Shutter [Jonathan Byers] Stranger Things I

XXVI: Closeness

close·ness

noun

the quality of affection or intimacy in a relationship

They came home from the matinee show that they had seen that day; the memories of a vicious, rabid dog destroying lives evident in their minds making them giggle. Such a folly thought, a monstrosity such as a St. Bernard. Although Emilia had never had a dog, she had always found them lovely creatures, and she greeted Jonathan's dog with a warm belly rub.

"You'd never eat us," she cooed.

"No, you definitely cannot trust him," Jonathan joked.

Emilia rose to her feet, shaking the hair from her hands and making a face, "I'm gonna go wash up; dog hands."

She tottered down the hallway, reaching her fingers out and gently touching the walls. When she realized that she might be leaving stains, she pulled them away and felt a bit guilty. Turning down to the washroom, she opened the door, the handle fighting with her for a moment, and then stepped in. Flicking on the lights and waiting impatiently as they fought hard to light up, and studied herself in the mirror. There was colour to her usually wan-looking face. A brightness in her cheeks and a sort of glow that spread over all of her. Looking deep into her own blue eyes, seeing the movement of the irises, she bit her lip. She knew what she wanted, she knew all too well that she wanted Jonathan.

A nervousness in her stomach made everything feel right; she was supposed to have that butterfly feeling within her. It was not the same feeling that she had when she had been with Tommy; that had been a vile combination of nausea, alcohol, and immediate regret. She banished thoughts of Tommy, because they were not longer valid, they were no longer a defining property of what was Emilia. Running her fingers through her hair, she noticed all the little flaws upon herself, and she loved them.

Her nose was slightly crooked, and she couldn't decide if that was from the car accident or a childhood mishap. Maybe she was born that way, so much of her life she had never taken the time to put on pause, to take the picture of. One ear, she swore, sat lower than the other, but her hair hid that at all times aside from gym class when she pulled it back. She was thankful that she hadn't had gym class since ninth grade; she always hated having to slip into the bathroom stall just to change her shirt. Emilia gripped the hem of her shirt and lifted it, making it stay up by hooking it over her full breasts. She stared at her stomach, looking at the criss-cross markings all over her, and the thinner one that was from the surgery.

"I am beautiful," she whispered to herself, and then slid her shirt back down.

After washing her hands, Emilia stepped out of the washroom and heard music playing. Knowing that was typically a signal meaning Jonathan was in his room, she walked down to the other end of the hall slowly. Her sock-clad feet were silent over the carpeted floors, and she tuned in to what Jonathan was playing.

"Seasons don't fear the reaper"

She closed her eyes and soaked up the music.

"Nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain"

Standing in the doorway, she looked at Jonathan, who was adjusting the fine tuning on the stereo. Clearing her throat to get his attention, she watched him turn to look at her. Stepping into the room, Emilia closed the door behind her and walked over to the side of the bed that Jonathan was on. She stood just in front of him, her hand moving down from his soft hair to his smooth cheek. Her lips parted as though she were about to speak, but words never formed. She bent at the hips, one hand still on his cheek and the other touching his thigh, and she kissed his soft lips.

Stepping back before Jonathan managed to absorb the kiss and lose himself within it, Emilia slowly and nervously removed her shirt. Jonathan's eyes widened ever so slightly, and then his pupils contracted as he focused in on her scars. He didn't mean to look at them, but the way Emilia stood so still made him think this was what she wanted. His hand moved out from his side and touched her hip, then slowly moving over the small scar right where her spleen would be. His other hand moved along her skin, feeling the bumps of her scars. After a few minutes, his eyes met with her eager blue ones and he said, "You are so beautiful."

She reached behind her and unclasped her simple black bra. She knew that girls her age who were getting involved with boys spent days wondering what they were going to wear when they first had sex; but Emilia wasn't having sex for the first time. She wasn't trying to impress anyone, she didn't need to try to impress Jonathan, she didn't need to have a drink to loosen up enough to allow this to happen. She wanted this to happen. Jonathan stood up and pulled his own shirt off. He was thin, but it was evident that he was strong. Emilia herself was not thin, not like Nancy, but she did not envy her fellow student.

Sliding his hand around Emilia's back, her felt the curvature of her lower spine and kept his hand right there. His touch made her shiver with delight, and she brought her own hands around the back of his neck, lifting herself up on her tip-toes and kissing him again. The passion that swept through them could not have been met by any other feeling. Words couldn't describe how she felt when she wrapped herself up in his touch; clothing was slowly removed and scattered, as though they had all the time in the world to lose themselves in one another.

"Love of two is one"

Lying back on the bed, Emilia kept her eyes firmly locked on Jonathan the entire time. He was nervous, she could tell, but he didn't have to feel any sort of insecurities with her. Bringing her hand up, she ran it along his cheek, moving it to his shoulder, and bringing him down so that she could kiss him again. The feel of his lips against hers was the most desirable feeling; she felt so safe with him. Their hands were all over one another, exploring each other, the comfort in their touch was astounding.

For a brief moment, there was a hiccup in the passion and intimacy, which came with the unavoidable awkwardness of finding a condom. When it passed, both of them were smiling at one another, as though the fumbling had brought them to a new level of closeness. As they were swept up in one another, bodies close, skin on skin, Emilia didn't stare at the ceiling; she kept her eyes on Jonathan's beautiful brown ones, losing herself within his presence, realizing how much she cared about him, how much she wanted this with him, and only him.

Jonathan looked at Emilia with utmost fondness; he could not get over how beautiful she was, how much he cared about her. He even wondered, if perhaps, he loved her. Their bodies were as close as they could possibly be, and he leaned down to kiss her lips that were parted, heavy breathing emitting from them and fogging the windows around them. The music still played in the background, but Jonathan was not listening; all he could think about was her, and how they were already at this level of intimacy. He wondered how he could possibly care about someone so deeply; it was as if it was coded within him to care about Emilia, ever since he pulled her from the wreckage of the car, he wanted to keep her safe, protect her, make her smile.

And now he had, and he always would.

"Come on baby, and she had no fear"

I LOVED writing this chapter. I used to write detailed smut all the time in my stories, and I just got bored of it. Now the new challenge is writing a sex scene and making it beautiful instead of sexy. I hope I did alright, and I hope everyone else liked this chapter as much. The song throughout the story is "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult, but I added the version that was covered by Denmark and Winter just because it's softer, unfortunately this version doesn't do the final verse, which is my favourite.

Question, what is your favourite song?
I find this hard to answer because it changes, but I think I'd have to either go with Wye Oak's "Civilian" or anything from July Talk at this point.