Platonic Dynamic Enthusiast

Johnny is the first to ask, “So, you’re not dating, but they’re more than a friend?”

It’s not malicious or condescending. 

He’s just trying to figure it out because he’s not really heard of any relationships like yours.

Once it’s all cleared up, he’s like, “Cool. I’m happy for you.”

That said, it takes him a while to figure out what to say and how to talk about your relationship.

If you had a romantic partner, he’d have relished teasing you about them to no end.

But, since they’re not your romantic partner… what does he say, y’know? What can he say?

He will be delighted if he can convince your partner to join forces with him to make fun of you.

Either way, he’ll make an effort to be friendly to them and make them feel part of the family.

Ben is pretty quick to understand your relationship, but he probably still has some questions that he keeps to himself.

It’s nothing intrusive or malicious.

Rather, he recognises that, with how out of the realm of ‘normal’ your relationship is considered, asking too many questions might make you feel even more scrutinised than you already do.

He knows what it’s like to not feel normal and to feel scrutinised.

All of his questions probably get answered over time, anyway, without him needing to ask.

So, he does everything he can to make sure you know that he supports you and he’ll fight your corner if anyone makes you feel like you or your relationship is weird.

And, he treats your partner with the same level of respect and understanding.

I feel like Reed also understands your relationship pretty much right away, once you’ve explained it to him.

He might be accused of being a little emotionally distant at times but he’s still compassionate.

He understands how you might feel given that your relationship is considered abnormal, even if that’s far from the case.

I feel like one of the ways he’d show support is by giving examples of ‘unconventional’ relationships throughout history, with hopes that you’ll feel validated.

And, he’ll tell you that he’s happy for you, which he really is.

Of the Four, Sue finds it the easiest to understand your relationship.

She understands that love is vast and complex with how it is felt and expressed.

And, beyond that, she sees how happy you are and it brings her so much joy to see.

She’s the most open with how she expresses her support and she makes sure that you know that she supports you and your relationship.

She doesn’t go overboard with it but she’ll ask about your partner and show an interest in them.

They’re important to you so they’re important to her.

She also makes sure that your partner feels welcome when she meets them, like they’re a part of the family.

Of course, all of them are supportive of you and your relationship.

Friendship. You know the definition of this word. A quick look to the dictionary and the explanation is the following one : reciprocated feelings of affection or sympathy that are not based on family nor sexual attraction. You know friendship in theory. In practice, it's more complicated.

You've always been a lone wolf. You have no siblings and sure, you've had some acquaintances but no one to call 'friend.' It was a real suffering as a child. You wondered what was wrong with you, you envied the other kids and their best friend, then, with time, you've managed through it. You've ended up accepting you were made to be alone. It's better to be alone than in bad company, as the saying goes. Furthermore, you've found a way to fill that void by going into all these imaginary worlds and meeting all these fictional characters that books have to offer you.

As a consequence, upon arriving in High School, you made no effort to meet people. Some tried to reinvent themselves but not you. You've been keeping to yourself. Besides, in a town as small as Beacon Hills, who new persons could you meet?

It doesn't hurt you at all to be alone anymore. As long as you have your book of the moment with you, that's all that matters.

At school, you take your book out at any given opportunity. In class, it's a bit more complicated to discreetly read, yet with time, you've discovered with which teacher you could do it. Your favorite class to read is PE. Coach couldn't care any less about his students, outside of the lacrosse team. You hide in a quiet corner and read until the end of the class; because of this, you don't have good grades in PE, but you don't mind, you can make it up with the other subjects.

However, that day, while you're delving into your novel hidden under the bleachers, your favorite book in hands, Coach suddenly appears next to you, snatching your novel and screaming at you to run and do one more lap as a punishment. Stunned, you do as he says without even trying to get your book back; you'll just have to read Anne Shirley and Diana Barry's meeting later.

You try to catch up the other students, nevertheless, they're way too ahead of you. There is only one boy who seems to struggle as much as you do, if you're not mistaken, his name is Stiles Stilinski, though he's still ahead so he manages to leave you behind. You're so late that even the fastest classmates ends up running past you while you struggle to catch your breath.

At the end of the class, you throw yourself on the ground, taking deep breaths while you reach for your water bottle. With the strength you have left, you sit up and drink half of the bottle in one go. Most of the students go to the changing room. From afar, you hear Coach yelling an order, but you don't pay attention to it, not having heard your name.

When you start breathing normally again, you want to stand up, you just don't have the force to do it. Suddenly, someone extends a hand to you, inviting you to take it. Looking up, you recognize Kira Yukimura, the new lacrosse player who moved here not too long ago. You accept her hand and get on your feet the following second.

"Thank you," you simply say.

"You're welcome. I saw Coach made you run more than the others, I can't imagine how tired you must be," Kira explains, playing with the cones in her hands.

"I just discovered a new stage of fatigue."

"Hey, you, the reader, may this be a lesson!" Coach screams, catching both of your attentions. "I better not find you reading during my class again. I expect you to participate more and above all to get a better grade by being at least a C- student or I'll call your parents."

"But, it's almost the end of the semester! I'll never be able to improve that fast," you state, offended.

"Should've thought about it before reading Anne of Cheesy Gables in class."

"It's Anne of Green Gables," you correct, mumbling. "May I get my book back, please?"

"You'll get it at the end of the day, after your detention," he informs you, making you even more desperate. "Now, go get change, both of you!"

Without adding another word, you follow his order. Kira puts the cones next to Coach's stuff then says:

"Well, looks like you've made Coach very mad!"

"And I'll need a miracle to get a C- in three weeks when I haven't ran at all this semester and I hate this."

"I can help you if you want."

At her suggestion, you stay silent for a second. It's interesting except she's probably only saying this to be polite so you shake your head.

"It's kind, but no need. I'll manage."

"I don't mind it and it's always more encouraging to run with someone else. We can train after school."

"Don't you have lacrosse training?"

"Not every day and we can also do it during weekend."

"I'd like it, then," you accept after thinking about it.

"Great, get some rest tonight, we'll have a lot of work. We start tomorrow," she smiles.

True to her words, Kira trained you the following day and thanks to her, you did get a C-. You don't know how she did it to help you so fast. You thought that after this, you would stop talking, though, when you trained you found out you actually had a lot in common.

For the first time in your life, you have an acquaintance who has become a friend. For the first time, you're excited to go to school and talk to someone. You're not necessarily close with her group of friends but Kira has quickly become someone important for you. You think you can even say Kira has become your best friend and you know she feels the same. You think you've never laughed this hard with someone outside your family.

Kira really took you under her wings and showed you what friendship is and that you can have it too. You never believed you'd say this but you're glad Coach found you reading. You don't know what you'd do without Kira, her friendship is the most precious thing you've ever had. You feel seen and heard, Kira made her way to your heart. Before, you didn't understand what some people meant by 'chosen family.' For you, no one could be as important as the people related to you, however, Kira, without knowing it, proved to you it's possible.

Although you've never said it out loud, let alone to Kira, you see her as your sister. You'd do anything for her, to protect her. You know her group of friends would do anything for her, too — even though you don't know them, you quickly understood they had a special bond —, however, you can affirm without mistaking that none of them are as close to Kira as you are. As Anne Shirley would describe it, Kira and you are kindred spirits.

When you meet each other, you usually go to the café halfway between both of your houses. Your order your favorite drinks and you drink them at the café or if there's nice weather, you go to the park nearby.

Today is a sunny day so you'll enjoy it by tanning and talking about the last show you've watched.

You're waiting for your order when Kira has to go outside for a few minutes because her dad called her. The barista calls your name first, you close your book and quickly grab your drink and stay nearby, waiting for Kira's then you go back to your reading.

"Coffee for Kira!" the barista exclaims before frowning once he sees you getting closer.

"I'll get it, it's my sister's," you explain, he nods as he hands you the cup.

"Great, have a nice day!"

"You, too!" you respond before turning around and finding Kira. "Oh, you're done with your call?"

"Yes, let's go."

You give Kira her coffee, she thanks you and you leave the place.

As soon as you arrive at your usual bench — you like it because you have a beautiful view on the park and it's quiet —, Kira clears her throat, catching your attention.

"You called me your sister," she announces, point blank.

"What?"

"When you took my coffee, you said it was for your sister."

"Did I?" you question, your eyebrows knitting together, you didn't even catch this.

"Yes," Kira confirms with a smile while you avoid her gaze. "Hey, don't be embarrassed. I'm not saying this to mock you, I swear."

"I know, it's still embarrassing, though…," you start with a low voice. "I didn't do it on purpose. I don't know why I said it. I mean, I know but I didn't think… I should shut up," you finish, taking a big sip of your drink.

"Y/N, you know you can tell me everything. Is this really how you see me? As your sister?" your best friend asks, genuinely curious.

"Yes?" you reply, not sure of yourself. "I know it sounds stupid yet before you, I've never had any friends and I didn't think I could have a friendship with someone this quickly. I think of you as my best friend, my sister, it's easy to be at ease with you. I told you things I've never told my parents. I feel understood with you," you admit before feeling awkward again. "Forget everything I've just said."

"It's the same for me. I consider you my sister, too," Kira states with a smile.

"Even when you have so many other friends who are better than me?"

"Don't devalue yourself!" she sighs, annoyed. "I get along pretty well with my other friends but we don't have this bond I have with you. I'm really happy I talked to you that day. You mean so much to me."

"You even more to me. I hope I never lose your friendship, it means the world to me."

"You'll never lose me. I'm your sister by heart just like you're mine and nothing will change that."

Kira points her little finger to you and with a smile your link yours to hers as you tear up.

Kara doesn’t overthink your relationship.

She cares deeply about you and you care deeply about her.

That’s all that matters.

When you get closer to her and she wholeheartedly trusts you, she’ll tell you about where she’s from.

Thankfully you don’t think she’s lost her mind.

It will take her a while to fully open up about her feelings around her past, and she’s grateful for your patience even if she doesn’t say it outright.

She doesn’t mind telling you about her intergalactic adventures, but it can be a little awkward to talk about because, y’know, a lot of that was fuelled by her drinking copious quantities of alcohol to escape her trauma and sense of alienation.

When she tells Clark about you, he tries and fails to hide his excitement. 

He asks if the two of you are dating, if she wants to date you or if you want to date her.

It takes Kara explaining your relationship for Clark to fully understand it. 

Either way he was always going to be supportive.

He’s glad that Kara has someone on Earth that she feels connected to — in whatever way that is.

(He’s dying to meet you but he tries to be normal about it as best he can. But, come on. Of course he wants to meet his cousin’s favourite person).

After her conversation with Clark, though, she will ask you outright, ‘Hey, so, what are we exactly?’

It’s not out of insecurity but because she wants you both to be on the same page.

She’s happy with things as they are, and so are you.

You can choose to label it or not.

She doesn’t find it too awkward to ask you about your boundaries or laying out hers, but it does take a bit for her to get used to being vulnerable.

But, you’re one of the few people she’s comfortable being truly vulnerable around.

She doesn’t introduce you to Krypto before she tells you the truth about her home planet because it’d probably look a little weird if her dog randomly started flying.

But, once she tells you, she’s so excited to introduce him to you.

(Clark is completely jealous that Krypto gets to meet you before he does but he won’t admit that).

Krypto adores you and it means so much to Kara to see the two of you get along.

She’s a little hesitant to let you watch him without her around because she knows how strong he is compared to you.

She tries to train him to go easy on you, to mixed results.

If he trashes your home, she’ll stay up until everything’s back in order and she’ll refuse your help when you offer it (it’s her way of apologising).

She has a framed photo of you and Krypto and it’s her favourite possession.

Because of you, she’ll leave Earth less and less.

She loves being introduced to things by you.

Even if it’s not always interesting to her, she can’t help but find it charming seeing how much you care and how much it means to you.

Little by little she starts to see the beauty of Earth because you live there.

You knew she hadn’t gotten much fame, that people thought Lord Tewkesbury’s kidnapping was solved by Sherlock and not her

So you gladly accepted her help (and kind of had wished she would take the job rather than Sherlock)

She got right into work

While Enola was doing her detective work, you grew closer to Sarah

You found your cheeks warming up with every smile she sent your way

You tried to tell yourself you were only imagining it, why would someone like her like you?

Especially as she was a woman, like yourself

You knew liking women wasn’t proper, many thought of it as an illness

But you still couldn’t help it, falling deeper day by day

And sometimes you got slight signs that she liked you too

But you always brushed them off as your imagination bullying you

You attended a ball together, and you couldn’t help but watch as men admired her

She was gorgeous in her dress, so it was no wonder people wanted to be near her

And your heart wanted to explode, scream to the world how you liked her and not just as a friend, have that tiniest sliver of chance that she’d tell you she likes you too

But you had to power it through

Enola’s detective work progressed, tying together with Sherlock’s

Even after the battle at the theatre and succeeding to get matchgirls to march out of the factory, you weren’t able to tell her about your feelings

Even though Enola tried to encourage you, and Sherlock also gave you two a knowing look

And maybe one day you would.

Maybe one day the world would be ready to see two women in love.

Maybe one day, you’d get to live out the dreams you had been seeing about her

Until then, you had to keep fighting for your rights, and maybe that would end in something more than what the movement initially had aimed for…

---

Tags: ask to be added to this character's taglist!

The gates creaked open to the courtyard, echoing off the walls as Enola stepped in.She knew from the first glance that an ambush was waiting for her just around the corner, goons thinking she’d be desperate enough to run without thinking. Of course, she wasn’t. She had learned over the years that worrying actually made her sharper if she channelled it correctly, and this was the exact kind of situation where she was able to use it to her advantage.

Worrying created motivation to be patient and think. And that’s what she had done, weaving together a plan to avoid the ambush, trick those who were waiting for her, hiding in the shadows.

It took longer than she would have liked, but she squeezed through a narrow crack in the wall, quickly moving through the maze-like building, stopping before every corner, but it seemed like everyone was outside waiting for her. Men underestimating a woman’s wit once again, Enola thought with a smirk.

She arrived at the opening of a long hallway with three doors on both sides, but one of them was different from the others — it had a large padlock hanging on it. And Enola knew immediately that it was the room you, or at least someone, was being held in.

She heard nothing when she approached the room, which made her heart drop slightly. She knew you. You would definitely kick and scream, demand to be let out.

Unless…

Her hands threatened to shake, but she took a hairpin out of her hair, before shoving it into the lock, thanking Tewky in whispers for teaching her to lockpick.

The door opened with a click not even ten seconds later, and she opened the door slowly.

There you were, sitting on a chair with tear-streaked cheeks, but awake and relatively uninjured. She let out a voice that was half a sob, half a relieved laugh.

“Enola?” you breathed out in unison with her gasping out your name, and she nodded, digging out her sheathed pocket knife from her bra, and cut your bindings off. She helped you up.

“You’re okay,” she whispered, before surging forward for a hug so powerful she almost made you fall. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“I won’t,” you choked out, holding back tears as you squeezed your arms around her. “I promise.”

She retreated, looking around the room once. “Everyone is outside waiting for me, so we can’t use windows to get out. But I’ll think of something. Come on.”

You nodded, and followed Enola as she led you out of the room. She glanced back at you, and found herself thinking that bravery was one of the first steps of becoming a good detective, but your wit had to be worked on.

Maybe she would train you after all, to become a detective with her. But until then, she trusted you had now learned your lesson to trust her word when she’d say you’re not ready to go on jobs with or without her, not even when going to talk to a customer.

---

Tags: ask to be added to this character's taglist!

You sat on one of the beaten-down sofas, tapping your leg rhythmically. One of the lights had started flickering and you were doing your best to ignore it. Dustin and Hopper were arguing about something. Robin flopped down next to you and sighed.

"Jesus, do they not get sick of hearing themselves after a while?" She joked. You gave a small laugh in response. It was so loud in here, yet she was so nonchalant, relaxed like nothing was happening. How did she do it?

"That plan is never going to work, it's stupid!" Dustin fired at Hopper. The chief rolled his eyes.

"Love to hear you come up with a better one."

"I can come up with ten better plans right now." Dustin told him.

The light was flickering again. You could feel the anxiety rising in your chest.

"Guys, stop arguing like children." Jonathan protested.

"He started it." Dustin shot back.

It was too much. "God, shut up!" You exclaimed suddenly. "Jesus Christ!"

Now every single pair of eyes was on you, tucked away in your corner of the room. Robin was looking at you in surprise. "Hey, are you OK?"

Suddenly you felt incredibly guilty. Here they all were trying to come up with a plan to kill Vecna, and you were screaming at them. No one else was having difficulty dealing with events, why were you having such a hard time? It didn't make sense.

"Sorry, everyone. I'm so sorry." You were embarrassed, not able to look Robin in the eye. "I just need some air." You jumped up and ran out.

***

The crisp breeze outside was a welcome relief as you took a breath, already feeling the anxiety lessen. That room felt too claustrophobic anyway. It was so much nicer out here.

"Hey." You heard a voice behind you. Robin took a few tentative steps forward until she was next to you. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry." Was all you could say again.

"You don't have to apologise to me." She chuckled. "You just said exactly what I was thinking. But it's not like you to get angry like that."

You folded your arms, feeling small all of a sudden. Robin was being so nice to you, and looking at you like she desperately trying to understand, but how could she? You didn't even understand.

"It was just so loud in there, and the lights and everything. It was like a pot bubbling over, and I couldn't handle it." You sobbed.

"Hey." She moved forward to wipe the tears off your cheeks. "Please don't cry."

"It doesn't make sense. The rest of you can handle it just fine, why can't I?"

Robin shook her head. "Everyone's got their own stuff. Just like I have a hard time deciphering tone. So if you got a little overwhelmed, no one will hold it against you."

"You don't know what it's like." You told her.

"No, but I know you. And I know how awesome and kind you really are." She smiled. "And so does everyone else. They know you didn't mean it."

She put an arm over your shoulder and pulled you in. "Now, how about we go back in there, and if it gets too loud again, we'll come up with a signal. Squeeze my hand once, it's almost too much. Twice, we need to get some space. Sound OK?"

You nodded. "Yeah, I think we can manage that. Thank you, Robin."

The first thing I learned after the world ended was how to survive. The second thing I learned was that surviving didn’t magically erase what had hurt before. Walkers didn’t care who you loved. They didn’t care who you wanted to spend your life with. They didn’t care whether you wanted a relationship at all. They didn’t care whether you wanted a relationship at all. But people… People still did. Or at least, the ghosts of them did. 

I’ve been with the group for almost eight months. Long enough that Morgan trusted me to go on supply runs with Alicia. Long enough that June stopped asking if I was sleeping okay after every nightmare. Long enough that I didn’t feel like an outsider anymore. Most days, it felt… normal. Well, as normal as life during the apocalypse could be. 

We were camped outside an abandoned ranger station for the night. The fire crackled softly while Maddison stirred something that vaguely resembled stew. Morgan and Dwight were discussing tomorrow’s route. Nick was sharpening his knife. June was reorganizing medical supplies for what had to be the hundredth time. Alicia sat beside me on one of the fallen logs, quietly cleaning her rifle. Nobody was talking to me. Nobody expected me to entertain them. Nobody expected anything, really. That should’ve made me feel comfortable. Instead… it made me nervous, because every time people got close enough to know me… Eventually, they found out. And eventually, they look at me differently. Even if they didn’t mean to, they always did. I stared into the fire, barely listening to the conversation around me. 

“You okay?” 

I looked over. Alicia had set her rifle aside, she was watching me carefully. 

“Hmm?” 

“You’ve been staring at the fire for like ten minutes.” 

“I have not.” 

“You totally were.” 

“I was thinking.” 

“You were brooding.” 

“I don’t brood!” 

She raised an eyebrow. “I have literally seen you brood.” 

“I contemplate.” 

She laughed. “They’re the same thing.” 

“They’re not.” 

“They kind of are.” 

I rolled my eyes. “They’re definitely not.” 

She bumped my shoulder lightly. “Whatever helps you sleep.” 

I smiled despite myself. That was becoming a problem. Not the smiling, but feeling… safe. I’ve spent so many years leaning to keep parts of myself locked away that being accepted by this group almost felt suspicious. Like eventually they’ll realize I wasn’t worth keeping around. Like eventually I’d say the wrong thing. Like eventually… they’ll find out. 

The next morning, Alicia and I volunteered to check a small grocery store a few miles down the road. Most of the shelves had already been picked clean years ago. We still managed to find a few cans tucked behind fallen displays. 

“Jackpot!” Alicia said, holding up three cans of soup. I found a dusty box of crackers that hadn’t expired before everything fell apart. 

“I think these are edible.” 

“I’ll take your word for it.” 

“You afraid?” 

“I’ve eaten Strand’s cooking.” 

“...Fair.” 

We both laughed. The sound echoed strangely through the empty building. It had become easy to laugh with Alicia; she was like the sister I never had. She was easy to talk to, to exist with… too easy. 

“You know…” She said after a minute. 

“Hmm?” 

“I don’t actually know much about your life before.” 

I froze. She noticed immediately. 

“You don’t have to tell me.” 

“No.” I forced myself to keep searching. “It’s okay.” 

She didn’t push. That was one of the things I appreciated most about her. She never forced conversations. She just… left the door open. 

“My parents weren’t great.” 

She looked over but stayed quiet. 

“They’re dead.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

I shrugged. “It happened early.” 

Another pause. 

“They weren’t exactly…” I searched for the word. “...Supportive.” 

“About?” 

“Um… I’m aromantic… and asexual.” 

The words hung between us. I couldn’t read her expression. She wasn’t frowning. She wasn’t smiling. She was just… listening. 

“I never really told my parents.” I laughed bitterly. “They would’ve hated it. My dad always talked about how LGBTQ+ people were ruining everything. My mom kept saying I’d change my mind. So…” 

I shrugged weakly. “I lied. I pretended to have celebrity crushes. I made up people I liked. I even let my friends try setting me up because it was easier than explaining why I never wanted to date.”

The memories made my chest ache. “I spent years pretending. So much pretending that…” 

I looked away. “I don’t even know when I stopped pretending for other people and started pretending for myself. I kept thinking maybe everyone was right. Maybe one day I’d wake up and suddenly want all those things…. But it never happened.” 

A tear slipped down my cheek before I realized I was crying. 

“I felt guilty… Guilty because my parent swanted grandkids. Because they wanted this future for me. Because I couldn’t give it to them…” 

I wiped my face quickly. 

“It sounds stupid.” 

“It doesn’t.” 

I looked at Alicia. 

“It really doesn’t.” 

I laughed once. “It does. The world literally ended, and somehow… I still worry about disappointing people who have been dead for years… I know they’re gone, but every time I think about actually saying who I am… I still hear them.” 

I stared at the ground. “I’ve never actually told anyone before.” 

“You…” I laughed weakly. “Congratulations, you’re the first person who’s ever met the real me.” 

Silence. Long enough that my stomach twisted. Long enough that regret started creeping in. Maybe this had been a mistake… Maybe… 

A warm hand rested gently over mine. I looked up, and Alicia was smiling. Not a forced smile, or an awkward one, just… Alicia. 

“You know what my first thought was?” 

I blinked. “What?” 

“I’m really glad you trusted me enough to tell me.” 

I stared. “That’s it?” 

She looked confused. “What do you mean?” 

“I just told you I’m aroace.” 

“Yeah?”

“And?” 

“And… thank you for trusting me.” 

I frowned. “You’re not…” 

“Not what?” 

“Confused?” 

“I know what aromantic and asexual mean.” 

“No, I mean…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. She understood anyway. 

“You thought I’d look at you differently?” 

I nodded. 

She squeezed my hand. “Y/N.” 

Her voice was gentle. “You don’t have to hide with me.” 

The words hit harder than I expected. 

“You don’t have to pretend you’re interested in dating. You don’t have to fake crushes. You don’t have to laugh along when people assume you’ll settle down with someone someday.” 

She smiled. “You don’t have to be anyone except yourself.” 

My vision blurred again. “I’ve spent so long pretending.” 

“I know.” 

“I don’t really know how to stop.” 

“You already started.” 

I looked at her. 

“You told me.” She smiled. “That’s a pretty big first step.” 

I laughed through the tears. “I was honestly expecting this to be awkward.” 

“Why?” 

“Because it always was in my head.” 

She shook her head. “I don’t think there’s anything awkward about someone telling me who they are.” 

She nudged my shoulder. “For what it’s worth, you know what I see when I look at you?” 

I shook my head. “I see the person who insists on carrying twice as much firewood as everyone else.” 

I snorted. 

“I see the person who somehow finds books in places that shouldn’t have books.” 

I smiled. 

“I see someone who makes Morgan laugh. Someone June trusts. Someone Al trusts to watch her back. I see my sibling.” 

She shrugged. “The fact that you’re aromantic and asexual doesn’t erase any of that. It just means I know you a little better now.” 

I laughed quietly. “That’s… really anticlimactic.” 

She grinned. “Were you expecting a dramatic speech?” 

“A little.” 

She pretended to think. “Okay.” 

She cleared her throat dramatically. “Hear ye, hear ye! Y/N had informed me they are aroace, and literally nothing about our relationship has changed!” 

I burst into laughter. The kind that made my stomach hurt. 

“There!” She smiled proudly. “Dramatic speech accomplished.” 

I wiped tears from my eyes. “I hate you.” 

“No, you don’t.” 

I didn’t, not even a little. For the first time since I figured out who I was years before the world ended, I realized something. Acceptance wasn’t supposed to feel like fireworks. It wasn’t supposed to be some huge, life-changing speech. Sometimes acceptance was just someone looking at you after you shared the part of yourself you’ve hidden for years, and treating you exactly the same as they had five minutes earlier.

You both knew you couldn’t speak freely though, so you had your own secret language, that sounded innocent to others but you both knew it had a deeper meaning.

One saw right through the two of you, though

He didn’t run to tell anyone, though

He started providing peeks of what Papa didn’t tell you

Or he talked to El, really, he ignored you for the most part

But El told you about what One had told her later

You started dreaming of escaping early on

But wouldn’t do so in many years

The lab started treating her as dangerous after they thought she had massacred everyone, and wouldn’t listen to her nor you about it being One

You weren’t allowed to spend so much time together after that anymore

But eventually she opened the rift, and that’s when everything changed

El escaped first, she had only a small window to do so in the chaos and you urged her being the one to escape, as you would have it easier anyway

You shapeshifted into her so they wouldn’t look for her, as you were secondary

Later, they thought she somehow escaped during transport

Papa was livid

You escaped roughly two months after El did after the lab had finished moving elsewhere, impersonating a researcher on their way out for a smoke break.

You had stood in a parking lot at 2 AM and had no idea what to do next

But you decided to find El

You found out she had been taken in by a scary man called Hopper

But he took care of her

Hopper was reluctant to take in a second kid with terrifying powers and no documentation

But El gave him one puppy dog look

Hopper took in a second kid with terrifying powers and no documentation

You and El argued about Kali

She wanted to find her

You wanted to forget all about your past in the lab, and Kali had escaped

But you went with her anyway

After you came back, you finally met the gang

They were wary first, but quickly grew on you

You shapeshifted into Will to trick the Mind Flayer

And that gave you a window to seemingly destroy it

Over the next summer, El got a boyfriend, and you got a job as a cashier

You had gotten the job by shapeshifting into the manager and announcing that a new cashier has been hired, and will begin next morning

The real manager thought he’s losing his mind when everyone was confused about him not remembering such things

And on top of that, Mind Flayer came back, and it was worse than last time

But you were able to destroy it — though at the expense of El losing her powers

When Hopper died — or disappeared — El went somewhere inside herself that you couldn't follow

You sat outside her door for two days straight, begging her to let you in

When the Byers moved away from Hawkins, you just hopped at the back of the truck, even though Mike’s family had agreed to look after you

Joyce looked at you, sighed and handed you a box of kitchen utensils

You tried your best to listen and understand when El explained about losing her powers

You had no idea what was she going through

The thought of life without powers in itself wasn’t scary, but without them you would be basically dead against Demogorgons, you could only deceive but not fight in a way El could

At Lenora, El was struggling at school. The bullies presented a new kind of threat, far more cruel than anything Upside Down had ever done to you

Angela was the first person you never shifted into. You thought about it in great detail, fantasised of all the things you could make her do, but El forbade you against it

You could tell she felt a bit better though when you told her about your ideas how you’d embarrass Angela if she let you impersonate her

But you understood that doing such things could reveal you to the authorities, Angela was popular outside of school too after all, and her parents would raise a mess out of it

When El broke Angela’s nose, you regretted listening to her though, as she got into a lot of trouble over it

And especially when she went back to Brenner to restore her powers

You were furious for it — but eventually understood

You had been defined by him your whole lives, she needed to close the door herself

After Papa’s death, you both cried.

You didn’t really mourn for him, but he had still been a big part of your childhood, and his death was one major door closing

The battle at the Upside Down after that marked the end of Vecna — or so you thought

Him not being done became clear when Hawkins started to crack open

Almost two years later, Vecna resurfaced and was kidnapping children

Including Mike’s little sister

You shapeshifted into a nurse to help Mike and Nancy get to their mother

And got a clarification that the mysterious Mr. Whatsit indeed was Henry

In addition to that, getting Max out was a hassle and Eleven couldn’t reach her, which made you all concerned

At Camazotz, you first tried to lure the children out and escape by pretending to be Henry

But Max told you to stop it

Tricking them would only make them not trust you once you transform back and reveal not being Henry

Your powers were little help during the battle, so you just resulted into poking the monster with weapons with Steve and Dustin

You stood by Eleven, holding her hand as Joyce finally finished Vecna, One, Henry

And then it was finally, truly over

But then El dropped a bomb

She told you Kali told had told her that all three of you have to die or else they’ll never stop making new children to torture

And you knew that was true

So this is where you can decide what happens

1) You sacrifice yourselves

2) You escape and never come back

3) You lose your powers when Upside Down gets destroyed and the military loses interest in you