This will be a series of moments between my favourite Stranger Things couple.
This particular snippet is my take on a moment we'd all have loved to see from Series 2, Episode 6.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
She woke up under the thin duvet, only wearing her knickers. She felt cold, remembering their warm bodies together as they'd fallen asleep. She blinked rapidly, suddenly fearful she had been left alone. Turning, she could see he was sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands with his back to her.
"Jonathan?"
He turned at the sound of her voice, but not enough to make eye contact, "oh hey, you're up."
"What time is it?" she asked. Considering the house seemed quiet and still, it couldn't be that late.
"7:15." He said, still not looking at her.
He'd now chosen to stare resolutely towards the door she'd slammed shut last night. Before the room went dark and they didn't speak. It was just them and their hands and their moans and their hisses. She'd never experienced anything like that. Not even the first time. Like every sense was heightened.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"Huh? Yeah, it's just," he combed a hand through his hair nervously.
"What is it?" she asked again, gaining no answers she sat up properly on the bed, shuffling closer to him, drawing the blankets up to her chest. A modesty reflex.
His eyes darted there rapidly, widening before they shot up to meet her gaze. He held it for a moment before he cast them down, looking ashamed.
"What is it, Jonathan?"
She had moaned his name last night.
Not in a million years did she think, on his first time he'd have been able to…well…. she'd guided him. He'd been an exceptional partner in that. Not too proud to ask for direction and yet she found he did things she'd never thought would arouse her. Fisting the hair at the base of her neck, trailing his fingertips down her arms so gently it left gooseflesh in their wake. His dark eyes had been so blown out with want she had been glad the room was poorly lit. Her whole body had felt flushed at that.
Jonathan shook his head absently, "it's stupid."
She raised an eyebrow, a movement he clearly caught in the corner of his eye. He shook his head again.
She wanted to reach out in that moment. But she needed him to say what he was thinking. She really wanted them to be on the same page.
"When I woke up I..." he paused looking behind her at the mess of sheets and her pajamas that had been thrown to the floor without a moments thought. "when I woke up you were sleeping with your back to me. And I just…" he seemed to struggle with the words for a moment. At this point in time she really wasn't sure where he was going.
He sighed, "last night was-"
"Unexpected." She said it softly, and she could have sworn she saw the edge of his mouth twitch.
"I dunno, I just….it was…"
Amazing, she thought. And that was the god honest truth. She fought a Demogorgon with this man and yet her heart raced faster as he'd drawn her to him, his lips and hands so hungry she'd felt consumed by him.
"I know it was a vodka fuelled thing. But it was still….great." His shoulders sunk and she wondered if he knew just how lame that sounded. The fabric of his jumper tightened as he tensed, embarrassed. It sat taught across his back and she wondered briefly if she'd left scratches there. When he'd filled her, there were no words to describe it. She'd clawed at him as they no longer spoke, only moved against one another.
If sense had taught her anything about Jonathan Byers it was that he knew who he was. He was sure of himself. Of his actions. But not, it would seem when it came to her. She made the assumption then and there that he had been waiting for confirmation that this had just been a one-time thing.
He turned his head as she tilted hers towards him. She took the smallest of pities. Not because he needed it, but because hell, even now they'd slept together he still anticipated rejection.
She smiled at him as their eyes met. His such a dark, warm brown colour she found herself wishing she'd noticed this before now.
He didn't return her smile.
"Jonathan," she said his name again, only this time it came from the back of her throat. An echo of the sound she made when she came for him. Something in his expression shifts. She surmised he was biting down on his own tongue to stop from humming out is own sequel.
"You do know, you can't kiss a girl like that and not expect it to end up here," she said it with a slightly bemused tone to her voice. She watched his shoulders relax a little.
"So you don't… regret-"
"No." she cut him off, attempting to dismiss all his insecurities with this one word.
"Oh."
She would have been lying if she said she didn't know. That she couldn't tell what had been sitting there all this time. She'd just chosen not to acknowledge it. Bury it, along with her true self using Steve as a means of normality. The way Jonathan looked at her spoke volumes. His eyes brimming with an adoration she'd never experienced.
She noticed how close their faces were then. She wrapped her right arm around his waist, drawing their bodies together, tentatively. She heard the smallest intake of breath as he closed his eyes at the contact, resting his forehead against hers.
When he spoke, it surprised her. Although soft, it grated. Everywhere. Raspy and rough, just like his hands had been.
"I just thought you'd want to forget it," he breathed.
"I told you. I waited." She knew she sounded stubborn, but she really didn't care. Thankfully, his mouth curved up in a smile, though his eyes remained closed.
"If I'd known this would have been the outcome, I might have been ever so slightly more forthcoming."
She grinned at that. Taking in his mussed hair and freckles.
"Ever so slightly?" She knew she was pressing him, that he might not like the depth this conversation was sinking. Yet, she knew this was something that had to be discussed. Now felt like an appropriate time.
Jonathan shifted uncomfortably, "well….it's not exactly my forte. This." He reached out blindly, instinctively. Taking her hand and rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.
Nancy sighed, a contented noise she hoped he wouldn't miss. "Perhaps you should trust yourself a little more."
She knew she was speaking on both their behalves. And she assumed he knew exactly what she was referring to. He pulled back slowly as she did. Searching her face. One last time, with a concerned expression. It slowly morphed into something else. Something that made her physically curl her toes beneath the duvet. It was the same look he'd had when she'd opened the door to find him merely a foot away. His proximity dizzying; electric.
She had a second to react, to wrap her other arm around his waist as he pressed his lips to hers again. The hunger was still evident, yet it was slower and probing. Explorative. His nails grazed a path through her hair causing her to elicit a moan into his mouth.
Pulling away he let out a rough breath. Still holding the back of her neck, their bodies flush again. The sheet had fallen revealing her bare chest. A few dark red patches were strewn around it. She couldn't help but grin at that too. The excitement that Jonathan Byers had done that was…. Intoxicating.
"You're amazing." He glanced from her naked torso up to her face. He appeared to be drinking in ever inch of her with his eyes, as if still not believing she was real. "Beautiful."
She'd been called beautiful before. Never had she felt the flush of gratitude and… she didn't want to use that word yet. But it felt close. Frighteningly tangible.
They were barely an item yet. She now, after the fact, had to consciously remind herself of her previous denial of her feelings. She had quickly lost track of how many times their eyes had met across the classroom, or his way to the dark room or across the parking lot at school. How many times he'd been the one to turn away over the past year.
She needed to make him understand.
"Has anyone ever told you you're handsome?"
His brow furrowed and he scrunched up his face with distaste, "I don't think my mom counts."
She took his face in her hands, focusing on his gaze. Every look he gave her was intense. It made her hands shake slightly and she hoped he wouldn't notice.
"You are handsome, Jonathan. And wonderful. You didn't have to come here with me. After the past year, you still came when I needed someone. Monster hunting. Conspiracy theorist interrogating and collaborating." She spotted him searching her face again, as if trying to catch her out. Probing for a lie amongst her words. She couldn't blame him after how long she'd been doing it before.
"This-" she motioned between them, "- this isn't always safe. And it's certainly not expected."
He snorted at that.
"Maybe Bauman got it right. Shared trauma, brings people together." The bitter hint in his voice was there, hidden beneath his usually soft tone. She didn't miss it.
"That's not the only reason," she pushed on because she had to make him understand. She'd lied to herself and to him for too long.
"You make me feel braver. You make me feel surer of myself. I don't second guess my choices when I'm with you. And I certainly don't feel like I'm pretending to be someone I'm not."
She could tell he was finally processing their situation. Revelling in the clarity he smiled his first genuine smile all morning. His teeth peeped out between his lips.
"That's not me, Nancy. That's all you."
A loud thud echoed from the floor above and they both grasped each other's arms in surprise. A defensive reflex. Both their gazes darted to the ceiling. Fear of monsters will do that to a person.
"Shit, I should go."
Although she didn't want him to, she agreed. "I don't think I could stand him saying "I told you so" with a shit eating grin on his face." She bit it out but there was no malice behind it.
Jonathan looked back down at her, his eyes almost sparkling in the half light.
"It was certainly the push I needed," he shrugged, though his smile was still evident.
The movement upstairs signifying that their host was awake made Nancy both on edge and embarrassed. How easy had it been for an outsider looking in to tell there was something between them? Why had she denied it?
"I'm sorry." She blurted, letting go of him so he could fumble on the floor for his trousers. He pulled them on hurriedly.
"What for?" he asked curiously.
"For this happening the way it did. Us."
He looked at her beneath his fringe almost shyly, "I agree. All told it was a weird, crazy and unimaginable night. Yet it kind of fits with us."
She hummed in agreement, picking up her nightshirt and tugging it over her head. She gathered her bag for a shower that Bauman had pointed out before they had initially parted ways. They drew together in the middle of the room intuitively.
Her eyes flitted back to the ceiling as Bauman's bodiless raging cough sounded from above them.
"Just so you know," she said, taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, "I'm tired of normal."
He nodded, his brow furrowing in such a way that reminded her of how he'd looked in his ecstasy the previous night. He squeezed back before releasing her and taking two strides to reach the door purposefully.
"You wanna ring your mom?"
"Later. Let's get ready to leave and head out."
"Sure."
He seemed to have his hand glued to the door for a moment. Watching her over his shoulder but not leaving. In a quick, surprisingly fluid motion he came back to her in the centre of the room and kissed her like he had the previous night. If he was trying to convery his own feelings, Nancy thought her heart might melt then, on the spot.
He pulled away, breathing hard, "I just….yeah."
He threw her the smallest of smiles before he rushed out the door.
If she hadn't been listening for it, she wouldn't have heard the sliding door to the study open and close momentarily.
It took a minute for her to come to her senses. She could hear Bauman still coughing as he descended the stairs and make a beeline to the kitchen. He began whistling something from Flashdance and she could picture Jonathan rolling his eyes. It wasn't until then that she realised she was still smiling from ear to ear.
Jonathan Byers, she thought to herself, feeling a tidal wave of warmth crash over her at just the thought of him. Them.
When did you fall in love with him?
Authors note:
As a stand alone I'm actually really pleased with this.
I have literally fallen for all their adorable looks and glances, the evident chemistry and their obvious compatibility. My overall love of Stranger Things has also ignited in me a passion I didn't know I would feel again for a fandom. Big love to the Duffer Brothers in that sense.
Reviews always welcome.