Chapter Text
“Ow, shit!”
Joyce flapped her hand in the air after pulling it away from the hot pan. She had left the lasagna out to cool for a while so she assumed the pan wouldn’t be scalding still. She turned on her heel and got a hot pad for the pan.
Hopper showed up in the doorway. His eyebrows were scrunched together as he watched Joyce carefully pick up the pan.
“Did you burn yourself?” He eyed her.
“I did. Did you hear me?” Joyce slipped past the man and into the dining room.
The table was already set. Will and Eleven set it up together. It was really more of a one-person job, but Joyce wasn’t going to comment on it. She laid the lasagna out in the middle of the table.
Joyce shouted for the kids. They were all in the living room watching a movie together, so Joyce didn’t have to yell too loud.
In an instant, three figures popped up in the doorway. Joyce noted how all three of them looked exhausted. She wondered if they stayed up with each other the previous night. Jonathan was still in the sweats that he slept in. Will and Eleven were oddly wearing very similar outfits. She assumed Eleven decided to go for a Will-inspired look that day.
“Thank you, mom,” Jonathan smiled softly and took a seat.
Will, Eleven, and Hopper all said their thank you’s to the chef as well before they sat down in their seats.
Ever since the family moved in together, Joyce or Jonathan would make dinner for the family. Joyce absolutely adored having family dinners. She liked hearing Hopper complaining about work and Eleven gossiping about her friends. Will would tell her what new painting he was making. Jonathan would blush about Nancy. Joyce just thought it was just nice to sit down and connect with her family. Especially, after everything the five has been through.
Joyce leaned against the table and began cutting into the lasagna.
“Mike and I are back together,” Eleven announced to the table.
Joyce didn’t miss Jonathan rolling his eyes or Hopper’s frown.
“That’s nice, El,” Joyce said and took her daughter’s plate, “I’m gonna be honest though, I didn’t know you two ever broke up again.”
“You should try staying broken up,” Hopper grumbled.
He tried to block her, but Joyce was able to hit his shoulder lightly. They were both biting back smiles.
“He loves me,” Eleven insisted and angrily took a bite of her lasagna, “and I love him.”
Jonathan shifted before clearing his throat, “No offense, but…didn’t you break up with him in California because he refused to say ‘I love you?’”
Hopper made a noise that none of them could really interpret. It didn’t sound happy.
The kids hadn’t really told either Joyce or Hopper much about what happened in California after Joyce left. There was never a reason too because they had bigger things going on than Mike and Eleven’s relationship drama. Occasionally they’d slip in a random fact that would leave Joyce and Hopper looking for more information. The kids would mention Eleven exploding a helicopter and then just go about their days, leaving the adults puzzled.
Joyce frowned slightly at Jonathan’s question. She didn’t know that Mike and Eleven had even broken up in California. She couldn’t keep track of all the times they had broken up and gotten back together. She also found it weird that Mike refused to say I love you to Eleven. He wrote pages upon pages about how much he missed her and how pretty she was and how he couldn’t wait to see her. Yet, he never said it?
“You heard him in the pizza place,” Eleven reminded her brother, “he said he loved me and that I was his hero.”
Jonathan made a face but it seemed like he was gonna drop the topic. Will was avoiding eye contact with anyone at the table.
“Always with the ‘hero’ shit,” Hopper rolled his eyes.
The man was not the biggest fan of Mike. He made sure everyone knew it at all times. Hopper was especially not keen on the idea of the Wheeler boy dating his daughter.
Joyce had known Mike for a long time. She could admit that the boy said questionable things at times, but at the end of the day, he was still her son’s best friend. She’s patched up his scraped knees and fed him peanut butter sandwiches since he was five!
Eleven ignored her dad, “He said that the day he met me was the best day of his life…that it started when he met me.”
Her eyes looked distant and she wore a dazed smile as she recalled the boy’s speech from the pizzeria. It was one of the most romantic things that had ever happened to her. It was something that girls in movies would swoon over.
Nobody else seemed moved by the comment. Joyce and Hopper were staring at each other, having a conversation with their eyes. Will was hiding his face in his hands. His lasagna had hardly been touched.
Hopper narrowed his eyes, “He met you…November six right? In the woods?”
Eleven paused for a minute to think before she nodded. Hopper pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered something unsavory about Mike.
The table stayed silent for a few moments. There was tension hanging in the air.
Joyce wasn’t even sure what to say. She wasn’t even sure what she was thinking. The only thought going through her head was what Will was feeling. She wondered if he had heard Mike say that or if this was the first he heard of it. She wondered if Mike even realized what he was saying when he said it.
Will was not enjoying the topic of conversation that was taking place. He wanted to leave. He didn’t want to have this conversation.
Eleven was staring at her family. She didn’t know what was happening. Why would what Mike said, be bad? He loved her. She thought that him saying meeting her was the best day of his life was good. It was romantic, she thought.
“I’m gonna just shoot him,” Hopper finally broke the silence.
“I’ll help,” Jonathan muttered.
Joyce frowned at the two of them. She didn’t yell at them for threatening Mike this time. She glanced over to Will who was shielding himself from Joyce’s stare with his hands.
“What? Don’t hide things from me,” Eleven demanded. She set her fork down. All thoughts of lasagna were completely out of her mind.
Joyce ran both hands through her hair. This isn’t how family dinners were supposed to go. Will and Hopper had both barely touched their food. Jonathan and El seemed to have forgotten the food entirely.
Hopper opened his mouth like he wanted to tell her but he shut it seconds after. He didn’t know how to break this to her gently. He just wanted the Wheeler boy to leave his kids alone.
Will shot up and pushed in his chair. He couldn’t bear to be at the table a second more. He wanted to leave and just forget Mike even said anything of the sort.
“Sorry, I’m not really hungry,” Will muttered as an excuse, “I’m going to bed.”
Jonathan stared at his brother before pushing his chair in as well, “I’ll go with you.”
The boys only made it to the doorway before Eleven jumped out of her chair. She was clearly getting frustrated. She didn’t like being out of the loop apparently. She was always out of the loop it seemed.
“Do not hide things from me,” Eleven repeated. Her eyes were getting glossy with frustration.
Joyce wanted to wrap the girl in her arms. Eleven looked so hurt by her family’s silence. She also wanted to wrap Will in her arms. The poor boy looked like he was going to be sick.
“Kid, November Six was the day Will…uh went missing,” Hopper explained with a tight voice, “it’s just not the most thrilling thing to us.”
Eleven stared at her dad. She felt like something sticky was in her throat. She turned to her brother who had a pinched look on his face.
He shifted uncomfortably under El’s stare. He waved a hand through the air.
“It’s fine…not everything is about me,” he looked away from his family, “I’m happy for you two Eleven…really.”
Will opened his mouth to say something else, but Eleven wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Will spluttered, but her wrapped his arms around the girl.
“I am sorry Mike said that,” she whispered, “I will talk to him.”
Will shook his head as he pulled away from her.
“No, please don’t. I think this is a conversation for Mike and me to discuss.”
Eleven pursed her lips but she nodded. The girl turned on her heel and sat back down. She took a bite of her lasagna. Jonathan and Will glanced at each other before sitting down again.
Joyce smiled softly at Will. He gave her a weak smile in return.
“Really, all any of you need to do is say the word and that scrawny jerk is a goner,” Hopper grinned, trying to lighten the mood.
“The word,” Jonathan and Eleven both said at the same time.
The family ate dinner in silence for the most part. By the time everyone’s plates were finally clean, the kids looked even more tired than when they had come into the dining room.
Joyce began to gather everybody’s empty plates and forks; Will started helping. The two of them went into the kitchen to discard the dishes in the sink. Joyce normally would’ve done them immediately after meal time, but she decided she would leave them for the morning.
The air was still filled with an uncomfortable silence. Joyce chewed her lip while she watched Will cover the leftover lasagna pan with aluminum foil. He had such a distant look in his eyes. Joyce could’ve sworn she heard the gears in his brain spinning a mile a minute.
“Will, I’m sure Mike wasn’t thinking about what he said,” Joyce assured him, “I-...I mean he was stressed…a lot of things were happening.”
Will put the lasagna in the fridge. He took a deep breath in and then a deep breath out.
He stared at his mom, “he was telling the truth.”
“You can’t know that, honey.”
Will looked so tired. He looked weary and tired. Joyce hated it. She wanted to tuck him into bed as she used to when she was little. She wanted her son to be happy. She didn’t want Will to look so tired and unhappy.
“Mom, Eleven is Mike’s favorite person in the world,” Will sighed, “it makes sense that the day he met her was the best day of his life.”
Joyce shook her head. Will wasn’t there. Maybe he just never knew how much it hurt Mike when he was gone. Joyce knew that Will’s disappearance killed Will’s friends. They were trying so hard to get their friend back. They just wanted to help the adults find them. Karen had told Joyce how difficult it had been for Mike. Joyce got to see how hard it was for Mike firsthand.
“It’s…it’s fine,” Will shrugged.
Joyce frowned. She didn’t say anything for a moment. She wasn’t sure if she could say anything to convince her son. She just pulled the boy into her arms. He was so much taller than her. She didn’t know when that happened. When did he get so old?
Will’s arms wrapped around his mother’s back and he held on tight. He didn’t want to ever let go.
“Will, I think…I think you should talk to Mike,” Joyce suggested, her head still on Will’s shoulder, “I think it will help you.”
Will took a shaky breath in. He didn’t want to talk to Mike, but his mom was right. Will and Mike hadn’t talked in far too long and it was causing problems.
“I…I will, Mom,” he promised the older woman and pulled away from her arms.
She smiled weakly and put her hand on his face. He looked too stressed.
“Please, get some sleep tonight.”
Will smiled genuinely for once, “yeah, yeah…I will.”