Chapter Text
He had taken up smoking the week of Hopper's funeral. The craving for an escape, a high, was too strong to ignore anymore. So he stole a pack of his mom's camels and got to work on developing his new habit. Nancy had hated it at first, but gave up the fight to get him to quit quickly. She was too tired to bother, and eventually, she was hooked herself. It became a ritual for them, a thing that they could rely on as their lives spiraled around them.
So, naturally, their first stop on their grand adventure was to get cigarettes. Nancy stayed in the car, listening to the radio play A-ha’s “Take on me” for the hundredth time. She didn't mind it that much anymore, hell, the cheesy love song might even be growing on her.
Jonathan kissed her before going in the store, a gesture that can be credited to how drunk on his love for her he was at the time. Everything felt intimate all of a sudden, it was as if they were the only two people alive.
He wandered through the isles of the gas station, picking up some diet coke and snickers bars. They intended to drive until it gets dark again tonight, then stop at a motel before continuing on to whatever destination they may find. Nancy is hoping for Seattle, and he's just hoping that the car makes it out of the state in one-piece.
The man behind the counter sold him the three packs of camels and food without ever even looking up. Jonathan felt invisible, and it was invigorating.
-----------
He told her that she looks like a girl from one of those paintings they studied in art. Tragic and beautiful.
She was sitting with her head leaning up against the window, listening to the tape she had found in her bag. Jonathan had made it for her a few months ago, back when they thought that the worst was behind them. He had Will draw the insert for him, trees resembling the woods where he saved her life covered in Jonathan’s crooked handwriting.
He pulled the car into a motel parking lot and turned to look at her.
“You think this will work?” he asked her, a smile on his face.
“Oh, definitely.” she told him.
She crawled out of the car, helping him bring in only the most important bags. He also grabbed his camera from the backseat, putting it around his neck. She couldn't help but notice how young he looked, standing there, his whole life in two suitcases. She decided that it suited him, that it felt fitting for their lives so far. Always running from something, always chasing the next high.
The lady behind the desk checked them into their cheap room, smiling when they said that they wanted a double bed.
“This is reminding me of that time last year,” she said to him in the elevator, looking at her shoes.
He just laughed, turning to her with that same lopsided smile she fell in love with.
They dropped their bags at the edge on the dresser as soon as they got in the room. Her limbs felt as though they were made of lead, and she collapsed onto the bed. He wasn't far behind, his body hitting the sheets with a resounding *thud*.
“I love you,” he blurted out, “I love you so fucking much, Nancy Wheeler.”
“I love you too, totally and completely.” she said, her hand finding his. She felt the scar on his palm, the mark on each of their bodies that proves that they survived.
He sat up suddenly, and walked over to the dresser. He picked up his camera, instructing her to sit up and to smile, he wanted to capture the moment.
She just laughed, posing for what was probably the first of hundreds of photos of the trip. Years later, they would sit in a box, hidden away from prying eyes. The memories of that night becoming his own personal hell.
They crawled into bed after eating a dinner of stale crackers and bottled water. Her head on his chest, the rhythm of his heartbeat lulling her off to sleep.
-----------
They checked out at around noon, taking their time to savor the perks of being in a hotel room. She took a long shower and spent a while on her hair, dressing up for the hell of it.
He drove them to a diner down the road, kissing her silly in the car before they got out.
They order stacks of pancakes and coffees, devouring their food as soon as it is placed in front of them. It was their first real meal in a few days, and it tugged at her heartstrings a bit how much it reminded her of her mom's Saturday morning breakfasts. She knows that once they get settled, they can go visit. That she’s not NEVER going to see her again, but still, something in her ached.
“What's wrong?” he asked her, his eyes full of concern as they met hers.
“Oh, nothing.” she told him, brushing it off. She was going to be fine, he doesn't need to know. “How much longer till we get to Washington?” she questioned, changing the subject.
“A few more days probably, I mean, we are crossing the country, Nance.” he said, taking another sip of his juice.
“I can't believe this is really happening,”
“Yeah, neither can I.”
They paid the check after that, eager to get on the road, to be one step closer to their new lives.
-----------
They drove for a few more hours, taking in the beauty of roadside North Dakota. It was when they passed a wedding chapel that he posed the question to her, one that she didn't think she would be hearing for a long time.
“Do you think we should get married?”
“What?” she gaped, turning away from the window to look at him.
“I- I don't know, I just, why not?” he stuttered out, a blush creeping up his neck. “It's just, I love you so much, and I was thinking that if we are going to go build a new life together, why can't it be as husband and wife?”
“Jonathan, I- I don't know what to say.” she said, still completely shocked by his proposal.
“I know, I'm sorry I even-”
“Yes,” she cut him off, a grin now taking up her face. “Yes, I'll marry you.”
He pulled over the car then, not caring about anything but kissing his new fiance and telling her over and over again how much he loves her.
With their forehead’s put together, tears streaming down both of their faces, he whispered
“You are everything, Nancy. I love you so much.”
She cried harder, struggling to get the words, “I love you too.” out.
He just held her after that, marveling at the fact that the woman who saved his life, who he’s been madly in love with for years, will soon be his wife. His future was in his arms, whispering tearful declarations of love into his shirt. “From the darkest of nights comes the brightest dawns.” he thought, “She is my dawn.”
-----------
They were married that evening. He wore a plain white button down and his old work pants, and she wore a white sundress. A city hall employee acted as their witness, and the photographer. Their vows were short and meaningful, he spoke of survival and hope. How her love is his one beacon of light, the guide that has carried him through the past few years. She told him that he saved her life, in more ways than he will ever know, and that building a new one with him is the greatest gift she has ever received.
Years later he would pray that he could forget that day, how radiant she was, how hopeful they both were. Because in the end, that beauty was fleeting, the darkness swallowing it whole.