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He carried you back to the small hut he'd built with his own hands and nursed you back to health.

You were a shy little thing, shrinking away from his touch at first, horrified and untrusting of men after having trusted the wrong men before.

So he never pushed. Instead, a companionship formed in the quiet spaces between you.

Words spoken in hushed whispers under the shade of trees stabbing at the sky, nights spent lying side by side on the cool sand, watching the moon. He’d always be the one going out to hunt, and cooking it, not letting you lift a finger. 

Occasionally you wake up pressed against him, seeking comfort in his arms. Odysseus would lie perfectly still, scarcely daring to breathe, afraid that even the smallest movement would break the beginnings of the trust you'd placed in him.

He did, though, eagerly await the day the thread would snap, the thread that grows precarious with every instance of you tending to his wounds after a bad hunt, every time your fingers brushed his as he handed you food.

Every morning he caught sight of you wading into the shallow water to wash yourself, rubbing the salt and sand off, the thin dress draped over you clinging to your skin. He would look away almost as quickly as he'd looked, ashamed of the longing and the lust growing heavier under his ribs, wondering how much longer that thread could hold before it finally gave way.

It snapped the day another ship washed ashore. A handful of men stumbled onto the beach, their laughter turning vile the moment they saw you. Odysseus was watching you from the corner of his eye as you bathed in the shallows below. The moment he saw them leering, he ran from where he was buried in the trees hunting for food. Grabbed his spear, the only weapon he had carved from wood, and met them before they could reach you. Striked them down with the fury he was certain not even Ares himself would possess, the God of War himself, as he killed them off, one by one, brutally. 

He did not stop until the beach fell silent once more.

When it was over, you stepped out from the water, the hem of your dress dripping seawater onto the blood-soaked sand. You found him standing among the bodies, blood streaking his arms, his chest rising with ragged breaths.

And that’s when you know – he would protect you forever. 

Slowly, almost timidly, you reached a hand out to cradle his face, wiped the splatter of blood on his cheek gently, before leaning in, and pressing your lips against his. For a heartbeat Odysseus stood frozen, unable to believe the warmth against his mouth was real. Then his hand free of the spear found your waist and drew you impossibly closer as he kissed you back with desperation, groaning into your mouth, breaking months of restrained longing.

Now after you carefully washed the blood off his body, Odysseus finally has you. 

You sit on his lap, his chest pressing into your back, impaling you on his cock. His thighs are pressed into the sand, your waist gripped in one massive arm as he moves you up and down, face buried in your neck. His other hand is gripping your neck loosely, holding you upright as he pounds into you.

“Fuck, this what you wanted hm? To be sittin’ on me, milkin’ my cock?” he grits out, feeling you tighten around him, your slick dripping down to his thighs.

You only whine, “fuck-yes, yes,” grip him tighter, one hand coming up to hold his, pressing his palm harder against your neck. You writhe in his grasp, trying to grind your clit against something, anything, before he grips your waist even harder in warning.

He grunts against your neck, moaning your name. His beard rubs against the side of your face as he lifts his head up.

“Yeah, my girl needs to be choked? That’s what she needs to stay. Fuckin’. Still.”

He pounds into you harder between each word. You’re reduced to a mess, can only whine and blubber out soft begs, “please.”

Instead of choking your neck with his hand, Odysseus shifts. Still thrusting into you, the wet sounds of your slick echoing through the island, his arm slides across your chest, gripping your shoulder, one thick bicep pressing against your neck. He traps you in a headlock while he moves his hips faster. You moan, loud, at the weight of him. 

“Try gettin’ out of this now,” he grunts against you. Everything is warm and fuzzy as he brings you closer to the edge, pounding into you with slower, deeper thrusts now. His hand slides down your waist, to your mound, rubbing at the patch of hair there.

“Please- fuck, please touch me,” you whine, desperately.

Then he pulls, hard, and you let out a whimper. 

“You take what I give you, yeah? Don’t be fuckin’ greedy,” he groans against your ear.

You blabber out apologies, gripping his arm tighter. He feels his balls tighten when you claw your nails into his arm, leaving red marks.

“S’okay pretty girl, shush, just let me do all the work yeah?”

You nod, or try to as much as you can while wrapped in a headlock, as he peppers kisses to the side of your face. His beard scrapes you deliciously as he fucks his cock into you deeper, the perfect amount of coarse and rough. 

After a harsh thrust, Odysseus finally takes mercy on you, and brings a finger to your clit, rubbing slow circles. Pleasure sparks up your spine.

“Fuck- yeah, just like that,” you moan softly, closing your eyes as you get closer and closer to your peak.

“That feel good?” He pants against you. You whimper out a yes, writhing in his grip.

“You gonna be my good girl and come now?” 

“Fuck- yes,” You moan, loud, your voice echoing in the island as you finally reach your peak. Your body grows limp in his grip as you close your eyes, pleasure washing over you. 

Odysseus jerks up, once, then twice, before spilling into you, groaning your name. It trickles down your thighs as you lean your weight against him, practically sitting on him. 

You’re still wrapped up in his massive arms as he pants against you, loosening his grip slightly. 

“Stay with me, on this island,” he whispers, tilting your head to the side. 

His eyes bore into yours.

 “Stay, forever. Please.”

You lean in, press the gentlest of kisses against his lips. 

“Forever.”

 And at last, Odysseus had found his way home, not to Ithaca, but to you.

"erling," you say, not looking up from your phone.

"mm?"

"read the board for me. the mango one. does it have banana in it? i don't want banana."

he leans back in his chair, squinting up at the board with zero effort. he doesn't even need to squint. he's a head and a half taller than everyone else in here. "mango, passionfruit, lime, honey," he reads. "no banana. you're safe."

"good. order it for me?"

he's already standing, wallet in hand. "ice?"

"lots."

he comes back with both your drinks, sets yours down in front of you with a little napkin underneath it so the condensation doesn't ruin your phone case. he does this every time, the napkin thing, yet you've never asked him to.

"thanks," you murmur, taking a sip.

"anything else while i'm up?" he asks, and there's something in his voice, not quite a edge, more like a gentle ridge. his hand rests on the back of your neck as he sits back down, warm and solid, thumb brushing the top of your spine. "or are we all sorted, princess?"

you hum noncommittally, scrolling through instagram.

this is how the morning goes. you point at things in shop windows and he follows. you try on sunglasses and hold them up to his face and he bends down dutifully so you can check, hands on his knees, smiling at you in the mirror. you hand him your bag when it gets heavy—two seconds into having it—and he swings it over his shoulder like it weighs nothing, because to him it does weigh nothing, because his shoulders could carry a wardrobe. 

at the third boutique, you're in the changing room and he's sitting on the little velvet bench outside, legs stretched across the entire aisle, and you pull the curtain open in a dress you're not even sure you like.

"zip me up," you say, turning around.

he stands. he has to practically fold himself in half to reach, one hand braced on the doorframe above you, the other drawing the zip up your back slowly. his fingers brush your skin, trailing warmth, and he leans down to press his mouth against the curve of your shoulder briefly. then his chin rests on the top of your head, his arms coming around you from behind, and you look at yourselves in the mirror—his enormous frame folded around you, your body almost disappearing into his.

"pretty," he says against your hair. "get it."

"i wasn't sure about it."

"i'm sure. get it." he's already reaching for his card.

by lunchtime, you're sun-heavy and lazy, sprawled across two sun loungers pushed together on a quieter stretch of beach. your head is on his chest, his arm around you, fingers tracing idle circles on your shoulder. you keep shifting, restless, and every time you move he adjusts without complaint—shifts his arm, repositions, pulls you closer. you're lying on him more than the lounger at this point, half draped across his torso, and he doesn't say a word about it.

"erling, my water."

he reaches behind him without looking, grabs the bottle, unscrews the cap, and holds it to your mouth. you drink without lifting your head, his other hand cupping the back of your neck so you don't spill.

"more?"

"no." you settle back against him, ear to his chest, listening to the slow thump of his heartbeat. he's so warm, broad and steady, like lying on a heated rock. you wriggle until you're comfortable, which takes approximately forty-five seconds of unnecessary squirming, and he lets you, patient as anything, his thumb stroking the same spot on your shoulder.

"you comfy?" he asks, and his voice vibrates through his ribs into your ear.

"mm."

"good girl."

he says it so easily, so simply, like he’s stating a fact. the sun is hot, the sea is blue, you're his good girl. you feel the words settle somewhere low in your stomach despite not wanting it to affect you.

in the afternoon, you walk along the promenade and you're tired and hot and your feet hurt from the wrong sandals, so you stop walking. just stop, in the middle of the pavement, and look up at him.

"my feet hurt."

he looks down at you. there's a beat where his expression is perfectly still—not annoyed, not amused, just still, assessing you. then he crouches, back to you, and you climb on without hesitation, your arms around his neck, legs around his waist. he stands up like you weigh absolutely nothing, hooks his arms under your knees, and keeps walking. people look, of course they look. he's six-foot-five with a grown woman on his back and he's strolling along like it's a sunday errand.

"you're lucky you're cute," he says, and you can hear the smile in it.

"i know," you reply against his neck.

back at the hotel, you're fresh out of the shower in your pajamas, which on such a hot night is just a flimsy tank top and panties. you’re laying on your tummy on the bed with a bottle of lotion, squirming around. 

"can't reach my back," you say.

erling is standing, back to you, texting someone, probably his dad, and he doesn’t turn around. his thumbs move across the screen, steady and unhurried, and you can hear the faint click of the keys. he's finishing his text before paying any mind to you.

"erlingggg," you say again, drawing his name out, pressing your cheek into the mattress. "i'm waiting."

"mm-hm." still typing. not looking at you.

you kick your feet a little, heels bumping against the mattress. "it's gonna get dry. i'll be uncomfortable."

nothing. he hits send, slides the phone onto the dresser, and you're already opening your mouth to complain again when he moves. but he doesn't come to sit beside you, and he doesn't pick up the lotion bottle.

the mattress dips under his weight, a deep compression that tilts your body toward the center of the bed, and then he's there—all of him, all at once. his chest against your back, his hips settling over yours, his arms sliding underneath you and around your middle, hands splaying flat against your stomach. he's so big that the world disappears. the light from the lamp, the sound of the air conditioner, the city outside the window, all of it vanishes under the warm, crushing weight of him. his chin hooks over your shoulder, his hair falls forward and brushes your jaw, and he exhales slowly against your neck, a long, deliberate breath.

you can't move. you can barely breathe. his forearms are locked across your torso, his hands overlapping on your sternum, fingers so long they wrap around your ribs. you're pinned, fully, completely, pressed into the mattress by what feels like a wall of solid warmth. your fingers curl uselessly at your sides.

"erling—" you start, and your voice comes out smaller than you intended, muffled against the sheets.

"hm?" he shifts slightly, settling in deeper, his mouth now resting right against your ear. "what's the matter? you wanted my attention."

you squirm. it does nothing. your legs kick weakly beneath his and he doesn't even tense, doesn't adjust, just holds you tighter—his arms drawing inward until your back is flush against his chest, until there isn't a sliver of space between your bodies. you can feel his heartbeat against your shoulder blades, slow and easy and infuriatingly calm.

"i wanted lotion," you whine, turning your face sideways so you can breathe.

"did you?" his voice is so quiet. he rests his cheek against your temple, and you feel him smile,  feel it, the shift of his lips against your skin. "you wanted lotion. like you wanted your smoothie this morning. and your bag carried. and your zip done up. and a piggyback because your feet were a little bit sore."

"a lot bit sore," you correct, squirming again.

his arms tighten, just enough to make you feel it in your lungs. "shh," he murmurs, so gently it could be a lullaby. "i'm talking."

you go still, listening intently, because what else can you do? his thumb rubs a slow circle on your stomach, just below your ribs, and his lips brush the shell of your ear when he speaks. "you haven't said please once today. have you?"

you swallow, a whimper slipping out.

"have you, sweetheart?"

"no," you whisper.

"no," he agrees, soft and warm and devastating. "you haven't. not for the smoothie. not for the dress. not for the water. not for any of it. you just said 'erling,' and i did it, because that's what i do, isn't it? because that's how it works with us."

his hand slides up from your stomach, slow, palm flat and wide, fingers spread across your ribs. he traces the curve of them like he's counting, like he's memorizing.

"you just say my name and i come running." his nose nudges behind your ear, and his voice drops, not louder, just lower, a hum you feel in your teeth. "and that's alright. i love doing things for you. you know that. but today, baby... today you've been very, very greedy."

your breath catches. his hand stops, resting right beneath your chest, warm and heavy.

"have i not given you enough today?" he asks, and he sounds genuinely curious, the way someone might ask about the weather, calm and measured. "the dress, the shoes, the dinner last night, the necklace yesterday. the flight here. this room. all of it mine, all of it yours. and you can't say please?"

you're trying to think of something to say, something bratty and deflective, but his weight is pressing you into the mattress and his hand is warm on your ribs and his mouth is soft against your ear and your brain is just white noise.

"i'm not angry," he says, like he's reading the tension in your silence. "i'm never angry with you. you know that. i just think..." he shifts, rolling you both slightly onto your sides so he can look at your face, his arm still banded around your waist, his other hand coming up to brush the hair out of your eyes. his blue gaze meets yours, steady and fond, and he smiles—slow and easy, like he has all the time in the world. "i just think we should work on your manners a little bit."

his thumb traces along your cheekbone, following the sweep of it like he's drawing something, and the gesture is so tender it almost disguises the weight of what he's saying. you try to dip your chin, to duck away from the quiet scrutiny of his gaze, but he catches you immediately—fingers sliding beneath your jaw, tilting your face back up with a grip so controlled it could hold an egg without cracking it.

"ah, ah. look at me when i'm talking to you," he says, and there's no sharpness in it at all, which is the worst part, because you could handle sharpness. you could rally against sharpness, fire back, dig your heels in and be bratty about it. but this—this soft, patient, immovable steadiness—leaves you with absolutely nothing to push against. he's a wall of gentle and you're just bouncing off it uselessly. 

"there she is," he murmurs when your eyes meet his again, and his mouth curves into something impossibly fond, his dimples cutting deep into his flushed cheeks. "there's my girl."

your stomach flips. he has to feel it, the way your breath stutters, because his hand tightens just slightly on your jaw, thumb brushing the corner of your mouth, and he watches the movement of his own finger with a kind of lazy fascination.

"now," he says, settling himself more comfortably beside you, pulling you closer until your back is flush against his chest again and his arm is draped heavy over your waist, his chin returning to its spot on your shoulder. you can feel the full length of him behind you—the breadth of his chest, the solid plane of his stomach, his thighs bracketing yours so completely that your legs look almost childlike between them. "i want you to think really hard for me. can you do that?"

you nod, which is difficult with his hand still holding your jaw.

"out loud, baby. use your words."

"i can do that," you manage, and it comes out so much smaller than you intended.

"good." he presses a kiss to the spot just behind your ear, lingering, his lips warm and dry. "tell me what you think happened today. with your manners. where did they go?"

you squirm, and his arm tightens like a seatbelt locking, holding you perfectly still against him. "i don't know," you whisper.

"sure you do." his hand finally releases your jaw, sliding down the column of your throat—slow, deliberate, his palm settling there with a gentleness that makes your pulse hammer against his fingers. the rabbiting beat of your heart pushes uselessly against the cage of his hand, but he doesn't acknowledge it, just keeps his fingers resting there, a loose collar of warmth and pressure. "i think you got comfortable. i think you got used to me handing you everything you want the second you snap your fingers, and you forgot that it's nice to ask properly."

"it's not snapping," you protest, finding a tiny flicker of defiance somewhere beneath the haze he's reducing you to. "i just say your name."

"you do," he agrees, nodding against your shoulder, his hair tickling your neck. "you say my name like it's a magic word. like erling is the same as please and thank you all wrapped up together. and i let you, because i like hearing it. i like being the one you call." his lips drag along the curve of your shoulder, a slow graze that leaves goosebumps in its wake. "but that doesn't mean it's good manners, does it?"

you're quiet, turning the admission over in your head, feeling the truth of it pressing against the inside of your teeth. "no," you say finally, barely audible. "it doesn't."

"mm." he sounds pleased, deeply and genuinely pleased, the way he sounds when you correctly predict the score of a match or remember his coffee order without asking. his hand on your throat shifts, thumb stroking a slow line from your collarbone to your chin, and he turns you in his arms—a slow rotation, his body rearranging around yours like water—until you're facing him, tucked into the space between his chin and his chest, your forehead pressed to the warm bare skin above the collar of his t-shirt. his hand finds the back of your head immediately, fingers threading into your hair, cradling you there.

his heartbeat is right there against your cheek, steady and slow and maddening in its composure while yours feels like it's trying to claw its way out through your ribs. you can smell him this close—warm skin and that expensive body wash, the one in the dark glass bottle that you've started associating so completely with safety and want that catching a trace of it in public makes your knees threaten to buckle. 

his fingers stay threaded through your hair, gentle, rhythmic, combing through the damp strands in a way that makes your scalp tingle and your eyes want to flutter shut, but the low pull in your belly keeps them open, keeps you hyperaware of every single point where his body meets yours.

"so," he murmurs into the top of your head, the word vibrating through his chest and into yours, "now that we've established that you've been a incredibly greedy today—i want to know something else."

his hand slides from your hair down to the nape of your neck, warm palm settling there, fingers curling loosely around the base of your neck from behind. not squeezing, not restricting, just resting, a weight that reminds you with every breath that he's bigger than you, that he could do anything he wanted, that the only reason you feel safe is because he's chosen to make you feel safe. his thumb traces the ridge of your spine, slow, meditative, like he's reading braille.

"when you were lying on your tummy just now, squirming around in that little top, holding that bottle of lotion you couldn't reach—" he pauses, and you feel him smile against your hair, feel the stretch of his lips, the warmth of his breath shifting. "what were you actually hoping would happen?"

the question drops into the small space between your bodies like a stone into still water, and you feel the ripples spreading outward through every nerve ending you possess. your face burns. you try to press it deeper into his chest, to hide in the broad warmth of him, but his hand at your nape tightens—just barely, just enough—and tilts your head back until you're looking up at him, your chin resting against his sternum, his eyes gazing down at you from what feels like an impossible height even lying down.

"don't hide from me," he says softly, and his free hand comes up to brush the hair back from your flushed face, tucking it behind your ear with a tenderness, every movement careful and precise. "that's not very brave, is it? and you're a brave girl. i've seen you be brave. you walked into a room full of footballers at a christmas party and didn't even flinch. you can tell me what you wanted."

"i just wanted lotion," you breathe, and even you can hear how thin it sounds.

"just wanted lotion," he echoes, and the way he repeats it back to you, each syllable rolled around like he's tasting it for accuracy, makes the lie sound exactly as flimsy as it is. his eyebrows lift, just barely, just enough to signal that he's giving you a chance to correct yourself, a window to be honest, and when you don't take it, when you just press your lips together and stare up at him with the petulant set to your jaw that you know drives him a little bit crazy, something shifts in his expression.

never anger, just… a quiet recalibration, like a man deciding on a different approach. "okay," he says simply, and then his hand comes down on the curve of your ass—firm, precise, barely anything behind it really, just the flat of his palm connecting with the thin cotton of your panties in a clean crisp sound that cracks through the quiet room like a snapped twig. it doesn't really hurt, it's not meant to hurt. it's meant to startle, and it does—you flinch with a sharp little gasp, your hips jerking forward against him, and his hand stays exactly where it landed, warm and heavy and resting there with an unhurried certainty that makes your skin prickle and start to bloom red.

"that's for lying to me," he says, and his voice hasn't changed at all, still that same low and honeyed tone, still patient, still impossibly gentle for a man whose palm is currently molding the shape of your ass. his fingers curve slightly, a reflexive squeeze that's more possessive than punitive, and you feel the pressure of it ripple through your lower stomach, your thighs pressing together on instinct. "try again. what did you want?"

your breath is coming faster now, shallow little pulls that barely fill your lungs, and the heat in your face has spread downward—your chest, your stomach, the insides of your thighs—until you feel like you're glowing with it, a slow internal blaze that his calm is somehow stoking rather than smothering. he watches you struggle with it, watches the defiance warring with the want behind your eyes, and his thumb traces a slow absent circle on the curve of your hip where his hand has drifted, patient as gravity.

"you," you whisper finally, and the word comes out sticky and reluctant, dragged from somewhere deep and honest. "i wanted you."

"there," he says, and the warmth that floods his voice is genuine, rewarding, a sound like sunshine breaking through cloud cover. "that wasn't so hard, was it? just a little bit of truth. thank you, baby." his hand on your hip slides upward, tracing the dip of your waist, the ridge of your ribs through the thin cotton of your tank top, and then back down again, a slow meandering path that makes your muscles jump and tighten beneath his touch. "wanted me to do what, exactly?"

"i wanted you to touch me," you admit, and your voice cracks on the last word, splitting it open, laying the raw want inside completely bare. his hand stills on your waist.

"touch you?" he repeats, thoughtful, rolling the words around in his mouth like he's considering them from every angle. his blue eyes hold yours, steady and unblinking, the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "where? here?" his hand moves to your hip, squeezing gently through the fabric. "here?" up to your waist, thumb brushing the underside of your ribs. "be specific, sweetheart. i'm a footballer, not a mind reader."

you squirm against him, the wet heat between your legs pressing maddeningly against the inside of your thighs, and the petulance flares up again—one last flare of it, one last flickering resistance—because admitting it, saying it out loud, guiding his hand there yourself, feels like surrender, and some stubborn part of you doesn't want to give him the satisfaction. but his hand is resting on your waist now, motionless, waiting, and his face is so open and so patient and so handsome in the low golden lamplight, his long hair falling across his forehead and his eyes soft with something that looks a lot like adoration, and the defiance just melts out of you like ice in the sun.

you reach down and take his hand. his fingers are so much larger than yours that wrapping around them feels like gripping a banister, and you feel the subtle flex of his knuckles beneath your palm, the quiet strength coiled in every tendon, as you guide his hand off your waist and down—over the plane of your stomach, past the edge of your tank top, over the slight curve of your lower belly where the muscles flutter and jump beneath his touch, until his palm settles between your legs, pressed flat against the soaked cotton of your panties.

his hand is huge, fingers splayed over your mound, and you feel him exhale, the warm rush of his breath stirring your hair and the tension vibrating through his chest where your cheek rests. he lets you guide him, lets you press his palm down until there’s no mistaking what you want—what you need. his thumb sweeps slowly, circling over the damp cotton, and when you gasp, he grins, bending his head so his lips brush the shell of your ear.

“thank you for showing me, sweetheart,” he murmurs, his voice a velvet hush, threading through you and making your whole body tighten with anticipation, “i like it when you’re honest with me. makes it so much easier.”

you arch your hips into his hand, your thighs spread, greedy and restless, and he rewards you with a gentle squeeze, fingers flexing, massaging you over your panties until you’re squirming, desperate for more. the fabric is already damp—nearly soaked—and when he presses two fingers just there, right where you’re aching for it, your breath stutters and your legs clench helplessly around his wrist. he’s so broad, you realize, his whole forearm braced across your hips, pinning you in place, making you feel small and helpless and so deeply, sweetly owned.

he slides his hand beneath the waistband, the backs of his knuckles tracing a slow, teasing path over your bare skin, and then his index finger finds your slit, slick and hot. he groans, low and pleased, a sound that rumbles through his chest and into your cheek, and his finger circles your clit with a care that makes you shiver, each movement deliberate, patient, coaxing.

“mmm, you’re always so warm here,” he breathes, his words a lazy drawl against your ear, “so soft for me. you know i love how tiny you feel in my hands, don’t you?” his finger dips lower, sliding between your folds, collecting your slick, and then he’s pressing—not too hard, just enough—at your entrance, testing.

he knows how it always is, how his fingers stretch you so much more than anyone else’s, how just one feels like your body is barely containing it, every nerve ending lit up, fluttering with the effort. he eases his finger inside, slow and steady, watching your face, lips parted, eyes fluttering, your breath coming in shallow, needy gasps.

“that’s it, good girl,” he croons, and you whine softly, your hips rocking involuntarily, trying to take him deeper. he moves with you, never forcing, always guiding, his thumb rubbing lazy circles over your clit as he works his thick finger in and out of you, careful not to push for more. he knows you can never take more than this, that even the suggestion of a second finger makes you clench up, overwhelmed by the stretch of just one.

“look at you,” he murmurs, his tone endlessly proud, teasing, “always so eager and still so tight for me. such a perfect fit.” he curls his finger, finding that spot inside you that makes you cry out, your legs trembling, your thighs pressing desperately around his wrist. your hands clutch at his forearm, nails digging into the hard muscle, and he laughs, soft and indulgent, watching the way you writhe and mewl in his grasp.

his thumb keeps that maddening slow rhythm on your clit while his finger works inside you, curling and pressing with a patience that feels almost cruel, and just when your thighs start to shake and your breath turns to thin desperate little pulls, he slows. not stops—slows, his movements going syrupy and languid, his finger barely moving inside you, just resting there, filling you, his thumb still circling but so lightly it barely counts as contact. your hips chase the pressure instinctively, grinding down against his hand, and he lets you, watches you do it with those half-lidded blue eyes and that quiet fond smile like he's watching something endearing, maybe a cute baby animal.

he pulls his finger out out slowly, the drag of it making you whine, and then he's pressing forward again—but this time there are two fingertips nudging at your entrance, blunt and broad and slick with you, and your whole body tenses, your hand shooting down to grip his wrist.

"erling—"

"shh, shh. i know," he murmurs, and his mouth finds your forehead, pressing a kiss there, warm and firm. "i know it's a lot…" his fingers don't push, just rest there, a promise and a question, and his thumb resumes its slow stroke over your clit, keeping you slick and trembling and open. "just wanna make it easier for you later,"

the statement lands between your legs like a pulse of heat and you feel yourself clench around nothing, your body responding to the implication before your brain catches up. he waits, his fingers patient at your entrance, his eyes on your face, and when you don't say no—when your grip on his wrist loosens just barely, just enough—he pushes forward.

the stretch is immediate and overwhelming, a slow burning fullness that makes your mouth fall open and your eyes squeeze shut, your thighs falling open wider on instinct because there's nowhere else for them to go, your body making room the only way it knows how. he's so careful, easing in millimeter by millimeter, his thumb working your clit in steady circles to keep you wet and pliant, and when his fingers are finally seated inside you—both of them, buried to the knuckle—you feel like you're being split apart in the most devastatingly gentle way possible.

"there you go," he breathes against your temple, and you can hear the pride in it, the restrained heat, the way his composure is fraying at the edges just slightly. "that wasn't so bad. look at you, taking it so well."

he doesn't let you adjust for long. his fingers begin to move—a slow curling thrust that drags against your walls, stretching you open with each stroke, and your hands fist in the sheets beneath you, your back arching, sounds coming out of your mouth that you can't control. high thin whines and broken little moans, your hips stuttering between trying to escape the intensity of it and trying to press closer, take more, and he watches all of it with that same steady gaze, his dimples deepening every time you cry out.

and then he stops, his fingers slide out of you slowly, leaving you empty and clenching and gasping. your hips are chasing him before your brain registers the loss, and when you open your eyes he's already pulling back, sitting up on his knees above you. he's enormous from this angle—all that broad chest tapering to his waist, his shoulders blocking out the lamplight behind him, his hair falling forward around his face as he reaches for the hem of his shirt and pulls it off in one fluid motion. the muscles of his abdomen shift and flex, golden skin stretched over all that impossible width, and you're still trembling from his fingers, still soaking wet, still desperately empty.

he reaches for his waistband, pushing his joggers down over his hips, and then his boxers, and then he's there—hard and flushed and so thick that your stomach actually tightens with something close to fear, your thighs pressing together involuntarily. he's long, yes, but it's the girth that's devastating, the heavy width of him resting against his stomach, the head dark and slick already, and you think every single time you see it that there is absolutely no way, no physical way, that—

"don't worry, love," he says softly, reading your expression like a headline. he settles over you, one knee between your thighs, his arms bracketing your head, and his free hand reaches down to hook behind your knee, drawing your leg up along his ribs. the breadth of him covers you completely, shadows you, the heat of his body radiating into yours like standing too close to a bonfire. "don't do that thing where you get in your head about it. we always figure it out, don't we?"

he reaches between you, wraps his hand around himself, and presses the head of his cock against your entrance. you're so wet that the sound of it is obscene, a slick parting, the heat of him nudging against where you're swollen and desperate, and your hands come up to grip his biceps, fingers digging into the hard warm muscle there.

the first inch alone makes you cry out—a sharp high sound that you muffle against his shoulder, your teeth grazing his skin—and he groans, low and long, his jaw tightening, the tendons in his neck standing out like cables. his arm beneath you tightens, pulling your hips up to meet his, and he keeps pushing, keeps that slow relentless forward pressure that doesn't feel like forcing, just feels like inevitability, like the tide coming in.

you're shaking beneath him, your walls clenching and fluttering around the next few inches of him in rapid desperate waves that you can't control, and he's barely even started—still less than halfway, his cock stretching you open so completely that you can feel your body resisting, tightening around the intrusion like a fist trying to keep him out while simultaneously pulling him deeper. the pressure is extraordinary, a deep aching fullness that radiates outward from your core and turns your bones to liquid, and when he rocks forward another centimeter your hand flies back against his hip, pressing flat against the hard slab of muscle there.

"i can't," you gasp, the words tumbling out wet and broken against his shoulder, "erling, i can't, it's too much, i can't take more—"

he stills. not immediately, not abruptly—there's one last tiny roll of his hips, a gentle nudge that makes you both groan before he settles, half-buried inside you, his breathing heavier now but still controlled, still infuriatingly measured while you're falling apart beneath him. his mouth finds your hair, pressing a kiss there, and you feel him smile again, that slow quiet curve of his lips that means he's thinking, that means he's about to be annoyingly reasonable about something that feels anything but reasonable.

"can't take more like this, hm?" he says, and his voice has dropped, gone rougher, a gravelly edge creeping into the warmth that makes your stomach clench. his thumb traces the curve of your jaw, tilting your face up toward his, and his blue eyes are dark now, the pupils blown wide, the steady composure still there but thinner, stretched taut over something hungry. "that's alright. let's make it easier for you."

the drag of him leaving you is almost worse than the push—your walls clinging to him, the wet sucking sound of it filling the quiet room, and you're left empty and gasping, your hips tilting up instinctively before you can stop yourself, chasing the fullness that's just been taken away. his hand runs down the length of your spine, palm flat and warm between your shoulder blades, and there's a weight to it, a gentle insistent pressure that tells you exactly what he wants before he says it.

"over, baby."

you turn onto your stomach without even thinking about it, your cheek pressing into the cool sheets, your arms folding beneath you. his hands find your hips immediately—those enormous hands that span your waist almost entirely, fingers wrapping around your hipbones—and he lifts you, pulling your ass up toward him until you're on your knees, face still pressed to the mattress, your back arching in a deep curve that he molds with one long slow stroke of his palm from the nape of your neck to the base of your spine. the position makes you feel vulnerable in a way that sends heat flooding through you—open and displayed for him, your thighs trembling, and when his hand smooths over the curve of your ass and squeezes, a slow appreciative handful, you whine into the sheets.

"there we go," his voice comes from above you, from somewhere impossibly tall, and you can feel the heat of him behind you, the broadness of his chest radiating warmth against your back without quite touching. "you always take me so well from behind, such a good girl for me." his thumb traces down between your cheeks, over the soaked cotton of your panties bunched to the side, through the slick mess of you, and you push back against his hand with a desperate shameless little roll of your hips that makes him laugh softly. "so eager now. where did all that attitude go?"

he notches the head of his cock against you again and your breath catches, your fingers twisting in the sheets, and this time when he pushes forward your body opens for him like a key turning in a lock—the angle different, deeper, gravity helping, your hips tilted and ready. the stretch is still enormous, still overwhelming, still enough to make your vision blur at the edges and your mouth fall open in a silent cry, but he slides in inch by slow careful inch and you feel yourself melting around him, your walls yielding and fluttering and adjusting to the impossible girth of him.

"that's it," he breathes, and his voice is wrecked now, finally, the composure cracking properly for the first time—a ragged exhale that sounds punched out of him. his hands tighten on your hips, fingers dimpling the soft skin there, and he rocks forward, sinking deeper.

you're sobbing, wet gasping sounds muffled into the mattress, your whole body shaking with the effort of taking him, the pleasure and the pressure blurring together until you can't tell where one ends and the other begins. he's barely halfway and you feel like you're being filled to your throat, every nerve ending in your body firing at once, your thighs shaking violently on either side of his hips. his hand slides up your spine again, anchoring at the back of your neck, and he leans forward, his chest draping over your back, his mouth hot against your ear.

his weight settles over you like a warm avalanche, his stomach pressed flush against the curve of your lower back, his hips flush against your ass, and the new angle pushes him just a fraction deeper—a fraction that makes you keen, high and thin and desperate, your fingers tearing at the sheets. you can feel him everywhere, the impossible breadth of him stretching you in ways you didn't know you could be stretched, and when his hand leaves the back of your neck and slides slowly around your side, tracing the ridge of your ribs, the dip of your waist, you don't think anything of it until his palm flattens against your lower belly.

he stills a bit as his fingers press in, gentle, exploratory, and you feel the pressure of it from both sides—his hand on the outside, his cock on the inside—and the realization hits you at the same moment a low pleased sound rumbles through his chest and into your back. there's a swell there, a faint rounded prominence just above your pubic bone that wasn't there before, a soft visible outline of exactly how deep he is inside you, and his thumb traces over it with a slowness that makes your entire body clench.

"mmm," he hums, and you can hear the smile in it, the quiet wonder, the satisfaction underneath. his fingers spread wide across the swell, pressing down just enough to make you feel it—to make you feel everything, the pressure of his cock and the pressure of his hand meeting through the thin wall of your body, and your arms give out entirely, your chest dropping to the mattress, your face turning sideways against the cool sheets while a broken moan tears out of you. "look at that. look at how brave you're being for me."

his hand stays there, molding over the shape of himself inside you, and he rocks his hips—a slow shallow thrust that barely moves, just grinds, and the bulge shifts beneath his palm, pressing outward against his fingers. he groans, the sound raw and unguarded, his forehead dropping to the back of your shoulder, his blond hair spilling across your skin.

you can feel the weight of his palm pressing him deeper, feel the way his fingers trace the outline of himself inside your body like he's committing it to memory, and the intimacy of it is so devastating that tears prick at the corners of your eyes, your mouth falling open against the sheets. you try to speak and nothing comes out—just a wet shaky exhale, your hips twitching weakly beneath him, and his free hand smooths up your spine again, a slow grounding stroke.

"shh, i know," he says, and there's that condescending tenderness again, the soft patronizing warmth that makes your chest ache and your walls clench simultaneously. "i know it's a lot. you're doing so well. such a good girl when she wants to be, isn't she? didn't want to say please all day but look at you now, taking all of this, being so sweet for me."

his hand presses harder against your belly and your vision whites out at the edges, a sobbing moan catching in your throat, and he holds himself there—buried to the point your body simply refuses to take more, his hand cupping the swell of himself inside you, his chest blanketing your back, his mouth warm against the curve of your neck.

"maybe this is what you needed all day," he whispers, his lips brushing your skin with every word. "not smoothies and shopping and someone to carry your bag. maybe you just needed to be full and quiet and good for a little while. is that what all the fussing was about, sweetheart? you just wanted my attention here?"

he punctuates the question with a slow deliberate roll of his hips, his cock dragging out halfway before pressing back in, and his hand tightens over your belly, feeling the bulge retreat and return beneath his palm. the sound that comes out of you is barely human—a broken wavering cry, your thighs shaking so hard the mattress trembles with it—and he hums against your shoulder, pleased and patient and utterly in control.

you whine, high and thin and pathetic, your fingers twisting so hard in the sheets that the fabric bunches and wrinkles beneath your clenched fists. he responds by rolling his hips so agonizingly slowly that you feel every single inch of him, every ridge, every vein, the broad head of his cock dragging against that spot inside you that makes your vision sparkle and your thighs clamp together on instinct. his hand returns to your belly, pressing flat, and the dual sensation of being filled and held and mapped all at once makes a sob tear out of your chest.

"still can't take all of me," he observes, and there's no disappointment in it—just a quiet factual tenderness, like he's noting the weather, his thumb stroking over the soft swell where his cock is buried inside you. his hips draw back, almost all the way out until just the head is notched inside your entrance, your walls clenching desperately around the tip of him, and then he pushes forward again in one long unhurried slide that makes your mouth fall open in a silent cry. "but you're taking so much more than you thought you could. aren't you?"

"yes," you gasp, the word ripping out of you, "yes, i'm—please—"

"there it is," he says, and the warmth that floods his voice is genuine, luminous, a sound like sunlight breaking through curtains. his chest presses tighter against your back, his arms wrapping around you from behind—both of them now, banding across your chest and stomach, pulling you up and back against him until you're kneeling in his lap, impaled on his cock, your back against his chest, his chin hooking over your shoulder. the new position drives him somehow deeper and you keen, your head falling back against his collarbone, your hands gripping his forearms where they cross over your belly. "there's that word. took you all day to find it, but here we are. such good manners when you try."

he presses his palm over your belly again from this angle, fingers splaying wide, and the bulge is more pronounced now with gravity pushing you down onto him—his hand cupping it, kneading gently, feeling the shape of himself through you while his other arm bands across your chest, holding you flush against the furnace of his body. you're so close. you've been so close for what feels like hours, the tension coiled tight and trembling in your lower stomach, and every tiny movement—the flex of his thighs beneath yours, the press of his hand, the shallow grinding thrusts that barely qualify as movement at all—sends you spiraling closer to an edge you can't quite reach.

"please what?" he murmurs into your ear, his lips brushing the shell of it, and you can hear the smile, can feel it radiating through every point of contact between your bodies. he's barely moving now, just holding you there, full and stretched and trembling in his lap, his cock buried as deep as your body will allow, his heartbeat thudding against your shoulder blades. "use your words, sweetheart. tell me what you want and i'll give it to you. you know i always give you what you want."

"please let me come," you whisper, and your voice cracks on the last word, splitting it clean in half, and his arms tighten around you—a convulsive squeeze, like even he can't help it, like the raw honesty of the request gets to him despite every effort to stay measured and composed. his breath shudders against your neck.

"since you asked so nicely," he says, and his voice is rougher now, the gravel in it more pronounced, the careful softness beginning to fray at the seams. his hand slides down from your belly, fingers tracing the junction of your thighs where you're stretched impossibly tight around him, and then a bit higher, finding your clit with a precision that makes you jolt—swollen and oversensitive and dripping, and his fingers begin to circle it with the same maddening patience he's applied to everything else tonight.

each thrust now rocks you forward in his arms and he pulls you back, impaling you again, his cock hitting that devastating spot inside you with unerring accuracy while his fingers work your clit in tight slick circles. the sounds filling the room are obscene—wet, rhythmic, the slap of skin against skin, your sobbing breathless moans tangled with his low steady groans, and his mouth is hot against your shoulder, his teeth grazing your skin, his arms locked around you like he's keeping you from flying apart.

"come on," he murmurs against your neck, and his voice has lost the teasing edge now, the condescension stripped away to reveal something raw and desperate beneath—the quiet ferocity of a man who has been patient for as long as he possibly can. his fingers tighten on your clit, pressing harder, faster, and his hips snap forward with a thrust that punches the air from your lungs. "come on, baby, give it to me, you've been so good, so good for me—"

it crashes through you like a wave breaking—a full body convulsion that starts at your core and radiates outward through every limb, your back arching against his chest, your walls clenching so hard around him that he groans, actually groans, a raw gutted sound that you feel vibrate through his ribs into your back. your thighs are shaking violently, your fingers white-knuckled on his forearms, and he holds you through it—all of it, every aftershock and tremor—his arms steady and immovable around you, his mouth pressed warm against your shoulder, his hips slowing to a deep grinding roll that draws your orgasm out until you're whimpering and oversensitive and trying to squirm away from his fingers on your clit.

“stealing my js, huh?” he chuckles, wordlessly pulling the blunt back between his own lips. one hand rests behind his head, biceps thickening, while the other dips under your oversized tee, fingers digging into your side to keep your ministrations steady. “y’r lucky you’re cute.” the dealer endearingly flicks your nose, crooked grin plastered on his face.

you whimper shakily as rafe’s cock nudges that snug, sensitive spot inside. “jus’ want something in my mouth—” you confess wobbly, hands already reaching over to snag the blunt from rafe’s lips. pride be damned, the weed taking its toll on you. the man beneath you swallows at your honesty. “yeah?” he taunts, middle and pointer finger hovering in front of your lips as a silent hint. “sweet girl just wants something in her mouth?”

without thinking, you close your lips around the two digits, teeth scraping over rafe’s family ring. the sharp sensation of your ribbed teeth on his skin overpowers him, the stutter of his thighs vibrating through your cunt. thick smoke billows around you, the bitter smell of the weed swirling in the air.

you whimper lightly at the sensitivity of your mind, the feeling of rafe filling you perfectly to the brim. “such a nasty girl, taking what i’m givin’ you.” he mutters, voice a tad bit slurry, but his eyes are twinkling in wonder. your big doe eyes flutter dramatically at him, tongue swirling around rafe’s thick knuckles.

both of you are lost in the clouds of pleasure. rafe’s sprawled on the bed like a fucking king, just watching you putting in all the work while he puffs out grey smoke once in a while. you’re gone, only chasing the pleasure that seems to be within reach now, whines and whimpers mingling together. you feel so stuffed, feeling the twitch of his cock in you every time you breathe in.

rafe grunts at your sloppy ministrations. “look at you sweetheart. nothing going on in that pretty little head of yours, huh?” he practically grits out. your pussy clenches around him at his tone of voice, his fingers still heavy on your tongue. rafe takes another drag, blowing the smoke in your face like a miserable taunt.

“just— lemme see ya, baby. thaaaat’s it, fuck, just—” he continues to babble as you pick up your pace, low eyes zeroed in on the tacky white ring around his shaft. “gonna get’cha so used to me, moulded to my shape. swear you’re never gettin’ another dealer ever again.”

You’ve learned how to read Ilya’s body the way some people read sheet music.

The hitch in his stride when his ribs are taped too tight. The way his shoulders lock when he’s bracing for impact instead of dodging it. The reckless angle of his hits when he’s no longer protecting himself, just throwing everything he has into the boards and whoever’s unlucky enough to be there.

From the stands, it’s agony.

You sit with your hands laced together so tightly your fingers ache, eyes never leaving the ice. He’s been like this all game. Charging too hard, staying out too long, taking hits that make your stomach flip. You know he’s already hurt. Bruised ribs don’t heal because you want them to. They heal because you rest.

He isn’t resting.

Every time he crashes into the boards, you feel it in your chest like a phantom pain. This isn’t hunger. This isn’t playoff fire. This is something uglier. Desperate.

You’ve felt it for weeks now. The distance. The clipped answers. The way he kisses you like it’s a habit instead of a want. You told yourself it was the playoffs. Pressure. Stress.

Now, watching him practically invite injury, you know better.

The buzzer sounds. Final score flashes overhead.

3–1. Loss.

The Boston Raiders skate off, shoulders slumped. You’re already moving, threading through the corridors toward the locker room exit. One by one, his teammates file out, quiet and exhausted.

Ilya doesn’t come.

Minutes pass.

When he finally emerges, showered and dressed, hair still damp at the nape of his neck, he looks devastating in the way he always does. Broad shoulders. Sharp jaw. Eyes dark with something closed off and unreachable.

He doesn’t smile when he sees you.

The walk to the car is silent. You take the keys without asking. He doesn’t argue. Streetlights blur past as you drive, knuckles white on the steering wheel. He stares out the window like he’s somewhere else entirely.

Inside his apartment, the door clicks shut behind you.

You exhale like you’ve been holding your breath all night.

“What the hell is going on with you?”

He blinks, slow and blank, like he doesn’t understand the language you’re speaking.

“What?”

“You’ve been dismissive for weeks,” you say, voice tight. “Cold. Distant. I thought it was the playoffs, I really did, but tonight? Ilya, you were begging to get hurt out there.”

He turns away, heading for the kitchen.

“You know what could’ve happened,” you follow, words spilling faster now. “You’re playing with compromised ribs, your core stability is off, one bad hit and you’re looking at torn intercostals, an ACL if your mechanics are off-”

“Enough,” he mutters, grabbing a glass and pouring himself a drink.

“Don’t,” you say, frustration burning behind your eyes. “I can see what you’re doing to your body and-”

“I said enough.”

He’s so cold it feels unreal. Like someone flipped a switch.

You swallow. “This isn’t you.”

That’s when he finally looks at you.

Something sharp flashes across his face. Then he snaps.

“I cannot do this anymore,” he says, voice rising, accent thickening as his control slips. “All of it. Hockey. Pressure. Everyone wants something from me.” He drags a hand through his hair.

Your heart twists. “Ilya-”

“And then you,” he cuts in sharply. “Always watching me. Telling me what is wrong. What I do to my body.” His voice breaks, then turns cold. “I am tired of being managed.”

“I’m not managing you,” you whisper. “I’m caring about you.”

“I don’t want care,” he snaps. “Not like this.”

He steps closer, anger burning in his eyes. “I just want nothing. To not think. To not feel like I am failing at everything.”

He glares at you, eyes wet but sharp, voice dropping to a final, cold edge.

“Go. I need air… I need silence… I need you out of my head.”

Your vision blurs. You nod once, because if you speak, you’ll shatter. You grab your jacket, hands shaking so badly it takes two tries.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, though you don’t know why.

He doesn’t stop you.

The hallway feels endless. The night air burns your lungs.

Your hands fumble for your phone. You don’t think. You just tap the first name that feels safe.

Shane.

When he answers, sleepy and confused, your voice comes out broken.

Across from you, Dustin is locked in a heated debate about the optimal way to rewire a walkie-talkie for "extended range, not for illegal surveillance, Steve, god."

Steve’s been half-listening, throwing in the occasional dry, "That sounds like a one-way ticket to getting your house raided by the Feds, Henderson."

You’re tucked into Steve’s side, but you’ve gone quiet. Not sad. Just… full. The noise is a buzzing hive in your ears, the movement a blur at the edges of your vision. Words feel heavy and far away.

So you retreat to one of your favourite places: Steve’s hands.

He’s got one arm around you, his fingers drawing idle patterns on your shoulder. His other hand rests in his own lap, palm up, relaxed. It’s an open invitation.

You take it. Gently, you slip your hand into his. You trace the lines of his palm with your thumb, following the life line, the heart line, as if reading a map written just for you. You fiddle with his fingers, bending them slightly at the knuckle, then straightening them.

He feels like his heart is going to melt right out of his chest. His focus drifts away from the kids and to you instead. His world is contained within the circle of his arms and your gentle, fidgeting hands.

Steve starts to reciprocate the quiet attention. His thumb begins to move, stroking slow, rhythmic arcs across the back of your hand held in his lap.

When Dustin’s voice reaches a particularly piercing peak, Steve feels the tiniest flinch in your fingers. He reacts instantly, his head coming up. His voice is calm but carries a gentle, firm authority that cuts through the noise.

“Hey. Volume, Henderson. Dial it back a notch.”

Dustin pauses, mid-rant, and looks over. “Oh. Right. Sorry,” he says, his voice dropping several decibels.

Steve nods, his attention already returning to you. He leans down again, his lips near your ear. “Too much?” he murmurs, the words barely audible.

You shake your head, finally looking up at him. Your eyes are a little wide, but full of a trust so profound it makes his breath catch. You offer him a small, shy smile.

That’s all he needs. The sun could have exploded outside, and in this moment, Steve Harrington would only have eyes for that smile.

He smiles back, his whole face transforming with a warmth that has nothing to do with the basement’s heat. He lifts your joined hands and presses a lingering kiss to your knuckles.

“Are we boring you?” Mike’s voice, laced with familiar teenage exasperation, cuts through the moment.

Steve doesn’t pull away from you, he just turns his head, cheek resting on top of your hair. “Yeah, Wheeler. You are. My beautiful girlfriend is right here, and you're talking about resistors. It’s not even a contest.”

Lucas lets out a short, sharp laugh. “He’s gone. Fully checked out.”

“Seriously, Steve?” Dustin groans, though he’s smiling. “This is crucial communications infrastructure! You’re telling me that doesn’t hold a candle to… to what, exactly? What is she even doing?”

“Nothing that concerns you, man,” Steve says, his voice a low, contented rumble. He’s not looking at them. He’s looking at the way your thumb has started tracing slow circles on his wrist, right over his pulse. He can feel his heartbeat under your touch, steady and sure for you. It’s almost too much.

From her spot in the corner with El, Max cocks her head. “He’s got that look on his face.”

“What look?” Mike grumbles, finally looking up from the disemboweled walkie-talkie on the carpet.

“The one he gets when he’s about to start crying."

Steve huffs a soft laugh, but it’s shaky. He’s not denying it. He feels raw, peeled open by the sheer, quiet force of your affection.

You feel the tremble in his hands. You look up at him, your shy smile fading into soft concern. You squeeze his fingers gently, a silent question, cocking your head just a little.

He shakes his head, pressing another quick kiss to your knuckles, as if to reassure you. “I’m okay. I’m just… really okay.” He clears his throat. “C’mon. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

Steve stands, pulling you up with him, but doesn’t let go of your hand. As he leads you toward the stairs, the kids launch into their usual commentary.

“There he goes!” Dustin announces, as if narrating a wildlife documentary. “The male, once dominant and alert, has been completely disarmed by a display of simple tactile affection. His higher brain functions are shutting down. All that remains is the urge to provide snacks and soft blankets.”

“We get it, you have a girlfriend who likes you,” Mike mutters, though it lacks its usual venom.

"Yeah, one who hasn't dumped your ass," Max teases Mike.

El stifles a laugh.

Mike’s head snaps up, his face flushing instantly. “Shut up, Max! That was— it was mutual!”

“Yeah, right,” Lucas snickers, nudging Will. “Super mutual. I remember the mutual crying.”

“The mutual moping,” Will adds, grinning.

Mike throws his hands up. “You guys are the worst! Steve, are you hearing this? Defend me!”

Steve pauses at the foot of the stairs, one hand on the railing, the other still holding yours. “Defend you?” Steve echoes, a slow, shit-eating grin spreading across his face. “Wheeler, look at this. Look at what I’ve got. I’m in the middle of a… a personal victory here. You’re on your own, kid.”

Mike groans, sinking further into the couch. “Traitor.”

Steve’s grin softens just a fraction, turning more fond than teasing. “Get your girlfriend back, then we’ll talk.” He flashes a wink at El who smiles shyly before giving your fingers a gentle squeeze, his gaze returning to you, the softness flooding back in. “Ready, angel?”

You nod, a little overwhelmed by the intense focus of his attention.

As you reach the top of the stairs, Dustin starts again. “And thus, the hierarchy is established. Harrington, smug and emotionally compromised, remains at the top. Wheeler, tragically single and roasted, remains at the bottom. The natural order is preserved.”

Steve shakes his head, a quiet laugh escaping him as he leads you out of the house, towards his car.

He opens the passenger door for you, jogs around to the driver’s side and gets in, but he doesn’t start the engine yet. He just turns in his seat to face you, the interior light casting soft shadows on his face.

“You were worried about me down there,” he murmurs.

“You were shaking,” you whisper, looking down at your lap where your hands are now folded. “I didn’t like it.”

The raw concern in your tone, the admission that you were watching him so closely, seems to undo him all over again. He reaches out, his fingers gently tilting your chin up so you have to look at him.

“It was a good kind of shaking,” he promises, his thumb stroking your jaw. “It's just... no one’s ever… paid that much attention to me. Not like that. Not just to… to me. Steve.”

You reach up, covering his hand on your cheek with your own. “I like Steve,” you say, the words simple and true.

A choked sound escapes him. A tear finally spills over, tracing a path down his cheek. He doesn’t wipe it away. “Yeah?” he whispers, his voice cracking. “You like this mess?”

You nod, leaning forward to press a soft, shy kiss to the tear track on his cheek. Then another to his other cheek. “I like this mess,” you murmur against his skin. “A lot.”

That does it. He lets out a soft, broken sob and pulls you into a hug across the centre console, his arms wrapping tightly around you, his face buried in your neck.

“My sweet, shy girl,” he mumbles into your skin, his voice muffled and wet. “You’re gonna kill me with how good you are. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

You just hold him back, one hand stroking his hair, the other rubbing slow circles on his back. You don’t have the words to tell him he deserves everything. So you show him, in the only language you feel truly confident in—the silent, steady language of touch.

Eventually, his breathing steadies. He pulls back just enough to look at you, his face blotchy and beautiful. He gives you a watery, radiant smile. You know, completely, that he'd do anything for you.

“Okay,” he breathes, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, laughing a little at himself. “Okay. Let’s get you home. I think I need to look at you somewhere that isn’t Mike Wheeler’s driveway.”

He starts the car, and as he pulls onto the quiet street, he immediately reaches for your hand again, lacing his fingers through yours and resting them on his thigh.