Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kali doesn’t know why but she feels empty.

It’s a different type of empty from how she felt before Jane had found her, different from how she felt when she killed the ‘bad men’, and different from how she felt after she used her gift. It wasn’t as if something was missing like it used to be, now it was as if something had been ripped from her. Dug out from her very core and taken far away. It felt as if she had been torn apart and her emotions had been cut out of her, as if the parts of her that felt anything other than pain and anger had been uprooted from deep inside her and had run from her just as Jane had.

‘Sister’

That’s what Jane had called her.

‘Sister’

Was what she said back.

It had felt so right on her tongue, the word rolling right off of it. Jane had completed her in a way the killing never had. She had felt whole again… and when Jane had left, she felt the intense sorrow and yearning she had only felt once before.

And then she felt nothing.

And she hates this feeling more than she can ever hate anyone. More than papa and the rest of them, more than the people along the way who had only contributed to her hurt, more than the parents who had never seemed to look for her, even more than herself.

She wants this horrid feeling to go away, and so do her friends.

Fun hates seeing her like this, she can tell. He looks sad when she doesn’t smile at his and Axel’s jokes and he certainly doesn’t look happy when tears run down her face even though she insists she isn’t sad.

And Axel puts up this whole show of not caring but he does, she knows he does. She can see it in the way his smile doesn’t light up like it used to, sees it in how he always checks on her before going to bed, sees it in the little frowns she catches on his usually grinning face.

Dottie is the most… unhinged of the group and if Kali hadn’t known her for as long as she had she would’ve thought she didn’t care, that she didn’t care about anything. But when you look close enough, you can tell. The sad glances that are nearly indistinguishable from her normally wandering gaze, the subtle way her manic grin dims at the sight of her, and the way her generally slack figure becomes slightly taught when Kali starts to speak.

And Mick, oh Mick. Kali thinks Mick loves her the most, knows that it hurts her the most. Mick and Kali had been the first to meet. She thinks she was around eleven when she met a thirteen-year-old Mick, they had both been looking for a place to sleep, to hide. They had quite literally run into each other and after introducing themselves and finding an adequately warm place to stay, they found solace in each other’s arms. The two of them had been together ever since and Mick has never seen her like this. Kali can tell that Mick absolutely hates it, that she wishes she never had to see her like this.

So, Kali decides that it needs to stop. It’s mid-march and she knows that she needs to get better. She’s been stuck in this… thing for five months and there’s only one way to get out of this thing.

“We’re going to Indiana.” She announces one morning.

They look at her at once and Dottie’s grin seems more genuine than it's been in months and Mick has this look on her face that says ‘Thank God’.

So they pack up what little things they have and drive from wherever they were squatting this time, some shitty little town in Maine, Kali’s mind supplies. And they drive. They just drive, stopping only for food and fuel, until they finally cross the border of another shitty little town, this one different from the others. This one inhabiting the other half of her.

She feels it as soon as they enter the town, she feels lighter but fuller. Like she’s gotten something big back but let go of so much more.

-

Eleven was having fun at Will’s birthday dinner at The Byers’ when she felt it. Felt her world snap into place as if she had been missing a puzzle piece and she was finally completed.

She knew it was Kali. She’d only felt like this once before and it was with her sister.

El stared at her peas and potatoes until they started to blur. She had felt the tears form and they had already begun to cloud her vision. Before she let any fall she excused herself and ran to the bathroom.

So now she was standing in front of the mirror, her face soaking wet, dripping onto her shirt, her hands on the sink in front of her, parallel from each other.

That’s Eleven’s word for the day, parallel. She didn’t understand it at first, thought it had too many different meanings, but now she thinks she gets it. Now, as she stands in front of the mirror, she draws a parallel between herself and Kali. They both were taken from their families, they both had powers, they both loved each other.

They are parallels in most ways and she suddenly feels the need to run to her. To get to Kali however she can because she doesn’t want to be parallel lines anymore. Doesn’t want to walk the same road, be on the same path as her but never meet. She doesn’t think she could deal with being apart from her again.

So she dries her face and says she’s going to go sit on the porch. Nobody asks why, they can just tell she needs to be alone, and she makes it outside undisturbed.

She stays out there for an hour before Hopper comes out to tell her they’re going to stay the night, only having her thoughts interrupted twice before that, by a nervous Mike and an annoyed Nancy. Mike had been pacing in front of the window, eyes boring into her back and he had gone out to ask what was wrong but Eleven just said she was waiting. Nancy came out next telling her that Mike was being a pain and asking if she could just come back inside, El had shaken her head and kept staring into the night. She only nods her head at Hopper and continues waiting.

Kali’s close. She can tell.

El knows she’s almost there but her heart still jumps and her palms begin to sweat when she hears the familiar hum of a car. She springs from her seat on the steps and shuffles from foot to foot.

When the unfamiliar van comes to a stop behind Jonathan’s car, she takes a step closer. She doesn’t know why she expected to see them in the same vehicle she left them in but she did and Eleven’s a bit impressed by the new ride.

Mike, Hopper, and the others make their way out of the house fairly quickly and Hopper tells her and the kids to get inside. El shakes her head and takes another step closer.

Fun gets out first and Jane can’t help but grin at him. He rushes towards her and she hears a collective yell behind her, she ignores it and runs to her old friend.

Were they friends, she wonders, did they know each other for long enough?

But then she launches herself into the giant’s arms and he swings her around and she knows that they were.

Dottie and Axel had clambered out of the car while she hugged Fun, and while she and Axel hadn’t met on the best of terms, she’s quite happy to see him. The two of them make their way towards her, Dot skipping and Axe following closely behind. She hugs them both and Axel seems almost surprised.

Pulling away, Jane grins up at them, Dottie giggles and hugs her again and Axel smirks, ruffling her hair, “We missed you too, Shirley.”

Jane pulls away and comes face to face with Mick. From what she remembers Mick didn’t smile very much but right now her grin borderlines on maniacal. Mick tugs Jane to her and whispers, “We actually did… but K missed you the most,” She thinks she can hear a slight waver in Mick’s voice, “She hasn’t been the same since you left but she understands why.”

Jane can feel the tears build behind her eyelids and she untangles herself from Mick’s arms. Nodding before turning to see her sister.

Sister.

She’s said it before but saying it now makes her feel unstoppable.

“Sister.” She says it out loud this time.

And then Kali is in front of her and she says, “Hello, Jane.”

And the tears that she pushed down in the bathroom and in Mick’s arms, spring forth and Jane is wrapped in her sister’s arms and they’re both sobbing, furiously apologising to each other.

She hears a distant voice ask incredulously, “Sister?” Jane thinks it might be Dustin but then she hears a thud and a yelp, much too manly to be Dustin’s. Hopper, then, she realises.

Chapter Text

Kali sighs into her sister’s hair and she closes her arms around her tighter.

They stay like that for a while, Kali doesn’t know how long, and if she’s being honest, she doesn’t care.

When they break from each other, Jane reaches down to clasp their hands together. She looks up at her with puffy cheeks, red eyes, and blotchy skin. And Kali knows she must be in a similar state of disarray.

She hears a cough and she realises that there are more people there.

Dottie is standing on the porch with ten unfamiliar faces and seems to have taken the hat of a teenage boy with a camera, the rest of them are all wearing one.

“Look, Fun, Axe! I got a hat!” Dot yells,

“Yeah, Dot, we see,” Fun replies in a not quite exasperated tone, “Give the young man his hat back, Dot.”

Axel doesn’t try to help the situation, only begins to prod, “I think it looks better on him, D.”

Dottie gasps in an overdramatic way and starts to fan her eyes as if trying to dry up the tears, “I can’t, I can’t believe you would say such a thing, Axel!”

A tall boy had come forward during in the little row and was now trying to pry Jane away from her.

“El come- come on,” he was saying, “You haven’t seen these people in how long? Let’s go.”

Jane moves towards the boy, letting go of Kali in the process, “Mike, I need to talk to her.”

The boy, Mike, looks furious for a moment before his face softens slightly into one of scepticism, “Her?” He questions,

Jane nods and replies, “Yes, my sister.”

Mike shakes his head in what looks like disbelief, “Sister? Your sister who tried to get you to kill a father of two with his children in the house? Your sister who tried to manipulate you with visions of him?”

Kali steps in then, “I did what I thought I had to, she left and I apol-“

Another boy cuts her off before she can finish, this one had been holding the red-haired girl's hand but now he’s stepped forward and is only a little ways away from Jane, “No. You don’t get to play the ‘She left’ card. You hurt her. You hurt her worse than she could ever hurt you and if you think you can just waltz in here and hurt her again, you’re wrong.”

Jane moved towards the boy and grabbed his hand, “Lucas, please?” She pleads.

He looks like he’s about to break when three more people step forward, the redhead and two other boys, “We don’t know who you are, lady but these two seem pretty fired up, so by party rules we have to be fired up too.” The curly haired boy inserts.

An older boy climbs down the steps after them with a sigh and places himself between Jane and Kali.

“Look, El’s been good, better. After she came back from you she was a wreck and we just don’t want that to happen again so…” He seems quite sure of his words like he had thought them over and over again and knew they were right, almost as if there were no other answer.

Jane moved closer to the others and pulled Lucas along with her, gesturing for Mike and the older teen to follow. Kali took the time they were using to argue amongst themselves, to reflect.

She had thought a lot about Jane the last few months but she didn’t really think about how she dealt with them parting ways. Kali knew she was wrong, knew she was being selfish, and knew that trying to manipulate Jane was wrong, so very wrong, but she didn’t think about how Jane would’ve felt afterwards. Kali was sure that she was distraught and scared during the ordeal, knew that she was upset afterwards, angry, but Jane had seemed so certain in her choice to leave, that Kali had never really wondered if the terror she put Jane through had stuck with her. She knows it did now and she feels more horrible than ever. She wishes she could take it back, her rash decisions and her despicable actions, her harsh words and her dreadful visions. She even regrets Jane meeting her in the first place because maybe then her sister would be able to be happy.

Kali mulls over her thoughts of leaving and decides in favour of it quickly. So she turns to Axel and tells him to collect Dottie, Mick and Fun, that she needs to say goodbye to her sister.

Jane spins around at that, “What?” She snaps catching Kali by surprise, “Goodbye?”

Kali nods and walks farther from the house, she turns back to Jane and asks, “Come speak with me?” Jane looks angry and unsure, “Please?” she implores.

Jane moves quickly and they walk a bit longer before either of them speak, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise how I’d hurt you,” Kali says to Jane’s boots, “I didn’t realise you didn’t want me here.” She finally looks up, “I’ll leave, no fuss. I promise.”

-----

Jane searches Kali’s face for any deception but finds none, “Leave?” She almost hisses, “Leave?” She asks louder this time, “LEAVE?” Jane is yelling now and back at the Byers a porch light bursts, “I DON’T WANT YOU TO LEAVE! YOU DON’T GET TO LEAVE! NOT AFTER WHAT YOU DID!” She notices Kali flinch but can’t bring herself to care, “I LEFT YOU BECAUSE I HAD TO! BECAUSE MY FRIENDS WERE DYING! YOU AREN’T ALLOWED TO LEAVE JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN’T DEAL!” Jane’s voice cracks and she can feel the tears streaming down her face, “FUCK!” She nearly screams, she doesn’t really know what it means but she’s heard Hopper use it enough times to know that you say it when you’re mad or even sad, and right now she’s both, “Fuck.” She says again, this time it’s just a whisper in her exhale.

Kali goes to move forward but El holds up a hand and she stops, “I’m sorry.” She mutters, and Eleven can tell she means it.

Eleven turns to walk back to the house, stopping and stating without turning around, “I can’t speak to you now but I will, later, soon." She corrects herself, "So, Kali, don’t leave.” She marches off then, walking past Fun and Mick and Axel and Dottie without looking at them too.

She enters the Byer’s without looking back and quickly heads into Joyce’s room. Whenever El felt a bit suffocated with Hop, he would drop her off at the Byer’s and she would spend the night with them. Jonathan usually went to bed first claiming he needed his beauty sleep, even though when Eleven got up to go to the bathroom, she would hear him whispering to someone (probably Nancy) on the phone. Will commonly falls asleep on the couch before the second movie even really starts, and Joyce carries him to his room before coming back to sit with El. They cuddle and sometimes one of them cries but they always retire to Joyce’s room after the third movies’ credits roll, and Joyce holds the little girl to her and they both get some well-needed rest.

So, Eleven thinks Joyce’s room is her most obvious retreat. She plonks herself into the middle of the bed and kicks her slippers off, she stays on top of the covers and stares at the ceiling, not even looking towards the door when it opens.

She feels the mattress dip slightly on one side of her before she feels a warm hand grasp hers. Without looking down she knows its Lucas. His hands are nice and familiar and are softer than Mike’s, so when she feels another hand, softer and smaller than Lucas’s, close around hers she knows it isn’t Mike. She’s kind of glad. Not because she doesn’t want Mike to comfort her but because Will has always been better at it. Better at making her feel normal and not walking on eggshells around her.

She didn’t tell anyone about Kali for a long time, three months, she thinks. She doesn’t know why, maybe she was scared, or ashamed, but once she told Will she felt lighter. He had told her that it was okay, that she was okay, and he had hugged her and told her to tell Mike. That he’d want to know. She had planned on telling him the next day but the Wheelers had gone away for the weekend and she found herself at the Sinclair’s instead.

Erica had opened the door and given her a big smile before shouting up to Lucas that his ‘weirdo friend’ was here. Lucas had rushed down the steps and glared at his sister, calling her a brat, and then asking what was up. She shrugged and he asked if she wanted some ice cream, quietly, he didn’t want Erica to hear.

She had nodded and they had gone for ice cream, sitting in a park and eating. She finally told him everything and he had been shocked, had said wow a couple times, and then said the same thing as Will. That it was okay, and that she could tell Mike.

So, when he got back, she did. He was angry. Not with her, he assured El, but with Kali. He had fumed and after a while, she had cried, and he hugged her but she realised that she should probably go to Will or Lucas next time she wanted to talk about her sister, because while they could see why she wanted to see Kali again, why she missed her. Mike couldn’t, wouldn’t because that would mean that someone who hurt El had her love, and Eleven thinks he doesn’t want to think about that.

Eleven tightens her grip on the boys’ hands and finally turns to look at Lucas and then at Will. They give her the same look, one of pity and love and understanding.

And then she’s crying again, sobbing, really, and Lucas has his arms wrapped around her middle and Will has his arms around her shoulders, and they let her cry. They don’t make her talk or explain or even say how she’s feeling, they just let her cry and sob, all the while whispering sweet and comforting nothings.

El vaguely remembers the boys urging her out of Joyce’s room and towards Will’s and she thinks she heard Hop or Steve ask if they needed help but she couldn’t really tell, the exhaustion taking over and her eyes still closed trying to stop the tears.

When they made it safely to Will’s bed, they laid back down and El curled back up in their arms.

I’ll be okay, she thinks before falling asleep.