Chapter Text
Nancy pushed open the door to Family Video and was blasted in the face with a smell unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. It was good . She took a deep breath, trying desperately to absorb more of the delicious scent. Warmth rushed through her system.
Woah.
“Hey Nance, you alright?” Steve’s voice appeared out of nowhere.
“Yeah…” she sighed. She stood still for a moment, blinking lazily. The world seemed to take on a fuzzy, glowy nature. Something trickled through her system, leaving her chest warm. She could bask in this feeling forever. It was like being wrapped in a warm blanket and given a cup of cocoa on a winter's day. It was like a luxurious bubble bath after a hard day. It was the most relaxed she had ever been.
“What are you doing? Stop standing in the doorway, weirdo.” Mike shoved her out of the way, and rushed past, into the store.
Her eyes followed him, but it was strangely difficult to focus. She kept losing her train of thought, continuously distracted by that scent. Her thoughts were hazy. What is this? She looked around, trying to spot the source of the bliss inducing scent. Distantly, she registered that this wasn’t normal, but couldn’t bring herself to care. She just ached for the source.
Movement by the registers drew her gaze. Steve was waving and trying to catch her attention. She stumbled towards him, a little caught off guard by how disconnected her feet felt from her body.
Leaning heavily on the counter for support, she asked, “What is that smell?”
“What smell? Nance-” he kept talking, but it couldn’t have been important if he didn’t know.
For a moment, she desperately wished she was a bloodhound so she could track the direction it was coming from. Instead she forced her muddled thoughts to work and studied the store. The door to the backroom was open, and nothing else in the front seemed to be out of the ordinary. It had to be coming from there. Direction set, she pushed away from where she was leaning, but was stopped by a hand grabbing her shoulder. Another hand started snapping in her face.
“Nancy! Look at me!”
She reluctantly locked eyes with the boy. She hummed inquisitively. Hopefully this would be quick.
“Are you drunk?”
She shook her head with a small twinge of annoyance. “Of course not. I would never drive Mike unless I was sober.” She briefly pondered telling Steve about the concerning situation, but that idea was quickly thrown out when she realized he would attempt to keep the source away from her. Her attention wandered again. Now that she had a direction, it felt like something was tugging at her. “Anyway, Imma go thattaway. Bye.” She gestured at the door.
“What? No! That’s for employees only. What is wrong with you right now? Is this a stroke? Is this what a stroke looks like?”
She pulled out of Steve’s grip and headed straight for the backroom. Her fuzzy thoughts vaguely registered Steve interrogating Mike behind her. However, once again, she couldn’t bring herself to care. The smell was getting stronger, and was taking her comprehension of the rest of the world in return.
Noise came from the room, and suddenly Steve’s co-worker, Robin, was right there. The world completely fell away, and all that was left was the beautiful soul standing in front of her. There was no hesitation, as something yanked her forward. Nancy collapsed against her, burying her nose into the other woman’s neck.
She was the source.
If she’d thought she’d been in bliss before, she’d been utterly wrong. The world was a haze of light and warmth. Thoughts were melting through her fingers. Nothing else mattered, other than keeping this being as close as possible. It seemed the other one felt similar, as the hug got tighter, the two of them clinging to each other with desperation.
She had no idea how long they’d been like that before hands started grabbing at her and trying to pull her away from paradise. It hurt. She cried out at the sensation. This was wrong. This was bad. Desperation flooded her, and she fought her way forward. The goddess seemed to be doing the same to whatever was holding her back. Loud whining and growling filled the room. All at once the hands released their grip and she flung herself right back into the being’s waiting arms.
The painful sounds morphed into peaceful humming. The world righted itself, and all the previous pain was forgotten in the blissful haze. At some point they must have fallen asleep, because Nancy found herself waking up in a bed. Arms were wrapped around her. She was too comfortable to move, but she knew that she needed to figure out why she was here and what had happened. Thinking back to when she fell asleep was difficult because everything had felt like a dream. She hummed contentedly. A beautiful, wonderful dream… but distanced from reality nonetheless.
She forced her eyes open, only to immediately find her attention caught by adorable freckles on the other person’s sleeping face. They were adorable, and really suited her.
Wow.
Wait, no. Focus, Nancy. Where am I?
She turned her head, taking in the unfamiliar room. It was an average looking bedroom, but not one in her house. Was it the other person’s? Who was she even cuddling? She looked back. This was Steve’s friend, Robin. She’d been with Steve in the Russian base.
Right, Nancy had taken Mike to pick out a movie at Family Video, where Robin worked, and then something had happened. Now she was here, cuddling her. She’d never even had a proper conversation with this girl. This was not normal or alright behavior. She should pull away before the other girl could wake up. Nancy’s chest burned at the thought. Instinctively, and seemingly on their own, her arms pulled the girl closer.
That wasn’t right.
Pull away. Now.
Nancy found herself blinking away hairs in her face. Her nose was buried back in the junction of Robin’s neck. That scent surrounded her again, filling her up with calm and safety. It was nowhere near as incapacitating as it had been earlier, however, all thoughts of leaving her embrace simply melted away. She couldn’t even comprehend why someone would ever want to do that.
Robin shifted, starting to wake up. Rolling away slightly, she let out a huge yawn. All Nancy could do was watch in utter adoration. Something was wrong with her head. She had no idea why she was acting and thinking like this.
Robin stiffened abruptly. “What’s going on?” she squeaked.
“Haven’t a clue. Do you recognize where we are?”
“Wait, is this Steve’s guest room?”
“Maybe? He was at the store when everything went fuzzy, so it would make sense.”
The other girl finally looked directly at her and caught her gaze. For what must have been the hundredth time, the world went fuzzy. All that remained were those ocean blue eyes in crystal clear focus. She was staring into her very soul. So pretty. It took a moment to shake out of it, but she managed. She sat up, her grip forcing Robin to come with her. She was determined to keep her gaze away from the dirty-blond woman, in an attempt to keep her thoughts as clear as possible. She couldn’t even think about letting go yet.
“Are you struggling to think straight too, or is that just me?” Robin asked shakily.
“No, that’s happening to me too. Are-” Nancy had to force the next words out of her mouth, dreading the other woman saying yes. “Are you able to… let go yet? Cause I’m not.”
“What? Able to let g-” Her grip tightened around her arm. “I guess not.” There was a quiet whining sound. “This is too weird. What’s happening to us? Everything was normal, and then you came through the door and suddenly it was like I was drunk and the world went bubbly and you smell really really good were you aware of that and I’ve never felt anything like this before and I’ve been drugged so this can’t be normal and I’m rambling, sorry.”
“No, it’s ok. I know what you mean.” Nancy sent her a small smile to comfort. “We really need to get up and talk to Steve or my brother, or someone. Maybe they’ve figured out what happened to us.”
“Right. Gotta move.”
Robin burst forward in one great movement, almost sending Nancy onto her face. Robin tugged her back onto her feet, and pulled her along behind her, hands clasped. They only made it halfway down the stairs before their distance caught up to them. For some reason, the force controlling whatever this was decided they weren’t close enough. Her chest ached fiercely, and she found herself wrapping the girl in another hug from behind. Burying her nose in the fluffy hair was one of the most pleasurable experiences she’d ever had.
Robin melted back against her. “Really can’t complain about anything that feels like this,” she groaned.
Nancy hummed in agreement. It took her a moment to realize that her thoughts were slipping from her again.
NO. Control. Think.
“We n’d to make it t’Steve,” she slurred. She couldn’t help one last intake of breath before she pulled away, taking in as much of that indescribable scent as possible. It made her sway a little from the rush of dizzying giddiness. “This r’lly issn’ normal.”
“Right.” Robin’s look of determination as she started down the stairs again was almost enough to mess Nancy up again. Her eyebrows scrunched together in such an adorable manner.
I would follow her anywhere.
It occurred to her that that probably wasn’t a normal thought, but it didn’t make it any less true.
“Steve! Where are you?” Robin called out as they rushed through the rooms. They were both urgently aware of the need to find him before they lost focus again.
A clatter came from the kitchen. “Robin! You’re awake!” Steve burst through the doorway, on course to hug his best friend.
He wrapped both arms around the girl in a large bear hug, forcing Nancy to stumble as she was jerked forward alongside Robin. Agitated panic seemed to slowly seep into her being. Steve had just almost forced them to let go of each other, and now he was all over the other girl and it was wrong. Her very cells seemed to be at odds with this turn of events. Her chest was tight, and the air was wrong. That calming scent was being disrupted and changed somehow.
She needed to do something. He needed to step away from her. It was irrational. Fighting the urge to shove Steve, she tugged on Robin’s hand. The girl extracted herself and came back to her side eagerly.
“You’re both aware of the world again! How are you feeling?”
Nancy was a little too preoccupied fighting her urge to glare at the boy to respond right away. Her skin itched. Her every instinct was begging her to press up against Robin and restore her proper scent. If she could just… Her free hand twitched. No. She was in control of whatever this was.
Robin appeared to be struggling herself, as she kept leaning closer to Nancy before pulling away repeatedly. There was legit sweat starting to develop on her face from the struggle.
His face scrunched back into concern at their lack of response. His outreached hand proved to be the last straw for Nancy, despite her best efforts. A vicious growl ripped through the air. Nancy’s arms went around Robin’s torso, and she pulled them backwards a few steps.
He took a few back himself, hands in the air. “Woah! What’s wrong?”
“Stop touching her!” she barked.
She was shaking. Tension was rattling her to the core, everything overwhelmingly hot and cold and too much. She rubbed her face desperately everywhere she could reach within the spooning hug. She didn’t know what she was doing, driven by pure need.
Robin pressed back against her to calm her anxiety. “Nancy, hey, it’s ok. I’m yours, not his. I’m yours I promise.” The words flew out of the girl’s mouth in a rush, created in response to her need, rather than any coherent thought. She just kept reassuring her that she was hers.
For some reason it appeased the force gripping Nancy’s soul. Slowly the agitated tension flowed out, replaced by the original calm of Robin’s presence. The pressure lessened and Nancy relaxed again.
“I take it everything is not back to normal?”
“Obviously not, dingus.”
Nancy snorted. “It’s nowhere near as bad as before, but it’s still impossible to ignore.”
Robin suddenly jumped. “Oh!” She paused, growing pale. “...oh.”
Concern sparked in her chest. “What?”
“Nothing! I mean. Uh, I just- I think I know what this is?” The blonde cringed, turning away to face Steve. “The only thing that makes sense is a canine issue? I mean, did you hear the growl she just released?” She looked at him meaningfully, but fortunately Steve looked just as confused as Nancy felt.
“I still don’t even know what the issue is? You guys just kind of latched onto each other out of nowhere and ignored the world. And now Nancy Wheeler is growling at me for hugging you for some reason? Was she bitten?”
“No. Remember when I explained how we find… partners?”
“What? You-” His jaw dropped. “Nancy is- ?!?! You??? Her?? Right now??”
Robin nodded.
Nancy could only watch as some sort of silent exchange happened right in front of her. She knew they were debating something, but the base of it escaped her. She was entirely lost already, and excluding her entirely didn’t help. Bitten? Canine issue? What on earth?
They seemed to come to some kind of conclusion-slash-compromise. Surprisingly, Steve was the one to speak next. “Nancy, could you describe exactly what your symptoms are before we explain what we think is going on? We need to be sure.”
She found herself leaning into Robin, subconsciously seeking comfort in the confusion. “I don’t know. I walked into the store and there was this, this smell? It made all my worries and stress disappear and all I could think about was figuring out where it came from. And now I can’t stop touching Robin, like letting go sounds like the most painful thing I could possibly do. I know that makes no sense, but it’s just this insatiable need to be near her.” She glanced at her. “...Near you.”
“Ok… but are you gay?” he asked.
“What?!” she exclaimed, utterly baffled.
“Steve!” Robin shouted at the same time.
“Like, are you attracted to girls? It’s kind of important to figure out Robin!” he defended. “She dated me, and is currently dating Jonathan. I kind of thought she was straight!”
Nancy’s brain had stuttered to a complete stop. What? Girl’s weren’t allowed to be attracted to other girls! That wasn’t normal. Steve was right, she had a boyfriend, one whom she loved. She knew she was attracted to boys. Like, Robin was extremely pretty, obviously, and it had been difficult to look away from the woman since she’d woken up, but that didn’t mean… I mean, it can’t. Just- Why does it matter anyway?
“I- why does that have any relevance?”
“Because I’m a werewolf and I kind of think you’re my mate! Like, soulmate!” Robin blurted out.
The blood drained from her face. She would have wavered on her feet if it weren’t for Robin’s support. Werewolves were real? That was shocking, but not outside of the realm of possibility for her. Fighting interdimensional monsters tended to expand one’s ideas of what’s possible. Soulmates, on the other hand, were impossible. People didn’t just run into strangers and know they were their end all be all. Love was something you chose, or you settled. She didn’t want yet another thing taken from her. Another example of the universe not caring to listen to her voice.
She couldn’t ignore how much it explained about how she’d been feeling though. The sense of comfort and peace being near the other woman made sense if they were two halves of one whole. The only other explanation could be some form of drug, but that wouldn’t explain the territorial behaviors they’d been exhibiting.
Robin looked at her tenderly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have blurted it all at once that way. But it’s not like I’ve ever talked to you before, or had the chance to tell you over time.” She ran a hand through her fluffy hair. “It’s just the only thing that makes sense. I don’t think I’ll find any other girls attractive ever again. I’m not in love with you, but I still get the feeling that you’re mine. And I know how that sounds! But you know what I mean. We’re both acting unhealthily possessive already.“
Nancy could only nod. Robin was a lesbian? An essential question occurred to her. “Will we be able to be apart ever again?”
“I mean, to an extent, yeah. You’ve noticed it’s already lessening in intensity right? At least it has been for me. It’s like a side effect of the initial soul bond I think. Like our souls needing time together to connect properly. “ She paused for a moment. “But, as far as I know, there’s always going to be some level of draw and need to be near each other.”
Robin seemed like a great girl, but Nancy had had no desire to be bound to someone for the rest of her life. She didn’t want to always feel like she did then, at the thought of being separated. The mere thought caused her heart rate to spike, and light tendrils of panic to form. She never wanted to be away from the other woman, and yet the knowledge that that feeling was being forced on her frustrated her beyond belief. She didn’t even know her.
Steve looked between the two of them, searching. “This is so weird. I have literally only seen you interact once before this, when you asked who she was. I never would have picked you two as soulmates. But also, why now?”
“What do you mean?”
“You guys are in the same grade. This morning wasn’t the first time you’d ever been near each other, so why now? Why not earlier?”
“I guess we’re both old enough now? Souls have to be at a certain level of maturity to form a bond,” Robin guessed.
Nancy’s brain got caught on the least fundamentally life-altering part of their discussion. “Wait, this morning? What time is it now?”
He checked his watch. “Uh, almost 9 pm? You two have been totally out of it for hours.”
She winced. “Shoot, Mom’s gotta be wondering where I am. I was just taking Mike to grab a movie for the Party’s movie night.” She glanced around, as if expecting him to pop out of nowhere. “Where is he anyway?”
“Oh, I dropped him off on my way here. He helped me get you two into the car without another freakout. You gave him quite the bruise during that fight, Nance.”
Icey shock rushed through her system. “What? I hurt Mike? Why? When? What? Is he alright?” Her chest felt tight. The building tension had collapsed in on her, and it was all she could do to gasp for air. Mike and she may have argued frequently, but she’d never seriously hurt him.
Robin started making comforting sounds, and gently positioned Nancy’s face into the comforting junction of her neck. Her body relaxed quickly as she took some deep breaths. A light haze returned to her thoughts, but she had no energy to fight it off. Exhaustion pulled at her. She was still concerned about what she’d potentially done to Mike, but the sensations pushed it back. The calm was visceral.
“He’s ok! It was just a reaction when we tried to pull you two apart at first. Obviously a dumb decision I know. It became immediately clear that that was hurting both of you, even if we couldn’t figure out why.”
She could just collapse where she stood, but she knew that would be a bad decision. “I need to go check in with him, and my mom.” She paused, looking up at Robin. “You will have to come with me. Maybe I can convince her we’re just having a sleepover. Do you need to go home at all?”
“It’ll be fine, so staying at your place is perfect.”
She sighed in relief. Hopefully something could go according to plan that day.
Steve drove them back to Family Video to pick up her car. Faced with the dilemma of getting into the car, they debated squeezing in through one door, but Nancy was determined to conquer the force. They managed to let go of each other long enough to run for their seat in the car and grab at each other again. It was progress. Steve literally cheered. Nancy never wanted to feel that way ever again. It had been absolute agony.
It was still before curfew by the time they drove home, so convincing her mother was extraordinarily easy. She was just happy to see Nancy with another female friend again. Mike was waiting right in front of her bedroom door when they finally made it upstairs. The rest of the party had already headed home, so thankfully they weren’t overrun. She wondered how much he had told them anyway.
He dragged them inside. “So? What happened?”
Nancy ignored that touchy subject. “Mike, are you ok? Steve said I hurt you earlier. I’m so sorry!”
“Just some scratches and a bruise. I’m fine,” he dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. “I’m more concerned by what caused you to go all feral in the first place. It was like a switch flipped as soon as we went through the door! And Robin’s still with you!” He winced. “It’s not Upside Down related somehow right? Are you ok?”
The girls sat on the edge of her bed. “Um… Yeah, we’re completely fine. What happened was…” Nancy silently implored Robin for what she could tell her brother.
“Nancy and I are going to be around each other for the foreseeable future. I probably should have told everyone, since you know about the supernatural, but I’m so used to hiding it.” Robin's hand was sweaty and shaking. Nancy wrapped an arm around the scared girl. “You’re actually the first person I'm gonna tell without extenuating circumstances. I’m a werewolf! Surprise!” She blurted it out quickly.
Mike’s jaw dropped. “Woah! Werewolves are real?!” He grinned in excitement. Then the young boy’s traumatic childhood bore itself as he shifted back with a pale face. “You don’t kill people right?”
“No! I always have some level of control when I shift. I may not think like a human, but I remember enough to know I don’t hurt people.”
The wariness faded away. “That’s so cool! The party’s going to freak out! Do you know if any other mythical creatures are real?”
“All of you have seen monsters before, this isn’t that crazy.”
“The Upside Down isn’t full of dragons and werewolves! All it has are slimy murder creatures. Plus, you aren’t trying to kill us all. But- what does this have to do with what happened this morning?”
Nancy spoke up before Robin could blurt out that they were soulmates again. “It was some sort of werewolf thing. They have this ability to form connections with people they can get along with especially well. Her wolf apparently decided I was worthy, so now we have to spend some time together while the connection forms.”
“Like telepathy?!”
“Uh..”
“Not quite, but there is some sense of the other person’s wellbeing.”
He nodded like that made sense. “Do you have that with Steve too? Is that why you’re so close?”
Both their eyes widened.
“No, not as of yet. Ahah. Maybe in the future?” Robin squeaked.
She was a bad liar, Nancy was coming to realize. Her heart warmed, before she forcibly changed the direction of her thoughts.
“We answered your questions, now shoo,” Nancy interjected, “You can ask more questions when we tell the rest of the gang ok?”
“Yeah, we need sleep. The connection takes a lot out of you initially.” Robin said, knowing perfectly well that the two of them had been resting the entire day already.”
“But-”
“Shoo!”
“Fine,” he grumbled.
Once her brother left, they shifted to lay back against the pillows. There were a few minutes of silent processing, while they contemplated their new existence. Nancy was sick and tired of spending every moment taking in a new world altering concept.
She twisted to lay on her side, facing the other girl. “So, I know almost nothing about you, except the fact that you are a werewolf in band, who’s besties with Steve. So tell me, Robin Buckley, what mundane things make you, you?”
Robin broke into a wide smile. She tapped her chin. “Hmm, very broad question, Wheeler. I don’t know. I love languages, in fact I can speak 4 fairly fluently. French is probably my favorite though. I want to go to France one day, travel to Paris and to the rest of Europe. My brain is a treasure trove of random trivia, it’s actually astounding what my memory decides to keep versus what it throws away sometimes.” She took a breath, seemingly contemplating her next words. “I’m bad at reading social cues, so if I ever do anything to offend or hurt you or anything. Please tell me. I don’t mean to. I know it’s a flaw, as my mother reminds me daily.”
Nancy clenched her teeth. How dare that woman pull down this sweet, enthusiastic girl! She should have been lifting you up. “She’s wrong. I know we’ve only talked today, but even I can already tell that you are kind and smart, and don’t deserve that. Plus, I am so impressed that you can keep four languages straight in your head. I may be good with English, but thats on a whole other level.”
Her face flushed at the praise. “Thanks.”
Nancy’s thought process derailed, marveling at her beauty. She wanted to keep making her blush and smile happily. So far, Robin’s snarky grin was her favorite expression, but that shy thing was a close second. Her hand came up on its own, gently cupping the girl’s cheek. Tingling warmth spread up her arm. She watched, entranced, as the adorable flush grew darker. The shy smile transformed into an intense and nervous stare.
“What’s your favorite color?!” Nancy choked out. She rolled back onto her back, and stared firmly at the ceiling.
“What?” Robin blinked rapidly, befuddled.
“I just, I don’t even know the little things about you, but I want to know everything.”
“Oh. It’s blue. Like that shade of blue that's dark, and on the verge of grey, but it’s still visibly blue . Does that make sense?”
Nancy nodded.
“What’s yours?”
“Green. Like a meadow on a summer’s day. Just, vibrant and unapologetically alive.”
Robin made a show of looking around her room. “Really? I would have guessed some form of pink or something.”
She laughed. “I know, not much here to support that idea, but it’s connected to one of my favorite memories I guess. Back before any of this Upside Down crap, we had this day where Mom dragged us all out to go on a hike in the middle of the woods. She even managed to get Dad on board. Mike kept complaining the whole way there. I fought her every step of the way myself, I was supposed to hang out with… a friend that day. She managed to corral us into the car anyway, somehow.”
Robin's eyes sparkled with interest.
“The first while went exactly how you might expect it to have gone in my family. But then we caught sight of this deer and her fawn. They were standing on the other side of this gorgeous meadow. All of us went silent, and we just stared in wonder. Eventually they got spooked, but Mom took advantage of it to declare it lunchtime. We sat down in that field, and enjoyed a break from the exercise. The peaceful energy stuck around the entire hour we were there. Mike and I played with some sticks and joked around. Dad laughed! For just a little while, we felt like a real family.” Her eyes stung. The memory was bittersweet, considering how rare moments like that were for the Wheelers.
“I get it,” Robin said softly, “My family isn’t the closest either, so I know how precious moments like that can be.”
Nancy let out a wet chuckle. It had been a while since she’d been so vulnerable with another person.
They kept talking for hours, trying to get to know as much as they could about the other girl. The conversation only ended when Robin drifted to sleep in the middle of Nancy’s explanation about why she wanted to be a journalist. Rather than feel offended, she merely smiled and closed her eyes, dropping off into sleep quickly herself.