[COMPLETED UNTIL SEASON 5]
Ana Thompson always seems to wind up in the strangest predicaments...
A perpetual victim of Murphy's Law, Ana finds herself arriving in Hawkins, Indiana just prior to the events of November 6th, 1983.
And, just prior to f...
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THE WARMTH beside her was the first thing Ana's subconscious registered. It radiated comfort, like resting next to a blazing fire on Christmas Eve.
Except, it hadn't been warm in their bed since he'd left.
Occasionally, she'd spent the night in El's room, but that had only been on evenings when the darkness and silence had become so loud that it drowned out all weariness and potential for sleep—knocking incessantly against her mind like an intruder demanding entry.
She tried not to make a habit of the practice, though.
This was their existence now, no matter how disappointing that truth may be. They were a twosome until they eventually became a threesome again, but this time without Hopper's inclusion.
It was better if they adjusted to their new reality sooner rather than later, she supposed.
However, the feeling of contentment slowly drew Ana out of her slumber. She reveled in it at first, snuggling further into the warmness like one would a blanket fresh out the dryer. Until she realized the sensation had grown all too foreign to her.
Her brown eyes gradually fluttered open, blinking away any residual sleep which remained.
The room surrounding her had faded away into an inky darkness, and no features remained except the bed she still rested upon.
The quilt enveloping her body was just as worn with wear as it had been when she'd retired. The sheets beneath her still scratched her arms from being so threadbare. Nothing seemed out of place beside her placement.
Ana was back in the nothingness she'd visited a handful of times before.
The thought was just as disconcerting this time as it had been each time before.
Still, she couldn't bear to resist its pull, knowing each time she visited, something new would be revealed. The endless murky room held secrets and unknowns which wakefulness could never hope to tread.
Hesitantly, Ana turned over in the bed. The frame creaked subtlety with her movements.
Beside her laid Hopper, but it no longer appeared to be her Hopper.
His hair had been buzzed short so that his scalp showed through. His face, too, was devoid of any hair, his usual scruffy beard or overgrown mustache nowhere to be found.
The tears welled in Ana's eyes without any formal invitation to do so. She'd had many dreams of this nature before, but never with a man who looked so thoroughly unlike himself as Hopper did then.
Her shaky hand rose to brush her fingertips against where the ghost of hair used to rest upon his head. The shortened stumble felt unfamiliar against her hand, coarse and displaced.
The unexpected sensation must have stirred the man beside Ana back into wakefulness because blue eyes flickered rapidly behind eyelids until they opened fully.
Ocean eyes met with chocolate orbs in a swirl of emotions that neither could express all at once.
"You look different," Ana croaked out in observation. It wasn't the desired reintroduction, she wished she had uttered something more profound, but her mouth once again chose to speak before her brain could catch up.
The chuckle which expelled from his lips at her statement resembled the jingle of bells to someone who had long since been deprived of its joyful noise.
Ana desired to pull him closer, she wished to bury herself into his figure until no space separated them. However, she feared that if she should move, if she should blink, he'd disappear from beside her without warning again.
"You left us," Ana commented with a frown, running her hand along his cheek. If this was just another dream, she intended to cement it in her memory forever. Something that could keep her sane when all the doubting voices tried to drown out her last bit of hope.
He leaned into the gentle touch, closing his weary eyes to relish the moment, the feeling. "I didn't want to," Hopper said sadly.
With his words, Ana's body clenched. The pain had been constant since that night in the Starcourt Mall, and no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, the dull ache remained. Now, her body and her mind desired nothing more than to buckle beneath its weight.
But, she wouldn't allow it.
Her expression grew grim as she watched him, fingers still gliding gracefully across his features. "We could have found another way, if only you'd waited." Ana immediately regretted the gripe. This was a good dream, and she shouldn't spend it grumbling about events that couldn't be changed.
Interdimensional monsters may be real, but time machines weren't. Some things which are done cannot be undone, and no amount of wishing would make it otherwise.
"I'm sorry. I wish I were with you," he said, hand sliding down to rest on the bump barely concealed beneath her nightgown. "All of you."
Ana bit her lip to contain a sob, which threatened to slip from her traitorous throat. "I don't think I can do this alone," she admitted dejectedly. She couldn't be maternal, protective, careful, and sensible all at once. She never thought she was built for such things individually, let alone needing to emanate them collectively.
Hopper's strong arms pulled her closer, into his chest and the warmth it offered. "You're the strongest person I know," he whispered, placing a soft kiss against her hairline.
The tears tumbled from her eyes without restraint then. "I'm tired of being strong," she muttered, clutching to him tighter.
"Just hold on for a bit longer," he promised.
Then, the string tying her to con consciousness snapped, and Ana woke in bed alone, again.
Nothing would be back to normal until they were all reunited again. Until Hopper was back home where he belonged.
