Oh hi there

His room was clutered ceiling to floor with memories. (Reader) was instantly overwhelmed by the clutter. Throughout the funeral they had been numb; drifting through the memorial service like they were stuck in a fever dream. Any moment their sickness would finally lift, and they would finally be allowed to wake up.. but that moment never came. Through the suits, and condolences, and dinner inside a childhood home, and now in Jackson's bedroom, where he lived after he dropped out of college.

It was all plastic and fake. Nothing was truly real; until (Reader) was alone in his room.

It still smelled like his body spray and sweat.

The walls were covered in posters for shitty horror movies and 90's action video games.

There were stacks and stacks of retro magazines and VHS tapes, all of various quality and condition.

His sheets were, oddly, just navy blue.

(Reader) waited for the door to close behind them before they finally broke down, tears streaming silently down their cheeks in a way that hurt their chest more than if they could have allowed themselves to scream.

The two inseparable childhood friends hadn't spoken in nearly two years.

And now, they would never speak again.

There wasn't a fight, or an argument. They just.. lost contact. Life got in the way.

Communication is a two way street, and while Jackson could have reached out at any time, the only one who could shoulder the guilt was (Reader), regretting they hadn't reached out sooner.

But what could they do?

Aside from regret-

They looked at the old CRT, and found a stack of hand labeled tapes next to the television.

Plopping the first into the player, (Reader) was greeted by the sight of their friend, not cold with an off colored blush applied to perfectly still cheeks, but instead wide eyed and warm. He was filming himself in his room, pretending he was a tv host, critiquing a three decade old horror movie. It was poorly acted, and sounded terrible as he clearly used the microphone on the camcorder. But it was passionate, and Jackson seemed to truly the movie he was cheesily speaking of.

They watched the entire video transfixed. Their tears became heavier.

"My name has been Jackson, and I'll see you in the next video!" He smiled and gave a double finger gun, then the screen went black, and the tape made a pop.

(Reader) flinched, broken from their spell. It took almost a full minute for them to pull the tape from the VHS player, placing it back on the stack, and gently pushing in the next video.

"Jackson here! And today we're going to talk about The Stuff!"

Video after video, for four hours, (Reader) watched Jackson excitedly talk about horror movies alone in his childhood bedroom.

(Reader) laughed loudly in the silence of the empty room in response of every joke Jackson made, still dripping tears down their chin and soaking their suit.

Their hand fell oddly, expecting to hit a larger stack of tapes, but finding only one left after hours of watching. A sinking feeling tore a hole through the bottom of their heart at the realization that the memory lane was coming to an end.

The last home video was pressed into the television.

Jackson was center stage, taking up the entire screen, silently smiling at the camera. There was a sadness behind his smile, like he was waiting to say something, but he just continued staring, breathing softly.

(Reader) leaned in towards the screen, feeling the fuzz buzzing against their nose. Their friend wasn't moving.

"Why did you leave us?" (Reader) whispered.

They knew no one could hear them. They knew asking the question they had deep inside their heart aloud would only make them cry. But they spoke, above the CRT hum, to no one, to Jackson, to allow themselves to cry even harder.

"I'm sorry."

Their eyes turned up to meet Jackson's.

And it looked like he was looking into their's as well.

"I'm so sorry." He repeated.

(Reader) wished so badly that he was speaking to them, that this was real, that it wasn't the opening to a suicide video note. They responded as if he was right there, a ghost.

"I'm sorry I never called. I thought-" they sniffed hard as they began to sob disgustingly, "I thought I had time. I kept meaning to text you. But I kept getting busy.. but I thought.."

Jackson interrupted his friend's self loathing. "It wasn't your fault."

A pause. A second. A moment to process their reality. Their muscles tensed, in the time it took for a humming bird to breathe, they relaxed, eager, hungry. The desperation to see Jackson again was stronger than any fear or logical reason. Why question seeing a ghost, if that ghost is your best friend?

"Why did you leave?" They repeated, gripping the sides of the tv with both hands.

Jackson sighed, blinking slowly. "It was.. too much. Life. I'm sorry. I was just.." another sigh, dropping his head into his hands to rub his eyes with his palms roughly. ".. tired."

A soft bonk followed his confession as (Reader) conked their forehead against the screen.

Quiet humming filled the space between the two.

"I watched all yours videos." (Reader) smiled weakly.

"Ugh." Jackson sounded embarrassed. "I wish you hadn't."

"Why? I learned so much about Killer Tomatoes!"

Soft chuckling was shared between the two.

Although the conversation started awkward and depressing, it quickly evolved into vibrant laughter, joking as though the two had never been apart, and one of the friends hasn't been buried a few hours earlier.

Then, after two hours, the video buzzed to an end, and the screen turned black.

And (Reader) was plunged into the aching, painful depths once again.

"No.." They breathlessly gasped, frozen by the blue screen as the tape auto ejected. They pushed it back in, pressing rewind, while unable to think properly over the ringing in their ears.

The tape screamed as it spun back, before popping, and playing.

Jackson appeared on the screen, centered like before, smiling mournfully.

"Jackson?" They called out to him, hopefully, and painfully.

"Yeah?"

Relief was a blanket that was thrown over the fire that was their anxiety. He was still there. And he was still conscious.

(Reader) slumped as they realized they hadn't lost Jackson again. "I'm sorry, Jay."

"(Reader)."

"Yeah?"

"You know you'll have to eventually let me go, right?"

The calm that had soothed (Reader) only a moment prior now chilled them to their core. A deep, still, icy stillness.

"What?"

"(Reader), I'm not really here. You know that, right?"

They shook away his words; knocking them out of their ears. "Why, why, why are you saying that?"

"I-"

"Are you mad at me?" Their face twisted, confused, hurt, broken.

"No, I'm not!" Jackson cried out, panicking. "But I'm dead, (Reader). You can't stay in my room forever!"

Any logic or reason behind his words were purposely lost on (Reader). "I'm not ready to say goodbye.."

"(Reader)-"

"Just a little while longer?" Tears stuck in their bottom lashes.

Quiet.

Humming.

"I missed you too."

(Reader) smiled joylessly, and brushed their fingers against the side of the tv set.

Whenever the conversation began to die down, (Reader) would find a new topic to keep the two friends talking.

And after another two hours, just like the first time they discovered Jackson's tape, it ended abruptly, turning black, then blue.

They didn't even consider his feelings as they pushed the tape back in, and pressed rewind once again.

Tired eyes met their's.

"(Reader), please. I need to sleep." He pleaded.

Although they smiled kindly, they lied easily through their cracked lips as they begged, "Just once more."

It didn't matter how many times they had to push rewind, or lie and say 'This is the last time'; as long as they could have Jackson back with them again.

They had years of lost time to make up with him, and another fifty years before it was their time to be with him again.

It was okay if he looked a little tired.

"Do NOT go out there!" Logan whined, too high to pull himself off the couch of the rental cabin, but aware enough to be worried for his friend who had decided to wander out after the sun had already set.

(Reader) teetered dangerously on their feet as they attempted to put on their shoes, a boozey lopsided smile on their lips. "I'll be so fine. I've got my phone." They emphasized their point by waving a cracked phone in a cheap case at him.

Out in the dark of the summer night, the adult didn't need a jacket despite the blackness of the sky; the heat from the day stuck to the world like the sweat on their back. They stumbled through the branches that littered the forest floor, fishing for the roach they knew was lost somewhere in their butt pocket.

Movement caught their eye as they stuck the small roll between their lips. Camera on and flash illuminating the dark thicket, (Reader) smiled hard enough to hurt their cheeks.

A stick bug.

The reason why (Reader) was excited to come for a week away in the mountains, while their friend Mal was not-

Bugs.

They did a little dance to try and spur the stick bug into wobbling, but got distracted by the sound of a cricket a few feet away.

Crickets, spiders, moths, ants; the camera roll was rapidly filling with over-exposed, slightly blurry photos of bugs.

And before they knew it, (Reader) didn't know how far out they had wandered, nor how long they had been gone.

They sighed because they knew that when they returned they would receive an earful from Logan, the mom of the friend group. Closing the camera and opening the GPS, (Reader) cursed under their breath when the app couldn't find them because of a lack of internet, despite having enough data. They were too inebriated to think through their phone issues, and started ringing up Mal-

When a crash in the trees nearly made them drop their phone.

Another, quieter snap of wood, and (Reader) pulled the phone away from their face to point the flashlight at the approaching disaster.

A breeze rushed forward, and a chill ran down their body, freezing the sweat to their raised hairs. Their red eyes struggled to focus on the vehicle sized thing speeding towards them.

The pathetic light didn't reveal enough until the creature was a parking space away.

An arachnid the size of a small car was charging at (Reader).

They didn't have time to think. Without processing, really, what was going on, (Reader) raised their arms at bent 90 degree angles, and squat like a crab, waving their arms frantically.

It stopped right before it collided with them, but they continued waving their arms for dear life, side stepping back and forth while staring at the giant, hairy monster.

Years of bug videos and documentaries taught the adult many many useless facts about the little critters in their home. One of them was about flagging: when a male will raise their arms, either to say "I'm not here to hurt you, so please don't hurt me!" or "Let's fuck!" Since they were drunker than a gambler and higher than the moon, they only thought of the first meaning when they threw their body into position.

A deep rumble emerged from within the creature, and eerily human voice questioned "What are you doing?"

At the sound of it's his voice, (Reader) nearly lost control of their bladder.

"Please-" they took a shaky breath, licking their dry upper lip, "please don't eat me?"

The front legs of the spider tapped the forest floor. "I do not typically eat humans.." He sounded confused, as though he couldn't understand why a human would be afraid of him.

"Oh.. typically.. 'Kay.." (Reader) slowly stood straight, lowering their arms to their sides.

'I'm speaking to a giant spider.'

They rubbed their eyes roughly as they began to realize the situation they were in.

"Are you real?"

The spider scoffed. "What a rude question."

"No, it's just, like, did I hit my head, and this is a weird dream as I, like, slowly bleed out or something? Because spiders don't get as big as you. And they don't talk." They peeked out at the spider through their fingers, almost expecting him to morph into something worse, or get angry at their question and lunge at them.

Instead, a clicking could be heard.

'Is it.. laughing??' (Reader) dropped their hands, mouth and eyes going wide.

"I used to be worshipped as a god on this mountain, so no, I wouldn't think you would have ever seen another spider like me."

His words tumbled around in (Reader's), still slightly hazy, mind. "Do you have powers?"

"No. I am just a spider." The way his voice sounded when he spoke made it sound like he was smiling at (Reader's) question.

"Oh.. do you, uh, know the way down? I got lost." Embarrassment burned the back of their neck as they asked.

More laughter clicked through his throat as he curled his legs up and lowered his belly to the dirt. "Climb onto my back."

Still embarrassed, but tipsy enough to not argue, they pulled themselves onto his back with great difficulty. His hairs were soft under their knees, or perhaps they were just exhausted.

After another chuckle, he began to move at a deliberately slow pace to prevent the tiny (compared to him) human from falling or getting motion sick. "The first human I've seen in over a hundred years, and after suddenly proposing, they ask my help to leave."

"What??" (Reader) dumbly paused, their entire meeting running their their mind. Flagging. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry! I didn't know you could talk, I was trying to signal that I wasn't a threat, like, don't eat me!"

"Am I that terrifying?"

(Reader) couldn't tell if he was mocking them or not. "Well, you're not now.. but you were moving so fast, I thought you were hunting me!" They tried to explain themselves.

"I understand.. hm. I apologize, but I haven't asked your name."

"Oh," they leaned into the spider's back, "its (Name)."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, (Reader). The humans that worshipped me once had a name for me, but it was so long ago that I've forgotten it."

While wondering how old their new companion was, (Reader) asked him "Is there anything you would want me to call you?"

"I don't have a preference."

After a very brief thought, (Reader) proposed "Kree." And before he could ask, they explained; "When you laugh, your body makes a creeeee sound." They smiled into his back sleepily.

They didn't notice that he had gone oddly silent for the rest of the trip, as they were too busy fighting off the sandman.

Before long, the spider, or Kree, stopped and slowly nestled. "Down below are the humans."

Groggy and not wanting to leave Kree's soft back, (Reader) spot the roof of their rental. They yawned, and without thinking accidentally asked, "Can I see you tomorrow?"

Creaking laughter. "I would prefer it if you did."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Why am I doing this, why am I doing this-'

With a bag on their back, and anxiety in their, now completely sober, heart; (Reader) was trekking back up the mountain to where they thought they remembered meeting Kree for the first time.

Between the possibility that the creature was some kind of dream they had had, or that they really needed to go to the hospital because their body was not reacting well to the completely normal, store bought marijuana, was the reality that giant, eloquently spoken spiders existed in our world.

A small noise caused them to flinch dramatically, clutching their water bottle to their chest like a dagger. Heart cracking their rib cage, after only silence followed the sudden noise they slowly allowed themselves to exhale.

"Did I startle you?" The deep voice vibrating through their bones forced their knees to instantly buckle. Kree was right behind them.

"No!" They lied, a little too loudly. "I'm.. hungover. " (Reader) waved their bottle in front of the spider as they turned to face him, offering a shaky smile. "Drank too much, now I'm.. paying the price."

"I am.. honored you came to see again." His voice was soft, and he had curled up his legs, as though making himself physically smaller, though he still towered above the human.

Before (Reader) could respond, he made a strange noise that they hadn't heard from him yet.

"Would you like to see my home?"

'DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER'

"I would love to." They ignored their gut trying to crawl it's way out their throat. And despite their body begging them to run, they sealed their fate by climbing onto Kree's back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two talked for what felt like an hour of walking, discussing their lives, painting a verbal picture to each other of their histories. (Reader) spoke about their family and their friends, their job, their hobbies. For Kree or was a little more difficult, as he had been alive for so long he couldn't remember in great detail his entire life up till that point. He recalled being as small as a nail, but being very smart, and as he kept growing, he kept growing in intelligence as well. Until one day people started leaving him offerings and wooden carvings of himself. He learned three different languages, as different people came and went. Then one day, people stopped coming to see him. And he was alone.

"The other spiders, well, they are not much for conversation.." He lamented to (Reader). The fear had long left their bones, and it was now replaced with an odd pity and a comforting sense of familiarity.

"Oh, yeah this mountain can be dangerous. People still climb it, but they're required by law to stick to the trails on the other side." They shifted their legs. "I guess drunk me is more than okay with breaking the law though.. so that's why we met."

Surprised a little, Kree responded "I'm glad you're safe then." with relief in his voice.

"Ah, this is my home."

A huge cave decorated with funnel-like webs loomed before the two.

"Shelob?"

"I'm sorry?"

"It's- ah, nothing. Wow, this is huge!" They took out their phone and took a picture of the entrance, noting the lack of internet connection.

But he didn't let them down, and entered the cave.

Inside it was too dark for a human's eyes, and (Reader) was thankful that they remembered to charge their phone the night before, using it once again as a flashlight.

The walls, ceiling, and floor were all covered in webbing, and it looked extra thick.

"I'm sorry, I forgot that humans cannot see that well in the dark. I'll gather firewood later so you can have light."

"Thank you, but that's not necessary! I mean, I can't stay super long.."

Kree laid down, and (Reader) got the hint that he wanted them to slide off. The ground was sticky, and it made it a little difficult to walk.

"I do not understand?" Kree sounded.. heartbroken. His face was just that of a spider's, but his voice echoed like he was on the verge of tears.

(Reader) felt a physical pain in their chest. "Well, my vacation was only for a week, so I have to go back to work in two days.."

"I thought-" Kree cut himself off. "You could stay here?"

The heartache was instantly snatched away by morbid realization. "What?"

"I tried to make it a little softer in here, but I can make you a real home, something a human would enjoy living in. And I'll hunt for you every day, and give you everything you could ever want." His voice was pleading, but contrary to his voice, his body was curled up into itself, still trying to make himself smaller in (Reader's) presence.

(Reader) placed a hand on his head.

"I am so alone.."

"I'm.. sorry." They sighed while trying to find a tactful way to explain themselves. "Look, I love bugs and the woods, but I'm not a survivalist. One winter without heating is bad enough, but living forever without the internet? My loved ones?"

Kree made a strange noise.

"Could I not be.. one of your loved ones?"

"Kree, I'm.. I'm a human."

He stood suddenly, raising to his full height and startling (Reader) into falling onto their behind. "And yet when you named me after the sound of laughter, I saw us raising children together. When you asked if you could visit me again, I allowed myself to believe that it was because I had found a way into your heart as you had in mine. We have only just met, but I would do well as your husband."

Fear, confusion, and something (Reader) couldn't name, all mixed within their heart dangerously. "WHAT?"

He crawled over (Reader), lowering his body so that their faces could meet. "Your friends and family will always be welcome here. We'll make you a house suitable for humans. It'll always be warm."

They reached up, placing a hand on his face in an attempt to push him back. Their fingers dangerously close to the base of his pedipalps.

"Do you hate me so that you cannot see us as lovers?"

"No, I don't hate you! But- but I'm a human! It's-"

"Do you only see me as a bug?"

(Reader) went stiff. "Honestly? Only partly." Their head fell. "I think you have a very fascinating personality, and I really liked talking to you. But we can't have kids! Spiders die after they mate, and I'm terrified of you dying, then leaving me to give birth to a thousand babies, then die alone. But the major reason why we can't get married is because we just met! We just met and you already want me to abandon my entire life for you? That's insane!"

The confession nearly drew tears from (Reader), still stuck to the webbing under their butt.

They tried to fight it, but shame won, and a sob popped out of their chest.

Kree slowly backed away.

"I'm.. sorry."

They looked up at his face, and could no longer hold back their tears.

"Can I.." he paused, terrified of hurting (Reader) further. "Can I love you, even if you're not here with me?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nearly a year later

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Reader) turned down, yet another, coworker. They had wanted to do it privately, so as to not hurt her feelings, but she insisted on following (Reader) around the office, basically demanding an answer to her childish confession.

It wasn't that she wasn't hot, but neither was the new guy (Reader) had to train, who looked like he got dumped when they declined his offer to go get drinks.

Even a year later, (Reader) still heard the heartache in Kree's voice whenever someone looked at them with adoration, and they convinced themselves they could hear his laughter whenever they rescued a spider. The worst thoughts would pop into their mind.

'Does he still think about me too?'

'Would he accept me still?'

'How do spiders have se-"

They slammed their fingers a little too hard into the keyboard. They didn't know how it would work, but they decided it was better to starve to death in the woods than ponder forever over what could have been.

Their family and friends thought that they were having a mental health crises. They wished they had taken a picture of Kree himself, but the only photo they had to try to convince everyone was of the entrance to his home.

(Reader) was positive their dad never fully believed them, but they got their best buds to at least pretend they trusted in (Reader). It took a lot of planning, setting things in order with their apartment and job, but eventually (Reader) left, with just a suitcase and a backpack.

As for Kree, he kept loving (Reader) from afar just as he had promised. He had tried to remember his past, and why the people began to worship him in the first place.

It was fear.

He didn't like it, but if that was what it took to make a home for (Reader), should they ever return to him, then so be it.

Almost immediately after his love left, he began searching the base of the mountain, getting as close to the humans as he could without being seen. It took longer than he had hoped, but eventually he found some construction workers, and with the power of fear, became a god once again.

The workers all arrived to the site to find everything covered in webs, and hundreds of spiders everywhere. Their handheld equipment, such as shovels and picks, were all suspended unnaturally in the air by the webbing, seemingly pointing towards the forest.

Rick tried to summon all of his courage by shouting, "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS BULLSHIT!" and marched in the direction the tools were pointing.

But just at the edge of the forest, a cold breeze in the middle of summer rocked his soul. A voice from somewhere high above him spoke, as tiny spiders began to descend from the trees around him.

"I have a job for you.."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"KREE!" (Reader) cried out, lost. Their bags on the ground, they had wandered into the direction they recalled his cave being, but had gotten entirely turned around at some point. Mosquitos buzzed around annoyingly, adding to their rising distress.

Turbulent thoughts about dying alone in the mountain, lost, made (Reader) cloudy headed and forced the pain in their chest to worsen. Their nerve endings in their limbs were losing adrenaline, pumping it straight out of their skin and into the earth, but it was quickly replaced with each heavy heartbeat.

"KREE!!"

Rustling in the distance, the sudden gust of wind from between the trees, and just like a memory of their first meeting, a giant creature came sprinting at full speed from the dark distance, now bathed in sunlight.

His brown and lightly fuzzy body was just as (Reader) remembered, and they got too good of a look at him as he barely stopped in time, nearly crashing into his beloved human.

"(Reader)! You came ba-"

His words were interrupted by (Reader) launching themselves upward, grasping his neck tightly. The eight long legs immediately folded up, lowering both Kree and (Reader) to the earth.

"I'm sorry I left." Tears stuck to Kree's hairs like little dew drops.

"I understand."

"I'm still sorry."

There was a moment of quiet; just breathing and crying and bugs humming nearby. "But you still chose me."

(Reader) pulled away to look into Kree's many eyes. They had spent so much time wrestling with the fact that they would never look up and see a smiling face, or feel a loving embrace. If they ever needed a hand, that would be out of the question. But they heard his emotion in his voice. Even if they would never see him smile, or tear up, or frown.. They could hear everything in the way he spoke to them.

"I love you, Kree."

(Reader) placed their lips on top of his head, far above his eyes, and he embraced them close to his face with his pedipalps.

"Will you marry me?"

(Reader) smiled into Kree's head, their heart speeding up against his mouth. "Of course."

The creaking laughter that (Reader) had missed so much rolled out from within Kree. "I have built us a home."

Returning his laughter, (Reader) curled up as tightly into Kree's nape as their body could muster. "You made a home?"

Standing slowly, and allowing his beloved to slide down from his face, onto their feet, Kree turned to the direction of their new home. "I had one built."

"How?" (Reader) asked, face slack with confusion.

They could hear the smile in his voice as he confidently told them, "I remembered that I was a God." And with no further explanation, he led his lovely spouse further up the trailless forest.

As they climbed the two recounted stories of their year apart; mirroring that second day they had met. (Reader) agonized over their decision to leave behind their entire life for a man they only knew for a day plenty of times. But walking with him then helped (Reader) solidify the fact that they were doing the right thing. They weren't a child. They were an adult in love.

With a giant spider.

They blinked away that last thought as the sunlight stabbed their eyes. The trees parted and revealed a clearing; in the middle stood a large, single story, beautiful (if not plain) home. With sliding doors that were all built for a spider to easily open without help, the house had, as Kree said, clearly been built for himself and (Reader).

Inside was spacious enough for Kree to move and turn unfettered, the halls were as wide as a regular room. There wasn't any electricity, or wifi, but (Reader) had been prepared for such a life.

Small spiders lived in many of the corners, and (Reader) got the feeling that they were watching them, like little tiny guard dogs.

Whoever had built the home had even custom built a very large, very low to the ground bed. (Reader) admired their new room. Over the past few months, they had convinced themselves that they would be fine living in a cave, as long as they were with Kree; so to see a fully furnished home was beyond their wildest dreams.

"Wow, Kree, this is-" They set down their bags, amazed, "beautiful!"

Kree gently pressed into their side. "I'm thrilled you like it." There was a warmth to his voice that sent tingles down (Reader's) legs, straight to their toes.

"Thank you for agreeing to be my mate." His long legs pressed against their's, pushing them back towards the bed.

"Of- course." They smiled nervously, feeling hot under their thin layer of clothes.

"I am honored to call myself your husband."

As (Reader) fell onto the mattress they instinctively unbuttoned their cargo shorts. The underbelly of Kree was cool to the touch, and much tougher than the flesh of their palms. Once again the thought flickered through their mind, of how they were even going to have sex.

Did trailing their fingers lightly across his body feel good? Did he enjoy the soft kisses they were planting near his jaw? Frustration and nerves rose to a painful height.

He began crawling off and down their body, finally low enough down on their abdomen that they could look into his eyes.

"What can I do.. to make you feel good?"

A creaking chuckle filled the room, burning (Reader's) ears.

"Just lie back.. and relax."

They pulled off their bottoms entirely, mesmerized. There were so many feelings they thought they would be experiencing, but instead they just felt excitement.

His head neared their crotch, and fear flashed through their core when they heard him whisper "..it's so small.."

'WHAT'S so SMALL??' They thought panickedly, but tried to not clench under his gaze. As far as they were aware, all of their holes were of average human size!

Then, he began to tenderly rub their slit with his left pedipalp. He pressed open their thighs with his two front legs. It was almost as thick as a can, and suddenly his words made sense. It pressed against the hole, slowly trying to widen it.

"Fu-ck!" Their hands slapped down onto his head.

"Are you alright?" Concern laced his heat drunk voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine-" they reassured him, breathing deeply. "Don't stop."

He sighed.

"You are the most beautiful creature in the world."

It pushed into their folds, agonizingly slow. After what felt like for thirty seconds, it was fully inside of them.

Using their thighs to push (Reader) up the bed, he began bouncing them against his body, using the mattress and their soft tissue to create the momentum needed to fuck them without the use of regular human hands or limbs.

It was too big, but it stretched them out in a way that felt so good. They couldn't stop the noises that were coming out of their mouth. Just him stretching them out made them feel like cumming on Kree's face.

When he suddenly pulled out.

They whined. Removing their hands to look into his eyes, (Reader) almost begged Kree to put it back in. But then they saw him.. doing something.

There was something coming out of him, but it wasn't exactly webbing. It was moved onto his pedipalps, still soaked in (Reader's) fluids. There was a lot of it.

(Reader) didn't have time to confirm what it was before Kree entered them again, this time slick and warm. The fluid was thick and sticky, and there seemed to be more of it than physically possible.

Because of the wetness it slid in more easily, but still not without pain. Their body rocked vigorously underneath him as he fucked the viscous cum into them. They could feel it sticking to their walls; their body felt almost uncomfortably full.

Pain seared through their opening.

(Reader) dug their fingers into his head, pushing him back to witness what he was doing to their already swollen body. The second, cum painted pedipalp was pressing it's way in alongside the left one.

"OH SHIT!" (Reader) threw their head back, arching their spine, screaming "THAT'S NOT GOING TO FIT!"

He continued pressing, using the rhythm of his pulsing with his left side to ease in his right.

It felt like being ripped apart.

They didn't think their body was capable of taking that much, two large, thick appendages pumping deeply into their body, rubbing against their swollen erogenous zone with each thrust.

Within their gut they could feel the waterfall building, threatening to erupt.

"Kree, I'm about to-" They tried to warn their lover, but it wasn't soon enough. (Reader) curled their toes in ecstasy as they rode out their climax, right next to Kree's face.

Kree paused, but did not pull out his soaked pedipalps. "Are you alright, my love?"

"Yeah.. more than alright. I just, y'know.. I just came." They explained, wondering if he knew about the human orgasm.

There was a delighted chuckle, but to (Reader) it sounded quite ominous for some reason. "Already?"

"Huh?"

"Well, unfortunately for you my dear, spiders often need to mate for an hour."

Before they could react to that revelation, he plunged himself back into their sensitive slit. Electricity painfully pricked at their post-climax nerves, pulling porn worthy moans out of their throat.

Their eyes rolled so far back into their skull that they were seeing black and white flashes. The poor thing couldn't even attempt to crawl away because of the violent shaking in their muscles.

Then, the fluid began pumping into them.

What had been smeared on the outside was just excess, as uncomfortably thick cum began pouring into (Reader). Their stomach felt tighter and tears dripped from the corners of their eyes as Kree kept bucking the silk into them.

But he didn't stop.

They felt heavy, like they were going to piss themselves, and though they didn't want to, they felt another wave of fireworks explode throughout them as they became, what felt like, a used toy.

"Kree, please, I can't anymore.." (Reader) begged, feeling him leak out of their bruised lips.

"You're right.. it is our first night together. I shall let you rest."

(Reader) sighed in relief, thankful as Kree slowly pulled himself out, so full of cum that they didn't get to feel the relief of both of his appendages leaving them. When suddenly, something hot and sticky shot into them.

"Ugh, what was that?!" They cried out, gingerly touching themselves down there only to discover something blocking their entrance.

"To ensure a successful mating~" Kree replied joyfully, climbing up to cuddle with his spouse at eye level.

He had webbed shut their entrance, creating a plug to keep himself in. (Reader) felt everything inside of them as they tried to roll over, and just knowing that it couldn't come out made it feel like they could feel it sloshing around inside of their uterus. The idea of being filled to the brim with his cum, then holding it while he casually curled up beside them was, unfortunately, doing something for (Reader).

"When does the plug desolve?"

Quiet laughter filled the room. "In a few hours."

"So..-"

I think I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that I am in a toxic relationship. We've been together for nearly seven years, and for most of that I would say he has been my best friend.

He's the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with, the only one who understands me, and the only one who seems to be capable of looking past my mental "differences".

But he hurt me.

He keeps choosing his addiction over me.

I've spent thousands trying to get him help. I've cleaned up after him over and over again.

And I stayed with him after he cornered me in the bathroom and kicked me in the stomach.

I kept telling myself that it wasn't him, it was the alcohol, and the meth. That when he's sober he's my best friend.

But we got an eviction threat from him screaming at me. And he treated it like no big deal.

I've been trying to figure out how to get out.

I can't break my lease, and he's the one who adopted our cat. So I've been slowly over the past month trying to figure everything out. I don't know.

I'm full of a lot.

I had the idea before, that my relationship wasn't good, when he hit me on accident a year or so earlier. But I convinced myself it was no big deal. Because he started to go to AA.

Last week he went on another bender, and it hit me that I can't forgive him again.

"Well, you're here early." The smile on his face was wide, but it didn't reach his irritated eyes. A young man with black hair and bright blue eyes leaned against a desk as (Reader) entered the attic, his back facing a wall of monitors showing the mansion and underground facility.

"I got tired of the 'festivities'." (Reader) replied dryly, throwing the mini computer at his feet. At their words his left brow twitched.

Taking a step forward, (Reader) suddenly became aware of the other person in the room. In the office chair by the young man there was a body, breathing. When he saw that (Reader) had taken notice he grinned and swiveled the chair around to face them; revealing (Reader).

The original (Reader).

They could tell it was the original doctor because of the age; the older (Reader) had wrinkles and signs of stress that the clones did not possess. But more startlingly was the fact that this (Reader) had been tortured. Their arms and legs were gone, and their eyes were being pried open by stitches.

'He's torturing the original Dr. (Reader) by making them watch what's happening to their clones. Most likely because of Proect December. ' (Reader) hypothesized, shuddering at the thought of what could have happened to make the OG doctor deserve such a fate.

"What is Project December?" They asked, tearing their eyes away from the mangled older version of themselves.

The man smiled again, hate seeping through his joyful gaze. He motioned to a glass case on the desk, controlled by an electronic keypad. Inside was a severed head. Almost two-thirds were missing, including one of the eyes and most of the face. (Reader) approached it, shivering involuntarily when they realized it's one blue eye was following their movements.

"I am Project December." The man stated. His voice was spiteful, spitting out of an angelic smile. "Well, he is. I'm just his clone."

(Reader) swallowed. "Did I, they, do this..?"

"No. No no no no.. We don't know how long he was like that for, or how he came to be. See, memories can't be transferred. They're formed via chemicals, so clones won't have memories of the people, or things, they were made from."

They looked down at the computer they threw at his feet. "I see.."

"That wasn't my brain child." He told (Reader) whilst tapping the back of his own neck. "Everything I did to you, I learned from you first. I'm not a scientist!"

The man childishly collapsed into the older (Reader's) lap, causing them to cry out in pain.

"You aren't a scientist.. you didn't make the clones very well.." (Reader) glared at him. "The hallucinations."

"Not intentional." He smirked. "Misfiring, crossed wires, but hey, I did my best!"

"So the project.." (Reader) thought about the signs they saw on the floor. Genetics. "It was probably to see how you were still alive after all this time. And how to replicate it."

"Even as a clone you're smart.." His smile turned sour again. He tightened a grip on the older (Reader), just to make them cry again. "I am not the first clone, only the most prefect."

(Reader) smiled back, gripping their axe in anticipation. "I'm sure it's difficult to clone a living human from a zombie head."

'That's where most, if not all, of the monsters came from.' They thought angrily.

His eyes furrowed, and his smile fell. "I really thought you cared about me."

"Hah!" (Reader) scoffed. "Why would you think that?!"

Closing his blue eyes, he leaned against the doctor, and for a moment he almost looked like a child trying to receive comfort from a parent. "They used to speak to the head and me. When no one was around. They said I was the most amazing thing in the world."

A stunned silence filled the room. (Reader) looked at the doctor, begging them with their eyes that it wasn't true. That they wouldn't treat a test subject like a human. But the doctor was warped with regret, and rage, tears spilling over their scabbed up cheeks.

"Then they invented the computer that connects all of our memories." His fingers began tightening around the doctor again. "And I watched through the eyes of others as Dr. (Reader) said the same thing, and felt their pain as the doctor ordered their bodies to be disposed of."

The attic air was thick.

"Once they sold the secret to my immortality, I'm sure I would have been disposed of next as well." He stood up, kicking the doctor in their thigh's bandaged stump.

After a tick or two (Reader) sighed, and dropped their weapon.

The loud noise genuinely startled the man, who looked at the younger version of his enemy in shock.

"Do you feel better?"

His eyes were wide, and the fake smile he had been wearing was nowhere to be seen.

"What?"

"After all of this, I was expecting something.. different." (Reader) smiled sadly. "Apologizing to you will do nothing, because even though I'm their clone, I didn't do those things to you. I thought after all of that, there would be some big, bad evil behind everything."

They sighed, then looked around, noting that aside from the desk and monitors it was a regular attic, packed with boxes and cobwebs.

There was also what looked to be a small fuel canister by an old fashioned lamp.

"So I'm just a pawn, in a revenge plot, against a scientist. You did awful, horrible things against me. Like I wasn't human. Like none of the me's were human. Because we looked like your enemy. But like you said, we don't have their memory."

(Reader) sauntered over towards the fuel whilst maintaining eye contact with the man, watching him sweat.

"But unlike you, I'm not going to hold that against you."

They picked up the red canister, and bent down, poiting at the man to keep his attention while they searched for a lighter.

"What does that mean?"

'Found it.'

They came back towards the desk, and saw the man flinch, again looking very childlike.

"You loved them." (Reader) didn't ask if, they already knew it to be so. They could feel it in the way reach and every monster killed them.

(Reader) sat on their own lap, and poured the fuel over the both of them.

The held up the lighter so the man could see it.

"I'm sorry, but this needs to end."

Dr. (Reader) struggled beneath them, attempting to say something. Their mouth was opened wide, revealing a lack of tongue.

The last thing (Reader) saw before the flames consumed them, was the look on the young man's face. It wasn't anger, or joy, or even confusion.

(Reader's) mind was filled with pain, unable to think rationally when a word popped into their head.