Chapter Text
What if fuck... Mother's Day?
Dustin arrives home and says -I'm home!- as he opens the door. At that exact moment, his cat runs out of the house like a madwoman, truly terrified. Dustin tries to catch her and says -Hey, hey Mews, wait, what's wrong?- He's never seen her like this.
He goes inside and says -MOM... I'M BACK!- but gets no answer. He walks to his room and says -Dart, we need to talk... it's about my friend Will...-
But when he opens the terrarium of his evicted tortoise, he finds that the glass is broken, and there's nothing inside.
He cursed and paced the house, calling her name in a low voice, checking under the sofas.
Finally, he gave up and asked -MOM... HAVE YOU SEEN...?- It was then that he realized the silence in his house wasn't normal; at this hour, his mother was always making midday snack.
Dustin walked cautiously to his mother's room. That's when he heard the sound: something digging and tearing.
He saw the red stain on the floor by the bedroom door and finally mustered the courage to open it.
And outside the Henderson house, a child's scream of absolute horror was heard.
´-´-´-´-´-´-´-´
In the tunnels beneath Hawkins, Dustin held up the candy to the demodog with the golden scaly stripe and said -Come on... come on, buddy... I know, and I'm sorry, Dart-
The creature approached his hand, and Dustin gestured to Mike, "Now".
The black-haired boy, his fingers clumsy and nervous, flicked the lighter in front of the hairspray can, and a burst of flame engulfed the creature, which shrieked in rage.
Dustin, without wasting a moment, dropped the candy, picked up the spear from the floor again, and plunged it into the monster from another dimension, which writhed, trying to break free.
But the boy put all his weight on top of it and immobilized its neck with his foot.
Steve came running through the tunnels and asked -What the heck are you doing...?- but was speechless at the look of utter contempt on Dustin's face, who twisted the spear until the creature stopped moving.
The older teenager grabbed his arm and pulled him away, saying -That's it... that's it... let's go- The others followed.
+-+-+-+-+-+
At that very moment, in a cabin in the woods.
Will Byers woke up in a bed, his hands and feet bound with broken straps.
He was very disoriented. He got out of bed and staggered. He could see Jonathan on the floor, crying and cradling something... no, someone, while he cried.
And he was saying softly -Please wake up... please open your eyes... please-
Will approached, asking -Jonathan... what happened?- He raised his head, tears streaming down his cheeks, his face flushed with anger.
Then Will felt his older brother, still sitting on the floor, shove him hard in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. Will yelled in frustration -GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU DAMN MONSTER-
Holding his aching stomach, he asked -What?- when he saw the other person. It was his mother, who wasn't moving, though her eyes were open, with very obvious marks around her neck.
Will, confused, tried to approach again. Nancy reentered the cabin after seeing the Mindflayer in its ethereal form disappear and said angrily -JONATHAN, STOP IT... for God's sake, it's not his fault!-
The boy asks, confused -What? What... ha... What happened?- as he is wrapped in Nancy's arms.
She tries to calm him, saying -It's okay... everything will be alright now- clearly also barely suppressing her own tears.
Suddenly, memories begin to flood the boy's mind: the moment his hands broke free from the restraints, his fingers gripping flesh and muscle... and that deafening crack.
Will shakes his head and begins to cry and scream -No... NO...- as he stares at his hands.
{/}{\} {/}{\} {/}{\} {/}{\}
Hopper looked at the devastated boy in front of him and said -Look... I know the last few days have been...-
Dustin interrupted him -...a fucking mess-
The chief looked at him and, resigned, nodded and commented -That's a pretty accurate description, but I need to ask you... is there any family we can call?-
The boy shook his head and replied stoically -No...-
Jim asks -Grandparents? Uncles? Cousins?- Dustin, too weak to get angry, replies -My uncle Walter died last year. Since then... it's just been Mom and me-
Hopper asks -What do you know about your father?- The younger boy sighs and answers, -He had beautiful eyes and a funny accent, Portuguese maybe. That's why Mom “chose him” out of all the guys at the bar that night-
The boss nods and replies -I see... Owens says he can relocate you, find you a good place with a good fam...-
Dustin immediately cuts him off, gathering his strength to get angry -Tell Owens to go f...-But his stomach interrupts him with a growl.
The boy lowered his head in shame, only then realizing that he hadn't eaten anything since that “midday snack”.
Jim managed to stop his pitying gaze there and replied -Okay... fine, then... then... would you like to come live with me?-
Dustin stared at him stoically, but slowly his expression began to change, until finally he broke down and tears began to stream from his eyes. He finally threw himself at the boss and wrapped his arms around him.
The adult man could only place his hands on his shoulders, trying to offer him as much comfort as he could while listening to him cry out through his tears.
&'&'&'&'&
Hopper, still overwhelmed by the situation, leaves the office when a young, squeaky voice demands to know -And Will?-
Jim sighs, knowing there's no way around this, so he turns to face Mike and says -His father already came for him-
The boy looks at him, annoyed, and says -What?... NO, HE'S A...- but Hopper cuts him off, -He's his closest relative, period...- and resumes walking, though he hears the small feet following him, knowing full well that the conversation wasn't over.
Mike then asks -And Jonathan? Can't he...?- The boss sighs, turns around, and explains -He's almost two years away from being an adult, and even then the law would give preference to...-
But the other interrupts -where is he?... Won't he go with Will?- The adult sighs and replies, -We don't know... he left-
The black-haired boy looked very agitated and asked -What?- Hopper calmly replied -His car's gone, and it seems he took all his clothes...-
The boy said furiously -HE CAN'T JUST LEAVE, HE HAS TO...- Hopper stopped him -HEY, HEY... I don't know what you think of Jonathan, but he's also a kid who just lost his mother... taking care of Will isn't his responsibility, it's his father's. Owens is already talking to him; they'll surely reach an “agreement”-
Without hesitation, Mike exclaimed -WILL WON'T BE SAFE WITH HIS FATHER, HE'S AN IDIOT...- Jim glared at him and commented -Look who's talking- referring to Ted.
Almost immediately, he realized his mistake when Mike's features began to fill with anger, but he cut him off, clarifying -...mine was too. Will will have to get over it like everyone else...-
Seeing that he was still walking a tightrope between the little boy's tears and fury, he put a hand on his shoulder and said -Right now, you can't do anything for Will, and neither can I, and that's just how it is... you focus on helping Dustin... and Eleven, they need you- It was clear he said the last part with a lot of reluctance.
Mike could only watch him walk away, still annoyed... but resigned.
OIOIOIOIOIOIO
The old man lowers the scissors and says -Well, almost done...-
Lonnie, standing behind him, says -Thanks, Bill, you saved my life- Bill replies -You were lucky, I was about to close... although it's a good thing I didn't, you brought me some great stuff-
Then he jokes -Careful, now all the girls will be after you, buddy- As was his custom when dealing with children, he expected a blush and a shout, as always, but his customer remained silent.
Lonnie rolls his eyes and grunts -God willing... at least he looks like a boy now- The old man pauses slightly, uncomfortably, but composes himself and, in a somewhat friendly tone, says -All done- and unties the robe.
Lonnie, annoyed, demands -How do you say William?- The boy, now with much shorter hair, replies -Thank you, sir- in a very low voice.
Then the father comments -Well, at least this one doesn't argue with me about everything, like the older one- in a curious tone of resignation.
Bill rolls his eyes and comments -I understand the feeling-
Lonnie asks -It's 10... right?- The old man, cleaning his instruments, replies -Yes... should I put it on your tab?-
But Mr. Byers says -No need...- and takes an envelope with the "INB" stamp from his pocket and removes several bills, saying -Here you go, and what I owed you too...-
Bill looks at him, puzzled, and replies -Well, thanks- taking the bills and "discreetly" checking them when the other man turns away.
Lonnie says to the boy -Well, let's go, you have to go to bed early... a friend wants to start a kids' league for his son, maybe he can get you a spot... that's great, right?-
The boy, getting down from his chair, replies robotically -Yes, sir- which doesn't bother his father in the slightest.
Bill pats the boy's head goodbye and says -See you in a month for a haircut, Liam- the name slipped out, almost as a joke.
But as they walk out the door, Lonnie murmurs -Liam?... I like it, we even rhyme-