucks you from behind this time, the new position just as intense but so, so much better, your back resting against his front, his skin slick with sweat as he clings to you, almost as desperate as you feel.
“Almost一almost there,” he says, and you’re not sure what he means, because you’re still bleary with arousal, still want to come on his cock countless more times, still want to feel him lingering inside you for days.
“Please touch me,” you beg, “need you一need it to be you, it doesn’t一work when it’s me, Steve, please一”
“Sh,” he hushes you, his voice soft as he leans a little further into you, rising to prop himself up on his elbow. He doesn’t release your leg一to the contrary, he leans forward, pushing your leg further up to the crook of his elbow, holding your legs open at an even wider angle, and lets his now free hand slip between your folds to find your clit.
You sob when he does, because you come again the moment he touches it, the swollen bead throbbing beneath the pads of his fingers, kicking under his ministrations as he doesn’t stop, doesn’t slow, and you rise to your peak again, barely even coming down from the first一or maybe you just didn’t stop coming. You don’t know, you don’t care, because after this many, you’re starting to feel like yourself again, but the feeling is still there, you still need more.
“It’s一so much,” you mumble, and Steve presses a short kiss to the sensitive spot behind your ear.
“You feel so good, though,” he says, his hips still curling into yours, his cock not as deep now, both of you contorted around each other, back to front, limbs entangled, his fingers on your clit, the head of his cock in the perfect position to rub repeatedly against your g-spot, and you shudder a sigh as you feel yourself come again, weaker this time, your cunt sopping and sore.
“Come in me again,” you ask weakly, because each time he did, each time he filled you to the brim and it spilled out of you, a little bit of the haze lifted, the feverish impulse lessening.
“Almost,” he replies, thrusting into you, the head of his cock nudging your g-spot and you feel another orgasm beginning to rise, but not strong enough to overtake you yet.
“Please,” you beg, desperate now that you can feel the end might be in sight. You taste dirt in your mouth and feel itchy, skin irritated from twigs and leaves on the ground below you, but they’re the first sensations you’ve felt other than all-consuming arousal since the flower disintegrated onto you both, and you welcome them.
“Just一hold on another一another一” Steve says, and you feel him circle your clit quicker as he fucks into you, his cock dragging against your walls as you tighten up around him, and when he snaps them forward, up into you, shot after shot of his come spurting from the tip of his dick, your whole body tightens, loosens, releases after another orgasm一weak, feeble, and final, you hope一and then you still. Both of you, still, filthy, sweaty messes on the ground, dirty and sticky, skin slick between your thighs, his chest sticking to your back as you pull away from him. You stay on your side, wiping your face with the cleaner of your two hands, scraping away the dirt and spit stuck to your chin. You hear Steve behind you shuffle to his feet, and then his bomber jacket is draped over your shoulders, just to give you some modicum of modesty until you can stand and dress yourself.
“What the fuck happened?” you ask, wiping at the rest of your face now, adjusting the jacket to cover yourself as you feel his spend slowly trickle out of you. You twist, looking up at Steve where he’s standing, pulling his jeans back on. He uses his shirt to wipe his dick clean, his thighs, and then looks over to you.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he says, and zips his fly before kneeling beside you, making to lift the jacket to wipe you clean with his shirt too, but you bat his hand away. You wanted him so desperately, had him, even, the two of you unable to control yourselves, and now you don’t even want him to look at you.
“Can you get me my一shirt,” you ask, pointing to where your tank top landed.
Wordlessly, Steve gets you your clothes, handing them to you and looking away as you shift yourself to your knees. You suppress the whimper as you feel yourself gaping, the sticky mess of his come falling from your pussy lips, and you try to clean yourself up as best you can, dressing yourself in your jeans and snapping the jacket closed to hide the fact that you’re now shirtless. You both leave the other soiled garments in the woods.
The first half of the walk back is silent, your stoic expression unchanging even as Steve continues acting exactly as he had before: Letting you walk ahead of him, keeping an eye on you to make sure you don’t trip, illuminating your path with the flashlight rather than his own.
“Um,” he says, once you start to see the reddish glow indicating that you’re nearing the rift. “Can we talk?”
You sigh. Heavily. “About what.”
“About一what just happened.”
“What happened?” you ask.
His eyes widen, like he’s not sure whether you’re really asking. “We…had一”
“I know what happened, Steve,” you snap. “I mean, why? What was that stuff?”
He closes his mouth, then his eyes, lifting his hand to cover his face for a moment before letting it fall to his side again.
“I don’t know. But I just一I wanted to check whether you’re ok now.”
“I’m fine,” you say, a little sarcastic, but biting it back because he got the same faceful of fuck pollen as you did. “Don’t worry, you won’t catch me begging for your dick again any time soon.”
He blanches, then takes a step toward you. “Hey, that’s not what I meant.”
“Can we not一talk about it?” you ask.
Steve hesitates, frowns. Then nods. “Yeah. Whatever you want.”
&&
The drive back to the Byers house is awkward. You let Steve sit in front next to Jonathan, let Steve answer the questions, let Steve tell Jonathan no一don’t drop you at home. You end up in the driveway of Jonathan’s house, waiting inside Steve’s BMW as he goes in and gives all the details to Nancy this time. He returns the jacket to Mrs. Byers.
He’d been careful with what he said to Jonathan. Some trees, weird flowers, some kind of pollen. It knocked you out for a little while, he explains, some kind of fever or something, that’s why you’re both filthy and sweaty. But you both feel fine now.
Sure.
Steve emerges from the house in another shirt, a polo he’d changed out of before this whole mess, and rounds the hood of the Bimmer. You watch him, wondering why you didn’t interrupt when Jonathan offered to drop you at your place. It would have been easier. You could have shut yourself up inside and never looked twice at Steve again. You only just got involved in this bullshit. You could extricate yourself just as easily.
But you didn’t.
You’d stayed with Steve even when you had the chance for an out.
You’d allowed him to insist that he drive you home, because he wanted more time to talk to you. Which you didn’t want to do but, admittedly, was probably a good idea.
The driver’s side door slams shut as Steve climbs in. You don’t move, legs pressed together, arms crossed over your chest, and Steve fiddles with the keys, not putting them in the ignition.
“So一” he starts, but you cut him off.
“I don’t want to talk outside Jonathan’s house,” you say.
“Right,” he says, starting the car and shifting into gear, heading out back onto the road. He clears his throat. “So.”
“Yeah?” you ask, and he just clears his throat again.
“Are you ok?”
It’s the question you expected but weren’t sure if he would actually ask. Because you’re not, and he’s probably not either.
“I mean, physically,” you say. “Sure.”
“I’m sorry. Obviously I didn’t一know,” he says, drumming his thumb on the steering wheel.
“I’m not blaming you, Steve.”
“It’s my fault.”
“Oh, I’m aware,” you say. “But I said I’m not blaming you. How could you have known, really.”
He glances over at you to find you already looking at him. You shrug as if to impart the age-old adage, c’est la vie. Even though it’s really, really not.
There’s another few minutes of silence, the car humming quietly in the night, and it’s almost peaceful except for the mess still between your legs, your body reminding you of it every time he hits a bump in the road and you feel sore all over again.
“That place… I shouldn’t have let you go down there. It changes you.”
“I’ll say,” you snarked, and Steve looked over at you, a little shocked at how blasé you were in that moment, then huffed an unamused laugh.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Yeah, I know. It’s一”
“No, for一bringing you. Jonathan should have一”
“I’d love to hear what would have happened if it had been you and Jonathan down there,” you say, keeping your face turned toward the window.
“Ok, well一that’s一” Steve stammers, and you can’t help but laugh a little.
It feels nice, actually, laughing after needing to use Steve’s body in the most perverse, insane way ever, and letting him do the same to yours.
“You didn’t have to drive me,” you say, as Steve turns into the lot where you still live, both of you averting your eyes from Eddie’s residence. Or… what used to be.
“I wanted to,” he says, simply, and when he pulls up outside of your door, he puts the car into park and turns it off, pulling the key from the ignition.
“What are you doing?” you ask, eyeing him as he reaches for the door handle and pockets his keys.
“Walking you to your door,” he says, like it’s obvious.
You want to question him, but you don’t. You just get out of the car, slam the door behind you, and wait for him to move next to you. You lead him, and when he follows you up the steps, holds the door for you when you open it, and enters behind you, you don’t question that either.
Nor does he wait for you to. “I don’t… sleep that great anymore, after… you know, going down there. Figured you might want. I dunno. A friendly face nearby. Just in case.”
You undo the jacket’s fastenings, but hold it closed, your bra shoved into the pocket, your upper half bare beneath the canvas.
“Ok,” you say, not fighting him on it, and just point at the couch behind him. “You can stay there. My mom works an overnight shift so if you can be out by 7:00, I’d appreciate it.”
Steve looks behind himself, then nods. “Sounds good.”
You wait for him to turn and settle down onto it before padding down the hall to the bathroom. The door sticks when you close it, so you never do, just leaving it barely ajar as you strip off the jacket and your jeans, the crotch still wet with Steve’s come. You leave the clothes in a pile on the floor and start the shower, waiting for the water to warm before stepping in; in the meantime, you examine yourself in the mirror. There’s still some dirt scuffed on your cheek; you try to wipe it away with the heel of your hand but it isn’t budging, so you just check yourself out otherwise instead. Your lips are still swollen from where you’d bitten them. You’ve got some bruises and scrapes on your shoulders and chest, your arms and elbows, but there’s no pallor to your skin so you figure you’re fucking fine. Just peachy.
You pull the shower curtain and step in, scrubbing your body hard, your arms and legs, focusing on the marred areas of skin, the places you know need some extra care. You wash thoroughly, your face, your thighs, everything in between them, and when you emerge wrapped in a towel, you see Steve dozing off on your couch.
You pull the towel tighter around you, watch him for a moment longer, then call out to him.
“Hey.”
His eyes flutter open, taking in the sight of you in the hall, squinting a little like he might have missed something in the interim of sitting down and waking up.
“You ok?” he asks.
You don’t answer一at least, not what he asked you. “My bed’s more comfortable than the couch.”
He studies you一you can feel the force of his look even with how far away he is. He hesitates.
“I’m only offering once,” you say, and that, at least, gets him to move, shifting his weight to the edge of the sofa cushion.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure,” you say, unwavering, and he makes his way from the couch to the hall, looking down at you as he steps past you into your room. You follow him inside and close the door behind you with a low click.