not a monster (a stranger things 001 fanfic)

chapter twenty-one: Run

tw: blood, needles

I wake up, feeling warm and rested, my body enveloped in One's arms.

"Good morning..." I mumble, twisting my face to kiss his cheek.

"You sleep ok?" he asks softly.

"Yeah..." I sigh. The fresh sheets are soft from our body heat and the mattress is much less firm than mine. I really don't want to get out of bed this morning.

One tucks my hair between my ear. "Today's the big day." he whispers.

Oh shit. We're escaping today.

"Today?" I ask breathlessly. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes, I mean it." he says lowly. "I want to get us out of here. And I don't think I can stand another day of having to pretend you mean nothing to me."

My heart thuds. "Ok. Let's do it."

He kisses the back of my neck. "Find Three at breakfast and tell her that we're going to leave. Tell Six too, if you can."

"Should I ask for their help?" I say.

"No." says One. "The less danger they're in, the better. Me and you will break out today. All things going well, we'll soon be strong enough to get them out in a day or two."

"Alright..." I mumble. "When do you want me to find you?"

"Papa has scheduled for you and the kids to have free time straight after breakfast." he tells me. "Once you're done eating, go to the stairwell we decided on. I'll join you there as soon as I can."

My mouth feels dry. "Straight after breakfast? So only a couple of hours away?"

His arms tighten around my waist. "That's right." he hesitates. "Are you scared?"

"No, just... Yeah." I admit.

"I'm going to protect you." he murmurs. "I promised you that, didn't I?"

"I'm not scared for me," I mumble. "What if you get caught before we can get to the stairwell? What if Papa realises that we're together? What if -"

"Ara." he says gently. "There are a million things that could go wrong. Stressing about it won't make them go away,"

"A million?" I say weakly.

"Yes." he presses his lips against my hair. "But you're forgetting something."

"What's that?" I whisper.

"Me and you; we're gods." He says softly. "And if I see you in danger, there's nothing they can do to stop me from saving you."

"What if I can't remove Soteria?" I say anxiously.

"Then I'll carve it out of my fucking neck myself." he says smoothly. "If it gets too graphic for you, I can handle it."

"That's not what I meant." I add quickly. "I'm absolutely fine with blood, you know that. I'm just worried that it's embedded too deeply in your neck."

"Here." he pulls my hand up to feel the chip under his skin. "You feel it?"

I probe the hard metal outline gingerly. "Yeah..."

"It's not got any sort of wires running out of it." he says. "And I trust that you can get that out without killing me."

I bite my lip. "I suppose so..."

There's a brief silence and he frowns. "Arabella..." he says cautiously. "Forgive me if I'm misreading the situation, but I can't help but feel that you sound slightly... reluctant."