#nachel

I said this in a post before, but the way Nell looks at Rachel when she first sees her??? She just stared her dead in the face and leaned against the counter in the hottest way possible. I feel that it is very "Nell fell first, but Rachel fell harder" when you look at their relationship in the series (which, yes, in-universe is only a week, but shhhhhh).

Nell smells like honey and rich cocoa, and whenever they sleep together (sexual or not), Rachel will practically smother Nell to get the scent. It's warm and comforting, like Nell, and when Rachel has her panic spells - or when she is just really needing someone to get her out of her head - Nell tells her to focus on the smell to calm her down.

Rachel is a cuddle bug, and Nell is used to having her own space in bed, so sometimes Nell would wake up with Rachel's arms wrapped around her like an octopus, and other times Rachel would wake up with a small pillow wall sectioning them off. Neither take great offense.

When Nell gets frustrated with Jules, Rachel will take her to the nearest park and they will get high together and go out on dates to cool off. Rachel doesn't mind Nell venting, and always gets a little giggly when Nell reads Jules to absolute filth.

They are just so happy to be around each other. Nell is a safe place for Rachel, warm and solid, and Rachel would actually punch God if anything hurt Nell.

Nell/Rachel Reconciliation & How It Would Go

They love it when the other gets mean to Jules. It's foreplay.

Rachel pokes fun at Nell's accent. If Nell says a word that is even slightly mispronounced, Rachel is on that shit instantly and will imitate Nell with barely disguised glee.

I do think reconciliation would happen, but it would take some time. I think Rachel would keep tabs on the remaining Cunningham family, but she would keep her distance. Yes, she lived, but the family - specifically Nicky, Nell, and Jules - betrayed her at the end and sacrificed her in vain. I think it would take her some time to confront them about that night.

Similarly, I think Nell would try to repress what happened that night. The tragedy of it is that the choice was already made by Nell and Jules. They cared deeply about Rachel and saving her, but their son's life was at stake. Once they realized what would happen to Jude, it was more so them buying time hoping for the best outcome than actually grappling with the possibility until the time came.

HOWEVER, Nell and Jules would feel crushing guilt, but the only reason it wouldn't absolutely destroy them is that Rachel revived. I think Nell would comfort herself knowing that Rachel did get out, but the guilt would remain.

On Rachel's side, I do think she would hold some resentment towards them (she understands why they did it, of course, and she knows that it was really no win situation, but the intrusive thoughts would creep into her mind and it is hard to ignore how she became a sacrifice). Yes, she survived, but they didn't know that she would, and they took the risk anyways. So, she would keep an eye on them from a distance because, despite being immortal, she is still very much human, and those feelings hurt.

So, I think that there would be a few moments sprinkled throughout Nell's life where she thinks she sees Rachel in a crowd, or she would find little "good luck" trinkets randomly placed in her and Jules' home ("it's still breaking and entering even if you're not technically breaking anything" or however the quote goes lol). Nell would at first be terrified, assuming that Rachel would try to get revenge or something, but after they officially reunite at Jude's wedding, it becomes more of a reassurance that she is watching over them like a guardian angel.

Jude's wedding would be a really emotional time for everyone involved. Boris would be gone by then, but Jules, Nell, and Nicky would be there, and they are all on edge. Nell, specifically, would try to help make sure the logistics of the wedding would go perfectly, distracting herself from the rising tension in the family. She would have a candid conversation with Jude, telling him that curse or not, if he wants to run, she will have the getaway car ready.

She keeps it cordial with Nicky, but after his and Rachel's wedding, they really lost touch. She wouldn't let Jules hold it over her, but there were many times when she would wonder if she chose the wrong brother; it wasn't until she witnessed how spineless he was that she mostly asserted that she did choose right.

She and Jules do keep an eye out for Rachel, who up until this point, would kind of be a ghost story to them. They mostly believe that she is alive, but there is that slight doubt. It's kind of that "seeing is believing" thing.

When Rachel and Nell do inevitably meet, it's like time stops. Nell sees her enter the wedding venue, and she feels her blood run cold. At this point, it would be at least a decade or two, but she still looks the same.

Nell would take her to a private area, and while Rachel goes willingly, there is very much this mix of tension and complete relief. It's been so long, but once they are alone together, Nell does feel herself getting emotional.

They would kind of stare at each other, taking the other in now that they are so close, and honestly, I do believe they would hug and cry. Does that mean all if forgiven? No. But there is a little catharsis in seeing each other again. Nell would be much older by this point, and it would make Rachel emotional to see the passage of time. For Nell, it would be this unearthing of suppressed emotion, and seeing Rachel in the flesh (not just in a crowd, or through conveniently placed trinkets) and her not aging a day would be this moment of "oh shit, it all happened."

Nell tells Rachel that she has to tell Jules she's there (he would be pissed if she was around and he wasn't told), so Rachel and Jules would have a very quiet reunion compared to the one with Nell. I think Jules would just be quietly in awe that she's there, and I think he would still feel so much guilt for what happened, it would be one of those things where nothing can be said right now because it's just so heavy.

The ceremony would go on as expected. Rachel would do the whole "are you sure they're the one" bit with Jude (which would also be really emotional for Jude and Rachel), and because this is my headcanon, all goes well for them because everyone has suffered so much and I want them to have a little reprieve. Nell would keep her eye on Rachel the entire time, and she would feel slightly shy when she would see that Rachel was looking at her, too.

i think on a logical level, jules and nell wouldn’t be surprised that rachel was immortal, but i think it would definitely mess with them on a more emotional level. i think they’d probably have both grieved her even if she wasn’t technically dead, and i think that grief would have been mixed with a lot of guilt for jules (given what he saw as a kid and carried with him all that time). i think for nell, she might be stuck in a bit of a bargaining stage, maybe thinking over and over what she could’ve done differently (since she was definitely one of the more rational thinking characters, i think she’d have the tendency to get stuck in her head). given those reactions to rachel … transcending i guess?? … i think it would take a little while for them (or at least jules) to fully grasp that she’s real and standing in front of them. (I say more so for jules since nell was down for a seance and all that, i think she’d come around to the idea of rachel being immortal a bit quicker).

i DO think they would be a bit uneasy around her, particularly the first few times she might come to visit (i don’t think she’d stay away for THAT long and just show up for weddings). i mostly think this would be due to the association between her new role and like.. impending death but I think that, once they realize she’s just there to see them, they’d shake off the majority of the unease or dread. I also think they’d be a bit more protective of jude at first when she would start visiting more often