back to back - steve harrington
summary: ending up in a russian torture chamber wasn't exactly on your summer bucket list, but you certainly didn't mind the aftermath of it all
warnings: torture and references to da
requested! hargrove!reader
word count: 4.6k
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you weren't exactly sure how you'd ended up in this position.
the summer had started out perfectly fine, exactly how you'd imagined it, actually. you were officially graduated, billy was always gone working at the pool, max and el were finally friends and spending all their time together, and you were able to spend your free time doing whatever you wanted.
yes, that meant that you were at the mall a lot.
yes, that meant that you were visiting a certain ice cream shop probably too many times.
no, you didn't think that would lead to you decoding a russian transmission with steve, robin, and dustin, nor that you would end up taking a russian elevator halfway to hell and getting taken away for questioning.
but, here you were.
and somehow the worst part about it wasn't the punches, kicks, and blows they were dealing you when you had no answers to their questions - no, it was steve's screams in the other room as they did much worse to him.
your hands were tied behind your back, sitting in a chair alone with these damn russian soldiers. you couldn't hear robin, so either she was in a room far away or she was cooperating - and knowing her, you assumed it was the first one.
"you lie!"
fed up with their crap and their punches, you finally just shouted, "i'm telling the truth! we're teenagers who work in the damn mall and you're just sloppy commies who didn't hide their elevator well enough!"
and that's when they started hitting you exclusively.
a sharp slap to the cheek that had your lips bleeding instantly and your cheek searing in pain.
"how did you find us?" the only man who seemed to speak english asked coldly, hands behind his back as he watched you carefully.
"look, i get that this looks really bad," you told them, shaking your head with wide eyes. "but, i promise we don't actually know anything, okay? your transmission went too far up and we heard it and got curious. honestly, if a bunch of teenagers can find their way down here, you have to get better at-"
you'd been hit before. many times. mostly by your brother, if you had to be honest.
but as this large russian man sent his fist into your jaw, you started to believe that billy had been pulling his punches all this time, because you'd never felt something as painful as this.
you cried out, jaw throbbing as you doubled over in pain.
in the other room, you could hear steve yelling like he never had before, loud shrieks and then, "stop hurting her! i can hear her, stop hurting her! we don't know anything, there's no need-!"
loud clanks and then a smash, and suddenly he was screaming again.
your chest seized up, breathing staggering as you looked up at the guards in charge of you again.
"what do you know?" the older one demanded.
"i don't know anything, alright? all of this was an accident." the one who punched you yelled in russian and punched you in the lower stomach, earning a pained grunt. you gurgled as your lunch from yesterday rose, burning your throat before you swallowed it back down, breathing heavily. "shit, do they not teach manners in russia? i'm a lady, mother fucker."
this man was extra angry, it seemed, as his face screwed up in frustration and he turned to the tray of particularly exciting tools they'd just been using to try to coax you into giving away information you didn't have.
and he grabbed the largest knife.
you tensed, sitting up and leaning back in your chair as if that would keep him from using it against you.
in the other room, it seemed steve was being faced with something similarly dangerous. he screamed, only muffled by the thin wall between you, "oh no, no, no, come on, seriously, i-!"
there was a thud, your eyes widening. your breathing quickened, testing the strength of your restraints again.
"seriously?" you asked, really panicking now while trying not to think about whatever the hell they just did to steve in the other room. "i think you're taking this too far. i'm just a kid, can't you see that? i just graduated high school, i'm not old enough for any of this shit."
as the man stepped forward, brandishing his knife, the older one who spoke english held out a hand, halting him. he shook his head, muttering something in russian. the other man shot you a glare but dropped the knife anyways, grabbing his walkie talkie instead and muttering into it.
it wasn't thirty seconds later that steve and robin were dragged in, steve limp in the guards' arms and robin wriggling against them. "let go of me!"
"steve!" you shouted, eyes widening as they landed on his bloodied face. you glared at the guards in charge of him. "what did you do to him?"
"guess he didn't cooperate either," your interrogator answered, smiling and shrugging like it was so casual to be torturing eighteen year olds.
steve stirred only when he heard your voice, lifting his head, eyes glassy and unfocused until they found yours. his gaze sharpened, brows knitting as they pushed him towards you. "hey, y/n," he said, like saying your name would somehow keep you breathing.
his face was covered in blood, his eye swollen and black, his lips split in more than one place and his hair messier than you'd ever seen it, the ends sticky with his blood from where it had fallen in his face.
they shoved him into a chair, his back now to you as they tied you both together with two belt-like straps. robin was thrown into her own chair, her straps tied to a pipe on the wall as she was forced to stare at the two of you still coated in your own blood.
your guard circled back to you, that ridiculous smile on his face as he said, "i think you two could use a doctor." he crouched in front of you, hands on his knees. you could feel steve tense against the restraints, the ties pulling against your front as he struggled to sit up better. "good thing we have the very best."
the general glanced around at his soldiers, beginning to laugh heartily as though he'd just made the funniest joke they'd heard in years.
instinct had you spitting in his face like you had billy every time he got too close, and you got the same answer - a sharp slap to the cheek.
"stop it!" steve writhed behind you, pushing at his restraints even if he could hardly see past the blood in his eyes. "don't touch her!"
"aw," the man said, pouting as he glanced between you both. "is that your boyfriend?" he stepped past you, resting a hand on your hair and patting as steve turned to glare sharply at him. "you both will regret this."
robin let out a shaky, terrified breath as they all filed out of the room, her eyes darting between you both. "see?" she said, trying at a joke with a lame shrug and an even lamer, shaking smile. "even he sees it."
she'd been trying to convince you both to admit that you had feelings for each other the entire summer, but you'd refused. you were certain that if billy found out you were dating steve harrington, the one boy in hawkins he hated more than lucas, he wouldn't just take it out on you, but on him too. and you weren't willing to test that theory.
nor were you willing to tempt fate and find out that steve actually did not return your feelings.
and that would hurt worse than billy.
"not the time, rob," you sighed, leaning your head back to rest it against steve's.
his breaths were slow, labored, and deep, and subconsciously you began counting them to ensure there were enough, and syncing them with yours. your hands were still tied behind your backs, steve fiddling with his ties before you asked, "you still breathing?"
"yeah," he sighed, eyes falling shut. "you?"
"yeah," you answered.
he tilted his head slightly, nudging it against yours. "keep it that way."
"well, apparently we have a doctor coming to help us, so i should make it," you said with a roll of your eyes.
"ah, yes," he hummed. "very promising."
he stretched his fingers again, pushing his arms back until he was able to nudge your hand with his. you didn't hesitate, straining to wrap your fingers around his and suddenly relaxing when the effort succeeded. he squeezed your hand twice, a silent gesture of comfort that went a surprisingly long way with you.
robin, still tied to the wall, was examining the room with purpose. she lit up, eyes catching on a very auspicious set of scissors. "hey guys?"
"yes, dear?" you said, turning your head so you could actually see the girl in question.
"do you see that table to your right?" she asked, nodding to what would actually be your left. you nodded as steve flopped his head to his left, eyes on the door and robin sighed, "your other right."
he looked at the table, nodding. "oh, yeah."
"see the scissors?" she said next, brows raised. "well, i think that if you move at the same you could get over there, stand up at the same time, and then grab them from behind and cut us all out. i mean, you'd have to stop holding hands, but i think it's plausible."
you looked away, a hot flush creeping up your neck as steve nodded.
"okay, yeah, we can do that," he agreed, craning his neck to glance at you and failing due to the angle. "we can totally do that. right?"
"yeah, we got this," you said, pulling your hands from his as you focused on the task at hand.
"at the same time," robin said again, glancing between you both. "or else you'll just fall over."
you nodded. "okay, on three we hop. your right, my left, got it?"
"yep, got it."
"one, two, three-"
you hopped, pushing the chairs up and scooting over just enough to give you hope.
robin let out a surprised laugh. "yes! okay, perfect! do it again."
you breathed out nervously. "one, two, three-"
another beautiful hop to the left.
steve laughed, hands knocking yours again in excitement. "this is great. we're actually gonna make it out of here."
"don't jinx us, harrington," robin warned at the same moment you counted off.
"one, two-"
steve, not paying attention to you, but to robin's just, pushed off too early, and you both crashed sideways to the floor. you grunted, letting out a pained breath at the same time he did.
"that's gonna bruise," you said quietly.
"you alright?" he asked, turning like he'd be able to see you.
"just great, stevie," you breathed out, surrendering your body to this new, lopsided position on the floor in favor of some sense of relaxation. "didn't think i was gonna die in a russian hideaway before my nineteenth, but here we are."
"i told you not to jinx us, harrington!" robin exclaimed, voice a little too quick and panicked for your liking. "shit, man. i can't believe i'm going to die with steve 'the hair' harrington and billy hargrove's twin sister. there's no way in hell this is how i die, if there is a god, then we will-"
"robin!" you shouted, "shut up! we're not going to die, i was being sarcastic, damn it. just let me think."
"let you think?" she echoed like you were an idiot. "we're all on the floor, all incapable of standing up or reaching anything of use, and those men are coming back with a doctor who is more likely to kill us than help us. what the hell are you gonna think up that-"
"robin, seriously," steve said sharply.
"what? have you been in worse situations?" she asked, eyes wide. "there is literally no chance we're making it out of here. i've never even dated anyone, i've never had my first kiss. my life is going to end before i'm even able to kiss someone and no one is going to know where or how we died and my mother is going to think i'm some perpetual failure who got herself killed being a junkie or something and-"
"robin!" you yelled again, letting out a stiff sigh as she stilled.
she breathed out an awkward laugh. "i'm sorry. i talk when i get nervous."
"we noticed," steve said dryly.
"look, i haven't been in worse situations, necessarily, but i've been in bad ones somewhat similar to this," you told her. "there's a way. just give me a second."
steve knitted his brows, fingers reaching for yours even if you weren't reaching back. "wait..." he said quietly, racking his brain for a time last year that you'd been in a position even close to this one. you hadn't. "are you serious? does billy-"
"not billy." your tone was sharp, direct, and your words terrified him beyond belief.
"i'm sorry," he said quietly. "i'm sorry for getting us into this, and for not protecting you. i should've-"
"it's not your fault, steve," you answered, letting out a sigh as you slumped against the floor. "there's nothing you could've done."
robin watched with wide eyes, trying to process exactly what you'd just said. "do you mean-?"
you sighed even heavier, meeting her eyes from your spot on the tile. "let's just say i learned how to take a punch early."
that simple statement hurt steve more than the russians had, and he quickly took your hands in his again, straining against the belts tying you both down. you let him, calming ever so slightly at the warmth of his skin.
"i'm sorry," steve whispered again, your heart jumping as he squeezed your hands.
"not your fault," you told him.
and then the doors busted open.
the guards returned, and so did the general, but they were accompanied by an intense-looking man in a white coat and leather apron. your eyes widened. "shit."
the general laughed loudly at the sight of you two on the floor, two soldiers yanking you upright again as the doctor readied some sort of blue serum into what looked like a white gun with a needle at the end.
"shit," you said again, straining against the belts.
"try to tell the truth this time," the general advised, grabbing steve by the hair and grinning down at him as the boy pulled away. "it'll make your visit with dr zharkov less painful."
"what is that?" steve demanded, eyes widening as the doctor brought the needle gun to you both. "no, no, what is that? don't - ah!"
by the time that dustin and erica rescued you, the truth serum had done its thing. in a fit of giggles, robin spontaneously admitted in the interrogation room that she liked girls (which didn't surprise you as much as you would've thought), and you started spewing nonsense about hopper coming in with the us cavalry to kick their asses with too wide of a smile. steve agreed with you, giggling about dustin and how he would save you guys - which he did.
"get ready to run," the kid said as he untied you and steve, erica working on robin's. the doctor who had kept sticking truth serum in your neck was electrocuted on the floor thanks to dustin's new deadly weapon that erica was complaining about using herself, and then he waved you guys up. "come on, come on!"
you ended up in the back of some miniature-van-looking thing, laid out on steve like it was normal for you both as you giggled with robin, then switching into the elevator that had started this whole adventure after dustin crashed into the wall.
you couldn't remember much, being drugged and all, but what you did remember was that steve didn't let go of you. not once. his arms were around your shoulders or his hand was clasping yours - either way, he was holding you, and tightly too.
even when dustin and erica sat you in theater seats, dragging robin to sit with them, he held your hand. and when you left to find water and had the ceiling start spinning enough to send you hurling in the restroom, his arm was around your shoulders.
well, until you had to part ways for separate stalls.
and that was what was on your mind about when you finally sobered enough to form a cohesive thought.
you know, after you puked your guts out in the women's restroom.
"the ceiling stopped spinning," you said, sitting up against the wall with a sigh. "how 'bout you?"
it was a beat before steve answered, breathing out, "holy shit. no, it's not. you think we puked it all up?"
you snorted. "they injected it into our bloodstream, dingus, that's not how it works." but then you paused. "maybe it's just worn off? i don't know. ask me something."
he hummed, deciding then that he wasn't gonna kick it off with an easy question.
"what you said when we were in the room..." he trailed off, working up the courage to ask what he'd been thinking about for hours before you got drugged and all. "what situations have you been in that were bad enough that you thought we'd be fine while captured by the russian military?"
you froze, heart tensing and beating harshly against your ribcage as you tried to catch your breath.
when you stayed silent for several moments, he let out a sigh, leaning down to glance at you under the stall. he kicked your foot. "i'm sorry, that was probably-"
"no, it's fine," you said quickly, shaking your head as you let out a trembling breath. "i think... i think it's good if you knew. you know enough anyways, it's just hard to say, you know?" you laughed dryly. "even max doesn't know the full extent of it."
"why?" he asked, knitting his brows.
"because, like i said, it's not billy," you admitted, shaking your head. "it's... it's my dad. and i didn't want to scare her more than she already was."
he was silent for a long few moments before his foot brushed yours again. "can i ask another question?"
"we're already here," you hummed, trying to make light of it all with a laugh, but he wasn't interested in jokes.
he was interested in honesty. "why do you defend him?"
you froze. in your mind, you didn't defend him. never once have you defended william hargrove, no, of course you haven't.
you're the one who takes max's hits for her and pushes him away from girls he's getting too close to and yells at him for being a dick. you're the one who swings back when he throws a hand your way, and makes fun of him for his dumb tank tops and idiotic tattoos.
but, you're also his twin. the one who brings him ice packs after he takes a particularly bad hit from your dad, who helped him buy that damn camaro he adored, who tells max to just try to be calm around him so he doesn't get pissed off, who gives him the benefit of the doubt when he yells just because you know your dad is harder on him than you.
you traced a line along one of the squares of the tiles, a slight furrow between your brows as you told him, "because he's my brother. and no matter how many times he yells or grabs my wrist too hard-" you could feel steve's anger through the stall door at the admissions. "i know what it feels like to go through what he has. and i still love him."
"what has he gone through that you haven't?" was his next, breathy question.
you smiled sadly, shrugging. "we have the same life basically. we're twins. his life has just hurt a little more."
that sat between you both heavier than you were comfortable with, and soon enough you were sitting straighter and clearing your throat.
"that was three questions, harrington, my turn," you said.
he chuckled dryly, bobbing his head in agreement. "alright, shoot."
you leaned your head against the wall, smiling gently, "are you still in love with nancy wheeler?"
his answer was quicker and surer than you could've expected. "no."
your brows raised, a small, hesitant smile pulling at your lips. "no? why not?"
"she's not right for me," he answered, this question way easier for him than his question had been for you. "i think i'd known that for a while, honestly. and then this other girl showed up in my life at just the same time it was all exploding, and things seemed all okay again. and she... she's a lot more right for me."
you hummed. for a second, you let yourself be hopeful that robin's dumb observations had some merit to them. "yeah?"
"yeah," he breathed out. "this girl... she's something different. she's brave, like, way braver than anyone else i know. and i know, we've seen nancy do some crazy shit, but her? she's always been brave. she's been brave her whole life and all of us are just seeing it now. she protects the people she loves without a second thought, it's like second nature, and there have been a few times that i've fallen into that circle, and i've never felt more appreciated and seen than then."
your heart pounded, a small smile pulling at your lips as you dropped your head to your knees.
"she's even good with the kids," he hummed.
you looked up even though you couldn't see him through the stall. "you're good with the kids," you answered, laughing lightly.
"yeah, not like her, though," he said. "they all love her. i've got henderson, maybe, but your sister? she could care less. i'm just the guy with the bat and the car."
you shook your head, smiling to yourself. "our family is good at faking it."
he sat on that for a beat, but it almost seemed to encourage him on, the boy clearing his throat and sitting straighter.
"you know what else about this girl? she's so funny, like this sarcastic little brat who never fails to make me laugh," he continued, and you could just hear the smile in his voice. "and when i'm with her, it's like impossible to feel bad. she just makes everything better." he paused, letting out a breath. "everything."
you smiled at the admission, tucking your legs up to your chest and resting your chin on your knees.
the silence that sat between you two was light and heavy all at once, just like the air was lying in wait the same way you were.
several moments passed, and then steve was sliding under the stall, earning a scrunched nose from you as he came to rest on the wall opposite you.
"this floor is disgusting," you told him.
"well, i've already got blood and puke on my shirt, i think i'll be okay," he answered with a light laugh as he glanced down at his dumb sailor's uniform that somehow managed to still make him look good.
you just smiled small, chin still propped on your knees as he held your eyes intently.
"so..." he said. "what do you think?"
"about what?" you hummed, even though your heart was pounding and the only way to keep him from noticing your trembling, nervous hands was by clasping them tightly around your legs.
"this girl," he answered, holding your eyes still, a seriousness filling them that you weren't used to.
you cracked a small, teasing smile. "she sounds really cool."
"she's so cool," he agreed. "and what about the guy?"
that's when your eyes flicked away, that uncharacteristic uncertainty that always filled when it came to steve making your chest seize up. you messed with your fingers, clenching your hands into fists and then loosening them again.
steve reached forward, gently taking them in his and uncurling your fingers, threading them through his as your eyes accidentally met his, now trapped in the hazel depths. his voice softened as he asked again, "what about the guy?"
you sighed, trying at a smile. "i think the guy doesn't know what he's getting himself into," you told him quietly. "if he actually wants what he thinks he does."
"y/n-"
"i'm serious, steve," you told him, even as he scooted towards you, pulling your hands to his chest. he stopped, waiting for you to finish and you did with a heavy breath. "my family... it's complicated, and it'll only get more complicated if you get involved."
"i'm not worried about that," he answered, shaking his head.
"well, you should-"
"i'm worried about you," he finished, releasing one of your hands as he raised his to cup your cheek gently. you stopped, breath catching as he shifted even closer, brows knitting slightly as he searched your eyes. his voice dropped to a bit of a hush, admitting again, "i'm only worried about you. i don't care what happens to me, okay? because, damn it," he sighed, thumb running over your cheek. "i think i'm in love with you."
no sentence had ever affected you quite as much as this one had.
not when your mom told you she was leaving.
not when your dad announced you were moving.
not when billy yelled at your dad that he wished you'd been born with different parents.
because somehow, in some tiny, peculiar, mind blowing way, this sentence made all the rest of them feel less like a stab to your heart and more like a dull ache in your chest.
you didn't move, didn't think, just answered near instantly, "i'm in love with you too."
his eyes widened like he hadn't expected you to actually return his affections, and then he breathed out a laugh. "i would kiss you right now, but we both just puked our guts out."
you laughed with him, sitting up to lean closer. "yeah, i don't think our first kiss should be in a mall bathroom anyways."
"no," he chuckled, shaking his head as he pulled you into his chest.
you hugged him tightly, letting out a relieved breath as his arms wound even tighter around your waist. "thank you, steve."
"for what?" he mumbled, face tucked into your neck.
"for being stubborn enough to stick around, even when i wasn't making it easy," you answered.
he pulled back, meeting your eyes with a small smile. "you showed up at scoops at least three times a week for the whole summer. you made it easy enough."
you laughed lightly, shaking your head. "i guess i was a little obvious, huh?"
"not as obvious as me," he answered with a laugh. he squeezed your waist gently, "but, i appreciated it."
you both stared at each other for a few moments, steve tilting his head slightly as he just grinned at you.
"i hope you know i'm gonna kiss you so much when this is over and we finally can brush our teeth," he told you.
you laughed, pulling him into a hug again. "i'm counting on it, harrington."
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