#stoncy friendship

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

What if Nancy slapped Jonathan?

Summary: When Nancy actually allows herself to be angry about Jonathan's pictures, she realizes that she doesn't regret sleeping with Steve and that there was more to Steve than she realized. Jonathan realizes his mistake and friendships begin to form. Long fic, one shot.

A cold, numbing feeling came over Nancy as she looked at the pictures. The worst fear of people somehow knowing came true and in the worst possible way. It wasn't that she was ashamed that she slept with Steve. It was the more that it was an intimate moment that she trusted Steve with, that she enjoyed knowing that it was just between them. Sure, there was a part of her that wanted to gush about it and talk about it. . .yes, but with her friends. . .with Barb. God, maybe it was her fault. She should have closed the blinds. . .pulled the curtains. . . Something. All she could think about was Steve.

No. No, it wasn't her fault. Steve wanted her there, invited her there. It was an intimate party between friends. Jonathan had found his way over there, crept in the bushes, and took her picture. He took Tommy, Carol, and Steve's pictures without their permission. They didn't know someone was watching them. Nancy could understand Carol's disgust. She was disgusted herself and quite, frankly, angry. Suddenly, she felt her hand moving on its own, and there came a loud slapping sound as her hand came in contact with Jonathan's face.

"What the hell, Jonathan?" Nancy asked.

"Damn," Carol whistled. "Didn't know she had it in her."

"Why?" Nancy asked.

"I was looking for Will," Jonathan said, clutching his cheek.

"I would believe that if the pictures didn't prove otherwise. You stopped the moment you took pictures of us in the pool. How long did it take for us to get from the pool to inside the house to me getting inside Steve’s bedroom? A few minutes, give or take, long enough for you to realize that you stopped looking for Will," Nancy snapped. "Why?"

"I just saw - I just saw someone trying to be someone they're not," Jonathan said. "I thought it was a good picture."

"That's bullshit!" Nancy exclaimed. "So, what? Because I wear sweaters buttoned up to my neck, I study hard, and I like nerdy things that I can't possibly be human and want to have sex with Steve Harrington?"

"It just didn't seem that way to me," Jonathan said, his eyes downcast.

"Just because I was nervous doesn't mean that I still didn't want to go through with it," Nancy snapped. "By the way, I've noticed that you still haven't apologized."

"I, uh," Jonathan started to speak.

"Save it. Saying it now, I know you're not going to mean it. The embarrassment you're feeling at having been caught is how I feel about having been caught, except the major difference here is that I have nothing to apologize for. I will never apologize for sleeping with Steve. It was my choice, my decision and it's something that I'm never going to regret. Your interpretation of me is dead wrong. For the first time, I was doing something that I wanted to do and not what was expected of me. Steve is who I wanted, I liked him not because every other girl in the school did but because I did. I like him. I'm sorry that your brother is missing, I truly am, but it doesn't excuse what you did and I hope that when he does come back that he never finds out about you using him as excuse," Nancy said it all with clenched fists and tears filling her eyes.

"She is ripping him a new one," Tommy cackled.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped. Steve was looking at her with genuine concern in his eyes, and she felt her anger melt away. Steve kissed her gently on the forehead and went to hand Jonathan his camera back. Jonathan went to reach for, but at the last second, Steve let it drop to the ground. Nancy felt a brief satisfaction for a moment when she heard the camera break and even more so when Steve tore up the pictures, letting them fall to the ground in front of Jonathan as he knelt to retrieve his camera. Nancy quickly picked up the pieces and stuffed them in her bag before Jonathan could get to them.

"Don't want him gluing them back together," Nancy explained to Steve.

"Smart," Steve muttered.

"Jonathan," Nancy said softly, and he looked up. "I think that maybe you need to step out from behind the camera every once in a while and remember that there is more to people than what you think pictures are saying to you. It's just something to think about."

As they walked off, Nancy wrapped her arm around Steve's waist, squeezing him. She was grateful that she had him to lean on in this moment. She realized again that it wasn't just her privacy that Jonathan had violated, but Steve’s as well. Nancy stopped him when they were out of earshot of Jonathan.

"Steve. . .do you mind if we get out of here? I mean, I know you wanted to watch the game, but I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed," Nancy said.

"Of course, I'm a little on edge myself. Was the camera thing too much?" Steve asked.

"No. He deserved it," Nancy said. "Was the slapping thing too much?"

"No, he definitely deserved it," Steve said and paused. "Did you really mean when you said that you don't regret what happened?"

"Yes, I like you, Steve," Nancy said. "I want you."

"I want you too," he said softly.

Nancy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. She stood back and stared at him before frowning.

"I want to go back to your house and look for Barb," Nancy said. "I think something might have happened. I don't think she went home last night, and she definitely didn't come to school today."

"Okay. Do we - should we call the police?" Steve asked, rubbing her shoulders.

"Maybe we should check out your place first," Nancy replied, slipping her hand into his.

"Hey, Tommy, Carol. . . We're going to get out of here," Steve said.

"Oooh," Carol laughed.

"Have fun," Tommy said wiggling his eyebrows.

Steve flipped him off before walking off with Nancy to his car.

"I'm glad you're coming with me. I'm not sure that I'd want to do this alone," Nancy said.

"It's no problem," Steve said softly.

"I was right," Nancy said, leaning against the door. "There is more to you than what people say there is."

"Is that a good thing?" Steve asked.

"Definitely," Nancy said.

"Right back at ya, Nancy Wheeler," he replied.

When they drove to Steve’s house, they discovered that Barb's car was still there. Holding hands, they began searching the woods behind the house. Nancy and Steve moved through the woods, crunching sounds breaking the silence as they walked on the leaves. They could clearly hear the wind whistling through the branches, but they nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard larger rustling sounds as though someone or something was moving with them. Whatever it was, it was moving rather quickly.

"Barb?!" Nancy called out. "Barb?!"

"Barb?!" Steve called out, whirling around with Nancy.

Suddenly, there came a growling sound, and they watched a blurry figure dart through the trees. Nancy stumbled back into Steve’s arms.

"Did you see that?" Nancy asked.

"Did he - did he not have a face?" Steve whispered.

They heard another growling sound, and Steve was grabbing Nancy's hand again. They both took off at the same time, running straight towards Steve’s car. They jumped in, and Steve didn't waste any time driving away from the house. Once they deemed it a safe distance, Steve pulled off to the side to calm himself down. . .to calm both of them down.

"He was wearing a mask, right?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know," Steve said.

"What if something really bad happened to her, Steve?" Nancy asked. "What if she's - ,"

"I want to be positive here, Nancy, I really do, but I don't know," Steve said softly. "I really hope not."

Nancy reached over and hugged him, letting him know that she appreciated his honesty. The drive back to her house was silent, but Steve kept a comforting hand on her knee the entire time. He didn't hesitate to follow her into her home either. He must be as scared as she was. As soon as she walked into the kitchen with Steve’s supportive hand on her shoulder and when she saw her mom, the tears started to come.

"You're home early. How was the game? Who is - Nancy, what's the matter?" Karen asked.

"It's Barb. I think. . .I think something happened," Nancy sniffled. "Something terrible."

Karen was quick to call the cops after holding a crying Nancy. Steve and Nancy both sat down with a cop for what seemed like hours. Officer Moore seemed intent on Steve being the one behind Barb's disappearance, which Nancy was quick to rectify that he couldn't have done anything because he was too busy sleeping with her.

"I swear I was respectful. I made sure she knew it was her choice and everything. I was a complete gentleman. I really like Nancy," Steve had said quickly to her parents.

If it was under any other circumstance, Nancy would have laughed. Luckily, Karen seemed to believe Steve. Maybe it was the fact that Steve didn't want to leave her side during all of this when he had plenty of chances to. Night had fallen when Mike had come into the house suddenly, sobbing. They had found Will. The hope for Barb coming back alive dwindled inside of Nancy. When the cop finally left, Steve stood awkwardly in the kitchen, leaving Nancy to have time with her family, which is where Nancy and Karen later found him.

"I talked mom into letting you stay the night," Nancy said.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," Steve said, scratching the back of his neck.

"No, Nancy's right. I wouldn't feel good at all sending you back to that empty house without your parents," Karen said, frowning. "Of course, Nancy twisted my arm into letting you stay in her room. She said she was just going to sneak you up there anyway."

"She's so determined," Steve said fondly, and Karen's eyes twinkled for a moment.

"I just don't understand why Mike wouldn't let us put you in the basement," Ted said as he entered the kitchen with Mike.

"Maybe he's keeping a girl down there," Steve said, causing Ted to laugh, and Mike's eyes widened.

"Not that Mike can't get a girl," Nancy said, smirking. "But I doubt he'd risk mom and dad selling his collectibles if he did that behind their backs."

"I mean, she's not wrong," Mike said, rolling his eyes as they laughed.

Later that night, Karen was saying goodnight to Steve and Nancy when Ted came in with an armful of pillows. He started putting them in between Nancy and Steve like a wall.

"Do you think you left enough pillows for the rest of the house, Ted?" Karen asked with a sigh. "I think you missed the ones in the living room."

"Oh, hold on," Ted said and came back with two more, placing them on Nancy's bed.

"I'm so sorry," Karen said.

"No problem, I think Mr. Wheeler's hilarious," Steve said with an honest grin.

"Hm. I think I'm starting to like you. Might have to resend my earlier statement," Ted said. "Goodnight."

Steve turned on his side as soon as they left, leaving the door cracked. He peered over the pillows at Nancy.

"I'm going to need a grappling hook to get over to you," Steve said in amusement.

"It's actually kind of comfortable," Nancy said.

"Yeah. . .wait, what statement did your dad make?" Steve asked.

"Don't worry about it, Steve," Nancy said and kissed him. "Thank you for being here with me."

"Thank you for letting me stay," Steve said softly, and there was a long pause between them.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Was Tommy telling the truth when he said that your mom follows your dad around to make sure that he doesn't fool around?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, we walked in on him a few times," Steve said.

"I'm sorry. . .how often do they leave you alone?" Nancy asked.

"Too often," Steve admitted.

"Well, you're not alone now," Nancy said.

"Neither are you," Steve said gratefully and kissed her knuckles.

"Goodnight."

"Nighty-night."

The next morning, Steve ate breakfast with the Wheelers and helped Karen clean up before leaving the house with Nancy early so he could go to his house to change. Steve and Nancy stared at his house with trepidation.

"You know, any other day, I would be more worried about my asshole of a father and the fact that we had a party and we drank beer. It's crazy how small that seems now," Steve said.

"Yeah, it was just the other that Barb and I were shopping for a sweater that you might like," Nancy said. "So, I get it."

"We're going to figure it out," Steve said. "Somehow. . . Purple, by the way."

"What?"

"I think you look really good in light purple," Steve said. "You seem happier when you wear it. I don't know."

"It's my favorite color," she said and then paused. "You look good in blue."

If he chose a blue polo because of what she said, Nancy didn't comment on it, but she smiled, and for a moment, she wasn't worried. Well, not until she was called out of class to be questioned by the police again. She met Steve out by the gym to go over what the cops talked with them about, which was basically what they asked them last night. Nancy was glad that they were both peeved about them focusing on the wrong thing here. Who cares if Nancy and Steve had sex?

"It's all everyone seems to care about with me," Steve frowned. "Don't the cops have anything better to do? Oh, yes, looking for Barb."

"I'm not saying they're still not wrong about that, but to be fair, nothing like this has ever happened in Hawkins," Nancy sighed. "Something else is bothering you."

"It's nothing," Steve said. "It's nothing important."

"It's important enough to upset you. Tell me. Besides, I can't possibly decide what to do next. It might help me to think about something else," Nancy replied.

He was leaning against the wall, his legs spread out before him. Nancy stepped in between his legs, holding onto him tightly.

"I got into a fight with Tommy and Carol. Apparently, they got into their heads that you're stealing me away from them," Steve replied.

"You make it sound like you're with them or something," Nancy snorted.

"Well. . .I mean, it wasn't very serious. They made it very clear from the beginning, and I wanted a serious relationship," Steve shrugged.

"Oh. . .um, thank you for telling me," Nancy said.

"I trust you," Steve said.

"I trust you too," Nancy replied.

"Anyway, they said some really shitty things about you and then about Barb. I had to walk away," Steve said. "I'm done with them. I mean, not just for you but for me too."

"Mom said you're welcome to stay another night if your parents aren't back yet," Nancy said.

"This whole thing feels weird. . .I mean, you know what I mean, I think," Steve said.

"It's all weird, but I think Mom appreciates your help this morning," Nancy said. "And we all especially appreciate how nice you were to Mike this morning."

"Well, he's a good egg," Steve said.

"He's an asshole but yeah," Nancy said with a smile. "She also told me that you got up early this morning and had tea with Holly."

"She said she wouldn't say anything," Steve groaned.

"Come on, Princess, let's go get you some clothes," Nancy said in amusement.

After grabbing some clothes for Steve, they went back to her house. She spilled the contents of her bag to clean it out when the pieces of the torn up photograph also spilled out.

"Are those the pictures?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, I forgot about them," she said, frowning as she looked at them. "Steve. . ."

"Is that. . .?"

"The faceless man. Steve, what if whoever this is also did something to Will?" Nancy asked. "What if Will really didn't drown in the quarry?"

"Should we tell Jonathan?" Steve asked.

"I know neither one of us wants to see him, but he should know," Nancy said.

"Yeah. . .do you think someone's trying to cover this up. . .whatever this is?" Steve asked.

"Possibly," Nancy said. "Let's go."

After talking with Joyce briefly, Nancy and Steve found Jonathan at the funeral home picking out caskets. They hesitated for a moment before going in. Jonathan sighed before walking over to them. Nancy and Steve led Jonathan out of the room.

"It looks like it could be some sort of perspective distortion," Jonathan said when they showed him the picture. "But I wasn't using the wide angle. I don't know."

"Are you sure you didn't see anyone else out there?" Steve asked.

"No," Jonathan said. "And she was there was one second and then, um. . . Gone. I figured she bolted."

"The cops think she ran away, but they don't know Barb," Nancy said. "We went back to Steve’s place, and we thought we saw something. . ."

"Some weird man," Steve said. "Or. . ."

"We don't know what we saw," Nancy said, pausing as she realized where they were. "I'm sorry . . . We shouldn't have come here today, sorry."

"What he'd look like?" Jonathan asked.

"What?" Steve asked.

"The man you saw in the woods. What did he look like?" He asked.

"I don't know. It was almost like he didn't have . . . ," Nancy trailed off.

"Like he didn't have a face?" Jonathan asked.

"How do you know that?" Steve asked.

It was awkward, waiting for Jonathan to enlarge the photo. They could all feel the tension in the air.

"Have you been doing this awhile?" Nancy asked. "Photography?"

"Yeah. I guess I'd rather observe people than you know. . .," Jonathan said and paused. "You're right, though. I think I hid behind the camera too long and forgot for a moment that the people in the picture were real. . . Alive. I used that to distance myself from because it was easier to pretend they they were someone else, something else than admit that they could hurt me just like my dad. I tried so hard not to be like him that I - that I ended up doing something that he would have done. And he was never sorry for anything that he did or the hurt that he caused. I don't want to be like my dad. I am sorry, I really am."

Nancy smiled gratefully, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"I get the whole not wanting to be like your dad thing. I don't want to be like my dad either," Steve said.

"You have an asshole for a father, too?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah," Steve replied.

There was a look of understanding between them all for a moment, and they could breathe a little better. Jonathan gazed at Steve as though he were trying to figure him out.

"You know, I really wanted you to be an asshole," Jonathan said.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Steve said.

"Don't be," Jonathan said.

When the photo was done, they got a better look at the figure behind Barb.

"My mom. . .," Jonathan gasped. "I thought she was crazy. She said that it wasn't Will's body, that he was still alive. And if he's alive. . . "

"Barbara," Steve and Nancy said.

Steve had to go home again to pick out a suit for "Will's funeral" with promises to meet Nancy and her family there. Despite the fact that they knew Will wasn't really dead, there might be hope for Barb, too. It was all still tragic. Steve let Nancy hold on his hand as tightly as she could.

"You didn't have to be here, you know," Nancy whispered.

"I wanted to," Steve whispered back and squeezed her hand.

Steve and Nancy met up with Jonathan after the funeral to calculate where the creature was going. Once they determined that it wasn't traveling far, Nancy decided that she wanted to go out and look for the monster.

"Yeah, no, that's crazy!" Steve exclaimed. "I mean, what are we going to do when we find it?"

"Kill it," Nancy said. "You don't have to come with us."

"And let you get all the glory?" Steve sighed and then said with a soft voice, "You can't get rid of me that easily. Let's kill this son of a bitch!"

Later, they went to Nancy's house to change out of their clothes and started looking around the house for weapons. She found an old baseball bat of hers from when she played softball.

"You know what would look great and add maximum damage?" Steve asked. "Nails."

Nancy chuckled and pinched his cheek fondly. They eventually headed toward the field where Jonathan told them to meet and found him, practicing how to shoot. He was rather bad it. Steve and Nancy teased him mercilessly.

"You ever shot a gun before?" Jonathan asked.

"Have you met my parents?" Nancy scoffed.

"I promised myself that I would never do it again," Steve said firmly.

"Yeah, I haven't shot one since I was ten," Jonathan said. "My dad took me hunting on my birthday. He made me kill a rabbit. I guess he thought it would make me into more of a man. I cried for a week."

"Don't sweat it, Byers. My dad took me hunting once, but I'm pretty sure it was only to impress a client. Anyway, he tried to get me to kill a baby deer, but I didn't want to do it. He tried to force me to do it. The gun went off. So, that's how I shot my father in the foot. I swore I would never shoot a gun again. My dad didn't try to force me to do it again either. It certainly gave him another reason to hate me, though," Steve shrugged.

"Okay, both of your dads are major assholes," Nancy said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I guess my mom and dad loved each other at some point," Jonathan said as she showed Nancy how to shoot. "But I wasn't around for that part. Uh, just point and shoot."

"I don't think my parents ever loved each other," Nancy revealed.

"Your parents must have married for some reason," Jonathan said.

"Pretty sure mine got married because of me," Steve muttered.

"My mom was young. My dad had a cushy job and came from a good family. So, they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac, and they started their nuclear family," Nancy said.

"Screw that," Jonathan said.

"Yeah. Screw that," Nancy said. "Not that I never want to get married."

"You just don't want to end up up in a loveless marriage," Jonathan said.

"Exactly."

"Never really believed in the whole nuclear family thing but a family. . .yeah, I think it's nice. You know, when I was younger, I dreamed of having a big family. It's silly. . . I'm talking about a full brood of Harringtons. I figured we all packed into an RV and traveled to like the Rockies, the Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. We'd end up in some beachside town in California. Learn how to surf or something. I don't know, whenever my parents left me on my own, it made me feel less alone," Steve said. "And I always thought that I would adopt, you know. Give kids a loving home."

"That actually sounds nice," Nancy said.

"Yeah," Jonathan said. "You really want to adopt?"

"Yeah," Steve said. "I always wanted to have a little brother or sister, but my mom always told me she doesn't like kids whenever I asked."

"Well, you're more than welcome to have mine," Nancy said.

"Wow. It's a little early in the relationship to be asking me to join your family, Nance," Steve asked, and Jonathan snorted.

"I wasn't - " Nancy sighed and rolled her eyes, smiling. "Asshole."

"She didn't even ask you first. No wining or dining," Jonathan said.

"Not even flowers," Steve said.

"Alright, can you guys go back to not liking each other?" Nancy asked.

"Nah," Steve and Jonathan said.

Once they got done practicing, they headed towards Steve’s as night started to fall. They moved through the woods, with everyone on edge. Nancy stopped suddenly.

"What? Are you tired?" Jonathan asked.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed.

That's when Steve and Jonathan heard it. A whimpering noise. The guys followed Nancy, and they came upon a wounded deer.

"Oh God, it's been hit by a car," Nancy said.

"In the middle of the woods?" Steve asked, incredulous, and Nancy gave him a look. "Sorry."

"We can't just leave it," she said softly.

"I'll take care of it," Jonathan said, holding out his gun.

"What about - ?"

"I'm not nine anymore," Jonathan replied.

Just as Jonathan was about to shoot, the deer got pulled away by something. To Jonathan and Steve's surprise, Nancy chased after the deer. Suddenly, she disappeared, and they couldn't find her until they followed the sound of her voice, along with the sound of something growling. They pulled her out of a tree, the both of them holding her tightly as the odd, squelching door closed, leaving behind no sign that something odd had happened. Nancy insisted that Jonathan go home and be with his mom, that he should meet up with them at her house the next morning. Steve brought her home, and she sat on the edge of the bed. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her.

"Tell me what you need," Steve said softly.

"I need to take a shower," Nancy said.

"Okay," Steve said.

"Can you - can you come with me?" Nancy asked. "Not to do anything but can you - can you hold me?"

"Of course," he replied.

Underneath the spray of the water, Nancy curled up in Steve's arms and cried. It was a different kind of intimacy, a lot more intimate, even more than them having sex. Not only was Nancy naked physically, but she was also exposed to Steve emotionally. Trusting him with the trauma of what just happened to her, trusting that he's there, and that he wants to be there.

"I'm here," he whispered as they clung to each other.

After showering, they crawled into bed and held onto each other tightly. Eventually, they drifted off to sleep, but it was restless for both of them. When they left the house that morning, Jonathan was waiting for them. They talked about what happened, and they all came to the possibility that Will and Barbara might be trapped in the place that Nancy was dragged into.

"We have to find it again," Nancy said.

"You want to go back out there?" Steve asked.

"When I saw it, it was feeding on that deer," Nancy said.

"Meaning he's a predator. Right?" Jonathan asked.

"Right," Nancy said. "And it seems to hunt at night like a lion or a coyote. But it doesn't seem to hunt in packs like them. It's always alone. . ."

"Like a bear," Jonathan said.

"And remember, at Steve's, when Barb cut herself?" Nancy asked.

"And then, last night, the deer. . .," Jonathan said.

"It was bleeding too," Nancy said.

"Sharks can detect blood in one per million. That's one drop of blood in a million, and they can smell it from a quarter of a mile away," Steve said, snapping his fingers, and they looked at him. "What? I like sharks."

"Steve, are you a nerd?" Nancy asked.

"What? No, of course not. Not that it's a bad thing," Steve said, and they continued to look at him. "Okay, fine. Hi, I'm Steve Harrington and I'm a closeted dork."

"Well, admitting it is the first step," Jonathan said he laughed with Nancy.

"Anyway, it's just a theory," Nancy said. "But we can test it."

Testing it, of course, required weapons and ammunition, which meant going to the army supply store. Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy, especially when they discovered that Tommy and Carol had called Nancy a slut on the theater in spray paint for all of Hawkins to see. They found them in an alleyway with Nicole and her meathead of a boyfriend, Andy. Heated words were exchanged with Tommy calling Nancy every name in the book and then turning on Jonathan. Nancy ended up slapping Tommy, and just as she went to do it again, Andy grabbed her arm. That caused Jonathan and Steve to snap. They started swinging until the cops came, but Jonathan stopped too late and ended up hitting one of the cops. Now, they were all sitting in the police station, Jonathan, and Steve handcuffed together. Nancy was putting ice on their wounds when Joyce and Hopper came into the station.

"What happened?" Joyce asked. "Jonathan?"

"I'm fine," He replied.

"Your son assaulted a police offer, ma'am," Officer Callahan said.

"It was an accident," Steve protested.

"Yeah, was it an accident when you were beating up those two other boys in the alley?" He asked.

"Nicole's asshole of a boyfriend put his hands on Nancy!" Steve exclaimed.

"Alright!" Hopper exclaimed and turned to Nancy. "You alright?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Steve’s face is worse."

"Take them off," Joyce said. "Take them off!"

"You heard her, take them off," Hopper said.

"Chief, I get that everyone's emotional here, but there's something that you need to see," Officer Callahan said.

When they showed Hopper the things that were in the back of Jonathan's car, they had no choice but to tell Hopper and Joyce the truth about the monster. And then Mike's bully, Troy, came in spouting stuff about a girl with powers who made him pee himself and the losers she hung out with. That led them to Nancy's house, where they discovered vans parked outside and a bunch of suits entering her house. Nancy gasped and went to walk over there when Hopper stopped her.

"Hey! The last thing in the world we need is them knowing that you're wrapped up in all of this," Hopper said. "They haven't found him. Not yet."

He pointed towards the helicopters, above the trees, that were searching the area.

"He's right, Nancy. I only met him once, but he seems to be as smart as his big sister. They're going to have a hard time finding him," Steve said reassuringly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, we need to find them before they do. Do you have any idea of where they might be?" Hopper asked once they were back in the car.

"I don't know where he might be," Nancy said after a moment. "But I think I know how to ask him."

They managed to contact him over the radio, and after much convincing, Mike gave them their location. Hopper left them at the Byers' house while he went to the junkyard to get the kids. When they came back, night had fallen, and Nancy had burst out of the house before throwing her arms around Mike. They walked into the house, and Mike paused when he saw Steve.

"Jesus, what happened to your face?" Mike asked.

"A couple of bullies," Steve replied. "Not really important."

"And you took them on yourself?" Dustin asked.

"No, and if you should be impressed with anyone, it's Jonathan," Steve said.

"Hmm, modest," Dustin said.

"No, truthful," Steve scoffed.

"Sure," Dustin grinned. "El took out some bullies, too. Are you a superhero like her?"

"No. Nance, who the hell is this kid?" Steve asked, and she bit her lip, smiling.

After all that, they started talking about the place Nancy had been dragged down into. . .or what the kids call the Upside Down. The kids had discovered that a gate had been opened in Hawkins Lab. El tried to find Will and Barb by using her powers, but she had been too weak to do it. What they needed was a sensory deprivation tank, which required them to go to the school for the salt. Pretty soon, the deprivation pool was ready, goggles on El's face. Steve and Nancy shared a concerned look with each other for a moment, squeezing each other's hands. She searched for Barb first, calling out her name, and when El started to cry, Steve put his arm around Nancy.

"Gone. Gone. Gone! GONE!" El screamed.

Nancy pressed a hand to her mouth, sobbing. She turned and buried her face into Steve’s chest. Steve wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she shook. Once they discovered that Will was hiding out at Castle Byers, Hopper and Joyce left to go rescue Will from the Upside Down.

"We have to go back to the station," Nancy said to Jonathan and Steve.

"What?" Jonathan asked.

"Hopper and your mom are just walking in there like bait," she said. "The thing is still in there, and we just can't let it get them, too."

"You still want to try it out?" Steve asked.

"I want to finish what we started," Nancy said.

"What about the kids?" Steve asked. "Aren't those guys still after El?"

"Well, do you want to stay here?" Nancy asked.

"I mean. I also don't want to leave you and Jonathan," Steve frowned.

"Hm, you're torn. How about I help you with that? Steve, stay here. Jonathan and I've got this," Nancy said. "Keep the kids safe."

"There's one thing the cops didn't get," Jonathan said as he pulled the bat and nails out of his car. "You're going to need a weapon."

They went their separate ways with Nancy going off with Jonathan and Steve heading back into the gym with the kids. Inside, Steve put his bat together and stood ready to protect the kids with his life, which he almost did a few times. A couple of the agents shot at him, grazing his arm. Meanwhile, Nancy and Jonathan tricked the demogorgon into the trap, but eventually, it got out, heading towards the school when El killed the agents. In the classroom, the kids huddled together while Steve took on the demogorgon with his bat. He took a slash to the chest for his efforts, but it too was a graze. Finally, El came into the room, stood her ground, and sacrificed her life to protect them. Now, they were all at the hospital, waiting for Will to wake up. Nancy was sitting next to Steve after she made sure he got checked out by the doctors. Dustin was sitting on his other side, talking excitedly.

"Nancy, did you know that your boyfriend likes comic books? That he horded him under his floorboards?" Dustin asked.

"No, I didn't," Nancy said in amusement.

"Steve, do you think that you'd want to try playing Dungeons and Dragons with us?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know. Doesn't that require a lot of math? I'm not the best at it," Steve admitted.

"That's the best thing about it! We all have our own strengths and weaknesses!" Dustin said.

"I guess I'm willing to try it. . .on one condition, you have to at least give basketball a try," Steve said, and Dustin looked at him thoughtfully.

"I'm up for it," Lucas said eagerly.

"We can give it a try, but if we don't like it, we can quit, right?" Dustin asked.

"Of course," Steve replied.

"Then we have a deal," Dustin said and they shook hands.

It wasn't long after that Dustin fell asleep against Steve’s shoulder while Lucas fell asleep against him. Nancy smiled at him.

"Starting on your brood early?" She asked.

"Shh, go to sleep," Steve said and patted his other shoulder.

Pretty soon, Will woke up, and the kids were quick to gather in his room, flocking to him. Nancy and Steve stood in the doorway, smiling fondly as the kids relayed everything to him. Steve watched as the smile slipped off Nancy's face. She turned around and walked out of the room. Steve quickly followed her and found her trying to hold herself against a wall as she sobbed. He pulled her into his arms.

"I should be happy that he's back, and I suppose I am," Nancy mumbled into his shirt. "It's just that - "

"Barb should be here too," he whispered.

"It's not fair," she said weakly.

"I know," Steve said. "And when you're ready to talk about her, maybe you can tell me about her. I don't know, maybe it will help."

"Thank you," Nancy said. "For everything."

Jonathan came stumbling out of the hospital room. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I'm sorry about Barb," Jonathan said softly.

"Thanks," Nancy said and smiled sincerely. "I'm really glad your brother made it home."

"Me too," he said.

"Thank you for saving my life back there," Nancy said.

"Yeah, I think that means we're all friends now," Steve said.

"What?" Jonathan asked in surprised.

"Oh, do you not want to be our friend?" Steve asked. "Hm, and to think that I was going to share my hair care products with you."

"We are friends!" Jonathan said quickly.

"I knew it! You are jealous of my hair," Steve said, and Nancy giggled. "Well, I guess I can handle Jonathan Byers being interested in me only for my hair."

"Shut up, man," Jonathan said.

Nancy smiled. Of course, she would never be okay with what he did but mixed with his sincere apology as well as the way he almost died to protect her from the demogorgon. It's funny how forgiveness can sneak up on you in the most unexpected ways, and it's strange how quickly things can change. It's nice, though, that forgiveness can make you breathe a little bit better.

[vanesawye]

"i would rather steve harrington die than have a romance subplot in season 5" y'all do not like that man

[emily-mooon]

You know when I hear people say they want more messy relationships in ST, I’m tempted to point my finger to the corner where Stonathan sits.

[messrsbyler]

i need so many sub groups in the next season but the problem is that they tangle with each other, like:

i need lucas and el pairing up to save max

i need argyle and jonathan and nancy and steve

but i also need byler and jancy

but also the og party

but also jonathan and el and will being siblings

but also mike and nancy being siblings

but also argyle and murray bc that would be hilarious

but also robin and jonathan and steve so she can clock them both as the bi icons they are

but also robin and nancy and el and joyce and erica bc girl power (plus points if suzie joins too) (and vickie? if she gets a bigger role?)

but also hopper and enzo and murray and joyce

but also dustin and el

but also byler on their own

but also-

you see my dilemma here?

[jonathanbyersphd]

Lamently (a year later) that Steve pining over a lost friendship with Nancy & Jonathan would've been so much better than St*ncy

[qprstobin]

I need to stop going into fandom servers when sick or on no sleep, because I always lose my filter and start riffing either weird bits or weird aus

Wrote a whole treatise on how much I want more platonic Steddie in my life (from the perspective of I'm also a huge stoncy shipper and a lot of stoncy fics either are pres4 or aren't fix it's (so no Eddie), and i think stoncy pining/jealousy plotlines would be 10x funnier with the inclusion of Eddie being Steve's other best friend). Somehow this led to:

- a half fic where Jonathan finds out he's the only member of the citrus six who hasn't kissed Steve (tho Robin only pecked him on the mouth once platonically as a dare and also once to get a creepy guy to leave her alone)

- me creating a new OT3 of Argyle/Eddie/Chrissy (aka Chrissy and her two weed smoking GFS)

- a running bit where Steve and Eddie actually really like each other's music (New Wave and Metal respectively, I'm not talking about ABBA here) but refuse to admit it in front of any of the rest of the group despite their tapes ending up in each other's cars

- a running bit where Eddie eats the weirdest food combinations and grosses Steve out every day

[meangirlstobin]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tommy Hagan & Steve Harrington, Tommy Hagan & Steve Harrington & Carol Perkins, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Argyle & Robin Buckley & Jonathan Byers & Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson & Nancy Wheeler Characters: Steve Harrington, Tommy Hagan, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Carol Perkins, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Argyle (Stranger Things) Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Bullying, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Attempted Sexual Assault, Pre-Canon, Post-Canon, Not Canon Compliant - Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2, grieving a friendship Summary:

He's not even halfway through his paragraph, and everyone is laughing at him, and he feels stupid, and he wants the ground to just rip open and swallow him whole. He hates this, he hates school, he hates feeling dumb and small and embarrassed--

And then Tommy Hagan turns around in his chair, slams his hand down on the desk of the boy sitting beside Steve, and says, "Shut the fuck up and let him read!"

The class gasps because they're 9 years old, and Tommy just said fuck.

Steve has never spoken to Tommy before, but it feels like he's saving Steve's life in that second.

 Steve has way better friends than Tommy Hagan now, friends that love him more, and better. Tommy's a dick. But there's still something about him that Steve's always going to miss. Losing a friend is hard, even if you're the one that wanted out.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

In season 2, Steve mentioned that Chrissy was going to be at the party. I know it wasn't planned. . .that Chrissy wasn't added until later, but I like to think canonically that Chrissy was friends with Steve and Nancy when they were dating, and even though they vehemently hated Jason they supported her. I also like to think that Nancy was friends with Chrissy since, according to the Duffers, Nancy was briefly on the cheerleading squad. I also like to think that's how Nancy caught eye of Steve and that Chrissy told Nancy that of all the jocks, Steve was one of the good ones. I highly doubt they're going to reveal that in season 5, but it would be nice to see Chrissy come back and show that she knows them. Much like Eddie and Robin, she's a big Stancy shipper and just as supportive if they turn it into Stoncy, especially since she herself is a bisexual woman. At least, that's how I headcanon her, and these are my thoughts. I love the idea of Nancy and Chrissy being friends who occasionally fooled around. The same goes for Eddie, Steve, and now Jonathan. All of them, really including Argyle and Vickie. . .I mean Robin only with the women, of course. Not Vickie with Chrissy because I headcanon them as being cousins. Endgamers are still Stoncy, Hellcheer, and Rovickie. I just love a Nancy, Chrissy, and Steve friendship before season 4. Maybe they tried to help her with her mom, and it ended badly. Nancy, Chrissy, and Steve are all preppy. While Nancy is a nerdy prep, a prep she is.

[envyenvys]

The thing about stobin is that they only work as well as they do because Robin was originally supposed to be Steve’s love interest, rather than in spite of it.

Like, what do we love about them?

They’re each other’s best friend

They’re incredibly co-dependent

They can basically read each other’s minds

They’re together so often that you can essentially treat them as one entity

They have genuine moments of emotion

These are all things that are par for the course when it comes to writing romantic relationships. You see it with Jon and Nancy (though not quite to the same level, they don’t have the Stobin Mind Meld) where they’re also each other’s best and only friend, and they also do almost everything together, and most of their genuine moments of emotion are with each other or with family.

Stobin don’t have any family or friends, because Steve’s family just doesn’t exist for some reason, and Robin was introduced to fill his empty friend slot after the stoncy divorce. Robin doesn’t have any either, because why would they flesh out a backstory for Steve’s New Girlfriend when they need to spend all their screentime establishing a believable romance?

So what we end up with is the bones of a romance that they have to hastily cover with the skin of a friendship, and they’ve already laid all that groundwork so they can’t exactly start backpedaling now.

That’s why stobin are mostly comic relief when they’re allowed to be together in s4 btw, they genuinely don’t know what to do with them now bc they didn’t intend for their relationship to be platonic (surely there’s no interesting room for growth in a close platonic relationship, that would be silly). Steve still doesn’t have a love interest, which is catastrophic for a fan favourite main character (bc amatonormativity dictates that being single is a Bad Ending and they can’t give him a Bad Ending, he can’t be punished by the narrative when he’s supposed to be finished his redemption arc) which is why he was shoehorned back with Nancy (bc they didn’t have the space to add another character just to be his love interest). (Robin gets a hint of Vickie bc denying their only explicitly canon gay character a ‘happy ending’ (read: romantic relationship) is also Very Bad, both narratively and optics-wise)

Basically, if they’d started out with the intention of making Robin Steve’s friend rather than his girlfriend, well, for one she wouldn’t exist. But secondly they’d be a lot less close than they are now. They’d be more like what we see in s4: a comedy duo, except without the same level of emotion and intimacy behind all their interactions. They literally wouldn’t have been allowed to get that close, because the number one spot in Steve’s life would’ve been reserved for his girlfriend, because again: amatonormativity dictates your romantic partner is your first priority and your most important relationship. Robin got that spot through a miracle and some gay trickery, and I for one will always be grateful.

I’m probably not the first person to mention any of this, but I’ve been thinking a lot about platonic relationships in media recently, and a lot about stobin specifically. It’s kind of sad that one of the best examples of a close platonic relationship I can think of is just a romantic relationship in a wig, but I’ll take what I can get (and god I love them anyway).

[steveiscaitiesbabygirl]

Reminder about this. Please send me some ideas u would be interested in reading!

So I'm doing the bad things happen bingo! I would love to hear if anyone has any specific characters/ships that come to mind for any of these prompts. I'm open to writing for pretty much anyone except for billy and romantic! Hellcheer

[will80sbyers]

I took the “which stranger things character are you?” Quiz and I’ve got Will! I’m so ridiculously happy about it, feeling kinda touched, if I’m honest )))

While I’m in your ask box, I’m curious to know, what other than byler ships or canonical pairings do you like from the show? It can be romantical, could be true platonic soulmates, that you are rooting for.

Hope you’re having a nice and relaxing day 😊

You're so lucky!!

So the problem is I love all of the main "good" characters on the show so like, I love all the pairings especially the friendship between all of them!!!

As for ships mine are byler, lumax, jancy, jopper and rovickie but I also ship henderhop, stonathan, elmax, elumax, boyce, stoncy and byclair a little and then I don't remember if I'm forgetting some ship now but these should be the main

For platonic pairings that I love in particular I adore Willel 💗💗💗 also elmike are lovely as friends, then I want to see more of Will and Max because I think they don't have enough interactions on screen and I also love madwheeler because they are so funny always bickering with each other!! I also loved Erica and Lucas a lot in season 4 their scenes were super sweet 😭😭😭 the one in the field when they are making the weapons is so beautiful... I also love stobin obviously platonic but I hope we get AT LEAST platonic stonathan next season 🌈🌈🌈😉

Oh I also NEED Byers family scenes with all of them, including El and Hopper too because they are family now!!!

What are yours??

Have a great day too!! 🩷

[soniclion92]

I think the worst part abt me being anti st*ncy is the fact that I don't even hate Steve like it'd be so much easier if I did but I don't!! He has so much potential to be a great character so naturally its really frustrating to see him essentially being reduced to nothing more than his romantic relationships bc (lets face it) the duffers have no clue what else to do with his character and even his fans reduce him to nothing more than a 'mom' or a 'babysitter'

Idk hopefully bringing back st*ncy was a device for steve actually getting over her in s5 because he didn't seem to even have any remaining interest in her UNTIL everyone planted the idea in his head. Maybe him teaming up with Jonathan in s5 leads him to the realization he doesn't need Nancy like he thinks he does. Like i've been thinking of the scenario of Steve being the one to knock some sense into Jonathan bc even if it hurts he would rather move on than see Jonathan self-sabotage his relationship bc neither Nancy or Jonathan desereve that. It would help both steve and Jonathan and possibly lead to the stoncy friendship we've been wanting from the beginning... but my faith in the Duffers is low atp so 😭

[terrapwaters]

Phase Shift Prologue and Chapter 1 now available!

For those of you who read my long Stranger Things Stoncy series, Mr. Sandman, Nyctophobia is the original sci-fi series based on elements of that story. Phase Shift is the first book in the series. I finished a third editing pass, and it’s ready to go out into the world! I decided it’s a bit too “fanfiction-like” for traditional publishing, so I’m posting it to my Patreon and Ream sites.  

Rating: Teen and up

Tags: science fiction, alternate dimensions, teen characters, friendship, bisexual main character (minor references), lesbian character, nonbinary character, aliens

Summary: Despite being a self-professed science geek, high school freshman Camilla Mitchell has had a secret imaginary friend for years. It comes as quite a shock when said friend, Emma, accidentally drags her into a dimension full of hostile telepathic creatures. Cam’s friends, her brother, Oliver, and her mother, Kathryn, work furiously to solve her disappearance and bring her home. Other members of their small Minnesota town disappear, one after the other, including Lizzy Becker’s best friend, who is ripped from her arms. Lizzy badgers loner Oliver into working with her to rescue their missing loved ones. They discover a bridge between the two worlds—a bridge that allows the hostile creatures from Cam’s newly-discovered dimension into ours. If there’s a bridge, there’s a way to rescue the people taken. Right?

Content warnings: disordered eating, emetophobia, child abuse mention, homophobic bullying, teen characters in danger, gun violence, physical violence, abduction

The prologue and first chapter are now available for free on both Patreon and Ream! Chapters 2-24 will be posted weekly, available to the $4/mo subscribers on either platform.

If you want to be ready when I post Chapter 2 on Wednesday, January 10th, subscribe now!

Check out the rest of my newsletter.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Platonic stoncy

Nancy has a pinboard in her room with photos Jonathan's taken and Steve's drawings.

Jonathan made them all friendship bracelets, Steve burst into tears and Nancy tearfully put hers beside the one Barb gave her.

Steve makes them all lunches, he knows all of their preferences. That Nancy hates mayo with a vengeance and Jonathan loves cheese.

Nancy's claimed Steve's letterman, dating or not that is hers.

And Jonathan has a jumper or two of Steve's that's made it's why into his wardrobe.

Steve leaves little post it notes in said lunches and ends up finding Nancy's pens in his pockets.

They all carry a piece of each other.

[findafight]

i really agree w your opinions on stancy's (and jancy's) issues never being satisfyingly dealt w and it's a huge roadblock for me w anything set in the canon universe - esp w stoncy tbh bc then steve and jonathan's potential issues get added to the mix. recently a fic i really liked actually had stancy (tho jonathan was also present) talk and nancy apologize but for some reason during their talk the cheating is never addressed (which is esp egregious in this fic imo bc steve knows but it was jonathan who told him at an earlier point - like even if steve wasn't pissed about the cheating [he should be but the author doesn't let him be] at least let him be pissed nancy didn’t tell him herself) and the writer keeps having steve just,,, not react to the cheating. like he just swallows down whatever he felt when jonathan told him then never brings it up? and it's so confusing bc the cheating is flat out called cheating. i probably should have expected something like this from this author bc they have mentioned this supposed loophole of steve apparently blanketly forgiving nancy during their break up scene which is just not what happened (esp considering steve didn't know she cheated); all he did was apologize, break up w her officially, and say it was okay for her to date jonathan. there is no blanket form of forgiveness and there is no way for steve to magically know jancy fucked, esp when he might be v reluctant to assume that considering his spiral in s1.

The cheating (both physical and lbr emotional before then) is what Nancy should be apologizing for MOST! And then not telling him right away and letting him take all the blame for the relationship falling apart, and then all the other stuff. Absolutely agree that Steve should be pissed/hurt that he wasn't told right away, and that Nancy wasn't the one to tell him. (also i think that's the only way he'd find out)Just. That, to me, shows she doesn't consider what she did was wrong, or doesn't respect Steve/his friendship enough to tell him herself. Which is a major issue if she actually wants to make things right with him! How does she apologize for how things ended and her part in it without mentioning cheating on him!! Let steve be angry!

Steve, in the scene where he tells Nancy to go with the Byers to Hopper's cabin, is only telling her that it's okay for her to go. He's letting her go (love something set it free style). He isn't giving blanket forgiveness?? He might have picked up vibes from jancy and realize that Nancy will probably not be open to working things out, but not that they slept together? Yeah post s1 Steve would try hard to get a handle on his extreme reactions to perceived infidelity, but also. He'd been dating Nancy for nearly a year. Maybe she couldn't say she loved him when put on the spot, and she was definitely drifting towards Jon, but I'd say he still expected her to respect him enough to do the bare bones minimum of not cheating on him. Why would he think she would? Why would he think badly of the girl he loved? why would he assume she had such little regard for his feelings to betray him in such a way? After dating for a year Steve wouldn't think the worst of Nancy, and would likely assume she also wouldn't do something like that to him.

The thing is I want Steve and Jonathan to be friends, I think their dynamic could be fun! but as it stands now in canon...nah man they don't like each other. Jon thinks Steve is a reckless idiot, and Steve sees Jonathan as Will's big brother who took creepy pictures of him and his friends and that his gf left him for. Jon and Nancy cheating on Steve complicates things further, and to think Steve would push that down is not it. Let him be angry! Let him be hurt! Let him rage! Nancy Cheated and didn't have the decency to tell him or to break up with him, or to prevent him taking all the blame in their relationship.

It's frustrating because I want to see them work it out. Work through it, or at the very least talk about it. I can't satisfyingly do it because I don't care about the ship enough to do it justice, but it's the kind of fic I'd like to see. I'd love to read a stancy shipper's take on how they move forward through that hurt and heartbreak and messiness. I think it'd be so interesting. But. it seems like folks just aren't writing those kinds of fics or acknowledging the infidelity at all or, as you said, brushing it all aside, when it's a a part of Steve's characterization that he wouldn't be able to just move past it due to his home life. which is boring. And it's more interesting to address those problems! It's messy and hurtful and interesting!! (I've looked on ao3 for stancy fics like this that actually acknowledge the cheating and have found ONE written immediately post s2 by someone I think is a stancy shipper [or at least used to be] and bitter about it. Most other fics within the search parameters have STEVE the one cheating [I've complained about it before but seriously wtf])

I know in RaSEPSM I sorta...softballed the cheating a little by saying the end of the relationship was unclear, but tbh that's sort of stobin trying to defend and rationalize people they thought were their friends to themselves? because no one wants to believe their friends would do something like that, let alone to another friend, so sort of... saying that there was a nebulous period between Halloween and when Steve told Nancy to go with the Byers where Steve thought they were still dating but on the rocks but where maybe Nancy thought they were over allows them to be hurt but also not fully blame their friends, if that makes sense.

[heavencasteel420]

I found my old list of ST fic ideas, circa September 2022. The current status of all ideas:

Robin & Jonathan 1983 Friendship Story: this is Tomorrow’s a Long Way Off, which is almost done.

Mid-twenties single parents Jancy AU (+Steve): this is still an idea that might be written.

AU where Jonathan stays in Hawkins S4: I abandoned this because I couldn’t really make it make sense to myself. Some ideas from this story migrated to other fics, though.

S3 Stoncy where Steve tries to fix Jancy breakup: this is still an idea, although it’s really more like “Steve wants to get back together with Nancy but he also wants to be friends with Jonathan but he thinks Jonathan’s kind of hot now but he’s kind of pissed off at the possibility that Nancy didn’t even dump him for her True Forever Love.” He’s very confused.

S4 AU Fake Jonathan death: I didn’t write this because it was too sad/complicated.

Trilogy—no monsters AU—Nancy gets tired of popular girl life. Rebels. Lesbian?: this became a few separate ideas (Nancy Wheeler Can’t Win, where she is not a lesbian, and a few one-shots where she’s bi and hooks up with a girl).

Trilogy—no monsters AU—Jonathan struggles with depression and first gen college probs, Barb and Nancy friendship?: this is part of my Stonathan IU idea.

Trilogy—no monsters AU—Steve learns stuff at college, hooks up with Jonathan: ditto.

Very Sad AU where Will dies and Joyce goes crazy—Jancy version: this morphed into Tonight, Tonight.

Same as above but no Jancy. Teen runaway Jonathan: ditto.

Sad Jargyle rebound fic: this got folded into my Jancy breakup duology fic idea. It’s not actually that sad!

Steve Is Bummed Out That Jonathan Doesn’t Care More About S4 BS: I still have this idea.

Tommy has gift of prophecy: I also still have this idea. He doesn’t straightforwardly have it, though.

AU where Jonathan goes missing instead of Will: I kind of did this in Put This Silence in My Heart in a Better Place.

S2 AU where Stoncy are all friends…and then more: I forgot about this one! The idea is that Nancy breaks up with Steve shortly after Christmas 1983 but also gives up on reaching out to Jonathan for the time being, so they’re all in their separate spheres when S2 rolls around and forces them to hang out together. I don’t actually get a lot of mileage out of rewriting seasons (in fic form) in a way that I think would have actually worked on the show, which is probably why this didn’t go anywhere.