A/N: Thank you to everyone who has followed this so far! Not going to lie, this chapter is my first time ever writting something like this, so please, comments are more than appreciated and looked foward to. I hope everyone enjoys!


Later that night, Jim and Joyce had gone outside to get some fresh air and get a game plan. Murray had gone into the kitchen to try to see what he had to eat for his unwanted guests and to get away from them for a while. Christine and Alexei are still in the living room, old cartoons playing on the TV.

Christine was sitting up against the arm rest, leaning her back against it once again sitting cross legged, a pillow in her lap. As something funny happened on the TV she giggled, Alexei laughing even though he had no idea what was happening. He had stretched out now, laying on his back across the couch with his head on the pillow in her lap. She had absent mindedly started running her fingers through his hair, his brown curls soft against her skin.

If someone had told her a week ago she was going to be in this situation she would have laughed at them. But now that she was here, she wouldn't change it for anything. She wanted nothing more than to help her brother and Joyce, they had been through enough for a lifetime already. But her mind wandered to the man who was watching cartoons with her. What was going to happen to him? Did he plan on going back to Russia? Stay here? She didn't know why she started to panic slightly, thinking about what would happen. But as she thought about it, she zoned out, staring at the floor now.

"С тобой все в порядке?" He asked, grabbing her attention. She looked down at him, his eyebrows were raised above his glasses as he looked at her upside down. But her eyebrows were drawn together in confusion. He seemed to read that, leaning over and grabbing the translation book Murray gave them off the table. He flipped through it hurriedly, muttering to himself under his breath before he finally made it to the page he was looking for. "Хорошо?" She held up the book as he pointed at a word. She assumed he was asking if she was alright.

She smiled down at him, pushing back a few of his curls off his forehead, "I'm okay." She nodded her head.

"Oh-kei," he repeated slowly, giving her a thumbs up. She laughed at him as he smiled up at her, poking her in the cheek. She batted away his hand, his other coming up and poking her other cheek.

They continued their flirting as Joyce and Jim came back inside. Joyce joined Murray in the kitchen, much to his dismay, as Jim went into the living area. He stared down at Christine and Alexei, he was glad that she was happy but he wasn't too thrilled that what made her happy was a scientist that was potentially trying to undo everything he had worked so hard for.

As Alexei tried to keep messing with her, she held his arm back but was shocked when suddenly a pillow collided with the side of her head. She was stunned by it for a moment but turned to see Jim staring at her. Alexei seemed to take that as a hint, crossing his hands over his stomach again and turning his attention to the TV.

"Can you not be an asshole for like ten minutes?" Christine asked, eyeing her brother. He simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head at her as she rolled her eyes.

Later that night, after everyone ate, exhaustion was finally catching up to them. Joyce had gone upstairs to the spare room to go to bed. Not long after her, Murray decided he was done translating for the night and headed to his bedroom, giving Christine the other spare room upstairs. She nodded her head, thanking him for it but she wasn't ready to go to sleep just yet. The rest of them continued to sit in the living room, something random on the TV as background sound. Christine had long ago tuned it out, and moved from the couch with Alexei to sit in the other chair. He had fallen asleep, snoring lightly.

"What are you doing?" Jim asked her as she stood, grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch.

"He fell asleep, I'm just being nice," she said as she covered him up. She looked over at Jim as he rolled his eyes, "Something you apparently know nothing about." Before he even had a chance to say anything, Christine turned and walked out of the living room, heading towards the front door. She needed to get away for a minute, everything hitting her all at once. Lives were at stake here and his only concern was getting under her skin.

Once she made it outside she noticed a folding chair off to the side, walking over and making sure it was okay to sit on. She didn't know Murray really either but wouldn't have put it past him to rigg it. But as she sat she heard the door open behind her. She turned, looking over her shoulder to see Jim. She sighed, crossing her arms as she came over to her.

"Hey," he said softly, crouching down, resting a hand on the chair's armrest to balance himself, "Listen, I'm sorry." Once she heard those words come out of his mouth she felt a tug at her heart. He wasn't one to admit that he was wrong and much less apologize about something. She may have been his sister but even those personality traits rarely showed themselves to her. She glanced back at him, crossing her leg over the other. She was going to forgive him, no doubt, but she wasn't going to let him off easy as she turned her head away from him. However, her plan backfired when he suddenly stood, "Fine, whatever."

"No, wait," she said as she quickly grabbed his arm. He turns and looks down at her. He couldn't help himself when he took a step closer, patting her head as she leaned against his side. "I'm sorry too. You're just trying to protect me."

"Which is harder than some may think," he joked. Christine couldn't help the tears that brimmed her eyes at the sentiment he gave her, but chuckled at his joke. "Listen, whatever happens, just know-" but Christine was quick to cut him off.

"Don't," she said in a shaky voice as he knelt down in front of her again, "Don't try to tell me goodbye."

"It's not goodbye," he said quietly as he placed a hand on her knee, trying to sooth her, "But just in case things don't go as planned, I need to know that I did everything I could." Christine could feel the tears flowing down her cheeks now. "I just want you to be safe and happy. Even if it is with Smirnoff." Christine laughed, wiping her cheek as Jim chuckled.

"You have done more than enough," she said to him in a shaky voice. "And you will continue to because we will save Hawkins again." Jim looked down, as Christine leaned forward, putting both her hands on his shoulders, "We have Alexei who knows all about the machine and what they are doing, we have you who always gets shit done." Jim chuckled at her comment but let her continue, "And both you and Joyce got Will back, closed the gate once already."

"It may not be that simple this time," he said looking up at her.

"No," she said defiantly, "We will have a plan, we will save everyone and you will continue to be the annoying big brother that I love." Before she could plead with him anymore she was suddenly pulled forward, strong arms wrapped around her. She was shocked that he pulled her in like that. They were close, but she could have probably counted the times they hugged in their entire lives on one hand. It shook her. Her eyes instantly water again at the realization, he was going to do whatever it took, even if that took him away from them. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him as well, gripping his shirt as tight as she could. She didn't want to let go. A silent sob shook through her body as he rubbed her back.

"Come on," Jim said quietly, "Let's get inside and get some rest." She silently nodded her head as they parted, Jim wiping the tears off her face.

Once they walked back in, they parted ways as Jim went to sleep on the couch opposite Alexei. Christine stopped at the bathroom, cleaning up her face and grabbing some tissues before heading to the spare room.

Once she made it up there she looked around. She didn't know what she had expected, the spare room looking like the rest of Murray's house. Boxes were stacked in the corner, unintelligible writing scribbled all over them. She sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to get any sleep, her emotions too high at the moment. She sat on the end of the bed, running her hands through her long hair, trying to calm herself down. She kicked off her shoes, about to take off her clothes to get comfortable when there was a soft knock on the door. She stared at the door for a moment, thinking maybe if she ignored it long enough they would go away. But that wasn't the case when there was another set of soft knocks.

She took a deep breath, running her hand over her face to calm herself, but she couldn't calm how red and puffy her eyes had gotten. But regardless, she stood, padding over to the door, opening it slightly. She half expected Murray to be standing there, telling her how much he hated that they were all there but instead, she was relieved to see Alexei. He still looked half asleep, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he looked down at her, readjusting his glasses.

"Oh-kei?" he asked with a small smile, giving her a thumbs up. However, that opened her floodgate of emotions again, her eyes tearing up.

"No," she said quietly, "Not okay." That seemed to wake him up fully as he stared down at her, concern washed over his face.

"Могу ли я войти?" he asked. He pointed from himself to inside her room and she assumed he was asking to come in. She moved to the side, opening the door a little more and nodded her head.

He quickly came in, turning to look at her as she shut the door. She had her back to him, resting her forehead on the door frame. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself when she felt warm hands on her shoulders. It broke her all over again, sobs wracked through her. Without saying anything, Alexei turned her around, facing him. He cupped her cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb as it rolled down her cheek. She didn't even think before she wrapped her arms around his waist. She was relieved when she felt his arms wrap around her shoulders.

They stood there silently, his arms holding her tight as his hand came up to rest on the back of her head, rubbing it gently. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, letting her get her emotions out. After a few moments she seemed to calm down, taking a small step back from him.

"Sorry," she said, as she wiped her face with her hand, laughing lightly at herself.

"Разговаривать?" he asked, quietly. He quickly pulled out the translation book, pointing at a word that meant, talk. But talking about it was the last thing that she wanted to do. She didn't want to relive the emotional conversation she had with Jim, or the fear of what was about to happen. She just looked up at him, shaking her head. She took the book from him this time, flipping through it, trying to find the right word. Once she found it she turned the book back to him, pointing at it.

"Stay," she asks. She looked up at him pleading, hoping he would know.

"Кровать?" he asked, pointing to the bed over his shoulder. She glanced at it then back to him, nodding her head. He stared down at her for a moment and she worried she had crossed a line. Maybe it was too forward to ask him to stay with her. But those feelings were squashed when he smiled down at her, wiping a stray tear off her cheek.

He turned towards the bed, sitting on the side as Christine walked around to the other. He took off his shoes, unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it over the end of the bed, his under shirt wrinkled. He laid back, resting his head on a couple pillows. He turned towards Christine, waiting for her to lay down but she stood there for a moment. There wasn't much light, the flood lights from outside leaking in through the window just enough for Christine to see Alexei staring at her.

"Don't look," she said quickly, as she stood there. But he just looked at her confused for a moment. "No, look." She said with a small smile, gently pushing his head the other way as she leaned over to the bed. He chuckled at her slightly, as she stood back up, quickly unbuttoning her jeans to get comfortable. She knew she was pushing boundaries but all she wanted was to sleep comfortably.

Quickly she got under the covers, scooting close to Alexei. He was still over the covers, also not wanting to push her too far. But his thoughts were settled when she laid her head on his chest, cuddling up close to him. He wrapped his arm around her, his hand coming to rest on her waist, pulling her in as close as he could.

She had her arm draped over his stomach, sighing as she got comfortable. She was content, laying there with Alexei as he rubbed her forearm with one hand, his other hand rubbing small circles on her waist. She looked up at him, his eyes closed as he laid there comforting her. But her emotions and curiosity got the best of her as she moved, jostling them around slightly. She propped herself up on her elbow as she looked at him more intently now. His eyes opened, looking at her curiously, his hand on her waist instinctively gripping her a little tighter. He leaned over slightly, grabbing the translation book.

"Что," he said as he pointed at a word before flipping through to another, "Неправильный?" Luckily, Christine was able to put together that he was asking her what was wrong. She sat up, leaning against the headboard next to him. Pulling the blanket up to keep herself at least somewhat covered, she took the book from him, finding the word she needed.

"Scared," she said softly as she pointed at it.

"Испуганный," he said, pointing at the Russian translation.

"Ispugannyy," she repeated. He gave her a big smile, nodding his head. He then took the book back from her.

"я буду держать тебя в безопасности," he said. She looked up at him for a moment, not understanding anything he said. But he held up the book to her pointing at the word, safe, pointing from himself to her.

She looked from the book to him, overwhelmed honestly. They had barely known each other 24 hours, she had technically kidnapped him and her brother had been anything but nice to him. But here he was, trying to make her feel better, keeping her safe from whatever was going to happen over the next few days. She thought back to when they had been on the couch earlier that day, she thought he was going to kiss her before Murray had interrupted them. And if she was being honest with herself, she wouldn't have minded. The past couple days had really shown her that you never know when everything may change. Her whole life had been turned upside down in the matter of 24 hours.

Without a second thought she closed the gap between them, her lips on his. She could tell Alexei had been shocked at first, hesitant but quickly warmed up to her. His hand came up to her cheek, pushing back some of her hair as he deepened the kiss.

She could faintly taste the strawberry icee on his lips from earlier as her hands snaked up his torso. She was surprised at how toned he was, not that she really expected any less just by looking at him. But as her hands traveled up his body, she gently bit his bottom lip, gripping his shirt a little tighter. She couldn't help the surge of pleasure that went up her spine as his grip on her tightened before he slowly pushed her back into the pillows. They parted for a moment, Christine catching her breath as she looked up at him. He leaned over her, tucking a small amount of her hair behind her ear as he smiled at her. She couldn't help but smile back at him as she trailed her hands up both his shoulders.

"Oh-kei?" He asked. She nodded her head, placing her hand gently on his cheek, glancing down at his lips again. He seemed to take that as his okay to continue as he leaned down, kissing her again.

She let out a breathy moan as he left her lips, trailing soft kisses down her jawline as her hand tangled in his curls. His hand left her cheek, trailing down her body before coming to her waist. She was still half way under the covers, covering her from the waist down but she quickly moved those to the side.

She was suddenly self conscious as Alexei broke away from her, looking her whole body over.

"Красивый," he said as he looked back at her. She still didn't know what that meant but the affection in his voice when he said it made her smile. Her own insecurities were squashed as he treated her with such care, grabbing the end of his shirt, tugging it up.

"Off," she whispered, a giggle bubbling up as he sat back on his knees.

He never broke eye contact with her, his own pupils blown wide as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Вот дерьмо," he said quietly as he tossed his shirt to the side. He grabbed his glasses as they fell off his face, having gotten caught in his shirt as he pulled it off. Christine continued to watch him as he crawled back up her body. He never broke eye contact as he placed a soft kiss on her thigh, moving up slowly and placing another on her hip.

As he moved up, he grabbed the bottom of her shirt, pushing it up as he trailed kisses up her stomach, stopping at her bra. She quickly took her shirt out of his hands, pulling it over her own head.

She parted her legs as he relaxed over her, his lips meeting hers again. His belt buckle was cold against her stomach, causing goose bumps to spread over her skin. He trailed down to her neck again.

"God…" she sighed as he nipped at her collar bone, her nails lightly digging into his shoulder blades. He hummed his agreement but didn't move from his spot on her neck. She knew she was going to have a hickey tomorrow but at the moment that was the last thing on her mind.

She let him go, reaching down to his belt, undoing it. She was going to continue to unbutton his pants but before she could, he grabbed her arm, bracing it above her as he grabbed the other. His large hand easily grasped both her wrists as she looked up at him surprised at this dominance.

"Медленный," he said, his voice gruff as he looked her over, "Позволь мне позаботиться о тебе." He kept his gaze on her as he leaned on his arm that was holding her hands back. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, trailing to her lips as his hand ghosted over her chest before finally she had had enough, arching her back, pressing her chest into his hand. However, once she did, he recoiled his hand, giving her a stern look. She gave him an equally stern look, squirming under him slightly as she muttered something about him taking too long. But she was quickly silenced when suddenly he ground his hips into hers, getting her attention. She gasped, looking up at him as he stared down at her, her mind going blank as she felt how hard he was. The flood gates had opened, pleasure shooting through her body as she felt her underwear getting wetter. He raised his eyebrows at her, almost like he was challenging her to do it again.

"Вы закончили?" he said to her. She continued to stare at him, unable to understand him. She made a mental note to ask Murray to teach her some Russian tomorrow or to study the translation book. But her thoughts were pulled back to the moment when he spoke to her again, "Терпение." He stared down at her, giving her a look like he wanted her to repeat it.

"Terpeniye," she said slowly and quietly. He gave her a big smile, nodded his head as he leaned down again. This time the kiss was a little more forceful as his hand slipped under her bra. She gasped as his thumb rubbed over her nipple. He finally let go of her hands, both of them flying to grab his face and pull him closer. She wrapped her leg around his waist, moaning as he ground his hips into her again. She couldn't control herself any longer as she went to unbutton his pants again, this time thankfully without him interrupting her.

She pushed his pants as far down as she could before he finally stood to the side of the bed, pushing them the rest of the way off. She took this as her opportunity to assert some dominance, standing next to him.

"Что ты делаешь?" he asked as he turned to face her, kicking his pants away. She just smiled up at him as she stood in front of him, her hands on his chest as she slowly pushed him back against the bed.

Her hand snaked up, tangling her fingers in his hair as she pulled him down towards her, kissing him as her other hand went south, finding the waistband of his underwear before dipping even farther. She felt his body tense slightly as she grabbed a hold of him, causing her own breath to get caught in her throat. He seemed to take it as his opportunity, sliding his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss. Her hand slid up and down his cock a few times before she finally pushed him back down on the bed.

He laid back, propping himself up on his elbows, watching her as she kneeled on the end of the bed. She slowly made her way up his body, keeping eye contact with him as she grabbed the waistband of his boxers.

With a smile, she pulled them down as he raised his hips slightly, making it easier for her. Her eyes were quickly drawn away from his face as his dick sprung free of his underwear. But the deep breath he took grabbed her attention, her eyes going back to his as she finally ridded him of his underwear, tossing it somewhere to the side. He continued to watch her with wide eyes as she crawled up his body again, this time stopping at his waist. She took him in her hand again, a satisfied smile on her face as he relaxed back into the pillows with a deep moan. Keeping eye contact with him, she bent down, placing a few small pecks on his hips before changing focus. With a sudden surge of confidence she slowly ran her tongue from the base of his cock to the head. She could feel Alexei shudder underneath her as he gripped the bedsheets around her. With another shot of pleasure running through her at his reaction, she took him in her mouth, sliding down as far as she could.

"Ебена мать," he moaned out, taking in a deep breath. She continued up and down, swirling her tongue around the tip of his cock each time she moved. He kept muttering under his breath as it became more and more ragged. Christine could feel her own pleasure rising just listening to him, her panties already soaked through and ruined. She moaned as she tasted a small amount of pre cum on her tongue, causing Alexei to sit up quickly, gently grabbing her arm. "Прилягте."

She didn't know what he said but he motioned for her to lie down in the bed. She layed back, her hair sprawled out over the pillows. He sat back on his knees, waiting for her to get comfortable before continuing. He watched her as he ran his hands up her thighs, hooking his thumbs on her underwear before slowly pulling them down. Christine took a deep breath, never breaking her eye contact with him as he tossed her panties over his shoulder. She couldn't help herself as she sat up, grabbing his face again. Her kiss was rough, not being able to get enough of him as his hands snaked behind her, easily unhooking her bra. They broke apart slightly, as she slipped her arms through, tossing the last article of clothing to the side.

As she laid back again his lips were quickly on hers again. She gently wrapped her leg around his waist, wanting him as close to her as possible. She could feel his dick on her inner thigh, causing a surge of pleasure shoot through her as he massaged her breast.

Then her mind went to his hand as it left her chest, trailing down to her waist where it hesitated for a moment. But as quick as he stopped for a moment he continued, his fingers slipping between her legs. She moaned into his mouth as his fingers gently circled her clit a time or two before sliding down a little farther. She gripped his bicep hard as he spread her wetness around before focusing on her clit again. But she wanted more. She ran her hand down his arm, pushing his hand a little farther down again.

"Oh, fuck…" she sighed as Alexei left her lips, trailing down her neck, slowly sliding his finger inside her. She moaned as he went in and out a few times before adding a second finger. She arched her back, her nails trailing down his back. She could already feel herself on edge, the coil in her stomach about to come undone when he suddenly withdrew his hand. He looked down at her, pushing back some of her hair, tangling his fingers in it, once again pressing his lips on hers. But this time it was different, it was slow, passionate and seemed to be able to say what they couldn't say to each other.

He stared down at her for a moment, silently asking if she was okay. She smiled up at him, nodding her head slightly. He continued, lining up his hips with hers before pushing forward. She gasped, gripping his forearm tight as he pushed inside her. He stopped for a moment, giving her a second to adjust before continuing. It was painful, but in the best way possible for her. Once he finally bottomed out, he stayed still for a moment, waiting for her to get used to him.

Once she was ready for him to move again she rolled her hips underneath him. He took that as his cue, pulling almost all the way out before sliding back in. He traveled down her neck, nipping at a spot that sent goose bumps down her spine, causing her to flutter around him as he bottomed out again. He grunted, gripping the sheets around her a little tighter with one hand, his other massaging her breast again.

After a few more gentle thrusts, Christine could feel the coil in her stomach building up again. She could hear him moaning quietly with every thrust, in between kisses. She gripped his bicep, arching her back as he slid in again, hitting just the right spot. But she got closer to the edge when he pushed into her a little harder this time. She gasped, pleasure shooting through her as he did it again. He could tell she was enjoying it, the moans coming out of her and her breath was panting. He could feel her squeezing down on him slightly, causing his own pleasure and instincts to take over, pushing into her again, a little harder.

Her moans got louder with every motion until finally he gently put his hand over her mouth.

"Тихо," he said, looking down at her, removing his hand. He put his finger over her mouth, like he was telling her to be quiet. She looked up at him surprised for a moment before she moved, sucking on his finger slightly. His eyebrows shot up as she twirled her tongue around his finger before she slowly removed it. He quickly grabbed her face, slamming his mouth on hers as he continued. He slid almost all the way out again, this time slamming into her harder and quicker. As he kept on, her moans were getting louder, luckily smothered by his own lips.

But as they continued, Christine knew she was close to her climax, gripping Alexei's foreman, the other digging her nails into his shoulder blade. She tried her best to be quiet, but as her orgasm finally shot through her, she arched her back, his lips leaving hers and heading straight for her neck. She clasped her own hand over her mouth, nearly screaming into it, causing his own orgasm to follow shortly after hers. She could feel his dick twitch inside her, nearly causing a second orgasm shoot through her. He moaned into her neck, his breath hot on her skin as he nearly ripped the sheets off the bed.

Once it was over, they continued to lay there for a moment, both of them out of breath and covered in a thin layer of sweat. Christine could feel not only her own heart pounding in her chest, but his as she laid her hand on his back.

Reluctantly, he pulled out of her, rolling over onto the bed, wiping his forehead as he laid back onto his back. Christine let out a sigh of content, looking up at Alexei as he readjusted his glasses and looked down at her. She propped herself up on her elbow, turning towards him slightly.

"Красивый," he said with a smile as he rubbed her cheek, leaning in close to her.

"What does that mean?" she asked him, smiling back at him. But he looked at her confused. She leaned back over, reaching for the translation book. She flipped through it as he leaned forward again, looking at the book upside now.

As she looked for the word she was looking for, she felt him lean forward. But she was surprised when he placed a small kiss on her cheek. He moved over slightly, placing another on her cheek. She giggled, pushing him away slightly and pointing at the word finally, definition. Luckily, he understood that she was asking him what he had said. He gently took the book, quickly finding what he needed, pointing at the word and turning the book around again.

"Красивый," he said. She pointed at the word as well before sliding it over to the meaning, beautiful. She stared at the word for a moment, processing what he had been saying all along. He had been calling her beautiful. She pointed at the English word, pronouncing it for him.

"Beautiful," she said, but he stared at her for a moment, confused, so she tried again, "Byoo," he repeated her, his accent thick, "Tuh. Fuhl." She nodded her head, wanting him to try again. The language barrier was hard but they were quickly overcoming it as he tried to say it again, not to much success, "It's okay, we will try again tomorrow." She laughed, causing him to smile at her.

"Спи сейчас," he said as he leaned back, patting the bed next to him. She took that as her cue to cuddle up next to him. She leaned down, grabbing the covers and pulling them up. She laid next to him but was suddenly pulled up when his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her even closer. She looked down at him as he took his glasses off, leaning back into the pillows. She grabbed his face again, giving him one last kiss before she laid her head on his chest.

It wasn't long before she heard faint snoring above her, Alexei having fallen asleep pretty quickly. She laid there, unable to fall asleep as her mind raced. Tomorrow they were going to take on not only whatever was happening around the town, but the same men that were after Alexei. She knew the Russians were going to stop at nothing to not only kill him but to kill them too. She moved her head, wiping a tear away, thinking about how happy she was right now. She would have done anything for things to stay just how they were. But she was pulled back to reality when Alexei's arm around her tightened, turning his head slightly towards her.

She finally decided she just needed to push those thoughts to the back of her mind right now. She needed to get some rest and didn't want to spoil her time with Alexei, even if he was asleep. Knowing what her brother and Joyce have had to go through in the past to fight for Hawkins, she knew there was no guarantee that they were all going to make it out on the other side. But there was something pulling at the back of her mind, something was going to happen tomorrow that was going to change everything.