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Jonathan really didn't like how this day has been going.
Vecna had been dormant, too weak to attack. Argyle had shown up a few weeks earlier, a smile on his face and a bag in his hand. Jonathan had knocked him over with a hug, excited to see his boyfriend, who he thought he'd never see in person again for a while. But no, Argyle had just shown up and held Jonathan close as he let a few tears fall onto Argyle's shirt.
That had been roughly three and a half weeks ago. The Party, now made up of the original four, along with El and Max and the older kids, had been planning to kill Vecna once and for all. At least, that's what they had been doing. Until Vecna had suddenly gained enough strength to send Demodogs and Demobats up to Hawkins. Thankfully most of the town had been evacuated, so only the people already aware of Vecna had to deal with the monsters.
And that's where they were now. Nancy was shooting down Demobats with Will, both keeping their stance firm as their rifles shot off. Steve was swinging his bat with nails around and knocking Demodogs out. Dustin had some weird science-y invention he was setting up, while Lucas used a slingshot to keep some more Demodogs away. Mike and Robin were attacking vines, Mike slashing at them with some kind of dagger as Robin threw flaming bottles of alcohol at them, while El tried to stop the neverending stream of monsters coming up from the huge valleys in the middle of Hawkins.
Through all of this, Jonathan had been with Argyle, back to back as they took down the Demobats right as they came out of the large X shape. Argyle armed with a metal pole, and Jonathan with a whip he'd found in a shed that had had the roof torn off. All was going well, until a Demobat came at Jonathan from the left, where he wasn't looking at the moment.
Argyle saw this, and without thinking, put himself between Jonathan and the bat. He gasped as he felt the sharp claws dig into his stomach, dragging down in it three jagged streaks as blood spewed out of them. The pointed end of the claws hooked on his skin, tearing pieces of it away and causing more blood to seep out. There was a searing pain, mixed with the feeling of chunks of skin being ripped off of him, and the sudden urge to close his eyes.
Jonathan turned around and saw this, immediately whipping the bat right at its wings, so it fell down and squirmed in pain. Argyle stumbled to the side before falling down onto his knees, Jonathan following suit as he kneeled next to his boyfriend.
"Argy?" He asked, trying to get the other's attention.
Argyle looked at him, his eyes drooping as blood continued to leak out of the scratches on his stomach.
"J...Jon?" He slurred out, causing Jonathan to panic more.
"Yeah, hey, Argy. You're- you're going to be okay, a-alright? I'll...I'll find some help, I pr-promise, just keep your eyes open for me, y-yeah?" Jonathan choked out, tears starting to fall down his face as he did his best to ignore the gaping wounds that were currently dripping blood onto his shirt.
"Jon, I-I don't feel good. It hurts, so much, N-Nath, I want it to go a-away. Weed, I need the w-weed, it stops the pain."
"I know, Lee, I kn-know, stay awake and you can have weed later, okay? We'll go to m-my room and smoke some, just the t-two of us relaxing. Th-Then you can kiss me like you a-always do and ask me the most r-random and abusrd questions known to man, y-yeah?"
"Stay...a-awake? But, I want to sleep...can I sleep, Nath? There's darkness...and a l-light...it's warm. I'm going to g-go to the light..."
"Argy, no, fuck, Argyle! Don't go into the light, please, I can't lose you, pl-please, Lee!! D-Don't leave me, you pr-pr-promised!" Jonathan screamed as Argyle's eyes got farther and farther away, as the tears on Jonothan's face streamed down faster, as time slowed and Argyle's chest fell for the last time.
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Jonathan sat up with a gasp, sobbing so hard his body shook. He couldn't register anything else, only the fact that Argyle had just died, and Jonathan was alone now. He was so alone, his boyfriend was gone, all because Jonathan was so useless that he couldn't save Argyle in time-
"Nath?"
Jonathan whipped around at the speed of light, making out Argyle's form laying next to him. A cry of relief and happiness left Jonathan's lips as he threw himself into Argyle's arms, crying harder. Argyle seemed to get the hint that it was a bad nightmare, and easily held Jonathan close, pressing kisses to Jonathan's forehead.
It took what felt like hours, but was really only about half an hour, of Jonathan hiccuping sobs into Argyle's shoulder for him to slightly calm down. He kept his head resting on Argyle's shoulder, finding comfort in the fact that his boyfriend's body was warm against his, that he could feel Argyle's heartbeat. Noticing that Jonathan was starting to calm down, Argyle began to coach Jonathan through some breathing exercises to help him calm down fully. Once Jonathan was no longer shaking, they laid in silence for a few minutes, apart from the few kisses Argyle planted on Jonathan's lips, noticing how the latter still seemed scared by whatever had happened in his dream.
"What happened, Jon?" Argyle whispered, stroking Jonathan's hair when he felt the other tense.
"Everyone was f-fighting Vecna, and I was about to be a-attacked by a Demobat, but y-you took the hit...you d-d-died in my arms." Jonathan sobbd out, clinging onto Argyle tighter.
"Shh, shh, I'm here. I'm alive, not dead, it's okay. It was all just a bad dream, you're still stuck with me," Argyle muttered, attempting to soothe Jonathan, which seemed to be working as the other slowly nodded along. "Do you want to go back to sleep? I'll hold you tight, so no bad dreams can get you."
Jonathan weakly laughed at that, but did comply to sleeping as he shuffled closer to Argyle, tucking his face into the crook of Argyle's neck. Argyle smiled fondly and gave Jonathan a little squeeze, before waiting for his boyfriend's breath to even out. Once it had, Argyle let himself fall back asleep, holding Jonathan tightly to him.