The line wasn't long. There were only a couple people in front of Nancy as she stood impatiently with Mike's bags and her own. She figured that she'd be checked in and heading up to the room within five minutes.

Her impatience wasn't driven by the wait to check in, but rather with the noticeably empty doorway. She had waited more than a month to finally see Jonathan, and now he was late. Only by a few minutes, but still. She was close to going outside and just waiting with Mike so she could see as soon as the Byers arrived.

Eventually, there was only one person between her and the front desk. She reached into her coat pocket quickly, just to assure that her card was still in its place. When her fingers closed around the small plastic chip, she sighed in relief. It had been a stressful car ride. There were lots of things for her to worry about, lots of things that could go wrong on their trip.

Her parents thought she was at a sleepover with Stacey. They thought Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Max were hanging out at Dustin's house. But one quick phone call to check on them could lead to their parents finding out what they were really up to that weekend.

Plus, she didn't know anything about Smarton. It was a bigger town than Hawkins, and there was a good chance any of them could and would get lost. Their things could get stolen. Nancy had had time to play out each and every scenario in her mind on the way there.

Finally, it was her turn to check in. She moved up to the front desk and smiled at the lady behind it. "Hi," she said, "my name's Nancy Wheeler; I have a reservation for…"

She trailed off as she glanced up and towards the door, her heart almost stopping for a moment. Standing against the darkened sky outside was Jonathan, scanning the room. He was illuminated by the lobby lights almost angelically.

"Miss, could you please continue?" the woman asked, but Nancy wasn't paying any attention to her anymore. She dropped the bags she was carrying and began to drift towards Jonathan.

He locked eyes with her and halted in his steps for a moment, as if blinded. She saw him mouth her name. Then, with sudden urgency, he started to run towards her, disregarding his own bags by the door.

She matched his pace, at that moment needing to be by his side more than anything else in the whole world. With each step, her vision tunneled, ignoring the stares thrown their way by the other guests.

When they reached each other, the force of their collision almost knocked Nancy over. She wrapped her arms tightly around Jonathan's neck, throwing herself into his embrace. He pulled her tightly against him, burying his face into her hair. He kissed the top of her head over and over again, running his hands through her curls. She lifted her face towards him and placed her lips on his cheek, then moved until she found his mouth.

Nancy could have stayed there forever, breathing in his scent, but she soon remembered the receptionist she'd left hanging at the desk. Pulling away from Jonathan for a second, she nodded her head at the desk and grimaced. He followed her glance and raised his eyebrows.

"Maybe we should continue this somewhere else," Jonathan suggested. "After we finish checking in."

Pursing her lips and smiling up at him, Nancy nodded in agreement. Then she grabbed his hand and together, the two of them returned to the receptionist.

"I'm guessing you're the Jonathan Byers that was also listed under the reservation," the woman said, tilting her glasses with a smirk. "How long's it been since you guys have seen each other?"

"A little over a month," Nancy replied, grinning at Jonathan. "But it feels like forever."

"I'll bet," the receptionist murmured, typing into her computer. "Alright, it says here you're checking out on Sunday at three? Is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jonathan answered.

She reached down and pulled out two keys. "These are all yours, then. Rooms 353 and 354. Don't lose them. And have fun, lovebirds," she said with a wink.

"Oh, we're actually just friends," Jonathan said, his face shockingly straight.

For a moment, the receptionist's face turned a bright red as she glanced between the two of them. Her jaw slackened and she quickly adjusted her glasses. "Well, I-I'm sorry for the misunderstanding-" However, as she caught sight of Nancy's humored expression, she sighed in relief.

"Thank you," Nancy said, accepting the keys and shoving them into her pocket, still trying not to laugh. As they walked away, she gently slapped Jonathan's shoulder. "What was that for?" she asked. "You scared that poor lady half to death."

"Old time's sake," Jonathan replied, his own smile spreading across his face. "It's been a while since we had to clarify that we weren't together."

He squeezed Nancy's hand tighter, and she squeezed back. It felt right to be at his side again. They'd endured so much together that being apart had sent Nancy tumbling into a constant state of looking over her shoulder whenever she was at school or walking around town.

But suddenly she stopped. "Where are the kids?" she asked, looking back with a worried crinkle of her eyebrows.

Squinting through the window into the dark night sky, Jonathan pointed his finger at the two younger children, still standing together in the parking lot. They were locked in each others arms, kissing furiously.

"Oh, jeez," Nancy said, averting her eyes. "I'm never going to unsee that."

"Should we get them?" Jonathan asked. "They seem pretty happy where they are."

Nancy sighed. "Let's leave them for now. We can get settled and come back for them in a few minutes." She smiled at him for what seemed like the millionth time and together, the two of them started out for the room.

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No words. I love Jancy with my whole soul. There's a lot of talk on the internet right now about Jonathan being the next character to die, and I don't think my heart could handle it. Anyways, thanks again for reading another chapter! And to everyone who left a review, you made my day :)