Chapter Text
Graduation was a big event, and it always seemed so far away until suddenly it wasn't. Hawthorne was still having a hard time wrapping his head around this. He was done with high school, and summer had officially started. It was crazy to believe, but it was true.
Hopper couldn't be more proud of him and River. They'd come so far in only a few months, which had come and gone like nothing.
Hawthorne had to admit, he really had a lot of people to thank for him getting this far. if it wasn't for Max, he might have really bombed math, and he wouldn't have figured out so much about his reading problem.
Because of River, he'd learned lots of different ways to approach his problems, so she deserved just as much credit.
And Hopper certainly deserved mentioning. He was so different from their father, and he'd been nothing if not supportive this whole time.
Of course, he couldn't leave out Nancy and Jonathan. They'd been together for a few months now, and life seemed great. They'd helped him with lots of things, both on a smaller and bigger scale.
It was hard putting into words how much everyone meant to him, and how much he owed these people.
Really, he didn't have any major plans right now, but he wasn't stressing about it. For now, he could revel in the fact he made it this far in his life. With the constant threat of Hawkins Lab looming over his head for so long, he never thought he’d even get this far. With that problem out of the way, it seemed like there were so many possibilities he had yet to explore.
Hopper made sure they had plenty of pictures, mainly wanting to hang them up around the house. It was embarrassing, sure, but overall, it was nice that he would think to do that. Especially knowing he wasn't always the most sentimental.
Despite Hawthorne's weak protests, Hopper ruffled his hair and hugged him. "I'm really proud of you, kiddo. You and your sister," he said, smiling.
"Thanks. That means a lot." And it did. It practically meant the world to him knowing he had a more supportive adoptive father now. One who cared about the things he did and whether he did well. Not just because it was expected of him, but also because he wanted Hawthorne to do good in life. It was more than anyone had ever done for him, aside from his sister.
With this being the last day for the seniors, everyone was crowded together, hoping to say goodbye to anyone they needed to.
Hawthorne was searching for the two people he wanted to see most right now. It wasn't so hard to spot them, and when he did, he immediately rushed over.
"So, what are the plans over in this neck of the woods?" he asked. "Any plans for the summer?" He was curious, really. They'd talked about it a little, but they hadn't had solid plans at the time.
Nancy grinned and nodded. "Yeah, actually."
"We were thinking about applying for an internship at the Hawkins Post," Jonathan said.
He couldn't help the pride swelling in his chest when he heard that. If there wasn't anything he believed, it was that they could do just about anything. After fighting off monsters from another dimension (twice, no less), the world was practically at their feet.
"What about you?" Nancy asked.
"Not sure," Hawthorne admitted. "But I think a summer job would be nice, so I'll look into that."
They smiled and nodded, taking his hands. it was still a waking dream for him, knowing this was real. He was dating the two people he'd wanted more than anything. The longing he had to endure in the short time he'd realized his feelings, and even before then, even if he hadn't realized. It was unbelievable. And maybe they hadn't been together for long, but it felt much longer, and he'd never felt so sure about anything in his life.
"My mom's having a little celebration if you and your dad want to join," Nancy said, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I'll let him know."
The party had gone pretty well. Maybe not super eventful, but in a nice kind of way. life had been such a roller coaster that it was nice to relax, take a breather, and slow down a little.
Being back at home was also nice, and it was easy to slip into a relaxed state. After today, he officially had the summer sprawled before him. He wasn't sure what that entailed, but he was excited nonetheless.
Interestingly, he'd been in charge of grabbing some mail, most of which consisted of bills and other adult things. He still flipped through curiously, pausing only when he saw his name. Not just his. His and River's. Curiously, he set the rest of it on the table and leaned against the counter.
His curiosity won, and he quickly tore it open. It took him a second, but he read the letter before reading again, hoping he was understanding correctly.
He rushed to River's room, making her read it so he knew he hadn't misinterpreted. Of course, she gasped, confirming he was correct.
"Do you know what this means?" she asked.
Hawthorne nodded. "Yeah. We have other family members somewhere."
She skimmed through it again, looking for something specific. "Belarus and Sweden to be exact. which means, they must have moved at some point."
It wasn't too far fetched, and Hawthorne couldn't help how excited that made him. On the other hand, there was always the possibility they weren't much better than. their father, but the risk might be worth it.
Of course, convincing Hopper was another story.
"I'm sorry. You have what? Where?" His eyes widened in shock, not sure he heard correctly.
"Look, Hop, I know you're concerned, but this could be a good thing for us," River insisted.
Hopper sighed and rubbed his neck, slumping in his chair. "No, I get that. But so soon? I mean, how do you know this is even real?" Naturally, he had some concerns, as any guardian might.
"It's worth a shot," Hawthorne added. "I mean, it's only for about two weeks or so, which is hardly much of the summer. That's a week out of, what? Three months?'
Of course, he wasn't feeling better about the whole thing, but Hopper knew more than anything that it would be hard to stop them. At least it might be better if he knew where they were rather than having them sneak off like El had.
"Fine, but only for that time frame, and we will set this up better," he said.
They cheered and shared a high five, knowing this was as much of a win as they could get.
Packing had taken some time, and by the time things were set up properly, it was about mid-June. Hawthorne was far more excited than anything else, and he was jittery nearly the whole way to the airport. Not in a bad way, really. Just from excitement.
As anyone might be upon knowing they'd be visiting relatives they only vaguely remembered, he felt awkward and nervous. He didn't know what they would be like because he didn't remember them much at all. If he thought hard enough, he could recall small things, but not nearly enough.
As was expected, Hopper was more than distressed about letting them go, but he'd come to terms with them leaving for a short period of time. He knew they probably needed this after everything with their father, and he didn't want to ruin that. Seeing them off was still hard.
Especially when Hawthorne eventually spotted who he was sure was their aunt and Uncle.
From what he could recall, and from what had been thrown in the letter, their uncle Feliks was their father's brother, but he was alarmingly different. He was a scientist and engineer, which was interesting on its own. And he lived in Sweden with his boyfriend-slash-roommate. That alone was comforting enough knowing it might be easier to talk about things happening with him and his significant others.
Their aunt, Anya, was their mother's sister, and she was a writer living in Belarus, and had been for about five years now.
Both of them seemed too good to be true, so seeing them in person was even crazier.
Hopper sighed and gave them both quick hugs. "Just remember. Be careful, don't be afraid to get a hold of me somehow if you need to. El said she'd be more than happy to be the mediator if you need to reach us," he said.
Hawthorne smiled and nodded, noticing how teary-eyed he was getting.
"I'll see you guys when you get back."
River gave him one last quick hug before she excitedly ran over to greet their aunt and uncle.
Hawthorne gave him a smile and a quick hug. "We'll be back before you know it. And then we'll tell you all about it when we get back," he promised.
Hopper ruffled his hair and nudged him forward.
It was nerve-wracking knowing he was about to launch himself into a whole other section of his life that hadn't been explored yet. But it was also exciting, and he was unbelievably happy that this opportunity had presented itself.
As the four of them boarded the plane together, he took his seat and dwelled on what might come of this. How different everything might be tomorrow, if at all, now that he was going to finally start this new chapter in his life.
For as nervous as he started out, he was feeling a lot better knowing he wasn't alone. River was on this journey with him, and more than anything, he trusted that if she was ready to take this leap of faith, he'd gladly jump in after her.