Chapter Text
Will sighs at the stream of light cascading across his face.
For as long as he can remember, he has risen with the sun. In summer, especially when younger, he liked it. Waking early meant leaving the house when Mom went to work, avoiding Lonnie, and getting to spend more time with his friends, playing D & D in Mike's basement. However, Lonnie is long gone, and things are... different now.
Waking up early in summer was useless now, seventeen year old's have no business being up at six thirty in the morning. The rest of his friends wouldn't be up until at least nine, later for some, especially if Dustin had once again found himself on a 'curiosity voyage' in the middle of the night. Rising with the sun in winter, during term time, was also terrible. Later sunrise meant that when Will forced himself from the warmth of his bundled bed in the dark, he would move in a haze, brain foggy and limbs dysfunctional.
Will sighed again, blinking blearily, looking at the red numbers displayed on his beaten up alarm clock, perched on top of comics and papers, packed onto his bedside table.
6:32.
Will signs knowing there is no point trying to get back to sleep, the sun is up and now so is he.
Rolling out of bed, Will paused for a moment, as he felt a flush creep up his body, warmth filling him, pleasant at first, but quickly turning uncomfortable. Panic rises within him before he sighs again, surely he was panicking over nothing. He was fine, nothing is wrong with him. He's fine. It's probably just the summer heat, uncomfortable, even in the early morning.
For a moment, Will just... lingers. Letting the air flow through him, breathing deep and waiting for the heat to pass.
Nothing is wrong with him. Perhaps a cold, nothing serious, nothing life changing.
A few moments later, after careful breathing, Will released tension he was unaware he had been holding, his body relaxing as the warmth passes and his body settles.
He's okay, he's fine, everything is normal.
Without realizing what he's doing, Will makes his way to the kitchen, socked feet against warm wood. He grabs a pan, the eggs and some bacon from the fridge and the bread from the cupboard, deciding making breakfast for his family is a good idea. Since Jonathan had left for college, Will had enjoyed the ritual motions of cooking, cracking eggs, listening to the soft sizzle of the grease in the pan, the peace, the... serenity it brought. The simplicity was soothing. Something Will knew he needed, especially after Vecna's defeat. After the pain, the suffering, the overwhelming anxiety, something to simple soothes him. Brings him more comfort than he ever thought possible.
As he plates up the food, buttering stacks of toast, he looks to the clock on the wall.
6:54.
His Mom and Hopper would be up any moment, readying themselves for work in the once again lively Hawkins, free from military and beings from other dimensions. A town renewed, refreshed, but changed. A stain clinging to the fabric, slowing fading, but present, the outline forever remaining. Something remembered, something reflected on, but something that they are trying to move on from.
Will moves quickly, placing on a fresh pot of coffee. Hopper had grown used to Will, the boy practically his step son, waking early and making coffee. He'd grown accustomed to the fresh coffee, using the time to drink, and sometimes eat, when it took his fancy, although Will's Mom was always badgering the stubborn alpha to eat. She was fond of saying he'd struggle to protect the town on an empty stomach.
Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
Will looks at the clock again, eyes shifting between that and the food on the table frequently.
6:58.
They'd be up soon.
Will wants them awake, wants them around him. He wants to be surrounded by his family, to care for them, to make sure they eat.
For a moment, Will pauses as he realizes where his thoughts had led him. He couldn't be... the world wouldn't be so...cruel. Surely not. But with this in conjunction with the heat that had flown through him this morning, it left little room for no doubt.
Surely the world can't be so cruel?
Will knows that it can. God does he know. The world had so frequently been cruel to him. A good world would not allow children to be abused. A good world would not allow children to be taken from the streets by interdimensional beings. A good world would not allow such atrocities against innocent beings, it just... wouldn't.
Will sighs again, feeling as that's all he'd done that morning.
6:59.
Fear flies through him. His parents, for lack of better word to call his Mom and Hopper would be awake shortly. Their alarm would signal at seven as it always did, rousing them from their slumber and shortly following, they'd make their way to the kitchen. A consistent routine.
Distantly, Will hears the alarm sound, and before he has time to think on it, he flees, trying to stifle his movement. He knows that the realization that he's just had, the understanding of the source of warmth in his body, his wish to be around others, to care for them, to protect them, is something they will realize. They'll realize as soon as they enter the kitchen and Will... Will wants to avoid it. Buy himself some time.
As he passes their door, he hears movement from within, and he moves as fast as he possible can, slipping back into his room, careful to not wake El still sleeping in the room beside his. She, like him, frequently suffers from nightmares. If she was sleeping, and it was peaceful, which he assumes it was as he had not heard her shuffling about in the night, he was going to let her savor it for as long as humanly possible.
As he enters his room, he moves to his laundry basket, picking out a used towel and shoving it along the line of his door. It won't work long term, and his Mom and Hopper would know as soon as they entered the kitchen, but he could perhaps hide it from El. He loves his sister, but she'd tell the rest of the pack, and he's not ready for that. Not yet. He'll tell them soon, he promises himself that, but not today. No... not today. With the towel against the door, he locks it, letting the latch slide into place, allowing himself some privacy, at least for a while.
Will glances at the clock on the wall as he hears the sound of firm footsteps leave his parents room.
7:04.
It takes a moment for Will to realize that his ear is pressed to the door, desperate to hear his family, to know he's not alone, but also to hear the revelations that were sure to be coming as soon as Hopper enters the kitchen.
The footsteps stop, clearly in the kitchen before they start up again, moving back towards his door.
Will quickly ducks away from it, staying close, but not against it. If Hopper knocks, he'll be able to hear Will's weight against the door, he'd be able to hear the difference. Will's not ready to confront the truth, not yet. He needs to sit with it for a while, to think, to decide what he needs to do.
Even without his ear pressed to the door, Will hears the alpha's breathing outside, a pause as if he is steeling himself, and then a soft, but sure knock.
Will's breath picks up, despite how he tries to avoid it.
Another moment.
More silence.
Before another knock, still gentle, but firmer, more sure.
"Will?"
Hopper knows he's awake. There's no doubt about it. He's known Will since he was twelve. He'd seen him nearly every day since he was 15. Hopper knows Will, knows his habits. When he was younger the thought of an older man, an alpha especially knowing him so well would fill him with fear. How could it not, not with how his father, an older alpha had been with him. He'd hit, he'd push, he'd kick. No one in the house had been safe from it, even though Jonathan had tried to protect them. Jonathan couldn't always be home. It wasn't until his brother had come home after being picked up from a club by their Mom, that everything had come to light. His Mom had known Lonnie had pushed her around, but she hadn't known he'd been hurting her pups.
His Mom had never been considered a typical omega by the stereotypes of the small town. She worked, she wasn't home all the time, she wasn't the best cook. But one trait she embodied was protectiveness. Her pups were her life.
Jonathan had called an ambulance for Will, having no other choice. His Mom was attacking Lonnie, and if she stopped, she would still not be in any state to take Will to the hospital. Jonathan himself was still too young to drive. He'd also asked for the police to be sent, having no real choice. He needed Lonnie to leave, preferably before his Mom killed him. Lonnie would deserve it, that was evident, but the risk of him dying, and the town turning against his Mom... it wouldn't be good. He'd known it.
The ambulance had come, as had the police. Callahan's threats had made Lonnie flee finally, so the remaining Byers could make their way to the hospital, perched in a small ambulance, the small, still child on the gurney between them as paramedics rushed about them.
"Will?" Hopper tried again, snapping Will from his musings.
Will feels himself tense, wondering if Hopper can hear him on the other side of the door, listening.
"Okay kid. I know you're up. I also know you're smart, you know what's happening, what's going to continue happening. I have to tell your Mom will, but we'll be waiting. As soon as you're ready to come out, come talk to us, okay?"
Will didn't answer, but the tension drains from his body.
"Okay kid. I'll be in the sitting room. I know you're worried... nervous, but we're here for you. Come out when you're ready, but don't leave the house. Don't be an idiot. Okay?"
Will remains still, but there is no sound of movement from the other side of the door.
"Okay." Will murmurs, relenting after a few moments.
"Good. Everything's okay. Come out when you're ready." Hopper says softly, before moving away from the door.
Hopper has matured. From the summer when they were fourteen, and he'd been so emotionally constipated he hadn't been able to tell Mike and El the true reasoning for his worry and his unease, to now, he'd matured greatly. He no longer tries to flee from his own feelings and uncomfortable conversations, instead he would sit, he would listen and he would talk.
As Hopper moves away from the door, so does Will. He glances briefly around his room before perching himself on the desk, making sure his blind is down, as he pulls paper towards him. He knows he needs to think, to rationalize, to plan. A list. A list would help.
Taking a pen in a shaky hand, Will looks around the room, his own thoughts running away from him.
How could fate be so cruel?
Will sighs, grabbing his headphones, placing a cassette in the player, and letting the familiar music of Jonathan's mix tape flow through him, slightly tinny, but comfortable, warm and welcoming. Reminding him of his brother, reminding him he is safe, reminding him he is home.
After a brief moment of pause, letting the music wash over him, Will tries to steady himself as he begins.
Omega.
Will writes the word, just seeing it on paper making him feel nauseous.
He's an omega.
He's presenting as an omega.
The last in his pack to present. Ironic, but fitting. He always feels as if he is the last clinging to things, desperate for nothing to change.
Will pauses before beginning again.
Male omega.
I am a male omega.
Omegas were not uncommon. They were around thirty percent of the population, so it wasn't... rare. They were about equal to alphas. Male omegas however were about two percent of that thirty.
Out of one hundred people, thirty are likely to be omegas.
Out of the thirty, it would be unlikely you'd have a male omega.
'A freak again,' Will's traitorous mind tells him.
Will doesn't know of any other male omegas in Hawkins. It's unlikely they'd be able to hide it if they are in the town, unless they happened to be drugging themself to the gills with suppressants. Not known to be a good idea.
Looking down again, Will once more puts pen to paper.
I am a male omega.
I am presenting at 17 years old, much later than most. The common age to present is between 13 and 16. It is not unheard of to present later, but it is unusual.
It's not unheard of.
The thought bounces around his head slightly, offering some strange semblance of comfort.
I am a male omega in a town with no other male omegas.
Things are going to change, and I have to be okay with that.
Will chews gently on the top of his pen as he mulls over his thoughts, trying to find something, something to write that was both true and comforting.
My Mom loves me.
My brother loves me.
My sister loves me.
I think my step Dad loves me.
They've told me before that they do. This will not change their love for me.
They are both my family and my pack.
Will pauses thinking of Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Max. They are his pack too, would their opinion change? As an after thought, his brain flickered to Nancy, Steve and Robin. They are his pack too. They, along with Jonathan, weren't currently living in Hawkins, they'd pooled resources, and ended up purchasing some land in Deer Park, New York, building houses for the entirety of the pack. All of them had been given hush money after everything that had happened, everything they'd experienced. Will's Mom had briefly argued, but a conversation with Hopper changed her mind. The money would set them up, secure them. It would also let Jonathan go to NYU like he'd always wanted.
At first, they thought that they would be okay, all of them separate, but they were quickly been proven wrong.
Nancy had gone to Emerson, thinking that with Jonathan, her boyfriend, only a twenty minute drive away, everything would be okay.
However, they both had soon become anxious, as had Steve and Robin.
The rest of them had faired slightly better as they were still in the same place, still in Hawkins, but the distance had still been hard.
After Nancy had panicked in early November, dropping out of Emerson, driving to NYU, dragging Jonathan from his dorm in a state of panic, before making their way in the middle of the night to Massachusetts where Steve and Robin were based, it had become quite clear that they would not survive being apart. Even then, it was a struggle being apart from the rest of the pack, but some of them being present had helped, even if the pain did not fully dissipate.
Their own land, their own area was the solution to that.
They group in their early twenties are up there, building, arranging. The rest of them, including Joyce and Hopper would be joining once the youngest graduated.
To Will, it is a comfort.
Following graduation, he would not lose his pack, not lose his friends. It had become slightly uncommon for packs to live in, what was practically, a village together, just themselves, but their pack knows they need it. After everything with Vecna, with their injuries, with the slight paranoia they all have, even nearly a year later, they need the familiarity, the comfort, the support network. They need to be in close proximity for reassurance.
It had taken them a while to decide how to make it all work, the entire pack huddled around the old table at the Byer/Hopper's household over Thanksgiving break while they worked it out.
To the surprise of no one, it had been Nancy who took charge. She planned the space they would need, the houses and how many they'd need. How it would work for everyone. The land was close enough, that with a commute, Jonathan could still go to NYU. Nancy would commute with her boyfriend on the daily to her new internship at the New York Times. Steve had been working in Massachusetts just to be close to Robin, and as she had liked Empire State and she'd succeeded in having her credits transfer, she could commute too. Steve had found a job as an assistant coach, working up to take over the role when the current coach retired in a few years based in the immediate area.
Every time Will speaks with Steve on the phone, feeling the love of the pack bond, even over the phone, the now man was thrilled. He loves children, he loves the land, the area, and the designs. He is closely monitoring the building and some of his friends were around him. He's happy, although, he'd admitted that he'd be happier when the rest of them joined. Until then, he was focusing on the details so his pack, his family can join him.
Will had teared up at that, it was perfect.
There were a few places for the others to work or go to university when they graduated.
It was also close to the sea, which had been Max's one desire.
After everything with Vecna, and the damage he'd done to her body, she wanted to be somewhere soothing. She had gained some mobility back, but on good days she'd need walking aids, and on bad days, she'd need her wheelchair. If being near the sea was her one desire, the pack would have moved the earth to try and make it possible.
Nancy had worked out all the logistics, even some Will wasn't aware off, trusting the alpha with his life. He didn't doubt her.
Living in their own pack community was not the norm, not anymore, but it did happen.
It isn't unheard of, it's just uncommon.
'Like me,' Will's mind once again supplies.
Out of the original pack, Mike, Dustin, Max, Will, El and Lucas; Mike had been the first to present at 13.
He'd presented as an alpha, a surprise to no one that knew him. Lucas had joked that the intense protectiveness he had over Will, especially in 1984 had just been a precursor. His alpha side trying to tear its way free before he'd even presented. Mike had blushed, stuttering, but seemed proud of himself in an odd way. Proud that he was an alpha, like his Father was. Proud that he could protect his friends and his biology reflected his want to do so.
Mike was protective of his pack.
Dustin had presented next, just before turning 15.
A beta. Dustin had been relieved. Relieved that his hormones were not going to change beyond the usual changes that came with puberty.
Mike remained protective.
Dustin remained the same.
Their group of friends welcomed them as they all become closer, the pack solidifying.
Lucas had followed Dustin, presenting as an alpha at 15.
Once again, the pack had welcomed the new presentation with open arms.
Max had presented as a beta at 15. That had surprised them slightly, Mike had confided in Will that he thought it likely she would be an alpha given her protectiveness and her temperament. Max, when she'd heard, slapped Mike on the upside of the head for that, rolling her eyes as she reminded him that their presentations did not fully determine their characteristics and traits.
El had been the last, prior to Will to present.
At sixteen, she'd presented as an alpha. This had also not surprised anyone. She's headstrong, always had been. It was one of the reasons she and Mike had broken up for the final time following their return to Hawkins from Lenora. Her and Mike had clashed heads. He couldn't love her like she needed, she didn't want to be protected, she was her own person and she wanted to know who she was outside of him. She wanted to be her own person, get to know herself. Get to be El. Get to be Jane.
Both Mike and El had ended up in tears after their break up, and in a way, it brought them closer. They'd never been good together, and taking away the strain of attempting a romantic relationship had made everything simpler. Everything fit. Everything was perfect, the pack was complete, the tension had disappeared.
Except for Will.
Will had not presented.
The others had reassured him that sometimes it happened late, everything was okay, but it still worried him.
As Will sits in his chair at his desk, pulling himself from thinking about his pack and the plan following graduation, Will thinks back to a meeting with Owens after the defeat of Vecna. His own worry about not presenting had petrified him. It was only following a conversation with his Mom who had listened to his tears and his fears, that he'd agreed to see the doctor that he still did not completely trust.
Owens' words had actually helped.
"Will, you're body has gone through a lot. For years, you had ongoing health issues which with Vecna now gone, you're finally getting to resolve. You're taking your medication, you're eating properly, you're sleeping more than you have in years. Once your body settles, once you're no longer constantly in fight or flight, you'll present. There is nothing wrong with you, you just have to be patient."
Owens was right.
Will has presented, but he's a male omega.
Will sighs again, nibbling on his pen top once more.
He's always loved his pack, always will, but will they always love him?
From the living area, Will hears movement.
"I'm going to Max's Dad! See you later!" Jane yells as she flings the door closed behind her, the sound rattling over the sound of the tinny music still playing in Will's ears.
Will looks at the clock.
8:15.
His Mom has surely left for work, but it seems as if Hopper's still home.
Will puts his pen down firmly. The list isn't working and he can feel the warmth beginning to rise in him again. The desperate need to be around his loved ones is overwhelming, and in a way, Will doesn't want to fight it. As much as he wants to fight being an omega, he knows it is futile, nothing can change it.
When Will was younger, and he'd heard the harsh words of Lonnie, he had believed heats were sexual, the way the alpha would describe omegas as whores, but that isn't true. Sure, omegas frequently have sex during heats, but it wasn't just that. Omegas want to spend their heats around their loved ones, scent them, make sure they were happy, they were safe. They want to create a nurturing environment for those they love. Heats are not just for romantic love, they're for familial love, platonic love, pack love. Thinking of heats as just for sex was reductive. Some omegas don't want sex at all, it's not unheard of. What Will wants to do right now, is be around his loved ones.
Will wants his entire pack with him.
Tears fill his eyes as he thinks of the others away in Deer Park, so far away from him. How he can look after them when they're so far away?
Other than his Mom, he's the only omega in his pack, and he hadn't realised it would be like this. His Mom's main pack, her original pack was just her and her pups. She's never really been away from them, other than when Will was missing, and when she flew to Russia. She'd never been through a heat with her pack so far away, she hasn't yet had one since Jonathan left for NYU. It hurt. The thought of the hurt he feels being one his Mom will know makes him whimper slightly. He doesn't want her to be sad.
Will sighs, as the cassette stops. He briefly thinks of turning the tape over, playing the b side, but he also doesn't think he wants to. He wants to be around his pack.
Briefly, his mind flits to Mike.
Would it be painful to be around him? Would it be painful, during his heat to be around the alpha he had been in love with for years, who did not love him back?
Will sighs, he knows he can't avoid Mike forever, and perhaps ripping off the Band-Aid would be the better plan.
For a few moments, Will dithers.
He's not sure what he wants to do. The heat is rising, and he knows finding one of his loved ones would help. He feels useless sitting there, his mind whirring. Is it worth the inevitable discussion with Hopper once he leaves his room?
Deciding it is, Will moves to his door, quickly, before he can chase his mind, sliding the latch and letting the regular scent of the house filter back into his room, and no doubt realising his own changed scent into the house.
From the lounge he hears a sniff. Hop knows he's left his room, but he doesn't say anything.
Will's grateful. He knows he's waiting for Will to make the first move.
Slowly, Will makes his way to the living room and smiles as he sees Hopper sitting on the couch, an old movie playing in the background. Hopper's staring at the screen intently, but the screen just reflects on his eyes. It's clear Hopper is paying no attention to the film on display in front of him.
"Hopper?" Will says, his voice soft, uneasy, not sure if he wants to break the peace of the room.
"Hey kid, how you feeling?"
Will shuffles his feet.
Hopper stares at him, and after a moment, when it becomes clear that Will isn't sure what to say, doesn't know how to break the ice, Hopper opens his arms in invitation.
"Get in here kid."
Will surprises even himself with how quickly he moves to snuggle into his step Dad's arms. Immediately, once he is wrapped in Hopper's arms, Will melts.
Hopper smells of coffee, fire and paper. An odd mixture, but soothing. He smells...fatherly. It's strange, but so comforting. Oh so comforting.
Will doesn't even realise he's crying until calloused fingers wipe away his tears.
"It's okay kid. I'm here."
Hopper rocks him, and for a few minutes that's all it is, while Will's tears still.
Now he's no longer subconsciously fighting his presentation, he can feel the cozy haze begin to descend upon him, and he rubs his cheek into the rough fabric of Hopper's shirt.
"It's okay kid. It's okay."
"Thanks Dad." Will murmurs, partially subconsciously, but he knows it's right. Hopper has been his Dad since he made his way into the Upside Down to save him along with his Mom. Sure, they weren't dating until Will was fifteen, but it had been only a matter of time. Briefly, Will thinks of Bob and guilt floods him. Maybe it hadn't been so inevitable after all. Bob was a good guy after all.
At his words, Hopper pauses, but from his scent Will can tell that Hopper is pleased.
"Son." He just says, a few moments later, pressing a kiss to Will's slightly sweaty bowl cut.
Silence reigns for a few moments once more, before they're broken again.
"I told your Mom. She was gutted she couldn't be here, but she's already covering for her colleague Debbie, and couldn't find someone to cover at such short notice."
"It's okay."
As Hopper talks, Will can feel the rumble of his chest against his cheek.
"She said to tell you she loves you, and this changes nothing. You're her pup, and there's nothing wrong with being a male omega and if anyone disagrees she said she'd fight them."
Will snorts.
"She would." He says softly.
"Yes, she would."
"And the others?" Will asks.
The chief of police doesn't need to question him to know what he's asking.
"We haven't told them. That's for you to tell them son. Whenever you're ready, but you know they love you. This will not change how they feel about you. You know that, right kid?"
Will does, he really does, deep down, but someone else telling him, saying the words he has been so desperately wanting to hear... it releases the brick he could feel sitting on his chest since he realized he was presenting as an omega.
For a moment, Will doesn't answer, just rubbing his cheek against the shirt again, allowing Hopper's soothing scent to lull him further into the pleasant fog, making him sleepy.
"Yeah, I know... I just..." Will sighs, trailing off.
"Needed someone to confirm it. Needed someone to tell you that whatever your brain is telling you, is wrong."
"Yeah."
"You are loved, you are so loved."
"Thanks Dad."
He feels his Dad press a kiss to the crown of his head, rocking him again gently.
After a few moments he speaks again.
"Do you want to tell anyone?"
Will pauses, thinking about it carefully.
"Can... can you tell El? Ask her to bring everyone here. She can tell them, I don't want to have to deal with telling them... I just... I want them here, with me."
"Of course kid. I'll radio. Why don't you call Jonathan, tell him. His last exam was yesterday, so he should be home. You tell him, he can let the others know, huh?"
Will considers it. Jonathan would be the best person to tell, the easiest. He knows Will is gay, the only one to have official confirmation. Their conversation while stirring salt in a closed pizza parlor had cleared Will of any fears of his brother not accepting him. If anyone will accept him, it'd be Jonathan.
"Yeah, that'd be nice."
"Go on then. You call Jon and I'll call Jane."
"Okay."
El is laying on Max's bed, music playing in the background, as she reads a Wonder Woman comic when she gets the call.
"Jane? You there Jane? Over."
Immediately, she flings herself from the bed, towards the walkie in her bag flung to a corner in her haste as she had arrived at Max's.
"Here. Over."
"Will's presented. He wants the rest of you here with him. Over."
From across the room, El makes eye contact with Max.
For a moment Max looks confused, her eyes pinching together slightly before realization dawns, and her mouth falls open.
"Presented? What as? Over." El says into the walkie.
"Omega. You can tell the others, he says that fine, but he wants you all here. Pronto. Over."
"On it. Over and out." El says, immediately looking around the room to find the shoes she had carelessly kicked off an hour earlier.
"I can't believe it! Finally." Max says, a huge grin on her face.
"I know right. I know he was worried about it. I'm glad he doesn't need to worry about it any more." El says as she ties her laces.
"Same. I want to take the chair, it'll be quicker. But like, we need to bring the crutches too. Can you ask the guys to pick us up?" Max says as she grabs her vans, slipping them onto her feet.
"No problem." El says, making her way over to her friend.
"Mike, Dustin, Lucas. Do you copy? Over." El says as Max grins beside her.
"Dustin here. Over."
"Me too. Lucas. Over."
"Will presented as an omega. He wants to see us all. Over."
"On it. Over." Dustin says immediately down the line, and even over the walkie, she can hear her boyfriend's smile in his words.
"Perfect. Guys bring something with your scent, he'll want it. Over." Lucas says.
Max's face lights up as she grabs a hoody from her drawer, wrapping her arms around it for a moment, before flinging it over the back of her wheelchair.
"On it. Lucas, can you swing by Mike's and grab him, and then pick us up?" Max asks, grabbing the walkie from El.
"You forgot to say over. Over." Dustin's voice comes through.
El smiles. Her dork.
" Over loser. Over." Max says.
"Be over in 10. Over and out." Lucas says down the line, silence falling.
"I'll met you guys there. Over and out." Dustin says before the line from his end too falls silent.
The ten minutes drag as they wait for Lucas to arrive. They are thrilled for Will, and more than anything they want to get to the Byers-Hopper house and hug their friend.
After what seems like an eternity, Lucas arrives, Mike in the passenger seat behind him. He waves at the two girls before flinging himself into the back seat.
El rolls her eyes fondly.
Max carefully maneuvers herself into the front seat, thanking El as she takes the wheelchair and the crutches, gently placing them into the boot of Lucas' car.
"Step on it!" Max says, as soon as El joins Mike in the backseat.
"As you command." Lucas answers with a wink before they take off down the road, making for El's house as fast as they legally can. From what El says, Hopper isn't working today, so they can't count on him to bail them out if they're caught for speeding.
They finally arrive, and Max grabs her crutches, and the group make their way into the house, Dustin arriving just as they did. As they enter, Mike trails behind, unnoticed by anyone other than Lucas who files the information away for later.
"Will!" El cries, immediately as they enter the house. She leans down quickly, pulling her brother off of Hopper's lap and into her arms, spinning him around joyously, kissing his temple as she does so.
"Jane!"
As El puts him down, she is quickly replaced by Lucas who wraps his arms tightly around the boy who was his first friend.
"Love you Will." He says, releasing his scent in a gentle cloud around him, causing Will to release some of his own, the two scents intermingling nicely.
"Love you too."
Lucas is quickly replaced by Dustin, and then by Max who kisses his cheek.
"I'm so happy for you. Our pack omega." Max whispers, nuzzling into his cheek as he leans down towards her.
"Thanks. Love you Max."
"Love you too."
Finally, the only one who hasn't congratulated Will is Mike who is still standing in the doorway, eye's wide. From the corner of her eye, El can see her Dad watching Mike, a stern look on his face already.
El glances and Mike and realization fills her.
Mike has always been protective of Will.
Always.
And now... well, things were going to change.
Mike is confused, has been since he Lucas knocked on his door.
Hell, he has been since Lenora if he's being honest with himself.
Will's special, he's always known that, but it isn't until he enters the Byer-Hoppers house and Will's scent hits him, cinnamon, apple pie, sugar and cream, that he realizes.
Oh.
Oh.