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[After a long beat. ] You need to stop blaming yourself. These are not normal circumstances, are they? They're beyond normal. What's done is done, and all any of us can do is - move forward.
[He's echoing his own doctor, really. ] It's hard, but we gotta do it.
[He's echoing his own doctor, really. ] It's hard, but we gotta do it.
I believe it.
[ And he almost leaves it there, but - ]
It'll be a friend who does it. So don't think too hard about it.
[ It's going to be as easy as it can be. Nobody, including himself, is going to be able to turn it into punishment. And then he'll be back. ]
[ And he almost leaves it there, but - ]
It'll be a friend who does it. So don't think too hard about it.
[ It's going to be as easy as it can be. Nobody, including himself, is going to be able to turn it into punishment. And then he'll be back. ]
( the touch hurts a little, the mark feels raw like it had been burned into his skin too. eddie's pretty sure that's all in his head, like the whirlwind of paranoia and panic each time someone steps out of his space or mentions going outside.
he finds himself leaning into jim's touch, chasing it when he pulls his hand away. he clears his throat to recover, pats the older man's chest as he nods. ) Right. I can do that.
Good thing we have some. ( billy brought it in from town so they could clean the wound, drink it eventually. he scurries out the door toward where the icebox is, comes back in quickly and shuts the door a little too hard like being outside has spooked him. back inside, he sets the vodka down and leans against the counter as he watches jim in the kitchen. ) Sorry I'm such a-- That I keep giving you headaches.
( that jim keeps having to break himself away from his own peace to piece eddie back together in some way; if it's after ianthe, the slender, or in this moment when he's got his own shit to deal with. )
he finds himself leaning into jim's touch, chasing it when he pulls his hand away. he clears his throat to recover, pats the older man's chest as he nods. ) Right. I can do that.
Good thing we have some. ( billy brought it in from town so they could clean the wound, drink it eventually. he scurries out the door toward where the icebox is, comes back in quickly and shuts the door a little too hard like being outside has spooked him. back inside, he sets the vodka down and leans against the counter as he watches jim in the kitchen. ) Sorry I'm such a-- That I keep giving you headaches.
( that jim keeps having to break himself away from his own peace to piece eddie back together in some way; if it's after ianthe, the slender, or in this moment when he's got his own shit to deal with. )
yeah, i want it
want you to fuck my throat so i feel you for days
want to choke on you and then keep your dick in my mouth after, feel the weight of you on my tongue and only think about that and how you taste
want you to fuck my throat so i feel you for days
want to choke on you and then keep your dick in my mouth after, feel the weight of you on my tongue and only think about that and how you taste
[ Telepathy feels too intrusive for a man who might still want to kick his ass, so Grady's initial foray into contact with Jim arrives in the form of a note dropped beside his plate the next time he's in town and eating at the tavern or the boarding house. ]
Hi,
I know you probably don't want to hear from me. That's okay. But if you don't mind I would appreciate some help with a project I have in mind. I've found a place outside the town walls in the wood. I don't like being around so many people all the time, so I want to move into it. I asked around and people said that you were a good guy to talk to about living out there and doing a good job of it.
Thanks.
Grady
Hi,
I know you probably don't want to hear from me. That's okay. But if you don't mind I would appreciate some help with a project I have in mind. I've found a place outside the town walls in the wood. I don't like being around so many people all the time, so I want to move into it. I asked around and people said that you were a good guy to talk to about living out there and doing a good job of it.
Thanks.
Grady
You don't need to. [ Know. Or be good at this. Or be his best, or his worst, or any particular shade in between, for Stephen to be safe in the knowledge that new revelations about Jim Hopper won't stand much of a chance against the knot that's been tied between them. Tugging at these things only serves to tighten them. ] I don't either.
We can forget about it if you want to.
[ They can't. God knows Stephen won't, memories of Jim from those weeks seared into mind as still-beautiful patches of a moldy canvas. But they can never talk about it again, he means. If Jim's struggling with positive associations, they can put it away somewhere, hold onto it quietly and privately, where they aren't beholden to feel uncomfortable about what's already passed. ]
We can forget about it if you want to.
[ They can't. God knows Stephen won't, memories of Jim from those weeks seared into mind as still-beautiful patches of a moldy canvas. But they can never talk about it again, he means. If Jim's struggling with positive associations, they can put it away somewhere, hold onto it quietly and privately, where they aren't beholden to feel uncomfortable about what's already passed. ]
[He says, abruptly: ] You’d know if you were giving me a headache. [He wouldn’t be here, he means.
He’d be anywhere else, doing anything else. He’s here. He gets to work with undressing Eddie’s wound, takes in the damage as he cleans it, re-bandages it. He doesn’t say a word about the knife shaped burn; doesn’t ask if it was Billy or Jem. Knowing won’t help. It won’t change anything.
When he’s done, he feels an old paternal protectiveness. Can’t help taking Eddie back in his arms, holding him to chest, and feeling so immensely sorry that he couldn’t shield him from any of this. He’s failing. He’s not trying hard enough. He’s letting himself become too distracted. ]
He’d be anywhere else, doing anything else. He’s here. He gets to work with undressing Eddie’s wound, takes in the damage as he cleans it, re-bandages it. He doesn’t say a word about the knife shaped burn; doesn’t ask if it was Billy or Jem. Knowing won’t help. It won’t change anything.
When he’s done, he feels an old paternal protectiveness. Can’t help taking Eddie back in his arms, holding him to chest, and feeling so immensely sorry that he couldn’t shield him from any of this. He’s failing. He’s not trying hard enough. He’s letting himself become too distracted. ]
( the hammering stops. it’s because eddie’s picturing it, wanting it. the sound he lets out is a needy sort of whine, the sort few get to hear and he’s glad no one’s around to but the emotions that come through the mental bond are clear enough.
patience is also not actually something eddie practices himself ) have your pants off in 30 seconds
patience is also not actually something eddie practices himself ) have your pants off in 30 seconds
[ This feels weird and invasive, but by and by, after listening carefully to the chatter of voices in her head, Nancy stretches her own thoughts out to seek one particular person: ]
Sheriff? [ a breath of hesitation before tacking on: ] Hopper?
Sheriff? [ a breath of hesitation before tacking on: ] Hopper?
Edited (immediately breaks html) 2024-03-02 17:01 (UTC)
[He's not braced for Nancy Wheeler to slip in through the cracks of his mental barriers, for her the impression of her to filter in through the background noise he's learned to mostly tune out.
He doesn't recognise it, at first. It's been a long time, now. A year and six months.]
That's me. Who's this?
He doesn't recognise it, at first. It's been a long time, now. A year and six months.]
That's me. Who's this?
[ Does she sound different?
Nancy can't even number the days since the last moment in the field, watching the rot and infection of Upside Down spreading, cancerous, across the land. How long did the Fog have her? Is she unrecognizable now, after so much time spent scrabbling to survive within it?
There's a hitch in her answer, a little pained flinch carried forward as she answers: ]
Nancy. Nancy Wheeler. [ Steadier: ] Quentin told me you were here.
Nancy can't even number the days since the last moment in the field, watching the rot and infection of Upside Down spreading, cancerous, across the land. How long did the Fog have her? Is she unrecognizable now, after so much time spent scrabbling to survive within it?
There's a hitch in her answer, a little pained flinch carried forward as she answers: ]
Nancy. Nancy Wheeler. [ Steadier: ] Quentin told me you were here.
[Oh, he thinks. Then a strange dread comes over him, a terrible worry that another one of his kids is here, in danger, not safe, never safe -
He swallows it down. ]
Yeah, yeah it's me, Nancy. Sorry, it's been a while since I - the voice is easier to recognise.
[Quentin told me you were here. Doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. He exhales, rough. ] You in town, kid?
He swallows it down. ]
Yeah, yeah it's me, Nancy. Sorry, it's been a while since I - the voice is easier to recognise.
[Quentin told me you were here. Doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. He exhales, rough. ] You in town, kid?
I'm at the boarding house.
[ Easy information to volunteer. But she isn't entirely certain of what to say next, what to offer or what to volunteer. ]
Quentin said you have a cabin. Like in Hawkins.
[ Home, she reminds herself. Like at home. ]
[ Easy information to volunteer. But she isn't entirely certain of what to say next, what to offer or what to volunteer. ]
Quentin said you have a cabin. Like in Hawkins.
[ Home, she reminds herself. Like at home. ]
Yeah, I'm out near the lake. Not quite home, but close enough.
[Smaller than home, he means. Colder, too. ] You come from home, kid? Or the same place as Quentin?
[That's two very different conversations to have. Do you know about the serial killer and do you think I'm dead?]
[Smaller than home, he means. Colder, too. ] You come from home, kid? Or the same place as Quentin?
[That's two very different conversations to have. Do you know about the serial killer and do you think I'm dead?]
[ A beat. Holding the answer in check for a moment before answering: ]
The same place as Quentin. [ softer: ] Steve was there with me. We couldn't find a way back.
[ So they had to stay. Survive in the place they'd landed. Weirdly apt preparation for this. ]
The same place as Quentin. [ softer: ] Steve was there with me. We couldn't find a way back.
[ So they had to stay. Survive in the place they'd landed. Weirdly apt preparation for this. ]
[ Without any context, Nancy's assumption: ]
He told me where I could find you. He said Eddie was here. And Billy Hargrove.
[ A slight dip of exasperation on the latter name. ]
There's no one else from Hawkins here?
He told me where I could find you. He said Eddie was here. And Billy Hargrove.
[ A slight dip of exasperation on the latter name. ]
There's no one else from Hawkins here?
[ Nothing immediately. A pause in which Nancy works herself around to the answer, saying it to Hopper.
Hopper, who shouldn't know any of this. ]
He told me someone we both knew was here. Someone from where Quentin and I were before this.
[ steeling herself for this conversation, she presses: ]
Did Quentin tell you about it?
Hopper, who shouldn't know any of this. ]
He told me someone we both knew was here. Someone from where Quentin and I were before this.
[ steeling herself for this conversation, she presses: ]
Did Quentin tell you about it?
Nancy, the whole town knows about it by now. [A beat, uncertain. ] He didn't tell you about what happened?
[Maybe Jim wouldn't, either. He thinks: I should get on top of this, because it's not a secret that Jim's friends with John and House, and it's not a secret that Danny's living under their bed, on their leash, under their thumb. ]
[Maybe Jim wouldn't, either. He thinks: I should get on top of this, because it's not a secret that Jim's friends with John and House, and it's not a secret that Danny's living under their bed, on their leash, under their thumb. ]
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