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characters: steve harrington, nancy wheeler
location: miner's castle #2
date/time: jan 7
content: young adults growing up dead gotta cope, and what better way than through ust
warnings: just some basic pg-13 smoochies, probably — will mark if anything changes

[ As far as afterlives go, it's been something of a rollercoaster ride. It's not exactly surprising, considering where they'd come from before all this but Steve feels like he could really use a win, you know? Just a period of nothing happening, nothing exciting, nothing but the sweet, calmness of mundanity. Yeah. Steve Harrington is wishing for mundanity; he really is in the afterlife (or whatever this is).

Eleven is out for the evening, which, you know, is totally fine, he's not worrying or anything. It's just a little harder to keep an eye on things when he's not out there, nailbat and all. Fact of the matter is, he's been pretty much housebound since the ghost invasion and that time a creepy web monster tried to eat him. He's fine now though, just a few weeks healing from a broken arm and some bruising. Practically good as new — which means he'll be back to figuring out just what the hell they're all doing in this place, and how to get out of here.

He's thinking of grabbing a bowl of cereal, or better yet: maybe seeing if Nancy wants to grab some dinner at the Invincible, when he hears the soft rapping sound against his bedroom door. Definitely a knock. ]

Yeah? — come in. [ he says, looking up. Speak of the devil. ] Heeey. [ He shifts to a sitting position. ] I was just thinking about bugging you.

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All the time. All the time.

[ there was maybe a split second where she thought that maybe she should flip around her answer, give him something more optimistic about how they need to make the best of what they've got, but she just doesn't have it in her. no bullshit. ]

I wanted to graduate and study journalism in New York for a few years. I wanted to watch my brother and his friends grow up, and embarrass the hell out of them at graduation. I wanted to be published in something other than the school yearbook. Travel, maybe? I guess I've always been single-minded about college. [ a beat, she sighs ] I've been trying so hard to get all of that out of my head, but it's impossible.

Yeah.

[ Steve's expression deepens, his voice going a little quiet — thoughtful. Maybe a little sad, too.

He still can't help but admiring Nancy for having all of these ambitions. Wanting to travel and go to college and move to New York. That kind of thing, moving out of Hawkins and being something real, finding some purpose in life? He never had that. Or at the very least, he didn't care about that shit. He didn't have to.

(Right up until he did.)

But he wishes he had. He wishes he knew how. ]

Maybe it's a good thing that you can't get it out of your head. Like it's a sign or something.

Maybe. Or it just means I'm still in total denial.

[ she doesn't exactly sound bitter, but she might, just a little bit. but her own tone just makes her shake her head, like she knows her pessimism isn't helping - not him or herself. she sighs a big sigh, her universal sign for i'm moving on from that train of thought, and gives him a small smile instead. she's trying. but maybe trying too hard, and that.. literally never works for her. ]

Although I guess things worked out, back home. There would be a lot more of us here by now if they hadn't. Right?

[ it's probably too obvious that she's struggling to flip her mood around, and eventually she's moving to press the heels of her hands, resting her head back again the wall again. there's an ugh of disappointment, and it's totally at herself ]

I hate this. We shouldn't be here.

[ like they haven't said that to each other about a million times already ]

No, we shouldn't be here. [ Steve echoes. At this point those words could basically be their mantra, or their team slogan or something.

'Hawkins, Beacon: We shouldn't be here!' Go Tigers. ]

It's just my goddamned hope that the others made it out okay and that Mindflaying monster thing is gone because — because maybe you, me and Eleven actually made a difference.

[ He scrubs his face. ]

But I keep thinking, you know, even if for some reason you and me are supposed to be stuck in this place? Eleven definitely shouldn't be. She's the one with the superpowers. And she's just a kid.

[ Steve — you're a kid, too. ]

I think maybe El ended up here because she has those powers. She's been someone's target since we first met her. Which so does not make it okay, but maybe she just... took a stand.

[ she chews her lip, because she's realizing she hasn't actually asked eleven how she died. it was easy to figure out what happened with steve - immediately after their arrival it seemed impossible not to talk about it, like that was maybe the only way to wrap her head around what was going on. but with el it never felt right. like maybe it was too personal, or it would hurt too much for both of them to talk about it. since they got here, it's been more important to her to make sure it didn't feel like her life ( hah ) was over now. making their cabin feel maybe a little, tiny bit like home.

she tips her head as another thought comes to mind, like she's not... totally sure she wants to go down this route, but it is possible. ]

On the other hand, maybe she's here because this isn't what they say it is. If you're the Mindflayer, what's the easiest way to knock out some of your biggest enemies? [ she makes a vague gesture ] Get inside their minds and make them think they're dead. For all we know we're sleeping in some underground basement somewhere. I mean, it's possible. But literally anything is possible, we have no solid proof of anything here.

Holy shit. [ Steve runs his hands through his hair before scratching the back of his neck.

His mind's all turned around on this. Nancy brings up some pretty good points, after all. ]

Maybe that's what we gotta do. Maybe we have to find the proof. I mean, I've been trying to figure out what the hell this place is all about, but maybe I've been going about it all wrong. [ He shakes his head. ] If this is the Mindflayer's trick then we're not really dead.

[ It's like a goddamned revelation. ]

[ oh wow, okay, sure. for all her reluctance to bring up the idea, he sure seems keen on running with it. which actually makes her feel a little bit better? her expression lightens a little bit, at least, listening to him work through the- everything he's feeling right now. she doesn't have it in her to burst his bubble because maybe she's not willing to burst the bubble for herself, either. maybe she's willing to follow that hunch, too. ]

It's a long shot though, you know that, right? Like if we go looking around like there's a puzzle to solve, we might not love what we find out. [ she chews her lip, though it's obvious that even with her doubts she's getting more and more behind the idea ] Or it might just land us in an even worse spot. [ a beeeat ] Or we'll finally get some answers.

Yeah, yeah, I know that — I know that.

[ Maybe Steve's brushing it off, just a little, because he's so caught up in this possibility, so goddamned hopeful for it, it's hard to see clearly. And more than that, it's hard to finally, finally accept that this is it for them and there's no going home.

So he's clinging to this possibility, so what? It's worth investigating, right? It's at least worth looking into. ]

Well, whatever it is, the bottom line is we need some answers. If it kills us ... [ He shrugs. ] You can't kill what's already dead.

[ nancy sits up a bit, turning to face him properly instead of sitting with her back against the wall, legs curled up to one side as she puts her weight on one of her hands. it's- it's wild. she knows steve's changed a lot over the last year or so, after ..everything. they might not have been dating anymore, but he was still a part of her life, because he was a part of mike's life, in a way. so she watched him walk at graduation, would see him at the mall. and then of course, what landed them here. the russians, the flayer. when it all came down to it, the change, the biggest change, is that he started to give a shit. not about his reputation or how the world saw him, but everything else. other people, mostly. but there's also just an accountability there that she only saw glimpses of when they were dating.

she knows that she's grown too ( that it's maybe part of why they didn't work out, that first time ), but that she also has a lot to learn herself. she knows she does. she gets so caught up in her own plan, her own personal missions, that she tends to get too single-minded to question whether or not she's selfish to ask for help. but- all that being said, it's wild, yeah. her dropping a thought, just this idea that she's so sure is another one of nancy's insane ideas, and he's really considering it. okay. okay. ]

The plan would be to not get killed, actually, if we're working with the assumption we're not actually dead. [ obviously teasing him is the right thing to do here ] But we shouldn't try to do this on our own. Even if this place isn't what they say it is, there are still other people here that are trapped with us. I'm sure they want answers just as bad as we do. [ huff ] But a lot of them aren't from Hawkins. They're not even from the same year we are. But- Maybe that's a part of it. I don't know. [ she shakes her head and shrugs, but not in a defeatist way like a moment ago ] We'll have to look into it.

[ a b e a t ]

You really want to do this?

[ They'll have to look into so much, it's almost overwhelming.

No, Steve isn't the investigative journalist type, not like Nancy Wheeler is. He's not nearly as smart and might not always know what to do in a life/death situation, but man. He tries. He goddamned tries.

And it's because of her that he's on this strange, new path to self-actualization. Well, not completely because of her, but she's the spark that started it all, made him realize that there's a hell of a lot more to the world than how cool you are to your peers, and how much stuff you own.

He's got people now, kids, sure, but he cares so much about those little shits, and he worries. He wants to see Robin again, joke with her, see stupid movies on weekends. And he wants Nancy to have a chance to achieve those dreams she'd mentioned earlier. Going to a fancy college in New York, publishing books and articles and travel around the world.

He wants a chance to figure out what the hell he's supposed to do with his life, starting with maybe even leaving Hawkins for a while.

He feels rejuvenated at this moment, stoked really, like there's some kind of movement happening in their lives (or deaths).

He nods. ]

Yeah. I really wanna do this. We owe it to ourselves to do something, whatever happens next.

Alright. [ said like she has to still convince herself, just one last push. this second one sounds much more confident, nodding ] Alright.

[ there's another pause as she thinks it through, writing steve into the equation, she mental list of things that has to get done in order to have any chance of finding something, at least. when it was just a solo operation, she was definitely too caught up in her own fears to get started on things, but steve's always been proactive, determined and eager to jump into the fray even when the risks were impossibly high.

no one goes after a pack of demodogs and any other threat with just a bat unless they have the gumption to back it up, after all. ]

I'll do a little more digging before we jump into things - there's no use in trying to cover territory that was already scoped out and explored. And we'll need to find someone who would be willing to look after our cabin while we're gone, and Eleven, too. [ a beat ] Or do we ask her to come with us? Is there a lesser of two evils with this?

If you need help with the digging — I know I'm no detective or journalist or anything, but I could ask around for information. You know, something to keep busy.

[ Not only is he pumped about this new revelation, but he wants .. to prove himself? Is that stupid? Yeah, it's really stupid. But there it is, he wants to prove to Nancy Wheeler that he's not the kind of guy who would just sit back and do nothing.

And really, he isn't. He realizes that now.

As for Eleven ... ] Listen, if we tell her we're gonna be out of town for a bit, she'll wanna know why. We've all been through enough shit to know neither of us are gonna lie to her. So maybe we leave it up to her. Maybe she'll want to come with us and maybe she won't. She's got like, a life here, right?

[ steve starts listing the I know I'm nots and she shakes her head ] You don't have to be a journalist to know how to talk to people. And you know how to talk to people. That could get us answers quicker than me trying to find it the old fashioned way. [ the old fashioned way being.. snooping.

she seems confident in that, obviously already seeing this as a two-player effort. she doesn't expect him to want to dig through old network posts the same way she's find doing, but asking around... yeah. nancy can be a little brusk at times, when she's just trying to get to the point of a conversation, whereas steve's way more charming. all the time. without even trying. she can come up with a quick lie to get them in the door somewhere ( hello, nancy driscoll ) but after that it's all a little touch and go. she knows steve can find his footing in this.

but anyway, he gives her an answer about eleven and it's true, yeah. they should leave it up to her. ]

Chances are she might already be helping someone else with their hunt for answers. I feel like everyone here is just trying to find a way out.

Can't really blame them, right? I miss the light. I miss the sun. I feel like I barely remember what it's like to be outside when the sky's blue and not ... you know, dark.

[ Steve misses playing baseball or running track in the field with the blue skies and bright sunlight, sometimes way too hot in the summer, sometimes not hot enough. He hates to say that he misses Hawkins but your priorities really shift when you're stuck in a place that eerily resembles the Upside Down, only with a lot more green-eyed spirits and less fleshy human-eating monsters. ]

But — uh. Yeah. I'll talk to some people, see what we can figure out. Man, it feels kinda awesome to have an actual gameplan.

[ nancy sighs, her smile turning a little softer around the edges, but she's trying hard not to let herself get sad again, even though- ] I miss the sunshine, too. [ it's hard not to feel more than a little low when thinking about how every minute of every day here is so gloomy.

but he's right, it's good to have a plan. she likes having a plan. plans are great. plans beat sitting around feeling sorry for herself, at the very least, which is what she's been doing the majority of her time here. either trying to make this cabin feel a little bit like a home, and just... y'know, sitting in her room, staring at the ceiling and contemplating every choice she made in life to land herself here. it's fine.

she perks up a little bit after a moment, even shifting to sit closer to him on the bed, very- clearly pulling a nancy "i'm good at distractions and i know it" wheeler move ]

Hey. I know we're talking about trying to get out of here, but- What's one thing you wish was just a little bit different about this place, or what we can do here, so that it wouldn't feel so ..blah? What's something you miss that we could try and make happen here?

You mean, aside from getting some real sun in this place? [ Steve tilts his head, glancing in Nancy's direction with that kind of familiar teasing half-smile she probably remembers seeing a lot, way-back-when. He realizes that since he got here, he hasn't really had a whole lot of reason to smile, or laugh, or do anything that wasn't being worried or trying to survive or making real efforts to cheer up the kid when she was down.

It's been ... kind of exhausting, really. Steve doesn't generally think of himself as the responsible type, the kind who takes on the burden of other people's feelings but it's kind of what he's been trying to do here. It's not a bad thing but ... sometimes he misses when he didn't know monsters existed. Like, actually existed.

He shrugs. ] I don't know. I miss movies. Music. [ He turns away from Nancy to stare straight ahead, running a hand through his hair. He huffs an exasperated laugh. ] I miss when my hair used to look awesome.

[ hm. she's pretty sure there isn't much they can do about the lack of movies - tvs, vcrs, and even projectors all need electricity. but music? that... might actually be doable, and the fact that she's followed that train of thought is probably reading all over her expression - something like optimism, or at least 'i've got an idea'. however, the third thing he says makes her jaw drop, playfully, but still very serious. so serious.

she lifts up to move closer to him on the bed, just so she can level her eyes with his, obviously about to say something Very Serious that she needs his full attention to address. ]

Your hair will always look awesome, Steve Harrington. And don't let anyone make you feel that it isn't. Including yourself.

[ ah, she almost manages to say all of it without smiling, but she doesn't pull it off. and her eyes end up drifting from his up to his hair, which makes her grin even more, and without- really thinking about it, she reaches up to lightly push her fingers through it. it's longer than the last time she, uh, went out of her way to play with it, but it still falls the same, something she apparently finds a little amusing as she pushes it back and watches it fall back into place. she's not going out of her way to make it look messy - it kind of does that all on its own, in that effortlessly cool way it always did. okay, not effortless, but nancy never really preferred it one way or the other. so even now without all the product, she's impressed.

she doesn't seem all that embarrassed by the fact that she felt the need to play with his hair, just resting her hands on her lap and m o v i n g o n like it ain't no thing ]

There's a chance we could get some music here. El's been gifted things before, so- Maybe we can ask for a walkman and some tapes. And batteries, I guess. It might be a little bit of a pipe dream, but it's possible.

[ It's crazy unfair how Nancy still manages to have that kind of effect on him, where she could just ... reach up like that and touch his hair and his brain will suddenly be on the fritz. He'll forget how to react or think, and in the past he might get away with sweeping her up into an embrace, teasing a little before he kisses her, but now ... Steve just stays where he is, motionless and just this side of perplexed. Really, the familiarity of the gesture is so sharp, it almost feels like a punch to the gut.

Yeah. Sure. He's totally over Nancy Wheeler.

Harrington, you bold-faced liar. ]

Uh. Yeah? [ He shifts in his spot to buy himself some time for refocusing his thoughts, but he can't help watching Nancy just a little closer. ] I mean, that would be pretty cool. It'd make this place feel less quiet. You know? Not that it's ever all that quiet with three people living here, but everything in this town feels so ... [ Dead? No, no. Poor choice of word. ] ... it's got those don't-talk-in-the-library vibes.

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