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Part 4 of The Adventures of Steve and El, Part 9 of Whumptober 2025
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Whumptober 2025
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2025-10-15
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869
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1/1
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The Subject of Showers

Summary:

El stepped back a bit as Steve pushed into the room and stooped to grab her clothes, feeling a bit embarrassed by the way his nose wrinkled at their smell, but mostly relieved that her clothes were going to be washed.
~
Whumptober 2025 - Day 15 - Alternate Prompt: "Oh. OH."

Notes:

This prompt fill is a bit hasty, but I hope you enjoy this new installment of The Adventures of Steve and El! <3

Triggers in tags, but there's a little more detail in the end notes for those who are wary. Stay safe! <3

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

     El was standing by the dresser the morning after she arrived, checking her image in the vanity’s mirror. One of her small hands brushed over the top of her shaved head, feeling the scratchy texture of her buzzcut against the palm of her hand. She hated the way she looked. She wanted to be pretty, like all the other girls she saw in town, with their long hair. What would she look like with bouncy, curly hair? Or super long and straight hair? Wavy hair, maybe? The wig she’d worn before was a little wavy, and Mike said she looked pretty in it.

 

     A soft knock startled her, just a bit, and she turned to see Steve in the doorway. “Morning. You hungry?” Steve asked, his hands shoved into his pockets.

 

     El’s eyes lingered on Steve’s hair as he spoke. He was pretty.

 

     “El?” Steve prompted, shrugging a little when El hesitated to answer. “I’ve got Eggos.”

 

     “Eggos?” El perked up at the mention of what had fast become her favorite food.

 

     Steve smiled and nodded. “Yeah, Eggos. Maybe some bacon too.”

 

     “Okay.” El nodded before looking down at the PJs she wore, her eyes flicking to the pile of her clothes by the bed. “Are PJs okay to wear when eating?” She asked, hoping she wouldn’t have to get dressed back into her usual clothes, which were still damp and turning a bit rank.

 

     Steve seemed to catch on quick, and he nodded. “Absolutely. Actually, it’s probably best for you to keep wearing them until these get washed.”

 

     El stepped back a bit as Steve pushed into the room and stooped to grab her clothes, feeling a bit embarrassed by the way his nose wrinkled at their smell, but mostly relieved that her clothes were going to be washed.

 

*****

 

     Steve bundled the clothes into his arms, swallowing back a small gag at their smell. It was clear that El had been sleeping on the ground, lying in moulding leaves, and possibly unable to wash after relieving herself. “Once these are ready to wear again, a shower may be a good idea,” Steve said, hoping she wouldn’t take offense. Surely, she’d want to be clean herself, right?

 

     “No!”

 

     Steve looked up sharply at the cry, taking a hasty step back as he started. But El wasn’t making any move to attack. Instead, she was pressed back against the dresser, her arms wrapped around herself, one hand gripping her shirt tight by the collar. Her eyes were wide, and she looked terrified.

 

     “El?” Steve set the bundle of clothes on the bed and tentatively stepped forward. “Hey, it’s okay, what’s wrong with taking a shower? Do you not like water?”

 

     El shook her head, refusing to make eye contact with him as she shrank away from him, backing into the corner of the room. “No, no, please no.” She begged, finally looking up at him as she sank to the floor. “Don’t touch me.”

 

     Steve took a hasty step back, his hands held up in front of him. “Okay, I’ll stay back here. But you’ve gotta talk to me, El. What’s wrong with the shower?”

 

     “No shower. No, don’t touch me. Don’t touch me,” El whispered, moving to hug her legs as she started rocking back and forth, her shoulders trembling as her breathing grew erratic.

 

     Steve’s brow furrowed, a little slow on the uptake, before he realized. “Oh. Oh.” Steve balked at the horrifying realization, and he rushed to reassure her. “No, no, El. I’m not gonna touch you. I promise. I don’t know how showers worked at the lab, but I promise, here you shower alone. I’m not gonna touch you.”

 

     “Alone?” El echoed, blinking up at Steve, who sank to the floor and sat down, still a respectable distance away.

 

     “Alone. I promise, El,” Steve murmured.

 

     El nodded slowly, bringing a hand up to wipe her face as she started to calm down.

 

     Steve smiled gently at her. “That’s better. It’s okay, El. You’re safe here, I promise.”

 

     They sat there for several long minutes in silence, Steve keeping his posture relaxed even though rage was boiling through his veins. Clearly, those perverts in the lab had never allowed El to bathe herself, and the possible scenarios of why had Steve’s head spinning. Had they abused her sexually at all? Did El even know what that meant? How many times had a shower been perverted into something much filthier than the dirt it washed away? Steve didn’t have any answers, but he swore that if he ever had the opportunity, he would burn the lab to the ground, and hopefully, those sickos who worked there along with it.

 

     “So, Eggos?” Steve suggested after El’s tears had stopped for some time.

 

     El seemed to search his face for a moment before she nodded, reaching out a shaky hand to him.

 

    Surprised, but ultimately touched by her show of trust, Steve got to his knees and took her hand, his grip firm but gentle as he helped her to her feet. “Do you like syrup on your Eggos?”

 

     “What is syrup?”

 

     “Oh, you are in for a treat if you’ve never had syrup on your Eggos before. Just wait.”

Notes:

Additional Trigger Warning: When Steve suggests that El takes a shower, she panics, assuming that Steve is going to be the one washing her, as at the lab her hygiene was a task left to the interns. This involved non-consensual touching of her body. Steve theorizes that Eleven must have been sexually abused, however his assumption isn't fully correct. While the showers were against El's will, it was purely clinical, not sexual.

Now, for the actual end notes, this one is a bit rough due to time constraints. I may fix it up a bit at some point in the future, but for now I hope this was satisfactory! <3 Stay tuned for more stories to come with these two.

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