Oh man, She Sells Sanctuary is a WIP that will never get finished, but it was an OT3 that I started after the first season of Stranger Things aired featuring Steve/Nancy/Jonathan. It was from Jonathan's POV as he became friends with Steve and Nancy, and it developed into more, and as he watched the younger kids dealing with Will's return, including a lot of Lord of The Rings refrences.
Sleep did not come that night. Nor the next. Nor the night after that.
As the days faded into weeks, Jonathan tried to find his footing and shake the vertigo inducing thoughts that snuck up on him as his head hit the pillow. He hadn’t been to The Upside Down himself, but he had seen The Monster and seen the same look in the eyes of everyone who had been there. And still, every time he tried to sleep, it felt like the world was dropping out beneath him.
But sometimes, right before he woke with a start, behind his closed eyelids, he would see Nancy Wheeler with a gun in her hands, more vibrant and full of life than anything he has ever seen before.
Strictly speaking, he hadn’t meant to overhear their conversation all those weeks ago when Mike, Dustin, and Lucas were leaving the hospital. The boys were so overjoyed with having Will back, they didn’t even notice Jonathan.
“The Morgul blade,” Dustin had said.
“What about it,” Mike asked.
“When Frodo was stabbed by The Witch King of Angmar at Weathertop, he was never really ok again,” Dustin elaborated. “Even after Elrond tried to heal him.”
Mike and Lucas shared a look.
“I’m just saying––”
“We just got Will back and you’re already thinking of more things that could go wrong!” Lucas snapped, hitting Dustin’s shoulder with something between a punch and shove.
“Guys, stop,” Mike intervened before things got out of control. “We’ll just have to make sure we have enough Kingsfoil around at all times.”
That seemed to reassure the other boys, at least for the moment, and they headed off, but Jonathan was frozen in place, holding a rapidly cooling cup of coffee he had been fetching for his mom.
It had never really occurred to him that Will might not fully recover from his time in The Upside Down. In fact, it hadn’t really occurred to him that none of them might recover from all of this.
As he explained it now to Nancy, it felt silly and childish. But when he finally looked up at her again, she wasn’t looking at him like he was silly or childish.
“You know, a month ago, I might have laughed at that,” she said. “But now, after all of this…” she trailed off with an apologetic shrug, but Jonathan knew what she meant. Nothing was impossible anymore.
There was a cheer from the basement, and Nancy turned towards the door for a moment, attention drawn to the boys downstairs. She absently drew circles across Jonathan’s wrist with the pad of her thumb.
“So, you’re looking for an answer then?” she finally asked, leaning her body towards him in a way that inspired confidence.
Jonathan pushed his hair back. She hadn’t made fun of him, or laughed at him. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt awkward.
“Not answers per say,” he said finally. “More like, I don’t know, assurance. That life can return to normal after––” he gestured in a way that seemed to encompass everything they’d been through.
“And what happens in the end?” It was nearly a whisper.
“Well, it’s been a long time since I read these to Will when he was younger, but, yeah, life does go on,” Jonathan said carefully. “I mean, they return to the Shire and everything, but Frodo never really is ok again. Even after everything he went through, that old, stupid stab wound is the one that acts up for the rest of his life. In the end, he leaves Middle Earth and goes to the Grey Havens with Gandalf and the Elves.”
Nancy seemed to consider this for a long moment. Finally she gripped his hand, squeezing hard, reassuring, possessive. “I guess that means you’ll have to find your own version of The Grey Havens.”
She was looking at him, eyes piercing, and he wanted… Well, he wasn’t sure what he wanted, but it was like being pulled into her light. He shifted himself forward on the couch slightly, leaning into her space and––