Chapter Text
Steve scanned the room, the human was passed out on the couch; dark curls cast over his peaceful face. Steve stared for a moment longer before grabbing his hook, he knew he was a heavy sleeper but he still needed to be cautious.
He moved silently through the living room, quiet, calculated footsteps. He climbed onto the mantel; he grabbed the end of a kleenex and carefully tugged the tissue free. He delicately folded it and tucked it into his bag.
From the high vantage point he looked across the room and his eyes landed on an abandoned wrapper. An unfinished brownie, it seemed like the human had barely taken a bite. Steve’s eyes widened.
He looked back at the sleeping giant, it was risky. Shit, it was right in front of his goddamn face. But he knew it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. He wet his lips and crept forward.
He kept his eyes trained on the human, waiting for any movement. The man was out like a light, dead to the world.
Steve stalked across the table and very carefully peeled back the plastic wrap, wincing slightly at the crinkle. He glanced at the human, still asleep, then back down and his eyes widened. The brownie was fudgy, dense, and dotted with chocolate chips.
Jackpot.
His stomach growled; he swallowed thickly and pulled his knife from its sheath. He easily sliced through the brownie. He took a corner, making sure it was hardly noticeable. His heart was pounding. He glanced at the sleeping human before taking a bite; his eyes fluttered shut.
It was rich and chocolatey. He shivered at his luck.
Steve shot another nervous glance towards the human who was still passed out. Quickly he pulled the plastic wrap back over the brownie and scaled down the coffee table.
Steve sat against the bookshelf and indulged. He resisted moaning with each bite, it was so fucking good. He never had access to shit like this. He had to physically restrain himself from eating all of it. He tucked half into his bag for later, he knew the kids were gonna freak out. He smiled as he imagined their reactions. He licked the chocolate off of his fingers and stood, he still needed to grab a few things.
He had been mid-climb when it hit him like a truck.
It was a strange all encompassing wooziness. Everything felt distant and strange. Steve stopped climbing, frozen. He took a deep breath and rested his forehead against the wooden shelf, trying to let the sensation pass.
It didn’t.
Panic spiked in him, he dropped to the ground and stumbled when his feet hit the carpet. His eyes were wide, he had never felt like this before. His heart began to race.
It was drugged, it had to be.
It was a trap.
Steve cursed under his breath and stumbled towards the walls, completely abandoning his hook as anxiety coursed through his veins. His knees felt weak as he walked, his mind was going a mile a minute, he needed to get into the walls now.
He winced and leaned against the wall for support, each step felt harder than the last. It felt like they were moving on their own accord, disembodied from him. He felt so overstimulated. The blood pumping in his ears was deafening, he felt like his chest was caving in. He wondered if he was dying.
He grit his teeth and dropped to his knees.
Steve squeezed his eyes shut and put his head in his hands. He realized he was shivering, his teeth chattering. God what was happening to him? He panted and his mind raced, each thought slipping from his mind faster than the last, he struggled to breathe.
He was so fucking dead, he couldn’t understand how the human knew he’d be there. How he knew he’d take the bait.
He felt so naive, so stupid. Outsmarted by a goddamn human. Humiliating.
As Steve groaned and rubbed his eyes, desperate to get this sensation to fade. As he pulled his hands from his face he noticed movement in the corner of his eye. He looked up and gasped. The human, awake, standing, and staring directly at him.
“N-No... No, Fuck…” He muttered nearly inaudibly. He pushed himself back against the wall, his chest quickly rising and falling.
“Holy shit…” The human breathed. He stepped forward and dropped to his knees at dizzying speed.
Steve threw his arms over his face, this was a nightmare… It had to be. “No, no, no, no…” He whimpered to himself helplessly.
“Hey, hey…” The human’s voice was soft, it seemed to reverberate around him. Steve winced and nervously lifted his gaze, watching the man glance back at the brownie on the counter, then to the borrower. Connecting the dots. “Ah shit…”
Steve scrambled to his feet before falling back against the wall. He couldn’t think straight and he couldn’t move properly, he was panicking.
“Hey, hey… Deep breaths… Deep breaths.” The human whispered. Steve flinched as he kneeled and leaned closer. He brought his hands back up, hiding behind them. He expected a tight, vice-like grip to wrap around him. “Okay, too close… Got it, got it. My bad.” The human mumbled.
“How long… How long is this gonna take?” He managed to whisper, shuddering as he realized the human was going to sit here and watch him suffer. He was probably getting off on this shit.
The giant paused. “Uh. How long is… What gonna take?” His head cocked to the side, looking down at him in confusion.
“The poison! The-The goddamn poison, man!” Steve snapped, his voice faltering fearfully.
“Poison…” The human repeated before shaking his head. “No… No, this isn’t, it’s not poison. It’s weed. It’s, uh, it’s supposed to calm you down… Mellow everything out. You just took too much. You’re going through a bad high, it’ll go away with time, I promise.” He explained, voice soft.
Steve opened his mouth and closed it, looking like a fish out of water. “I-I don’t… I-I-” How could he trust him? His eyes burned with tears. He glanced at his exit. He needed to get out.
“Hey, it’s okay, big guy.” The human clicked his tongue, “It’s okay. Do you have any water?”
He shuddered, “Will it make it stop?” He whimpered. He had never felt so pathetic in his entire life. He was absolutely losing it. He shakily pulled out his canteen of rain water out of his bag. He struggled to screw off the cap, he was shaking so badly. He chugged the water, praying it would wash this sensation away.
The human hesitated but slowly nodded. “Maybe a bit… You just need to give it time. Lemme help you, okay?” He whispered softly.
Steve yelped as the human’s hands descended on him. Easily he was scooped up. He squeezed the canteen close and tucked his chin into his chest.
He screwed his eyes shut. Everything felt so off. It was like he was living in some terrible nightmare. Warm, calloused hands curled around him, scooping him up. Steve’s hand pressed to the leathery palm, shuddering as he felt the warmth emitting from it. Just so alive, it was unfathomable that something so large could be real.
He was cradled in the palms and lifted. “T-Too fast!” He yelped nervously. “Jesus Christ.” He whimpered.
“Shit, sorry…” The human mumbled. His pace slowed and carefully he pulled him to his chest. “You’re alright… You’re gonna be alright, big guy. Just hang in there.”
Steve shuddered as he was pressed into the man’s t-shirt. It was a vintage cotton band tee. It was worn and soft to the touch and radiated warmth because of the giant body beneath it. Instinctively he clung to it as he struggled to breathe.
“Gonna set you down, okay?” The man whispered, beginning to pull his hands from his body.
“W-Wait…” Steve whispered. The giant froze, Steve’s mouth felt dry. He didn’t know how to… How to say this. “Don’t… I-I-“
“You wanna stay?” The human guessed. Steve could hear the smile in his voice. “Yeah? That’s cool.” He whispered. He cupped him close.
Steve shuddered and leaned into him. Too high to be embarrassed. He buried his face in the man’s shirt and melted into the warmth, his breaths were soft huffs, struggling to manually breathe.
“Breathe with me.” The giant whispered, feeling his shallow breaths. Steve felt the chest beneath him slowly rise and as he exhaled his breath ruffled through Steve’s hair.
He had always been a people’s person. He needed touch and conversation. He wondered if the man would’ve let him go back into the walls if he asked. But honestly that option sounded even worse.
He couldn’t let the kids see him like this, he was their caretaker. Showing this type of weakness… Absolutely not. He probably would’ve disappeared into his room or a quiet crook in the walls and hyperventilated until the feeling finally waned.
He tried to relax against him. He followed his breathing, squeezing his eyes shut. It took a few minutes but he didn’t feel like he was drowning anymore.
“Good…” He shuddered as the giant’s thumb experimentally ran down his back. “M’ name is Eddie.” The man whispered.
Steve looked up at him in surprise. He blinked, looking over his face. It was soft, kind… Strange for a human. Eddie chuckled softly. “God. Your eyes are so red.” He muttered. “I’m sorry this happened. I didn’t mean to fucking… drug you.” He mumbled.
Steve swallowed thickly, unsure what to say to this. “I’m Steve.” Speaking felt strange and unnatural. He realized he was still clinging to his canteen and took a swig.
“Steve,” the human, Eddie, repeated. “Cool.” He whispered. He stared down at him for a few seconds more. “I really hope you’re not a hallucination.” He muttered.
“What?” Steve blinked.
“I’m pretty high myself.” Eddie admitted. “I mean you… Look real, you feel real.” He pressed his thumb against his back to emphasize this.
“I am real.” Steve told him defensively.
Eddie paused before nodding. “If you say so.” He mumbled. He yawned, settling back on the couch.
Steve dropped his gaze as the human opened his mouth. So big, he could fit inside. He could be swallowed whole- He shuddered and desperately tried to shake the impending spiral.
“You should sleep.” Eddie told him, “Should help it wear off.” His thumb ran along his back.
Steve again found himself at a loss for words. He nodded slowly. Hesitantly he leaned against his chest, he took a deep breath and settled against him.
His head was resting against his chest, his heartbeat steadily pounded. Strangely he found it reassuring. He closed his eyes, his breathing evening out.
ᯓ★
Steve’s eyes slowly blinked open and he quickly sat up. He gasped and clasped his hand over his mouth as he realized where he was. Against this human’s chest. In his hands.
Steve instinctively pushed himself up before freezing as the giant beneath him groaned softly. His palms came to pull him closer and, given no other options, Steve dove out of his hands.
He landed on the edge of the couch and tumbled off. He swallowed his yelp; suspended from the ground only by a slipping grip on the edge of the couch cushion. He looked down, gauging it, before letting himself drop.
Steve landed on the balls of his feet, knees bending to absorb the shock. He rolled forward with a grunt and for a moment he laid on the carpet panting. Even though he’d been in the human’s hands only a moment ago he wasn’t hurt. Not even a scratch. He genuinely couldn’t believe he was alive.
He didn’t feel as out of it, a lingering wooziness and an unbelievably dry mouth but he was alive.
The giant on the couch still cupped his empty hand to his chest. Steve shivered.
He didn’t want to test his luck any further. He ran across the carpet and unlatched the hook he had abandoned earlier, taking any evidence that he’d been there at all.
He slipped into the walls, he ran his hand through his hair. He was still reeling. He was alive.
It was dark out, Steve prayed the kids had just gone to bed. He knew they trusted him, he hadn’t failed them yet. He honestly didn’t know how to face them after this. He rounded the corner into their home and heard a gasp and winced.
“Jesus fucking Christ Steve! Where the fuck were you?!” Dustin shouted, slamming his hands on their table. Despite his sharp tongue his face gave away the fact that he had in fact been scared shitless.
“Language.” Steve held up a finger to quiet him. “I just… I lost track of time, alright? Didn’t mean to scare you, Henderson.”
The look on the boy’s face gave away that he wasn’t buying this.
“It’s fine, Dustin. I’m fine. You’re fine.” He shrugged. “Go to bed, it’s late.” He told him. Steve turned his back to him and heard Dustin getting to his feet.
He blinked in surprise as the boy hugged him from behind. He looked back at him and smiled softly. “Don’t do that shit again, Steve.” He muttered.
Steve smiled and ruffled his curls. “I won’t, Henderson. I promise.”
He watched him retreat to his room with a sigh. Steve set his bag on the counter and opened it.
He stared into the bag with a look of disdain.
The half eaten chunk of brownie lay abandoned in the bag. Steve unceremoniously threw it into the trash and shuddered.