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It was snowing in Indiana. On Christmas.
Snow was rare in the small town of Hawkins, especially on such a special day, but no one was complaining. The day continued on as white flakes danced down from the sky, lining the ground in a small sheet of soft powder as the festive music ran throughout the town.
As the snowfall finally settled down a little, so did the people who managed to defeat a giant monster that may as well have been from some fairytale that mothers told their children in order to make sure they didn’t sneak off at night. Or ever.
But tonight, no one was sneaking out under Karen Wheeler’s watch. She had invited everyone over to her house, spent countless days preparing and planning, before the day had finally arrived. She knew that something was stressing out her children, Nancy and Mike specifically, but she didn’t know what. But, being the amazing mother she was, she wanted to help in any way she could.
So that’s how she ended up with a full dining table consisting of Dustin, Will, and Eleven for Mike (she had invited Lucas and his little sister but he wanted to spend it with Max, who was unfortunately still in a coma which broke her heart), Joyce and Hopper, and Steve, Robin, and Jonathan for Nancy.
She noticed the way her daughter flinched when she mentioned the name Jonathan, but didn’t pry when Nancy put on her best smile and nodded excitedly.
“These mashed potatoes are really great.” Joyce was the first to talk through the clinging of metal and chewing. “Thanks again for having us.”
“It’s my pleasure, really.” Karen smiled. “Nancy actually made and seasoned those.”
“Oh really?”
And that’s when all the attention fell onto Nancy and a chat about cooking was started up. Laughter and joy spread across the table as everyone eventually finished up their meal, the kids and teens splitting up into smaller groups.
Nancy Wheeler was avoiding Jonathan Byers. To her credit, her actions seemed accidental. Joining the dinner after Jonathan arrived to ensure that they wouldn’t be sitting next to each other, pulling Steve to the side as soon as the table split off into grouped chaos, and making sure to stay as far as possible from him.
She didn’t hate her. Or maybe she did.
Things weren’t going well in her relationship and she knew it. Even during the battles against Vecna, where she tried so hard to have hope for them, she knew it was going to be over soon. And when that phone call came, she wasn’t even surprised. But it didn’t hurt any less. It was still a fresh wound.
She hadn’t told anyone because frankly, she didn’t want Mike to feel awkward every time he went over to hang out with Will and therefore Jonathan. So she kept quiet. She had grown good at that.
So there she was, fleeing to the bathroom as soon as she made eyesight with him, letting herself dramatically slump against the door. Until someone had to even take the quietness of the bathroom away from her.
Three knocks in quick succession vibrated against her back as she stood up slowly. She blinked, opening the door slightly, before someone pushed her way inside, before suddenly pausing.
“Oh, Nancy!”
Robin exclaimed, slightly breathless as she shut the door behind her. She blinked, once, twice, almost comical before her brain comprehended the situation and she flung the door back open.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were in here.”
Nancy let out a tiny chuckle, a little bitter. “That was the point.”
Robin had grown on Nancy since their adventures over spring break. She found herself immersed in both the intelligence and sporadicness of the other girl’s brain, which provided a big difference from the organized way in which Nancy’s own brain worked. And maybe Robin had a little more weight to the breakup between her and Jonathan than she’d like to admit. Whatever that meant.
“I’m sorry, uh, did you want to leave? Did you want me to leave?” Robin asked, wildly gesturing towards the door.
“No, it’s…fine,” Nancy forced on a smile. “I assume you need to use the bathroom?”
“I mean yeah, that’s usually why someone goes to the bathroom in the first place,” Robin agreed, taking a pause to finally catch her breath. Nancy took note. “Well, actually, not really. I’m hiding from someone.”
“That puts us in the same boat.”
“Oh?”
Nancy tilted her head. She knew Robin only spoke so fast when she was stressed out, but who at the party would have ticked off one of her nerves? “Who would you be hiding from?”
“Well, I guess it’s not one person. Or maybe it isn’t even a person. Does that make sense?” Robin squinted slightly, trying to process her words coming out of her own mouth. “You know what, it’s no big deal. Who has the great Nancy Wheeler hiding in the bathroom?”
Nancy shrugged, something that had now become a habitual response whenever anything along the lines of “How is Jonathan” or “Are you and Jonathan going out again soon” was asked.
“It’s Jonathan, isn’t it?”
The second the words left Robin’s mouth, Nancy whipped her head up so fast that it was a miracle she didn’t pull a muscle.
Robin’s eyes widened. “Uhm I might not be the best at social cues, but I am good at catching patterns. And you didn’t sit next to Jonathan like you always do. You didn’t greet him with that hug when he first entered-”
Nancy debated on spilling the truth right then and there in order to stop the drip down memory lane. It had been four months since they’d broken up, and someone was going to find out eventually. She just hadn’t expected it to be like this.
“Yeah.” She finally forced out. “Yeah, we broke up a while ago.”
“Oh.” Robin froze for a second. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
Nancy let out a small huff. She hadn’t really thought about herself in a while, burying any emotional weight the break up had over her with school work and newspaper stuff, so much so that she didn’t really know an answer to the question. But she wasn’t about to trauma dump on poor Robin.
“Yes. Thanks for asking, it means a lot,” Nancy responded, sidestepping Robin in order to slip out the door.
“Wait.”
Nancy felt something warm tug at her wrist, and she spun around on her heels to look back at Robin.
The girl dropped her hand sheepishly. “Uh, I don’t know what to say. I usually just make fun of Steve when it doesn't go well with Heidi…or Linda…or was it Lisa? Either way, I’m…here for you? Is that the right response? I mean, my mom always told me I say the wrong things at the wrong time and I’m hoping this isn’t one of them.”
“That’s the right response,” Nancy offered, allowing herself to stay still for a few seconds, before walking away with a smile and shaking her head lightly.
She walked back into the crowded living room and found Steve glancing around, and decided that she would spare him from his loneliness in the bustling room.
“Nancy! Have you seen Robin?” Steve asked immediately after catching sight of her.
“Yes, hi, I’m doing great, how are you?” Nancy deadpanned.
Steve stopped for a second, before smiling apologetically. “Sorry, yes, how have you been?”
“I’m…”
You did that to yourself Wheeler.
“...good.” Nancy nodded. “Now what about Robin?”
“I started talking about the snow and she freaked out a little. Now, I hate driving in snow, but I feel like that response was a little too much to be just about car crashes on ice…”
Nancy blinked. That would explain why the other girl seemed so on edge. But snow?
“And now I feel kind of bad for mentioning it.” Steve stated. “What do I do?”
“You are going to leave it to your awesome friend to fix the situation. As per usual.” Nancy responded, spinning around again and hearing a hushed “oh thank you”.
Nancy never could wrap her mind around the relationship between Steve and Robin. Robin had insisted that it was platonic with a capital P many times, and she believed the girl. They genuinely cared for each other and that was all that mattered. And Steve wouldn’t have said it if he knew it would elicit that response. Or maybe she was overthinking.
So much for organized thoughts.
Maybe Robin was hiding something from him. A secret! Nancy loved uncovering secrets more than any mashed potatoes she could make. And she convinced herself it was not just for Robin’s own well being and for her own sanity. She was allowed to think of herself for once. Right?
Nancy found herself at the door of the bathroom, hearing the sink on full blast as she knocked, thrice, imitating the way Robin knocked on the door.
She heard a small curse come from the other side of the room, before the sink stopped and the lock popped open.
“Just finished up-” Robin began before stopping when she realized it was Nancy. “Back so soon?”
“Back for you,” Nancy responded, her eyes flickering down to Robin’s wet hands. They were slightly tinted red. She didn’t let herself think more before taking her wrist and practically dragging her up the stairs.
“Hey wait, what’s going on?” Robin asked, bewildered. “It better be big. The way we’re moving has me thinking Santa's stuck in the chimney.”
“Something of the sort,” Nancy played along as she pulled them into her room and shut the door behind her. She needed some sort of entertainment. “But Santa’s not stuck in the chimney. Matter of fact, he’s hidden behind a wall that just got destroyed.”
“Is that like…a double entendre that I’m missing?” The pitch of Robin’s voice grew higher with every word. “I’m confused.”
Nancy let out a sigh. “I need a place where I don’t need to keep looking over my shoulder to make sure Jonathan isn’t going to cause a scene. Better here than the bathroom.”
“Better here than the bathroom…” Robin repeated, her eyes flickering around the room to take in the scene as she felt her heart beat slightly faster.
She hadn’t been here since the day that Nancy practically dolled her up to get ready to break into an asylum to talk to Victor Creel. And it hadn’t changed too much. Tom Cruise poster and everything.
“Again, that’s old,” Nancy pointed out after noticing Robin’s lingering gaze on the poster. Some things never changed.
“Right, uh, so why did you drag me up here?”
“Steve wants to make sure you’re okay,” Nancy said, earning a soft chuckle from Robin.
“What? Why wouldn’t I be?”
“He said you kinda left him in a room full of babies and Jonathan Byers.”
Robin winced a little. “Oh, I did. I’ll get back down there then.”
“He also said you freaked out over the snow.”
Robin turned around slowly, barely meeting Nancy’s eyes. “Okay, maybe I did.”
“Why?”
The question was simple, and Nancy knew she should’ve expected some lighthearted answer about a dumb childhood story. But deep down, she was hoping for something deep. Something to take her mind away from Jonathan, and help a friend while she was at it. Two birds with one stone.
“Do you ever just…think back to Venca and the Upside Down and just think ‘oh shit I should’ve died’? And then the details start to come back and suddenly it’s two in the morning and you can’t sleep?” Robin began, bouncing on her heels slightly.
Nancy nodded slowly, offering as much sympathy as she could through her eyes.
“Remember how Steve and I got kidnapped by the Russians? I mean, I should’ve died there.”
Nancy opened her mouth to object, but Robin kept going.
“But you know, small weird child Dustin had to save the day. But now I flinch every time I hear the air conditioning turning on, or think of the snow. Because that room they kept us in was cold. It might’ve been the middle of July but it felt like winter. Like today with all the snow.”
Understanding was starting to seep into Nancy’s brain.
“And I just think back to being helplessly tied to Steve the hair Harrington as the doctors brought out the pliers and I’ve always hated doctors but this was even worse than that one appointment where they messed up my anesthesia. Not the point. They knew I had a horrible pain tolerance and if they hit me I’d probably faint, or die at that point! So they cranked up the air conditioning, partly to probably keep their machines running in that heat, but also partly to try to get us to say something. So, yeah, I freaked out a little when Steve mentioned how he got trapped under a pile of snow when he was younger and his mom had to dig him out. And maybe I’m crazy, but I can’t be the only one? You all seem so calm and I feel so stupid sometimes-”
Nancy knew the feeling Robin was talking about. The same one that squeezed her heart to the point of bursting whenever Nancy saw a pool, thought of the shadows that hovered over precariously.
“I’m sorry. Was that the wrong thing to say?”
Robin looked like a kicked puppy, shifting her weight front and back as she waited for something to come out of Nancy’s mouth.
“No,” Nancy exhaled the breath she was holding. “No, I feel that way too.”
Nancy might as well have just told the other girl she loved her the way Robin slowly spoke, “you do?”
And then, with her luck, Mike had to ruin the moment by barging into the room and almost hitting Nancy with the door. “We’re having a snowball fight! You two better hurry up and join the other team so it’s fair.”
Nancy almost burst out laughing at the whole situation, but kept a somewhat straight face. She glanced over to Robin, hesitant.
“Hey, no, yeah.” Robin took in a breath and looked a lot more animated than a few seconds ago. “Who am I joining? Tell them they’re about to win because of me.”
“The Byers, because I’m about to beat them up. Nancy, you’re joining them too.”
“And you’re the one in charge of organizing the teams?” Nancy lifted a doubtful eyebrow.
Mike shrugged, before bolting downstairs as the two ladies followed.
“You sure about this?” Nancy muttered quietly as she paused slightly, allowing Robin to catch up as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
“If there’s a day I overcome my fear of the cold, it might as well be now,” Robin shrugged back, biting her cheek slightly.
“I’m here for you,” Nancy said, a little irony catching in her tone, but she meant it. Robin let out a little chuckle as they bursted through the door.
The cold wind hit them instantly as snowballs whirled through the air, hitting bodies and walls of snow recently made as defenses. A laugh escaped Nancy’s lips before a snowball flew past her and right towards Robin.
Steve had an excited look on his face. Nancy wanted to punch him.
But she spun around to see Robin’s reaction, who had flinched slightly.
“Not the Russians,” Nancy said lowly. “Just your idiot friend.”
She raised a hand to help brush off the snow that had landed on Robin’s shoulder, relieved when her touch seemed to deflate her stiff body as she sucked in a small breath.
“Right. You’re helping me enact revenge against him.”
Nancy laughed and Robin began to join her, almost doubling over when Joyce of all people managed to land a solid shot right on Nancy’s mom’s face.
“Hey!”
Jonathan’s voice sucked Nancy out of the moment as she froze, eyes darting wildly towards the sound as Jonathan waved them over.
“It isn’t very tactical to be standing near the doorway.”
As if to prove a point, Mike threw over a snowball that landed on Nancy’s leg as she failed to dodge it in time.
“I have an idea!” Robin exclaimed, very loudly, before dragging Nancy to the side of the house, completely opposite of Jonathan and rummaging through her pockets, before finding gloves. She quickly worked to make a wall of snow in front of them as they both ducked down with a laugh.
“You save me and I save you.” Robin pretended to dust off her hands as she marveled at the wall she created.
“Thanks,” Nancy grinned, breathless. She knelt down next to Robin, shoulders brushing against each other lighting, feeling her heart pounding in her throat for more reasons than one.
“I should be thanking you. Thanks for having me over.”
“Oh of course, it’s no problem.”
“It means a lot. I never really celebrated Christmas with my family and all that. I mean, it was a special day, but my family’s atheist and we never really followed the typical tradition. It was more of just a day off. And we weren’t the richest, so no gifts or anything.” Robin said as she fiddled with the snow on the ground, gathering a small pile of snow as she molded it into a round object.
Nancy glanced over. “Well, what’s on your wishlist?”
Robin paused, nearly dropping the now-snowball in her hand. “What?”
“Just…if you were to have a wishlist, what would be your number one wish?”
A snowball flew over their heads as they heard a disappointed groan from Steve. The two of them laughed in sync as Robin threw up a middle finger.
“To see Steve be hit with a snowball.”
“I can make that come true.” Nancy grinned.
She peaked her head over the wall of snow, glancing up towards Steve, who was too busy arguing with Dustin to notice anything. She crept forward slightly, pulling back her arm and aiming right at his head. As soon as she let go of the snowball, she heard a gasp as it smacked him right in the face.
Robin gasped before letting out a huge cheer, and Nancy felt her corner of her own eyes crinkle slightly in amusement, before she saw a bunch of snowballs headed her way.
Robin managed to pull her back into cover on time, with Nancy laying on the ground right next to her.
“You never miss, huh?”
Nancy grinned, a little smug. “I don't. Wish granted.”