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It worked. Somehow it all worked out, almost. El… her heart breaks for the girl who saved them all, who deserved so much. Who deserved to just be a normal girl after everything. Her heart breaks for Mike, who remains distraught by her side. Holly between them. They got her back. At least they got their sister back and saved the world.
She’s got Jonathan on the other side of her. His safe arm around her back. They’re sitting on the steeple of the church, waiting for Hopper, Murray, Steve and Robin to come back with cars, to replace the busted truck and take them all home.
Jonathan has barely left her side even since they kind of broke up at the Lab. Or is it she who never left his side? Except for when she acted as bait for the Mind Flayer. Having a moment to think now when it’s all over with, she feels like she sees with more clarity than ever before.
They’ve destroyed the Upside Down. All this crap is finally over with. She can finally get out here, leave Hawkins. Go see the world, maybe go to college, go work, pursue her dreams. She wants that. She wants that and Jonathan. That’s all she wants in life.
She squeezes Mike’s shoulders again with the arm she has wrapped over his shoulders. Looks around. Will and Dustin are sitting on the step behind them, their hands on Mike’s back for comfort. Max is sitting in Lucas’ lap on the ground in front of them by Holly. Mrs. Byers stand beside them looking over them all with eyes filled with exhaustion and relief.
With his beloved friends surrounding Mike, Max watching Holly and Mrs. Byers watching over them all, she feels comfortable enough to momentarily leave her little siblings, just for a bit. Perhaps it’s just a tiny bit selfish. But it’s a moment she really needs to have.
“Hey, can we talk?” She asks, putting her hand on Jonathan’s thigh.
“Yeah,” he answers, looking her in the eyes with that soft gaze she knows she never can be without.
“We’ll be right back,” she tells the others.
Will rolls his eyes at them with a smirk, which she’ll allow him. Mike doesn’t even have a snarky comment for her. That’s how bad her little brother is doing. But Will and Dustin hurry to move down and sit by his side as soon as she and Jonathan have gotten up. It will be okay. Eventually. Hopefully.
Holly looks wide-eyed for half a second when she gets up. But then Max puts a hand on her knee and gives Holly a look that calms her. She makes a mental note to try and find some way to ever be able to properly thank Max for what she did saving her sister.
She takes Jonathan by the hand and leads him around the corner of the church. Only when his fingers naturally interlace hers does she realize that broken up couples usually don't hold hands together.
Having rounded the corner she comes to a stop and faces Jonathan. The way he looks at her is everything. She never wants to be without the feeling she gets when he does that. Just look at her.
“You okay?” He asks.
“Yeah, you?”
“Yeah. Can’t believe it worked,” he notes with a little chuckle.
“Yeah,” she laughs with him.
“Except El…” he adds with sadness in his voice.
“Yeah. Maybe she’s still out there, somewhere,” she tries to give herself some hope if nothing else.
“Maybe. I hope so.”
“Me too. I’m worried about Mike.”
“Me too. And Will. But at least… at least it’s over,” he breathes out.
“Finally,” she notes.
“Yeah. What now?” He posits.
“We move on I guess. Can finally get out of here. Like you’ve always wanted.”
“You too,” he points out.
“Yeah. Can’t wait.”
“You’re going to crush it, at Emerson. They won’t know what hit them.”
“Maybe,” she shrugs.
“Maybe?”
“I haven’t totally decided yet. Was going to take some time to think about it, after everything. Was actually considering Columbia too. Or maybe just trying to get an internship or something somewhere.”
“Whatever you decide, you’ll crush it,” he assures her.
His unwavering confidence in her at all times is genuine and amazing.
“Have you thought about what you want to do?” She asks.
“I don’t know-” He starts, treading dangerously close to mumbly Jonathan territory so she interrupts.
She knows what he wants. He told her years ago in confidence. Before they went and messed stuff up between them.
“You should apply to NYU. You deserve it. It’s what you’ve always wanted. I’m sorry I was all about us going to Boston before. It was stupid,” she apologizes.
“I don’t know, can I just leave? Mom and Will-”
“They’d want you to go, follow your dreams. Besides, Will is pretty big now. And like a superhero? I think he can take care of himself now,” she tells him.
She knows he’s always worried about how his family would cope without him. She’s probably not done enough to talk him through it before, she’s realized. She loves his family, she loves how much he cares for them. But he deserves to think of himself sometime too.
“I guess he kind of is,” Jonathan nods.
“After everything, I think you deserve to put yourself first, for once. NYU. You’re going to crush it.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
“I might just do that then.”
“Might?” She challenges.
“I will,” he grins and nods. “You’re really persistent, have I ever told you that?” He jokes.
“Maybe once or twice,” she smiles.
“So, Columbia?” He asks.
“Maybe. Thinking about it. To be honest I’m not sure where I want to go. Not like you. You’re kind of insane for picking out your dream college at six years old, you know,” she ribs him.
“I know,” he chuckles.
“I’m sure of some things though.”
“What?”
“I want to get out of here. I want to see more of the world. I want to try and become a writer for real. And I want you.”
She looks him in the eye, carefully studying his reaction. His gaze never wavers from her. His eyes fill with joy, she thinks.
“I have another confession,” he tells her.
“What?”
“I have no idea if we broke up or not, before,” he snickers.
“I don’t know either!” She exclaims and bursts out laughing.
He starts to fully laugh with her. The sweetest sound in the world to her.
“If we did break up I think we’re really, really bad at it,” he laughs.
“Yeah, we totally suck at it,” she agrees, unable to stifle her own laughter.
Jonathan manages to stifle his first, turning serious again.
“I know we’ve had our problems, what we talked about before but I just… I’ll do anything for you Nance. When it comes down to it, all I want is for you to be safe and happy and able to do anything you want with your life. And I want you, of course I want you. I was just scared I’d stand in the way of that.”
“I know. But you never could. Because you always make me feel like that. Safe and happy. And like I can do anything in the world.”
“Well, because you can. Kill a monster or whatever else it may be.”
“Hey we both did that,” she points out.
“Well only one of us was brave enough to be the bait.”
“And you saved my life with the flamethrower.”
“How’d you know?” He wonders.
“I knew as soon as that thing didn’t kill me. Who else would it be? It’s always you, Jonathan.”
He smiles shyly at that.
“The thing is, I want all that for you too. For you to be safe and happy and doing whatever you want to do. And most of all I want you,” she reiterates.
“I want you,” he assures her.
“Then I think it was really stupid of us to break up, if that’s what we did,” she notes.
“Technically I think I just unproposed,” he offers.
“Yeah, that was it right? And an unproposal isn’t the same thing as a break up”, she puts forth.
“They’re totally different!” He agrees.
“But I could ask you out again, just to be sure,” she jokes.
“Hey, you never did in the first place,” he smirks.
“Well, neither did you,” she points out.
“We’re really bad at both starting and ending relationships, huh?” He grins.
“Seems that way,” she agrees with a snicker.
“So what do you say we just continue it?” He then asks in a more serious tone.
“Are you saying you’re asking me to keep going out with you, Jonathan Byers?” She smiles wide.
“Yes, and I’m un-breaking up with you in case that was what we did,” he tells her with the crooked smile she loves.
“Thank god,” she tells him and closes the little distance between them.
Pressing him up against the church wall she finally captures his lips with hers again. The worst part of their sort-of-maybe-not-really break up was that they didn’t kiss during it. He kisses her back fervently, full of passion. God she’s missed this. At last being on the same page as him again, as it should be, as they normally are, it feels like that’s what fully put the world back to order. And reignited the undeniable spark between them.
She can’t stop kissing him. His arms wrapped around her he’s holding her close, one of his big hands at the small of her back, the other in her hair. She’s cupping his wonderful face with hers as their lips keep clashing together in desperate kisses.
Eventually she hears the sound of screeching tires as cars pull up around the corner. Some distant chatter. Then a familiar voice calls out over the others:
“Where’s Nancy and Jonathan?” Steve asks.
Only then does she reluctantly snap out of it. Jonathan still holds her close, their lips break apart. They share a smile instead.
“I love you,” she tells him.
“I love you too,” he answers.
She takes his hand again and they head back around to the front.
“Seriously, where are they?” Steve insists.
“Probably off sucking face somewhere,” Dustin answers.
“Hey! We’re here,” she answers as they rejoin the others, hand in hand.
Everyone looks at them as she tries to play it off cool.
“Well, I’d say you were bang on the money Henderson,” Steve notes with a shit-eating little grin.
She blushes and glances at Jonathan who also turns crimson and quickly wipes at his lips, vaguely tinted a shade redder than normal by her lipstick.
“So you guys are back together I guess? Congrats, good for you,” Steve says.
“You guys broke up?” Lucas asks, face scrunched up in confusion.
“What? No they didn’t,” Will scoffs.
“Um, no I-” she starts to try and explain but is interrupted.
“Yeah when was that supposed to have happened dude? They’ve been attached at the hip as always this whole time,” Dustin says.
“We didn’t really-” Jonathan starts.
“They did! He told me-” Steve begins, exasperated.
“Everyone who thinks Nancy and Jonathan broke up raise their hands,” Max interrupts.
Only Steve’s hand shoots up into the sky.
“Oh come on! I can’t believe you’re doing me like this I- whatever. Whatever! Lovebirds, everyone, in the cars. Let’s go.”
She can’t contain her smile and exchanges a glance with Jonathan, who smiles back at her. Together with their respective siblings they walk over to a minivan Steve and Robin somehow commandeered from somewhere.
It’s over. The horrible past is finally truly behind them. Now the future waits for her. For her and Jonathan. She can’t wait.