stranger things imagines.

sick days, greater evenings: lucas sinclair.

y/n l/n has had a headache all day.
and if she has to guess?
it's the weather.
lucas laughs at her every time she says this,
but she swears by it.
the sudden change in pressure of an incoming storm never fails to make her head throb.
"you're like our own little meteorologist,"
lucas says.
y/n rubs her temples with the pressure of her forefingers and sighs.
"shut up."
lucas exhales a laugh then drapes his arm around his girlfriend of so many years.
he wonders how it is they've made it this far.
whatever reason it may be,
he's just glad he gets to love y/n the way she deserves to be loved.
"i'm sorry. i'm only joking,"
lucas now says,
pressing a soft kiss to her temple.
temporary relief blooms there;
the tension in her head lessens beneath lucas' kind kiss.
but as soon as he pulls away,
it returns.
"want me to go get you something for it?"
"do you mind?"
lucas shakes his head when he says,
"no, not at all."
y/n presses her lips together in a soft smile as he leaves to find her medicinal appeasement.
it's then a ringing begins in her ears.
it makes her wince at first due to the abruptness of it.
she's had heinous migraines before,
but never one quite like this.
y/n cups her hands over her ears in hopes that will stop it.
then finally,
it does.
the ringing ceases to exist and y/n is left with only the migraine.
"hey...you okay? you look kind of pale,"
lucas says when he enters.
y/n takes the medicine from his palm and swallows it in a hurry.
"yeah, yeah. i'm okay."
lucas nods his head and takes a seat next to y/n again.
the sanctuary of lucas' bedroom has always been
y/n's favorite place to be.
but now it feels too stuffy;
like the walls are closing in on her.
she quickly stands to her feet in a moment of panic and says,
"let's go out. get a milkshake or something."
"okay, yeah. let me just put my shoes on-"
"i'll wait outside."
y/n rushes out of the front door before lucas can utter another word.
as soon as the fresh air hits her and cleanses her lungs of the sickness she's coming down with,
she's reminded of the vastness of the world and can breathe again.
"you ready?"
y/n feels the comforting hold of lucas to her shoulder and comes further down to earth;
she is grounded again.
"yeah. let's go."
y/n links her arm with lucas' and begins to make way to the nearest restaurant for their milkshake date.
the rest of their evening goes by well.
her headache eases thanks to the influence of the medication,
though it still lingers around the edges of her skull.
"so...the big game is tomorrow."
"tomorrow? isn't that the same night as-"
"yeah,"
lucas interjects.
she can tell by the forced edge of his tone that it's becoming a sore spot.
"hey,"
y/n starts as she reaches to thread her fingers with lucas'.
"for what it's worth, you know i'll be there. loud and proud."
the thin line set in lucas' lips begins to disappear and become replaced with a hopeful smile.
"you know...i don't know what i'd do without you and i hope i never have to find out."
"you won't ever have to."
lucas and y/n finish their milkshakes as a pair then begin their trek back home,
though they take the longer route in order to spare a few more minutes with one another.
"i'll see you tomorrow night,"
y/n now says as they stand at the front of her house.
"i'll see you."
"you're going to do great. get some rest tonight."
she leans forward to press a kiss to his cheek and feels his once tense muscles now relax.
"i love you, y/n."
"i love you more, lucas."
lucas smoothes a hand down her arm in a gentle caress then waits until she's in the house to begin walking home.
lucas sinclair's life is finally falling into place.
his friend group is increasing,
meaning the incessant taunting is lessening.
he's got the most beautiful girlfriend in the world who keeps him bright and intellectual.
lucas marvels at the way y/n can keep him comforted with a gentle hug and whisper words of wisdom that keep his brain at work.
what an insanely intelligent woman.
he thanks god for her every chance he gets,
which is pretty often.
and when he closes his eyes at the days end,
he asks god,
"please continue to make me worth y/n's loving. make me a better man.
make me become whatever y/n needs."
lucas soon feels a pang of guilt in his chest at the reminder of his best friends that are slipping through his fingers.
don't they understand his yearning for a greater high school experience?
and why can't he be both a basketball player and a dnd player?
why must he be one thing and one thing only?
at this thought,
lucas circles back to the thought of y/n.
thinking of a quality y/n harbors that he adores so much:
she does not force him into a mold.
he does not have to be one simple thing or another complicated thing.
he can be whoever he wants and y/n accepts it with zero judgement.
he feels free with this love of his.
freer than he's ever felt.
***
y/n wakes up in the midst of the night with her head threatening to split in half.
the ringing has returned by a tenfold in the promise of bursting her eardrums.
through the dry tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth,
y/n parts her lips to let out a groan.
something isn't right.
she's starting to realize it now.
her hand reaches out for the drawer at her bed side and searches for the contents inside.
there she finds the pill bottle she so desperately needs,
but finds no comfort when the rattling of the pills she so often hears is muted.
the bottle is barren.
y/n can hardly open her eyes.
even the sliver of dim moonlight peeking through her blinds is enough to make her wince.
y/n reaches for something,
anything,
and ends up falling off of the edge of the bed.
her limbs are numb and somehow,
she's smacked her chin.
y/n feels it start to throb in the beginnings of a welt.
what the hell is wrong with me?
she feels around some more for something to save her and feels the cold, solid walkie-talkie in her palm.
"lucas,"
she calls over it.
her voice sounds like it belongs to someone else;
like something is clawing at her vocal chords.
"lucas,"
she tries again.
she's pleading now,
with both her boyfriend and her body.
"y/n? hey, what's wrong?"
the voice on the other end asks.
she can hear the sleep still ingrained into his tone.
"i can't...i'm...my head."
"do i need to come over?"
y/n uses all the strength left in her to say,
"yes."
it's silent after that,
besides the pounding in y/n's head.
it feels almost as if her brain is on the brink of explosion.
there's a sequence of noises in her room now:
the opening of her window,
the soft landing of footsteps,
and then the hurried body coming to find her.
how much time has passed?
"y/n? y/n, oh god,"
lucas whispers as lightly as his panicked voice will allow.
"come here. let me help you up."
y/n lays the better half of her weight into lucas' arms as she is lifted back into her bed.
"i don't know what's wrong,"
she says through a cry.
this pain is too much to bare.
"i don't know either, love. we'll figure it out though, okay?"
y/n nods,
since she can't do much else,
and feels the palms of his hands smooth over her sweltering face.
"i'm gonna go downstairs, okay?"
"my mom-"
"i'll be super quiet. i promise. just let me take care of you, y/n."
how could she possibly protest further?
lucas rises from the edge of y/n's bed and tiptoes out of her room and down to the kitchen where he silently rummages around for pills and some bandages for her bleeding chin.
then with a cup of water,
lucas finds his way back to her room and helps her sit up.
"take these,"
he instructs in the softest of voices,
letting the rim of the cup touch her lips to allow the water safe passageway down her parched throat.
lucas then wipes away the blood dotting at her chin and places a bandaid there.
"okay...lay back and try to get some sleep for me."
y/n does as he says then reaches out for his arm.
"will you stay?"
she asks now that she's gained her voice back.
lucas smiles despite the sickness of his girlfriend because even in her most vulnerable,
she seeks for him.
"yeah, yeah. i'll stay,"
he tells her.
y/n makes room for him in the bed then rests her subsiding head full of pain to his chest.
the lullaby of his heart makes it easy to close her eyes and drift away.
"oh, god,"
y/n then groans.
"what? what's wrong?"
"your basketball game is today...and i just...i ruined your sleep."
lucas presses a kiss to her forehead before reassuring her,
"i'm fine right where i'm at, y/n. you don't have to worry about me. just start feeling better, okay?"
"okay,"
she echos in a whisper.
"i love you."
lucas holds y/n a little tighter at this then returns the sentiment with the same truth,
"i love you too."
***
lucas wakes up the next morning with y/n in the same position as she was when she fell asleep.
he gently presses his lips to her forehead and is relieved to know her fever has fallen.
hopefully his sweet girl is rid of her sickness.
he hates seeing her that way,
feeling helpless and saddened he can't take her hurt away.
his thoughts of his big game tonight are put on the back burner.
his only priority is y/n and making sure she's in good health.
"hey. you feeling better?"
lucas asks now that y/n is stirring awake.
"mhm,"
she answers through the sleep in her voice.
"thank you for coming...i feel so bad."
"you know i'd drop everything for you. and i know you would have done the same for me."
y/n nestles herself to fit in the crook of his neck then presses a little kiss there.
"i guess we'll have to get up soon."
"why don't you skip today?"
y/n sits up now and stares at him with eyes of bewilderment.
"and miss your game? no. i'm better now. i'm okay."
lucas adores how much she cares.
it makes him feel warm inside,
like sitting in the stream of the sun on a spring day.
"well, why don't we skip? and if you're feeling up to it by then, we'll head to the game together."
"are you sure?"
lucas brings y/n back down to the spot on his chest then says,
"i'm sure."
the pair spend the rest of the day in bed,
either napping the hours away or gluing their eyes to the tv.
it's a peaceful day and just what y/n needed to heal.
because as soon as the hour comes and lucas mentions heading to the court,
y/n is more than ready.
she pulls on her hawkins high shirt,
ties up her shoes,
and heads to the very important game that is either going to make or break lucas sinclair's high school life.
but he knows that whatever comes next will be worth facing with y/n by his side.
as long as they're together,
there's nothing he can't do or face.
"i'll see you after, okay? you're amazing,"
y/n affirms before they part.
then she reaches out for lucas to press a good luck kiss to his lips.
"you're going to do great tonight. big, big thing are coming your way."
lucas smiles against y/n's lips then kisses her again for good measure.
though this time,
the kiss is lengthened all in the honor of longing.
then they are forced apart for the greatest night to come.

lucas sinclair has done it.
he has scored the winning points and is now drowning in the cheers of his teammates and peers,
but the only person he wants to be with right now is y/n l/n.
he finds her in the crowd and is instantly met with her embrace.
"you did it!"
she chants.
lucas lifts the girl off of the ground in their hug and swings her around in a moment of heightened celebration.
"i owe everything to you,"
lucas says now that they're standing still,
but have yet to move apart.
"lucas, you did this! you're amazing."
he looks at y/n and feels the weight of this love come down on him.
how they answer each other's every call,
how they bend to each other's request,
how they help one another up in times of need.
has he ever seen another love like this?
in film or real life?
no, i haven't.
look at how lucky i am.
love was enough to heal a sick y/n when she needed it most.
and the very same love was the fuel in lucas' veins so that he could win tonight.
"i think i'm gonna marry you one day,"
lucas admits in the midst of his stupor.
y/n laughs with the entirety of her chest at this.
"i'd hope so. i'm gonna need you when i'm sick,"
she teases.
but lucas feels his heart pumping adrenaline still,
so he pulls y/n in close by her waist and lets his lips brush hers when he says,
"i'll be there. and everyday after that."
then he kisses her with every fibre of his being.
lucas knows his life lies in the arms of this girl here.
he will do nothing to risk it and will do everything to keep her happy.
sick days have turned into greater evenings.
lucas is glad y/n called him in the night.
perhaps the sleep with her was exactly what he needed for todays win.
but who is he kidding?
y/n's existence alone is enough to encourage him for the greatest of successes.
he has no doubt about it:
lucas sinclair will marry this meteorologist of his.