if angus cloud said don't lose faith in fexi, i'm not losing faith in fexi.

maybe it's my own wishful thinking in the aftermath of a finale that really only felt helpless, but i don't think fexi is over.

both lexi and fezco are going to be in the next season, and we have already established that their storylines have become intertwined. without ashtray now, lexi quite literally is the most (sentient) person in fezco's life, and lexi character transition from background to main was because of fezco. they, as they spent episodes of this explaining, have spent the last months of their lives learning each other, talking to each other and becoming friends.

in my opinion the most establishing scene for their relationship was right after custer died. fezco was mourning his future with lexi. lexi gave him reprieve and fantasy and hope, no matter how unrealistic it felt. he was allowing himself to remember his farm and three kids and future with lexi one last time before committing to take the blame. fezco, who always puts others first.

but ash wouldn't let him.

ashtray's life has never been anything else. it has never been more than fezco and their grandma if he even really remembers her. it has always been about their business and violence and the revolving door of clients and enemies. ash doesn't have an exterior support system like fez does. ash would rather die than live without fezco. he doesn't know anything else. he knows his job is protect his brother, and learned by fezco's example.

i like to think ash maybe even knew there was something, someone else out there for fezco. think about the past few months in fezco and ash's home. nearly every call between fezco and lexi was on speaker phone. ash had to have heard bits and pieces. hell, she came over at least once. i don't think people were ever in that house without ashtray understanding who they were or why they were there. for probably the first time in his life, there was someone in their home without an ulterior motive. she doesn't need to a place to hide from the police, she isn't there to collect drugs or money. she just wants to be with her friend. do i think he was actively thinking about that when he made his decision? no, probably not. but i think he paid attention. i think his worldview was probably slowly changing.

on a more realistic note, fezco, lexi, and their relationship is probably the driving force of this shows popularity at the moment. the show isn't stupid (well, maybe it is but whatever) they know that they can't end it like this. if lexi and fezco are going to be in the show together, they are going to be in scenes together. they've fanned the flame of this couple from the first episode of this season. they purposefully left us needing answers.

i don't know if this is true, but i read that this season was all about setting this up that season three would see take place. they made the conscious decision to progress this relationship slowly. quite literally slower than any other on this show. i don't think that was unintentional. they tried something, got an overwhelmingly positive reaction, and left knowing a lot of people would want more.

what will that look like? i don't know. we have finally met the biggest obstacle of their relationship: how different their lives are outside of each other.

nancy x jonathan fanfic master post

will be updated over time

should i stay or should i go by volchitza on ao3 (complete)

     Post-finale, a month after Christmas.

armed with stories you will leave by heart of winter on ao3 (complete)

     Mike grows up, but he doesn’t forget.

what we’ve been through  by praline pumpkinseeds on ao3 (complete)

     The team works on rebuilding the inside of the Byers' house. When Nancy starts to think about Barbara and the monster, Jonathan helps calm her down.

ingenue by acidjaguar on ao3 (in progress)

      The year is 2011. When Jonathan Byers moves to the west coast for college, he has trouble transitioning in the beginning. He spends days and nights alone in his room, smoking joints and listening to music. As he's about to give up on finding any meaning, he meets Nancy Wheeler - a trainwreck of a girl who has seen the end of the universe and back, who constantly finds herself stuck in situations she's uncomfortable in. Jonathan is entranced, and wants to brighten her world as much as she gives meaning to his.

only one way to live by iwillbeyourgoal on ao3 (complete)

      (jonathan and nancy take up sleeping together)

perfectly broken  by cheyenne_6698 on ao3 (complete)

      A different take on the night Jonathan spent comforting Nancy. What starts off as innocent quickly changes when Nancy can't keep her thoughts(or hands) away from Jonathan.

the movements in the night by missus_e on ao3 (in progress)

      It'd be easier to move on if anything were ever normal again. But as Nancy deals with the aftermath of losing her friend, and all that went with it, she realizes normal was never really an option.

you’re still here to haunt me, you ain’t gone by jakepurrulta on ao3 (complete)

     The town moves on and so does Jonathan. But Nancy won't let him pull away from her that easily, and so she sets out to keep him in her life, while carefully trying to keep a complicated mess of feelings at bay.

Let the Compass Lead the Way by pancake_potch on ao3 (complete)

    Jonathan and Nancy and what happens after.

The Girl in the Photograph by KleineElf92 (complete)

   Jonathon Byers has known Nancy Wheeler his whole life.

longing for some solidarity by Valhella 

"You know what?" Nancy says, standing up suddenly, "Screw the Snow Ball. We'll have our own. Right here."

Jonathan blinks back. "What?"

"Our own Snow Ball," she repeats, as if he was being unreasonable. "Right here. In your living room. I'm not saying it again.

nice girl by VerityR

The place inside Nancy that had always gaped with wanting slowly fills up with fear, without her even noticing.

This, Nancy thinks, even Jonathan wouldn’t quite understand. He hadn’t been there, to that other place. There was no safe, after that. There was only numb.