Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The people in the town of Hawkins remain oblivious to what had happened in the Upside Down four weeks ago. They have no clue that a group of teenagers had killed a monster that was planning on destroying their town.

Nancy Wheeler considers those people lucky. They didn’t have to worry about another monster trying to come kill them. They didn’t wake up in the middle of the night with fear coursing through their veins thinking that they were back in the Upside Down. They got to go on with their lives normally, never suspecting that anything abnormal was going on in their town.

Meanwhile, Nancy is sitting up in her bed at 2:45 in the morning, trying to calm herself down from a nightmare that was worse than usual. Her mind is refusing to let the nightmare go. The images of her brother and sister’s mangled bodies burned into the backs of her eyelids.

Nancy was desperately trying to forget that right next to Mike and Holly’s twisted bodies was his.

His body, just like her siblings, bones all twisted in different directions, his eyes gone, only blood spilling from the sockets.

Nancy knows it was just a nightmare, her worst nightmare.

She also knows that it is completely irrational of her to call him at nearly three in the morning, because he would surely be asleep, but her heart refuses to listen to her brain protesting against it right now. She needs him to chase away her fears like he’s been doing so very often in the recent weeks.

She gets up off of her bed and walks downstairs, making her way towards the phone, but stopping when she sees Mike sitting at the table eating cereal. “Why are you awake?” Nancy asks, ignoring the urge to go to the phone and walking over to her brother to make sure he’s okay. “I could ask you the same thing.” Mike responds, putting another spoon of cereal in his mouth.

“Had another nightmare.” Nancy says

Mike nods, “Me too, who were you going to call?”

Nancy looks at him, confusion written across her face, “What?”

“You were going to call someone on the phone, who was it?”

Nancy shakes her head. Mike always went straight to the point.

“Don’t worry ab-”

Mike cuts her off before she can refuse to tell him who it was, “It had to have been really bad if you were going to call someone, Nancy, who was it?”

“Steve.” She sighs, leaning her back against the wall.

Mike raises his eyebrows at her answer, “Steve?”

“Yes, Mike, Steve.”

Mike puts his spoon in the bowl, “Why Steve?”

Nancy shrugs, not wanting to tell Mike the details of her nightmare, It was way too soon. She makes her way back over to the phone, and dials Steve's number.

The phone rings for so long that Nancy almost hangs up, but she hears noise coming from the other side right before she hangs up the phone. “Hello?” Steve says, sounding very much like he just woke up. “Hi.” Nancy responds, holding on to the phone so tightly that her knuckles begin to turn white.

“Nance? Everything okay?” Steve asks, immediately alert upon hearing her shaky voice come through the receiver. “Uh, yeah, just had a nightmare.” She tells him, watching as Mike walks back up stairs, saying something about going to radio Will on his walkie-talkie. “Sorry, that was Mike, what did you say?”

“I said, do you wanna talk about it?” Steve questions

Nancy hesitates, does she really want to tell him about the nightmare and have to relive it again?

“If you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine, Nance.” Steve tells her

Nancy can hear the worry in his voice over the phone. It wouldn’t be that bad if she told him about the nightmare because he would make sure that she knows that it wasn’t real. “Nance?” Steve questions, “you still there?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here.” She says, realizing that she hasn’t said anything to him even though he’s asked her questions. “What’s bothering you, Nance? I can tell something’s wrong.” Steve asks, concern clearly written in his voice. “Nothing, it’s just-could you come over?” Nancy blurts out, her hands clutching the receiver for dear life.

“What?”

“Steve, could you please come over? Please.”

“Am I gonna have to climb through your window, Wheeler?” Steve jokes, causing Nancy to let out a giggle and shake her head, forgetting that he can’t see her.

“No, ring the bell, I’ll be waiting.” She tells him, her grip on the phone loosening ever so slightly.

“Be there in fifteen.”

“Okay, bye.”

Nancy turns around to see her mother standing in the kitchen.

“You alright?” Her mom asks

Nancy nods, “yeah, i’m doing a little better now.”

Karen smiles softly, “was that Jonathan on the phone? I thought you two broke up.”

“Jonathan?” Nancy asks, surprised, “No, no it was Steve.”

“Steve Harrington?” Her mother asks, “the one you dated?”

“Yes,” Nancy laughs, “Yes, mom, that’s the one.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you two were still friends.”

Nancy’s face flushes, “Yeah, um, during the earthquakes and everything we volunteered at the same place to help.”

Nancy’s mother still didn’t know about how her son and daughter killed a monster threatening to take over their town. She thought the earthquakes were just some weird unnerving event.

“Are you two friends?” Karen asks upon seeing her daughter’s flushed face. “Yes, yes, we are.” Nancy nods, biting the inside of her cheek to keep her face from flushing even more. “Alright, well, tell him I said hello.” Her mom smiles before walking back upstairs into her bedroom.

As Nancy waits for Steve to get to her house, she starts to panic slightly. Was inviting him over a bad idea? What if she somehow manages to screw things up again?

Steve saves her from her thoughts, he seems to be doing that often these days, by knocking on the door. Nancy jumps up from the dining table chair, walking over to the door and taking a deep breath before opening it. “Hey.” Nancy smiles, mood instantly brightening when she sees him standing there.

She knows it's a bit silly, but seeing him standing there, unharmed, chased away all the lingering fears she had acquired from the nightmare. “Hey, Nance.” Steve responds, walking inside and following her towards the kitchen. “Were you eating cereal?’ Steve asks, gesturing to the half eaten bowl of cereal on the table. Nancy smiles, letting out a little laugh that made Steve fall just a little bit more in love with her. “It’s Mike’s.” She explains, putting the bowl in the sink.

“Oh, how’s he doing?”

“He’s alright.” She tells him, washing out the bowl.

“That’s good,” Steve says, eyes not leaving Nancy as she puts the cereal box away, “how are you, Nance?”

Steve has always been grateful to be able to tell what Nancy is thinking by looking at her eyes, they were so goddamn expressive that he could always read what she was thinking, but he has never been more grateful for that until Nancy turns to look at him in that very moment. Steve could practically see the thoughts written on her face. “That nightmare really fucked with you, huh?” Steve asks, walking over to her. Nancy nods, meeting his eyes that are laced with concern for her.

“Are you ready to talk about it?” Steve questions

She lets out a shaky breath and closes her eyes. Steve rests a hand on her cheek, his thumb gently brushing over her skin. “Will you stay over?” Nancy asks, opening her eyes to look up at him.

Steve nods, “If you want me to, I will.”

“I really want you to.” She says, taking his hand that was resting on her cheek and intertwining it with her own. Nancy can feel Steve’s eyes on her as she looks down at their tangled hands. She pulls him along with her up to her bedroom, not once letting go of his hand, and that shouldn’t make Steve as happy as it does.

“Hey, Harrington.” Mike says, walking out of his room. Steve and Nancy both stop and turn to face her younger brother.

“Hey, what’s up?” Steve asks

Mike shrugs, “Nothing, just can’t really sleep.”

“Mike,” Nancy says, grabbing his attention, “go call Will or Eleven to come over, mom won’t mind.”

“Yeah, I already called El, thanks Nancy.” Mike says, looking in between her and Steve for a second before turning to walk downstairs.

Nancy pulls Steve the rest of the way to her room, shutting the door once they are both inside. She sits down on the bed and Steve follows, sitting down next to her.

“Look, I know you’re not really ready to talk about whatever happened in your nightmare, and something’s been bothering me ever since it happened.” Steve says, staring down at his hands.

“Okay.” Nancy breathes

“Do you remember what I said to you about the dream?” Steve asks her, lifting his head and turning it to face her.

Nancy nods, how could she forget? That dream was what made her realize that her feelings for Steve never really went away, they just faded for a while.

“Yeah, well, I feel like I need to apologize for that.”

Nancy looks at him, her face scrunched in confusion, “What?”

“It’s just,” He runs a hand through his hair, “I’ve been thinking about it, and I realized that I probably shouldn’t have said that to you, it was kind of messed up.”

Why does he think that it’s messed up? Nancy thought it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her.

“It’s just, I was pretty certain that I–we, were about to die, so it kind of just spilled out. It’s just, I probably shouldn’t have said it? y’know?”

No, she didn’t know. Nancy didn’t know what she would have done if Steve hadn’t told her about that dream. It’s what she thought about at times when sleep just wouldn’t come.

“Like, you’re with Jonathan, and you’re happy, so, like, having to hear that from me was probably so weird.”

Wrong. She wasn’t with Jonathan, not anymore. And, Nancy didn’t think it was weird, she understood how he was feeling at the time. Hell, if Robin hadn’t come back Nancy probably would’ve ended up kissing him.

“So, I’m sorry.” Steve apologizes, looking her in the eyes.

“You didn’t mean it?” Nancy asks, trying to keep her voice from wavering. The thought of him not meaning it scared her.

“No! No, I meant it, every word. I’m apologizing for saying it.”

“Oh, okay.” Nancy breathes out.

They sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Nancy lays down across the bed, her feet dangling off the edge. “I broke up with Jonathan.” Nancy says, staring at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry.” He says, trying to hide the shock in his voice. He had thought that her and Jonathan were still together this entire time, even though he hadn’t seen them together in a long time.

Nancy shrugs, “It was coming, we both knew it.”

Steve lays down next to her, turning his body on its side to face her. “I’ve got something to apologize for, too.” Nancy says, turning her own body to face him.

If they were apologizing for things, she had a major one, one that should’ve been apologized for years ago.

“We were never bullshit, Steve,” Nancy tells him, “And you aren’t bullshit either.”

Nancy sees the millisecond of confusion that flits across Steve’s face before he realizes what she’s talking about. He leans forward and kisses her forehead, whispering a thank you that made Nancy’s heart melt before pulling back.

“I think we can talk about the nightmare now.” Nancy whispers, her voice coming out a lot shakier than she liked.

Steve stays silent, waiting for her to talk. Nancy needed to tell someone about it, she knew that, and she wanted it to be Steve. He somehow always made her feel better after a nightmare, even if he was just lying there next to her.

“It started like how they normally do, you know, being back in the upside down in that goddamn house.”

Nancy had told Steve about her nightmares before. He was like her string back to reality, pulling her into the safety of his arms when the nightmares made her believe that nothing was okay.

“But this time, it wasn’t just me. Mike and Holly were there too. And so were you. But, all of you were…”

Nancy trails off, the images of the people she loves the most lying on the floor of the Creel house, dead, bones twisted in different directions with empty eye sockets fill her head again.

“Nance,” Steve says, pulling her out of her thoughts. He takes a hold of her hand that was resting between them. “It wasn't real, we’re all right here. I’m right here.” Steve tells her, squeezing her hand so gently it makes Nancy want to cry. She scoots across the bed, folding herself into his arms.

“I’ve got you.” He whispers, resting his chin on her head after pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Steve and Nancy had grown closer ever since they came back from the Upside Down, but this was the first time in years that she had actually been held by him. This changed things. It felt like they were toeing the line between friends and something more. Especially since Nancy could easily tilt her head up and press her lips to his, which she was very tempted to do.

She doesn’t though, but she does let a hand run through the ends of his hair. Steve chuckles and pulls her a bit closer to him. “I missed this, you know.” Steve sighs, tracing patterns on the small of her back.

Nancy had missed this too. It felt like she could finally breathe properly again. “I missed you.” Nancy responds, looking up at him.

Steve smiles softly at her, his eyes shining with what Nancy thinks might just be love. That is what pushes Nancy to seal the deal. She loves Steve, Nancy had known that for a while now, this just made everything feel more real and not like she was imagining it. Every stolen glance, every conversation, it was all leading up to this, this moment right here, and Nancy will not turn and run from her feelings anymore.

So, without giving her logical side time to tell her that this is stupid and that she would fuck it up again just like she did last time, Nancy leans up and presses her lips to his.

Chapter Text

Steve doesn’t kiss her back, and Nancy pulls away.

Had she read the signs wrong?

“Wait, Nance, hold on.” Steve says, looking her in the eyes. “What? Y-you don’t want t-“ She stumbles over her words, fear coursing through her veins.

“Of course I want to, but are you sure?”

“What do you mean?” Nancy asks, her brows furrowing.

Steve pulls away from her and sits up cross-legged on the bed, and Nancy follows suit. “I just, I don’t know, last time we did this I fucked up and hurt you, Nance. I don’t want you to have to go through that again.”

Oh, so that’s what this is about.

“Steve,” Nancy takes a hold of his hands, pulling herself closer to him, “we were practically kids, and we didn’t know how to deal with all the shit that was going on.”

Steve’s thumbs rub across the back of her hand. She remembers that he does that when he’s anxious.

“Besides, I hurt you too, right? I fucked up way worse than you did, trust me.” Nancy says, “And I really think that it’s about time we tried this again, don’t you?”

Steve nods, “You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to.”

Nancy smiles, letting go of his hand and climbing into his lap. Her hands play with the ends of his hair on the back of his neck. “Tell me.” Nancy says after seeing that look in his eyes, the one that means he wants to say something.

“I love you.”

Nancy felt like all the air had been knocked out of her lungs. She was no stranger to those words, but every time before paled in comparison, because this time it feels much more real. Nancy knows that no matter what will happen tomorrow, even if it’s a new monster from the upside down, they will face it together, and that is the most important thing.

Nancy cups Steve’s face in her hands, pulling him closer and pressing her lips to his for the second time that night, but this time Steve kisses her back with as much fervor as she has. His arms wrap around her waist and he pulls her flush against him.

It’s not a kiss that either of them think is going to lead anywhere. It’s just a kiss that neither of them wanted to end, because this time, Nancy is promising to stay, and Steve is promising that even if she tried to run, he would bring her back every time.

Steve is the one to break the kiss, leaning his forehead against her own and breathing out shakily.

“I love you, Steve.” Nancy breathes, her eyes closing as Steve presses kisses to her forehead. “Yeah?” Steve chuckles while Nancy leans her head on shoulder. “Yeah,” Nancy nods, “I think I’ve always loved you.”

“I’ve always loved you too, Nance.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Steve sighs, “No matter what I did, who I went out with, it was never good enough.” Nancy lifts her head from his shoulder, “Why not?”

“Because they weren’t you.” Steve answers, smiling as he sees the faint blush that covers her face. “I must be really special to you, then.” Nancy muses out loud as she rests her head on his shoulder again.

Steve hums in response, and Nancy feels it vibrate through her own body because of how close together they were.

Steve’s hand had now found it’s way into her hair and he’s running his fingers through it. Nancy was content to fall asleep right there. “You should probably get some sleep, baby.” Steve says, his voice soft and quiet.

Nancy nods into his shoulder, “Stay.”

Steve lays them both down, pulling the blanket over them as Nancy curls into his side, her head resting on his chest.

“Night, Steve.”

“Night, Nance.”