Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So, all organisms of the Hosticus plurimus species start with the same larval state before metamorphosizing into as far as we know, three different polymorphic adult stages: bat-like, dog-like and human-like, known as Rapax, Indage and Rectus respectively. There is some debate as to whether or not the canid state is actually just a sub-adult stage for the human-like adult phase, but we have yet to find enough specimens to prove or disprove this theory."

 Will paused for a moment, allowing the students to scribble furiously into their notebooks for a few seconds before switching the projector image to a dead Demogorgon lying on an exam table.

“It has recently been discovered that all three adult stages have the capacity for breeding but will only inter-breed within their same polymorphic group. All members of the species are monoecious, meaning they contain both male and female reproductive organs, with a single multi-use opening similar to a cloaca. During sexual encounters-” A quiet snicker sounded from somewhere in the back of the classroom and Will fought the urge to roll his eyes at the unsurprising immaturity of college students before he pressed on, willfully ignoring the interruption.

“During sexual encounters, members of the species simultaneously fertilize each other, and after a few week long gestational period they can lay hundreds eggs in a single clutch.

He clicked to the next slide, this one not a picture, but a hand-drawn sketch of fist-sized clear eggs filled with oddly shaped black dots bunched together underneath the roots of a decaying tree. He was particularly proud of this picture, since he had drawn it himself, not that the students knew that.

“Their eggs lack a hard protective shell, and are usually laid in a cool, moist environment to make sure they don’t dry out, similar to most amphibians. After a couple of weeks, the slug-like larval stage hatch from the egg and the cycle begins anew.”  

He glanced down at his notes for a moment, then back up at the clock, realizing he had less time than he expected left in the lecture period and began speaking more quickly to hopefully make it through his notes before the hour finished. 

“Both the Indage and Rapax sub-species exhibit forms of shoaling behavior, with members of the species staying together in large groups, but with no individual hierarchy like you would see in a pack dynamic. On the other hand, the Rectus phase seems to exhibit total control over the other two stages and acts as a sort of hive mind for the other or-”

A shrill ring echoed from the landline on the desk behind him. Will ignored it, allowing the phone to ring and ring and ring before it eventually fell silent.  

“The hive mind extends to all members of the species, regardless of age or polymorphic state. Injury to an individual or group of individuals seems to cause a similar sense of pain to all members of the species. It can even-”

The ringing started up again. Will let out a despondent sigh, stepping down from the lectern and approaching the desk, tugging the phone impatiently from the cradle.

“This is Will Byers.”

“Mr. Byers! I was hoping to catch you. This is Dr. Owens, from Hawkins National Laboratory.”

Will pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, already feeling a headache beginning to form in his temples at the older man's voice. “I know who you are Dr. Owens, you don’t need to introduce yourself every time. Now what do you want, I’m kind of in the middle of a lecture here, can this wait?”

“I’m afraid it can’t. We need your assistance urgently.”

“And why do you need me?” Will was unable to suppress the bitterness in his tone, “You’ve got plenty of experts and doctors on your staff. I’m just a grad student, and I’m halfway across the country. What could I possibly do that no one else could?”

Dr. Owens cleared his throat on the other end of the line, “You’re the only one who’s been there and made it out alive. Honestly, we could use your expertise. We’ve caught a specimen. A live one. And you’re definitely going to want to see this.”

A live specimen?

He hadn’t seen a live creature from the Upside Down in nearly fifteen years. Not since the gate had been permanently closed back when he was twelve. Distantly he realized his hand gripping the phone was shaking slightly, and he wasn’t sure if it was from fear or excitement.

Will looked up to see nearly two dozen college students blinking at him curiously, a few even not so discretely leaning closer to try to overhear what he was saying. When he made eye contact, the students quickly looked away, looking slightly chagrined.

Will waved his hand at the students distractedly, pulling his mouth away from the receiver for a moment. “Okay, class is dismissed.”

A wave of cheers sounded throughout the small lecture hall as students began quickly shoving pencils and notebooks in their backpacks, like if they didn’t move fast enough Will would call them all back to their seats and start lecturing again. He suppressed a grin, oh to be an undergrad again.

“Don’t forget the thousand-word paper on the History of the Hawkins Anomaly due on Monday!” He cried as students rapidly shuffled from the room. Will waited until the last student, a short, harried looking girl clutching too many books for her small frame scurried out the door, and finally, Will was blissfully alone. He turned back to the phone in his hands, unable to keep the curiosity from his voice.

“So, what is it? An Indage? A Rapax?” His voice pitched upwards in excitement, “Or did you guys finally manage to get your hands on one of the Rectus subspecies?

A second voice spoke in the background of the call, voice garbled and unrecognizable. Dr. Owens hummed in response, “They said I can’t tell you much over the phone, but it’s not any of those.”

Will’s eyes flew wide, using his shoulder to hold the receiver to his ear as he quickly scrounged around in his desk for a notebook, flipping it open to a blank page and beginning to write furiously.

“You found something new?”

Dr. Owens coughed, “I can’t say anything more. But if you agree to come, we will reimburse you for any expenses, and we can have a car waiting for you within ten minu-”

“I’ll go.” Will didn’t even let Dr. Owens finish, having made up his mind the instant the scientist had said it was a new discovery. He was already tossing his scribbled in notebook, his sketchbook, a sheath of papers that needed grading and a certifiable mountain of pens into his briefcase before snapping it shut with a resounding click.

Will thought he heard a soft chuckle on the other end of the line and felt his face heating with embarrassment with how unprofessional he was being in his enthusiasm. “Okay Mr. Byers, I guess I will be seeing you shortly.”

And the line cut off with a resounding click.

Will’s brain was practically abuzz with excitement, still trying to wrap his head over the conversation he had just had, striding quickly out of the lecture hall and back to his office, mentally cataloging all the items he would need to take.

He stuffed old research articles, his reading glasses and even an old portable CD player into his briefcase, practically having to lay on it to get the latches to close. He figured that was probably the best he could do without having the time to return to his apartment, and just hoped the lab wouldn’t be to put out over the idea of reimbursing him for all the clothes and toiletries he would inevitably have to buy once he got back to Indiana.

Glancing down at his watch, Will saw that he still had a few minutes to spare and settled down for a moment on the top of his desk, taking a deep calming breath. His office was tiny and cramped, with barely enough room for his desk, a chair and a single rusty filing cabinet pushed up against one wall. But Will had spent hours of his life pouring over research articles, squinting at blurry photographs snapped by weirdos in the middle of the woods, claiming they saw Bigfoot or Nessie or some other made-up creature, looking for any sign of what had happened in Hawkins in 1983. Trying to build a graduate thesis on nothing but unsubstantiated rumors and faulty eyewitness testimonies.

It obviously wasn’t going very well.

Five years, and thousands of dollars in debt, he felt like he was no closer to the truth than when he started. But if the lab had captured a live specimen, and they were allowing Will first-hand access, this could be the thing that finally catapults him from broke, struggling graduate student chasing down a doctorate in a field no one believed was legitimate, to a tenured professor.

People would finally believe him again.

He glanced up at the yellowed newspaper article framed on the wall. It was one of nearly a dozen, all with similar headlines as familiar to Will as the back of his hand.

The Hawkins Anomaly

Boy Goes Missing in Alternate Dimension

Are Demogorgons Out to Get You? Everything You Need to Know About Hawkins, Indiana

After the mostly unexplainable events of 1983, some savvy reporters had managed to leak the Hawkins National Laboratory’s findings to the public. Photographs of Demogorgons and Demodogs, along with eerie still-images of decrepit houses covered in grayish vines were plastered on the front page of every newspaper in the country. The existence of the Upside Down, an alternate dimension filled with alien creatures that seemed almost specifically designed to be apex predators capable of taking down humans, was a story that every major news outlet from New York to California seemed intent on covering.

But after millions of dollars of government funding was funneled into the laboratory in an attempt to reopen the gate and catalog the findings ended in abject failure, the HNL and its research were debunked, largely regarded as faked by the scientific community. The Upside Down fading away into obscurity as bigger and better news stories came around. By the early 90s, the only news outlets wanting to address The Hawkins Anomaly were the conspiracy theory rags that posted the lab’s research next to articles covering why eating cheese left your brain susceptible to mind control.

Will had spent most the 80s, his middle school and high school years, keeping his head down and trying to forget his wretchedly long week in an alternate dimension hellscape at the age of twelve, while simultaneously battling severe PTSD and the incessant cruelty of teenagers.

But he had never stopped wondering.

Unlike the rest of his backwater town, Will knew that the Upside Down was real. He had been there; he had seen the monsters and the spores and the vines. He knew it existed.

So why wouldn’t anyone else believe it. Where was the proof?

After waking up for the millionth time from the nightmares that tore him from sleep with graphic images of petal like faces opening up to showcase rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth, or vines that would wrap around your throat like a vise, he found the only source of comfort was to draw.

So he drew.

Gothic horror-esque drawings filled with desaturated colors and sharp lines, his fear bleeding through page after page. The lines flowing from his pencil like water.

Eventually, his art teacher began to notice the drawings, and instead of doing the sensible thing of sending him to the guidance counselor for drawing things that probably should've gotten him locked up in a mental asylum, the man practically begged Will to enter into the art competition at the Indiana State Fair. Will had initially declined, but after seeing the cash prize offered to the winners, Will's tune dramatically changed.

In the end, Will's gruesome drawing of a Demogorgon dragging a curly headed girl with no face into an empty, cracked pool, ended up coming in second place, losing out to a cheerily drawn picture of the Indianapolis skyline, but in his defeat, Will had also managed to secure himself $50, more money than he had ever held in his entire fifteen years. And after that, he was hooked. He entered competition after competition and ended up winning more times than he lost. But his sudden popularity within the greater Indiana art community came at a cost. He began to attract attention.

Unwanted attention.

Ever since the events of 1983, Will knew the Hawkins Lab was keeping tabs on him. Bringing him in for yearly psych evals, or even calling him up to identify specimens from time to time, but this time, they wanted more than just the boy who got trapped in the Upside Down for a week, no now, they finally wanted what he could offer.

It wasn’t the first time he had met with Dr. Owens, but it was the first time they had met as relative equals. The older scientist practically begging him to give them his sketches, his paintings, his nightmare drawings.

They wanted every image Will had ever drawn of his time in the Upside Down.

And they were willing to pay him for it.

His Upside Down drawings, now being bankrolled by the Hawkins National Laboratory for more money than he could ever make off of entering the occasional art competition, opened up an entirely new door for Will that he hadn’t even dared to hope for.

College.

The ability to get an education, a way to finally make the money to pay his mom back for all the shit she had put up with, was finally within his grasp.

And Will leaped.

And for a while, he flew.

A Master’s degree in Medical Illustration from University of Illinois, entirely paid for by Hawkins Lab.

His artwork was making him more money than ever, and Will felt like he was on top of the world.

And then in late October 1992, nearly nine years to the day Will himself had been trapped in the Upside Down, A New York Times article exposing the Hawkins National Laboratory for editing and faking data hit the newsstands, completely discrediting the entire organization. Within the month, the Hawkins Lab was defunded by the government. The Hawkins Anomaly declared nothing but an elaborate hoax by news outlets, nothing but fancy lightning and advanced special effects.

And Will lost everything.

The public didn’t believe him. The lab was floundering covering their own overhead expenses after their government contracts dried up and the now defunct, fradulent laboratory didn't have money to waste on scribbled, half-remembered drawings from an event that happened nearly ten years before, and thus, Will’s entire house of cards crumbled around him. Leaving him stranded thousands of miles away from home, and halfway through a graduate degree he could no longer afford.

But nevertheless, despite the odds now stacked against him, Will was not deterred.

He would find the proof that would make people believe.

He spent nearly every waking hour he wasn’t bogged down by grad work or his numerous part time jobs scouring remote newspapers and magazines, interviewing strangers, spending money he didn’t have to track down something, anything, that would prove once and for all that the Upside Down was real.

But it seemed Will while was busy chasing leads that didn’t exist, the lab had been able to find their proof without him.  

With a sigh much too wearisome for his age, Will scrubbed a hand across his face, the high of the new discovery finally fading as reality hit him.

He was going back to Hawkins. The place where it had all begun. Once again flying by the seat of his pants for a pipe dream. But it wasn’t like he had any better options.

Tugging off his restrictive suit jacket, he hung the secondhand coat over the back of his chair, loosening his tie before placing it on top of the lamp on a whim. He struggled to his feet, suddenly feeling bone tired as he pulled his overstuffed briefcase from the table and shuffled his way out the door.

By the time he made it to the front of the building, just like Dr. Owens had said, there was a black, nondescript sedan waiting, windows tinted so he couldn’t see inside. A serious looking man in dark suit much more expensive than Will’s own strode forward to greet him.

“William Byers, are you ready to go?”

Will shrugged, handing off the briefcase to the stranger, watching absently as the man went to store his precious few belongings in the truck.  “Ready as I’ll ever be I guess.”

Without waiting for a response from Mr. Overly Serious Agent Man, Will flung open the back door of the car and flopped down inside, laying his head back against the cool leather seat with a long-repressed sigh.

“What, you decide you weren’t that excited to see the super top secret life form from the Hawkins, Indiana?” A voice teased from somewhere on his left.

With a cry of surprise, Will’s eyes flew open, his body tense as he took in the stranger sitting in the car with him. She raised one vibrantly red eyebrow in response.

Will coughed into his elbow to hide his embarrassment, “Sorry, I didn’t realize they were calling anyone else in. I thought I was just going to be me.” He tried to stuff down his disappointment that apparently, he wasn’t as important to the lab as he thought and smiled weakly at the redhead. “I’m Will, Will Byers. Ph.D. candidate in Cryptozoology.”

The redhead wrinkled her nose in response, a gesture Will was long since used to given his admittedly bizarre profession, but she extended her hand politely. “Dr. Maxine Mayfield. But you can just call me Max.”

For some reason the woman’s name seemed vaguely familiar, and he surreptitiously looked her up and down from the corner of his eye, trying to figure out where he knew her from. His eyes snagged on a pair of forearm crutches tucked onto the floorboards underneath Max’s legs, and he finally realized where he recognized her from.

“Wait are you-”

Max’s gaze followed Will’s, her eyes narrowing as she caught where he was staring. “What, never seen a crutches before Byers? I promise I’m not contagious.” Max sneered, her lips pulling back from her teeth as she glared at him spitefully.

Will, alarmed by the sudden change in Max’s demeanor waved his hands in a placating gesture, “Woah, that’s not what I was going to say at all! I just realized you’re Mad Max Mayfield! My brother’s par-er-roommate absolutely loves you. I saw that video of you wheelchair surfing on the news. It was fucking sick.”

Max’s grimace swiftly morphed into a sharp grin, her features softening as she blinked at Will, her eyes sparkling. “Well then, maybe there’s hope for you after all Byers.”

Automatically, he felt himself smiling back in return, and the lingering sting of jealousy at not being the only researcher invited back to Hawkins began to fade as Max began talking fervently, hands gesturing wildly as she explained how difficult it was to find someone to custom make a surfboard that could fit her wheelchair.

“I had to go to thirteen different board shops! Thirteen! You’d think they’d want the publicity, but everyone kept saying it was too dangerous for a disabled girl to go surfing by herself. The beaches nearby don’t even have very big waves. I surfed bigger waves when I was six! And it’s not like I haven’t been bungee jumping, or cliff diving, or parasailing, all of those are way more dangerous than surfing.” Max rolled her eyes, but her tone was tinged with humor.

Will’s eyes grew wide, “You’ve really done all that?”

Max nodded. “Yep. Who said being in a wheelchair couldn’t be fun?” She waggled her eyebrows. “So, enough about me, what exactly does a Cryptozoologist do?”

Will paused, looking the redhead up and down for a moment, trying to decide if she was playing a joke on him. Her smile seemed genuine, her blue eyes shining warmly back at him, even in the dim lighting of the car. He figured she probably wouldn’t laugh at him, but he had been wrong before.

“Well actually, most people don’t really see Cryptozoology as a real profession.” Will confessed, averting his gaze from Max’s inquisitive stare, not wanting to see her expression twist as he continued, “Cryptozoology is the study of unknown organisms that haven’t been proven to exist.”

“Like Bigfoot?”

Will nodded, still refusing to look at the woman sitting beside him, instead focusing his attention on picking at a particularly stubborn hangnail on his thumb.

“I was in Hawkins, back in 1983. I was the kid they talked about on the news, the one that got trapped in the other dimension.” Will’s voice trailed off, his throat tight.

“Wait, you’re Zombie Boy?” Max practically screeched, and Will was unable to hide his wince at the cruel nickname he had never quite outgrown.

Max must have seen his discomfort, because a tanned, freckled hand came to rest on his knee, squeezing gently. Will glanced up, meeting the redhead’s striking blue gaze.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just wasn’t expecting- I just-” Max’s brow furrowed as she floundered for the right words to say.

Will suppressed a small grin at the sight, heart warmed that at least she was trying.

“Either way, after the lab got debunked because some scientist was caught making up fraudulent data, no one would actually believe me about what I had seen on the other side.” He looked up, his expression fierce, “So I’ve spent the past six years trying to prove that the Upside Down really exists.”

“The… Upside Down?” Max questioned, her mouth forming the words slowly, as if she was unsure if she was saying it right.

He chuckled, jostling Max with his shoulder, “Hey, we were twelve when we came up with the name, cut me some slack.”

A knock came from the window, startling both Will and Max, the pair turning in unison towards the sudden noise.

The same suited man who had met Will on campus was now standing outside the window, dark-tinted sunglasses now pressed to the bridge of his nose, and he held his watch up to the window for Will to see, tapping the glass face impatiently.

Will snorted, “Looks like it’s time to go. I didn’t even notice we were here.”

“Guess time flies when you’re stuck in a secret government car on your way to see a mystery specimen no one will tell you jack shit about.”  Max smirked, brushing the government agent’s hands away as he attempted to help her from the vehicle, instead utilizing her arm crutches to lever herself out of her seat and upright with barely a wobble.

Will, grabbed his abysmally small briefcase as a few more black-suited agents stepped up to pull Max’s multiple suitcases of belongings from the trunk, while the redhead groused at them to not break anything, before he finally wheeled around to take in the private airstrip they had been ferried to.

While he knew the government probably wouldn’t have stuck them in coach, given all the trouble they seem to be going through to get Will and Max to Hawkins as fast as possible, he hadn’t expected to be treated to the sight of a private airplane sitting not more than a dozen yards away from them on the tarmac.

It seemed Max was experiencing a similar train of thought, since the annoyed chatter directed at the agents had suddenly ceased. A quiet clattering came up from behind him as Max joined him in staring awestruck up at the plane.

“Wow. I guess they were serious. I don’t know why, but I had kinda been half thinking this whole thing was a joke up till now.”

“Is this the time to tell you I’ve never flown in a plane before?” Will joked, half-heartedly his palms beginning to sweat as the weight of what was happening finally hit him.

Max nudged him with her shoulder, a devious smirk stretching across her lips as he turned to look at her, “All other planes are going to be absolutely ruined for you after this Byers. I’m never gonna be able to look at economy the same way again.” She sighed dreamily before smacking Will soundly in the ankle with her crutch, and then she was off, faster than Will would’ve expected, but he was quickly learning not to underestimate one Max Mayfield. He took off sprinting after her, like he was thirteen instead of twenty-seven, a boisterous laugh already bubbling up from his throat.  

“Hey! That’s cheating!” He called, his long legs steadily eating up the distance between them. 

Max didn’t even turn around, as if she knew how close Will was to overtaking her, “Not cheating if you’re the one making the rules!” She shouted, clambering up the thin stairs leading into the plane.

By this point Will had reached the steps as well and was attempting to bodily shove himself past the redhead, who seemed to be using her crutches to purposefully block as much of the walkway as possible.  

Unfortunately for both of them, in the fight to get on the plane first, both Will and Max completely missed the government agent standing stoically at the top of the stairs, and Will nearly bowled over the smaller redhead when Max came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the landing.

The government agent did not seem impressed by their antics, only raising a haughty eyebrow as he ushered the pair inside and into the most comfortable seats Will had ever sat in. He felt like he was melting into a cloud, allowing his body to go boneless as he sank into the supple leather.

It seemed Max was having a similar reaction, the redhead letting out a soft sigh as she kicked the footrest of her seat up.

“I still don’t know why they need a shark expert to go to Indiana, of all places. But I sure as hell am not complaining.”

Will puzzled over her words for a moment, “Why would they need a shark expert in Hawkins?” He yawned loudly, his eyes feeling ridiculously heavy as the adrenaline from the past few hours finally began to abate, hitting him soundly in the face with a wave of exhaustion. And the chair was just so comfortable…

Max was still talking, waving her hands absently as she spoke, but her words sounded muffled to Will’s ears, and the time between his blinks were becoming slower, the difficulty of holding his eyes open nearly overwhelming, and sometime between one blink and the next, he was asleep.

“Oi, you coming Byers?” A sharp jab to his side instantly jolted him awake with a startled shout as Will blindly floundered and swatted at whatever had poked him as his eyes adjusted.

He made contact with something soft with the back of his hand, and a familiar muffled grunt immediately pulled him from the remnants of sleep as he looked over in horror.

Max was currently doubled over, one arm wrapped around her stomach, which Will had likely punched at full force in his half-awake state. He immediately clambered out of his seat, hands shaking as he approached the redhead.

“Max, I am so sorry. I should’ve warned you not to wake me up when I’m sleeping. Are you okay?” Sweat began to bead at his temple as he held his arms out awkwardly, unsure if Max wanted him to touch her.

He felt so infinitely stupid. He had finally found a colleague willing to take him seriously, and could maybe even eventually consider Max a friend, only to ruin it by trying to beat her up in his sleep.

“It’s fine, Will.” Max wheezed, straightening up with only a slight grimace, before schooling her face into a teasing grin. “There’s no need to be sorry. Between skateboarding and my step-brother, I’m pretty much immune to pain.”

Will raised an eyebrow, “And you’re struggling to breathe right now from something entirely unrelated?”

Max huffs and swats him with a crutch before pushing past him and towards the now open door of the airplane. “Are you coming or what? I don’t know about you, but I’ve been dying to see what secret specimen they’ve got locked up in there.”

In all the commotion of being dragged across half the country by some government agents, Will had almost completely forgotten the entire reason behind the secrecy in the first place, the live specimen. Now that Max had brought it up again, Will had to resist the urge to shove the redhead out of the way and race headlong into the lab. He tried to tamp down some of his childlike enthusiasm but knew that he was unable to wipe the deliriously happy grin off his face as he followed Max off the plane.

Dr. Owens was waiting patiently at the end of the end of the private runway, which was something the Hawkins Lab apparently now had. The older scientist looked downright gleeful as he strode towards them, shaking each of their hands in turn.

“Dr. Mayfield, Mr. Byers, I’m so glad you were able to get here so quickly.”

Will suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, like Dr. Owens hadn’t been the person solely responsible for their rushed journey to the lab. He smiled banally to the doctor, as Dr. Owens turned and began striding towards the front entrance of the lab, Will and Max following closely behind him.  

“We’ve got so much to show you two. I’m sure you’ll be very excited to see what we’ve got.”

Will nodded, despite the fact Dr. Owens currently had his back to him, but out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw Max smirk at his excitement.

“It better be something good, to have dragged a Elasmobranchologist all the way out to Indiana. I hate the Midwest.”

For a few moments Dr. Owens was completely silent as they approached the front doors of the building, casually holding open the door to allow Will and Max to step inside. But the minute the glass door closed behind him, the older man’s face split into a blinding grin that made him look ten years younger.

“Oh, I promise. You’re gonna find this entire trip worth the trouble.”

What followed was a rather slow, tedious introduction to the lab. Dr. Owens herding them through the upper floors of the building, while pointing out the rather mundane research projects the scientists on this floor were working on.

Will, who from past experience knew the top research floors were really just a coverup for the real research the lab was interested in, which was confined to the basement, was struggling to pay attention as Dr. Owens exposited on about their advancements in alternative energy fields, and one glance at Max showed that she looked much the same, her eyes glazed and unfocused, like she was being forced to listen to a lecture for a class she didn’t take.

Which honestly was pretty accurate, considering their backgrounds.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, Dr. Owens led them to a strange little room located in the center of the lab, where Will and Max were both handed a large stack of documents thick enough to rival a college textbook. Will, no stranger to NDAs, quickly scanned the pages for anything out of the ordinary, and by the end of it all, he thought his eyes were going to fall out trying to squint at all the fine print. Finally, after he signed his name for approximately the three-hundredth time, a small blonde secretary ushered him in front of a camera to have his picture taken for his ID badge.

Of course, she could have warned him that his hair was still mussed from his impromptu nap on the plane before his cowlick was forever memorialized on the cheap white plastic, but considering that Max’s ID photo captured her mid-blink, he figured that at least it could have been worse.

Once they had retrieved their credentials, Dr. Owens led them further down the hall to a large freight elevator locked by a keycard. He paused for a moment before turning back to them, his expression surprisingly serious.

“This is your last chance. If you leave now, we can fly you back to California, and you can go on with your lives pretending that this never happened. But the moment you step through this door, it’s going to change everything, and we won’t be able to let you leave so easily if you decide this is all too much to stomach.”

Will felt his stomach drop at Dr. Owens’ words. He had known from the sheer volume of NDAs he had been forced to sign that whatever they had in the lab’s basement was big. Maybe even Hawkins Anomaly big. But he couldn’t turn back now. Not when he was so close. Not when he was mere feet away from the biggest breakthrough of a lifetime, not when what lie on the other side of the elevator was likely exactly the proof he had been searching for since he was twelve years old.

He squared his shoulders, lips pressing into a thin line as he stared resolutely back at the lab director, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt, “I’m staying.”

“Me too.” A twin voice echoed along beside him.

Dr. Owens’ expression curled into a tired smile, the crow’s feet crinkling at the corner of his eyes as he turned back towards the elevator and swiped his keycard, smoothly making his way inside once the doors smoothly swung open, gesturing for Will and Max to follow along behind him.  

“I had a feeling you both would say that.”

The scientist pressed the lone button on the wall and the doors smoothly slid shut behind them as the elevator began to descend.

Will felt like his stomach was in his ass as he stood in the oppressive silence of the elevator, unsure if his rising nausea was due to excitement or nervousness. His brain was still trying to comprehend what was actually happening. Less than six hours ago he had been teaching a discussion section at UCLA halfway across the country, and now he was back in Hawkins, Indiana, the town he never seemed to be able to escape from, on his way to witness one of the very monsters who had started him on this journey in the first place.

The elevator felt like it was going on forever, traveling much deeper than just the basement of the laboratory. Will felt like he was trapped in the overwhelming quiet for centuries, his eyes fliting between Dr. Owens, Max, and the smooth metal walls of the elevator, but it had likely been only a few brief minutes before the doors quietly slid open, dropping the group into the certifiable bunker carved deep into the earth beneath the lab.

Dr. Owens ushered the pair out, and Will’s breath nearly caught in his chest as he stepped out of the hulking metal elevator and into one of the biggest caverns he had ever seen.

The ceiling lay stories above him, only visible at this distance because of the sheer volume of electric lights hung at intervals along the rough-cut rock.

Dozens of men and women in lab coats scurried about, some clustered around monitors or clutching clipboards, writing frantically even as they walked, while others carried large boxes of expensive equipment Will wouldn’t even know the use of.

“Quite the operation you guys have going on here.” Will managed to sputter out, still unable to steer his gaze from the sheer enormity of it all.  

A chuckle drew his attention back to the scientist who had stopped in front of him, “You don’t even know the half of it yet kid.”   

Max snorted beside him, “So where’s this super secret specimen you dragged us all the way to the armpit of America to look at?” Max snarked, but Will could see that her eyes were shining even as she pretended to be unimpressed.

Apparently Will wasn’t the only one who had noticed Max’s barely suppressed excitement, Dr. Owens shooting the pair a knowing smirk, “I suppose you two have waited long enough, right this way.”

With little warning, Dr. Owens suddenly darted off, making for a relatively non-descript hallway Will initially hadn’t noticed, hidden in the shadow of the elevator shaft. For an older man, Dr. Owens moved surprisingly quickly, the scientist rounding the corner out of sight before Will even had the forethought to try to follow.

“Did he just-”

“Yep.”

Will gestured vaguely in the direction the scientist had raced off in, still puzzled at the sudden loss of their tour guide, “Should we follow him?”

Max let out a loud breath, “Nah. Knowing our luck we’d end up wandering into some restricted access section and get locked up in a government prison until the end of time.” Max pushed herself up on her crutches so her feet were off the floor, pumping her legs absently like she was on the swings. Will watched idly to see if she was going to do some sort of trick. “Figure he’ll realize he lost us eventually. He’ll be back.”

He tried not to pout at Max’s words, “But I wanted to see the specimen.”

Max slowed her swinging, nimbly rotating herself on her crutches so she was facing Will, all without letting her feet touch the floor, she tilted her head, one auburn eyebrow raised curiously, “Are you always this whiny?”

Will huffed, “Don’t pretend like you weren’t practically drooling the moment we walked in here too.”

“Hey but at least I’m less obvious about it!”

“What is that supposed to mean?!” Will cried, indignant.

“Wow. The lab really must be desperate for answers if they hired you two.” A new voice called out, causing Will and Max to cease their lighthearted bickering to turn in towards the sound, identical scowls etched on their faces.

Standing in front of the same hallway Dr. Owens had disappeared into, a woman with smooth dark skin leaned up against the wall, twirling a pair of keys in her long, manicured fingers, a haughty expression on her face as she looked over at the pair, Dr. Owens standing sheepishly behind her. For some reason the woman seemed slightly familiar, but Will couldn’t place her.

Dr. Owens stepped around the woman, waving behind him at the golf cart that had previously escaped Will’s attention. “Sorry about that. I went to go grab a cart. Our facility is so big, using golf carts is usually the easiest way to get around. Especially for some of our projects held in more remote locations of the lab, like the specimen we’re going to see today.”

The woman behind Dr. Owens rolled her eyes at his back, smoothly stepping around the older man and into the driver’s seat of the golf cart, snapping the keys into the ignition with an irritated flick of her wrist. “Are you guys coming or what? I’ve got better things to do than work as your own personal valet.”

Max looked like she was practically vibrating in anger beside him as she glared at the other woman but seemed to be trying to reign in her temper since Dr. Owens was present. Will was beginning to feel much the same, something about the woman was also starting to grate on Will’s nerves, and he was usually not someone who grew annoyed easily. But he wasn’t sure how much of that was based on the woman’s judgmental air and how much of it was annoyance at himself for not being able to place the scientist. Slowly the pair made their way over towards Dr. Owens and the mystery scientist Will still could not place, Max sparing the other woman more than a few scathing glares, which she ignored in favor of drumming her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel.

Eventually Will and Max managed to cram themselves into the backseat of the cart, and the instant Max had tucked her crutches underneath her legs for safekeeping, the woman was flooring it, jolting them all forward as she took off down the center of the large cavern, more than a few scientists scattering to get out of her way.

Dr. Owens turned around in his seat to face Will and Max, “You’ll have to forgive Dr. Sinclair, here. She’s just anxious to get back to her research, you know she’s currently one of the leads on the Specimen-0407 project now that…”

The older scientist’s words began to fade into the background as Will glanced over at the driver, who seemed to be eyeing Will out of the corner of one eye, a small, smug smile playing at the corner of her lips.

And suddenly, Will realized where he knew her from, and he felt like an absolute idiot for not realizing it sooner. The shape of her eyes, the set of her jaw, hell even the absolutely insane levels of sass were nearly identical to that of his childhood best friend. Oh, if Lucas found out about this, he would never let Will live it down.

“Erica?!” Will practically shrieked, now unable to reconcile this woman with the pastel, My Little Pony fangirl he remembered from middle school.

Erica snorted from the front seat, deftly avoiding a concrete pillar in the middle of the path, nearly whipping Will out of his seat. “Took you long enough Byers. You’re losing your touch.”

“Wh-What are you doing here.” Will gestured around him at the underground secret government science bunker.

Erica shot him a deadpan look over her shoulder, “I go where the answers are. And this place, it’s got more answers than you have questions.”

He couldn’t help but gawk at the woman currently careening their golf cart through the lab, his brain still trying to process. Last he had heard from Lucas, Erica had been pursuing an accelerated doctorate degree in some insane math-related thing that Will hadn’t even understood half of. But considering that Erica had been introduced as Dr. Sinclair, it looks like she was able to complete her Ph.D much faster than he had anticipated.

A sharp elbow to his side pulled him out of his staring, Max was looking at him with a strange expression, her brows furrowed as she studied him with icy blue eyes, “Do you know her.”

Erica interrupted from the front seat, “That gangly pile of sticks right there was best friends with my dumbass brother from like fifth grade to senior year. And he doesn’t even recognize his dear sister.” Erica snorted, “Some best friend you are.”

“Hey! How was I supposed to know you would be here? I haven’t seen you in like eight years, and you expected me to remember what you looked like?”

“Aren’t you like an artist or something. Thought that meant you’re good at faces and all that shit.” Erica waved a hand lazily over her shoulder.

“Er, drawing is more of a hobby nowadays, and I hardly ever draw people anymore.” Will sputtered, his face heating as he felt Dr. Owens’ and Max’s curious gazes on him.

Instead of responding, Erica just scoffed before finally redirecting her full attention back towards driving the golf cart, much to Will’s relief. He elected to ignore the way Max’s eyes seemed to be boring holes in his skull from her spot beside him and silently picked at the already raw cuticle on his thumb.

After what seemed like an agonizingly long period of awkward silence, Erica finally screeched the golf cart to a halt in front of a large steel door set into the stone, and Will only nearly smashed face first into the seat in front of him at the sudden stop.

“We’re here losers. Everyone out.” Erica practically leapt from the golf cart not waiting to see if the others were following her as she approached the security guard.

Unlike the rest of the underground bunker, which had been mostly an open floorplan and was accessible to anyone who had a badge that allowed them into the elevator. This section seemed to be locked down tighter than anything Will had ever seen.

Will tried not to look too suspicious as he passed through not one, but two metal detectors, having to awkwardly strip off his belt and shoes in order to pass through, but he also had to go through a full body scanner, and verify his identity using an eye scan, all while being watched by five burly security guards armed to the teeth.

He was drenched in a nervous sweat by the time he made it through the checkpoint, while Erica, Max and Dr. Owens breezed through security like it was nothing, and Will dejectedly realized that he would be subjected to the exact same process every single time he came into the lab. He hoped he would get used to it soon, since starting off his day while being stared down by half-a dozen gun-toting ex-military men before he’d even had a chance to get his coffee would likely get old very quickly.  

After slipping back on his shoes and belt, Will joined the others who were standing in front of a smaller door pressed into the larger steel. A stoic security guard looked the group up and down for a moment before turning his back to them and punching in a long string of numbers and pressing his finger onto a keypad embedded in the wall next to the door, and with a loud beep, the door began to slide open on silent hinges, the guard gesturing them forward with his large gun.

Shuffling slowly through the door and trying his best not to make eye contact with the surly looking guard, Will mostly kept his eyes on his feet, or Max’s back in front of him until he was startled back to attention by the heavy door slamming shut behind him.

When he finally looked up, Will felt himself go bug-eyed, his jaw dropping open as his brain tried to comprehend what exactly he was looking at.

“Holy shit.” Max’s voice mirrored his own thoughts as his eyes took in the unending expanse of blue.

The entire room, which was easily the size of a football field, seemed to be split into two different sections. The first section, a computer area, housed dozens of scientists sitting behind monitors or squinting at paper readouts from the various machines mounted on the tables, while the majority of the room was taken up by the largest fish tank Will had ever seen, extending the entire distance from one wall to another, and stretching probably a good three stories above Will’s head.

The water was dark, a deep inky blue, and in the murky depths he could just barely make out the forms of strangely shaped corals and rocks dotted along the bottom of the tank.

He heard Max’s sharp intake of breath, and the small noise was enough to tear his eyes away from the massive tank to look down at her.

The smaller redhead’s face was sprinkled with a kaleidoscope of blue hues from the light reflecting off the large expanse of water in front of them, her bright blue eyes now dark, her pupils wide as she took it all in. Will prodded her with his elbow, smirking down at the awestruck scientist.

“Guess we know why they needed a shark expert.”

Max managed to drag her astonished gaze away from the giant tank to shoot Will an unimpressed look. “I doubt there’s a shark in there, dumbass. There’s no evidence of freshwater sharks this far inland, and even if it’s a new discovery, there’s no large enough water source nearby to host a breeding population.”

“That’s because Specimen-0407 isn’t a shark.” Dr. Owens interrupted, a wry expression on his face that Will couldn’t quite parse.

Max on the other hand, looked mildly annoyed, drumming her fingers agitatedly on the end of one of her crutches, “Well why would you even want me here if you didn’t have a shark?”

Will zoned out on Dr. Owens’ response as a flash of movement caught his attention. Swiveling his head back towards the absolutely monstrously sized tank, he swore he saw a dark smudge, slightly darker than the shadowy water slowly moving between the rocks.

While he certainly wasn’t a shark expert like Max, he did at least know what a shark was supposed to look like, and whatever the dark smudge in the water was, it was definitely not a shark.

The more Will stared, the more the inky figure began to resolve into something he could actually begin to see. Will could make out a long undulating tail, blending near seamlessly into the dark water, so much so that Will could not make out where the tail ended and the water began. He tried to follow the tail upward towards the bulk of the creature’s body, the dark grayish tail slowly paling into a creamy off-white. Will could make out the sharp jut of the creature’s ribs, and some long protuberances branching off from higher up on its body. maybe fins, pressed flat against the fish’s thin sides as it swam. Will’s gaze trailed higher, following the smooth lines of the creature’s back, which his fingers itched to draw in painstaking detail, until suddenly, out of nowhere the creature spun around, meeting Will’s gaze head on with a pair of glowing red eyes.

Human eyes.

And somehow, despite knowing that this creature shouldn’t exist, that what he was looking at was only the stuff of legends and fairytales, Will knew exactly what he was seeing. He was an expert in believing the unbelievable after all.

“It’s a mermaid.”

Chapter Text

Will muffled a tired yawn with his sleeve as he set his travel mug of coffee down at his workstation, already anticipating yet another long, mostly uneventful day, much like it had been for the past week since he had been dragged halfway across the country to bear witness to a creature that defied imagination. Almost unconsciously his eyes darted up to the large expanse of blue water taking up the majority of the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of said creature. But, like always, the water remained dark and still. Will could almost imagine the calm blue waters looked peaceful, if couldn’t also see the gristly remains of fish bobbing listlessly at the surface. The only sign the giant aquarium was populated with a predator that could easily tear him limb from limb.

Taking a swig of his bitter, too hot coffee with a grimace, Will grabbed a sketchbook and a couple of pencils from the clutter strewn across his desk, desperately hoping that today would be different. That maybe finally, he would catch sight of the elusive creature behind the glass.

After nearly five days with hardly a glimpse of the large mermaid and feeling relatively useless since the entire reason Will had been flown out to Indiana was to identify and catalog this creature in the first place, he had finally decided to deploy a different strategy.

Usually when Will staked out the edges of the tank during the day, trying to spot a glimpse of a tailfin or a pale, bony arm, he was usually surrounded by other scientists all clambering around in front of the glass with their advanced scientific equipment. It was so noisy at times, that it was all Will could do to jam his shitty headphones over his ears and crank the volume on his portable CD player loud enough to drown out the background noise.

But if he was getting overstimulated with all the ruckus the other scientists were making, he had to imagine that the poor mermaid was likely feeling it even worse, since Max presumed the creature likely had much more sensitive hearing than that of humans.

Which is why he was now here, half asleep and completely alone in the giant lab at three in the morning, after having spent 14 mostly fruitless hours here the day before. Rubbing at his scratchy eyes, Will squinted into the gloomy water, pencil and sketchpad in hand, hoping that maybe his shot in the dark would finally allow him to catch sight of the mysterious creature inside.

The water, of course, remained unmoving and still.

Will sighed aloud, wanting more than anything to pound his head against the glass in exasperation. Nearly all attempts at documenting the creature had proved futile up to this point. The mermaid successfully destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of underwater cameras and sound equipment, with only a smattering of blurry, out-of-focus images to show for their trouble.

Dr. Owens had finally pulled the plug on tossing expensive equipment into the giant tank, at least until they found a better way to protect it from the ferocious creature, which now left Will, with just a smattering of pencils and a well-used sketchbook to document the creature from beyond the protective layer of glass.

That was if he could ever actually catch a glimpse of the damned thing.

Nearly six straight days of constant surveillance, and the closest Will had actually come to seeing Specimen-0407 was the very first day he had arrived with a gawking Max in tow. Ever since then, the most he’s been able to sketch was faint muddled glimpses of a pale gray tailfin, blending in near seamlessly into the water.

He felt like he was beginning to go insane, every faint stirring of the water had Will flinching, pencil tight in his grasp as he attempted to spot the mermaid, only to realize that it was only one of the small feeder fish the scientists dumped into the tank glinting in between a branch of coral, or a piece of seagrass waving in the gentle current, or once, more embarrassingly, his own reflection in the clear glass.

Most worryingly, he feared he was beginning to hallucinate, whether from the copious amount of coffee he was now consuming, or the recent reappearance of his insomnia due to his erratic sleep schedule. Either way, nearly every day, sometimes multiple times a day, he would catch sight of a pair of glowing red eyes peering at him from the dark depths of the tank. But always, between one blink and the next, the luminous eyes were gone, making Will think he had never really seen them at all.

When he had told the other scientists about the mermaid’s eerie red eyes, most had just scoffed and rolled their eyes at him. Max was at least nice enough to pull him aside and explain that considering 0407 came from an environment nearly completely enshrouded in darkness, it was unlikely the creature could even see at all, and if it did, it likely had filmy white eyes to help reflect the light, not glowing red ones.

So, he had just stopped bringing it up to the others, despite the fact that he was beginning to spot the glowing red eyes more and more often. Just yesterday, he had felt like he was being watched while working at his desk and when he had instinctively glanced up at the large tank and swore he spotted that pair of crimson eyes peeking out at him from underneath a rocky outcrop before he blinked and it was gone. Most of the other scientists had already dismissed him for not being a ‘real researcher’ like the rest of them, even though despite the numerous Ph.D’s toted by the lab’s various scientists and researchers, no one was really qualified for the research they were currently trying to attempt in this completely unexplored field. But Will had learned from experience that it was better to keep his head down and try to find the evidence to prove them all wrong than to try and make waves.

He worried the end of his pencil between his lips, scanning the dark waters for any sign of movement, a flash of red eyes, anything really. Anything he could document to prove to Owens that dragging him all the way from California wasn’t the complete waste of resources everyone thought it was.

Placing one thin-fingered hand against the glass, Will leaned his forehead against the cool surface, his lips but a hairsbreadth away from the unsmudged surface.

“Please.” He whispered quietly into the still air. Not expecting any sort of response from the other side of the glass, and of course, he didn’t receive one.

Feeling more than a little foolish, Will peeled himself off the glass, making sure to wipe off any marks he had left against the tank’s surface and stomped back to his desk without a backwards glance, carelessly tossing his pencils and sketchbook onto the cluttered surface before plopping down into his chair.

“I should’ve known it this whole thing was going to be a waste of time.” Will sighed, scrubbing his hands across his face as he glanced back at the silent blue waters in front of him. And he wasn’t quite sure if he meant coming into the lab early in an attempt to catch sight of the mysterious mermaid, or if he meant this entire trip back to Hawkins in general.

Glancing at his watch, Will saw that it was only a little past four in the morning, and he likely had nearly an hour before even the most dedicated of researchers begin to arrive at the lab. Thoroughly exhausted at the idea of having to put up with the callous, snobby scientists for another fruitless, exhausting day, Will pulled his portable CD player out from underneath a pile of random papers, slipping the headphones over his ears and pressing play, not even entirely sure what CD he had left inside.

Yeah this is how it ends

After all these years,

Tired of it all

Hopelessly,

Leaning back, eyes closed, Will hummed along to the beat, tapping his foot against the edge of his desk in time with the rhythm of the song. This continued on for some time, Will cycling through through about half of The Cure's Wild Mood Swings CD, nearly half-asleep when a loud screech startled him into wakefulness.

Flailing upright, Will nearly knocked the entire contents of his desk onto the floor as he glanced about trying to determine the source of the noise.

He expected to maybe see a coworker who, like himself, had decided to sneak into the lab early, or maybe some of the maintenance staff here to replace a faulty computer or something. But instead, the lab was still entirely empty, and a quick look at his watch showed he probably had about thirty minutes before any other staff members arrived.

Will was entirely alone.

It took him only a moment to realize that wasn’t entirely true, and in a move not unlike someone about to get brutally murdered in a horror movie, Will slowly turned back towards the large aquarium.

And there on the other side of the glass, was Specimen-0407.

The creature had its long sinuous tail stretching out behind itself, it’s texture utterly lacking in any visible scales, instead boasting a strange skin-like appearance, colored an odd light gray-ish color that was not dissimilar to that of a Demogorgon. Will had to estimate it stretched at least four or five feet long. As Will’s vision extended upwards, the gray coloration faded into the pale sickly cream color not unlike a person who got too little sun. The further up the mermaid’s torso he looked, the more the fishy details seemed to vanish. Other than a multitude of thin slits carved into the thin skin of the creature’s neck, which fluttered open on occasion to flash a small sliver of vibrant reddish-pink, the creature’s gills, the mermaid’s upper half looked almost completely human. 0407’s torso seemed generally male, flat chested and lean, toned with the corded muscle typical of apex predators, but considering that most other Upside Down creatures carried both types of reproductive parts, Will figured that didn’t exactly mean much, as his gaze continued to travel upwards.

Pale humanoid arms extended from human shoulders, and from his current angle Will thought the arms might be slightly longer than would be normal for a person, but other than that small detail, the creature’s arms looked virtually indistinguishable from Will’s. A large palm was pressed up against the glass, and Will nearly shit himself when he saw the thin webbing between each of the mermaid’s long fingers, each digit tipped with a razor-sharp claw, which he knew from eyeing the detritus of dead fish up above where likely easily capable of disemboweling a human.

Finally, Will managed to drag his gaze away from the 0407’s body and look up at the creature’s face, and at the pair of glowing red eyes staring directly back at him.

Will yelped in surprise, scrambling for his sketchpad on the desk, his fingers practically burning to draw those glowing irises that had been plaguing him nearly every waking moment. In his excitement, Will clumsily managed to knock over his mug of coffee, the metal container thudding to the floor with a loud clang, the noise causing the creature on the other side of the glass to flinch in response, pulling away sharply from the glass, and between one blink and the next the mermaid was gone. Leaving Will staring morosely at the empty blue waters once again.

Will pouted at the tank, his fingers loosening their grip around his sketchbook, feeling oddly disappointed at the mermaid’s disappearance. With a sigh he leaned down and picked up the coffee mug, which thankfully hadn’t spilled its contents all over the floor and settled the thermos back onto his desk, far enough from the edge that he wouldn’t accidentally knock it over again.

He chanced another glance at the aquarium, hoping that maybe the mermaid had decided to make a reappearance in the ten seconds he had his back turned, but the water was disappointingly empty.

With a sigh, Will reached for his pencils, flipping his sketchbook open to a new page near the front, since he barely any opportunities to fill it since he had arrived, and decided to try his best to work from memory, since apparently that would be all he’d have to work off of for the foreseeable future.

After three failed attempts at capturing 0407’s hauntingly beautiful face, the mermaid’s sharp cheekbones and the slightly sunken, too large eyes floating just on the edge of his memory, but not quite translating correctly onto the page, Will finally gave up with a loud groan. He shot an annoyed glance at the calm quiet waters on the other side of the room.

“You’re making this job a lot harder for me you know!” He shouted at the tank, waving his half-finished sketch in the air futilely, like the mermaid could actually understand him and would be so kind as to come back out to let Will finish his drawing.

“I’m trying to talk to a fucking mermaid.” Will snorted to himself, “Damn I really need to get more sleep.”

Luckily Will’s decent into complete delusion was halted by the arrival of a few of the early-bird scientists. The steel door clanging open as a group of researchers bustled in, clutching reams of papers in their arms and talking loudly about algae blooms that Will didn’t even want to try to understand.

The rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully, Will thoroughly engrossed in his sketchbook, doing his best to draw from memory and break down each of the mermaid’s component parts. Its tail, gills, webbed fingers, and of course, the creature’s humanoid face. If he dedicated more than a few pages to drawing the mermaid’s glowing red eyes from different angles and wasting some of his precious inks in process to try to get the shade of red just right, well, no one had to know.

If he wasn’t obsessively sketching, Will’s eyes were darting between the large tank, hoping to catch another glimpse of the elusive creature that lived inside, and watching the door, waiting for Max to finally arrive.

Since the lab had no real set schedule, most of the researchers had the opportunity to come and go as the pleased. While the majority of the research teams stuck to relatively normal hours, as the week dragged on with no sightings of 0407, and with nothing to do until the creature was spotted, Max had slowly been pushing her hours back later and later. So, it was no surprise to Will when he didn’t spot the flash of red coming through the security checkpoint until well after two in the afternoon.

Will was out of his seat, his sketchbook and a few stray pieces of paper clutched tightly in his grasp the moment he caught sight of her telltale red hair, practically vibrating with frantic energy to share his new discovery, and certain that she will be just as excited as he is.

As he approached, he caught sight of Max’s scowl, as she callously shoved her wheelchair in between a pair of water quality specialists who were chatting in the middle of the walkway between the desks.

He had only known Max for a week but would still consider the redhead the closest thing he had to a friend among the research staff and seeing the redhead’s cloudy expression and the tightness of her jaw, he knew that she was having a bad day. He sidled up next to her wheelchair, nodding down at the redhead as she weaved her way in between the maze of equipment and various scientists blocking the path.

Once they had successfully navigated the obstacles that was the lab’s main floor, Max pulling her wheelchair to a stop at her research station, which she shared with a few other marine animal specialists, she finally acknowledged Will’s presence. Her sour expression dimming somewhat as she took in Will’s eager expression.

She raised a curious eyebrow, “What’s got you so excited Byers?”

He could hardly contain himself, practically shoving the sketchbook into Max’s hands without waiting for the redhead’s permission, bouncing on the balls of his feet, his face splitting into a blinding grin. “I saw it Max. I actually saw it.”

Max looked at him strangely for a moment, “Saw what, exactly?”

Will rolled his eyes, his smiling dimming somewhat under her lack of enthusiasm, but didn’t let himself be deterred. “Open it!”

He gestured at the sketchbook; his eyes wide as he waited for Max to finally realize what he had seen.

It was silent for a few moments as Max flipped through the pages, her eyes trained on the sketches Will had hastily drawn there. Suddenly she began flipping faster, her expression oscillating between surprise and abject fascination.

Eventually when she reached the final page, filled with only a full colored sketch of the creature’s crimson eye, did she finally look up.

“Is this what I think it is?!” Max’s eyes were alight, her previous scowl now replaced with what could only be described as an ecstatic expression.

Will could only nod excitedly in response, as Max began pouring over the sketches in earnest. “I’ve tried everything under the sun to try to get this sucker to come out. How in the world did you manage this?”

He shrugged, “I’m not entirely sure. I spent over an hour trying to see if it would come out on its own, but the minute I gave up and stopped paying attention, I turned around and boom, there it was.” Will looked away, scrubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly, “I kinda got super excited when I saw it, and scared it away after I knocked over my coffee mug. So those drawings are mostly from memory.”  

Max’s brow furrowed, her gaze oscillating between Will and the sketches in her lap. “Huh, I guess it’s smart enough to realize it’s being observed. But damn Will, these drawings are practically priceless. You drew all this after only looking at the thing for a couple seconds?”

He blushed under the redhead’s scrutiny, not used to such blatant praise. “Some of the details are a little fuzzy. I mean I only got a good look from one angle, so I have no clue what the back of this thing looks like. And I got so distracted by the human-like features that I didn’t pay as much attention to the fishier aspects.”  

The shorter scientist smacked him on the thigh with his sketchbook, sending him a scathing look. “Will, there’s a difference between being humble and being self-deprecating. I suggest you learn the difference.”

Will sputtered in reply, unable to think of a suitable response before Max cut in again, once again thoroughly engrossed in Will’s sketches.

“So, on the chance that this species does actually resemble an already known shark species, which judging by the shape of the tail and the fact that 0407 is of a uniform color, and considering the environment it was found in, I would say that it is likely some form of deep-sea shark.” She pointed at the creature’s neck before turning her attention back to Will.

“You didn’t happen to catch how many gills this thing had did you?”

Will shook his head, “No, I only noticed that they were on its neck. Wasn’t able to get a good look though. Is it important?”

Max snorted, “Who’s the shark expert here?”

He sighed, already knowing he was in for a lecture for his careless comment. “You are.”

“Damn straight.” Max gestured down at one of the sketches Will had made of the creature’s tail. “Most sharks only have ten gills. Five on each side. However, there are only a couple of species of sharks will either seven or six gills. Most of which are deep sea sharks that look awfully similar to the tail you drew.”

He hummed in acknowledgement, allowing the redhead to continue, “Since the location we found the mermaid in obviously doesn’t have any normal shark population, I can’t narrow it down by region.” Max frowned, her finger tapping absently on the page for a moment, “If I had to guess this could be a frilled shark, or maybe a sleeper shark. But without seeing the gills I can’t know for sure.”

“I mean the other creatures from the Upside Down don’t seem to have any relation to any living creatures. What makes you think this one has some shark counterpart?”

Instead of responding, Max set the papers down on a nearby table specially designed for the redhead to be able to raise or lower based on whether or not Max was standing or sitting, before quickly peeling away around the corner, leaving Will blinking in confusion in the middle of the workstation alone. Luckily Will didn’t have to wait too long before the short redhead came barreling back in, a small object resting in her lap as she wheeled her way back over to the desk where she had left Will’s sketches.

He stood in silence for a few moments, waiting for Max to acknowledge his presence, or maybe explain why she had suddenly disappeared. If he was expecting an answer from the redhead, he was sorely mistaken. Max barely paid him any mind as she pulled something from the bag in her lap, a camera, and began pointing it at the Will’s drawings, occasionally stopping her picture-taking to turn the page before starting anew.

“What are you doing?” He finally spoke up, looking over Max’s shoulder and trying to catch a glimpse of what had so captured the redhead’s attention.

Max startled slightly, like she had completely forgotten he was here, her eyes pulling away from the camera as if it was physically painful before turning to look at him with an inquisitive ice-blue gaze.

“You said it yourself. What if this one doesn’t have a shark counterpart. What if it has multiple?”

Will just blinked in confusion for a few seconds, hoping the other scientist would choose to elaborate. Luckily, Max seemed to realize her brain was running on a frequency that only she could decipher, and she began to explain her thought process.

“I can’t speak to the other creatures from the Upside Down. But to me, this doesn’t seem as alien as it would seem at first glance. This-” She prodded Will’s drawing of the mermaid’s tail, “Looks very similar to a frilled shark’s tail. It’s almost eel-like, with no dorsal fin and a longer secondary caudal and pelvic fin. But even I know from the shitty pictures and video they got from this thing’s capture before he tried to rip a scientist’s arm off, that the color is wrong. Frilled sharks are brown or dark gray. This creature is too pale.”

She was looking at Will expectantly, waiting patiently for him to connect the pieces, seemingly confident he would come to the same conclusion she had.

He gasped, leaning forward over his sketchbook to get a closer look at the drawings that were practically seared into his eyelids at this point. “You think these things are an amalgamation of many different species all Frankensteined together?”

Max nodded, a giddy expression taking over her features as they both turned back to pour over the sketchbook once again, jostling each other for enough space.

“It’s just a theory. But considering this thing is quite literally half-human. I don’t think it’s a completely unsound one. There is one thing I can say for certain though.”

Will paused in sifting through the pages, his attention torn between the sketches on the desk and the woman at his side. “Well, don’t leave me hanging. What is it?”

Max pulled the sketchbook from Will’s hand and pointed down at a close up of the seamless transition between the creature’s tail and what Will assumed to be skin.

“See these small bumps right here that kinda look like tiny fins?”

Will’s fingers trailed over the small, hardly noticeable flaw in the 0407’s smooth tail. “What about it?”

“Even though they’re in the wrong spot on a regular shark. They line up nearly exactly to where genitals would be if this was a person.”

Will made a small, surprised sound, “Wait does that mean-” He glanced wide-eyed at Max, whose freckled cheeks had pulled into a feral grin.

“Our mermaid is actually more of a merman.”

After Max had gotten her fair share of pictures of Will’s sketches, she had finally acquiesced his sketchbook back to him, albeit very reluctantly.

“So, what are you going to do now? Give it to Owens?” She questioned, slowly stretching her left leg out in front of her and rubbing at her thigh, a twisted expression on her lips.

Will almost unconsciously gripped the sketchpad tighter, hugging it to his chest as he spoke. “I-I don’t know. I feel like if I tell him what I found out, then I’ll never get another opportunity like this again without being crowded out by the real scientists.”

Max, now having moved from her thigh to carefully rolling her left ankle, hummed in acknowledgement, but remained silent, neither agreeing or disagreeing with Will’s statement.

“I think I’m going to try to come again tonight and see if I can catch him again. Better to give Owens more information than less, right?” He laughed nervously, unable to make eye contact with the redhead who had paused her stretched to peer at him knowingly.

“I’m not gonna stand between you and your research. I know you’ve been dying for a breakthrough like this, so I get it.” Max let out a hissed breath as she pulled her leg to her chest with her hands, but she quickly waved Will off when he tried to approach. “But don’t wait too long before you come clean. If one of the higher ups catch you sitting on information like this, you could wind up in serious shit.”

He rolled his eyes, slightly peeved that the shorter redhead felt the need to state the obvious. “I know, I know. It isn’t my first time working with these guys, and I read the contract.”

Max huffed, “Just be careful, okay?” Her words were soft, barely audible, and Will found himself dropping his annoyance instantly at the pleading tone in her voice.

He placed a hand on her knee and ankle, carefully guiding Max’s leg back to the floor, even though he knew she didn’t necessarily need the help, but he had grown well used to the redhead’s daily set of stretches and exercises meant to keep her legs from stiffening up or twitching too much. He knelt beside the fiery scientist, looking the woman directly into her vibrant blue eyes.

“I promise.”

The lone night guard, a beefy man with a scar along his chin, eyed him curiously as he approached the checkpoint for entry into the mermaid lab, likely because he was the only person insane enough to show up to work at one in the morning.

The man waved him through nonchalantly, and while Will tried to remain impassive, he knew his anxiety, combined with his unexplainable jumpiness as the man ushered him through the metal detectors meant that he was definitely drawing more attention to himself than he liked. But he hoped the stalwart man just chalked it up to general scientist weirdness.

By the time he finally made it past the guard and into the lab proper, Will was practically alight with nerves and was relieved to see the lab was empty of other occupants as he slunk over to his desk and collapsed into his chair, giving himself a moment of reprieve.

Eventually, once he managed to get his erratic heartrate under control, Will finally peeled himself from his workstation, collecting a sketchpad, his carrying case of writing utensils, and of course, his Discman, already loaded with an old The Smiths CD.

As he approached the edge of the tank, awkwardly dragging his rolling chair along behind him, his eyes were drawn to the gently flowing blue waters, the clear, dark depths that held an untold number of mysteries.

“I don’t suppose you wanna come out and say hi?” He spoke to his reflection in the glass with a snort, knowing he wouldn’t get a response, and settled in for what was likely going to be a long wait.

For the first couple hours, Will managed to keep quiet, staring silently at the calm unchanging waters on the other side of the tank, doodling some of the strange corals and plants scattered along the bottom of the tank until he eventually grew bored.

Unmoving plants and lifeless rocks could only hold his attention for so long and figuring that the glass was at least thick enough that the sound of his CD player wouldn’t scare 0407 into hiding any more than it already was, he slipped on his headphones and pressed play.

He was mid-way through humming along to The Queen is Dead when he spotted something odd in the darkest blue-black depths of the water.

Lights.

Immediately his humming stopped, and Will leapt to his feet, his back practically screaming from sitting in the same position for so long, but Will ignored the brief twinge of pain, his full attention focused on the lights and the lights alone.

They glowed a faint and pulsing turquoise, at first the tiny pinpricks of light were nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding water, but steadily growing in brightness, until they flared like tiny beacons in the darkness.

They seemed to be strobing in some sort of pattern, but for the life of him Will couldn’t manage to parse it out. Instead, he just stood there, entranced, as the flickering lights moved steadily closer.

After what felt like hours, but was likely only seconds, the lights grew until each one was roughly the size of a quarter, and their pale flickering light resolved into not just random floating orbs, but into a body, or more specifically, a tail.

Will felt his gaze slide away from the glowing lights, traveling higher and higher until his muddied hazel eyes locked on a pair of eerily familiar red.

He startled slightly at the sudden appearance of the merman, his fingers tightening around the charcoal pencil in his hand nearly to the point of snapping.

Will forced himself to remain still, unmoving as he stared back at the creature, his heart trying to burst his way out of his chest as he mentally quavered under the sharp glare of the predator on the other side.  

The red eyes stared back at him unblinking, the glowing lights on the 0407’s tail flickering rapidly for a few more moments before suddenly going dark, breaking the strange hold the merman’s gaze had ensnared him in and startling Will into movement.  

“Hello.” He called, hand raised, and immediately had to suppress the urge to facepalm. First contact with a new, likely sapient species, and the best he could come up with was hello.

To his surprise, the merman raised his hand, moving it slowly through the water in a strange mirror of Will’s own movement. Will almost passed off the gesture as a strange coincidence, until he saw the pinched expression on the merman’s face, like he was putting all his focus into completing this one simple motion.

A short laugh came unbidden to Will’s lips at the strange sight before he quickly cut off the sound, not wanting to scare of the creature on the other side of the glass.

After a beat of silence, a laugh echoed back to him, Will’s laugh.

Will froze, his eyes glancing around the lab, expecting some weird audiologist to come stumbling around a corner with sound equipment or something. But the lab was silent, still.

Will’s laugh sounded again.

And again.

Trying to ignore the goosebumps sprouting on his arms at hearing his own disembodied voice, he managed to pinpoint the source of the sound.

A few small speakers were situated at multiple points around the base of the tank, all connected to microphones that had been embedded in various places inside the tank, in case the creature inside decided to make any sort of noise the scientists could capture.

Up until this point, the speakers had been completely silent, not a single song or whisper or chirp or whatever noises fish make had passed through. Until now.

When Will’s voice came through the speakers.

Will felt himself go wooden as he turned back towards the merman in the tank, equally torn between excitement at a new discovery and the ugly, sinking sensation that made him feel like he had just walked his way onto a horror movie set.

The merman’s red eyes stared back at him impassively, his hair a dark curling cloud around his face. The pair stared at each other for a long moment, like neither one of them wanted to be the one to make the first move. Until the merman decided to open his mouth and-

Will’s laugh tumbled out of the speakers, startling Will even though he had been prepared for it.

He shook off the unsettling feeling and felt his lips curl up into a wide grin. “Holy shit, you’re a mimic!”

“Mimic”

“Mimic”

“Mimic”

Now that he was actively looking at the 0407 this time, instead of trying to find the source of the sound, Will was able to catch a glimpse of the sharp, needle-like teeth clustered in the creature’s mouth as he moved his lips and throat in an odd undulating way that seemed utterly unlike human speech. But considering the merman was mirroring the sound of Will’s voice perfectly, through water, after only hearing it once, Will didn’t need to be an audiologist to know this surprising skill was absolutely mind-boggling.

Considering that all the other creatures from the Upside Down seemed almost specifically designed kill you in more sadistic fucked up ways than the last, there was no way this merman, floating so calmly on the other side of the glass, wasn’t currently plotting multiple ways to try to make Will his next meal.

Attempting to shake of the feeling deep in the recesses of his lizard brain that the moment he pulled his gaze away from the monster on the other side of the glass, he was going to be eaten alive, Will forced his attention back to the abandoned sketchpad in his grip, and he did what he did best.

He began to draw.

And quickly, he nearly forgot about the merman’s ominous presence entirely, so focused on sketching out the placement of the luminescent pores on the creature’s tail or trying to match the strangely billowy texture that shouldn’t be possible with hair constantly submerged in water with his charcoals.

To his surprise, 0407 stayed put on the other side of the glass, his tail swaying softly in the water to keep him floating in place. Will didn’t really understand why the creature was intent on remaining so still, but he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, considering it gave Will ample opportunities to sneak a peek at the strange non-human features the merman sported that were giving him trouble.

More than a few times, when he had looked up to try to get a better look at the shape of a fin, or to count the number of gills, shining like fragile scars stretched gracefully across his pale neck, he found the merman looking back at him. His gaze calculating, intense and unreadable from beyond the glass. The first time he noticed the attention he instantly turned away, hiding his face in his sketchbook to seek reprieve from the uncanny crimson eyes. But after the first few times, Will began staring back. Holding 0407’s unblinking stare for longer and longer periods of time until Will inevitably blinked and turned his attention back to whatever he was attempting to draw.

He was in the middle of trying to sketch out the merman’s mouth, complete with its absolutely terrifying array of teeth, when a sharp knock startled him so hard it sent his sketchpad tumbling to the floor, landing on a page he had sketched this morning of a pair of haunting vermillion eyes.

When he looked up, the merman was looking at him curiously, his head tilted to the side in a way so similar to that of a curious puppy that Will had to hold back a laugh. The merman’s webbed hand was raised into a close approximation of a fist near the glass, curled over in a way that prevented the long claws from biting into the skin of the creature’s palm.

Will’s eyes darted between 0407’s arm and his face, “Wait, was that you?”

The merman cringed slightly at the sharp tone of Will’s voice in the cavernous expanse of the empty room, his lip pulling back to reveal the tips of his razor-sharp teeth. 0407 blinked, the first that Will had seen, a strange filmy white that moved across his eyes horizontally, and his expression smoothed, the nearly imperceptible tense line of the merman’s muscles relaxing as he refocused his attention on Will.

Will stared unabashed back at the merman, hazel meeting red, and to his surprise, the merman’s gaze fell away first, his eyes darting down towards the ground, where they suddenly caught on the notebook at Will’s feet.

A strange chirp came from the speakers as the merman moved in a flash, practically plastering his face against the glass to get a closer look, sporadic chirps and warbles falling from the merman’s lips.

Will couldn’t help but snort as he bent over to pick up the sketchbook from the floor, 0407 letting out a strange cry, his sharp features pinching together, lips pulling into a small frown as Will turned the sketchbook away from him.

Will’s lips twitched in amusement as the merman glared at him with an expression he could only call annoyance.  Here was this horrifying creature of the deep, designed to be a killer, and it was getting upset over a couple of simple drawings.

Pretending to be put out, Will huffed lightly as he turned the sketchbook back towards 0407, showing the creature on the other side one of the full-body sketches he had done earlier.

A flurry of bubbles rushed from the merman’s mouth as he pressed both hands along with his entire face up against the glass in order to get a better look.

Will shook his head, a laugh springing up from his lips as he watched the absolute ridiculousness of the mythical creature on the other side of the tank acting like a toddler.

“Putting your face against the glass isn’t going to help you see better.” He scolded, wagging his finger at the merman. The merman, who obviously couldn’t understand human speech, ignored him.

Slowly dragging his palm down his face, and surreptitiously glancing behind him to make sure the lab was still empty, Will slowly lowered his face to the glass in a mirrored pose of the merman’s.

It’s for science.

The merman tilted his head in the same puppy-like curiosity from before, and once Will was sure had had the creature’s attention, he pulled his face away from the glass and then pointed at the sketchbook in his hand.

He repeated the strange gesture one more time and then turned his attention back to the merman, hoping his rudimentary gesturing got through to the creature, and that he hadn’t just made himself look like an idiot for nothing.

0407 remained frozen for one second, then two, and Will was beginning to think that he had overestimated his ability to communicate with him, when the merman slowly peeled his pale face away from the glass, hovering in the water at eye level with Will before slowly raising his webbed hand and extending one inky, jet-black claw to rest against the glass, pointing directly at the sketchbook.

Will’s cut-off laughter blasted through the speakers as the merman’s lips moved in time with the mimicked sound, and Will couldn’t help the radiant smile that bloomed across his cheeks.

He had communicated!

The merman had understood him!

0407 repeated the tap on the glass, apparently impatient that Will hadn’t turned the sketchbook back towards him, so he acquiesced, flipping to a random page towards the beginning and turning back towards the merman.

The merman quite literally lit up in response, the bioluminescent pores spotted across his tail shone a bright greenish-blue for a few moments before returning to normal. And Will’s fingers practically burned to be able to take notes, or better yet, to draw the behavior.

Instead, he patiently stood in front of the giant tank, slowly turning the pages in his notebook for the merman to see. The creature’s eyes flaring wide at a few of the pages, one showing the delicate curvature of the merman’s ribs, another specifically dedicated to the harsh planes of the merman’s face, and of course, every single picture of the merman’s eyes. Of which, embarrassingly, there were a lot.

Will tried to tamp down the flush he could feel heating his cheeks as he flipped the page to the fifth sketch of the 0407’s eyes in just seven pages. This one paying particular attention to the way the pupil had deformed from its normal spherical shape on the top end, pressing downward until the pupil resembled an almost half-moon shape. He didn’t understand the science behind the strange change in pupil shape, or what had caused the change in the first place, but he had hastened to jot it down, figuring, at the very least, Max would have a field day when he showed her.

The merman blinked at the page, the hazy white membrane sliding across the cornea before his hand came up to touch at the skin beneath his eye in a soft gesture.

“Oh! Is that why you like the pictures so much? Because you’ve never seen what you look like before?”

The merman, who still very much could not understand him, just tilted his head, and touched the skin beneath his eye a second time. Will had to contain his snort of laughter at the blatant confusion plastered so strongly across the merman’s face, not even the inter-species divide could hide it.

He flipped a few pages forward to a full body sketch he had done earlier. He pointed at the tail, shaded in soft charcoal grays that left faint stains on his fingers. “So, this is your tail.” He used the same hand to gesture down at the stretching expanse of leanly muscled tail on the other side of the glass.

The merman looked perplexed for a moment, staring down at Will with his head shifting left and right like he was trying to get a closer look. Will repeated the gesture, pointing at the drawing and then back at the tail.

The merman’s eyes brightened, their murky depths flaring vibrant crimson briefly before dimming to something more reddish-brown as he wiggled his tail eagerly in response.

“Hey, you did it!” He crowed with delight, his mouth curling into a bright grin as he watched 0407 undulate his fins in strangely mesmerizing patterns, the normally patternless gray seeming to shine with dozens of different monochromatic hues as it moved. Will watched eagerly for a few long seconds, drinking in the astounding sight, until he was struck with a sudden idea.

Hastily turning his notebook to a blank page near the back he quickly mapped out a few rough sketches just to block out the rough movement of the fins.

The merman was still joyfully fluttering his fins for Will to see, allowing him ample opportunity to catch the subtle way the different fins moved in order to keep the merman stationary. He wished he had the opportunity to bring down an easel and some oil paints, since the vibrancy of the merman’s shifting colors couldn’t truly be caught in charcoal alone.

Will longed to spend hours trying to find the exact mixture of blues and blacks and whites to make the perfect color match to the shaded region on the underside of the merman’s pelvic fins, or to find a way to recreate the sheen of the tail.

Will couldn’t even remember the last time he was inspired to draw so much. It had to have been long before he entered grad school, back when he could still draw for fun, instead of just to pay the bills.

He glanced up at the merman, pulling his eyes away from the 0407’s magnificent tail. The merman’s face was open and loose. His mouth soft, lips parted ever so slightly to reveal the delicate, yet razor-sharp teeth within. Not quite a smile, but somehow Will thought the expression seemed happy nonetheless.

He turned the half-completed drawing back towards the glass unable to suppress his grin as the merman’s eyes grew wide at the sight.

“This is you.” He gestured at the small sketches in their entirety. “You’re absolutely magnificent, you know that?”

The merman chirped in response, an oddly melodic sound, and Will grinned. 0407 mirrored the gesture, lips pulling away from sharply pointed teeth in a way that seemed more menacing than friendly, but Will wasn’t afraid, if anything the wattage of his grin only increased.

“I think I have an idea, if you’re up for it.”

And what an idea it was.

Chapter Text

Will’s fingers were curled into stiff claws by the time he finished drawing, his fingertips stained black from the graphite, and his back sore from how long he spent hunched over his sketchpad. But despite the pain, he was practically giddy with excitement. He had filled nearly every page of his sketchbook. Each drawing certifiably one-of-a-kind, unique, and almost guaranteed to net him his Ph.D. when Hawkins lab allowed him to release his findings. His dissertation he had been working on for nearly five years finally had proof, certifiable, real-life proof, and Will was practically over the moon.

Said proof was currently scratching absently at the glass, vermillion eyes tracking Will’s movements as he slowly stood and stretched, his joints popping and crackling in a way that would probably be concerning if Will didn’t have more important things in mind. Shelving thoughts of future lower back pain for later, Will waved at 0407 on the other side of the tank, and to his surprise, and delight, the merman repeated the gesture back.

 As much as he wanted to spend all day observing the merman, Will quickly knew he was running out of time. His watch told him he likely had mere minutes before the go-getters of the lab were likely to arrive, and 0407 would once again go back into hiding. So he hastily gathered up most of his belongings and piled them into his office chair before beginning the awkward journey of lugging to heavy chair back through the sea of desks to his tiny workstation.

The merman let out a high-pitched clicking noise as he turned his back, and Will felt so bad that he instantly turned around and mimed a complex series of pointing and nodding until the merman eventually seemed to relax, content to let Will travel away from the edge of the tank.

He was only gone for a couple of minutes, the entire time fully in view of the giant glass-front tank taking up over half the gigantic room, but by the time returned to the front of the tank, the merman was practically shooting him a death glare, crimson eyes ablaze and both palms pressed flat against the glass, delicately webbed but deadly fingers fully on display.

He held his hands up in a placating gesture, “Hey, I’m back. No need to get your panties in a twist.” He joked, waving at the merman on the other side of the glass. One of the few gestures 0407 had quickly managed to pick up.

Instead of waving back, the merman’s head swiveled quickly to the side, lips drawing back from his teeth in a menacing snarl, his eyes focused on something beyond Will’s shoulder. Will, surprised by the sudden change in 0407’s demeanor, since the creature had been relatively calm the entire few hours he had been observing him, spun around to try to pinpoint the source of the merman’s distress.

At that exact moment, the metal security door on the opposite side of the lab slid open, a group of scientists bustling through, chatting quietly between themselves as they walked. Luckily, none of them were looking his way and had yet to notice the giant merman up against the glass.

Will turned his attention back to the tank just in time to see a flash of silvery-gray tail disappear back into the dark depths of the tank, leaving him once again alone, one palm pressed against the cool glass.

“I have a proposition for you!” Will announced as he burst into Dr. Owens office, one of the few scientists ranked high enough to actually have their own research space, instead of just a singular desk crammed into whatever area was available in the large tank room.

Dr. Owens looked up from a sheath of papers, pulling his glasses down off the bridge of his nose to squint at him curiously. “And what can I do for you today, Mr. Byers? You’re not usually one for dramatic entrances.”

In lieu of responding, Will tossed his sketchbook on the table, the pages already open to one of the full body sketches of the merman.

Dr. Owens glanced down briefly before turning his attention back to Will, looking bored. He opened his mouth to speak again, but then his eyes went near comically wide as he did a double take of the sketchbook, hastily shoving his glasses back onto his face.

“Is this?”

Will hummed in affirmation, “It is.”

Dr. Owens was now flipping through the pages in earnest, eyes rapidly scanning the drawings Will knew by heart at this point.

“How did you get these?”

Will shrugged, averting his gaze. “Are you going to hear me out first?”

The older scientist pulled his attention away from a particularly detailed drawing of the merman’s teeth. One that had taken Will nearly fifteen minutes of awkward miming to get the merman to open his mouth in a way that allowed him to look at the entire set of deadly teeth. He was quite proud of it. Dr. Owens frowned at him, “What do you want?”

He counted off on his fingers, “I want first author rights on any papers you publish about this. And I want priority access to Specimen-0407. If I tell your scientists to get the hell out, they get the hell out. I want pick of any scientist I want for my own team-”

Dr. Owens’ sputtered, “What makes you think you can request that kind of access?”

Will just shot him a deadpan look, “I’ve gotten a closer look at 0407 in just a couple of days than you’ve gotten in over a week. Don’t think that’s my only notebook. The creature trusts me. He won’t go near your other scientists, but me, I got the damn thing to fucking pose for my drawings.”

“He?!” Dr. Owens practically squeaked, eyes going wide from beneath his glasses.

Will smirked, “Like I said, I’ve seen him. You need my information. I bet the government is breathing down your neck about you hemorrhaging funds with absolutely nothing to show for it.”

Will paused, looking down at Dr. Owens who was red-faced and looked downright furious. He strode closer to the desk, turning his sketchbook around and pulling a loose page from the back covered in dots and dashes. “You guys left me high and dry for five years. Don’t think I don’t know how you operate. You need me. You need what I know. Just admit it.”

The head scientist opened and closed his mouth a few times, his cherry-red complexion a startling contrast with his white hair. Will leaned against the side of the desk, toying with the stray piece of paper, folding and unfolding it while he waited for one, two and-

“Second author position and I get to choose two members of your team.” Dr. Owens grumbled.

Will’s eyebrows raised, but he kept the rest of his features blank, “I want at least one first authorship and one member of my team.”

“Fine.” Dr. Owens grunted, slamming his palms down on the table.

Will turned, his expression smug, “Thank you Dr. Owens for this valuable opportunity. I’ll let you know my team pick by the end of the day, and I’ll leave that sketchbook for you to peruse at your leisure.” He strode towards the door, not even taking the opportunity to turn back towards the aging scientist. He could already imagine the look of irate constipation on his face and hoped that his short moment of hubris wouldn’t come back to haunt him later. But he still couldn’t resist one last parting jab.

“Oh, and don’t even think about attempting to cut me out. I’m not just your new expert on the merman, I’m also filled to the brim with more dirt on the lab than you can imagine, and I wouldn’t want to think what might happen if some of that information were to suddenly come to light.”

“You have an NDA!” Dr. Owens cried, incredulous.

“The NDA you had me sign only covered the recent discovery of the merman and anything I might happen to see during my time at the lab. But it didn’t say anything about the shit I managed to dig up when I was halfway across the country.” He smiled now, a dark sinister thing, “By the way, what ever happened to dear ol’ Eleven. I would love to get the chance to thank her. She did help save me back in 1983 if I recall.”

Dr. Owens blanched, but Will didn’t stick around to see what happened next, instead he hastily beat a swift retreat and exited back out the door he had come in from, a small piece of crumpled paper still clenched tightly in his white-knuckled grasp.

The moment he turned the corner, well out of view of Dr. Owens lab, Will collapsed against the wall, legs giving out beneath him as he slid down to the floor, hands shaking near uncontrollably as his heart thundered wildly in his chest.

He uncrumpled the piece of worn paper from his grip. It wasn’t anything exciting, just a series of dashes and dots decorating the page. Towards the top was a list of every letter and their corresponding morse code counterpart, but that wasn’t what he was interested in, he already had them all memorized. Instead, his eyes were drawn towards a hasty set of scribbled writing in the bottom corner. Just a series of small dots that wouldn’t mean anything to anyone else.

.... ..

Hi

And its identical response.

.... ..

Hi

Despite the fact that he had basically threatened Dr. Owens to within an inch of his life, he really hadn’t expected the other scientist to be so accommodating to his demands. Will had barely submitted his picks for his specialized team before the older scientist had workers rearranging the open-area office space so that Will and his new teammates all had a large pod of desks located closest to the large tank.

A tall brunette woman with a wavy bob wearing a vest and a button-up underneath her lab coat walked over to one of the desks with a frown, speaking to one of the workers in hushed tones for a moment before the man carting an array of what looked to be sonar equipment pointed a thumb over to where Will stood off to the side, overseeing the workers with subtle interest.

The woman stomped over, her mouth pulled into a small frown, her reddened face only drawing more attention to the freckles dotted across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, “Care to tell me why all my research equipment is being moved without my permission? They told me this is your doing.”

Will smiled politely at the other woman, extending a hand, “Dr. Robin Buckley, I’ve heard about your work. I know you’re the linguistic specialist who cracked that cipher that used a strange pictographic version of Cyrillic. You were being wasted in your current department.”

The woman looked surprised, her brown eyes widening as she looked him up and down, the fire in her eyes dimming somewhat to make way for blatant curiosity. “That’s true. But you still haven’t explained why you got them to move all my stuff.”

He chuckled warmly, “How would you like to be the first person to learn a mermaid’s language?”

Dr. Buckley gasped, her mouth twitching and her eyes shining excitedly, “Wait, are you serious? They’ve had me stuck on the radar team for the past week. I’ve been trying to tell the Doc that I don’t know shit about radar, but he said until contact was made with the specimen, there wasn’t any point in a linguistics expert so I might as well stay put.” The brunette paused, taking a deep breath before peering at Will more closely, a look of suspicion clouding over her previously jovial expression.

“Why do you have the authority to get my team changed?”

At that, Will’s lips turned up into a smirk, pulling the sketchbook he had been holding underneath his arm for a moment exactly like this one. He handed it to the linguist, gesturing for her to open it, and standing silently as she perused the pages, her eyes growing wider and wider with each passing picture.

“Because I’m the one who got contact in the first place.”

Dr. Buckley opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, her eyes flitting between the sketchbook in her hands and Will himself. “Who the hell are you?”

Before he could respond, a loud shout rang out from across the lab, “William Byers, I can’t believe the balls on you. You’re insane, you know that!”

Will glanced over in time to see Max dodging her way through the sea of workers on her crutches until she was standing just an arms-length away, a fact she took ample advantage of by socking him soundly in the arm.

“I know you said you wanted more time before you went to Owens with your info, but shit, I didn’t think you would do all this. Are you crazy?”

Will smiled and punched her lightly back in the bicep. “Maybe just a little bit. Who knows what all those Upside Down chemicals did to my brain.”

Max smacked him on the back of the head, snatching the sketchbook from Dr. Buckley’s grasp before quickly rifling through it, completely ignoring the other woman’s noise of protest. “Huh, you did get some pretty good samples this morning. How’d you get this one?”

She pointed to a sketch of the merman’s back, with a particular focus on the faint line between what he assumed to be human-like skin and the creature’s tail.

He shrugged, “I just asked him to turn around.”

At this, Dr. Buckley suddenly butted in, her voice high pitched and incredulous, “What do you mean you asked him?”

Will turned back to the brunette, feeling slightly guilty he had all but ignored her since Max had approached. His face made a complicated expression, not entirely sure how to phrase his feeble attempts at communication in a more scientific light, and not sound like he had just randomly pointed and jumped and mimed at a merman until the creature seemed to at least vaguely understand what Will wanted, which had, in fact, been exactly what he had done.

“I er- used rudimentary sign language.” Will scratched at the back of his neck, avoiding Dr. Buckley’s gaze.

Unfortunately, in his haste to not seem like an unqualified idiot in front of a member of his new team, he had forgotten that Dr. Buckley was a linguistics expert, and that sign language, was actually, a language.

The woman was practically vibrating with excitement, pulling out a small notepad from the pocket of her lab coat and beginning to furiously jot down notes as she spoke. “Was it a basic form of American Sign, like the type they use with babies before they’re able to talk? Or did the creature have its own form of sign? Are its fingers a similar structure to humans to allow it to use human sign language? Is it-”

Will facepalmed, already regretting not immediately telling the truth. “Actually, it was more me pointing at things or constantly repeating something I wanted the merman to do until he mimicked my actions.” He spoke into his palm, his face heating as he finally looked up.

He had expected Dr. Buckley to be disappointed. To be disgruntled at his utter lack of decorum towards the scientific protocol, but instead her expression looked just as bright as before, her dark brown gaze uttered focused on Will and Will alone.

“Tell me exactly what you did.”

And so he did. He spoke until his voice grew scratchy and hoarse, the other scientist hanging onto his every word, scribbling furiously until her notepad was empty, flipping over the final page in the pad only to realize there was no other papers underneath. She blinked owlishly back at Will, her brows furrowing as she contemplated her lack of a writing surface.

Will chuckled, unable to stop himself from grinning furiously at the fierce pout Dr. Buckley was currently sporting, like she was a kid who just dropped her ice cream cone. He waved at the brunette good-naturedly. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll have plenty of time to talk now that we’re on a team together.”

He looked over at the combined workstation the workers had been helping setup, which was now nearing completion. No thanks in part to Max, who was constantly following behind the maintenance staff griping about how they had put things in the wrong place, or that it would be more beneficial for the mass spectrometer to be on this table instead of the one it was currently placed on, an endeavor that would likely doube the amount of work the staff members would have to complete.

“Who else is supposed to be working on the team?” Dr. Buckley asked, placing her notepad and pen back in the pocket of her coat, turning her head to gaze at the large tank just a few feet in front of them, the water a still, unending cerulean, not a merman in sight.

Will turned away from surveying the workers’ progress, face lighting up in a grin, “Oh you’re gonna love them, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise. You’ll meet the rest of them tonight.”

Dr. Buckley blinked, her nose wrinkling in confusion, scrunching up the smattering of freckles on her nose, “Tonight? What’s happening tonight?”

Will turned towards the massive tank, eyes naturally scanning the water for movement he knew he wouldn’t see. “That’s when 0407 comes out.” He turned back towards Dr. Buckley, who was now squinting into the tank with a look that bordered on awe, “I figured you all would like a proper introduction.”

And now here he was, bouncing on the balls of his feet in front of the large tank, surreptitiously glancing back at the completely empty blue space, while his ragtag group of scientists impatiently whispered among themselves.

Sweat pricked at Will’s brow as he leaned his forehead against the cool glass, whispering under his breath, “Please. Please come out.”

He tapped a quiet beat against the tank, knowing that the sensitive hearing of the merman would easily pick it up.

.... ..

The water remained silent and still in response.

“Are we just gonna keep standing here staring at nothing with our thumbs up our asses, or do you actually have something to show us?”

Will turned away from the tank, shoulders stiffening automatically as he turned to glare at the person who had spoken, Dr. Erica Sinclair, Owens own personal mole in the group. He was certain the man had chosen the brash woman specifically because he knew that she would be the one most likely to piss Will off, and he hated to say it, but it was certainly working.

He had to stop himself from shouting at her three separate times during the course the past hour, the head scientist making it very clear that she held no respect to Will’s newfound position of power and thought that he brought little to nothing to their research.

Will scowled darkly at Erica, “He’s never had an audience before. All the other times I’ve seen him I’ve been here alone.”

Before Erica could spit out a reply, another voice spoke up, interrupting the bickering pair.

“Maybe we should try something different, this clearly isn’t working. What else were you doing when the few times you managed to spot him?” This voice was softer, no-nonsense. Will smiled at the woman with the frizzy brown perm and a smart skirt, Nancy Wheeler.

Unlike most of the other people in the lab, Nancy Wheeler wasn’t a scientist, she was actually a journalist, and a ridiculously good one at that. They had actually met before Will had even been dragged halfway across the country back to Hawkins, when the woman had interviewed him back in the early nineties when news that nearly half a dozen research papers published by the Hawkins National Laboratory had contained data that was either misrepresented or completely fabricated. She had been kind then too, pushy, but not to the point many other journalists had gone to get a good scoop out of him. She had been straightforward and seemed to have a sixth sense for sniffing out Will’s bullshit.  He had appreciated that.

So, when he had seen her milling about the lab for the past week, trying to speak to scientists of multiple disciplines, and getting largely rebuffed for her actions, she had been the first person on his list to join his team, despite the fact that she had nothing significant to contribute to their team research wise. Even if she wasn’t a scientist, Nancy Wheeler was good at following clues and knew almost intrinsically how to sniff out a good story. Something he thought would be integral to his plan for his team going forward. And it seemed like his bet was paying off.

Will turned back to the tank, keeping watch on the other scientists out of the corner of his eye as he contemplated.

“The first time I saw him I was at my desk. I was halfway falling asleep because I had just worked like fourteen hours, so I put on my headphones to listen to music. Next thing I knew, boom merman. I ended up knocking over my coffee and he got scared off after only a couple of seconds.”

He turned back towards the crowd of waiting researchers, who blinked at him in confusion. Max looked puzzled, shifting her weight on her crutches while she squinted at Will, trying to piece together the scant pieces of information into something concrete and replicable. Nancy just nodded silently, waiting for him to continue.

“The second time I was up by the glass with my sketchpad, and after a couple of hours it looked like he wasn’t going to come out, so I put on-” Will’s eyes blew wide, his breath hitching in his throat as he realized the common thread between the merman’s two appearances. “Holy shit! I figured it out.”

Striding quickly across the lab floor, he quickly located his desk in its new position and began rifling through the drawers to find what he was looking for.

“Care to share with the class?” Erica’s annoyed drawl carried over from where the scientist had followed him, now eyeing him suspiciously as he refiled through the contents of his desk.

Will ignored her, pawing past the scattered papers and old drawing utensils he had stuffed into half-empty drawers before the workers came to move his supplies until he found what he was looking for.

His CD player.

He held the device aloft, “The merman only came out both times when I was listening to music. That must be the connection.”

“Music does have the ability to speak volumes. Wouldn’t surprise me if the little siren was drawn to our human songs.” The man leaning against the edge of the desk, standing slightly separate from the other members of Will’s team finally spoke for the first time that evening.

Their resident acoustician, Eddie Munson, one of the many workers who helped maintain the lab facilities, was someone Will had brought on specifically to work closely with Dr. Buckley, and definitely had nothing to do with the way Will’s eyes seemed to instinctively follow the other man’s wild untamed mess of dark curls and the sheer volume of tattoos Will could see under his maintenance jumpsuit. And as a bonus, he seemed just the type of wild card member to absolutely irritate the shit out of the other more qualified scientists who got passed over for the position.

Will smirked at Eddie, who nodded resolutely back. “Exactly. Except I don’t think it was the music that attracted him. I think it was me.”

Dr. Buckley just squinted between Will and Eddie, attempting to understand what the two men had seemed to understand intrinsically. After a few moments, her face lit up, her mouth pulling into a rounded ‘o’ before settling into a self-satisfied smirk. “Well take it away Byers. Wasn’t planning on an impromptu karaoke session, but I’m always down for a little bit of fun.”

Will felt his stomach drop. In all the excitement of potentially figuring out the key to summoning 0407, he hadn’t taken into account the fact that he would have to have an audience for this endeavor.

He glanced nervously at Eddie, who had grabbed ahold of his CD player and was frowning at the CD he found inside, which if Will remembered correctly, was probably his Simple Minds album. He quickly snatched the device away from the other man, scowling at him to hide the trembling of his hands as he turned himself back towards the tank, refusing to look at the other members of his team.

He heard Erica scoff and mutter something under her breath behind him, but he forced himself to ignore it as he let out a deep breath and slipped his cheap headphones over his ears before finally pressing play.

The song started somewhere in the middle, and it took Will a few moments to pinpoint it. Simple Mind’s My Life.

He allowed the music to swell in his ears for a moment before he began to hum along, feeling slightly too self-conscious about his onlookers to sing.

One second became two, and then ten, and then twenty. The song was beginning to wind down, Will still humming all the while, and not a hint of the merman. Will was starting to think he would have to sing after all when a quick flash out of the corner of his eye drew his attention, and Will had to force himself to keep humming quietly as the song ended and transitioned into the next one.

As the opening bars of Criminal World began to beat in his ears, 0407’s sinuous figure faded into view, and Will couldn’t bring himself to tear his eyes away, even as a multitude of surprised gasps echoed from behind him.

The merman’s eyes wouldn’t settle, constantly shifting between Will and the group standing behind him, his lips pulled back to reveal every last one of the creature’s wickedly sharp teeth.

Will began to sing then, quietly, barely audible, as he approached the glass, palms facing upward in what he hoped was a universal enough gesture to show he wasn’t a threat.

So let it be love

Lonely love

Let it be love

It’s a criminal world

Will’s singing voice wasn’t very good, it was breathy and pitchy and cracked on some notes, but as he sang to the merman, the creature’s features seemed to relax, the tension releasing from his shoulders, his tail slowing it’s anxious twitching until Will was nearly against the glass.

Slowly, he raised one hand, extending a finger to press against the cool wall of the tank, and he tapped out a message.

.... ..

The merman twitched, his eyes dragging away from the audience over Will’s shoulder to focus his glowing red gaze on Will himself.

The merman mirrored his motion, raising one hand to press against the glass, one sharply clawed finger tapping gently in response.

.... ..

Will smiled.

Chapter Text

After conversing with 0407 for a while. Or as close to conversing as he could get with just pointing and nodding and acting out what he wanted to do. Will decided to bite the bullet, and finally let the team meet the merman.

He felt his heart clench as he turned back to the group, a wobbly smile on his face as he addressed them, his excitement slightly buoyed down by the fact that after this point the merman wasn’t really his anymore. Now that 0407 had decided to show himself to other members of his team there was nothing stopping them from spending time with the merman much like he had been.

A heavy knot in his throat at the thought, he could barely find it in himself to look his team in their awestruck eyes, “So, what do you think?”

The silence that echoed back at him was resounding.

Will blinked, turning his head far enough that he could just catch the subtle movements of the merman’s tail out of the corner of his eye.

And then quick as a flash, they all exploded into action at once.

Dr. Buckley had once again whipped out a notebook out of nowhere and began muttering frantically to herself as she began taking notes. Something about sign language and finger joints? Which drew Max’s immediate attention, causing the shorter girl to lean into the older scientist’s space and begin pointing back at the merman in earnest, gesturing emphatically. Whatever she said seemed to have sparked an idea in Dr. Buckley’s mind, because the doctor began writing became even more fevered, something Will hadn’t even thought was possible.

While all that was going on, Nancy Wheeler had managed to creep closer to the tank, eyes fixed near reverently on the creature within. Will observed silently, wondering how the merman would react to being approached, and was unsure whether he wished for the merman to flee under Nancy’s unnerving gaze, or if he wanted the creature to remain, to prove that this whole thing wasn’t just some wild hallucination of Will’s mind.

What ended up happening was a strange mixture of the two. The merman’s shoulders stiffened as Nancy approached, the large creature backing away quickly from the glass, his lips drawing back into a snarl, a weird, distorted hiss echoing through the speakers, much to his surprise.

He kept his expression blank, but deep down he was elated. He had been worried once the others had been introduced that the merman would take to them instantly, and if that happened, nothing was truly stopping Will from being largely cut out of the group in all but name. But seeing the merman still hesitant and aggressive towards Nancy made him feel at the very least, useful. At least for now.

 Will held out a hand towards Nancy, hoping the reporter would understand that she needed to remain still as Will returned his attention towards the merman, lips pulled down into a slight frown.

“You know, that isn’t a great way to meet new friends.” He tsked, wagging a finger at the merman.

“Friends.” The merman parroted back in Will’s voice, causing a round of sharp gasps from behind him.

Will rolled his eyes, “You’re so dramatic.”

The merman cocked his head to the side, his pupils flattening into their strange crescent shape as they followed Will’s movements.

Will placed his hand against the glass, palm flattening against the cool surface. The merman mimicked the action, his long, webbed fingers significantly larger than Will’s own hand. Without turning around, Will gestured for Nancy to step forward until the woman came to stand just behind him, her breath hitching in her throat in either excitement or nervousness, Will wasn’t sure.

0407 looked tense, his fins flicking in agitation at Nancy’s approach, but much to Will’s pleasure, the merman remained still, his eyes still locked on Will’s in a silent staring contest.

Reaching behind himself, Will latched onto Nancy’s arm, sliding his fingers down until he clasped her wrist.

Slowly, ever so slowly, so as to not startle the creature on the other side, Will pulled Nancy’s arm forward, the short woman seeming to realize what he was attempting to do and obediently going limp, allowing Will to easily drag her arm forward until it hovered bare inches above the glass.

He blinked at the merman, tilting his head in a facsimile of the creature’s expression. The strange white membranes that seemed to serve as the 0407’s eyelids flicked quickly closed and then back open again.

Will slid his hand away from the glass, quickly replacing it with Nancy’s small, bird-like palm. The reporter was practically vibrating in his grip, but he was unable to see what kind of face she was making, too preoccupied with watching the merman’s sinuous form, scanning 0407’s face for any sign of reaction, utterly transfixed.

The merman remained utterly still, his long-fingered palm still pressed against the glass, absolutely dwarfing Nancy’s tiny one. 0407 was rigid, his subtly moving fins frozen to a standstill, and Will swore that the merman hadn’t taken a single breath since the instant he had pressed Nancy’s palm to the glass, the delicate gills pressed flat against the merman’s neck like scars.

Unsure of how to proceed, but glad the merman hadn’t yet decided to make himself scarce, Will smiled, fixing the sunny expression on the merman before patting Nancy on the shoulder, “Friend.”

The merman remained silent.

Will pulled his gaze away from the merman for a moment to peek at Nancy from the corner of his eye. The waif-like woman was staring up at the creature wide-eyed, her camera abandoned around her neck as she stood awestruck, her lips parted in amazement.

Will was unable to hide his amusement as he turned back towards the merman in the tank, his grin not at all forced. “Friend.” He repeated, gesturing to Nancy and staring up at the merman expectantly.

The merman remained stock still, not a single twitch or flutter in the long moments that stretched between one second and the next, before finally the merman pulled his gaze away from Will’s and swiveled his attention towards the woman at his side, his eyes losing their vibrant vermillion hue and fading to a dull dark brown as he looked the small reporter up and down.

“Friend.”

Will’s voice crackled from the speakers causing Nancy to jump, but Will remained unfazed. Instead, he turned towards his eccentric group of researchers, who were all looking back at him with various expressions of disbelief.

“Anyone else want an introduction?”

And suddenly four fully grown adults were practically trampling over each other in excitement in order to get to him first.

Will’s laugh echoed through the large space at the unexpected sight, but despite the researcher's amusement at the scene, Will hadn't been the one to open his mouth. Instead, the slightly distorted sound came from the speakers feeding directly into the tank.

Almost in unison, the entire group froze, startled, turning their attention ever so slowly towards the merman in the tank, who now gazed at them in an expression Will would almost consider smug, one corner of his mouth lifted into something resembling a smirk.

Will knew, logically, that 0407 likely had little to no idea what a smile was. Considering their different species and likely drastically different cultures as a result, he was likely only mimicking an expression he had seen on Will in similar situations, but the fact that the merman seemed to have correctly read a strange situation and applied human logic in order to produce a response that Will himself had only showcased a handful of times spoke to a level of intelligence and empathy practically unheard of in any non-human creature, and it seemed the other members of his research team had also reached to a similar conclusion.

Erica was the one to break the silence first, her lips downturned into a puckered frown but her eyes practically dancing as she was unable to pull her attention away from the still smiling merman. “This creature is either gonna make us all famous, or we’re all going to die horribly.” 

Will, always one to appreciate dark humor, even if Erica was the one saying it, was unable to suppress a chuckle at her words, “Well let’s just hope we’re on the right side of history, then.”

Nearly a week had passed since then, and Will’s team were all making ridiculous advancements in their research practically by the hour. After accidentally startling 0407 into a frenzy with the flash from her camera, which had taken Will nearly an hour to get the merman to stop slamming himself bodily into the wall of the tank, the reporter had managed to get dozens of pictures of the siren, ranging from action shots of the merman swimming, to perfectly posed photos that had taken the combined effort of Will, Nancy and Robin to get right.  

Nancy’s pictures had proved invaluable to the research of the team, and to the lab itself as a whole. 0407 still refused to show himself to anyone outside Will’s small team, but that didn’t stop the other researchers from making bolder and bolder attempts to entice him out. Will had finally forked over Nancy's pictures and his sketches when he spotted one scientist attempting to clamber into the tank in a dive suit, figuring losing a few images was better than the man potentially losing his life to 0407’s claws and teeth.

Dr. Buckley -Robin- as he had come to call her, had fully immersed herself fully in attempting to teach 0407 a modified form of sign language so they could actually communicate beyond Will’s simple pointing and gesturing, which had promise, except for the fact that the merman had refused to learn from anyone besides Will, which meant that Will also had to try to learn modified ASL from scratch. But Robin, if anything, seemed even more excited to impart her language knowledge on two subjects instead of one.

The most surprising thing to come out of all of this was Erica and Max’s scientific partnership and subsequent friendship, although Will figured both women would both vehemently deny being friends if asked. The pair had butted heads furiously when the team had been in its inception, but after Erica developed an equation to measure the exact luminosity of the merman’s florescent pores, the pair had teamed up, using Erica’s unparalleled mathematics expertise and Max’s specialization in all things shark-related to make brilliant deductions in 0407’s internal and external systems all without having to physically take samples. They were currently working on trying to exposit if the merman had the capability to not only filter oxygen out of the water, but if he could also breath air like the mermaids of myths. The last time Will had tried to check in on them, he had been nearly eviscerated because he had accidentally smudged one of the equations for oxygen diffusion Erica had written up on their joint whiteboard. Since then, he had decided to give the girls their space whenever they got into ‘research-mode’.

So, when he wasn’t practicing his sign language with Robin and 0407, or busy filling pages of his sketchbook with countless pictures of the captive sea creature, he most often found himself with Eddie. The other man was certainly a bit strange, often perched on the edge of a desk, or on top of a speaker, or crouched like a bird on top of a chair, an amalgamation of electronics scattered across all surrounding surfaces as the man tinkered. Eddie liked to talk a lot, about books he read, places he’d been, old D&D campaigns he used to run back in high school once he found out Will was also a D&D nerd, but mostly, they talked about music.

Eddie and Will didn’t have the same taste in music, in fact, in some cases it was quite the opposite. But they had bonded over their eclectic choices of music that everyone else in the group had turned their noses up at. So, while Will would probably never be a fan of Metallica, or W.A.S.P or whatever other heavy metal band Eddie decided to play on their shared speaker, he had grown to enjoy some of the subtleties of the genre.

The two men had also developed a strange game of sorts, after Eddie had managed to install a speaker than would softly play music directly into the merman’s tank. Each of them would bring in a CD to play for the siren in its entirety. Then with the help of Robin as a translator, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy their antics, despite the fact that she hated both their music choices, would attempt to ask 0407 which CD he preferred more, and loser would have to buy lunch.

Unfortunately for Will’s wallet, Eddie was winning by a landslide.

While Will was growing to like his team, albeit some people more than others, he still found a way to spend most of his time with 0407. Who now seemed to have caught onto Will’s schedule and was often hovering up against the glass wall of the tank the instant the metal doors slid open to admit Will to the lab.

He hated the way the sight of the merman staring at him from across the room eagerly like a scaly puppy made his face light up every time without fail. Something Max had been teasing him about relentlessly since she first noticed.

In an attempt to not only learn more about the merman, but also to help them both practice their sign language, Will had decided to attempt asking for the merman’s name. Especially since it was feeling increasingly cruel to just refer to the merman by his specimen number. After an incredibly circuitous method of signing and pointing to himself while repeating his own name, he managed to finally convey his question in a way he thought 0407 understood. But then the merman had opened his mouth and let out such complicated series of clicks and chirps followed by a high-pitched screech so loud that it managed to blow one of the speakers, and after all that, Will still wasn’t entirely sure if the strange noises was the merman’s name, or if 0407 had just completely misunderstood the question. But for the sake of all their eardrums, and Eddie’s speakers, Will decided it would just be best to give the merman a nickname.  

That was two days ago.

‘What about Sean?’ Will signed at the merman.

0407 bared his teeth and quickly signed back his favorite word, ‘No.’

Will rolled his eyes. ‘Brody?’ He suggested, finger spelling the letters clumsily as he still adjusted to the new language.

The merman shook his head.

Will began listing names off rapidly, well used to the merman’s aversion to any and all names Will had listed so far and was testing the limits of his signing abilities by attempting to speak and sign them all at the same time. ‘Hooper. Jake. Vaughn. Sharky. Michael. Hendricks.’

The merman raised his hands in the air, his eyes sparking a flaming red, and his tail beginning to faintly glow, something Will noticed usually only happened when the merman was angry or excited, which was a decidedly different response than the general ambivalence Will had received for any of his other suggestions. Will paused his signing, trying to remember the last name he had listed.  

‘Hendricks?’

The merman shook his head.

‘Michael?’

The merman’s tail lit up in vibrant blue hues, the colors dancing flowing patterns across the glass. Will flipped open the sketchbook he kept in close proximity at all times, his fingers unable to fight the ever-familiar itch to draw that seemed to occur all too often around the merman.

One hand was already starting on the outline of the merman’s figure, so Will signed back one-handed, ‘So you like Michael?’

The merman nodded emphatically, already attempting to spell out the name himself, but he kept messing up around the fifth or sixth letter, getting more and more frustrated as his long nails kept impeding the proper shape of the letters.

As 0407’s frustration grew to potentially dangerous levels, Will quickly set down his pencil waved his hands in front of the glass to get the merman’s attention.

“Hey now. No need to break anything. What about Mike instead?”

The merman tilted his head in curiosity, and Will was unable to suppress his grin.

‘M-I-K-E.’ Will spelled out slowly, waiting for the merman to repeat the same motion back at him.  

The merman’s fingers still stumbled slightly over the letters, but the shorter word seemed to make it easier for the merman to sign the name to completion without his claws getting in the way. As soon as the merman successfully completed the name sign a few times, he finally turned his attention back to Will, his tail practically neon with excitement as he turned to show what he had learned.

The merman pointed to himself, ‘Mike.’ Then pointed at Will, ‘Will.’ And when he smiled, a habit he no doubt picked up from Will himself, showcasing every last one of his terrifyingly pointy teeth, and Will couldn’t help but smile back. Happy. Warm.

“So, I guess that means your name is Mike.” Will grinned, the merman’s excitement practically infectious.

“Mike. Mike. Mike.” The merman -Mike- repeated in Will’s voice, twirling himself in a couple of excited loops in the water before coming up to press his palm again the glass. “Will.”

“I love it.” Will grinned, before turning around to shout at the other members of his team scattered about the lab working on their various projects. “He decided his name is Mike!”

Eddie’s head poked up from underneath a desk, a black bandana keeping his long dark locks away from his face. “Buckley you owe me five bucks! I told you he’d pick something from Jaws. I’ve got a sixth sense about these things.” The man tapped the end of his nose, leaving behind a streak of grease that he either didn’t notice or didn’t care about as he pulled himself out from under the table.

Robin scowled, glancing up from the massive stack of books scattered around her and pulled her headphones down off her ears. “Mike is a common name. Just because one guy in Jaws was named Mike doesn’t mean that’s where Will got the name from.” She turned to look at Will expectantly. He shook his head.

“Nah, Eddie’s right, it was definitely from Jaws, had to try to keep on theme.”

Robin let out a sharp groan and let her head fall onto the table with a loud thump.

Mike let out one of his strange chittering sounds, bubbles spilling from his mouth as he tried to capture Will’s attention.

While Robin and Will himself have been attempting to teach Mike forms of sign language to help the merman better communicate, the entire process was easier said than done when both parties were unable to speak a common language. Mike was picking up pieces surprisingly fast, faster than both Robin and Max had expected. But his preferred method of communication still seemed to be-

“Will.” “Mike.” “Dr. Robin Buckley.” “Nancy.” “Dr. Erica Sinclair.” “Eddie.” The names of Will’s teammates spilled from Mike’s lips, in each member’s own stolen voice, the merman pointing to each person in turn before turning back to Will, his eyes a sparkling ruby.  

'Can you sign them?’ Will asked before redirecting his attention to his current sketch of Mike.

Mike scowled in response, since he still struggled with signing, but complied with Will’s request, slowly and methodically spelling out everyone’s name with careful fingers. Will tried not to notice that Mike seemed to have the least amount of difficulty signing his name, since that one of Mike’s most used signs, besides ‘No’ of course.

“You know Mike, you’re pretty amazing.” Will whispered warmly, knowing the merman could still hear him, even if he didn’t particularly understand what he was saying, before turning his attention back to his sketch, already drawing out the graceful swoop of Mike’s tail mid-spin.

He was allowed a few peaceful minutes of silence until Mike seemed to grow bored of the fact Will wasn’t paying attention to him, and made a loud clicking noise, slamming a palm up against the glass.

Will rolled his eyes, setting his sketchpad and pencils down and getting up from his seat to approach the tank.

“You’re a bit of a brat.” Will teased, sticking his tongue out at Mike.

The merman repeated the gesture, or at least he attempted to, his large white-ish tongue flopping out of his mouth with little dexterity, just lying limply against his bottom lip. Will’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Hey Nancy, Max, get over here. You guys probably want to see this.” He called over his shoulder, not daring to take his eyes off of Mike.

He heard the other two approach, slowly at first, and then Max’s uneven gait suddenly picked up speed, the redhead practically barreling into the glass in her excitement.

“Holy shit, Nancy, get a picture quick!” She cried, turning around long enough to snatch Will’s sketchbook and pencil from his hand and quickly begin jotting notes in the margins, muttering quietly to herself as she wrote.

“Cartilaginous, but more flexible than a normal shark’s. The basihyal seems most like a bullhead shark. Maybe a middle ground between shark and human?” Max prattled away happily.

If it wasn’t for the fact that she had stolen his sketchbook to take notes, Will might have been impressed with the way she managed to simultaneously balance on her arm crutches and rapidly scribble down notes at the same time.

“Hey that’s mine!” Will cried indignantly, making a half-hearted swipe to get his stuff back, but ultimately not really doing much to stop her from writing in his sketchbook. Nancy laughed at the sight, taking a quick picture of Will’s put out expression juxtaposed by Max’s gleefully focused one before turning her attention back towards Mike, the reason she had been called over in the first place.

She snapped a photo reflexively before she looked up at the source of her picture, her eyes suddenly growing wide.

“Uh, Max?” She started, “I think you made him angry.”

Max didn’t even glance up, “Will’s a big boy. And I know for a fact he’s got another sketchbook around here somewhere.”

“I didn’t mean Will.” Nancy managed to bite out, quickly snapping another picture before backing up a few steps away from the glass.

A guttural growl echoed from the speakers, and Will instinctively turned back towards the tank, Max’s gaze following shortly after.

His breath caught in his throat.  

Mike was huge.

Well, his actual size hadn’t really changed at all, but the thin fins along the sides of Mike’s tail seemed to have puffed up dramatically, billowing out around the base of his tail like a large fan. That combined with the fact that Mike had readjusted himself so he was sitting horizontal in the water, his body stretched out behind him in a long line, his expanded fins seeming to halo his fierce expression, made him look significantly larger than normal, which was likely the point.

Mike’s brilliant scarlet gaze was practically aflame, the merman’s pupils compressed into a crescent shape so thin it was barely visible amidst the red. His lips had pulled back to reveal each and every one of his dangerous teeth, and a continuous growl rumbled from his throat as he glared down at Max.

Probably the most surprising was the strange flickers of blue occasionally peeking out from amidst Mike’s hair, which was puffed up oddly, the sheer volume hiding whatever was present underneath, but Will couldn’t help the spark of curiosity that burned in his gut. He would have to ask Mike about what was underneath his hair later, when the merman wasn’t quite so upset.

Will put his hands up in a placating gesture, “Mike it’s okay. Max didn’t mean any harm.” He patted the smaller scientist on the shoulder, and Max took a step forward, her eyes wide not with fear, because Max was a daredevil at her core and seemed completely incapable of such an emotion, even when faced down with an irate merman, but with uncontained interest as she drank Mike in.

Mike snarled at her sudden movement, slamming one powerful hand up against the glass.

Will didn’t take his eyes off Mike as he spoke, “Max, you and Nancy might want to get out of here for a bit. I think you being here is only going to make it worse.”

“Like hell I’m leaving, he’s displayed more novel traits in the past ten seconds than we’ve got in days. No way I’m going to leave now!” Max took another step forward.

Mike slammed a hand against the glass again, this time purposefully dragging his claws down the surface, the resulting noise so ear-piercing Will could barely stop himself from reflexively clapping his hands down over his ears.

He tried to keep his voice level, attention never straying from Mike as he took a step closer to the tank, “Max, I really think you should leave.”

“What the fuck are you saying Byers. You think I-” Max started, her expression furious until Nancy’s voice cut her off, the other woman clamping a hand down on Max’s shoulder.  

“Will’s right Max, we don’t want Mike to hurt himself if he gets too worked up. And I got plenty of pictures you can look at later.” Nancy spoke calmly, but Will could see from the way her fingers clenched white and bloodless around Max’s shoulder that the woman was more unnerved than she let on.

Max made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat, but eventually acquiesced, slapping Will’s sketchbook back into his hand and allowing Nancy to lead her quickly away, further than just the team’s joint workstation out on the lab floor, but all the way towards the giant metal door at the back. Robin glanced up after them, a worried expression on her face before she abruptly stood, calling for an impromptu snack break, and quickly bustling Erica and Eddie out along with her, and leaving Will utterly alone in the lab.

With a furious Mike.  

Will, still slightly annoyed that the siren had managed to intimidate his entire team into fleeing the lab, refused to make eye contact with the merman, instead flipping back open to the drawing he had been working on before all the madness had occurred. Max’s scrawl lined the edges of the page, but as hard as he tried, Will was mostly incapable of reading it, Max’s chicken scratch combined with the sheer amount of scientific terminology Will couldn’t even begin to understand left it mostly indecipherable to anyone besides Max herself.

It was silent for a few long minutes as Will carefully shaded in the shadows along Mike’s tail, still refusing to pay any attention to Mike, when a voice broke his concentration, causing a stray line to skitter wildly across the page.

“Will.”

It was Mike. Speaking in Will’s own voice. Will didn’t look up.

“Will.”

He forced his eyes to remain glued to the page, trying to look nonchalant as he continued shading, but his grip was brutally tight on his pencil. “I’m mad at you, you know. I don’t appreciate the way you treated my friend.”

“Will, please.”

He froze, his eyes finally pulling away to look back up at the tank. Mike was floating just above Will’s head, his fins once again pressed flat against the sides of his tail, his shoulders drooping, eyes lowered, his mouth pinched.

He looked sad.

As much as Will wanted to comfort the merman, longing to drag the kicked puppy look off Mike’s face, he remained resolute, only raising an eyebrow in response.

Mike drooped even further at Will’s lack of response, a small cut off noise managing to escape his lips, which shot Will straight through to his core, but he managed to keep his face impassive. 

Mike looked at Will for a few long moments, his eyes a dull and dreary brown, as he searched Will’s expression, his dangerously sharp teeth worrying at his lip.

Hesitantly he raised his hands up to eye level, as if to ensure that Will saw them before he slowly began signing the same sign over and over.

‘Sorry.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Sorry.’

Will knew that Mike was smart, considering had fast he seemed to have picked up a passible comprehension of English, even if he couldn’t speak it unless he was mimicking someone, along with his increased fluency in sign language. But Will didn’t recall ever having taught Mike that particular sign.

Since Mike was still learning how to properly move his hands to approximate sign language, and because the merman was wildly impatient when it came to learning, Will hadn’t managed to teach him much more than the alphabet and a few ‘essential’ signs like ‘hungry’ or ‘tired’ or Mike’s personal favorite, ‘No’.

In his free time, often while Max and Erica were busy pestering Mike, Will usually passed the time by practicing sign with Robin, and was at least semi-decent at this point, so he knew what Mike was saying. But that still didn’t explain how Mike himself had learned the sign.

Unless he had been watching Will and Robin during their lessons.

Will squinted at the merman, who was still repeating the sign for ‘sorry’ over and over. Will waved his hands at Mike in an attempt to get him to stop.

Mike paused for a moment, the white nictating membrane sliding across his eyelids in the merman’s semblance of a blink, before letting out a soft inquisitive trill.

‘It’s okay.'  Will signed back. “But you really shouldn’t be getting all angry at Max. She’s my friend, and I can take care of myself.”

Mike tilted his head, blowing a spray of bubbles outward at Will, which caused him to snort at the silliness of the display.

“Friend.” Will’s voice echoed through the speakers, Mike’s fingers carefully forming the sign for ‘Don’t know.’

Will’s eyes lit up. “Oh, friend!” Will slowly fingerspelled the word before transitioning into the actual ASL sign watching as Mike carefully repeated his movements.

“Max is my friend, so are Nancy and Eddie and Robin and Erica. I’m not quite sure the best way to explain it. It’s like…” Will tapped his chin, “Someone you’re close to. That you spend a lot of time with.”

Mike stared at him a long moment, absently picking at his claws as he fidgeted under Will’s gaze.

‘Will friend?’ Mike asked, hiding his eyes behind his shoulder-length mess of curls and looking uncharacteristically subdued, and if Will didn’t know better, he would almost say the merman looked nervous.  

Something about the merman’s unsure expression as he asked if Will considered him a friend, something he wasn’t even entirely sure if the merman truly understood, given his slightly lackluster definition, warmed Will’s heart, and he couldn’t help but smile up at the merman comfortingly.

Slowly Will raised his hands, waiting for Mike to peek out from underneath his hair before he started to sign. The merman’s eyes going uncharacteristically wide as his eyes flickered between Will’s face and his hands.

‘Mike friend.’

Chapter Text

Things started to change a bit after Will admitted to Mike they were friends. The group’s research continued on as normal, and while Mike seemed tetchy with the others at times, especially Max, the merman would just glance over at Will, who was often leaning against a desk or sitting in a chair, constantly sketching, and shrug as if to say ‘can you believe these guys?’ Before complying with whatever ridiculous quest Will’s research team had currently proposed.

Will even swore he saw Mike roll his eyes once when Max made him stay still with his tongue sticking out for nearly five minutes while she took cryptic notes and Nancy took dozens of pictures, and Will ended up toppling over his mug of coffee in his subsequent fit of snorting laughter at the sight.   

But more than Mike just becoming friendlier as a whole, firmly adopting first Eddie and Robin, quickly followed by Nancy, then Erica and finally Max as his friends. Mike seemed to be treating Will differently as well.

Nearly every day when Will arrived at the lab, usually about an hour before the rest of his team, so he had time for uninterrupted sketching, Mike was always plastered against the glass, chirping and calling out hellos in different people’s voices as Will strode inside the giant empty lab.

It had become a bit of a ritual of sorts for the pair, for Mike to tap out a short morse code message against the glass before pressing his palm against the clear surface, completely unwilling to budge until Will repeated the message and pressed his hand directly over top of his, always causing the large merman to grin broadly, proudly showcasing all his dangerous teeth in his best approximation of a smile.  

And then, like clockwork, Mike would always quickly dart away, only to return moments later, an object clutched in his grasp.

At first it was just strange bits and bobs scattered around Mike’s tank, a particularly shiny conch shell, a rock that vaguely looked like skull, the de-fleshed skeleton of one of the fish from Mike’s last feedings. Against better judgement, Will always got just a tad excited for what Mike was going to show him, no two gifts were even the same, and he had made a little game with himself where he tried to guess what Mike was planning on showing him before the merman returned with his prize.

So far, he had never once guessed Mike’s gifts properly. But that didn’t stop Will from playing the game anyways.

“I wonder if I could get a remote submersible to go down and get them.” Will muttered to himself as he slipped off his shoes, placing them in the tray along with his briefcase as quickly stepped through the metal detector, quietly tapping his fingers against his folded arm as he waited for the security guard to rifle through his belongings, quickly sliding his shoes back on and collecting his things once the bored looking security guard decided that Will was most definitely not hiding a bomb in his briefcase and keyed him into the lab.

The instant the large door slid shut behind him, Mike was pressed enthusiastically against the glass, his tail aglow with pricks of teal bioluminescence, a certifiable chorus of chirps and clicks bubbling out from his mouth, along with repeated cries of Will’s name in a plethora of different voices, Erica and Max’s warm tones to be precise.

Will smiled, unable to help the giddy rush of joy at seeing Mike’s face lit up with excitement.

“I brought you a present!” Will called, waving a CD above his head as he hastened to set down his belongings at his desk and quickly make his way to the edge of the tank where Mike was impatiently waiting, the merman tapping urgently on the glass as soon as Will was within earshot.

.... ..

Hi

Will reflexively tapped back his answering message.

.... ..

Hi

Before pressing his hand against the cool glass.

Mike’s fluorescent spots flashed in acknowledgment, pulling his hand away from the glass to rapidly gesticulate in sign so quick Will barely had time to process it.

‘I got you a present too! Can I go first?’

Will nodded, a warm feeling growing in his chest as Mike flashed him a bashful grin before quickly disappearing back into the dark blue waters of the tank, a place Will couldn’t follow.

Mike was only gone for a few heartbeats, but it was long enough for Will to pull out his sketchbook and a charcoal pencil, the habit so well ingrained at this point he didn’t even have to think about it.

Before too long, Mike had returned, his hands hidden behind his back, a strange expression on his face as he refused to look Will in the eye.

Will frowned, a pit of anxiety growing in his stomach at Mike’s odd behavior. “Mike, what’s wrong?”

The merman didn’t respond. The only sign Mike had even heard him was the faint twitching of his caudal fin. An oddly nervous gesture. The merman’s mouth was just barely hanging open, the blush pink of the gills on his neck fluttering open and closed at an almost alarming rate drawing Will’s attention as he tried to pinpoint the source of Mike’s distress.

Nothing in particular seemed out of the ordinary, Mike had seemed excited when Will had first arrived, greeting him like normal, but had been particularly stalwart about wanting to give Will his present first. He frowned, his gaze pulling away from Mike and staring off into the blue abyss behind the merman’s shoulder.

Was there something wrong with the tank? Will wasn’t one of the people in charge of maintaining Mike’s aquatic environment, but he was certain that he could pass along a message if Mike was uncomfortable with his current set up. He could-

Will was so deep in thought, he didn’t even notice when Mike raised one of his hands to sign. The merman only managed to draw his attention by flashing his bioluminescence a few times before Will was able to drag his gaze back towards the merman, who was sporting a distinctly Max like expression that Will could only describe as ‘fond exasperation’.

‘Finally. I’ve been trying to get your attention for ages.’ Mike rolled his eyes, and yep, Max and Erica were definitely spending way too much time around the merman if he was beginning to roll his eyes on a regular basis.

Will shook himself, “Sorry, I got distracted. What’s up?”

Mike just stared at him for a moment, the thick muscles in his tail twitching sporadically, something the merman didn’t seem to be aware of, before he looked away, a strange blue-ish tinge to his cheeks Will didn’t think he had ever noticed before.

‘I made you something.’ He signed before pulling his non-signing hand out from behind his back, an object clenched tightly in his fist.

Will’s breath caught in his throat, “Y-you made me something?”

Mike nodded, extending his hand until he nearly bumped the glass and finally opened his hand, revealing what he had hidden inside.

Resting in Mike’s palm was a necklace. An emerald green cord that looked like it had been woven from the sea grasses growing in various places in Mike’s tank, a handful of small shells glistening among the tightly braided strand, but that wasn’t think thing that caught Will’s attention the most. No, the thing that pulled Will’s eye was the massive tooth strung through the center like a pendant.

Will was unable to contain his gasp, his hand moving forward reflexively until it bumped into the glass.  “Mike, is this yours?”   

The merman nodded, the faint blue glow of Mike’s cheeks practically a beacon against his pale skin.

Unable to tear his gaze away from the handmade necklace, Will felt his fingers twitch against the glass. He wanted to hold it. He wanted to touch it. He wanted to wear it. This symbol of Mike. His brow furrowed in thought.

Mike seemed to misinterpret Will’s concentration as something else, because he quickly began signing with his free hand, ‘Don’t worry. The teeth grow back. See!’ Before using his finger to pull back his upper lip, displaying a small gap where an incisor was supposed to be, and Will could just make out a smaller point poking out from the gums there, where the new tooth was starting to  grow in.

Surprising himself, Will laughed. He felt warm and bubbly, lighter than he had expected, as he grinned at the ridiculous picture in front of him.

“I wasn’t worried about your tooth. But that’s good to know.” Will smiled dopily, and Mike’s hair twitched in the water, a smudge of bluish-gray color barely visible in between the dark strands before disappearing under the mass of dark hair once again. “I was just wondering how I was going to be able to wear it.”

Mike blinked at him for a second, the white membrane sliding across his eye as the merman floated in front of him, absolutely frozen for a long moment and Will worried that he had potentially said the wrong thing. Maybe the present wasn’t a necklace at all, Will knew next to nothing about Mike’s culture after all. The present could’ve been a tool, or just a decoration, or practically anything at all.

Before Will could work himself up into a frenzy, Mike’s entire body erupted in a teal glow, every fluorescent spot on his body glowing with a vibrance that made Will squint at the sudden influx of light.

‘Do you mean it? Do you really want to wear it?’  

Mouth suddenly dry as he took in the brilliant shimmering splendor that Mike was currently displaying, Will could only find it in himself to nod.

The sheer luminance of Mike’s glowing dimmed slightly, which Will was both thankful and strangely disappointed in as Mike began to sign rapidly, practically vibrating with excitement, his fingers fumbling slightly in his haste.

‘I can’t believe you said yes. I was so worried you’d reject my present. Or maybe you didn’t know what I meant, I’m still kinda in the dark about all your weird human customs and-‘

Will cut him off with a bemused look, “Mike. There’s still a bit of a problem.”

The merman just looked at him with wide eyes, head tilting to the side in curiosity, his dark curls lit from below from Mike’s own bioluminescence, and Will had to physically restrain himself from dropping everything just to draw him in that moment, his otherworldly beauty positively ethereal.  

‘What’s the problem?’

“How am I supposed to wear it?” Will knocked twice on the glass barrier between them, “If you hadn’t noticed there’s a bit of a wall here.”

Mike laughed in response, or to be more precise, he used a perfect mimicry of Will’s laugh to make the noise, but Will figured it still counted.

‘I’m way ahead of you.’ Mike’s lips twisted into a mischievous smirk as pointed up towards the ceiling, the large metal scaffolding and catwalks hanging above the tank barely visible in the dark gloom above, ‘Did you forget that they have to have some way to feed me?’

“Mike, if I fall from here and plummet to my death. I’m going to fucking kill you.” Will hissed under his breath, knowing full well the merman could probably hear him, as carefully inched his way out along the catwalk stretching the length of the tank, trying to force himself not to look down over the yawning abyss of dark water below.

Unfortunately, his attempt at not looking down was quickly foiled by a sudden sharp splash echoing from somewhere underneath Will’s feet, causing him to glance down reflexively, and almost immediately regret the decision as his feet practically glued themselves to the catwalk in fear as he stared down at the pitch-black mass of water churning a few body lengths below, his stomach tied into a mess of knots.

“M-Mike?” Will stuttered, staring down at the bubbling mass of water cautiously, his heart rabbiting in his chest as some deeply buried part of his lizard brain cranked into overdrive, every instinct in his body screaming that he was about to become merman-chow.

The turmoil of water underneath his feet only grew stronger the longer he watched, and Will was approximately five seconds away from abandoning this endeavor entirely and sprinting off the catwalk, Mike’s feelings be damned. But before Will could turn back, a large form rocketed out of the water so fast Will didn’t even get a good look at the thing as it soared through the air and collided with the catwalk with a loud clang.

Will, embarrassingly, shrieked, stumbling over his own feet in his haste to escape and falling clumsily onto his ass, his brain no longer functioning properly, as the animalistic fear of the unknown overwhelmed his rational sense.  Before Will could even manage to get his feet back under himself, a snowy white clawed hand grasped around bottom of the railing, whatever large creature was attached the limb slowly hauling itself into view.

Completely overwhelmed by sheer panic, all of Will’s limbs seemed to have locked tightly into place, so the scientist could only hope that whatever predator was currently crawling its way towards him wouldn’t find him too appetizing.  

He felt like he was trapped in a horror movie as the pale arm was joined by another, and the creature slowly slid into view. A dark mass rising from below.

Will screamed.

“Will?” Will’s own voice called back to him.

Will’s scream cut off abruptly in surprise. His head whipping around to blink back at the creature risen from the depths and felt like an idiot for not realizing who it was sooner. Mike.

“Ah shit Mike, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Will started babbling, unable to meet scarlet gaze he could feel tracking his movements, feeling rather foolish for getting startled by the merman’s sudden appearance.

Unable to bear the heat of Mike’s gaze for even a second longer, Will started forward, intent on pulling the merman more solidly onto the catwalk, since most of Mike’s torso and tail were still freely dangling from the edge. But the instant Will’s hands touched Mike’s shoulders, the merman shuddered beneath him, a strange warbling noise pulling itself from his throat.

Will pulled his hands away like he had been burned. Instantly fixating on the merman in front of him in horror, scanning Mike’s face for any sign of distress. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t even thinking. Did I hurt you? Are you okay?”

“Will.” Mike repeated. His lips pulling up slightly at the corners as he stared back at the scientist, hands already moving to sign.

‘It’s okay. Didn’t hurt. Just surprised.’

The tension in his chest dissipated and Will breathed out a sigh of relief. Practically slumping against the railing as Mike, without assistance, pulled himself the rest of the way onto the catwalk, only the lower portion of his long tail hanging down off the edge.

Will couldn’t help the way he was entranced by the merman’s strange proportions, his eyes drawn to the silky-smooth expanse of Mike’s tail, which looked just as impressive out of the water as it did in it. His gaze slowly curved upwards, following the natural progression of Mike’s tail from the dark ash gray at the tip to the softer, almost silvery sheen that faded near seamlessly with the pale planes of Mike’s stomach.

His artist eyes traveled across the sloping curvature of Mike’s chest and up the thin expanse of his neck, distantly noting the way Mike’s gills seemed to have pressed themselves flat out of the water, leaving behind only thin, dark slivers curling around the merman’s throat, the only visible markings against his pale skin besides the numerous dark phosphorescent spots sprinkled across the entirety of Mike's torso and arms like unmappable constellations. He drank in every subtly protruding bone visible on the merman’s lean form, the tapering jut of Mike’s collarbones, the lithe set of his shoulders, perfectly designed for cutting through the water, even the merman’s impeccably sharp cheekbones, set directly below a pair of glowing crimson eyes locked directly on Will.

Against better judgement, Will startled upon meeting Mike’s gaze, his face heating as he realized he had been caught staring, a lot. He was about to stammer out another apology, something he had been doing way too much over the past several minutes, until he saw Mike’s lips curl into a smirk.

‘Something you like?’ The merman questioned, wiggling his tail much like a snake, his grin only spreading as he looked Will up and down with his burning eyes.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Will sputtered, waving a hand in front of his face to try to hide his pink cheeks. A set of webbed fingers delicately wrapped around his wrist, gentler than Will had expected, and slowly tugged Will’s hand away from his face. Mike’s smile now gone, instead replaced with an earnest expression as he dropped Will’s wrist in order to sign.

‘I didn’t mean to tease. I do not mind if you look.’

Will had to stop himself from trailing his fingers along the place Mike’s hand had just touched. Mike’s hand was cold, nearly icy. Which wasn’t surprising given the temperature of the water he inhabited. But for some reason, the skin along Will’s wrist burned with the ghost of the merman’s touch.

Dragging his attention away from the impression of Mike’s fingers on his wrist, Will looked up, blinking back at the large merman in front of him. Trying to shake away the strange feeling that had settled into his stomach at Mike’s touch.

He had ruined his first in-person impression on the merman, but that didn’t mean they had to make the rest of the encounter awkward. Despite the squeezing of his heart as he took in the merman, Will tried to tell himself that this was really no different than their encounters from before, now there just wasn’t a giant wall of glass in between them. Speaking of-

“So, you’ve been able to jump up onto the catwalk this entire time?”

Mike nodded.

“And you’re able to breathe on land.”

Mike nodded again.

Will huffed out a snort, “Well then why haven’t you tried to escape before now? I’m sure literally anywhere else is better than being stuck here. Even if the tank is top of the line, at the end of the day, it’s still just a tank.”

Mike faltered for a moment, his smile snuffing out like a candle. ‘It’s painful to be on land too long. Want to go home. Don’t know how to find it.’

Will felt his stomach drop, instantly awash with guilt. “Mike, if it hurts to be on land, what the hell are you doing up here.”

He slid forward, pushing himself to his knees and placed his hand along the meat of Mike’s tail, fully intending on bodily shoving him off the catwalk and back into the tank when Mike let out a low whine the instant Will’s hands met skin.

Will jerked back in horror, fingers curling into fists to prevent him from accidentally brushing against the merman.

“Er, sorry. I forgot.” Will stammered, feeling like an idiot for touching Mike without permission, and yet again causing the merman distress.

By the time he managed to glance back up at Mike, the merman had turned his head away, a thin smear of pale blue dusting along the tops of his cheekbones, almost like, like a-

“Are you blushing?” Will found himself blurting out before he had the chance to think, quickly slamming his hand over his mouth before something else potentially offensive spilled out.

Mike twisted back to face Will, the translucent blue hue of his cheeks fading as his eyebrows pinched in confusion.

Will shook his head with a snort at the constipated expression on the merman’s face, “Blushing is like when you get embarrassed or flustered. All the blood rushes to your face and it turns-”

Mike’s abrupt signing cut him off. ‘Pink face?’ Mike questioned, looking curious as he stared at Will’s cheeks, which of course caused them to erupt into flames as if on cue.

Will had to force himself not to look away, “Y-yeah. Pink cheeks. Although it seems like your blush is blue instead of red, so your blood is probably blue or purple. Max would probably know more about something like that-”

Abruptly, Mike leaned forward, one of his sharp claws pressing into Will’s cheek with a pressure that should have hurt, but surprisingly didn’t. Will’s face felt abnormally warm against the coolness of Mike’s finger, and was certain if he hadn’t been blushing before, he surely was now.

“Red.” Mike repeated, Will’s voice tumbling from his lips.

Will swallowed drily, unused to the sudden lack of space between the pair as Mike hovered over him, his face less than a foot away as he studied Will’s expression dutifully. His brain short-circuited as Mike’s nebulous vermillion eyes swirled through with shades of black met his, and suddenly Will felt like they were too close. Mike’s heavy breaths from not being used breathing on land puffing across his face, smelling slightly fishy, but shockingly, not in a bad way.

He wondered if the stories about sirens hypnotizing sailors with their inhuman beauty before dragging them to their deaths actually had some basis in fact as his arm practically moved of its own accord, his fingers mechanically moving to brush across Mike’s still faintly blue cheekbone.

“Ha. Yeah, mine is red. And yours are blue.”

Once again, Mike shuddered at the touch, but neither Will nor the merman pulled away this time. Instead, Will found his hand sliding across Mike’s cheek, trailing across his bony chin and up into the dark mass of damp curls puffing out around his head, and almost immediately regretted it the instant his fingers scraped through the soft curls.

Because really, how were they so soft?

It was completely unfair.

So wrapped up in enjoying dragging his fingers through the dark cloud of curls, he hadn’t even noticed the way Mike had stilled beneath him until one of Will’s fingers scraped against a notably non-hair texture, causing Mike to let out a soft hiss, pupils blowing wide.

Will immediately went to extract his hands, but Mike was faster, not even bothering to lift his arms to sign, and instead utilizing his impressively large rolodex of stolen sounds to call out to Will.

“Don’t. Like.”

The first voice was Erica’s, from the time Robin had accidently knocked over the cup of coffee on Erica’s desk, spilling it all over the younger scientist, apologizing profusely as she tried to mop up the mess from her shirt until Erica brusquely pushed her away. Erica’s snappish tone was at odds with Eddie’s raspy excited voice that followed.

Will didn’t think he would ever fully get used to Mike’s uncanny ability to mimic voices and sounds, but Mike fortunately didn’t use it often, usually preferring to sign his responses to Will instead.

Pausing in removing his hand from Mike’s scalp, Will frowned, scanning the merman’s expression for any sign of discomfort or annoyance. “Are you saying you want me to keep playing with your hair because you like it, or you don’t like it, so you want me to move my hands?” Will questioned, genuinely unsure.

Mike snorted, Nancy’s voice, before raising up one finger, his cheeks once again flushing a deep blue as he averted his eyes.

Will smiled wryly, “Ah so you’re just a big puppy dog aren’t you. Just want your head scratched.” He teased, raking his fingers gently through Mike’s hair, the merman sagging under his ministrations, going so far as to shamelessly push his head even harder against Will’s hand.

“You’re insatiable. Always making me do the hard work.”

Mike only made a soft click of acknowledgement as he allowed Will to card his fingers through his dark locks, and he quickly became lost in the movement. Will hadn’t even realized Mike had moved until he felt a cool pressure at his back, and glanced back only to find Mike’s tail curled in a gentle curve around where Will was sitting, slowly dampening Will’s pants and the hem of his shirt, but he could barely find it in himself to mind as Mike’s head slowly drooped in relaxed bliss until his forehead rested against Will’s shoulder, the merman making the occasional huff or humming noise as Will’s hand easily slid through the curls.

Feeling bolder now that he knew that Mike was actually enjoying his touch, Will’s fingers began exploring, slowing inching their way across the unmapped planes of Mike’s skull. Because of Mike’s sheer volume of hair, Will had only begun to guess at what Mike’s head might look like underneath, and he was curious as to whether or not the merman had small fins or other fishy features hidden under his dark mane, or if the mass of hair was hiding mundane human features.

Sliding across the side of the merman’s scalp, Will’s fingers encountered the same, not-quite-skin texture he encountered before, and the merman let out a shuddering gasp at the touch. Will froze yet again, pulling his fingers away in case Mike wanted him to stop. But other than the sharp intake of breath, Mike remained pressed languidly against Will’s shoulder, so Will assumed it was okay to continue.

“Is it okay if I-” He slid his fingers forward, so they were just a hairsbreadth away from the strange appendage hidden under Mike’s hair.

Mike didn’t respond, only pushing his head harder against Will’s shoulder before jerking his head in a tiny nod, which Will took as sufficient permission.

Cautiously, his hand inched forward until his fingers brushed against the strange texture, and this time it was Will’s turn to gasp as his fingers probed the surface, and Will belatedly realized what it was.

It was a fin.

The fin twitched under his fingertips, and Will had to bite back a gasp of awe as Mike’s hair parted under his fingers revealing the iridescent blue gray of the fin.

Hesitantly, Will ghosted his hand along one of the ridges of the fin, enthralled by the subtle twitch in the membrane as he dragged his finger across the surface. A strange hitching breath from Mike had Will glancing down to gauge Mike’s reaction and was surprised to see that the merman’s strange blue blush had extended across his cheeks, putting the dark bioluminescent spores across his cheeks and nose on prominent display, and looking at them from so close, Will thought they didn’t look dissimilar to freckles. Will felt the corner of his lips tilt up into a smile as he studied Mike’s cute, relaxed expression, thoroughly enjoying taking in Mike’s stark features while the merman was too blissed out to notice him staring.

Will's mind stuttered to a halt-

Cute? Cute!

Will’s fingers froze.

Had he just-

His heartrate suddenly picked up. Thundering in his chest as his mind whirled.

Did he think-

Mike tilted his head slightly, trying to lean his head back into Will’s hand, a sound of annoyance bubbling out from his throat, and Will cursed himself for thinking the behavior was adorably cat-like as Mike lay pressed against his shoulder, completely oblivious to his currently ongoing mental crisis.

“M-Mike.” Will’s voice came out strangled and tense, causing Mike to peel himself off Will’s shoulder with alarm, the merman reaching up to grab Will’s shoulders to hold him steady as he quickly looked him up and down, his eyes a muddy mix of red and earthy brown, pupils squashed into thin half-moons.

Will’s heartrate picked up as Mike’s inquisitive gaze scanned him, the pounding in his chest surely loud enough for the merman’s sensitive ears to easily pick up.

“Will.” Mike warbled, his dark brows scrunching with concern. ‘Are you okay?’  

Will nodded numbly, his skin tingling at every point of contact with the merman. He could feel the goosebumps beginning to rise on his arms, and it had nothing to do with the temperature of Mike’s skin. 

“Will! Where are you? I know you’re here. I saw your car in the parking lot!” Max’s sudden shout echoed across the lab, easily audible even from their height on the catwalk.

Both Will and Mike stiffened, Will’s hands instantly flying away from Mike’s head like it burned, and Mike’s pupils were blown wide with terror, his tail twitching against Will’s back in agitation.

“Go on. Get outta here. I’ll talk to you later.” He tried to smile back at Mike comfortingly, but considering his face was probably as white as a sheet, it probably didn’t work as intended.

Mike frowned but made quick work of unwinding his tail from where he had curled it against Will’s back, leaving a large damp spot in its place. The merman’s movements were jerky and tense, Mike’s gaze constantly jumping around like he was searching for potential threats. Will, not entirely sure how to comfort Mike in this situation, and also not wanting to be too loud get caught, even if it was just Max, Will found himself humming the familiar tune to Lost in the Supermarket song quietly under his breath, remembering that the merman seemed to enjoy it when Will hummed or sang.

Surprisingly, Mike paused at the sound of his voice, his irises flaring crimson for a moment before fading back to dull brown. Darting forward, too fast for Will to even react, Mike quickly draped his arms over Will’s head, settling something around his throat before he hastily backed away, a complicated expression on his pale face as he signed a quick farewell before sliding soundlessly off the catwalk and dropping close to ten feet into the waiting water below.

Will was still frozen, trying to process the events of the last few seconds, his eyes straying towards the trail of bubbles on the surface of the tank before his hand instinctively settled against his throat, drawn by the strange weight there.

Glancing down, Will saw, settled against his chest, was Mike’s necklace. The pale green cord contrasting with his yellow button-up, bleached seashells woven into the strands winking in the low light. But the thing that drew Will’s attention, his hand fluttering lightly across its surface, was the large tooth nestled against his sternum. Mike’s tooth.

 Will let out a shuddering breath, tearing his gaze away from the merman’s necklace and back towards the inky darkness of the water below. He squinted, trying to see if he could spot a flicker of movement, a flash of pale gray against the dark abyss, but there was nothing, almost like Mike had never been there at all.

The only thing Will had to show for the encounter was a necklace and a slightly damp shirt. He brought his hand up to clasp around Mike’s tooth, relishing in the slight sting of the serrated edge against his palm, and he knew that he was totally and completely fucked.

Chapter Text

By the time he managed to calm his breathing and straighten his clothing enough to look semi-presentable before he nervously scurried down the ladder from the catwalk, Max was no longer alone.

Leaning against Will’s desk, staring off into the slow-moving water of the giant tank like he didn’t have a care in the world, was Dr. Owens.

Will froze. In the past month or so of their current research arrangement, Dr. Owens had never decided to join them on the main laboratory floor, likely so caught up in the machinations of running a top-secret research facility that he seemed content to let them do as they pleased so long as Will sent him updated weekly reports on any research progress.

So, the fact that he was here, now, likely did not spell good news.

Max seemed to be thinking much the same thing, because instead of her usual pouting annoyance at Will being late, as soon as the redhead caught sight of him, she was booking it across the lab floor, nearly bowling him when she smacked him in the ankle with a crutch as she stopped, and Will wasn’t entirely sure whether or not the action was accidental or on purpose.

Will almost said something scathing in response, but one look at Max’s unusually wide eyes, and the anxious way she was worrying at her lip killed any sharp retort, her nervousness causing his own heartrate to skyrocket in response.

“Why is Owens here?” He whispered harshly, trying to keep his voice low. Glancing over at Dr. Owens still calmly leaning against his desk halfway across the lab, he belatedly realized the reason Max had hurriedly come out to meet him was because she likely didn’t want the head scientist to overhear anything they were saying, and he silently thanked her for the foresight.

Max scowled, her head turning just enough to make sure that Dr. Owens hadn’t followed her, “I’m not sure. He showed up a couple minutes ago.”

“Shit.” Will cursed under his breath, glancing over the shorter scientist’s shoulder to get another look at the man.

Dr. Owens remained turned towards the tank, not making any moves to acknowledge Will’s presence, but he was certain the older man knew that they were currently talking about him. Will bit his lip, fingers coming up to play with the tooth on his necklace almost absently, his thumb rubbing against the sharp serrated edge of Mike’s tooth like the point could provide him some sort of comfort.

Drawn by his movement, Max’s eyes fell to his chest, where they then blew comically wide before flying back up to meet his.

“Is that from-” She tilted her head minutely towards the tank, and Will nodded shallowly, his throat dry. Less than thirty seconds in front of Max and he had already given away exactly what he had just been doing. He cursed himself mentally and forced himself to release his grip on the necklace, trying to look casual. But judging by Max’s frown, it wasn’t working.  

The redhead’s scowl only deepened as her eyes tracked his movement, one hand coming up to smack Will on the back of the head while he was distracted, “Damn it Will, what were you thinking.”

Will blinked quizzically, confused by Max’s sudden change in mood, “I wasn’t really. It was Mike’s idea. I didn’t really see the harm in-”

Max cut him off, “That’s why he’s here.” She hissed, and Will’s eyes jumped back to Owens, who was still pretending to be woefully oblivious to their conversation. “There are cameras everywhere Will. There’s no way someone didn’t see.”

Will’s brain went into overdrive. He hadn’t even thought about the potential for cameras to be mounted up in the catwalk, for his and Mike’s private moment to have been caught by the lab’s security tapes. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the potential repercussions of his shortsighted clandestine meetup.

He could get fired for interfering with ongoing research, all but kissing completing his Ph.D. dissertation goodbye. What if the rest of his research team got let go? Max, Eddie, Nancy and Robin all shuffled back to the various parts of the country they had traveled here from. He figured Erica would probably still be okay, since she was Owens’ own pick for the team, but he couldn’t even begin to imagine the ass-whooping he would get from Lucas if he got his little sister fired.

But more importantly, what would happen to Mike?

The merman had been near feral when Will had first arrived. Attacking any and all researchers who tried to enter or install equipment into his tank. Even now Mike only showed himself around Will and his team members, so most of the other scientists were getting their research material directly from all the data Will’s team managed to collect and distribute to the others.

But if Will was gone, what would the lab resort to in order to keep their train of information flowing? Would they sedate Mike, crawl into his tank, his safe space, to take samples and readings, or would they drag him from the watery depths and strap him to a table, slicing into his unblemished skin with scalpels, not caring in the slightest about the person underneath.

“Will. Will!” Max hissed, wrapping her smaller hand around his forearm and dug her nails in, hard.

Will flinched, reflexively tugging his arm from her grip with a hiss, glaring down at the smaller woman.

The redhead averted her gaze, looking slightly sheepish, “Sorry. You started freaking out. I wasn’t sure what else to do without being obvious.”

Immediately his annoyance dropped, and he was flooded with gratefulness at Max’s gesture, even if it wasn’t the most thought out. “My bad. I was just overthinking.” He muttered, clapping Max on the shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

Max smiled wanly, but she still looked pale, the freckles across her nose standing out in stark contrast. “It’s no big deal. I get it, there’s a lot riding on your shoulders. What are friends for?” Max reached up and grabbed the cord of Will’s necklace, deftly tucking the pendant underneath his shirt before patting him once on the chest for good measure.

“Now go find out what Dr. Owens wants, because he is really starting to freak me out.”

And at that, Will managed to smile for real.

“So, what did you want to see me about?” Will questioned, stepping inside Dr. Owens’ office just a few paces behind the other man before shutting the door behind him. Something told him that Dr. Owens likely didn’t want this conversation to be overheard.

With a sigh, Owens settled himself down at his desk, turning to face Will, his ice-blue eyes hooded and bloodshot. That combined with the dark half-moon bruises pressed into the skin under the doctor’s eyes made Dr. Owens look about ten years older than he actually was.

But most of all, the man looked tired. Something Will was well familiar with given that he had sported a similar look every time he had glanced in the mirror the past few weeks.

“As I’m sure Dr. Mayfield has already informed you. Your entire interaction with the specimen was caught on camera today.” Dr. Owens stated succinctly, steepling his fingers together as he peered at Will curiously.

Despite knowing that this was likely the direction the conversation would take, Will felt Dr. Owens’ words sink like a stone in his gut, and immediately set out on damage control. “I’m sorry Doctor. This situation is entirely my fault. No one else on my team should be held accountable, and please don’t take any of this out on Mike -er- Specimen-0407.”

Dr. Owens blinked, looking slightly surprised at Will’s outburst before he began to laugh, and Will furrowed his brow at the unexpected sound.

“Oh Mr. Byers, you’re not in trouble. Not in the slightest.” Dr. Owens waved a hand in front of his face good-naturedly, “Honestly after observing your team’s interactions with 0407, we had assumed something like this could happen. We just hadn’t expected it to occur so early in our research.”

It took Will a moment to fully comprehend what Dr. Owens was saying, and when he finally did, his face flushed with annoyance, and he had to physically stop himself from reaching up to clutch at his new necklace, hidden underneath the collar of his shirt.

The entire time he and his team had been working, tirelessly researching Mike like the lab had wanted, Dr. Owens had been researching them. His team had been the lab’s own little social research experiment, for Owens and whoever else was involved to monitor as they saw fit. They observed their behavior and hypothesized exactly how they expected Will and his team to interact with Mike. And they hadn’t said a word about their secondary ‘experiment’ until now.

Will was furious, practically seething at the implications, and was unable to stop the irate word vomit that spewed from his throat, completely forgetting the other man, despite his tired appearance, easily had the ability to blacklist him from the scientific community if he so wanted, too caught up in his anger to think straight. 

“What? You thought this would happen the whole time? Why didn’t you say anything?!” Will spat, shooting Dr. Owens a poisonous glare.

Dr. Owens didn’t look alarmed by Will’s sudden anger and continued to speak in a calm measured tone that only succeeded in putting Will more on edge.

“If we had told you, it could have affected you and your team’s relationship with 0407, which could have changed the results. As you’re likely well aware, just knowing you’re being observed can drastically change the outcome of an experiment.”

Wil scowled, “Just because I don’t have my doctorate doesn’t mean I’m an idiot. You don’t have to explain the scientific process to me.” Feeling slightly awkward still standing in the doorway, he quickly crossed the room and sank into the chair in front of Dr. Owens desk, taking a calming breath before he continued.  

“Okay, if I’m not in trouble. What exactly is it that you want?” He squinted at the older man suspiciously, wondering what angle Dr. Owens was trying to play.

Looking Will over for a moment, Dr. Owens let out a loud sigh, slumping in his seat slightly as he pushed back his glasses to rub at his temples before once again returning his focus to Will.

“As you probably know, the specimen isn’t the only top-secret project we’re working on here.”

“Yeah, I saw your whole setup upstairs when you gave us the tour.” Will waved his hand absently, already bored at the current direction of conversation.

Dr. Owens shook his head, “While those projects are useful, that isn’t really what the government is bankrolling us for.” He leaned forward on his desk, a flicker of excitement visible in his tired eyes, “You already know that the specimen came from the other side, the Upside Down, as I believe it’s been coined, although I still think that’s a rather asinine name.”

The older scientist abruptly stood from his desk, moving towards a large bookshelf of scientific texts spanning one wall before turning back to face Will. “Haven’t you been curious as to how exactly we managed to get ahold of him?”

All at once, Dr. Owens words hit him, and Will felt goosebumps travel up his spine as it finally sank in. Because in all the commotion of finding Mike, of studying and learning to communicate with the merman, other than the day he first arrived, he hadn’t spent more than a fleeting thought about where he had come from, or how the lab had managed to get ahold of him.

“You’ve opened another gate.”

Dr. Owens paused, his hand hovering over a large volume with a title in Latin script before turning back to Will with a mischievous spark in his eye. “It’s something like that.”

And without preamble, Dr. Owens’ reached forward and tugged the book from its place on the shelf, causing the large bookshelf to shudder and slide sideways along invisible tracks to reveal a large metal door inset into the wall.

Despite everything he had seen in the Hawkins Lab, from demogorgons to mythical merman, he had never expected to see something as cliché as a secret entrance, and Will could barely hold himself back from gaping as Dr Owens quickly typed in a long string of numbers onto the keypad, which briefly flashed green before the door clicked open on silent hinges.

Dr. Owens turned back to face Will, a shit-eating grin worming its way across the older scientist’s face, the white-haired man looking downright gleeful as he spoke, “So, are you coming?”

And before he could even stop to think about it, Will was already up and following, because there was no way in hell he was missing this.

As he stepped out onto the observation deck the secret passage in Dr. Owens’ office seemed to lead to, Will nearly tripped over his feet in surprise as he walked up to the giant reinforced window serving as a viewpoint into this particular area of the lab.

If he had thought the section of the lab dedicated to research on Mike was big, Will was practically blown away by the sheer enormity of the cavern dedicated to whatever research this particular department was a part of. Stretching the size of at least two football fields and extending so high Will couldn’t even see the ceiling in the gloom, Will’s eyes were instantly drawn to the giant faintly pulsing crack in the rock face that was surrounded by dozens of white hazmat-suited employees frantically scurrying about.

“Is that...” Will murmured, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as he was unable to tear his gaze away from the angry reddish glow of the massive crack.

“The gate? Yes.” Dr. Owens came up alongside him, staring down at the commotion below with an unreadable look. “Or at least our best attempt at a working one.”

That at least, got Will’s attention. He dragged his focus away from the eerie red glow that set his teeth on edge to turn and squint at the older scientist. “What do you mean, attempt? You had to have gotten it open enough long enough to find Mike, right?”

Dr Owens sighed, scrubbing a hand across his face. “Due to a recent acquisition, we’ve made great strides in reopening the gate. We’ve actually managed to open it three times now, each with varying degrees of success. The longest time we’ve managed to keep it open was two minutes and 47 seconds, and we nearly flooded the entire cavern in the process because it just so happened to open at the bottom of Lovers Lake. Subsequently dumping Specimen-0407 right into our laps, along with approximately 300,000 gallons of water.”

Will’s brow scrunched in confusion. “But the Upside Down is a mirror dimension, shouldn’t it be fixed in the same point of space as here?”

“It should, but every time we’ve managed to get a gate open it’s appeared in a different location in the Upside Down, and despite our best efforts, we cannot quite figure out why.”

“And where exactly do I come in?” Will found his attention once again reverting back towards the crack in the wall, the gate, unable to shake the uneasy feeling as he watched the crevasse pulse like a sickly heartbeat, eerily in time with Will’s own.

Dr. Owens swallowed, and Will knew he wasn’t going to like what he heard next. “Well, you are one of the only people alive who has actually seen the other side.”

It took Will a moment to realize the implication of Dr. Owens’ words. And when it finally hit him, he saw red, not even waiting for the other scientist to finish before he whirled on him, consequences be damned if he got fired for speaking up. “So what, you’re gonna just toss me in next time you manage to get the portal open? A giant room of scientists and that’s the best you can come up with?”

To his credit, the other scientist looked affronted, eyes wide as he stared up at Will, who was practically oozing with fury, “What? Absolutely not. What do you take us for?”

Will snorted, still glaring down his nose at the portly man, who just sighed resignedly. “Yeah, okay. That one’s on me. We definitely don’t have the best track record when it comes to that sort of thing.”

He rolled his eyes, not even sparing Dr. Owens a second glance before going back to staring at the cosmic horror that was the gate, “You think.”

“We were more thinking that you would function as a guide of sorts. We have trained military personnel who are prepared to travel to the other side, all of whom will be equipped with cameras to document their every move. Since we can’t pinpoint where the gate will open, we want you to be here on this side, directing them to specific locations.”

His shoulders relaxed minutely, a fission of tension in his gut dissipating at the realization that Dr. Owens wasn’t planning on sending him back into the Upside Down again.

“I didn’t travel very far in the Upside Down. I’m not as well versed with the layout as you might think.” Will admitted, hunching slightly as he unwillingly pointed out the flaw in this particular plan.

Not seeming the slightest bit put out, Dr. Owens ambled up to Will’s side amiably, clapping the taller man on the shoulder with a smirk. “But it does seem like you’re pretty good friends with the only other thing that might know the Upside Down better than you.”

Will’s brows shot towards his hairline, “Mike?!”

Dr. Owens grinned then, a sharp, fierce thing that seemed at odds with his portly figure and wrinkled face, and Will suppressed the urge to shiver in response, eerily reminded of another white-haired Hawkins Lab scientist he hadn’t seen since he was 12. “Bingo.”

“Are we finally bringing Byers into the plan?” A familiar voice called out from behind him, jolting Will out of his long-repressed memories as he whipped around in astonishment.  

“Erica?”

The woman in question leaned up against the doorframe of a second door that Will hadn’t noticed when he had first arrived, too busy admiring the sheer enormity of the cavern beyond. Erica gazed at him appraisingly, her lips curled up into a twisted facsimile of a smile as she pushed off the wall to come stand at Will’s other side.

“What, did you really think that the best use of my time was calculating oxygen diffusion equations?” She snorted, tossing her head good-naturedly, “I can do that shit in my sleep.”

Erica turned away from Will to gaze out at the giant room beyond, her dark eyes tracking the large crack that formed the epicenter of the chaos, “This. This is where the real fun is.”

Unable to help himself, he followed Erica’s attention and once again found himself ensnared in the chilling pull the gate seemed to exude. He wondered if the others could feel it too, or if it was something his time in the Upside Down left him particularly attuned to.

“So, you’ve known about all this the entire time?” Will couldn’t help but ask, even though he already strongly suspected the answer.

Erica turned back to him, a sharp glint in her eye, “I think you already know that answer. Although you did beat both our estimates for how long it would take for you to befriend Specimen-0407, so hats off to you for that. Not many can outsmart my math.” She folded her arms across her chest, quirking her eyebrow as her gaze slid down to Will’s neck.

Will resisted the urge to slap a hand to his throat to check to see if his necklace had slipped out but judging by the way one of Erica’s eyebrows shot up at his aborted movement, she somehow already knew everything.

He really hated being the last one in the know. Which apparently seemed to be the theme of his day today.

Resisting the urge to childishly roll his eyes, Will turned back towards the gate and its magnetic pull, staring at it for a long moment before finally forcing his gaze away.

“So now that I know, what exactly is it you want me to do?”

Dr. Owens and Erica shared a look before the lead scientist turned back to him, looking unquestionably tired as he scrubbed a hand over his face.

“We’d like you to continue things the way you have been. Monitoring and researching Specimen-0407, providing the other research teams with data, and so on. Even if the study of the creature isn’t our primary goal, the research is still invaluable, and I’m certain you would also like to continue your own personal research for the sake of your dissertation.

Will nodded, expecting at least that much, and waited for Dr. Owens to continue, already anticipating the moment the other shoe would drop.

“The other thing we’d like you to do is befriend 0407. We’d like you to get to a point where he can reliably give you information about the Upside Down, since our current sources are horribly outdated and unfortunately few and far between.”

Will fought to hide a wince at Dr. Owens’ words, since he himself was one of those horribly outdated sources of information.

Dr. Owens seemed to catch his grimace and sent him a slightly apologetic look before continuing.

“Specimen-0407 is our best bet on being able to successfully navigate the Upside Down, and most importantly, to make sure that everyone comes back alive." Dr. Owens’ gaze hardened, the scientist suddenly going very serious, “I’m sure you understand how important this is. We don’t want a repeat of what happened in ’83.”

Unable to help himself, Will shuddered, his mind already sinking into memories of inky black vines and the crunching steps of strange monsters, of the decrepit mirror of his childhood home and blinking lights clutched desperately in his mother’s hands.

He shook himself, forcing the memories away before the tide of remembering swept him away. Will set his jaw, forcing himself to look Dr. Owens head on.

It took everything in him to not let his gaze stray over the older man’s shoulder, towards the thrumming red crack that pulsed in time with Will’s own heartbeat. He stared Dr. Owens down, unflinching under the older scientist’s gaze.

“I’ll do it.” Dr. Owens weathered face cracked into a small smile. “But I have one condition.” The smile dropped.

“What is it?” Dr. Owens sighed wearily, and Will only felt slightly remorseful for being the cause.

“I want to tell my team. And Mike.”

Dr. Owens looked like he was about to protest the request, when Erica, who had been surprisingly quiet up till that point, placed her hand on the lead scientist’s arm. “Will’s right. The rest of the team should know what they’re getting involved in.” Will blinked, surprised at Erica’s surprisingly straightforward, non-abrasive support, that was until the she sniffed, her expression pinching into one of annoyance. “I think Nancy is getting pretty close to cracking this whole thing wide open anyways. Caught her trying to follow me here on more than one occasion. Better to clue her in now before she decides to make this whole thing a problem for the rest of us.”

Will snorted, unsurprised, “Ah. There’s the Erica I know. Always has an ulterior motive.”

Erica didn’t even have the gall to look offended when she finally pulled away from Dr. Owens wink at Will. “Always gotta look out for number one, and that’s Erica.”

Funnily enough, Erica’s relatively normal demeanor, as caustic as it could be at times, buoyed Will’s mood, and he found himself fighting down a tired smile.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way. Lucas would kill me if something happened to you.”

Erica looked him up and down, looking very unimpressed, “Please. As if your weak ass noodle arms could protect me from anything. I’m a second-degree black belt, I could whoop your ass with my hands tied behind my back.”

Despite knowing that Erica likely could absolutely whoop his ass, Will stepped forward anyways, raising his fists in what he knew was a piss-poor interpretation of a fighting stance. “Oh yeah? I’d like to see you try!”

Erica stepped forward, a feral grin on her face as she bounced foot to foot, shrugging off her lab coat and tossing it onto a nearby chair.

“Don’t go crying to your mermaid bestie when you get beat by a girl.” She taunted, eyeing Will hungrily as she inched into Will’s space like she was about to start swinging.

A distinct cough in the small room startled both Will and Erica back to attentiveness, Dr. Owens’ gaze darting between the pair of them worriedly, as if he through they were actually about to start brawling. Which, from an outsider’s perspective, their playful banter probably looked very much like the start of a fight.

Out of the corner of his eye, Will snuck a glance at Erica, only to find the other scientist already looking back, her lips curled into a small smirk, and Will had to suppress the urge to send her an answering grin.

Dr. Owens coughed again, drawing Will’s attention back towards the older man, “Now Mr. Byers, since Specimen-0407 proved to us today that he can actually survive for brief periods of time outside of the water and is fully capable of leaping up onto the catwalk,” The scientist’s eyebrows dipped slightly at the acknowledgement of a gap in their defenses, but he plowed on. “I think it would be conducive to create a platform both you and 0407 can access closer to the surface of the water. That way we don’t have a rogue merman crawling around up in the rafters.”

Will brightened, “I actually think that’s a great idea. I can explain it to Mike -er- 0407 later to make sure he doesn’t try to get aggressive with the workers when they try to go set it up.”

Dr. Owens nodded in agreement, continuing to ramble about the logistics of the platform setup that Will quickly tuned out.

Even though Dr. Owens had said that he wanted Will to befriend Mike, he never thought the lab would willingly facilitate their in-person meetings. The fact that Dr. Owens was offering to build a platform so that both Will and Mike had easy access to one another was something he hadn’t expected to come out of this meeting, and he tried not to let his excitement show too much. He knew the offer came with the significant downside that he now knew all his and Mike's interactions would now be monitored and pieced apart by other scientists, but the upside of being able to see Mike in-person, out in the open, was too much of an incentive to let the negatives bother him all that much. He was practically giddy at the idea of telling Mike that they would actually have a way to meet, and the merman wouldn’t have to painfully subject himself to lounging uncomfortably in the catwalk just to chat with Will.

Erica sighed, side-eyeing Will as if she knew exactly what he was thinking before tapping Dr. Owens on the shoulder, breaking the scientist from his rambling as she leaned over to whisper in his ear. Will looked on curiously as Dr. Owens bushy white eyebrows shot up practically to his hairline before he eventually nodded, grumbling.

Practically beaming, Erica strode over to a large speaker on the wall, pressing a button at the bottom of the console before leaning forward to talk into the microphone.

“Jane Hopper to the observation deck. Can I get Jane Hopper to the observation deck?”

Will’s jaw dropped, “Hopper as in… Sheriff Hopper? I didn’t know he had a daughter.”

To Will’s surprise it wasn’t Erica, but Dr. Owens who spoke up, looking slightly sheepish, “She’s uh, adopted. Hopper homeschooled her.”

Will, well versed on when people were being shifty, narrowed his eyes at the other man, “So Sheriff Hopper’s adopted daughter works here. And why exactly is it important that I meet her?”

“Well, you see, she’s our Gate Expert. She’s the entire reason we’ve even been able to open gates in the first place. Even if they are relatively unstable.” Dr. Owens’ eyes refused to meet Will’s, the older scientist fiddling with a pen he had somehow gotten his hands on.

Will resisted rolling his eyes, “You still haven’t answered my question. Why exactly do you want me to meet her?”

Behind him, he heard the faint sound of a door opening, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off Dr. Owen, until an unfamiliar voice spoke up from behind him.

“Will? Will Byers?”

Will spun around at the sound of his name, eyes instantly finding the source of the voice. A woman with wavy brown curls and a t-shirt dress underneath her white lab coat stared back at him with wide dark eyes.  

He squinted at the woman, something about her seeming oddly familiar, but for the life of him, couldn’t quite seem to remember where he knew her from. None of her features were particularly noteworthy, brown hair and muddy eyes, with subtle hints of blush present on her cheeks. Even her height seemed about average. But she was Hopper’s adopted daughter, maybe he had seen her around town when he was younger. Although Hawkins was a small place, he was certain he’d remember running into the sheriff’s daughter. It wasn’t until the woman began to fidget under Will’s unblinking gaze, her fingers tugging at the hem of her lab coat, causing the fabric to ride up just enough that Will caught sight of a tattoo on her wrist.

A very familiar tattoo.

011

He gaped, he had only seen this particular tattoo once before, and at the time had dismissed the sudden appearance of a nearly-bald girl in the Upside Down as just an incredibly vivid hallucination. But after being rescued and getting practically word-vomited on by Lucas and Dustin, he had come to learn that the girl had in fact been real, and she had been an integral part of his rescue. It was only after he excitedly requested to meet her that Dustin and Lucas’s faces fell, and they had to tell him that she had sacrificed herself tearing open a gate to save his two best friends from a Demogorgon.

He had only learned her name after she was already dead.

But now, looking at a tattoo that had been permanently seared into his memories, Will realized that she had never truly been dead at all, and his savior from all those years before was standing before him in the flesh.

“Eleven?!”  

Chapter Text

“Hello again Will.” Eleven started, casually sticking her hand out like she wasn’t causing Will some sort of crisis at seeing his savior long thought dead.

How was she here? Has Dr. Owens known she was alive this entire time? How?

Instead of doing the normal thing that would have been shaking her hand, Will just gaped at the brunette, trying ineffectively to get his mouth to work, his brain swarming with unvoiced thoughts. So, the first words out of his mouth were:

“You’re alive?”

Eleven just blinked at him, pulling back her hand with furrowed brows before turning to look at Dr. Owens standing off to the side and looking surprisingly peeved.  

“You didn’t tell him?”

Dr. Owens nodded but remained silent, seemingly not willing to explain himself any further. Eleven’s gaze slid to Erica, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared the other woman down, despite the fact that she was noticeably shorter than the other woman.

“It was a need-to-know basis.” Erica shrugged, but at least she had the gall to look slightly uncomfortable in the face of Eleven’s ire.

That, fortunately, was the thing that pulled Will’s attention enough to quiet his racing thoughts, and against better judgement, he snorted, “Yeah, they’ve made it very clear that I don’t need to know anything until it’s convenient for them.”

Surprisingly, his words were enough to break Eleven from her current stare down with Erica to turn back to Will with a sharp grin, a strange glint in her eye, “Yeah, despite the fact that I am quite literally a science experiment they created, they don’t seem to like cluing me into important information either.”

It took Will a moment to process the implications of the shorter woman’s words, but when he finally did, the revelation hit him like a ton of bricks.

Oh.

She was like him.

Not in quite the same ways. He hadn’t had to grow up in the lab, nothing more than an experiment to the power-hungry former head-scientist who had fortunately been killed during the events of ’83, but Will knew what it was like to be subjected to the constant surveillance, the scientists’ probing questions, being gawked and stared at by friends and strangers alike, knowing that despite the fact that the lab told him time and time again that his help was invaluable, that his research was important, they never shared more with him than what was deemed absolutely necessary, and they wouldn’t hesitate to discard him the minute he became useful.

So yeah, he understood where she was coming from, just a little bit.

“It’s good to finally meet you, in person this time.” This time it was Will who extended his hand for Eleven to take.

Eleven giggled, grasping his hand with her much smaller one, but squeezing back with a remarkably strong grip at odds with her smaller stature, “Yeah, you certainly look a lot better than the last time I saw you.”

Will rolled his eyes, “Hey, I had been trapped in the Upside Down for like six days, and it had been ages since I last ate. I honestly thought I was hallucinating when I saw you. Thought you were like some kind of fucked up angel or something.”

“Okay, I guess that’s fair. Pretty sure a superhuman pre-teen wouldn’t have been anyone’s first thought, even in the best of circumstances.” Eleven teased, and any nervousness Will might have held completely melted away the longer they spoke.

Erica and Dr. Owens shared a look, and Will thought he caught the former mouthing, “This is why I didn’t want them to meet.” But Will ignored them, turning his attention back to Eleven.

“So,” Will scratched at the back of his neck, “Do you prefer to go by Jane or Eleven?”

Eleven looked surprised, but not uncomfortable at Will’s question, instead she brought a finger to her lips, as if she was actually pondering the answer.  

“Almost everyone just calls me Jane at this point. But no one has called me El in a really long time not since-” Eleven broke off, her eyes skittering away from Will’s bashfully.

“Since Dustin and Lucas?” Will guessed, a long-suppressed memory of Dustin expositing about how badass it was when El quite literally tossed Lucas through the air with her telekinesis powers, causing his lips to quirk.

Eleven -El- nodded, perking up at the mention of the two boys, “How are they by the way? Hops forced me to cut off contact in order to keep me safe, and by the time we figured any threats might have passed I kinda just assumed they probably wouldn’t want some random girl they only knew for a week to suddenly show up and shout ‘Surprise, I’m not dead!’ So, I never reached out.” El deflated slightly, her excitement dimming as she spoke.

Will abruptly spun away from the brunette to shoot an exasperated glare at Erica, “I’m guessing Erica didn’t think to tell you that Lucas is her brother?”

El’s face instantly darkened, her lips puckering into a deep frown as she too turned to look at Erica, a betrayed expression on her face.

Erica shot him a murderous look back for throwing her under the bus before turning towards El, her hands raised in surrender, “I didn’t know you cared about that dumbass. You’ve never brought him up before. I wasn’t trying to keep it from you I swear.”

There was a complicated expression on Erica’s face as she layered on excuse after excuse, almost as if she really did feel guilty, and Will did feel slightly bad for not taking the time to know the full story first before immediately throwing her to bear the brunt of El’s temper. Especially since, even though Erica was one of the smartest people she knew, she could still be completely obtuse to other people's emotions at times.

Will sighed, trying to play mediator as he stepped between the pair of scientists, “Sorry El, don’t get mad at Erica. I’m sure she didn’t purposefully try to leave you in the dark.” El’s eyes didn’t leave Erica’s, but the tense set of her mouth eased somewhat, which Will took as a somewhat good sign.

“Dustin and Lucas are good though. Lucas is a middle school basketball coach up in Indy, and Dustin does something with radio antenna and aliens?” Will scrunched his nose, “Honestly, it’s a bunch of fancy jargon that I mostly don’t understand, but he seems to love it. He’s constantly driving all over the country, and he always sends me these really cool postcards. I think the last one I got was from somewhere out in West Virginia.”

El had fully relaxed by this point, a small smile blossoming across her cheeks, and Will, not wanting to see the tiny thing wiped away, even went so far as to pull out his wallet to tug a small picture free, turning it around so that El could also see.

The picture was nearly two years old, the colors slightly faded and the edges bent from being kept so long in the confines of his wallet, but the image was still clearly visible. Lucas, Dustin and Will all crammed nearly cheek-to-cheek to get into frame of the photo booth camera, only their faces and the tops of their shoulders visible. Dustin had a large heap of whipped cream on his chin, and Lucas was sporting a pair of painted on cat whiskers, while Will had a horrendously ugly red and yellow patterned beret perched errantly on his head.

The three of them couldn’t have looked more different, but one thing the three of them had in common was the equally large blinding grins plastered across their faces.

Will watched silently as El took in the photo, her lips parted into an ‘O’ shape as she drank in the image. Finally, once she had gotten her fill, El finally looked up, and Will was surprised to see her eyes shining with unshed tears.

“I’m happy.” El said, her watery smile saying far more than just those two simple words.

Feeling the empathetic tears pricking at his own eyes at the sight of El’s, Will averted his gaze under the guise of retucking the photo back into his wallet. By the time he slipped his wallet back into his pocket, both his and El’s almost-tears were gone without a trace.

Sometime during Will’s photo sharing session, Erica managed to inch closer to the pair of them, her face looking surprisingly apologetic when she finally spoke, startling Will at her unexpected nearness.

“I’m sorry I never brought up my brother. I didn’t realize that you missed him.” Erica sounding remorseful, but after a few quiet moments, perked up before continuing. “So, for the sake of cooperation, would you like to see the project that Will and I are currently working on?”

“Really?!” Will and El blurted in unison, turning to each other with wide eyes before they both burst into laughter at their synchronicity.  

Dr. Owens and Erica exchanged a shared look of exasperation, like they already regretted introducing the pair, and Will fought to tamp down his wheezing laughter and regain his composure in front of the man who was technically his boss.

Dr. Owens waited for the pair to calm down before he spoke, “Since Mr. Byers is going to be working with us rather closely on the Gate Project, it’s probably best if you’re at least aware of what Will and his team have been working on, just to ensure there aren’t any more surprises.”

Despite Dr. Owens pointed look in his direction, Will barely paid the older man any mind, already holding out his elbow for the El to take with a mischievous grin.

“Oh, I promise, you’re gonna absolutely love it. And I’m sure you and Max will get along swimmingly.”

El gracefully looped her arm through his and shot him an answering smirk, “Lead the way.”

And then they were off.

Will had kinda forgotten in all the morning’s commotion that it was technically normal operating hours for the lab’s other scientists. He had just dragged El back into the giant tank room, Erica trailing just a few paces behind, while Dr. Owens, thankfully, had decided to return to his office to work on what Will had to assume was the mountains of paperwork needed to run a top-secret research facility and had expected to be surprised with nearly a dozen scientists scurrying around the lab, or pressed up next to the glass, or scowling at their computer screens as he lead El in by the arm. Many of the scientists turning around to look at the strange newcomer, much to Will’s chagrin.

He rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly, “Sorry El, I forgot that everyone else would be here at this time.”

El thankfully, didn’t seem to mind the staring, completely ignoring the scientists’ ogling as she gazed up at the giant tank with wide eyes.

“What could you possibly have in there?” El stared, wonderstruck.

A familiar clacking sound quickly came up from behind them. Will already fairly certain what was about to happen next, braced himself, pulling El to a stop by her elbow as a pale arm reached out from behind and wrapped itself around Will’s neck in a tight stranglehold, an arm crutch attached to the wrist around his throat solidly thunking him on the chest in the process.

“Hello Max.” Will nodded at the redhead, who huffed in annoyance, retracting her arm from around his neck.

“Damn. I thought I finally had you that time.”

Will chuckled, “Gotta think of a way to muffle your crutches. The sound gives you away.”

Max’s eyes got an impish glint to them, and Will feared for what she might be plotting. “I bet Eddie would be willing to help out. Just you wait Byers, I’ll get you eventually.”

El glanced between the two of them with confusion, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the pair as they spoke like she was watching a tennis match.

Max, finally seeming to realize that Will had company, smirked at the brunette, extending her hand out to the ever so slightly taller woman.

“Dr. Maxine Mayfield. You here to check out our merman?”

El’s eyes grew impossibly wide as they flitted back towards the tank, “You’ve got a merman in there? How? Can I see him?”

Max’s grin grew near manic as she latched onto El’s wrist, dragging her out of Will’s grip and tugging her towards the massive aquarium that took up the majority of the large space, leaving Will to trail along awkwardly behind, only half listening as Max began talking El’s ear off.

Unconsciously, he felt his gaze being drawn towards the crystalline dark-blue abyss, searching fruitlessly for the merman he knew was hidden away somewhere deep within. Against better judgement, he fingered at the tooth strung around his neck, hiding underneath the fabric of his shirt and recalled the feeling of Mike’s long, thin fingers ghosting across his neck as he laid the necklace there. He suppressed a shiver, quickening his pace to catch up with Max and El, who were now nearly up against the front of the glass.

Robin and Eddie cut him off before he could reach them, looking curious.

“Who’s Max’s new friend? I don’t think I’ve seen her that excited since Erica solved that luminosity equation.” Robin wiggled her eyebrows, looking slightly ridiculous as she leaned her elbow on Eddie’s shoulder, which she had to stand on her tiptoes to even reach properly.

“Oh, that’s El -er- Jane?” Will floundered, realizing his flub. He hadn’t thought to ask El what he wanted to introduce her as to other people, and now was severely regretting the decision when he saw the way Eddie’s smirk sharpened at his floundering.

“Ah, a lady with a complicated backstory I see. A woman after my own tastes.”

Robin’s nose crinkled as she snorted, but Eddie looked nonplussed. “There’s just something about her. She just gives off some sort of aura.” He waved his hands around himself in a large gesture, inadvertently knocking Robin's arm off his shoulder in the process, “She’s destined for great things that one.”

With puffed up cheeks, Robin nodded as she elbowed Eddie in the side, causing their resident acoustician to retaliate by ruffling the shorter woman’s hair roughly.

Will couldn’t help but crack a grin, already put at ease by his team’s antics. He had been worried about introducing El to the group, but judging by Max’s excitement, and Robin and Eddie’s general unserious demeanors, he was sure his group would be able to take El’s integration into the team in stride.

The only thing he had to do now was to clue them in on what the lab was really trying to accomplish with all their research.

Will’s smile faded, his eyes inadvertently going towards where Max and El had migrated towards the tank. El’s thin-fingered hand pressed up against the cool glass, reflections of the blue water painting strange shapes across the pair’s excited faces.

He wondered if he should tell everyone about his past history with El and the Upside Down, or if that was something best kept between the two of them. He had never explicitly brought up his history with the lab and the Upside Down to his teammates, but he was certain they all knew. It had been the front-page story in every newspaper across America for a time, and even if most of them never brought it up, he was certain that everyone was aware he was the same kid who got lost in an alternate dimension and nearly died back in 1983.

He worried at his lip in thought, trying to think of the best way to draw El into the conversation, to explain the team’s sudden change of objective in light of the new information he had been given.

While he was busy planning out the future conversation in his own head, he completely missed Nancy quietly joining their small huddle, the petite woman squeezing in between Eddie and Robin, her lips pursed as her attention wavered between El up against the side of the tank and Will. She looked him up and down for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly. Eddie and Robin quickly caught on to Nancy’s serious mood and their roughhousing slowly petered out.

“There’s something you’re not telling us. What’s up?”

For once, Nancy didn’t seem to be digging for answers, and instead seemed to be genuinely curious.

Will blinked, was he really being that obvious? Could the others see his warring thoughts so plainly on his face?

He opened his mouth to reply, fully expecting himself to word vomit his entire encounter with Erica and Dr. Owens earlier in the morning, NDA be damned, when a flash of startling red caught his eye and Will couldn’t help the strangled noise that bubbled out of his throat as he turned towards the tank reflexively and caught sight of the source of the strange flash.

Mike.

Mike was out in the open.

During the day.

The merman swam slowly, his shoulders tense and his fins twitching sporadically, even as he drew himself further out into the open waters towards the front of the tank. Will’s breath caught as he watched the merman’s slow entrance, utterly frozen. Someone, maybe Robin, gripped onto the meat of his arm tightly, fingernails digging half-moons into the skin there, but even the sharp pinpricks of pain couldn’t make Will look away from the tank, from Mike.  

Unsurprisingly, the other scientists quickly noticed the large merman, many of them immediately dropping what they were doing, in some cases quite literally, to crowd up against the glass. Other than military personnel and the small group of scientists who had been working on the Gate Project when Mike inadvertently got dragged through, no one other than Will’s team had ever caught more than a fleeting glimpse of the merman. So, apparently the scientists were prepared to take full advantage of this rare opportunity. Those who hadn’t instantly gravitated to the glass were quickly gathering up equipment: cameras, measuring tape, clipboards, handheld radar devices, before squeezing in against the already crowded glass to get a better look.

Mike’s gills flared, his breathing becoming more rapid at the unruly clamor on the other side of his enclosure, and Will knew under normal circumstances he would've probably been shouting at the scientists, telling them to move back, that they were scaring Mike, but now his mouth was bone dry, his feet rooted firmly to the floor as he watched the siren’s slow approach, his fiery gaze never once straying towards the wall of lab personnel, despite his obvious discomfort at their presence. No, his eyes stayed focused on one thing, and one thing alone, and as Will followed the trail of Mike’s gaze, Will finally realized what had been the catalyst for Mike to reveal himself, even though the merman had shown no interest in doing so before.

El .

The woman was staring wide-eyed as Mike approached, unblinking. Max had managed to clear out a small space around her and El free of other scientists, likely by whacking the other staff in the legs with her crutches, so the closer Mike got to the glass, the more obvious it became that Mike was making a beeline directly towards the woman.

Something twisted violently in Will’s stomach as he found himself unable to tear his eyes away.

El stood almost preternaturally still, one palm pressed against the glass, mouth parted in surprise, as Mike drew himself up on the other side, his eyes glowing so brightly they cast eerie flickering shadows across the sharp jut of his cheekbones.

Will found himself clutching tightly at whoever was currently digging their fingernails into his arm, likely leaving similar imprints in their skin, his palms clammy with sweat as he scrabbled for something, anything to ground himself.

With glacial slowness, Mike raised his own hand, long and dangerous, and pressed it delicately against the glass, directly over the top of El’s own hand.

Will felt all the air leave his chest.

Mike’s body erupted into a brilliantly glowing display of fluorescent blue, gentle pulses of light flickering across his tail and abdomen, even across his shoulders and down his arms, his cheeks aglow in the effervescent hue. It was a more elaborate display than Will had ever seen before, and under any other circumstances he would’ve been absolutely elated to see it, much like the crowd of scientists ooo-ing and ahh-ing in wonderment while frantically documenting the sight.

Instead, the entire thing just made him feel sick to his stomach.

Unable to stand whatever strange instinctual pull Mike was currently feeling towards El, Will yanked himself out of the grip of the person beside him, who to his surprise, was actually Nancy and not Robin, the bird-like journalist blinking up at him with a mixed look of pity and concern that made Will want to vomit, and quickly strode towards the exit, ignoring the concerned voices of his teammates calling out behind him.

Will didn’t look back.  

“I’m home.” Will called as he swung open the front door, his feet dragging and exhaustion dripping from every pore.

He wasn’t any more tired than he usually was, having already grown well accustomed to getting less than five hours of sleep a night, but his atrocious sleep schedule combined with not one, not two, but three different absolutely mind-blowing pieces of information all before 10 AM had left him both physically and mentally drained.

A voice spoke up from the kitchen, “You’re home early!”

His mom peeked out into the hallway, warm smile on her face. He must have caught her in the middle of a cleaning frenzy, since her gray-streaked hair was tied up into a bandana and she was sporting a rag in one hand. Upon seeing Will, her smile fell, and she instantly dropped the rag to the ground, rushing forward to cup Will’s cheeks as she searched his face questioningly, the skin around her eyes pinched with worry.

“Will, baby, what’s wrong.”

His mom smelled strongly of lemon cleaner, but Will didn’t mind the strong odor as he sank further into her embrace.

The lack of response seemed to only make his mom more concerned, her hands withdrawing from his face to clasp around his shoulders, pulling Will’s head down so that she could wrap her arms around him properly.

She cooed gently, “Is it work? I know you can’t talk about it. Classified and all.” Joyce laughed, but it sounded strangely jittery in Will’s ears. His mom knew he worked at the lab, and while she definitely did not love the idea of her son working for the same people that had inadvertently caused him to end up in the Upside Down because they were messing with stuff they shouldn’t, she always tried her best to stay supportive.

Will huffed out a humorless laugh, a few stray pieces of his mom’s hair tickling his nose as he spoke. “Something like that. Got assigned to a new project. Guess I’m back to where it all started.”

His mom stiffened, her arms locking tighter around Will’s chest, and Will could hear the hitch in her breathing, and immediately felt bad for making his mom worry.

He pulled away, looking his mom directly in the eye, “I promise, it’s nothing like that. Even I’m not crazy enough to let that happen a second time. They just want me to provide a… map. That’s all.”

Joyce let out a sigh of relief, the tension leaching from her limbs at Will’s words. “Oh, thank goodness. I was worried. I saw your drawings in your notebook while I were cleaning, with all those vines and creatures and I was worried it was going to be just like middle school again.

“Wha?” Will replied nonsensically.

His mom continued like he hadn’t interrupted, “You were always going on and on about some person you saw there. Something about being them being trapped, and for some reason, despite being scared out of your mind, you wanted to try to go back and find them.” Joyce frowned.

Will’s voice was soft, “I don’t remember that.”

“Well, there was a lot going on immediately after. What with the reporters and the whole town worried monsters were gonna crawl out of the ground. I think it took almost a full year for you to even sleep through the night. You kept having terrible nightmares. I’m not surprised you forgot.”

Now it was Will’s turn to frown. It was true that he barely remembered meeting El in the Upside Down, hell, the girl had only been there for a manner of minutes before the Demogorgon showed up and she poofed out of existence, but he feels like he would’ve remembered thinking about her so much that even his mom noticed. Maybe he just pushed it down so that Lucas and Dustin wouldn’t get hopeful that El might still be alive.

Yeah, that was probably it.

Caught up in his own thoughts, he realized his mom was staring at him again, her brow no longer creased with concern, but her eyes still searching Will’s expression intently. She tugged him out of the hallway, casually stepping over the rag she had dropped to the floor before leading him to the couch, pushing him into the well-worn fabric before plopping down beside him.

Will felt unreasonably tired all the way down to his bones.

She raised an eyebrow, “So why don’t you tell me what’s really going on. Because I doubt all this-” She gestured to Will’s slumped posture, “is just because you’ve been busy at work.”

He hated how good his mother was at reading him. Will sighed, carding a hand through his sandy brown hair before turning to look at her.

“So, we got a new member of the team today.” He smiled wanly, and his mom waited patiently for him to continue.

“She’s nice, I’m sure we’ll get along fine. The only problem is, when I brought her in to meet everyone there was-”

Will’s voice petered out. How was he supposed to explain to his mom that the super-secret merman he had managed, with immense patience and a rather fucked up sleep schedule, to befriend over the course of one very long month, had eschewed all his normal behavior and decided to swim right up to El, in the middle of the day no less, and began glowing like an overexcited flashlight.

He couldn’t say any of that, he’d look absolutely insane.

So, of course, he decided to stretch the truth just a little bit.

“So, there’s this guy.” He started, unable bear the knowing look his mom was surely directing his way, so he distracted himself by picking at the hangnail on his thumb. “He’s pretty shy. It took a lot of coaxing for him to finally be willing to meet the rest of the team. But the instant this girl showed up, he was rushing over to meet her. He’s never been that friendly with anyone else besides me. I just-” Will’s voice broke.

His mom hummed in acknowledgement, a warm hand coming to wrap around Will’s own, squeezing tightly, “So, you were feeling jealous?”

Will’s free hand came up to trace Mike’s tooth through the fabric of his shirt, something that was already becoming a bit of a soothing gesture, despite the fact that he's only had the necklace for a few measly hours at this point. 

Will frowned. Had Mike really given him this necklace only a few hours before? Had it really been less than a day since the large merman had curled up around him and let him stroke his hair like a puppy? The events of this morning seemed like they were a lifetime away, now that the memory of Mike and El with mirrored hands plastered against the glass was at the forefront of his thoughts. 

“I dunno. I guess.” Will shrugged. “I just thought I was special, you know. He’s always waiting for me to get to work, and he always says hi, and he brings me silly gifts.” His face warmed as he felt his mom’s inquisitive gaze on his face.

“Have you considered telling him how you feel?” Joyce murmured, rubbing her fingers across Will’s knuckles comfortingly.

Will blanched, nearly jerking out of his mom’s grip in surprise. “Mom, it’s not like that. Mike’s just a-” Will paused, because what was Mike, really? A lab experiment? His Ph.D. dissertation? A colleague? All of those sounded so impersonal, none fully encapsulating the strange kinship Will felt with the siren. His mom was still looking at him, obviously waiting for an answer, one that Will wasn’t entirely sure he was able to name, so instead he settled with what came easiest, even if it was far from the entire truth.

“He’s a... friend.” He finished lamely.

Joyce raised an eyebrow, looking wholly unconvinced. “Don’t delude yourself sweetheart. You keep trying to touch that necklace you think you’re hiding underneath your shirt, and I know my son.”

Will sputtered, waving his hand placatingly, “I don’t know- I mean it’s not like- Mike isn’t-”

His mother just continued to stare at him, one eyebrow quirked. Unable to find a way to properly explain, Will cut himself off with a sigh.

“I may not be very well versed in the whole ‘gay’ thing.” His mom began, and Will started considering how rude it would be to just toss himself out the nearest window so he didn’t have to sit through this conversation. “But with the gifts and the favoritism, did you ever think that maybe he could have feelings for you?”

“Mom, it isn’t like that for him he’s-” Will paused, his lips pursing into a frown as he tried to think of just how to finish that sentence. Because truly what was Mike?

His friend.

A merman.

A being from the same hell dimension he had once been trapped in for nearly a week.

He couldn’t say something like that to his mom.  

Eventually he landed on, “He’s foreign. He probably doesn’t understand what those things mean.”

“Well, you could always just ask?” Joyce teased, a goofy smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she ruffled his hair. “You’re such a smart boy, but you’ll never find somebody if you aren’t willing to take risks.”

“Easy for you to say.” Will mumbled under his breath, too low for his mom to hear.

“How about this, why don’t you try bringing him a present tomorrow instead? Maybe you could draw him a picture, or bake him some cookies or-”

Will cut her off, somehow feeling even more tired than when he started that conversation. “Thanks mom. That sounds like a great idea.” And hoped the false note in his voice wasn't as obvious as it felt. 

Joyce beamed, completely oblivious to Will's own inner turmoil, “Well let me know if you need any help!” Before patting Will on the cheek and pulling herself up from the couch, leaving Will alone with his racing thoughts.

Unbidden, his mind went back to the sight of Mike lit up in shades of glowing turquoise, his pale skin diffused with vibrant light.

Mike, practically melting as Will dragged his fingers through the merman’s wavy curls.

Sign language and morse code messages passed between a giant sheet of glass.

Of Will’s laugh on Mike’s lips.

His sharp teeth as he smiled.

The ghost of fingers across his collarbone as Mike settled his gift around Will’s neck.

Will felt a violent twisting in his stomach. Not unlike the feeling he felt when he saw Mike approach El earlier that morning.

It wasn’t the first time he had felt his pulse quicken, or had a telltale fluttering in his chest, but he had always dismissed it. Blamed it on Mike’s ethereal beauty, or Will just enjoying the feeling of being the favorite for a change.

But his mom was right. Ever since Mike had strung his tooth necklace across his throat, Will had known that for him, something had inexplicably changed.

Before then, it had been easy to deny, to press down, to dismiss, but between Max and his mom and the way Will’s stomach had twisted itself into violent knots at the sight of El and Mike together, he knew he couldn’t deny it any longer.  

He had well and truly fallen for Mike.

And Will couldn’t think of anything worse.

Chapter Text

He hated the tank. He hated humans with their white coats constantly buzzing about and making entirely too much noise for his sensitive ears.

He tried to hide. To burrow himself among the rocks and the plants, remaining motionless for hours upon hours, his muscles cramped, his tightly coiled tail practically screaming with pain until the overhead lights began to dim and the noisy humans fled back to whatever land dwellings they possessed, and he could finally slither out from his hiding space and explore the confines of his cage.

The cage was not small by any stretch of the imagination, but he could feel the wrongness of the water, the lack of currents, he could hear the constant hum of machines scrubbing the water clean before dumping it back into the confines of the tank. It was unnatural. Entirely too clean. The walls of glass on every side letting in enough light to constantly hurt his eyes, even with the lights dimmed after all the humans left.

He had tried and failed to break the glass on the first day, ending instead with a bruised shoulder and ego to go along with it.  Now, six days later, he had given up trying entirely, and he mostly just resorted to destroying any of the whirring machines the humans tried to dump into his tank on a near daily basis, and judging by the loud, harsh tones of their voices when they discovered his handiwork in the morning, this infuriated them greatly, which brought him a thin sliver of pleasure in this awful place.

There were many rocks and plants strewn throughout the water, but he wasn’t sure who the humans thought they were fooling. There were no plants like these in his home. There was no water like this. Even the fish they dumped into his tank were wrong, they didn’t fight back, their bodies sleek, smooth and silver instead of the bumpy, grotesque meals of home. But he had to eat, had to stay strong so that he could one day make his escape, so he forced himself to swallow the fish whole and tried not to wince.

This was not his home.

It was a large cage. But it was still that, a cage.

His existence diminished to nothing more than a neverending cycle of nosy humans squawking and parading in front of the glass like they had the upper hand. Like he couldn’t dismember them in a heartbeat if there was no protective barrier between them.

So, he waited.

He bided his time until it was the perfect opportunity to strike.

And then, at the beginning of day seven, everything changed.

Like always, he had been completely intending on hiding the day away again. As had become his routine until he came up with a plan for his escape. So, he watched. And he waited. Until suddenly, out of nowhere he felt it.  

Home.

It was faint. Hardly present. But he felt it like an instinctual tug in his gut, and without even thinking he found himself uncurling from his position underneath a rather large rock and slowly slinking his way through the sea grasses, intent on finding the source. Finding the piece of his home that, like him, had somehow managed to find its way here.

By the time he got close enough to the glass to see, all he could spot was the same drab, ever unchanging cycle of humans in white coats. Yes, they had different hair and skin colors that he could use to tell them apart, but underneath it all, they were all the same, cold and uncaring, so he didn't bother. 

All of them except him.

There, huddled in with the white-haired human he vaguely recognized from the day he was captured, and a redheaded human with strange contraptions on her arms, he found the source.

It was him.

The man was relatively unassuming, tall, but not too tall, lean, but not too lean, a shock of brown-hair in a shade that didn't stand out much among a sea of similar colors, but still the man called to him in a way that no others had before, or since. Somehow, almost like the man could sense his presence, the man's attention swiveled towards the tank, honing in on him within seconds of his appearance and nebulous voids of green and brown met his, a look of surprise splashed across the man's features. He felt a shock run down his spine the instant their eyes locked, and for a moment all he could do was stare, pinned in place by the gaze of the human on the other side of the glass. 

But then, the human blinked, and the moment was magically broken. And to his embarrassment, feeling entirely too overwhelmed with unexplainable emotions, he fled.

He had expected the human to never return after that unfortunate encounter, much like the rest of the rotating cast of bland, unassuming humans coming and going as they pleased, but to his surprise, the man with traces of home on his skin kept coming back. 

And he found that more than anything, he wanted to speak with this human. To press himself against the glass and absorb every miniscule trace of home the man possessed, but unfortunately, he quickly found that this strange human was never alone.

He came during the day, while the other humans bustled about and made his head pound with their obnoxious sounds, sometimes with the redhead, other times by himself, but always with a large flat square clutched tightly in his grip.

And so, like always, he watched, and he waited.

A few times he was nearly certain the human caught him watching, but often the man would just shake his head and turn back to the white thing in his grip, tracing over it with a strange utensil. And for some reason, this made him very sad, a melancholy growing in his chest each time the human averted his gaze.

Finally, after many days of patiently waiting, the human did something none of the others had done before. He came alone.

He was practically overjoyed at his luck; he would finally get the chance to approach the human. To get a whiff of home, to soak it into his skin.

But as the human approached the glass, his jaw set and his brows drawn over his beautiful brownish-green eyes, he balked.

What if this human, this special human, the human scattered through his memories with pieces of home nestled across his skin and burrowed in his hair, what if he was scared? What if he was scared of him?

He knew he looked different than the humans, with their blunt teeth and their complete lack of a tail. He was different in nearly every way, and what if this human didn’t like what he saw? What if he turned away at the sight of him, and he lost the one trace of home he had left in this awful place.

His fins fluttered nervously as he was torn between the piece of himself who longed to get closer, to see, to touch, to hear, and the part of him that was afraid, cowed and broken by his entrapment. Because deep down, he was afraid of the humans, even this one, his special human, for what they might do to him.

Unfortunately, the scared, cowardly part of himself won out.

So, with a heavy heart, he watched from the shadows as the human stood expectantly near the glass, he watched as the hope slowly drained from his eyes until his lips were pinched into a weary frown, his green-brown eyes dark and tired and irrevocably sad.

He watched as the human pressed his hand to the glass and spoke, softly.

He had never heard a human’s voice so quiet, so gentle.

Then the human spoke again, louder.  

He could not understand. Not quite. The sounds seemed just on the edge of his comprehension, but the more he tugged at the words, the more the sounds unraveled, unwilling to give up their secrets.

He gobbled up the words anyways. Hoarding the human’s soft voice and unknowable words.

While he was distracted, the human had retreated from glass, slumping down a ways away, at the same place he always did. He mourned the increased distance between them and resigned himself to the thought that this was the closest they would likely ever get. His opportunity had passed. He had waited too long.

But then the human started to sing.

It had been ages since he’d heard a song that wasn’t his own, and the familiarity tickled at the edges of his consciousness. It wasn’t the same. Not even close. But it was enough. The sound tugged at his brain, and his stomach, and his chest, his ears ringing as every part of him screamed to close the distance.

And before he could even comprehend that he was moving, he found himself plastered up against the glass. Staring down at the human. His human. The first human he had ever known.

The human looked up. And for one beautiful, terrifying moment their eyes met, and he was certain the human knew, was sure he could feel it, this thing stretching between them. He was different now, and the human was different. But they were also the same. And if it took him being ripped from his home in order for them to meet, it would’ve been worth it. Every moment between this one and the last, all leading up to this, this moment now. Their souls reunited.   

It could have been seconds, or eons that the two spent staring at each other, but still it was over all too soon. The instant the human’s eyes met his, the man yelped, knocking over some object in front of him with a loud crash. The abrupt sound startling him out of his reverie and once again, like the coward he was, too overwhelmed by his own emotions and drowning in half-forgotten memories, he fled.

Surprisingly, the next day, the human came back.

He could feel the human’s presence on the other side of the glass, tugging at him like a particularly insistent string, but still he felt a part of himself holding him back.

He was embarrassed.

Not once, but twice, he had disappeared without even a word to the human, and he was mollified at his behavior. He had let his anxieties get the best of him. Him, a fearsome predator, a dangerous beast, hiding himself away the instant he got frightened.

He couldn’t find it in himself to face the human just yet.

But then the human started to hum, and the music wound its way inside his chest, nestled in between his ribs and around his lungs until it settled in beside his heart, building itself a home there. 

And because he was weak. Weak to this music, weak to this human, weak to the taste of home so tantalizing close yet so far away, he found he could not resist the human's pull.

He couldn’t even find it in himself to be embarrassed when his tail started to glow excitedly as he approached the glass. The human staring back at him, wide eyed. A strange happy sound coming from his lips.

He lapped up the sound, soaking in the musicality of it, before spitting it back out, repeating the noise near perfectly for the human to hear.

The human repeated the sound back to him, words spilling from his mouth, and he gobbled up every single one of them, reveling in every single beautiful piece of it.

And from that point on, he was absolutely gone.  

Will, that was the human’s name, brought him drawings, whole books full of his fins and tail and hands and eyes, so, so many drawings of his eyes.

He loved every single one of them.

He longed more than anything to be able to reach out and touch the pages, to slide a delicate finger over Will’s sketches, to soak in the vibrant shadings, to feel the utter devotion Will held for his craft.

But the glass was always in his way.

Next, Will brought other humans. At first, he was scared, worried that these people would be no different from the others. But the instant Will pressed a small woman’s hand to the glass, his eyes open and honest and pleading, he knew that he could never deny his human anything. And so, more humans joined his small circle.

Max, the redhead with the silvery sticks strapped to her arms, or on occasion, a chair with wheels. She seemed utterly fascinated by him in a way no one else but Will really was. He hated to admit that he actually enjoyed the attention, as the redhead constantly looked him up and down, taking notes, but it didn’t have quite the same effect on him as Will and his drawings.  

Nancy, the poofy haired woman with a knowing glint in her eye, the woman brave enough to be the first to press her palm against the glass, and despite not knowing her very well, he found he felt a strange sense of attachment towards her.

Robin, ever talkative, her hands constantly moving in strange, but graceful shapes through the air, always hanging off Eddie’s shoulder, or leaning into Max’s side, or peeking at Will’s drawings. She was friendly, nice, and he was always happy to see her.

Eddie, bringer of music and wild hair. Who he liked well enough, but something inside him seethed every time he caught Will’s kaleidoscopic green-brown gaze staring at the man while he wasn’t looking.

And lastly, Erica. He hadn’t liked her much at first, and they usually didn’t get along, but she was smart as a whip, and he had begrudgingly learned to respect her after she realized the water filters were hurting his ears and between one day and the next managed to get them quieted to just a dull ever-present hum.

Each and every one of them managed to find a place in his heart, in the space Will had carved out for them.

The next thing Will gifted him was words, although that was more of a joint gift along with Robin’s assistance, but it was a gift nevertheless. Around him, Will always seemed to be talking, and at first, he didn’t understand a single thing the human said, the words fluttering around the edges of his brain just begging to be understood, but every time he reached for them, they flew just slightly out of reach. But each and every word Will spoke he drank in with abandon, memorizing the shape and feel of the words against his lips, his tongue, the taste of pure Will.

Eventually he expanded to taste Max and Eddie and Erica and Nancy and Robin, but he always thought Will tasted the sweetest, and his were the words he always came back to, the smooth sounds rolling across his tongue like honeyed nectar.  

With Robin’s help, Will’s words eventually formed themselves into something he could understand, something he could even learn to speak. Not with his mouth, but with his hands.

As much as he hated the strange gestures, feeling oddly inept as he carefully tried to form letters and phrases with hands much more suited for killing than for language, every time he managed to finally get one right Will absolutely lit up from the inside out, glowing in an entirely different way than him with his fluorescent spots. And after seeing the beauty of Will’s happiness, he never wanted it to stop, he wanted to always be the one to cause Will to make that face. So, begrudgingly, he learned to sign.

The last thing Will gave him, and perhaps the one most precious gift of all, was a name.

He already had a name of course, but it was one that seemed to be completely incomprehensible to human speech, so Will took it upon himself to give him one they could both understand.

Will would spend hours listing every name he could think of, constantly asking for his opinion, wanting it to be something he liked most of all.

He had liked the name Michael. Enjoyed the musical lilt of Will’s voice as he spoke it, and something inside of him knew, intrinsically, that it was the name he wanted.

As he munched on Will’s words, taking Will’s voice speaking his new name into himself, he tried to sign it. Will slowly spelling out the letters needed for the sign.

But his fingers were clumsy, and his claws were too long, and he despite numerous attempts, he couldn’t seem to get the sign right. He was growing frustrated and angry, his fingers growing even more unwieldy under his righteous rage until Will called him out of it with gentle words that instantly drew his attention.

“Hey now," Will called, waving to get his attention, “What about Mike?”

He tilted his head, subtly tasting the word, rolling it across his palate, gnashing it thoroughly between his teeth. Will grinned.

‘M-I-K-E.’ Will spelled out slowly, blinking at him expectantly as he waited for him to mirror his gesture. 

His fingers still stumbled slightly over the letters, but he was able to complete the sign successfully on his first try. Attributing it to just a sudden fluke, he repeated the sign again, and again, and again.

He could feel himself getting excited and wasn’t even ashamed of the way his tail began to glow, too proud to show Will his new name to even begin to feel self-conscious.

Will was grinning back at him dopily, his eyes glowing with the reflection of his own lights.

He pointed to himself, ‘Mike.’

Then he pointed at Will, ‘Will.’

And when he smiled, mirroring Will’s expression, something he was still trying to get the hang of so that he didn’t slice his lips open on his sharp teeth, but by some miracle, this time he managed to do it successfully.

Will looked practically ecstatic, and Mike couldn’t help but preen.

"So I guess that means your name is Mike.” Will grinned.

Mike tasted his new name, short, sharp and delicious.

He was unable to resist repeating it back to Will. His mind buzzing with the sound of his own name.

“Mike. Mike. Mike.”

Feeling more happy than he thinks he’s ever been before, he allowed himself to do a couple of childish flips in the water before coming up to press his palm against the glass.  

He had a name. Will had given him the greatest gift of all, and his heart was nearly full to bursting. Will pressed his palm against his from the other side of the glass and Mike couldn’t help the way Will’s voice slipped out from between his teeth, full of affection and warmth and all the words he didn’t yet know how to say.

“Will.”

Despite feeling like everything had suddenly changed, in reality, nothing really had. He was still trapped, still subjected to the annoying scientists buzzing about during the day and the too bright lights and the ever-growing longing for home, but with Will around, things didn’t seem quite so bad. He could almost forget about the thick pane of glass nestled between them, as Will drew him pictures, and gifted him with an ever-growing feast of words.

But soon it wasn’t enough.

Soon, Mike wanted more.

Will had given Mike so many things, and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to repay him for all his kindness, but he figured he could at least make an attempt.

In his free time, he spent every possible moment scouring his tank, looking for rocks or shells that sparkled in the light, small bits of beauty he could share with his human.

He hoarded them all, meticulous in his collection of only the greatest things. His gifts to Will had to be perfect, no imperfections in sight. Mike spent long nights rubbing the insides of shells with coarse sand to bring out their inner shine, breaking open rocks to reveal hidden veins, and secretly, he began collecting the best pieces of his already impeccable collection, placing them off to the side in a second pile. He didn’t entirely know what he would do with them yet, but he would be ready when he finally did.

The first time he gifted Will with an item from his collection, Mike’s stomach had been churning with nervousness, worried the human wouldn’t like his gift.

He knew that Will would be nice about it, of course. He had seen it countless times when other humans in white coats would come up and talk to him. Will would smile and nod and pretend to look interested, but the smile wouldn’t reach his eyes, and Mike could always tell he was faking it. Mike didn’t know what he would do if Will turned that expression on him.

He had practically worked himself into a frenzy by the time Will had arrived, swimming circles in front of the glass, his fingers worrying the shell he had spent the day before polishing until it gleamed, revealing hints of pale orange and pink against the creamy white center.

Mike barely noticed Will’s entrance in his distracted state, only being pulled from his stupor by Will’s tapping against the glass.

.... ..

Hi

Mike reflexively tapped back the answering message, but still refused to look at the human, his teeth tugging anxiously at his bottom lip.

.... ..

Hi

“Mike, what’s wrong?” Will asked, and Mike finally managed to turn to face the brunet, whose face was pinched into a tight frown as he looked him up and down.

Mike quickly waved away the human’s worries, ‘Nothing’s wrong. I was just… thinking.’

The creases around Will’s mouth eased somewhat, but the human still looked slightly worried. “What are you thinking about so hard that it’s got you looking like that?”

Instead of answering, since Mike was certain this conversation would just end up going in circles, he shoved his hand out, opening his fingers to reveal the small shell nestled in the palm of his hand, rosy colors on display for Will to see.

“Gift.” He spoke this time, Eddie’s words from the week previous. His rough, huskiness spilling out from between his teeth.  

Will locked eyes with him then, mouth dropping open in surprise.

“Is that for me?” He whispered, his voice strangely quivery.

Mike, needing a moment to process the situation, blinked. The white membrane sliding over his eyes and allowing him a brief moment of respite before he had to supply Will an answer.

Once he could see clearly again, he saw that Will was still staring up at him, a strange expression Mike couldn’t read on his face.

Mike had gotten better at reading Will, especially since in the beginning it was so hard to communicate with either words or signing. He could usually easily tell if Will was excited or annoyed, and he had become especially adept at reading Will’s subtle microexpressions of tiredness or hunger, usually only noticeable by the slight twitching of the skin under Will’s left eye, or the constant pinch of his lips.

But he had never seen this expression on Will’s face before. And he had absolutely no idea what Will could possibly be thinking. A familiar twist of anxiety threaded through his gut the longer the two of them stared at each other, neither one reacting, until Mike finally broke first.

Slowly, he nodded.

‘For Will.’

For a brief moment, Will’s expression was utterly frozen, and Mike was worried he had done the wrong thing, and that maybe Will hadn’t liked his present after all.

But then Will smiled. His entire face opening up like a flower, a smile blossoming across his face until he was nearly glowing.

Actually, Will was glowing.

Apparently, at the sight of Will’s expanding grin, Mike’s tail had begun to glow of its own accord, splashing Will’s features in shining blue light.

And he was absolutely beautiful.

Mike smiled then, every single wickedly sharp tooth visible, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

After the success of the first gift, Mike strove to find ways to give Will gifts almost daily. He lavished the human with shells and rocks and corals, until the stack of presents up near the glass grew into a small mound.

Mike liked the look of the mound, winking prettily in the low lights, but something about it also made him sad. All of his gifts to Will were unreachable. The human stuck on one side of the glass while Mike and all his presents were trapped on the other side.

He wanted Will to feel his gifts, to be able to touch them and hold them and take them to his own nest, somewhere far beyond Mike’s tank, but mostly, Mike wanted to see Will wearing his gifts.

He wanted something lasting, something to mark to the other humans that Will was his. His designated human. The most important thing in Mike’s life.

So, he started to plan.

It took nearly all his free time to choose only the best items from his collection for Will's gift, and Mike began weaving the glistening shells and corals into vibrant green sea grasses, his long fingers constantly starting and restarting until the weave was up to his meticulously high standard.

But still, something was missing.

It wasn’t until a particularly ferocious fish knocked out one of his teeth during his designated mealtime and his tongue prodded at the sore spot in his gum where the tooth had once been, that he got the perfect idea.

He would give Will a piece of himself in his gift, a part of Mike that Will could carry with him to go all places Mike could not.

The idea sent a thrill through him, his skin buzzing at the idea of seeing his own tooth strung up like a prize around Will’s slender, tanned neck.

Abandoning the few remaining fish circling the tank to a couple hours more of life, Mike snatched his discarded tooth from where it was slowly sinking down in the water, and immediately got to work.

Two Will visits later, the necklace was finally complete. And Mike was once again shaking with nervous anticipation for Will to arrive.

For Mike to be able to show his human the gift he had been working so hard on. To see Mike’s sharp incisor nestled into the hollow of Will’s throat, a mark, a brand, for all to see and know that Mike had staked his claim.

Will was his.

Mike was so caught up in his own fantasy, he hadn’t even thought to think of what might happen if Will decided to reject his gift.

So, when Will stood silent, staring openmouthed at Mike’s gift, the panic began to set in.

Did Will not like it? Did he not know what it meant? Did Mike read it all wrong? 

But then Will smiled, soft and warm and light with his dull blunted teeth and Mike was absolutely gone.

He thinks he was smiling too, sharp and vicious to Will’s smooth, his tail fluorescing a bright, pulsing glow that lit Will up in unending shades of blue.  

And he was beautiful.

Mike, admittedly hadn’t put much thought into the next part of his plan, actually giving Will his gift, besides checking to make sure he could actually breech out of the water high enough to grab onto the catwalk, which was surprisingly easier than he expected.

If he had figured that particular trick out his first week of captivity, before Will had arrived, he was certain he would have used is as a means to escape, but if he had, he never would have met Will.

Will who was now carding his delicate, soft hands through Mike’s hair, scratching gently at his scalp in a way that sent tingles down his spine.

He was fairly certain the human even managed to coax a few coos and purrs out of him with his magic fingers, a sound he didn’t think he had made since he was a pup.

Mike wished he could stay like this forever, resting in Will’s lap as the human drew tiny circles on his skin, but eventually, their fun had to come to an end. This time in the form of Will’s tiny spitfire of a scientist friend, Max.

With an annoyed grumble, Mike pulled himself off of Will, noticing the way the human had stiffened beneath him, eyes wide and scared at the sound of Max’s voice.

He longed to stay, to smooth the furrowed wrinkle between his human’s brows, but he knew if he were caught up here, it would like spell trouble for them both. So instead, he swept his arms around Will and delicately laid his present around his treasure’s smooth throat before sliding off the catwalk and into the smooth, dark waters below because Mike always enjoyed a flair for the dramatic. 

And he reveled in the way he could feel the way Will’s eyes on him long after he had disappeared into the watery abyss.

Eventually, Will moved from his spot in the rafters, slowly descending back to the main floor, Mike tracking him all the while. Even though he was trying to remain hidden, so as not to expose the tell-tale blue flush of his cheeks and tail, which showed just how affected he really was by his little stunt earlier, it didn’t stop him from sneaking peeks at Will from his hiding spots within the tank.

He saw Will constantly fiddling with his necklace and felt a rising sense of satisfaction with each pass of his fingers, knowing that Will was touching a piece of him. And although it wasn’t as good as if Will was touching him directly, it was a passable alternative that left a strange feeling bubbling in his gut as he watched from the sidelines.

Mike saw the moment Will noticed the white-haired scientist. Saw the way his body suddenly stiffened the moment Dr. Owens eyes left his.

The buzzing underneath his skin grew to nearly unbearable levels as he watched Will shift uncomfortably while he spoke to the older human, and Mike longed to smash his way through the thick wall of glass and curl himself around Will’s fragile human body protectively, hissing and spitting at this man who had imprisoned Mike, the man that for some reason made Will so viscerally ill-at-ease.

Unfortunately, Mike knew any potential reaction he might have would probably do more harm than good, so he forced himself to remain still. Tamped down the growl rising in his throat, the angry flush of his tail, and looked on silently. He knew Will was stronger than most humans, brave and unafraid in a way that even Mike was not, so he trusted his human to handle this situation on his own.

Mike still hated the way Will’s shoulders slumped as he slowly shuffled after the older man, and Mike longed to call out to him, to ease his worries, to erase the frown marring his beautiful features.

But Mike, ever the coward, remained silent as he watched Will leave.

He knew Will could handle himself around the older human, but it didn’t stop Mike from nervously swimming circles in the darkest hidden parts of his tank, obscured from any of the scientists’ prying eyes.

Even without being able to see into the rest of the lab, Mike could still hear the researchers bustling about. Mindless words that meant nothing to Mike, falling toneless and clunky against his hypersensitive ears. Occasionally he was able to pick out familiar voices, Eddie’s braying laugh, Nancy talking into her voice recorder, Max cursing quietly under her breath, which helped him feel slightly more at ease. But even as he drew comfort from their soothing sounds, it only made him more aware of the one sound that was missing. The voice he wanted to hear most of all. Will.

And then he felt it.

That faint tingling sense of home Mike always associated with Will.

Mike perked up; his ears so intently focused on seeking out Will’s voice that the sudden clang of the metal door opening caused him to violently flinch.

And then simultaneously every one of his senses were immediately overwhelmed.

Home.

Home.

The strange lingering presence of home was so much stronger than he had ever felt before in this place, completely eclipsing the faint whispers he was usually able to sense wafting off of Will. Mike felt it like a violent yanking in his gut, his primal instincts urging him forward, towards safety and comfort and-

Home.

Mindlessly, Mike felt himself moving, twisting and contorting himself around rocks and corals to put himself on the most straightforward path towards home. He barely even realized he was swimming out in the open, his ears muffled to the shocked intakes of breath from the scientists as he slithered into the harsh lights. His only focus was pinpointing the source that was bombarding his every sense.

He found it almost instantly. There, standing nearly pressed up against the glass, was a woman. Her dark eyes shining widely as she stared up at him. Mike stared back.

His mind couldn’t even process what the woman actually looked like; his brain so overwhelmed by the presence of home spiraling around her.

She was absolutely coated with memories of home, so thick Mike could almost feel it.

He had finally found it. The thing he hadn’t even realized he had been looking for. His ticket out of this cage and strange world too bright and loud. He had finally found a way home. And this woman was going to give it to him.  

Instinctively, Mike reached a hand out, longing to touch, to feel home pressed against his fingers, and the woman in turn pressed her tiny hand against the glass.

The instant their hands met, even through the thick barrier of glass, every cell in Mike’s body seemed to ignite. He was distantly aware that he had begun to glow, the reflections of blue refracting off the glass and across the woman’s stunned face, but all Mike could do was try to swallow down every single last vestige of home this woman could offer, attempt to replenish his slowly depleting stores as she stared at him with awe.  

Compared to Will, who Mike had slowly been siphoning off of for weeks, who only contained a small fraction of this power, and it often took hours, if not days to fully replenish after Mike drained him, this woman’s power seemed almost bottomless. No matter how much he seemed to take, tugging violently at every flyaway piece of home that drifted slightly too far away from the source, the power surrounding the woman never seemed to dim. Mike was practically drunk on it, so unused to absorbing so much at once, and the woman didn’t even seem to notice, the amount he was taking so inconsequential, Mike had to wonder if this woman was even human.

He was certain his face had morphed into a rather stupid expression as he focused most of his attention on sucking down every drop of home. He was aware of the many voices around him, loud and grating and utterly distracting, but Mike was able to mostly tune them out, well used to the annoying buzzing of the other scientists.

Mike’s skin tingled, and his heart raced at the power flowing through him, stronger than it had been in all the days and weeks he had been trapped here.

But then the woman’s smile grew knowing, and she pulled her hand away from the glass with a wink, shaking her head slightly as if to say, ‘That’s enough for now’, and reluctantly, Mike had to admit that the woman was probably right, any more and Mike might just burn himself up. He already felt entirely too warm, flushed and aching like he had gorged himself on too much food.

But in spite all that, Mike felt alive.

Tugging his gaze away from the strange woman with home oozing off her skin, Mike slowly became aware of his surroundings. All the researchers crowded up against the sides of the tanks, dozens of clipboards and fancy science equipment he didn’t know the names of filling up the rest of the space. He fought the urge to flee under their collective gazes, not wanting to seem weak now that he had exposed himself in such an over the top way, and he hoped his cheeks weren’t flushed a brilliant blue.

In the back of his mind, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Will’s was telling him that he was embarrassed, much as Mike loathed the fact.

Thoughts inevitably pointing to Will, Mike flicked his gaze back down to the crowd, searching for Will’s familiar sandy brown locks. He wished everyone else would just leave so that he could talk to Will, to break down and ask him about the immense well of power the woman had, certain that he could sense it too, since he possessed a faint remanent of it in himself.

A familiar voice, Robin, cried out, dragging Mike’s attention away from the crowd.

“Will, come back!”

And Mike was just barely able to catch a glance of Will’s back as he slipped silently out the door, not even bothering to turn around.

Mike wilted, feeling oddly betrayed that Will didn’t even stick around to say hello.  

Even with the power thrumming under his skin, itching to make itself known, Mike found himself suddenly very, very tired.

The crowd, the noise, the lights, it was suddenly all too much. He had pushed himself too far out of his comfort zone today and it was finally catching up to him. Sparing a quick glance and small nod to the brunette who had ever so graciously shared her power with him, and not even bothering to acknowledge the rest of the horde of scientists, Mike retreated back into the depths of his enclosure, his thoughts playing Will’s sudden exit on a loop, wondering if his human was angry or upset for some reason, but unable to pinpoint a source. With a sigh, Mike plopped down onto the sand, settled into a comfortable position, his tail curling up around his chest and his hands finding their home amidst his fluttering tail fin, and he was instantly asleep.

The next day, the energy of home was still thrumming wildly under his skin, setting him on edge. Mike yearned to show Will exactly what he could do with all this excess power and he was practically giddy as he waited impatiently at the glass wall of the tank, eyes fixated on the door, counting down the minutes until Will finally arrived.

And he waited and waited.

There were no clocks in the lab, not that Mike could tell time the human way with any sort of efficiency, but after weeks of early morning meetups, Mike’s biological clock has become well attenuated with Will’s schedule, and he could often accurately guess when Will would arrive within minutes.

So, the fact that Will hadn’t shown up yet was concerning. The paranoid part of Mike’s brain growing louder and louder for every minute Will didn’t walk through the laboratory doors.

He couldn’t be entirely certain how much time passed from when Will was supposed to arrive, with no windows and the only source of light the mildly annoying overhead lights, but Mike had nearly worked himself into a frenzy in the interim.

What if something happened to him?

What if the scientists decided to take him away and do experiments on him?

What if he’s-

Mike tried to force himself away from darker thoughts. He attempted to distract himself by preening his tail, a task that was abandoned when Mike nearly ripped a hole in his caudal fin with a misplaced claw when he heard the water filtration kick on and he mistook it for the sound of the door opening and jerked up in surprise. Next, he tried weaving Will a bracelet to match his tooth necklace, but by the fourth time Mike messed up his knots because he was too busy staring out at the unmoving lab door, he had flung the bracelet at the glass with an angry hiss, and he knew any effort at distraction was futile, and decided to just settle in to wait.

He had bitten his lip bloody from the way he kept absently tugging it into his mouth, a nervous habit he thought he had kicked years ago, and his nerves were causing his florescent spots to go haywire, randomly flickering on and off in time with his erratic heartbeat, as Mike’s eyes once again found themselves focusing on that damn door.

Minutes, or maybe hours, Mike wasn’t entirely sure, ticked by tediously slowly. But still no signs of his brown-haired human. He was contemplating launching himself onto the catwalk again in an attempt to break out, or to at least speak to someone who might know where Will was when the familiar clanking noise of the door instantly had him abandoning all sense of logic as he pressed himself up against the cool glass.

“So, Dr. Owens suggested adding a platform on the surface of the tank. One that Speciment-0407 could come up onto if he wanted, while also allowing an area for researchers, or the staff feeding him to be able to stand on. I’ve got a potential design sketch in my notebook.” A familiar voice spoke from the other side of the door, not yet crossing the threshold.

Instantly, Mike was alert, his earfins twitching excitedly underneath his thick hair as Will’s voice echoed out across the large space. Mike, long past the point of being embarrassed, barely even noticed the vibrantly flickering lights of his tail as he strained to catch sight of his human. He wanted to make sure that Will was indeed okay, his wandering thoughts not allowing Mike to rest until he had ensured his human’s safety.  

Even without seeing him, just the sound of Will’s voice put Mike more at ease, the tension in his shoulders easing, and his luminescence taking on a much more serene glow.

Will stepped through the door, looking like an absolute vision, even in his regulation lab coat and with noticeable bags under his eyes, although Mike knew he would certainly need to have a talk with the human about getting more sleep. Mike practically sagged with relief at the sight of him, all the dark thoughts of Will being kidnapped and strapped to a table while scientists prodded him with needles and knives went up like a puff of smoke.

Will, like usual, had his nose buried in his sketchbook, flipping quickly through the pages, his brows pinched as he looked for something. Mike felt his lips turn up into a grin as he chirped at Will, the human quickly sparing him a glance that sent his heart fluttering in his throat before turning his attention back to the sketchpad. Mike raised his hand up into a wave, preparing to call out again to the scientist when another figure strode through the door, a man with deeply tanned skin and a belt holding even more tools than Eddie’s that Mike didn’t recognize. Will’s gaze flitted away from Mike as the man spoke, looking briefly at the sketchbook from over Will’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I think that’s something we can do, no problem. When do you think you need it done by?”

Mike wilted, his lights immediately fluttering out as Will turned his back to Mike to speak to the other man, and the buoyant feeling in his chest instantly turned to ice.

Will, his back still turned to Mike, something the human rarely, if ever, seemed to do if he could help it, spoke again, “If you could get it done by the end of the week that would be great. Honestly the sooner the better, you know how Owens is.”

And then Will and the man laughed. The new human resting a hand on Will’s shoulder. Mike couldn’t see Will’s expression from here, but he hated the casual, carefree way that this new human smiled and touched Will. His Will. Something dark and vile squirmed in Mike’s chest at the sight.

Unbidden, a low growl clawed its way from Mike’s throat, deep, guttural.

The laughter died, Will and the strange man instantly whipping around, eyes wide as they stared up at Mike. The new human’s face paled noticeably, and distantly some part of Mike was pleased at the sight as he glowered down at them, teeth bared.

“I -er- I’m, gonna go get working on that thing. I’ll -uh- see you later.” The man’s voice pitched higher as he scooted away, unwilling to take his eyes off Mike until he was safely back through the large metal door.

“Yeah, bye.” Will huffed to the now empty room, before turning back to Mike, a puckered frown marring his beautiful features.

Despite Will’s annoyed expression, Mike couldn’t help but perk up slightly now that his human’s attention was finally back on him.

“What the hell was that, Mike?!” Will fumed, stomping up to the tank and jabbing a finger accusingly at Mike through the glass. “You can’t go around posturing and getting all aggressive for no reason. We’ve talked about this.”

Mike’s smile drooped, the warmth at seeing Will curdling in his belly now that he was faced with the scientist’s ire. ‘It wasn’t no reason.' He signed, unable to meet Will’s eyes.

Will sighed, crossing his arms and looking up at Mike, a strange expression on his features. “Oh, okay then. What exactly was your reason for chasing off the guy who’s supposed to be fixing up your tank?”

Mike chirped quietly, rubbing at his forearms. Now that the human had left the premises, Mike did feel slightly foolish for acting out. He hadn’t really been thinking when he had growled at the human, instead he just reacted when the stranger touched Will.

Will tsked, tapping his foot, “Well, I’m waiting.”

With a sigh, Mike finally raised his hand to sign, ‘He touched you. Didn’t like.’

For a brief moment, Will’s expression shifted to one of surprise, his eyes widening for an instant before it quickly shuttered. His voice came out oddly flat as he spoke, “Oh, I see.”

And then, without a word, Will whirled away and walked away, offering Mike his back as he stormed off, and Mike was just barely able to make out his muttered whisper of “Fucking hypocrite!” before he got too far out of range.

Mike couldn’t help the well of despair and confusion that was left in the wake of Will’s retreat. He would be the first to admit that maybe from Will’s human perspective Mike may have slightly overreacted towards the stranger, but he didn’t think that alone counted for Will’s visceral anger and sudden coldness towards him.

Mike frowned, wrapping his tail up around his torso and combing his fingers through his fins absently in a self-soothing gesture. He thought yesterday had gone so well. Will had accepted his gift. He finally got to hold and touch and feel Will’s talented artist fingers scrape against his scalp.

But now, barely a day later, Will seemed off, on edge and prickly in a way Mike had never seen before, and for the life of him, Mike couldn’t figure out what could have possibly set him off.

What had happened?

Lost in his own thoughts, Mike had remained stationary in front of the glass, distractedly picking at his tail and staring off into the distance where he had last seen Will’s retreating back. Which was exactly how Robin and Nancy found him, some indeterminable time later.

The pair had been talking softly, carrying matching travel mugs as they strode into the lab, their heads curled in towards each other as they spoke, that was until Robin’s gaze flitted up towards the tank, her shocked gasp catching Mike attention briefly as both women began bee-lining towards Mike the instant they saw he was up against the glass.

Mike suppressed a sigh as the two women approached. Usually, he was glad to see them, Robin in particular had a sense of humor that somehow managed to transcend species, but seeing the concerned expressions on their faces, Mike knew he was going to be in for an invasive barrage of questions he probably wouldn’t want to answer.

Much like he expected, Mike barely managed to sign a quick hello to the women before Nancy immediately began pestering with questions.

“What happened?”

“Is your tail okay?”

Where’s Will?”

“Did you hear-”

‘Too many questions.’ Mike signed, quickly cutting her off.

Robin laid a hand on Nancy’s shoulder, minutely shaking her head before she turned back to him, “Mike, where’s Will?”

Mike heart jolted at Will’s name. His gaze automatically going up in the direction Will had disappeared to, the faint feeling of home Mike had begun to inextricably link to the scientist long since dissipated from the air. His fingers clenched absently around his tail, the nails digging into the flesh just enough to hurt, but not enough to draw blood.  

‘Gone. He left. Angry.’ Mike wanted to curl up under a rock and forget about this entire day. He didn’t want to endure Nancy and Robin’s well-intentioned but painful questioning, but he figured these two were likely his best bet at figuring out why Will was so upset.

Robin’s mouth puckered into a frown and her and Nancy shared a look that Mike was unable to decipher. The pair remained uncharacteristically silent for a long moment until Nancy finally spoke up.

“Mike, did Will tell you why he was upset?”

Mike worried his bottom lip in between his teeth, hissing slightly when he nicked the sensitive skin, 'Will came in with someone I didn’t know. I didn’t like when he touched Will and growled at him. Will got mad and stormed off.’

Nancy looked slightly surprised by Mike’s answer, and he had a sinking suspicion that he had been right earlier in thinking that Mike’s sudden flair of possessiveness hadn’t truly been the thing that set Will off, ‘It’s more than that, right? Will was acting weird when he came in too. He didn’t even say hi.’

This time it was Robin who spoke, a concerned pinch in her brows, “Mike, I’m going to ask you a question, I promise that it’s related to why Will’s acting so weird.”

Mike nodded, slowly, he was willing to endure an entire mountain of questions if it would give him answers about Will.

“Why did you come out to the edge of the tank when that girl came by yesterday?”

“Home.” He responded immediately, without thought, his voice a facsimile of Will’s own, but the taste of Will sliding out from between his lips brought him no comfort.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Nancy managed to procure a pen and a pad of paper, her dark eyes sparking with sudden curiosity at Mike’s words, “Can you explain what that means?”

But suddenly Mike wasn’t listening, his mind back to replaying the events of the day previous, trying to peer through the haziness overlaying his memories after meeting the strange woman nearly full to the bursting with energy from home.

Will had been completely fine early in the day when Mike had first given him the necklace, he had seemed happy, excited even. But then when the white-haired scientist took him away, Will had seemed tense and anxious.

For the brief moment before he was overwhelmed by the presence of the oddly powerful woman, Mike had been able to sense Will. Even if Will’s energies were weaker than the woman’s, over the past weeks Mike had become finely attenuated to the exact feeling of Will, Will had come into the lab with the stranger, and Mike had nearly bashed himself brainless against the glass in his efforts to get to her, to feel the home on his skin once more.

Mike’s thoughts turned sharp, his stomach lurching violently as he realized with icy clarity exactly what had made Will so upset.

With shaky fingers, Mike signed rapidly at the women still standing expectantly on the other side of the glass, waiting for his response.

‘Was that woman… Was she Will’s-’ Mike’s signing paused. He didn’t know the word he wanted to use. His crash course of signing classes with Will and Robin had never covered this particular topic of conversation. Mike forged ahead regardless, tossing in any sign he thought was remotely applicable to the question he was trying to ask, and just desperately hoping Robin would be able to understand what he was attempting to say.

‘Was she his… friend-’ No, that wasn’t the right word. He was friends with Robin and Nancy, and he certainly never felt the same way about them that he did about Will, Mike tried again. ‘Companion? Special? Love?’

Mike’s sign was abruptly cut off by Robin’s harsh snort of laughter, the tall woman clutching Nancy’s shoulder as she doubled over and wheezed with delight. Even Nancy had a small smile pressing at the corners of her mouth. Mike tried to fight back against the rising tide of anger in his chest at the sound of Robin’s laughter at Mike’s genuine question.

He forced himself to remain calm, not wanting to lash out at the two people who might actually give him a clue as to what’s going on. Eventually Robin managed to get her cackling back under control, and she straightened back up, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes as she surveyed Mike with a smirk.

Mike was very glad there was a wall of glass in between them, because at that moment he very much wanted to sink his claws into her throat, something he doubted Will would appreciate.

“Will and El aren’t together. He was just showing her around the lab since she’s supposed to be the newest member to our team.” Nancy ever so helpfully supplied, and Mike could barely stop himself from melting at relief at her words. But even knowing that the new woman, El, hadn’t been Will’s mate, Mike still didn’t understand what caused Will’s abrupt change in behavior.  

‘Then why is Will mad?’

This time it was Robin who butted in, her voice still tinged with hints of laughter that grated roughly at Mike’s skin, “The same way that you just thought Will and El were together, Will thought the same thing about you two.”

Mike blinked. Then he blinked again. Unable to link Robin’s words to Will’s cause of anger. ‘Why would he think that? I gave him the necklace. It is only Will.’

Nancy let out a sharp exhalation, and Robin went so far as to smack herself on the forehead hard enough to leave a small reddish mark behind before she looked up at Mike, a knowing smirk spreading across her lips.  

“Oh, I see exactly what happened. You know, for such a smart guy, seems that Will really can be quite stupid.”

With a confused frown, Mike glanced at Robin, who was wriggling her eyebrows playfully like this whole thing was some kind of funny joke and Mike's heart wasn't currently at stake. He growled with annoyance, already far too worked up over this situation to deal with Robin's particular brand of humor at this moment in time and smacked the glass roughly to get the women's attention, startling the smiles right off their faces as they stared at Mike in surprise. 

'Explain. Now.' 

Chapter Text

One thing Will always did when he was stressed was draw... or paint... or sketch. Pretty much anything he could find to distract his hands and force his mind away from the unrelenting thoughts currently plaguing him.

He learned quickly from a young age that the soft shush-shush noise of his pencil against his sketchpad was the perfect noise to drown out all his screaming ruminations.

He filled up an entire sketchbook the summer his parents got divorced.

In the year after he got trapped in the Upside Down, he managed to work all his colored pencils down to unusable nubs.

He had blown nearly his entire food budget for the month on art supplies after he got the letter from Hawkins National Laboratory that the lab would no longer be funding his education and he would be forced to couch surf until he could save up enough from his numerous part-time jobs to keep himself on his feet over a thousand miles away from home.   

And now, Will had nearly filled up an entire sketchbook in just the course of a week, because yet again, he was spiraling.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” A sharp voice called from the doorway.

Will had been so focused on his drawing he hadn’t even heard anyone come in, and jumped with surprise at the unexpected sound, a dark jagged line slashing across the page.

He had been expecting an intervention of some sort for days now. Over the past week, his heavy-handed avoidance of most of his team unless absolutely necessary was obvious, that, combined with his tendency to spend an exorbitant amount of time in observatory room of the Gate Lab, whittling away the hours with sketches while the massive gate pulsed an ominous red in his peripheries was probably not a good indication of his current mental state. 

With every pitiful excuse Will let fall from his mouth, he saw the way Max’s frown deepened, and Eddie’s dark brows crunched, Nancy and Robin sharing an unreadable look while Erica rolled her eyes before turning back to her work with a pointed sigh.

He knew it was coming with the inevitability of an oncoming freight train, but he had still been powerless to stop it.

“Go away Max.” Will sighed, not even bothering to look up from his sketch, a drawing of his childhood home as it had been in the Upside Down, decrepit and covered in vines. Will suppressed a scowl as he noticed a pair of familiar dark eyes sketched into one of the windows, the same ones that always seemed to find a way of appearing in all of his drawings, no matter their contents. He shut his sketchbook with an annoyed snap, not wanting to stare at the ruined picture even a second longer.

“It’s not Max.” The woman behind him replied.

Slightly confused, Will whirled around to see who it was that had spoken, and was stunned to see that it was El, and not Max, who decided to be the one to attempt to drag him back to his senses.

“What are you doing here?” He blurted, trying to sneak a glance over El’s shoulder to see if any other members of his team had decided to join in on the ambush.

Luckily, it seems that El was mercifully alone. She sent Will a wan smile that didn’t reach her eyes before she strode across the room and settled into a chair beside Will, her eyes automatically moving to stare at the giant pulsating gate as opposed to Will’s face, something he wasn’t entirely sure was intentional, but for which he was thankful, nonetheless.

“I came to check on you.” El’s voice was soft, the hard edge from earlier leaking from her voice as she stared off into the distance, her face illuminated in the pale orange glow of the gate, “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

Will scoffed, “Nothing’s wrong El. Just leave it alone.”

He was immediately pinned under El’s dark oppressive gaze, and Will forced himself not to look away. El studied his face for a long moment, her brown, nearly black eyes unwavering in their focus before eventually the other scientist exhaled loudly through her nose and looked away.

“I can’t make you talk about it. I know there’s things people have tried to force me to talk about that may or may not have ended up with me tossing them psychically across the room.” El huffed out a short laugh, but it sounded hollow, like she had accidentally hit a sore spot. “But everyone else is worried. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Max has been trying to corner you for days.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ve noticed. Luckily, she’s pretty easy to spot with that giant head of fiery hair.”

El snorted, “At the rate you’re going, I think she’s trying to make it turn into actual fire the next time she sees you.”

“I wouldn’t be all that surprised. If anyone could do it, it would be Max.” Will replied thawing slightly at the other scientist's joke. Feeling oddly warmed by El’s answering laugh, unexpectedly at ease sitting beside the woman, the pair of them staring off at the gate visible through the observation window as they spoke instead of looking at each other. 

El’s voice grew serious once again, “But we’re worried about you Will. Eddie’s taken to blasting his music at full volume at all hours of the day hoping you’ll come at insult his music tastes, Robin and Nancy are constantly whispering about something, even Erica seems on edge. She’s had seven errors in her calculations this week alone. That’s more mistakes than I’ve seen in the months since I’ve started here. Mike’s been acting weird too, I’m not-”

“Mike?!” Will’s voice squeaked, cutting El off entirely, and Will hated the way his voice betrayed his emotions with just that one word.

El turned away from the observation window, her focus once again on Will, one dark eyebrow raised.

“Is that what this is about? Did Mike do something?”

Unbidden, the memory of Mike vibrantly glowing as he raised his hand to meet El’s from behind the glass sprung into focus, and Will fought to push it down with an aggravated scowl.

“He didn’t do anything wrong.” Will gritted out, “I just… misunderstood some things. He’s allowed to do whatever he wants with whoever he wants. It’s not like we’re anything more than glorified coworkers anyways.” Will was honestly surprised with the amount of vitriol he spat those last words, repressed anger bubbling its way out through the cracks in Will’s carefully crafted veneer.

El’s eyes widened, “Oh.”

“What do you mean, oh?” Will’s expression tightened.

But to his surprise, El smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners amicably, “You’re jealous.”

Will sputtered in response, “I’m not. What makes you think I’m-”  

El quickly interrupted his thinly-veiled excuse, “You know no one’s seen him since Tuesday. I think Dr. Owens wanted to try to sedate him to see if he was sick, but he’s been tearing up pretty much anything they’ve been dropping in the water. I haven’t even seen him in days.”

Will head spun with El’s dropped bombshell, but she wasn’t done. “You know, the few times I got the chance to speak to him, before he disappeared off to who knows where, the only thing he would talk about was you. I swear once he got going about you, he just wouldn’t shut up. I’m pretty sure the only reason he’d stop talking was because Robin's hands got too tired from all the translating.” The brunette grinned, a strange glint in her eyes, which had softened to a warm molten brown.

Will blinked, his brain still trying to wrap itself around El’s words, which seemed so incongruous with the thoughts Will had built up over the last week.

Mike only talked to El about him.

Mike was back to hiding. Not even coming out when El showed up.

Because of him.

There was just one thing he still didn’t understand.

“But then why was he so excited to meet you?” He wasn’t even aware the words were out of his mouth until he spoke them, and Will repressed the urge to wince for laying all his card on the table in such an obvious way.

El laughed, loud and sharp, and the sound pierced Will to his core, his gut twisting anxiously in response. “Wait, is that what you were worried about? Because he came out when I showed up?”

Abashedly, Will nodded, avoiding El’s knowing gaze.

“Honestly, I hadn’t even realized that was so weird until Max told me about it later. But I promise, whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong.”

Will head snapped up, eyes wide with surprise.

“I’m not entirely sure how it works, you’d have to ask Mike if you wanted specifics, but to the best of my knowledge, Mike’s just using me like a walking, talking battery.”

Whatever he had been expecting El to say, that had certainly not been it, “A… battery?” Will repeated dumbly, brow furrowed.

“Yeah, not entirely sure how he’s doing it, but he’s been draining my powers.” There must have been something alarmed in his expression at her words because El quickly waved her hands in front of her, a sheepish expression on her face. “Oh no, nothing harmful. Honestly, I’ve got so much of it that anything he manages to take pretty much immediately bounces back. But Mike has been looking loads better since then. The first few times he came out, he was glowing all over, and not just on his tail, his skin too. Which you would’ve known if you had actually been to the lab instead of hiding out here in front of this creepy gate like a weirdo. I don’t know how you can stand to be around it so much. I made the thing and even just looking at it gives me chills.”

El shuddered dramatically for effect, her attempt at lightening the mood surprisingly effective, as Will stole a look at the throbbing gate out of the corner of his eye, not bothering to hide his distaste for the eldritch horror.

“Yeah no, I hate it too. It just seems, wrong, somehow, and the weird glowy thing its got going creates absolutely awful lighting for drawing.” Will complained, “But it just so happens to be the place that people are the least likely to look for me.” He shrugged, “So beggars can’t be choosers.”

Before he could even blink, El reached her hand forward and cuffed him on the side of the head, smirking wryly, “Or maybe you could stop worrying all of us and come back to the lab.”

Will rubbed his head, “You’ve been spending too much time with Max.” He huffed.

“Well, if the person who was supposed to show me around the water lab hadn’t decided to disappear into thin air for an entire week, then maybe that wouldn’t be a problem.” El teased.

Will deflated. Even though El was only joking, he knew that she was right. He had been avoiding his teammates, and making them worry unnecessarily, dragging them all into his own problems all because he couldn’t sort himself out like a normal person. But Will had never really been a normal person. Nevertheless, he still felt guilty.

“El, I’m sorry.” Will could barely meet the brunette’s eyes, unsure if he would find something like pity or annoyance splashed across her features. Surprisingly though, when he finally managed to meet the woman’s steady dark brown gaze, he found that her eyes were only filled with concern.

El, a person he had only talked to for a few brief hours days before, had been worried about him. Will was surprised at the way that thought warmed him but didn’t get the chance to dwell on it long, since El was already speaking.

“You have nothing to apologize for, at least not to me. Although there is someone that you probably do need to talk to.” A slight furrow appeared in El’s brow.

“Who, Max? I’m sure that she’s going to beat me upside the head with her crutch the next time I see her for avoiding her for so long.” Will chuckled, fully expecting El to join him, but the other scientist remained quiet, the lines around her mouth deepening.

“No, not Max. Although you definitely need to apologize to her before she murders you. But I was talking about Mike.”

“Mike?” Will’s heart leapt in his throat at just the sound of the merman’s name, and he fought to keep his expression neutral as he continued, “Why would I need to talk to Mike?”

Judging by the way El’s lips twisted upwards, and her eyebrows raised, Will wasn’t fooling anyone, “Will, he hasn’t eaten since you’ve quit coming by. He hasn’t eaten anything in almost a week.”

“A week?!” Will didn’t even mind the way his voice shot up at the end, instead, as always, all thoughts went straight towards Mike.

Mike who apparently hadn’t been eating.

Mike who hadn’t been seen in days.

What if he was sick? Injured? Dead?

If Will had actually been around, could he have noticed it sooner? Prevented whatever strange affliction Mike was likely experiencing?

Will couldn’t help but come to the conclusion that Mike’s sudden lack of appetite and subsequent disappearance were somehow his fault.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Will immediately began shoveling all his pens into his bag, not caring as they tumbled straight down to the bottom, likely lost forever to the void because he didn’t bother to put them away properly before quickly jamming his sketchbook down on top of the detritus and bolting to his feet, already halfway out the door before El managed to call out to them.

“Where are you going?”

He barely spared the woman a backward glance, his brain stuck on a one-track spiral of Mike, Mike, Mike.

“I think you know where.” He managed to bite out, not wanting to seem overtly rude, before he frantically rushed out the door, completely oblivious to the self-satisfied smirk blossoming across El’s face as she leaned back against her chair, still staring off in the direction Will had left with a pondering look.

Will was breathless and shaking with nerves as he stood restlessly at the security checkpoint, staring daggers into the head of ridiculously slow security agent currently pawing through his bag.

He contemplated just leaving the damn thing, but figured having to explain why he was just dumping his stuff would probably take even longer than just allowing the man to dig through his belongings at what seemed to be an absolutely glacial pace.

He barely managed to not aggressively snatch his bag from the guard when he proffered it, and quickly hastened over to the door, tapping his foot impatiently as the guard slowly meandered over to unlock the security door.

The instant he heard the shrill buzz indicating the door was now unlocked, Will burst his way into the lab, instantly bee-lining for the giant wall of glass on the far side, narrowly avoiding barreling into the other scientists milling about in the large area by the skin of his teeth.

Despite the fact that El had said no one had seen Mike for days, and that Mike rarely appeared when the other scientists were present, Will still found himself scanning the glass out of habit, searching for any sign of the large merman on the other side.

Some small part of him was hoping that just his presence would be enough drag the siren out of hiding, since Mike seemed to possess some uncanny sense of knowing whenever Will would arrive, always appearing up against the glass in seconds if he came at a time the rest of the lab was deserted.

But the water remained dark and lifeless.

Will, mind thrumming with worry, carelessly tossed his bag down at his desk, only pausing to scoop out his CD player from the deep recesses of his desk drawer, not even bothering to look at what CD he had previously left inside before stomping his way over towards the edge of the tank, his eyes scanning the watery depths with worry.

Before he could make it more than a dozen steps from his desk however, he was quickly belayed by someone he particularly didn’t want to see right now, Max. Who was currently blocking the entire walkway rather effectively with the help of her wheelchair and some strategically placed arm crutches.

“Nice of you to finally join us.” Max cooed, her voice icy and sickly sweet all at once.

Even in his mindless haze of worry over Mike, Will still had enough sense left to grow cold at Max’s chilly tone.

“Max, I know I’ve been a dick the past few days, and I promise I’ll apologize properly later, but I really don’t have time for this, El told me that-”

“Mike hasn’t been eating?” Max cut him off, rolling forward until her feet were nearly touching Will’s shins as she glared up at him. “Yeah, I told her to say that. Knew it would probably send you running. Turns out I was right.” Max’s lips twisted, but her expression looked more like a grimace than a smile.

Will blinked, frowning at Max’s words, sparing a quick glance up at the seemingly empty tank before turning his attention back to Max, his skin feeling oddly tight and hot as he stared down at her. Max’s strange expression, combined with her jilted tone, was just the thing that finally broke Will’s churning emotions loose. His anger over the events of the past few days finally bubbling out in dangerous, vengeful swathes, and Max, unfortunately was directly in the line of fire. “What, so you lied about the entire thing? Why, just so you could enact your vengeance because I’ve been ignoring you for the last couple days? News flash Max, not everything is about you, some of us have actual shit to work through.”

By the time Will managed to wrangle his anger back under control, Max’s complexion had grown ridiculously pale, and her expression pinched into one of absolute hurt. Will felt an odd twinge of guilt in his stomach at how small Max looked in that moment. He opened his mouth to apologize, already regretting the words he had thrown at her so callously, but before he could do so, Max seemed to shake herself, and her wounded expression disappeared, replaced by an indifferent mask, her blue eyes flinty.

“If you think that’s something I would do, maybe we aren’t as good of friends as I thought.” Max spat, quickly tucking her crutches back into the pocket of her wheelchair and refusing to make eye contact with Will as she began the arduous task of turning herself around in the small, enclosed space.

Instantly Will felt awash with guilt, the bitter emotion managing to dampen his annoyance at his redheaded friend and his worry about Mike into levels he was able to think coherently around, and he knew he had majorly fucked up.

“Max, wait, I’m sorry I didn’t mean-” Will stammered, his hand floundering in the air between then awkwardly, unsure whether or not Max would welcome his touch.

Max, finally managing to spin her chair around, spared him a glance over her shoulder, “I know you’re working through some shit Byers, but maybe realize that you’re not alone in all this, and don’t lash out at the people who just want to help you. Is it so hard to believe that we might care about you Will? That we’re you’re friends?” Will was surprised to see her eyes glistening with unshed tears, and her voice seemed tight when she continued, “I wasn’t lying when I said Mike wasn’t eating. We haven’t seen him in days either. But he’s like a shark, remember. Most can go weeks or months at a time without eating. If I thought Mike was in danger of starving himself to death, I would’ve found a way to let you know a lot sooner.”

And with those parting words, Max was gone, quickly wheeling away back towards a corner of the lab where Erica and Robin were waiting, their expressions creased with concern.

And Will was left rooted to the floor staring after her, feeling like a complete asshole.

He knew he would eventually need to apologize, but he figured Max probably needed some time to cool off before he approached, so with a slightly heavier heart, he turned away from his teammates currently whispering together in the corner and set his sights back on his original mission.

Walking across the scaffolding above Mike’s tank was no easier the second time. Will’s hands were wrapped so tightly around the safety rails his knuckles were white. He glanced down uneasily at the dark waters rippling below and despite the fact that he was mostly certain Mike would never attempt to hurt him, he still didn’t want to risk falling into the inky void below.

Eventually, he rather shakily made his way to the end of the catwalk, where the engineers had apparently been working overtime since the last time he had been here nearly a week ago, the safety railing replaced with a metal ladder extending down to a small floating dock bobbing gently in the nearly nonexistent water current.

Carefully, Will made his way down the ladder, some small part of him hoping Mike would just pop out of the water the instant his feet made contact with the plexiglass dock. But unfortunately, no familiar merman appeared.

“Mike? Mike, are you there?” Will called out over the water, his eyes scanning the surface for a familiar head of dark hair.

One minute stretched into two, then five, then ten, but there was still no sign of Mike.

Will shifted uneasily, the worry gnawing at the pit of his stomach growing for every minute the merman didn’t appear.

He tried to tell himself that the only reason Mike wasn’t showing himself was because it was the middle of the day, that the lab was busy and Mike was feeling particularly shy. He forced himself not to think about the fact that Mike had not been seen for days, and he hadn’t eaten in even longer.  

Will, for lack of anything better to do in the oppressive silence, shucked off his shoes and stuck his feet into the cool water, hoping Mike wouldn’t mind the small intrusion, but also secretly hoping that maybe the merman would mind, and Will’s small invasion of Mike’s space would drive him up to the surface in indignation. He stared down at his toes, the pale untanned skin normally hidden by his socks standing out in stark contrast with the shadowy water surrounding them.

Figuring he was likely in for a long wait until the other scientists currently scurrying about the lab all decided to go home for the day, Will pulled out his CD player and slipped the headphones over his ears, only letting himself be mildly annoyed that it was one of Eddie’s Metallica CDs that began playing as he folded his hands behind his head and laid back against the dock, resigning himself to just pass the time staring listlessly at the rocky ceiling towering dozens of feet above him.

After Will cycled through Eddie’s CD a grand total of four times. Enough that his head was practically pulsating in time with the heavy beat, Will eyed the last few stragglers in the lab as they slowly meandered their way out, the large metal door clanging shut behind them with finality. And Will was finally, mercifully, alone.

He slipped the headphones down off his ears and let them rest around his neck as he peered down at the dark water. His feet had long since grown numb from the cold water, and he was certain his toes were positively pruny because he left them in for so long, but despite his discomfort, he refused to scoot away from the edge and pull his legs from the water.

He wiggled his toes hoping to regain some of the feeling in his numb appendages, but to little avail.

“Mike? Everyone’s gone. Can you come out please?

He was only met with silence in response.

“Mike?” Will whined, scowling down at the dark waters below. “Please come out. I just want to talk to you.”

There was still no response.

Annoyance began to rub painfully against his skin, Will had sat here for hours, waiting patiently for Mike, and the merman still refused to see him.

“Fine.” Will huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, “Don’t come out then. I’ll just go.”

Will had been at wits end for nearly an entire week, irrepressible thoughts of shame and disgust towards himself for falling for a merman in the first place, combined with the prickling seeds of jealousy every time he thought of Mike pressing his palm against the glass opposite of El. That combined with his rather heated conversation with Max earlier today had left Will feeling emotionally drained and unsurprisingly snappish.

He made to pull his feet up from the water, intent on going home and just trying again tomorrow when he was hopefully in a better mood, when, quick as lightning, a thinly boned, pale hand snaked up around his ankle, latching on with an iron-tight grip.

“Mike!” He cried in excitement, glancing down to try to spot the merman, and was surprised to see the pale arm extending down underneath the dock. He hung his head down off the side of the dock, trying to peer underneath the shadowy platform to catch a glimpse of the merman no doubt hiding underneath, uncaring of the way his bangs brushed the surface of the water as he squinted into the gloom.

After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted enough that he could spot a pair dimly glowing red eyes and Will couldn’t resist the urge to smirk in response, “Have you been hiding under here the entire time you asshole?”

Instead of answering, Mike tightened his grip on Will’s ankle, his claws pinching almost painfully at the delicate skin there, and Will caught sight of a set of razor sharp teeth curling into a mad grin at the exact moment Mike darted down towards the depths, Will’s leg still firmly in his grasp, and Will went tumbling into the tank after him, wholly unprepared to be literally swept off his feet by a crazed merman.

The instant his body hit the water, Will seized up from the sheer cold, his head going underwater almost immediately. Thankfully, Mike didn’t seem to be actively trying to drown him, since the merman quickly released his ankle the same second Will splashed into the pool, but overwhelmed by the sudden movement and the shocking cold of the water, Will found himself gasping involuntarily, releasing the small amount of air he had managed to breathe in before Mike dragged him under, and swallowing down a fair share of icy liquid in return.

His chest seized with the sudden lack of oxygen, and Will fought the instinctive urge to try to breathe again. Disoriented and now completely out of air, Will thrashed in the water, his eyes blowing wide as he wheeled about wildly, trying to determine which way was up, his eyes burning and lungs throbbing as he struggled towards the surface.

Before he could make it more than a couple of feet, a sudden warmth pressed itself against his back, wrapping itself around his torso and dispelling some of the water’s chill. Will longed to lean into the strange warmth, but his lungs were screaming at him to breathe, so he pushed himself away instinctively, lashing out at the warmth’s hold and trying once again to fight his way back towards the surface. For a moment the heated pressure vanished, the bitter cold of the water once again taking its place, and a small part of him mourned the loss. 

Will’s feet, already numb from his prolonged soaking in the water earlier, kicked lethargically, barely managing to propel him forward through the dark water. He was beginning to worry that he wasn’t going to be able to reach the surface after all, and maybe Mike truly had been attempting to drown him, when the warmth returned in full force, plastering itself across Will’s spine and wrapping across his stomach like a vise. Will, weak and lightheaded from lack of oxygen, was unable to fight back and sagged helplessly against the all-encompassing warmth, letting his eyes softly flutter shut, even as his chest twitched involuntarily, his lungs gasping for air he couldn’t give.

Then suddenly, the warmth at his back moved and the water began rushing past at blinding speed. Will’s ears popped, and then between one moment and the next he was spat out back on the dock, soaking wet and shivering, staring up blindly at the ceiling as he coughed and gagged, trying to catch his breath. As he leaned over onto his stomach, spitting up a disgusting mixture of water and bile as he sputtered feebly, a warm hand patted him gently on the back, rubbing comforting circles against his shoulder blade as he hacked and wheezed.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of coughing and spitting up water, Will eventually felt like he could breathe normally again, and became slowly aware of the warm pressure against his back, leaching away the brutal cold of his soaked clothes. Warily, he turned over onto his other side, unsure whether or not he was relieved or annoyed to see that it was Mike pressed up against him, his face hovering just inches away from his own.

Mike drew his hand away, eyeing Will cautiously like he was worried the scientist was going to lash out. Which, honestly, considering his current freezing, soaking wet state was almost entirely Mike’s fault, he was seriously contemplating.

“Mike?” Will said, voice edged with warning. “Want to explain exactly why you decided to try to drown me in the tank.”

The merman averted his eyes, but didn’t pull away, his hand picking absently at fabric of Will’s shirt. Mike shook his head. His dark curls spattering droplets of water across Will’s cheeks. Will resisted the urge to wipe them away.

“Mike.” Will repeated, his tone unwavering.

Mike’s face did a complicated expression before settling into a grimace. The dark-haired merman pulled away just far enough that Will could easily see his hands, and Will tried not to mourn the sudden loss of Mike’s body heat at the movement.

‘I was mad.’ Mike signed resignedly; his eyes still firmly affixed on anything besides Will.

Will scoffed, “So you decided to try to drown me?”

Mike froze, his eyes snapping up to Will’s as his features drooped, every part of Mike’s body screaming with guilt. Hesitantly he raised a shaky hand, ‘Didn’t know you couldn’t breathe in both. I’m sorry.’

And under the weight of Mike’s guilt-ridden gaze, all the indignation drained right out of Will. He sighed, “It’s fine. Definitely not my preferred way of greeting, but I guess I probably deserved it.” He raked a hand through his sopping wet hair, pushing back the strands plastered to his cheeks, and let out a heavy breath. “I’m sorry Mike. That wasn’t fair of me to leave without saying anything. I didn’t realize it would stress you out so much.”

Mike made a small noise in the back of his throat, his pale cheeks flushing blue. He waved his hand in front of his face, seemingly too flustered to sign a response.

Will used the opportunity to observe the merman for a moment, trying to determine if Mike’s ribs had always been that visible or he was just overreacting.

“I heard you haven’t been eating.” Will frowned and almost instinctively, prodded a finger into Mike’s side, somewhat surprised by the hard expanse of muscle he felt across the merman’s stomach.

Mike let out an odd sound at his touch, and Will distantly wondered if mermen could be ticklish, his fingers twitching unconsciously at the idea of pinning the merman down and diving for his sensitive sides while Mike writhed beneath him, trying to toss him off.

Will willed away the building heat in his cheeks at the slightly inappropriate thought when Mike spoke up, ‘Hard to eat. Worried about you.’

And now the pleasant warmth in his chest instantly curdled into a heavy weight in his stomach as Will was faced with the truth that Mike’s anxiety and strange behavior were completely and totally his fault.

“Mike, I am so sorry. I never should have done that. I hope you can forgive me for-”

Mike reached up and covered his mouth with one hand, cutting him off, the claws on his fingers gently resting against Will’s cheek as he quickly spoke over him in a mashed together sentence of Nancy and Erica’s stolen voices. “Not upset, Will is here now.”

Mike flashed him a small smile, not enough to fully bare his sharply pointed teeth, but enough to show that he truly didn’t harbor any harsh feelings.

The fact that Mike wasn’t irrationally angry eased Will’s guilty conscience somewhat, but he still felt the harsh burn of guilt like a dull knife twisting at his insides. Mike’s hand pulled away from his face, his fingers ghosting across his chin before they retreated, the movement sending a shiver down Will’s spine.

Mike’s eyes caught on the involuntary motion, but seemingly for the wrong reason, ‘Are you cold?’

Will, so distracted by first his annoyance and then his own self-reproach, had barely even noticed the chill until Mike brought it up, and then it was suddenly all he could think about. Goosebumps erupted across his exposed arms, and Will thought he could feel the soaked material of his shirt slowly leeching the heat from his body in real time.

“Maybe a little.” Will admitted, but despite his rapidly lowering body temperature, couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease the merman. “But whose fault is that?”

Mike scowled, glancing at Will up and down for a moment before deftly flipping Will around in a startling display of strength that had Will blushing furiously, so that his back was facing the merman. Then before Will could even get a word in edgewise, Mike quickly began tugging at the hem of Will’s shirt and it took Will a moment to realize what the merman was trying to do.

“Woah Mike, don’t tug so hard you’re going to-” Will was interrupted by a sharp tearing sound as the fabric of his shirt gave away and Mike let out a victorious chirp as the merman began quickly ripping off chunks of fabric in earnest, “-rip it.” Will finished resignedly, letting his head fall back against the fiberglass of the dock with a loud thud.

Once Mike deemed Will sufficiently free of his shirt, the merman was instantly on him, prodding and maneuvering Will’s uncooperative body until his back was pressed firmly against the merman’s chest.

Will nearly pushed himself away in surprise, his face heating at the sheer volume of skin-to-skin contact, but the blossoming warmth of Mike’s skin seeping against his back like a portable space heater had Will stilling his hand. He sighed with relief and slumped bonelessly against the merman as Mike slowly began sliding his hand down towards the waistband of his pants.

Will tensed, reaching backward to smack at the merman’s wandering fingers, “The pants stay on.” Will hissed and despite the annoyed noise Mike made in response, much to Will’s relief, the merman retracted his hand.

Since Will refused to remove his pants, Mike’s backup plan seemed to feature maneuvering Will’s legs into a slightly bent position before he proceeded to dump his entire tail down on top of them, shocking Will with the sheer weight of the appendage for a moment until he was thoroughly distracted by the way his legs began to warm under the radiating heat of Mike’s massive tail, even through the thick fabric of his slacks.

Unable to help himself, Will released a contented sigh at the all-encompassing warmth, wiggling his feet slightly so that he could burrow his toes into the meat of Mike’s tail. The skin of Mike’s tail seemed smooth at first glance, but Will felt the coarse tug against his skin when his bare foot grazed the scales in the wrong direction and reminded him slightly of a cat’s tongue with its warm, rough, wetness, and found he didn’t completely hate the feeling.

Mike, seemingly content that Will would not freeze to death, began carding his fingers through Will’s wet locks, delicately separating the damp strands with his claws, his chest a gentle vibrating pressure against Will’s back.

For a moment, Will was so warm and content he couldn’t place the merman’s strange rumblings, until he recognized the strange grumbling noise pouring out of Mike’s throat.

“Mike.” Will mumbled, his eyelids feeling heavy as he tilted his head back to catch a glimpse of Mike’s wavy mane of hair out of the corner of his eye, “You’re purring again.”

For a moment, Mike’s fingers froze against Will’s scalp, the sound of the merman’s purring immediately dying out, until Will, in a completely uncharacteristic gesture that he definitely would chalk up to a lack of sleep and the lingering effects of getting dumped in the ice-cold pool, leaned his head back into Mike’s palm and whined, “You didn’t have to stop. I liked it.”

If he hadn’t been slowly being pulled under by the sweet beckoning of sleep, he probably would have been mortified by his behavior. But instead, when Mike’s fingers unfroze and once again gently began detangling the strands of his hair, Mike’s soft purrs starting up again in earnest, the sound from Mike’s chest ringing like music in his ears, Will was finally content, and he was able to let his eyes flutter shut as he tucked himself into the comforting warmth of Mike’s embrace, sleep finally taking him at last. 

Chapter Text

Will wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a soft voice rasped gently in his ear, stirring him back into wakefulness.

“Will. Will?”

Will, unwilling, to part with sleep, just burrowed his head away from the noise, pressing back into the soft heat of the pillow beneath his head. “Five more minutes.”

“Will.” The voice called again, and this time Will recognized it. Eddie.

“Eddie, leave me alone.” Will mumbled, burying himself deeper into the warm pillow.

The pillow twitched beneath him. A strangely echoed laugh sounded above him.

He wasn’t alone.

Will was instantly awake. Eyes wide and panicked as he shook sleep from his eyes, surveilling his surroundings warily.

To his surprise, he found himself pressed up against Mike’s chest, his shirt missing, and his legs pinned beneath the hefty weight of the siren’s tail.

Mike blinked in surprise, one taloned hand raised as if to touch Will’s shoulder, but now frozen mid-air at Will’s abrupt awakening.

For a brief moment, Will couldn’t fathom how he could’ve possibly gotten here, but then he remembered sitting at the edge of the pool for what had to have been hours, until Mike tugged him into his tank in a piss poor idea of a joke, causing Will to not only nearly drown, but to also nearly freeze to death.

Will chose to purposefully ignore the way his heartrate spiked as he recalled ease at which Mike tore through his shirt, which was frankly, very rude, and he hoped Mike’s ultrasensitive hearing wouldn’t be able to pick up the sudden uptick in his pulse at the memory.

Will’s embarrassment only grew at the recollection of him leaning back into Mike’s touch as the merman stroked his hair, and the way he practically whined when he stopped. Will’s face felt like it was approximately a thousand degrees and he refused to look Mike in the eye in an attempt to hide his burning face.

“Good morning. Or night, I’m honestly not entirely sure.” Will hoped his voice sounded more unaffected than he actually was as he carefully leaned forward, trying to put as much space between his bare back and Mike’s chest as possible while still being pinned down by the merman’s tail, the sheer amount of bare skin suddenly feeling entirely too much for Will’s rapidly overheating brain.  

‘It’s morning. Just barely.’ Mike signed, one eyebrow twitching as he gazed down at the gap in between their bodies, almost like he was annoyed at Will’s change in position.

Will pretending to ignore the look, hid his expression behind a jaw-cracking yawn and tried to look unaffected, “If it’s so early, why’d you wake me up?” Will glanced down at his watch, 1:57 AM.

Instead of answering, Mike pointed to his tail.

“What’s wrong with your tail?” Will questioned, his hand automatically reaching forward to touch the cool gray scales, and Mike’s tail twitched underneath his fingertips in response, causing Will to pull his hand away hastily.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Will glanced down at his fingers reflexively, fully expecting to see them covered in water or maybe some sort of weird slime, but was surprised to find that they were completely dry. The reason for Mike waking him up quickly became clear, “Ah, your tail’s dried out.”

Mike nodded, fixing Will with an unreadable look.

Will stared back for a long moment, trying to understand what Mike wanted him to do before it finally clicked. He thumbed at the material of his slacks, trying to determine if the fabric was dry enough that he wouldn’t freeze to death without Mike’s substantial body heat to keep him warm.

“I think I’m dry enough now to not risk hypothermia. You can hop back in the pool if it’s getting uncomfortable.”

Mike sighed in relief at the permission and quickly unwound his tail from across Will’s legs, and Will felt the loss of heat acutely as the merman awkwardly dragged himself back down towards the pool by his forearms, his long tail dragging uselessly behind him across the dock.

Against his better judgement, Will snorted at the ridiculous sight, reminded acutely of watching nature documentaries depicting seals awkwardly trying to scoot around on land.

Like he knew the reason for Will’s laughter, Mike turned back towards him and scowled, ‘Asshole.’

Will raised both his hands in surrender but was unable to hide his grin as he spoke. “Hey, it’s not my fault you look absolutely ridiculous trying to move around on land.”

Mike, responded with a rather undignified noise before he unceremoniously dumped himself back into the pool, his body disappearing under the surface for a few seconds until his dark head reappeared, squirting a thin stream of water from between his teeth back at Will who was still sitting on the dock.

“Hey! I just dried off!” Will complained, scooting further away from the edge as the siren beached himself enough that only his torso was out of the water, purposefully splashing water at Will in the process. ‘Next time don’t tease.’ Mike grinned slyly, flicking his wrist at Will and splattering him with even more tiny droplets of water, like he wasn’t already wet enough.

Will pouted at the onslaught of water but did scoot slightly closer to the edge of the dock, eyeing Mike warily like the merman might attempt to dump him back in the pool again if he wasn’t looking. “If I die of hypothermia because you thought it was a funny joke to soak me. I’ll sue.”

Mike scrunched his nose, obviously not fully understanding Will’s words, but smartly choosing to ignore them, likely not in the mood for an explanation for the entire human legal system just to understand one offhanded comment. Instead, the merman just stayed silent, almost preternaturally still besides the slight fluttering of his chest with each breath and the occasional blink as he stared up at Will.

Will feeling slightly ill-at-ease under Mike’s sudden seriousness, looked down at his toes, which looked pale in the dim fluorescent lights, but still nowhere near as colorless as Mike’s unblemished skin.

He prodded Mike’s forearm with one uncovered toe. Mike broke from his unnatural stillness, his expression softening into a small smile as he gazed up at Will.  

After a moment, the merman’s eyes fell away, trailing down to Will’s uncovered chest, his gaze zeroing in on the tooth nestled in in between the sharp jut of his collarbones.

‘You kept it.’ Mike said, looking pleased, his eyes flickering between deep black and kaleidoscopic shades of red.  

Will looked away, hiding his blush. “Of course, I kept it. Why would I get rid of your gift?”

Now it was Mike’s turn to avert his gaze, ‘You were mad. Avoiding me. Thought you would reject my gift too.’

Will’s face fell under the weight of Mike’s words, “Mike, I’m sorry. I got all caught up in my head and I-”

Mike raised a hand, cutting him off, ‘Stop apologizing. Both our faults.’

Now it was Will’s turn to freeze, utterly trapped in the depths of Mike’s bottomless eyes. “It’s not your fault at all, what are you talking about?” Will managed to squeak out, his voice pitching higher as he searched Mike’s expressionless face.

‘I was feeding on you. Like El. Could sense power on you. Like home.’ Mike grimaced, as if he was remembering something particularly distasteful. ‘El told me I should’ve asked you first. Told you what I was doing.’

Will blinked, trying to process. “Wait, El was actually telling the truth about that? You really were just using me like a giant battery the entire time I’ve been working here?”

Mike nodded, pointing at Will cheerfully like they were playing some kind of weird supernatural charades. ‘That’s what El called it.’ “A battery.” He spoke the last part in El’s voice, and Will had to force himself not to startle at Mike’s unexpected use of sound.

“But, why? I don’t have powers like El. I can’t do anything.” Will floundered, hands waving fruitlessly around his head.

‘Not like El. Much weaker. But still small amounts. You’ve been there. I can taste home on you.’

Will shuddered, wondering how it was exactly Mike could ‘taste’ home on him.

Mike, seemingly taking Will’s reaction the wrong way quickly backtracked. ‘Not harmful. Just made me feel better. Miss home less.’

Will’s mouth opened in a silent ‘O’ as he blinked down at the siren, “You were homesick?”

Mike’s brow furrowed, ‘Sick of home?’

Will laughed, a bright sound that seemed to drag some of his lingering doubts away, “No, not sick of home, it means, like you miss home so much it makes you sad. I dunno why they call it that, English is weird.”

Mike nodded with a snort, his disdain for the English language was something that came up often as Mike questioned the validity and sense of many English words and phrases.

For a moment the two sat in companionable silence, but something in Mike’s words kept coming back to him, and the longer he sat in silence, the harder the words were to ignore.

“Hey, Mike?”

Mike hummed, his gaze trailing lazily up towards Will’s face, and Will forced himself not to blush under the intensity of the siren’s gaze. “Do you only like hanging out with me because I reminded you of home?”

Mike’s eyes grew wide, and Will looked away, not wanting to see pity in the merman’s dark eyes. “It’s okay if you do. I just- I just want to know.”

“No!” Mike shouted, Nancy’s voice escaping from his lips, almost like a reflex, causing Will to turn with alarm. Mike almost never accidentally spoke, which immediately clued Will in that whatever Mike wanted to say, it was serious.

‘Maybe at first. The power drew me to you. Made me want to seek you out.’

Will tried to not let Mike’s words get to him but hearing that Mike had basically just seen him as a glorified charger made him feel like he had swallowed a boulder.

He tried to keep his face impassive as he spoke, “Ah, I see then.” But judging by Mike’s sudden look of despair, he was not succeeding.

Mike smacked the dock with his palm, a growl of annoyance building in his throat as he signed rapidly, ‘You’re not getting it. Home made me want to meet you. But you made me want to stay.’

Will’s mouth was dry, he could scarcely breathe as he looked down at the siren practically boring holes into him with his eyes, obviously trying to get him to understand something. Distantly, he thought he might understand what Mike was attempting to get at, but surely- surely not.

With shaking fingers, Will placed one hand on Mike’s forearm. “Mike, what are you saying?”

‘It’s you Will. With your words and your drawings. Seeing you just makes my day better. I can’t get enough of you. You’re my-’

Will’s breath caught in his throat, unable to tear his gaze away from the siren as he signed, his heart thundering so loudly in his chest there was no doubt Mike’s sensitive hearing couldn’t pick it up. Mike caught the subtle hitch in his breathing, his fingers freezing in mid-air as he studied Will’s expression. Will’s gaze dropped to Mike’s mouth as the merman nervously tugged his bottom lip in between his deadly teeth.

“I’m what, Mike?” Will breathed, inching infinitesimally closer to the siren in the water.

Mike hesitated, his eyes studying Will’s face for a moment before slowly, clearly signing the next part, ‘You’re my friend.’

All the air released out of Will’s lungs at once, his face falling before he could manage hide his expression. Of course, Mike just saw him as a friend. They were completely different species. Will was just some human who was slightly nicer to him than the others, who gifted him pictures and drawings. But he was still part of the same group as the people who captured and locked the merman up.

Will had practically no idea how the courting rituals of sirens might appear, but he was fairly certain dating your captor, no matter how nice they were, was probably frowned upon, no matter the species. Mike probably had some beautifully terrifying siren waiting for him back in the Upside Down. Or maybe his species was non-monogamous, most sharks were, spending a brief mating period together before retreating back to the deep, likely to never see each other again.

He had known not to get his hopes up and had spent the better part of a week avoiding Mike and his team at all costs to try to quash down his entirely unprofessional feelings, but in the wake of Mike’s confession that they were in fact just friends, Will still found himself feeling absolutely crushed.

Maybe this is what he needed, now that he had been steadfastly rejected, maybe Will could get over his ill-timed crush and get back to business.

Despite his own mental reassurance that this was all for the best, Will’s heart throbbed painfully in his chest, and he couldn’t stand to meet Mike’s gaze.

A sharp crack pulled Will out of his self-inflicted misery.

Mike had whipped his tail out of the water and smacked it against the side of the dock, his face looking positively furious. He growled peevishly and raked a hand through his hair.

‘This is coming out wrong. Words harder here. Can I show you instead?’

Will blinked, mouth falling open, a small flicker of hope foolishly reigniting itself in his chest. “S-show me how?”

Mike’s angry expression smoothed under Will’s easy agreement, he turned his head towards Will, exposing his dizzying array impressively sharp teeth. ‘Do you trust me.’

Without hesitation, Will nodded. Mike may have been a dangerous, deadly predator, but despite his ferocious claws and teeth, Will wasn’t afraid. He knew Mike would never hurt him and said as much aloud. “Of course I trust you.”

The instant the words were out of Will’s mouth, Mike’s eyes turned a vicious shade of glowing red and the merman lunged, springing out of the water with a fluidity Will hadn’t expected possible for the siren on land. In between one blink and the next, Mike had quickly closed the gap between them, knocking Will flat on his back onto the dock, the lithe merman unsurprisingly strong as he pinned Will to the ground underneath his weight. Despite knowing Mike was completely safe, his lizard hindbrain suddenly kicked into overdrive at the sudden change in position, and Will began to feel a spike of unease in his gut as the hulking predator leered over him, his eyes burning with something Will thought looked remarkably similar to hunger as he dripped water onto Will’s exposed chest, chilling him to the bone. But before his fear could completely take over, the merman was sliding off of him, the pressure easing from Will’s chest.

Will barely had time to suck in a relieved breath before Mike was clamping down on his ankle, roughly tugging Will back into the cold, dark waters of his tank, and this time, as the water quickly closed over Will’s head, he didn’t think the merman was playing around this time.

He didn’t even have the time orient himself in the inky blackness of the water when Mike was once again floating in front of him. His pale skin and the faint smattering of fluorescence spots sprinkled across his sharp cheekbones looking enchantingly beautiful in a way that Will wasn’t sure was entirely attributable to his current lack of oxygen.

Mike blinked at him silently once, his eyes still burning a harsh red in the darkness, before his mouth stretched wide, wider than Will had thought physically possible, each impressively sharp tooth visible as the siren darted forward, quick as a flash, and clamped his teeth down on the meat of Will’s bare shoulder, the sudden influx of stabbing pain so great Will gasped in shock, sucking down a mouthful of water in the process. His lungs screaming for release.  

His vision darkened at the edges, Will’s entire existence coalescing on the one spot of pain radiating from where Mike had his fangs buried deep into his shoulder.

Will scrabbled against Mike’s hold feebly, the radiating pain and distinct lack of air making Will’s arms feel limp and borderline useless against the sheer strength of the merman. Mike didn’t budge against his weak assault. Distantly Will felt Mike’s tail come up and wrap around his still thrashing legs, holding him gently in place as he gripped Will around the shoulders, curling his hands in such a way that the claws didn’t dig into the skin there, and for some reason Will felt oddly soothed by the gesture, the pain seeming to lessen under the small act of kindness.

But then Mike shifted, his teeth still buried in Will’s shoulder, and the slight movement jostled the jagged points imbedded in his flesh. White-hot pain radiated from his shoulder, and despite himself, Will, with the last remaining remnants of his air, let out a ragged scream, the flood of copper filling his mouth as he bit down on his tongue in an attempt to smother the sound.

He was going to die.

Oddly enough the thought didn’t scare him much. He thought it was a fitting way to go. Wrapped up in the embrace of the merman who had stolen so much of his attention in the recent weeks. Will stopped struggling. Welcoming his darkening vision and the painful twitch of his chest as his lungs searched for oxygen they would not be able to find.

Almost as if he could read Will’s thoughts, Mike’s eyes flashed up to his, the merman’s piercing red gaze infinitely sad. Robotically, his arm feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds, Will managed to drop his hand onto Mike’s head. Mind fuzzy with pain and lack of air, his fingers spasming erratically under each twinge of fire that raced down his nerves, coalescing into the single point at his shoulder that Mike was currently gnawing on, Will somehow gathered enough of the scattered pieces of himself for one last twitch of movement, not to push Mike away, he was much too weak now for that, but instead he willed his fingers into motion, his trembling hand gently carding through Mike’s thick mane of curls for one last time.

Mike’s fingers on Will’s shoulders tightened, but not to the point of pain, and Mike let out a low keen, his burning eyes never once leaving Will’s, even as the siren’s mouth remained attached to Will’s shoulder as Will could slowly feel the pain becoming too much. The heaviness of his limbs and darkness growing behind his eyes telling him that whatever was affecting him wasn’t just coming from the pain of Mike’s bite.

Venom.

The last thing Will thought before it all too much and he blacked out was that Mike’s embrace almost felt like a hug.

Chapter Text

Will Byers was dead.

That was the only possibly explanation for how Will was now blinking awake in the dark, his breath harsh and loud in his ears and skin sticky with sweat after he was certain Mike had just killed him.

Will jolted upright, his eyes scanning his surroundings for any sign of familiarity. Unfortunately, he found none.

He could hardly see in the dim light, but judging from curved rocky walls, strange shapes bulging out from their surface to cut across the walls in organic patterns, combined with the rough stony ground he found himself sitting on, he figured he was in some sort of massive cave.

How had he gotten here?

The last thing he remembered was Mike clamping down on his shoulder, his teeth burning white-hot agony straight into his veins, but when Will traced over his shoulder with shaking fingers, fully expecting to be met with ragged flesh, he found that his skin was completely unblemished, smooth and even, as if the bite had never happened in the first place.

“H-how?”

He was still in his same clothes, slightly damp slacks, no shoes and completely missing his shirt thanks to Mike’s meddling, but his wound was gone.

The dim light in the cave brightened slightly, and Will squinted to make out the source, but instead, in the increased light, Will’s eyes caught on a fluttering gray speck, likely no larger than a fingernail, fluttering down from above.

His breath caught in his throat. He scanned the walls of the cave again and saw the strange shapes he had initially taken as rock formations were something much more sinister. Vines. Will’s breathing grew frantic, his eyes darting around wildly as more and more gray flakes fluttered down from above.

“No. How did I- It’s the- Upside Down.”

Will never thought he would be back here. Will never wanted to be back here, the culmination of all his nightmares, the place he had sworn to Owens he would never ever go.

Maybe he really was dead, and this was his eternal punishment. An eternity trapped inside his greatest fear. It really was-

“Will? Will are you okay? Shit.” A voice called out from somewhere behind him, but Will was too busy spiraling, his breaths coming in strangled gasps, whether it was caused by his mounting panic or by the Upside Down’s toxic air Will couldn’t be sure, he just knew he couldn’t breathe.

A pair of hands pressed themselves firmly into his back, rubbing small circles into his shoulder blades and across the jut of his spine.

“Just breathe okay. Deep breaths. I’ve got you.”

Will didn’t recognize the voice, but it felt warm, familiar, safe. Against better judgement, Will felt himself begin to relax, the tightness in his chest slowly easing as he adjusted his focus to the gentle touch ghosting across his bare skin.

The entire time, the voice never stopped speaking. Mumbling reassurances over and over, a soft breath puffing occasionally against his ear. “It’s okay Will. You’re strong. I’m here. I’ve got you. I won’t let anything hurt you.”

By the time Will managed to get his burgeoning panic back under control, the words had begun to sound like gibberish to Will’s exhausted ears, and Will allowed his eyes to flutter closed, reflexively leaning back into the warm touch at his back, slumping into the comforting softness of the familiar heat behind him.

The voice behind him sighed affectionately, “Will, I’m glad you’re feeling better, but you’re going to have to get up. I can’t hold you here for very long and I need to tell you something important.”

“M’hmm,” Will groaned, burying himself deeper into the warmth, even going so far as to wrap his arms around the stranger’s torso, kneading his head into the stranger’s stomach like a cat.

The voice chuckled, “Will, please.” A finger prodded him gently in the cheek, the nail was sharp.

Will’s eyes fluttered open, his brain suddenly remembering where he was.

Mike’s softly smiling face greeted him.

Brain instantly flooding with panic once again, Will flung himself away from the siren with a shriek. Will tried to stand, but his exhausted, numb legs wouldn’t support him, and Will barely managed half a step before he went tumbling back to the dusty ground.

“Will, wait, please, let me explain.” Mike pleaded.

Will whirled around with an angry hiss, “And why should I, you tried to-” the words died in his throat as he stared back at Mike, at the merman, who was currently walking towards him on two legs.

Legs!

“What? How?” Will pointed a shaky finger at Mike’s new appendages.

Mike looked down, a surprised expression on his face, almost like he had forgotten about his spontaneously sprouted legs. Mike laughed, a slightly raspy sound that seemed familiar, yet not.

“Oh, these old things,” Mike gestured down at his thin, knobby legs, covered only by a pair of ratty too-big, dark jeans that looked like they hadn’t been washed in months. The hems dragged in the dirt, and the tips of Mike’s bare toes just barely poked out from underneath. “Here I can pretty easily shift between forms, although this one takes a lot more energy to maintain. It’s only in your realm that I’m stuck, since there’s not enough energy for me to draw on in order to shift.”

Will gaped, “So you’re a shapeshifter?”

Mike scratched at his scalp, Will distantly noted that his fingers were still tipped with wickedly sharp nails, despite his now humanoid form, “I guess you could call it that. But I can’t shift into like a goldfish or a puppy or anything, I can only transform into things from here, although I don’t do it often. Lower lifeforms are uncomfortable to shift into, they’re very confining.” Mike shivered slightly, like he was remembering something distasteful, his now-dulled teeth, which looked ever so slightly sharper than a normal human's, pressing into the soft skin of his bottom lip for a moment before his face relaxed.

Will’s brain sputtered, and he felt the faint nigging sensation that he was forgetting something. He studied Mike for a moment, trying to figure out what exact he was missing. Mike seemed to notice his staring, the siren’s cheeks coloring blue under his piercing gaze. He shifted uncomfortably, scuffing the dirt with his big toe, which looked surprisingly normal.

“What are you looking at?”

And that’s when it hit him. He didn’t recognize Mike’s voice. Mike wasn’t parroting stolen phrases back at Will, he wasn’t hearing Erica or Eddie or Nancy, Robin or Max, he was hearing Mike’s voice.

“You can talk?” Will blurted out dumbly.

Mike fixed him with an ‘are you stupid’ look, “Of course I can talk. That was like the entire reason I brought you here in the first place. So, we could talk.”

Mike started forward, striding up to Will with more steadiness than he expected for someone who previously sported a fish tail, and Will couldn’t help but wonder if Mike had practiced walking while he was unconscious. Mike extended his hand, and Will realized he was still sitting dumbly on the floor of the cave. Will slapped the hand away got to his feet on his own, taking care to step a few feet away from Mike once he did so. Even if Mike was now mostly-human, the siren was still deadly, and Will now knew exactly what the merman's teeth felt like when embedded in his flesh, and he wasn’t taking any more chances.

He tried to ignore the crushed look on the siren’s face when he turned back to look at him, arms crossed, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that Mike, what the hell was that anyways. You just suddenly decided you wanted to maul me for fun?”

Mike paled, his already milky skin growing even more translucent, every faint freckle on vibrant display. Will hated the way his heart lurched at the sight, and he counteracted the flopping in his chest with a harsh scowl in Mike’s direction.

“It was the only way I could think of to inject you with my DNA. The rifts only work for me. I tested it on a couple of fish earlier in the week and I found if I injected a bit of saliva into them after I bit them, they were able to come through the rift as well.” Mike was nervously worrying at the waistband of his pants, and Will’s couldn’t help but follow the sight, his eyes lingering on the smooth planes of Mike’s stomach, the V of his hipbones disappearing beneath the denim, which somehow almost seemed more obscene now partially covered by his jeans than when he was completely bare in his mer form. Will’s fingers itched to smack Mike’s hand into stillness.

“What, so you just decided the best course of action was to bite me, then spit in my open wound, without maybe trying to, I don’t know, explain it first?” Will cried, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.

“My saliva has regenerative qualities, I made sure your shoulder was completely healed before you woke up.” Mike responded meekly, still avoiding Will’s gaze.

Will growled, “Mike, I think you’re missing the point. I don’t care about whether or not I have a giant gaping hole in my shoulder,” Mike’s quiet, “You don’t?” barely slowed Will in his rant, “It was the fact you didn’t even think to ask whether or not it was okay to bite me in the first place. Like what the fuck Mike, that shit fucking hurt, I thought you were trying to eat me or something. I know you’re from some like alternate hell-dimension or whatever, but consent is important!”

Will was shouting by the end of his speech, his breath coming out in ragged gasps, which probably weren’t ideal given the Upside Down’s air quality and the fact that he was still coming down off a panic attack, but he hadn’t been able to help himself. Will had to make himself heard. He had to make sure Mike understood what he was really saying.

Mike’s eyes were wide, his mouth opening and closing like a fish as he gaped at him for at least a full thirty seconds before he managed to find his voice, “I-I’m sorry Will.” He stuttered, his eyes damp around the corners as he looked over at Will from under hooded lashes, “I really never meant to hurt you. I just thought this was the best way. You’ve been showing me pieces of yourself, and I just wanted to be able to do the same for once. I wanted to be able to talk to you, and I mean really talk to you. Not through sign or other people’s voices, but face to face, like before.”

Mike’s face crumbled, tears now spilling freely down freckled cheeks and Will felt himself fold like a house of cards. The anger still throbbed like a burning coal deep in his stomach, but he pushed it aside. For now, anger could wait. Will couldn’t stand watching Mike cry for even a second longer.

He rushed forward, closing the gap in between them as Mike sobbed, his tears painting shining lines across his skin, and despite the heart wrenching sight in front of him, Will couldn’t help but find the crying siren beautiful.

Hesitantly, unsure if Mike would welcome his touch, Will brushed his fingers across the sensitive skin under Mike’s eye, a bead of moisture dampening the tip. At first, Mike flinched, surprised by the sudden touch, and Will almost pulled his fingers away, but before he could, Mike caught his wrist, holding Will’s hand steady against his cheek, and leaned into the touch, his abyssally black eyes fluttering open. In that moment, Will as also pleasantly surprised to see that dark-haired shifter was actually slightly taller than him in this humanoid form. Not by a significant amount, maybe only one or two inches, but enough that Will had to look up slightly to meet the siren’s gaze.

“W-Will?”

Will’s other hand came up to cup Mike’s cheek, his thumb stroking soothing circles across the smooth skin there. “It’s okay Mike. I’m still mad, but we can talk more about it later. I didn’t realize you’d get so upset.”

“It’s n-not you’re f-fault.” Mike hiccupped, the shining wetness of his eyes slowly petering out, “You shouldn’t a-apologize.”

Will tutted, slipping his hand up over Mike’s cheek to rest in his thick, dark hair, tugging the merman downward until Mike’s head rested against his collarbone, his breaths puffing softly against the skin of Will’s neck.

“How about we call it even.” Will whispered into Mike’s scalp, certain even in this form that the merman would be able to pick up his voice. “We both messed up, and obviously we can’t go back and change that, so how about instead we just promise to not do it again.”

He felt Mike nod stiffly against his shoulder and Will let himself run his fingers through the dark strands of Mike’s curls, humming contentedly.

Mike of course, started purring again. Will couldn’t help but laugh at the sound. “How are you even doing that right now? I didn’t think humans had the parts?”

Mike peeled himself away from Will enough that he could look the other man in the eye, his cheeks splotched with the faintest hints of cerulean. “Aren’t you the scientist? You’d probably know more than me.”

“That’s probably more of a Max thing, but I think this,” He gestured to Mike in his entirety, “Is a little bit outside of her sharky expertise. So pretty much short of cutting you open and poking around inside, we’ll probably never know.”

Mike’s face scrunched in distaste; his lips pursed. Standing this close, Will could see the faint silvery lines of scars running across the siren’s bottom lip, likely from biting it too much with his insanely sharp teeth. He wanted to run his thumb across the sensitive skin there, curious as to whether or not he would be able to feel the texture of the scars crisscrossing Mike’s lip. He wondered if Mike’s lips would be soft. They looked slightly chapped, but not overtly so. Will longed to close the distance, to feel those same lips beneath his own, to know how those same teeth would feel like biting into his own lip and-

Will cut the thought off, remembering where he was. Mike was fixing him with a strange expression, his eyes wide and searching, and Will realized he had been staring. Needing to distance himself from the object of his fantasies, Will stepped away from the dark-haired shifter, putting much-needed space between them so Will’s creative imagination wouldn’t run rampant again.

He coughed awkwardly to break the silence, “So, you said you had something you wanted to tell me?”

Mike’s expression cleared, morphing into surprisingly, excitement. “So, obviously you already figured out that you’re in the Upside Down. I had to bite you to bring you here through one of the rifts I can make-”

“So, you can travel between both dimensions like the demogorgons?” Will blurted, his scientist mind already whirling with theories. He wished he had his notebook with him so that he could take sketches. Hopefully he can remember enough to draw everything from memory later.

Mike frowned with annoyance, “No, they can travel between dimensions like me.”

Will snorted, “To-ma-to, to-mah-to.”

Mike’s brow furrowed like he wanted to ask Will what the phrase meant, but instead he just shook his head and barreled on. “I wasn’t able to do it before now because I didn’t have enough energy. In my world, there’s energy everywhere, in the plants, the animals, even in the air.” Mike punctuated his statement by quickly marching over to the wall of the cave, slapping his hand on a nearby vine and in the blink of an eye sucking the entire thing dry like it was some sort of hell-dimension juice box, nothing remaining except a dried-out husk that disintegrated into dust the moment Mike pulled his hand away. When the shifter turned back around his eyes were glowing an unnatural red, and Will was slightly unnerved by how easy Mike had made the draining look.

Mike continued on in his joyful tone, completely oblivious to Will’s unease, “It’s nearly impossible to run out of energy here. Pretty much the only thing stopping me from maintaining this form constantly is that it tires me out.” Mike raked a clawed hand through his hair, making his already chaotic waves even more disheveled, an act that seemed surprisingly human, and helped ease Will’s discomfort somewhat.

“On your world however, there’s practically no energy to speak of. So not only was I stuck in my default form, but I also didn’t have enough power to form a gateway back home. That was until I met you.”

“Me?” Will repeated dumbly, feeling confused.

The corners of Mike’s lips twitched, like he was fighting back a smile. “Yes, you, you idiot. You’ve been here before. Not for very long or anything, but while you were here, you became a part of this place. Just like everything else here, you started creating energy of your own.”

Will just blinked unintelligently in reply, any response he could have formulated instantly dying on his tongue.

“Your energy is very weak. And since you’ve been away for so long it’s probably grown even weaker than it used to be. But even that tiny amount was like a drop of water in the desert. From the first moment I sensed you, I knew you’d be my ticket home.”

Will scowled, “Still don’t see the part of your explanation where you tell me you weren’t just using me as a walking, talking battery.”

Mike stuttered, looking chagrined, he took a few steps forward, closing some of the distance between them. Will saw his hand twitch, like he was wanting to reach out, but he aborted the gesture, which Will appreciated, since he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done if Mike had decided to touch him.

Mike stared back at him, his eyes wide open and honest, “It’s because it’s you. Will. The minute I laid eyes on you, my entire plan went up in smoke. Like yeah, maybe I was stealing some of your excess energy whenever I had the chance, but that would’ve taken seconds and then I could’ve been gone again. But I wanted to see you, and hear you, and talk to you, and watch you draw.” Mike took another step closer. Will could easily reach out and touch him now, but his body remained firmly rooted to the floor, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.

Mike’s breath shuddered, nearly cracking Will wide open with the sound, “Fuck Will, I don’t think you know what you do to me. I can hardly think when you’re around, you know. I could’ve left last week when El first arrived, I’ve never seen anything with that much power. It’s absolutely insane. I nearly passed out I drew so much power from her at first.” Mike chuckled fondly.

Will’s heart seized in his chest at the shifter's words, “Wait, you could’ve gone home?”

Mike froze, “Well, yeah. It would’ve taken months if I was just leeching off of you to get enough, but it only took a few seconds with El and I was all set.”

Will almost couldn’t believe the next thing that came out of his mouth, and regretted his words almost instantly, “Well, then why didn’t you?”

Mike cocked his head, looking at Will with a curious expression, like he was a particularly difficult puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. After a moment, the shifter huffed out a laugh, taking one final step closer to Will until they were nearly chest-to-chest, Mike’s fingers coming up to brush across the tooth hanging from the cord around Will’s neck, Mike’s tooth.

“I thought I had made it obvious.” Mike’s voice was soft, his eyes never straying from the tooth around Will’s throat.

Will’s mouth was dry, his heart thumping wildly in his chest, “Made what obvious?”

Mike tapped a nail against the tooth, the subtle touch sending goosebumps across Will’s skin, “You know, now I feel a bit like an idiot for not bothering to explain what this meant.”

“What does it mean?” Will’s voice came out hardly louder than a whisper, and he found himself leaning unconsciously closer towards Mike, caught in the siren’s gravitational pull.

Mike’s breath ghosted across his lips as he spoke, the distance between their faces hardly more than a hairsbreadth, “It means you’re mine.”

And then before Will could even react, Mike was fisting his hand in Will’s necklace, hand clamping down roughly over his own jagged tooth with a force that probably ought to hurt and dragging Will into a harsh kiss.

For a moment, Will was frozen with surprise, his lips unmoving beneath Mike’s, until the merman bit down on Will’s bottom lip with his sharper than normal teeth, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to send a shock of pleasure down Will’s spine.

And then Will was kissing back just as furiously.

It became immediately obvious that Mike has absolutely no idea how to kiss. Whether or not it was because he’s never had the opportunity, or because the concept of kissing is completely alien to his species, Will wasn’t sure, but somehow, despite the awkward clash of just barely too-sharp teeth and Mike nearly taking out Will’s eye with his nose, something about the kiss set Will’s blood alight.  

They were going too hard, too fast, but Will couldn’t seem to pace himself, and it didn’t look like Mike cared to try either. Will sliced his lip on one of the merman’s sharpened incisors, only for the wound to near-instantaneously close thanks to the siren’s magical healing saliva, leaving only the metallic taste of blood on his tongue as he probed his way into Mike’s mouth.

Mike’s lips parted soundlessly as Will pressed his way inside, his tongue teasing along the dangerous points of Mike’s canines, not minding as he occasionally sliced himself on their deadly edges, the salty taste of blood filling both their mouths was nearly rapturous as he cut himself and healed again and again and again.

Will’s hands almost instinctively came up to fist into Mike’s wild mane of hair, the other man letting out a startled noise of surprise that quickly morphed into a moan muffled against the heat of Will’s mouth as Will tugged desperately at the dark strands. The lewd sound shot straight down to Will’s core and he barely resisted the urge to groan back in response as Mike extracted himself from Will’s lips and began nipping and kissing at the line of Will’s jaw, the shifter’s strong, dexterous fingers scrabbling at Will’s back, not hard enough to break the skin with his long nails, but enough to send pleasurable twists of pain flickering across Will’s nerves with every pass of his fingers.

At this point, Will felt like he could hardly breathe, his head bowed into the crease of Mike’s neck, his lips leaving bloody imprints on Mike’s ghostly pale skin as he traced across the pale greenish veins at the base of Mike’s throat while the merman licked, bit and kissed his way along Will’s cheek inching closer to Will’s lips with each and every pass.  

Every press of the siren’s lips stoked the fire growing in Will’s belly, and Will felt like he could explode at any moment, the sheer amount of Mike’s bare skin pressed against Will’s own was nearly overwhelming. Will lifted his head, wanting to touch, wanting to taste every last inch when a sudden tug in his stomach drew him up short.

Will stilled, the sudden twist in his gut breaking through the heat of his arousal. Mike on the other hand, seemed none the wiser, his dark head bobbing as he licked his way across Will’s sweat-soaked collarbone, sending shivers down Will’s spine as the merman promptly bit down on the protruding bone before quickly soothing the quick flash of pain with his tongue.

Will dragged Mike back up into a messy kiss at the sight, strange roiling in his gut be damned, but Will had just barely pressed Mike’s lips to his when the sudden tugging sensation returned in earnest, a sharp stabbing sensation extending from his navel that caused Will to nearly double over in pain, and thoroughly souring the mood.

Mike, immediately recognizing something was wrong, pulled away from Will, his hands fluttering worriedly across Will’s sides, and if Will hadn’t been practically bent over with the pain in his gut, he probably wouldn’t have been able to resist throwing himself at the siren at the sight he presented. Mike’s hair was an absolutely disheveled mess, thoroughly wrecked by the course of Will’s fingers, his eyes were fading from their fiery red glow, but before they could fully darken, Will saw that the merman’s pupils had exploded in size, the shifters now rounded pupils eclipsing nearly the entire iris, and Mike’s lips, oh Mike’s lips. Mike’s lips were purplish and kiss-swollen, streaks of blood stretching across the soft pink of his cupid’s bow and stretching down to mar the white canvas of his skin.

Will wished more than anything that he could draw the ethereal sight, but he knew he could never do it justice.

Out of nowhere, the pain in his stomach increased tenfold. Will’s legs went boneless, and he would’ve collapsed had Mike not caught him with his quick reflexes.

“I’ve kept you here too long. We need to go back.”

Will’s thoughts were slightly scrambled under the weight of the ever-growing pain in his gut, but his mind managed to snag on one word, we.

“Mike.”

Mike ignored him, his eyes wild as he scanned Will’s body up and down, too concerned with identifying the source of Will’s pain to hear him. Will tried again.

“Mike!”

Even that short burst of volume left Will feeling weak and winded as his stomach throbbed, but Mike was looking at him now, his eyes concerned.

“You shouldn’t- you shouldn’t go back.” Will wheezed, his chest tightening with each breath, “If you go, you’ll be trapped there again.”

Mike huffed out a laugh, but it sounded pained, “It was always the plan to go back Will. You obviously can’t stay here, and I can’t send you back by yourself.”

Will groaned, a lance of white-hot pain shooting up from his belly button, nearly causing him to black out. When the pain briefly subsided, he was looking Mike’s worried face floating above him, leaning in so close his dark hair was tickling his cheeks.

“I’m going to get you out of here Will. Now.”

Will raised up a shaky hand, clutching on to Mike’s wrist with weak fingers, “I’m going to get you home Mike. No matter what. I promise.”

The concerned lines around Mike’s eyes softened somewhat at Will’s words, the barest of smiles ghosting across his lips. “Okay, Will. I trust you.”

And then, for the second time in as many hours, Will let unconsciousness overtake him.

When he awoke Will found himself back on the dock in the Hawkins Lab, no shirt, and no shoes, just Mike’s tooth necklace resting against his sternum and his slightly damp, wrinkled and dusty work slacks.

Will sat up, which took a tremendous amount of effort considering his arms felt like over-cooked spaghetti. He didn’t see any sign of Mike, which instantly set him on edge.

“Mike?” Will called, his voice hoarse as he scanned the dark water of the tank in front of him.

For a long moment there was no response, and Will was just about to call again when the water suddenly erupted like a geyser, Mike leaping out of the water and easily flinging himself up onto the dock with his tail, which had once again returned.  

Will stilled the urge to run his hand across the slick shark-like scales of Mike’s tail, instead turning his attention back to the merman, who unsurprisingly was staring back at him, brow creased with concern.

“Are you okay?” Will asked, scanning the siren for any sign of injury. He found none. No indication of interdimensional travel in the slightest. Will could almost pretend he had made the entire thing up if not for the strange grayish dust that caked the fabric of his pants.

Mike instead of answering, thrust his hands into Will’s face, his clawed fingers holding tightly to a wriggling silvery fish.

“Eat.” He ordered in Robin’s voice, and Will found himself wishing Mike had been able to say that in his own raspy voice he had heard in the Upside Down.

Will looked at the fish dubiously, “Uh, humans don’t usually eat live fish Mike.”

He had expected that in response Mike would just toss the fish back into the pool, or maybe quickly swallow it whole, like how he assumed Mike usually ate, but instead the merman pulled his hand back, fish still thrashing futility in his grip and proceeded to nonchalantly rip its head off.

Will openly gaped at the gory display.

Mike completely oblivious to Will's reaction just thrust the fish back forward, grinning widely, small silver scales glistening in the spaces between his teeth.

“Dead now. Eat.” This time repeated in a voice Will didn’t recognize, maybe one of the other scientists?

Completely dumbfounded by the sight of the headless fish before him, and maybe still a tad bit delirious from his trip to the Upside Down, Will began to laugh, a great uproarious sound that made him gasp for air and his stomach ache with the force of it.

Mike tilted his head in confusion, gaze oscillating between the fish and Will’s face.

“Why did I not see that coming? I can’t believe you just bit it’s head off like it was nothing.” Will wheezed in between bouts of laughter.

Mike, seeming to realize Will was now making fun of him, pouted.

“Oh, come on now, none of that.” Will chuckled, reaching forward to poke one finger into the soft skin of Mike’s cheek. “I’m just teasing. It was my fault for not being more clear. I should’ve clarified that humans don’t usually eat fish raw. So, you can go ahead and eat it.”

He hadn’t expected Mike’s face to suddenly fall as he retracted the fish out of Will’s face, the siren’s eyes skirting away from Will’s to stare sullenly at the fish in his hands.

Will felt guilty. Like he had failed some undisclosed test. Without thinking he reached forward and flicked Mike in the forehead, causing the merman to look up at Will in surprise, which was at least better than the melancholy frown marring his features seconds earlier.

“Hey now, stop it.” Will started, patting Mike’s hand holding the fish, “Thank you for getting me food. I really appreciate it. It’s my fault for not telling you what I can and can’t eat.”

Mike just blinked at him in response. The white membrane sliding across his abyssally dark eyes for a moment before they cleared.

Will tried again, “If you’re hungry, it would make me happy if you ate it. I’m sure you’re probably tired too.”

Like he had been waiting for Will’s permission, the instant he stopped speaking Mike moved like a blur, gobbling the fish down in one enormous bite, which Will hadn’t thought possible given the human-like anatomy of Mike’s upper half. Distantly he wondered if the merman had the ability to unhinge his jaw like a snake. He made a mental note to ask Max about it later.

Despite the slightly unnerving sight of watching Mike guzzle down a fish, Will forced his lips into a smile when the merman returned his attention to him. “Thank you, Mike.”

Mike blushed, his cheeks glowing a faint bluish hue as he demurely lowered his gaze. His hand inching forward across the dock until it curled around Will’s own.

And oh. In all the chaos of the Upside Down and coming back to his world, Will had almost written off his and Mike’s incredibly inappropriate makeout session as some deluded dream while he had been unconscious, but seeing the way Mike blushed while reaching for Will’s hand suddenly had all those thoughts racing back to the forefront.

Will’s face flamed, and he reflexively tugged his hand out of Mike’s grip.

Before Mike's face had the chance to droop, Will was leaning in, pressing his lips into the thick mane of Mike’s hair just above the merman’s ear fin so the camera couldn’t catch the movement of his mouth as he spoke.

“Not here. There are cameras watching us.”

Luckily Mike, while woefully uneducated in the ways of most human technologies, knew intimately what cameras were, since Nancy was constantly trying to take his picture.  

The merman tapped on the back of Will’s hand once in response. Yes. Which Will decided to take as a sign that Mike knew the stakes they were facing. Will wasn’t entirely sure if the Hawkins Lab would do anything if they found out Will and Mike were romantically involved. Maybe they’d do nothing, or maybe they’d kick him off the research team and blackball him from any scientific research institute in the country, or maybe something even worse. Either way, Will didn’t exactly want to find out what the lab higher ups would do if they found out one of their researchers was dating their research subject.

Will’s thoughts hitched. Were they dating? Hell Will wasn’t entirely sure if he and Mike were now romantically involved or if their hot and heavy makeout in the Upside Down was just a one-off, since they didn’t exactly have a ton of time afterwards to talk things out before Mike had to whisk Will back off to the human world before the Upside Down killed him. But considering their current circumstances, Will knew now wasn’t the time for having a mini freak out over his potential relationship status.

“We need to find a place we can talk without the cameras seeing us.” Will whispered, unsure how long he could keep his face buried in Mike’s hair before it became suspicious. Hoping he had given Mike enough to work off of, Will pulled away, spitting out dark hairs that had somehow ended up in his mouth as he did so.

When Will shuffled what he deemed a respectable distance away from the merman, Mike scowling at him all the while, Will couldn’t help the strange sense of déjà vu he was suddenly hit with, almost like he had been in this situation before, sitting across from Mike as the siren brooded quietly over the large space in between them. Will blinked, and the feeling dissipated. He dismissed the errant thought with a shake of his head.

Wondering how long they had before the other scientists started showing up again, Will glanced down at his watch, then did a double take. 2:08 AM.

He flicked at the watch face, wondering if his tumble in the water earlier might have broken it. As he watched, the digital display changed to read 2:09, so not broken then.

How had it only been eleven minutes since Mike had woken him from his impromptu nap. There was absolutely no way, he and Mike had probably spent at least a half an hour in the Upside Down, although Will couldn’t be entirely sure of the exact amount of time that might have passed, slightly too caught up in panicking over suddenly being transported to the Upside Down and being horny because well, Mike.

Suddenly, a strange, wholly unexpected thought occurred to him, he glanced up at the merman, who was studying him curiously. “Hey Mike, does time work differently in the Upside Down?”

Chapter Text

The sound of the phone ringing in the hall startled him from his slumber.

One glance at the clock on his bedside instantly had him scowling and rolling back over, 3:37 in the morning was way too early for a phone call. Someone had better be dying.

He was totally content with letting the phone ring until it stopped, but a swift kick in the shin and a harsh whisper of “Get up and answer it!” from his bedmate had him stumbling from the bed in a haze.

Someone had better be fucking dying.

By the time he fumbled himself over to the landline the ringing had fortunately stopped. With a sigh of relief, or maybe annoyance, he turned to start making his way back to bed when the ringing began again in earnest. With a growl he swiped the phone from the cradle, fully intent on eviscerating the person on the other end until he heard the familiar voice on the line, quivering in a way that immediately put him on edge.

“Hey Dustin, how soon can you get to Hawkins?”

Dustin yawned, “Will, is that you? What are you doing up so early?”

The voice on the other end, Will’s, quickly hardened, “Dustin, I don’t have time for this. They’re probably monitoring the phone lines. I’ve got maybe a minute max before they realize what I’m up to. How soon can you get to Hawkins?”

Dustin felt like he had been doused in cold water, the strange tension in Will’s voice, combined with the mysterious they apparently monitoring Will’s call history brought back memories of government officers and alternate dimensions that Dustin thought were better left forgotten. As much as Dustin wanted to just hang up the phone and go back to bed and pretend none of this had ever happened, he knew he couldn’t. It was Will on the other end of the line, and if Will was breaking down and calling him, then Dustin knew his best friend had to be in some serious shit.

“I can be there in like twelve hours, give or take. How long am I going to be gone for, so I know how much work to request off.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, like Will was hesitating, “I-I’m not sure. I know you’ve got a ton of time off saved up, let’s say… a week and then go from there.”

Dustin’s eyebrows rose, “A week?!” He hissed into the receiver, “Shit Byers, what have you gotten yourself into?”

A voice that wasn’t Will’s called out in the background; Dustin didn’t recognize it. Will cursed under his breath, “Dustin, I’ve gotta go, time’s up. I’ll see you in twelve hours. Oh, and bring Suzie.”

“Wait, what? Why do I need to bring Suzie?” Dustin cried, but the line was already dead.

Dustin looked back over his shoulder through the open door of his bedroom where Suzie had rolled over and was peacefully sleeping, utterly oblivious to whatever shitshow Will had inadvertently dragged them both into.

“Shit.” Dustin mumbled as he steeled himself for the verbal tongue lashing he was about to get for waking his wife up before 4 AM.

Will better be in some serious trouble right about now, otherwise Dustin was going to kick his ass when he got to Hawkins.

Lucas had already been awake for almost an hour when his phone rang.

He had been having nightmares again. Dreams of pale humanoid bodies bearing limbs stretched to the point of grotesqueness, faces stretching open like the most bestial of flowers, glittering with rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth.

It was nothing new. He had been having variations of the same dreams since he was twelve. They all did.

But just because he was used to the warped replications of his own long buried memories, didn’t mean that they were any easier to bear in the dark.

So there Lucas was, nursing a long-cold mug of black coffee, as he sat at the tiny dining table in his shitty one-bedroom apartment in Indianapolis, bleary-eyed and longing for sleep, but knowing sleep would not be coming again tonight, when the phone rang.

Lucas berated himself mentally for picking up the phone almost immediately, a tell-tale sign to anyone who knew him that he had already been awake despite the ungodly hour of the morning.

“Lucas?” A familiar voice called softly from the other end of the line.

“Will?” For a moment, Lucas was surprised, and did a double take at the receiver. He hadn’t heard from Will almost two months, ever since his friend had left him a hasty message on his answering machine while Lucas had been at work, claiming that he had to go out of town for a work thing and wouldn’t be reachable by phone.

“Where the hell have you been man?” Lucas winced at his harsh tone. Shit. That came out ruder than he intended. He tried to calm his voice slightly as he continued, “I haven’t heard from you in weeks.”

“Sorry about that. I don’t have much time to explain.” Will voice came out fast, jittery and nervous in a way Lucas hadn’t experienced since Will’s first semester of college out in California, when Will was practically failing Calculus and worried he would lose his scholarship.

Lucas was instantly on edge, “What do you need?”

Will’s breath caught, like he was surprised by Lucas’s sudden acquiescence, “How soon can you get to Hawkins?”

His fingers froze around the edge of his cold coffee mug, alarm bells ringing urgently in his head as he sat stunned in the stark silence of his apartment.

“Lucas?” Will repeated, his voice edged with concern, and Lucas realized belatedly that he had been silent for too long.

“Like three or four hours, why?”

“Can you come?”

Lucas bit his lip, his eyes straying towards the binder of lesson plans he had sitting on his counter for class today.

“Will, you know I can’t just drop everything and rush off to Hawkins at the drop of a hat with no explanation.” Lucas sighed, a faint pounding already beginning to take up residence behind his temples.

The other end of the line was silent for a long time before Will finally spoke again, this time with a hardened edge Lucas was unused to hearing in his friend, “I can’t tell you over the phone. It’s too dangerous. But you know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.” Will paused, letting out a harsh breath before he continued, “And Erica, she’s involved too.”

In an instant, Lucas was on his feet, car keys in hand in seconds, severely hoping the hellish nightmare that woke him this morning wasn’t an omen for things to come, especially not if his sister was now involved.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”  

Lucas didn’t even bother returning the phone to the cradle, instead just tossing it back onto the table beside the lesson plans which had been all but forgotten in Lucas’s mad dash for the door, all forms of rational thought lost, because if Will managed to drag his sister into some Upside Down mess, he was going to kill him.

Coming into work on a random Thursday morning to see Will Byers sloppily dressed in a misbuttoned shirt and damp slacks was not on Max’s bucket list, but she was certainly going to take advantage.

There was only one possible reason that Will would be at work looking less than put together, and sopping wet nonetheless. And said reason was currently pressed up against the glass, staring at Will with an expression Max could only describe as hungry.

Which honestly, yuck. Not because they were two guys, or two completely different species, which was an entirely different can of worms Max didn’t really want to think about, but because Will and Mike had been borderline unbearable before, she couldn’t imagine how much worse they would become now that their mutual feelings had been acknowledged.   

And not that she’d ever tell Will this, but everyone, and she means everyone, had noticed the pair’s shared affections long before the other two had caught on.

Her and the rest of the research team had a long-standing bet for how long it would take for Will to wise up to Mike’s very obvious feelings and finally make a move. Max had thought she had it in the bag when Mike started bringing Will gifts on the daily. Slowly working his way up from severed fish heads to shiny pebbles and finally culminating into the crème-de-la-crème of Will’s necklace crafted from Mike’s own tooth. She had been almost certain that Will had finally cottoned on to Mike’s true motivation for all the gift giving and a confession would soon follow, but then Will had promptly shut down out of nowhere and proceeded to ignore any and everyone, including Mike, for the next week.

Which she was definitely still pissed about, but she decided to set her annoyance aside for a moment in order to take the ample opportunity to tease Will about his less immaculate appearance.

Max isn’t entirely sure what happened between Mike and Will between the time she left the lab yesterday and when she came in this morning, but something had obviously shifted between Mike and Will, and Max was determined to figure out what.

With a wolfish grin, Max expertly wheeled her way over to the disheveled researcher, who seemed so engrossed in his phone call that he hadn’t even noticed her, until she reached over and smacked him soundly on the hipbone.

“So, Byers, what in the world happened to you?” She crowed loudly, hoping gleefully that she was loud enough to be caught by whoever Will happened to be chatting with on the other end.

The brunet started with surprise at the sudden sound, whispering a quiet, “See you soon.” Into the receiver before quickly hanging up the phone and turning back towards Max, instantly sweeping the cheerful wind right out of her sails at the sight.

Because Will looked awful.

The bags under his eyes, which already looked bad when she saw him yesterday had darkened into deep purplish bruises pressed into his skin. Will looked waxen and pale, his mouth pressed into a thin line of displeasure.

She spared a glance towards the merman in the tank, wondering if Mike was the cause for Will’s appearance. To her surprise, upon second glance, she realized that Mike was looking decidedly worse than usual as well.

While she had initially assumed Mike’s unblinking focus on Will was something possessive or sexually charged, the longer she looked at the merman the more she realized that Mike’s undivided attention on her research partner was actually something more akin to worry or concern.

The siren was so utterly intent on keeping his focus on Will that he seemed to hardly be breathing, his lips pressed together tightly until Mike seemed to remember he needed to breathe and would quickly suck down a gulp of water, his gills fluttering alarmingly in response. Which was a worrying development in it of itself since to her knowledge, buccal breathing should be a fairly unconscious process, considering sharks could even continue to breathe while sleeping. So, if the merman was forgetting to breathe now, Will must currently be occupying a fairly significant portion of Mike’s brain. Which did not bode well for Will’s current state.

Shaking herself out of her scientific mindset for a moment, Max turned back to Will, her brows pinched with concern. “Will, are you okay? What happened?”

Somehow, Will’s expression grew even more tense at her words as he not so discreetly glanced up at something over Max’s shoulder, and only the sheer impracticality of turning her wheelchair around to see what Will could possibly be looking at kept Max from trying to look.

“I just had a long night. Mike decided it would be fun to drag me into his tank not once but twice.” Will chuckled weakly, his voice ringing decidedly false, “Turns out the human body isn’t very well equipped to deal with water that’s 13 degrees Celsius. And I don’t think Mike fully understood that humans can’t breathe underwater for very long. I swear that asshole nearly drowned me both times.”

At that, Will turned back towards the tank and sent Mike a scathing look that Max doubted he was faking, so she had to assume that at least that part of his story was true, but she still couldn’t help but suspect that the sandy haired scientist was still hiding something from her.  

“I guess that explains the damp clothes then. But what about-” Max started, only to be quickly interrupted by Will as he began to talk over her, something he absolutely knew never to do.

“Oh yeah, this isn’t even my shirt. Mike apparently doesn’t know how to work buttons, so he just ripped my shirt off with his claws to get me out of my wet clothes.” Will paused, a mischievous glint sparking in his previously lifeless eyes, “Do you think I could invoice the lab for a new shirt? I feel like getting mauled by a siren is grounds for financial compensation.”

Max found herself smiling and nodding in response automatically before her brain registered what Will was trying to do, he was deftly swerving every opportunity to talk about what was actually bothering him, either lying by omission or trying to redirect her attention by either annoying her or making her laugh, or both. Max’s smile died instantly, the redhead’s blue gaze growing icy as she frowned up at the other scientist.

“What are you doing?” Max’s tone was sharp as she glared at the willowy researcher who towered above her from her sitting position, not that she would let the inherent size difference bother her.

The light in Will’s eyes died as quickly as it had come, leaving him looking exhausted and worn yet again, which made Max’s insides writhe with guilt, but still she pressed on. “There’s something you’re not telling me.” She squinted at Will, her gaze unwavering, “What are you hiding?”

The line of Will’s body grew rigid, a wooden smile stretching his cheeks unnaturally. The sight of it shook Max to her core. “It’s nothing. Just a little jittery after my dip in the tank.”

Max opened her mouth to speak again, but Will was already striding past her, completing avoiding her gaze as he clapped a hand down over her shoulder as he passed, his fingers digging entirely too tight into her shoulder, and the redhead recognized it for what it truly was, a warning.

Her words died in her throat as Will walked away, stunned into silence for an entirely new reason, as she watched the retreating line of Will’s back his shoulders tight and his posture stiff as he called back to her over his shoulder, “I’ve got some sketches I want to work on before I forget. I’ll talk to you later.” Cold. Dismissive.

Max let him go, her head falling in defeat at Will’s retreat, only for her eyes to suddenly widen at the small slip of paper nestled in her lap atop her research notes, which she was almost certain hadn’t been there a few moments before.

‘Don’t say anything. Don’t turn around. I’ll explain everything later.'

And on the back was a local Hawkins address Max didn’t recognize and a hastily scribbled 3PM.

Max wasn’t sure if the weirdly sketchy note was just Will being hit with a strange bout of paranoia, or if the man had managed to stumble himself onto something that he definitely shouldn’t be involved it. Max desperately hoped Will’s odd behavior this morning was indicative of the former, but a sinking feeling in her gut made her think it was probably the latter.

Before she even had the chance to think better of it, she had already crumpled Will’s note in her fist, tucking the wrinkled, smudged paper in between the copy of a research article on dimorphism in deep sea-sharks and a thick book on bioluminescence she had piled in her lap, fully intending on destroying the page at the first opportunity and hoped that that would be enough.

When finished tucking away the slip of paper, a dark shape moving in the corner of her eye caught Max’s attention. She looked up. To her surprise, Mike was staring back at her, his eyes flashing from jet black to violently red for a brief moment when their gazes met before the merman nodded solemnly and turned away, swimming off in the direction Will had left in.  

Max huffed, now utterly alone in the middle of the lab at ass-o’-clock in the morning. She wheeled herself over to her lab station, making an obnoxious fuss like she usually did in the morning before she got her coffee, even though there was no one except the security cameras to see it.

As she pulled down a couple of relevant books and a few research articles from the precarious stack on her desk, waiting absently while her computer booted up, she wanted more than anything to punch Will in his stupid face for first making her worry and then for forcing her to pretend to work as normal all the while knowing she’d have to wait at least ten more hours before she finally got some real answers out of the other man.

Max scowled at the page as she scanned the same paragraph over for the fourth time, retaining absolutely none of it, she clucked her tongue quietly in annoyance, knowing that her brain was entirely too jumbled to focus on anything work related today, and feeling all the more peeved for it, “Oh, you had better be in big trouble Will, because if you’re not after putting me through all of this, you sure as hell are gonna be.”

Joyce was not worrying. She wasn’t. She definitely didn’t stare at the phone receiver for a solid two and a half minutes after Will bit out a ‘See you soon’ and abruptly hung up before she could respond just to see if he would call again.

Because fuck, he wouldn’t just drop a bombshell like that over the phone and just hang up would he? If Joyce wasn’t currently freaking the hell out so much, she might’ve laughed at the thought, because of course he would. Her son was practically the poster child for bottling things up and shouldering it all on his own. Hell, if anything, she’s actually pleasantly surprised he decided to call her and keep her in the loop about this whole Hawkins Lab nonsense, although she isn’t sure whether or not Will decided to do that because he wanted her help or because he just wanted to use her house as a convenient home-base to commence their planning.

Speaking of-

Joyce eyed the living room from her position in the hall, her eyes automatically going to the sagging sofa and the faded wallpaper that hadn’t been replaced since the government paid for her home to be remodeled back in ’83.

Will had given her approximately half-a-day’s notice before a whole boatload of well-educated strangers were going to be bursting down her door for what was essentially to be a war meeting. There wasn’t exactly much she could do to spruce up the place. She could maybe drive up to Melvald’s and get a half-wilted bouquet to sit on the dining table, or maybe she could get some fruit to put in a bowl, at least then everyone could have a snack as well, and maybe she could-

When Joyce finally managed to glance up at the clock, so caught up in her list of things she needed to do before people started arriving, she realized it was five minutes past the time she was supposed to clock into work and figured this circumstance certainly counted as a ‘family emergency’ as she picked up the phone to give Mr. Melvald a call.

She had something more important to do.

Robin could do many things, she could speak seven different languages, held not one but two Ph.D’s in translation studies and anthropology respectively, and she could even tie a knot in a cherry stem with her tongue, which every girl she’s ever dated has thought was particularly impressive. But one thing she’s never successfully been able to do, was be subtle.

So of course, when her and Nancy walked into the lab that morning, Robin intently listening as Nancy exposited a story about how she had camped out in a dumpster for three days in order to pin down a US Senator who she had theorized frequented the strip club as a way to pick up prostitutes discretely.

Nancy had been mid-way through explaining how after nearly 72 hours in a dumpster, she had been contemplating just applying to the strip club instead, which wasn’t that an idea, when the giant metal doors swung open and Robin immediately zeroed in on the fact that Max and Will were staunching occupying opposite corners of the lab. Something easily noticeable considering they were the only people crazy enough to show up to work at nearly 4 in the morning.

And of course, because Robin had an obnoxiously big mouth, and was well-versed with sticking her foot in it, she promptly blurted out, “What, did you two get in a fight or something?” Before Nancy elbowed her roughly in the ribs, quickly shutting her up.

“Robin, why would you say that?” Nancy hissed, latching onto the sleeve of Robin’s button-down before quickly towing her away to their own workstations with more force than Robin would’ve thought possible for such a small woman. But Nancy always did know how to defy expectations, and apparently near superhuman levels of strength was one of them.

Will barely even glanced up from where he was currently hunched over his desk, and Max seemed to be sporting a large pair of headphones, so Robin figured she hadn’t even heard her.

She shrugged, “You know how I am, I think something and then BAM, suddenly I’m spitting it out like some kind of wonky word vomit.” Nancy’s face scrunched, like even the mention of vomit in the figurative sense was enough to disgust her, like she hadn’t just been telling a story about sleeping in a literal dumpster. Robin waved her hand over to where Max and Will were currently competing to out-ignore each other, “Look, they don’t even care. They’re too busy being huffy about something to even notice. And even if they did, it’s just Robin being Robin.”

The corners of Nancy’s lips twitched slightly at her words, and Robin took it as a win. It had taken her a fair amount of trial and error to break through Nancy’s prissy exterior, and she’s fairly certain only Nancy’s stalwart professionalism prevented her from slapping her in the face more than once when they first became acquainted, but once she had managed to worm her way past Nancy’s defenses, she had slowly gotten better at being able to read the other woman’s subtle facial expressions.

Nancy was great at putting on what Robin liked to think of as Nancy’s ‘workplace persona’, her easy laughter and bright expressions falling away the instant she stepped through the glass doors of Hawkins National Laboratory, leaving behind only a strictly professional, no-nonsense personality fully intent on asking questions and getting answers.

At first, she had thought Nancy was stuffy, strung too tight and with a massive stick up her ass. But after weeks of working in the other woman’s presence, Robin had become finely attuned to every subtle crack in the reporter’s carefully crafted mask.

A slightly quirked eyebrow meant curiosity, or surprise. A twitch in her lips tantamount to a full-on belly laugh, and tucking a strand behind her ear meant Nancy was flustered or embarrassed. Robin, ever the researcher, had made it her goal to catalogue every one of Nancy Wheeler’s micro-expressions, but now, as the other woman deftly got to work scanning her color-coded files on the desk, her face was spasming in a way that was wholly unfamiliar to Robin.

“Nance?” Robin questioned, her voice edged with concern as she watched the reporter’s left eye twitch before Nancy managed to school her face back into its normal pleasant mask.

“Robin,” Nancy began, turning her back to Robin as she began straightening the files on her desk with an oddly aggressive fervor. “Did you happen to move the notebook I put on my desk yesterday?” Nancy’s words were pointed as she snapped the notebook in question, a small rather unassuming moleskin, shut with a resounding snap. Robin could tell something was off about Nancy’s tone, and she had known the tenacious woman long enough to pick up on the fact that her words likely contained some hidden meaning, but despite her best efforts, Robin couldn’t seem to parse out what it was.

Still unsure what Nancy could possibly be getting at but couldn’t think of any reason why she would need to lie, Robin shook her head automatically before realizing that Nancy had her back to her, and couldn’t see the movement. “No. I didn’t.”

To her surprise, Nancy waved it off, “It doesn’t matter. It’s not important.” And Robin almost choked on her tongue in shock. Nancy Wheeler, the same woman who threatened to stab her with a pen if she messed with her filing system, sounded completely unbothered by the fact that some unknown person had been rifling through her stuff.

“Are you su-” Robin began, but Nancy quickly spun around and cut her off, a peculiar little smile stretching the corners of her lips.

“Would you like to come get drinks with me after work? Say around 3ish?”

And like magic, Robin instantly forgot about the weirdness with Nancy’s journal, too preoccupied with the sudden swooping in her stomach as Nancy smiled up at her so sweetly, the spark in her eyes promising that something more than just drinks would likely be in store, and Robin found herself agreeing automatically.

“I would love to.”

One would think creating literal rifts in space and time to an alternate dimension would be interesting, fun, exciting, and El would’ve thought so too, if not for the seemingly infinite amount of math that also happened to be involved.

El was very temped to bash her head onto meeting table as Erica droned on something about event horizons and the swear-child radius, punctuating her statements with increasingly complicated equations scrawled out on the whiteboard behind her, as a few other researchers spoke up about things El couldn’t care less about, but she was still dragged into this dumb meeting while the scientists squabbled over vector calculations or something because while they could all do the math of opening portals in theory, she was the only one who could actually make the portals, which was apparently pretty important in proving their math theories correct, or that’s at least what Dr. Owens said when she complained about having to attend these stuffy meetings that ultimately made her head swim.

And now, nearly an hour into the current meeting, El had more than checked out entirely. She had sat through enough of these boring tedious meetings to know when her expertise was not needed, it never was, so imagine her surprise when Erica suddenly called her name.

So, El, what do you think?”

El looked up to see all the scientists scattered around the table all staring at her expectantly and El was instantly transported back to her high school English class and being forced to read barely understandable Shakespeare passages to the class. She had hated English class.

“Wha-huh?” El managed to expertly stutter out before she caught herself. She straightened in her seat, trying to look like she had been paying attention the entire time. “Can you repeat that?”

Erica rolled her eyes, completely seeing through her façade, “As I was saying, over the past several days we’ve noticed high magnetic flux readings coming from Specimen-0407’s tank. Two small ones that barely managed to trip the sensors, and another this morning, which showed an energy reading remarkably similar to when you open a gate-”

The instant Erica mentioned a gate opening, El stopped paying any attention to the mathematician, her brain whirling wildly. She had known Mike had been syphoning energy off her, not only could she feel the strange tingling sensation of power draining away whenever she was in his presence, but the merman had also been polite enough to tell her exactly what he was doing. She hadn’t thought much of it, mostly just assumed he was using the energy as some kind of life force, considering how bright and vibrant he always looked immediately after her visits, so she hadn’t thought to mention it to any of the lab’s higher ups, and she felt infinitely stupid for not thinking that Mike could possess a similar ability to that of the Demogorgons who had the ability to create mini-gates for the purposes of hunting for unsuspecting prey from her dimension.

If she said anything now about Mike using her like a glorified battery so that he could create mini-gates back to the Upside Down, she wasn’t entirely sure what would happen. The lab needed her abilities too much for her to face any major repercussions, but Mike was completely unprotected. She didn’t know if they’d lock him up even more than he already was, isolating him from the few humans he had grown to trust, or if they would go as far as strapping him down and slicing him open, determined to see just how exactly Mike’s abilities worked.

So no, for Mike’s sake, and by extension Will’s, El couldn’t possibly say anything.

El tuned back in to find that Erica was still speaking, “So, given the evidence, do you think there’s a possibility Specimen-0407 can create mini-gates?”

The blank, bored expression on her face was hard to maintain under Erica’s intense scrutiny. She wasn’t entirely sure if she trusted the other girl, since she did work directly for Dr. Owens, but she had also loosened up considerably since joining Will’s research team, and El had seen just how worried she had been when Will stopped showing up to the wet lab and Mike had spontaneously stopped eating.

While El wasn’t entirely sure whether or not she wanted to divulge Mike’s secret to the other woman, since the jury was still out on whether or not Erica knowing the details of the situation would be a help or a hinderance, she certainly knew couldn’t say anything revealing in this room full of nearly a dozen other scientists on the laboratory’s payroll.

So, she did what she did best, she lied her ass off. “I have noticed a strange energy resonance around around Mi-Specimen-0407, but since we haven’t had any encounters with other live creatures from the Upside Down, I’m not sure if it’s a one off, or if it’s something specific to him.” El patted herself on the back mentally, certain that her statement held just enough truth to not be immediately struck down as false, “I doubt that 0407 is able to create his own gates though, otherwise why would he still be here if he could’ve left ages ago.” Erica nodded slowly, her jaw twitching like she was digesting El’s statement.

“If I had to make a guess, I would say that the weird energy readings started because we started to come into regular contact. I’m assuming if I can sense power coming off of him, he can likely sense the same from me, and is maybe responding in kind, maybe assumes I’m a similar species or something. You’d have to ask Max, er - Dr. Mayfield, she may have more insight into the biology behind it all.”

For a tense moment Erica was quiet, and El worried that she may have sounded a little too confident in her assessment of the situation, but eventually, Erica pursed her lips and nodded, albeit reluctantly, likely disappointed in an answer that didn’t involve more interdimensional space portals.

“We’ll have to look into it more. Maybe try to pinpoint specific times the readings spike and see whether or not they have any correlation to Ms. Hopper’s presence. In the meantime, I will reach out to Dr. Mayfield and see if there is any knowledge she can provide from a biological perspective.”

The rest of the scientists in the meeting seemed amenable to this idea and nodded along fervently casting the occasional wary glance at El, like they were afraid she was going to explode their heads with her mind if they didn’t agree to her idea. The thought of which nearly made her scoff, she was practically declawed at this point, basically as harmless as a non-psychically powered person, considering she hadn’t even liquified someone’s brain since she was twelve.

As much as she wanted to make the rest of the scientists’ squirm under the force of her dark, unreadable gaze, El had quickly learned these meetings wrapped up much faster if you pretended to be completely disinterested. So instead, El’s gaze flitted towards the window opening up towards the main floor of their lab. Instinctively her eyes strayed towards the massive pulsing scar in the wall, the remnants of the most recently failed attempt at creating a gate.

Most other people shied away from staring at the gate for too long, too unnerved by the eerie sight, but since El had been quite literally born to create such monstrosities, she couldn’t help but be drawn to the very thing other people avoided.

If she hadn’t been staring out the window up at the gate, she never would’ve caught sight of an improperly dressed man making his way through the sea of hazmat suits towards the row of lockers placed along the far wall. El’s eyes widened minutely in surprise, everyone working on the Gate Project were incredibly paranoid about their hazmat suits, some scientists even going so far as to double layer their suits like the toxic air is the thing most likely to kill you in the Upside Down, and not the half-a-dozen apex predators practically hand-tailored to rip humans to shreds. So, seeing a scientist with his hazmat pants not tucked into the boots, and the sliver of his shirt visible beneath the sterile white material where the man couldn’t be bothered to zip his suit up all the way, El knew immediately who it was, even if she couldn’t see his face.

Only one person was brave enough to not fear the idle traces of the Upside Down lingering in the air down here, the only person who had actually been to the other side, and knew that nightmares were not in fact made up of bacteria and unbreathable air, but instead creatures far sinister.

Will Byers.

She watched with idle interest as Will quickly lopped across the lab, expertly dodging carts of equipment toted by scientists bundled up in hazmat suit layers like marshmallows, the man barely sparing a glance at the ominous glowing crack located on the far wall, although El was nearly positive he skirted much closer to the currently closed gate than he needed to, but she was unsure if it was because, like her, he felt drawn to the strange pull it seemed to exude, or if it was just because of the heavily decreased foot traffic nearer to the gate, since most scientists were too wary to approach the massive scar, like it would spontaneously rip open and swallow them whole, never to be seen again.

But Will wasn’t scared of an inert gate, the man had experienced the true horrors of the other side at a much more formative age and could scarcely be cowled by just a weirdly glowing crack. So, El, now completely checked out of her meeting, eyed his progress with interest as he approached a row of lockers that had her eyebrows raising.

Will quickly scanned to the left, then to the right before darting forward and tugging open the left-most locker, the one that didn’t even have a lock because El knew all her coworkers were far too afraid of her to want to steal from her locker.

El watched with curiosity as Will unzipped his hazmat suit down low enough that he could tug something out from within before quickly stowing the contents inside the locker and rezipping his suit. For a brief moment, almost like the scientist could sense her presence, Will looked up towards the window where El’s meeting was being held. Their eyes met. Will smiled sharply before turning away, almost like he had expected to be caught. El could help but grin back in response, even though Will could no longer see her face.

Today had just become much more interesting.

Eddie thought he had finally figured out Will Byers. After the other man specifically requested a nobody like him to join his elite squad of mermaid researchers, Eddie had found himself surprisingly curious. He had made a point of keeping himself as under the radar as possible at the lab, like if he stuck to lurking in the shadows the stuffy scientists would be able to ignore his wild mop of hair and the dozens of tattoos littering his arms and snaking their way up from underneath the collar of his shirt. Anything to prevent him from losing the best-paying job Eddie had ever been able to find in Asscrack, Indiana, even if the overwhelming amount of NDAs and government conspiracy really cramped his vibe most days. He figured beggars couldn’t really be choosers.

But somehow, despite Eddie trying his best to blend in with the other nameless maintenance workers, shuffling along as he was told and only doing the exactly requested repairs to the microphones and stereos, even though he knew that if he reconfigured the wiring the sound quality would be vastly improved. He had tried his best to stick to the sidelines and go unnoticed, but somehow, Will Byers had noticed him.

When Eddie had first been shuffled onto Byers’ team, he had expected to be looked down upon and shunned, left out as the ‘real scientists’ got to work, but surprisingly, the ragtag cast of characters Will managed to cobble together for his project welcomed him with open arms, and it only made Eddie even more curious about the enigma that was William Byers.

The second time Will defied expectations was when he caught the younger man falling asleep at his desk, headphones slipping down off his ears as his head drooped. When Eddie walked over and overheard an old The Smith’s song coming through the tinny speakers as he slipped the headphones off Will’s head and switched off the CD player, a puzzle piece Eddie had been missing clicked into place. He smiled softly at the sleeping man, the dark bags under his eyes living proof as to just how tired the other researcher really must’ve been. “I guess you’re not completely hopeless after all, Byers.”

Nearly every day after that Eddie took it upon himself to educate the head scientist with his superior music tastes, not that Will agreed most of the time. Even though Metallica and Iron Maiden where definitely a thousand times better than the British rock bands Will seemed to so heavily favor, and Eddie would rather die than admit that he actually enjoyed some of The Clash’s discography. But their bickering was nice, friendly and low-stakes in a way Eddie had never expected from a know-it-all scientist, but the more Eddie got to know the younger man, the more he realized that maybe Will wasn’t really a stuck up snooty scientist-type after all.

And somehow, after weeks of working together, Will somehow still managed to find ways to surprise Eddie.

Which is why he was currently standing in front of a slightly dilapidated house on the outskirts of Hawkins, idly flipping the mix tape he had found sitting on his desk this morning, an extremely odd sticky note attached.

I can explain.

3PM.

And this exact address.

Out of curiosity, Eddie had tried to play the tape, hoping the contents would provide some insight into whatever weirdness Will was currently involved in, but instead he was just met with the eerie silence of a completely blank cassette.

Out of habit, or maybe nervousness, Eddie still found himself fiddling with the cassette tape as he walked up the gravel drive, eyeing the smattering of cars already pulled up close to the house with unabashed curiosity.

A loud honk from behind him startled him from his thoughts. He spun around to see the source of the noise and was surprised to see both Nancy and Robin staring back at him from behind the windshield of a car, both women looking just as startled to see him.

Robin’s lips downturned violently before she slammed her way out of the car, cutting Eddie with a scathing look, which Eddie was slightly concerned by, given that him and Robin usually got along swimmingly.

“You could’ve told me Eddie was going to be here.” Eddie’s blood instantly turned to ice at the vitriol in Robin’s voice as she hissed back through the window of Nancy’s car before huffily stomping away, Nancy quickly throwing her car into park in the middle of the drive to leap out of the vehicle after her.

“For Christ’s sake Robin, this wasn’t actually a date. I just needed a non-suspicious way to get you to come with me somewhere after work.”

Robin whirled around, looking no less mad than before, “And you thought leading me along was the best way to do that?”

Eddie felt like an increasingly awkward bystander as he watched Nancy flush a violent shade of pink, “It was the first thing I could think of. I really wasn’t trying to l-lead you along or anything. It was just, Will left a note-”

Already feeling like he was witnessing a car crash in slow motion, Eddie quickly butted in, hoping to alleviate at least some of the wafting homoerotic tension currently filling the air between the two women, “So, Will left a note for you guys too?”

Both Robin and Nancy suddenly froze, like they had just remembered they had decided to have their argument in front of an audience. Nancy was the first to snap back into her professional persona, but Eddie could still see the way her ears were tinted red as she spoke.

“I figured he invited the entire team, I couldn’t decide if Will was willing to bring Erica into this, so I guess we’ll have to see. But there’s still way too many cars here for it to just be the five of us, so I’m not entirely sure what exactly Will is planning.”

Eddie turned back towards the house, quickly noting the way the curtains by the front door fluttered like someone had been watching them from inside. He put on his signature over-the-top Dungeon Master grin, hoping it made him look much more confident than the current churning in his stomach made him feel before turning back to the girls.

“Well, how about we go inside and find out what Byers is up to together?”

Erica was currently fuming as she sped through the red light in the center of town, completely ignoring the angry honks of the other drivers as she deftly swerved in and out of the lane, the gas pedal nearly pressed to the floor, her jaw clenched so tight her molars threatened to snap as she barreled towards the Byers house.

As far as workdays go, Erica’s was fairly uneventful, or at least as uneventful as it could be for a scientist working on a top-secret government funded project. Other than Will and Max’s icy distance, and Robin bouncing around Nancy far more than normal, everything seemed relatively mundane. She had gone to meetings, reported to Dr. Owens, spent some time in the aquatic lab studying 0407, or Mike, as he had come to like being called, before finally calling it a day and wrapping things up at around 4PM.

She had planned on going home and relaxing, taking a hot bath and trying out that new facial cream her mom had given her, maybe even giving Tina a call to see if she had any plans this weekend, but instead her plans were instantly derailed when she strode through the front door of her apartment and was greeted by the sight of her blinking answering machine.

For a moment she contemplated not answering it, since she knew any confidential, work-related phone calls were sent straight to the untraceable cell phone currently weighing down her purse, so it was probably nothing important, maybe a telemarketer, or her parents calling to ask if she would come over for dinner, but still her fingers hovered over the button, curiosity preventing her from just walking away and ignoring the blinked red light.

She pressed play.

And almost immediately regretted the decision.

A tired sigh crackled out through the speakers, “Hey Erica,”

She recognized the voice. It was Will.

“I really contemplated whether or not to call you about this at all, and I really hope I don’t end up regretting it. But knowing you, you would’ve pieced everything together anyways without my intervention, and I really can’t have you meddling and drawing attention before I get everything put together.”

Another sigh.

“I’m sure you know better than me that I can’t say anything over the phone. So, feel free to swing by my house once you get this and I promise I’ll explain everything.

Will’s voice took on a sharp edge, “And since I know there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from ratting me out the instant this message ends, I just wanted to let you know that Lucas will be stopping by later today. Looks like he wanted to do a spontaneous trip back to Hawkins to see everyone-”

Erica didn’t even hear the rest of the message, already turning to race out the door, heartbeat pounding violently in her chest.

She was going to kill Will Byers. 

Even pushing 60 most for most of the drive, it took her nearly ten achingly long minutes to finally reach the Byers rundown old house on the opposite end of town, and by that point Erica’s fury had reached a peak.

She barely stopped to glance at the other cars crowded around the drive, but she thought she recognized Eddie’s motorcycle and Max’s rental car, and of course, Lucas’s ever-familiar beat-up pickup truck.

Stomping through the gravel, not even caring that she was probably scraping her shoes to shit from stamping her feet so hard into the soft ground that the heels kept sinking in, only to roughly tear them out with her next step, Erica’s long legs quickly carried her to the front door.

She tried the knob. Unlocked. Erica grinned ruthlessly, soundlessly slipping in through the door and clicking it shut behind her, quickly shucking off her heels, leaving her standing in her stockings as she quietly eased herself down the hallway.

Erica had never been to Will’s house before, despite her brother spending nearly half his time here back when they were kids, but it was easy to figure out where to go by following the sound of familiar voices speaking loudly at the end of the hall.

“I dunno man, are you sure you thought this through? It doesn’t sound like you have much of a plan.” Considering that Will had been rude enough to drag her brother into this, she was wholly unsurprised to find that Dustin had gotten roped into Will’s scheme as well.

“I vote no. It seems way too dangerous.” Robin. Her voice high and warbly with what Erica assumed to be fear.

“I mean, if nothing goes wrong, I’m pretty sure the only ones who’d be in any actual danger would be Will and Mike.” Nancy, her no-nonsense tone easily cutting Robin’s argument short.

A snort, “If everything goes to plan. When has anything ever gone right when dealing with the Upside Down?” Erica’s heart was suddenly in her throat because she would recognize the voice of her brother anywhere and hearing him talking about the Upside Down and danger in the same sentence, made her insides turn to ice.

Erica, unable to stand listening any longer, stepped out from the hallway, unable to stop her gaze from flicking to Lucas, his hair a wild tangle atop his head and his eyes creased with worry before turning her attention to the person who dragged her unwitting brother into a mess he certainly had no purpose being in, Will.

She smiled, sickly sweet at him, and watched with satisfaction as Will’s face grew instantly pale. “So, Will, care to tell me why you decided to drag my brother into this shit?”

Chapter Text

Admittedly, Will didn’t really have much of a plan. He had hoped by the time the meeting had rolled around he would’ve come up with at least something, but unfortunately, as he stood up in the middle of his childhood living room surrounded by every semi-trustworthy person he had ever met, Will was drawing a blank.

Honestly, he was surprised he even made it this far, he had half-expected the lab’s goonies to descend on him the minute he and Mike had returned from the Upside Down and had been jumpy and skittish all day, unable to rid himself of the thought that he would be tossed in some holding cell to rot before he even managed to get through the lunch. But surprisingly, Will had not only managed to get through work unscathed, he also somehow successfully roped in half-a-dozen of his friends into his borderline treasonous, definitely not well thought out plan.

A plan which they now all expected him to deliver, far too many pairs of curious, unblinking eyes staring back at him from the deflated living room furniture, each and every one of them anticipating a plan, and none of them knowing that Will only had an end goal in mind and absolutely no idea on how to get there.

“So, uh-” Will began, his throat feeling tight, his mouth instantly dry. He berated himself mentally. He had taught dozens of lectures and discussion sections as a PhD student, often times for audiences more than triple the size currently in this room, so why was he having trouble speaking now of all times.

Luckily, Nancy seemed to have clued in on his sudden nervousness and spoke up from where she had been sandwiched on the couch in between Robin and Eddie, her thin-boned frame the only one small enough to squeeze into the tiny space. “Does this have anything to do with Mike? Is he okay? He hasn’t been eating, right?”

The band tightening around Will’s chest loosened somewhat at Nancy’s words, now this, this was something he could answer. Unconsciously, he felt his fingers reach up and touch the tooth necklace hidden underneath the collar of his shirt, the piece of Mike he carried with him, even now.  

“Mike is fine, Max was telling me that most sharks can go weeks or months without eating, and even Mike himself didn’t seem worried. Apparently, it can be hard to find food in the Upside Down sometimes, so he’s been longer between meals.” Will shrugged, hoping no one, specifically Max, would bring up just how much of a wreck he had been before he had been enlightened with that particular piece of information.

Before he could continue, Dustin loudly smacked the armrest of the recliner he was currently occupying, a triumphant look on his face. “I knew it! I knew you had to have gotten involved in some Upside Down shit again. Lucas, you owe me five bucks!”

From where she was sitting perched on the opposite armrest, Suzie abruptly hit her husband on the arm, but didn’t look surprised at Dustin’s revelation in the slightest, and Will was at least somewhat glad at Dustin’s inability to keep secrets from his wife, since it at least meant, Will didn’t have to suffer through explaining the events of ’83 again so that everyone was on the same page.

Lucas just sputtered loudly in response to Dustin’s words, shooting the man a harsh glare, “What five dollars? You mean from when we were thirteen?”

Dustin playfully brushed off Suzie’s hand, beaming glibly over at his friend currently occupying the other recliner, “Yep.” He stuck his hand out towards Lucas, curling his fingers expectantly, “Pay up Sinclair, a bet’s a bet.”

In response Lucas rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath, but dutifully pulled out a crisp five-dollar bill from his wallet before passing the money over to the other man with an annoyed huff.

Out of the corner of his eye, Will managed to catch Max’s impressive eye roll at the ridiculous sight before she caught sight of Will’s gaze and took the opportunity to mouth silently at him, ‘Really?’ and Will had to suppress the urge to laugh outright.

Unexpectedly, Dustin and Lucas’s brief interruption managed to soothe the rest of Will’s agitated nerves, and when he coughed lightly, drawing everyone’s attention away from his two quietly bickering friends and back to himself, he found that the anxiety that had been plaguing him since Mike had unceremoniously dragged him into the Upside Down had all but vanished.

Despite the rather serious situation, Will had to suppress the urge to smile at the ridiculousness of it all, and for a moment wished Mike could be here, certain that the merman would’ve slotted in near seamlessly in between Dustin and Lucas’s teasing banter.

“So, like I was saying before someone interrupted,” Will spared Dustin a glare that lacked any heat, “Most of you already know about Mike.” Will shot a brief look to the members of his research team currently clustered together on the couch, “But to those of you who don’t, Mike, or Specimen-0407, is the Hawkins National Laboratory’s current test subject. He’s a creature from the Upside Down with characteristics of both humans and we believe, various different species of sharks.”

Will produced a folded-up sketch of Mike from his pocket, smoothing out the creases before passing the drawing over to Lucas, who let out a choked inhalation in surprise. Dustin, ever curious, leaned so far over he nearly toppled out of his chair to try to peek over Lucas’s shoulder, and swore loudly once he saw the drawing of Mike.

“Holy shit Byers, you’ve been holding out on us. You guys found a mermaid?”

Unable to help himself, Will felt the corners of his mouth twitch into a grin, feeling the slightest bit of pride burn deep in his gut at his two friends fawning over Mike. His Mike.

Max smirked smugly, and Will cursed the fact that the redhead could read him so easily as she turned towards his two childhood friends and spoke up, “Actually, Mike’s a merman.”

Both Dustin and Lucas glanced over at Max with surprise, like they had forgotten they weren’t alone in the room, which honestly, wouldn’t surprise Will in the slightest. Dustin looked like he was about to say something snarky in response, but thankfully Lucas spoke up first, eyeing Will with a look far too knowing for his taste.

“So how exactly does Mike, fit into all this?” Lucas gestured around the room and the odd hodgepodge of individuals occupying it.

“Ah! About that…” Will started, scrubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well Max, Nancy, Eddie and I were all brought on board as part of the team meant to research Mike specifically. For some reason, Mike liked us better than the rest of the scientists-”

A snorted laugh, and a muffled “Yeah, for some reason.” Cut him off, and Will had to resist the urge to shoot a glare in Max’s direction. This meeting had enough bullshit to tackle without attempting to drag Will’s tumultuous relationship status with Mike into the picture as well. He had enough conflict of interest as it was.

He cleared his throat before continuing, “We developed a way to communicate with him, and so far he had been forward enough with questions that the higher ups at the lab want to use him as part of an inter-departmental project to map out the Upside Down. That’s where El comes in-”

Will gestured towards the woman currently sitting on one of the kitchen chairs pulled over into the living room to provide extra seating, El waved. Lucas and Dustin both simultaneously choked, whipping around to stare at El in a hilarious mixture of surprise and shock, both men apparently unable to reconcile the willowy, long-haired woman sitting beside them with the bald, scrawny prepubescent they met after Will disappeared into the Upside Down for the first time back when they were twelve.

“Y-you’re alive?” Lucas whispered, almost reverently, his eyes unnaturally wide as he drank El’s presence in.

El laughed, “What, you didn’t think a Demogorgon was enough to take me down, did you?”

“But you were- I saw you-” Dustin stammered, his gaze oscillating between El herself and Will standing at the front of the room.

Instead of responding, El just shrugged. Will took that as a good a sign as any to wrangle the conversation back on track before Dustin started sobbing in the living room.

“Anyways, El here has been employed by the lab for the past several months as part of their attempts to open up a new stable gate. So far, their attempts have been mostly unsuccessful, and they haven’t wanted to send any people through because each time the gate is opened it seems to appear in a different location.”

“Which is why they need a map.” To Will’s surprise, it was Suzie who spoke up, her eyes glittering intelligently, and Will was mentally congratulating himself on his spur-of-the-moment decision to include her in their top-secret meeting.

“That’s right. Between both me and Mike, we’re the only two who have actually been to the Upside Down and lived to tell the tale, so they’re hoping with the two of us together they can actually build a semi-decent approximation of where each portal is opening so they can send people safely into the Upside Down.”

This time it was Eddie who snorted, “I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure even with a map that place still has a thousand and one ways to kill you. I mean have you seen what Mike does to fish? And that place is brimming with hundreds of creatures just as dangerous, if not more so.”

Will, admittedly, had to agree with Eddie’s statement, “You’re not wrong. The Upside Down is incredibly dangerous, I only barely managed to survive it the first time, and that wasn’t without my fair share of help.” He spared a glance towards El and his mom, the latter of which looked slightly abashed at being brought to his attention.

“But it’s not our job to make sure they can navigate the Upside Down safely, it’s our job to make a map. And that’s where the problem comes in." Will explained, eyeing his friends and coworkers gathered around the room meaningfully, "We can’t let them get a map of the Upside Down.”

It was almost eerie, the way everyone snapped to attention at Will’s last words, the entire room completely silent. No snarky comments, no coughs or suppressed laughter. No, everyone was looking directly at him, and they all knew that what he had just said, was positively Earth shattering.

Just for saying those words out loud, Will wasn’t just at risk for losing his job, he was at risk at being locked up in either a state-of-the-art government prison or being left to rot in a mental institution, neither of which were at the top of Will’s to do list.

But it was too late for him to back out now, the words were already out, and everyone in the room was waiting for what he would say next.

“If the scientists get a map of the Upside Down, there’s no telling what they’ll do. Dr. Owens may be better than Dr. Brenner-” He tried to pretend he didn’t see El’s sharp flinch at the name of the former head of Hawkins Lab who had kept her imprisoned there as a science experiment for eleven years. “But there’s no telling what they’d do if given access to the power of the Upside Down. There are dozens of bloodthirsty creatures the government could easily try to weaponize, and if Mike is the only one who can give them reliable information about the Upside Down, there’s no way they’d ever let him go home.”

“They’d never let me leave either.” El’s voice broke the tense silence of the room, her voice was soft, but when she raised her head to look back at Will, he saw that her eyes were steely with resolve. “I’m the only one that can create a bridge to the Upside Down, and I’m a weapon in my own right.” The last part was spoken with a surprising amount of bitterness, but before he could dwell on it, El was barreling along, “They’d never let something like me to slip through their fingers.”

Will nodded solemnly, while most of his attention and worry had been focused on what the lab would do to Mike, he realized that El was stuck in much the same situation, her cage may not have physical walls like Mike’s did, but the psychically powered woman was stuck in a prison, nonetheless.

“So, we need a find a way to free Mike and close the gates to the Upside Down permanently, all without the lab suspecting that any of us were involved in any way.” Will hoped his voice sounded more confident than he felt, since from this point on, Will had absolutely no plan whatsoever to work with.

“If I’m being honest. I don’t really have a plan, and I brought most of you here under false pretenses.” Will notably does not look at Lucas when he says this, but he can still feel his best friend’s eyes boring holes into the side of his head as he speaks, “So if you want to leave now that’s fine. I won’t hold anything against you. I only ask that you don’t tell Owens or anyone else at the lab what I’m planning…” Will trailed off, eyes stuck firmly on the floor, unwilling to look up and see the undoubtedly uncertain looks on his friends faces. He doesn’t want to see-

“Who the hell said we’re going anywhere? You’re our friend, and so is El. We want to help!” Dustin crowed loudly, causing Will to look up at the surprising amount of fury in his voice.

Will was even more surprised to see that Dustin’s irate attitude wasn’t the only one populating the room at the moment. Max, Nancy and Lucas all also seemed to be sporting similar angry expressions, and while Eddie and Robin looked uncertain, the pair was making no moves to leave.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected such resounding support from the people in his room, yet as he watched, even Robin and Eddie’s wavering indecision seemed to clear, leaving in its wake determined resolve. The mood in the room shifted to one of hardened certainty, each person in attendance united in their common goal. Unable to help himself, Will’s lips twitched like he wanted to smile. He suppressed the urge when a voice spoke up from the silence.

“I think I have an idea.”

The entire room swiveled to stare at Max, who under the needling gaze of the room’s occupants, picked nervously at the fraying thread on her pants for a moment before she spoke again, her voice assured, uncowed by the attention of the others in the room.

“I have a plan. “But I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

Max had been right, Will really, really did not like her plan. But considering that he was putting everyone in danger by willfully dragging them into his harebrained scheme to go against a top-secret government organization, it figures that he would be the one who would have to put himself in the most danger for this plan to work.

He just really, really wished Max’s plan didn’t involve Will having to willingly trap himself in the Upside Down for what would likely be days.

Not that the rest of the group wouldn’t have their hands full ensuring that the lab would be unable to open up a portal to go after him, which Will didn’t even think the lab would even try to attempt for such a nobody like him if Max’s plan didn’t involve Will dragging Mike back into the Upside Down with him.  

Surprisingly, the portion of the plan Will was directly involved in was relatively easy. All he had to do was hop through the portal dragging Mike along behind him, where he’d casually try not to get eaten by the countless Eldrich horrors that awaited him on the other side for a couple of days until El would be able to safely teleport Will back home, hopefully unscathed and sporting the harrowing tale of how Mike had perished heroically trying to get Will back to the human world, leaving Mike unfettered from the cage which bound him to the human world currently, and proceeded to keep Will hopefully unimplicated in the merman’s escape.

While the thought of returning Mike to the Upside Down pricked needles at Will’s heart. He knew that this was for the best. Mike could not possibly exist in his world. Even if they found a way to free Mike from the lab’s clutches, the merman would always be hunted and stuck in hiding for the remainder of his days. Will couldn’t possibly subject Mike to that. No matter how much he’d prefer to keep the siren by his side. Mike’s freedom was worth more. He wouldn’t allow Mike to suffer any longer than he had to, and his friends all seemed thoroughly on board.

Will would admit that he mostly zoned out during the next part of the planning meeting, while Max, El and Nancy bounced thoughts back and forth about how they would be able to prevent the lab from opening any more gates. To Will it mostly just sounded like an awful lot of conjecture, with nothing but hand-wavy theories to back up any of their potential ideas, and when he tuned back in, he realized the conversation still seemed to be getting nowhere, but now with Lucas and Dustin occasionally butting in unhelpfully.

“I dunno man, are you sure you thought this through? It doesn’t sound like you have much of a plan.” Dustin scratched at his chin, looking skyward like Will’s shoddy living room ceiling held all the answers to the universe.

Will blinked, not entirely sure what plan they were currently discussing.

“I vote no. It seems way too dangerous.” Robin finally chimed in, her brows scrunched deeply in concern.

“I mean, if nothing goes wrong, I’m pretty sure the only ones who’d be in any actual danger would be Will and Mike.” Nancy’s blunt tone quickly cutting through Robin’s argument. Will pretended he didn’t notice the freckled woman wilt at the dismissal of her input.

Will still had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

Lucas snorted, “If everything goes to plan. When has anything ever gone right when dealing with the Upside Down?”

Before Will could finally muster up the courage and ask what the hell was going on, an expected, but still wholly surprising figure stepped out from the hallway. Erica.

And she was currently fixing Will with a glare so furious, he couldn’t help but cower slightly in the wake of her ire.

“So, Will, care to tell me why you decided to drag my brother into this shit?”

So, much to Will’s chagrin, he was forced to begin again from the top, facing down Erica’s thunderous expression the entire time, with various people around the room occasionally piping up to throw in their two cents, which had the added benefit of being completely unhelpful to the current situation.

Once Will finally finished his second run through of events, even going so far as to attempt to explain the current plan Erica had walked in on, he fully expected the younger scientist to punch him in the face, or maybe sell him out to Dr. Owens, completely undermining his plans up to this point, but to his surprise, Erica did none of these things. Instead, she just roughly pushed Lucas out of his recliner, pulled a travel notepad out of her purse, and began scribbling down advanced math calculations.

The others seemed to find this unexpected turn of events just as strange as he did. Robin broke the silence first, pulling herself up from her spot on the edge of the couch to peer curiously over Erica’s shoulder. “So, uh- what exactly are you working on?”

Erica was silent for a few long moments, completely ignoring Robin’s question as she continued to scribble furiously on her notepad. It was only when she finally reached the end of the small page that she even bothered to look up. “The portals are unstable. If we can find a way to permanently destabilize them, it should theoretically be possible to completely prevent the portals from being opened in the first place.”

The oppressive quiet in response to Erica’s casual statement was near deafening, that was until Suzie, of all people, spoke up. “Kind of like a subspace tensor matrix?”

Erica blinked, staring at Suzie for a moment in surprise before her face split into a calculating grin, “Yeah, exactly. All we need to do is send something through of a similar but competing wavelength which will interact negatively with the energy field and then, boom, the gate will be destroyed.”

“But wouldn’t that cause a massive shockwave as the portal collapses in on itself?” Suzie speculated, her brow scrunched with concern.

Instead of looking worried, Erica’s grin only widened, nearly every one of her white teeth on brilliant display against the darkness of her skin, Will through the expression looked eerily similar to the way Mike smiled, predatory, and suppressed a shiver as Erica spoke.

“Oh, I’m counting on it.”

Of course, the electric mood in the room had to immediately be ruined by Dustin deciding that now was the proper time to jump in, “I fail to see exactly how Star Trek knowledge is supposed to help us here.”

Rather than responding, Erica and Suzie both rolled their eyes in unison and ignored Dustin in favor of quickly spouting off numbers and calculations Will failed to follow. But as he watched the two women work in tandem, Will couldn’t help but smile, knowing that maybe, just maybe, his plan stood a chance of working out.

He was in the middle of a rather vivid daydream of imagining all the absolutely marvelous things Mike could do with his long, dexterous fingers when a soft psst noise jarred from his probably less than appropriate thoughts. Will fought the urge to blush when he turned to face Max and saw one of the woman’s red eyebrows already raised, almost like she had known exactly what Will had been thinking about, and knowing her, she probably did.

Instead of smirking at Will’s obvious discomfort at being so easily read, Max’s pale features instead pulled into an uncharacteristically serious expression as she looked at him, and Will fought down the urge to look away, already knowing that whatever Max was about to say, he wasn’t going to like it.

“Does Mike know?”

Will stomach twisted violently at the words, instantly hating the all-too-knowing look painted across Max’s face. Guilt churned in his chest, clogging his airways so much so that he could hardly breathe underneath the force of it. Any words he might have said in response instantly turned to ash on his tongue, bitter platitudes and useless excuses drying up before they could even be spoken.

He should tell Mike. Will had called this whole meeting together on the off chance his ragtag group of friends could help him find a way to free the merman he found himself willing to risk his entire career for.  

Mike should know. He was directly involved, and his cooperation would be vitally important for this plan to be successful, but still, something inside Will balked at the idea of telling the siren.

Because deep down, Will was worried about how Mike might react. Two schools of thought warred within him, one where Mike blatantly refused to be returned to the Upside Down, declaring that he wanted to remain in the human world with Will, and another part that worried that if given the opportunity, Mike would wholeheartedly agree with Will’s plan and return to the Upside Down without even a backwards glance, and honestly, Will couldn’t decide which reaction would be worse.

Max was still looking at him, the faint creases around her mouth deepening with worry the longer Will remained silent, but against her piercing gaze, Will couldn’t find it in himself to speak. Instead, he just shook his head slowly, tearing his eyes away from her undoubtedly pitying expression. 

His eyes fell to the floor, where Will found himself staring at the tiny hole in the toe of his sock, allowing a thin sliver of toenail to peek through. Will desperately wanted to pick at the fabric, worrying the small hole open until his whole toe tore through, but he resisted the urge, instead mustering up the courage to once again look up at Max and finally speak.

“If I tell him, everything’s going to change. Either I’ll be the person forcing him to leave for his own good, or he’ll be completely onboard with the plan, ready to leave without even a moment of hesitation.” Will’s gaze fell back down towards the hole in his sock, and this time he didn’t fight the urge to tear at the small imperfection, rubbing the back of his opposite heel across the fabric, stretching the hole wide enough that now his entire toe was on display.  

Will scowled down at the sock, peeved that the impulsive action didn’t make him feel any better, nervous energy still writhing in his gut, with the added annoyance that he had just ruined a perfectly good sock only adding to his mounting anxiety.  Luckily, a warm hand coming down to squeeze gently on his forearm prevented him from spiraling any further. He was surprised to see El now sitting beside him, likely called over by his and Max’s fervent whispers. Both El and Max were looking at him with equal expressions of concern and understanding, and something about their patient, unyielding eyes caused some of the uneasiness residing in his chest to unspool.

He wasn’t entirely sure how much El had overheard, but Will certainly wasn’t about to recount it for her. If she had any questions later, he figured she could always just ask Max. So, he just continued talking where he had left off.

“I’m not sure which option I’m dreading more.”

“I-I still think you should tell him. He deserves to know what we’re planning, and we’ll need his help.” El replied, her voice a soothing balm on his frayed nerves, even if the idea of telling Mike the truth was instantly setting off alarm bells in his head.

“Wait, how would I even tell Mike about the plan? I can't even sneeze without getting caught by their cameras, there’s no way I could find a time to explain everything without having Mike open a mini-gate underwater and dragging me through.” Will shuddered, at the thought, “And I’d rather not have to go to the Upside Down as much as possible.”

Will hadn’t realized how much his voice had risen as he spoke until Erica spoke up from across the room, her hand hovering in the air over her notepad as she observed Will with dark eyes. Will gulped, wondering how much she had overheard.

“Actually, you should probably let Mike know that he shouldn’t open any more gates for the time being. Our instruments have been picking up weird energy readings the past few days, and from what I can surmise, I’m willing to bet that they’re being caused by that little fishy friend of yours. The more often he opens gates the more likely the other scientists are going to realize what’s really causing the energy spikes, and then we’ll be stuck with a whole other set of problems.”

Will immediately swiveled to look at El, their resident portal expert, and saw the other woman nodding along reluctantly, “Erica’s right. Someone already brought up the weird readings at our meeting this morning.” El shot Erica a pointed look which piqued Will’s curiosity, “So we really should warn Mike to avoid creating gates until our plan is ready.”

“But then how will I be able to tell Mike about the plan?”

This time it was Suzie who spoke up, the normally cherubic woman sporting a cunning grin that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Erica’s face but sat oddly on the older woman’s soft cheeks. “Leave it to me. I can get you an opening.”

Chapter Text

Apparently, Suzie’s idea of an opening was to hack into the Hawkins Lab surveillance system and setting the camera footage to loop for exactly 7 minutes and 42 seconds at the ungodly hour of 2:36 in the morning.

Why it was 7 minutes and 42 seconds precisely, Will had absolutely no clue, and when he had tried to ask if he could have more time, Suzie had sent him a look so scathing Will was surprised his clothes didn’t catch fire.

So Will had exactly 7 minutes and 42 seconds to climb up to the top of Mike’s tank, coax the merman out of the water out of the water without Mike deciding to drag him in for a dip, tell him the plan, and then escape back down to ground level where he then had to get back to his desk and pretend to slump over half asleep at the exact moment the cameras come back online, that is if Mike doesn’t filet him first.

Which was easier said than done.

Will currently had his head pillowed in his arms, feigning sleep, which wasn’t a completely uncommon sight for Will due to his ridiculously messed up sleep schedule, waiting for faint beep of his synchronized watch alarm which would signal that the cameras had been cut off.

He had no way of knowing for sure whether or not Suzie’s hacking had been successful, since the woman had no discreet way of contacting him inside the lab if anything happened to go awry, so he just had to trust that tech genius knew what she was doing. And if not, well, Will would have a lot of time in prison to regret his decisions later.

Finally, after what felt like hours of waiting, Will’s watch beeped softly, and Will was instantly on his feet. Mike noting Will’s unexpected movement, was instantly alert, his hands signing rapidly back to Will.

Will ignored the merman’s complicated signs and just quickly pointed up towards the top of the tank and shouted, “Meet me at the top!” desperately hoping Mike would understand his sudden urgency as he quickly made for the set of maintenance stairs located at the back of the lab.

It took Will exactly 51 seconds from when his watch alarm went off to reach the top of the tank, sweaty and panting, where thankfully, Mike was already waiting.

Mike’s face was creased with worry as he eyed Will, who was still trying to regain his breath, a sharp stitch in his side from sprinting up all those stairs.

‘What’s wrong?’

“Nothing’s- wrong-” Will gasped in between breaths, until finally his breathing steadied enough that he could speak more clearly. “My friend programmed a gap in the security feed so I could talk to you without the cameras being able to see. We have-” Will glanced down at his watch, where a timer was now counting down his remaining minutes, “We have about five and a half minutes before I have to be back at my desk when the cameras come back on so-”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Mike spoke up, his eyes sparking a dangerous crimson, “No cameras? Can’t see?”

Will balked, “Well yeah. They’re on a loop right now so it just looks-”

If Will had more foresight, he probably could have seen this coming, but considering his stomach had been tied up in knots since the day before at the idea of having to come clean to Mike about his plan, he really hadn’t thought about how Mike would react upon hearing that there was suddenly no cameras to observe him.

But of all the things he could’ve possibly expected Mike might do if the cameras had been cut off, his first idea certainly wouldn’t have been to expect the large merman to leap at him, arms extended, his predatory gaze locked keenly onto Will.

And while Will knew that Mike would never purposefully cause him harm, especially after the disastrous attempt of Mike nearly killing Will in his attempt to drag him into the Upside Down, a not insignificant part of himself quaked under the pressure of Mike’s hungry gaze, the siren looking for all intents and purposes like he wanted to devour him whole.

But to his surprise, it seemed that devouring him was the merman’s actual intention, just with a slightly different connotation than Will had initially expected. The instant Mike got his hands on him, he was knocking WIll to the floor, slithering up the scientist’s body until they were firmly pressed chest to chest, Mike’s tail spreading a wet stain across the thin material of Will’s button up and slacks. For an instant, all Will could see was the burning embers of Mike’s eyes before the merman was upon him.

With barely a pause to scan Will’s face, Mike was moving once again, nipping and licking along the jut of Will’s jaw, and all Will’s plans for how this meeting was supposed to go were instantly tossed out the window as Will found himself reflexively tilting his head to the side, baring his neck so the merman could have better access.

“D-don’t leave marks.” Will warned with the last remaining bits of his sanity before Mike bit down sharply on the meat of his ear and Will found himself melting into a loose-limbed puddle in response.  

Almost unconsciously, Will found himself burying his hands into Mike’s dark locks, tugging roughly through the thick, dark strands, successfully managing to drag the merman away from where he was attacking his neck and up towards his mouth.

Mike whined for a moment, obviously torn between continuing his ministrations on the unblemished skin of his throat, and moving up to Will’s waiting lips, but Will, knowing that their time was already short, just growled at him in response and tugged at the strands of his hair even harder.

“Fucking kiss me already Mike.” Will practically groaned, the coil of heat in his gut already reaching near unbearable levels just from the weight of the merman squirming on top of him, and he desperately needed Mike to come up and take responsibility for his current condition already.

Mike’s eyes dilated, the crescent shaped pupils blowing so wide they nearly eclipsed the fiery red of Mike’s irises entirely as the merman quickly repositioned himself across Will’s chest before swooping in to capture Will’s lips with his own.

Compared to the time in the Upside Down, when the pair frantically bit and scratched and tore at each other in a frenzy, the caress of Mike’s lips were soft and gentle, the merman’s hands somehow finding their way underneath Will’s shirt to stroke the sensitive skin of his ribs in a way that sent sparks shooting down Will’s spine at the delicate touch.

Mike was still not a good kisser by any stretch of the imagination, if Will had to describe their kiss in one word, it would probably be wet. Will wasn’t sure if it was a siren thing, or just a Mike thing, but Will’s lips and chin were absolutely drenched with spit after just a few seconds. That combined with the odd intervals at which Mike moved his lips, breaking the unspoken rhythm thrumming between their joined mouths, made kissing the merman quite the difficult experience.

But listening to the way Mike panted and keened into his mouth and feeling the gentle pricks of teeth against his bottom lip, Will desperately rose up to meet the challenge, unable to resist Mike’s siren call as the merman’s dexterous hands played melodies across his bare skin.

Will arched up into Mike’s fingers, his own hands sliding out of the siren’s thick hair to slide down the slick expanse of his back, cataloguing every notch in his spine, marveling in the way the skin grew rougher under his palms until his fingers eventually met the sandpapery texture of Mike’s tail. Will’s fingers faltered for a moment, his thumb tracing a small circle on the transition between skin and scale over Mike’s hipbone, unsure if he had permission to move further.  

At the touch, Mike’s body shuddered on top of him, the merman gasping into his mouth at the soft press of his fingers, and Will pulled back just enough to get a good look at the siren falling to pieces above him.

Mike’s dark hair was sticking up in all directions, his normally pallid cheeks splotched with pale blue, and his lips so slick with spit that it made Will want to immediately dive back in and taste him, but Mike’s next words pulled him up short.

“Please.” The siren panted in Robin’s warm tones, slumping down to press his forehead against Will’s cheek, “Touch.”

And Will, barely even blinking at hearing one of his coworker's voices spilling from Mike’s lips during such an intimate moment, and never one to deny Mike anything, readily acquiesced. Quick as a flash, Will pushed himself up from the wet ground and into a sitting position, dragging Mike unceremoniously up along with him, the merman letting out a surprised chirp as Will nestled Mike's long tail in between his legs. He tugged the siren's pliant body firmly against his chest, once again resuming gliding his fingers down the smooth expanse of skin at his disposal while simultaneously nosing his way along the crux of Mike’s throat, his lips brushing against the fragile gill slits cutting across the skin there.

Mike positively whined in response, and Will couldn’t resist the urge to lick the merman’s trembling neck at the same moment his fingers brushed against the cool expanse of Mike’s tail, this time not pausing when his hand slid against the rough scales, and instead he allowed himself to explore through touch alone the magnificent stretch of tail spread out before him.

The merman was practically vibrating under his fingertips, looking like he was half a second away from bursting at the seams, and Will couldn’t resist diving back in to capture the siren’s lips, wanting nothing more than to touch, to taste.

His tongue darted out to trace the arch of Mike’s lip and, ever so responsive, the merman’s mouth parted beneath him, allowing Will to press his way inside. As Will delicately traced his tongue along the razored points of Mike’s teeth, careful not to cut himself this time, his free hands roved across the coarse scales decorating Mike’s tail. He ever so gently brushed his knuckles across the thin membrane of a fin and Mike shuddered violently in his grip, pressing himself impossibly closer to Will, the increase in pressure drawing attention to the increasingly hard to ignore ache growing in Will’s pants.

Will repeated the gesture, sliding his fingers around the base of the sensitive fin at the same moment as he rutted forward, pressing his groin solidly against the sleek musculature of Mike’s tail, seeking any sort of friction on the throbbing sensation between his legs.

Mike, despite not having any of the right requisite parts, seemed to immediately catch on to what Will was trying to do, and expertly started pressing back against him, his tail flopping wildly in between Will’s legs as the merman tried to gain leverage against the wet ground without any legs.

Despite the pleasurable way Mike’s body now pressed in a solid line against him, Will couldn’t help but break away from Mike’s lips with a soft pop in order to burst into laughter at the way Mike’s tail awkwardly squirmed against the ground in order to keep him in place.

“Mike, you look ridiculous.” Will wheezed, unable to stop himself from looking down at the way Mike’s tail wiggled uselessly against the ground. “What are you doing?”

Mike pouted, his brow scrunching in response as he turned his head away from Will’s face, refusing to comment.

Will pressed his nose into Mike’s cheek, which was still stained with a beautiful blue blush, “Oh come on, don’t be like that. I’m just playing around.”

Mike brought his hand up to sign something which no doubt would’ve been something crass Max had probably taught him when Will’s watch beeped loudly, startling them both.

Will’s eyes widened as he reflexively flung Mike off of his lap, the merman slumping gracelessly onto the wet ground with a startled growl.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Damn it, Mike!” Will cursed, springing up to his feet in a panic before finally taking the time to look down at the grumpy merman currently fuming as he propped himself up on his hands to glare stonily at him.

“Ah, sorry Mike, I didn’t mean to do that, I just panicked.” Will apologized, his face flushing as he noticed the way Mike’s scowl dropped as the merman’s gaze, which was already sitting at about waist level, zeroed in on the sizable bulge in Will’s pants.

“Mike! We don’t have time for this.” Will groaned, dragging his hand through his hair, now damp from Mike’s exploring fingers, “You need to get back in the tank and I need to get back downstairs before the cameras turn back on.

Mike’s hungry expression instantly cleared as the merman picked up on the severity of their current situation.

‘Sorry.’ Mike signed, not looking the least bit sorry as his eyes once again fell back to stare at Will’s groin with a heady grin before the siren quickly spun around and slid back into the water with barely a sound.

“Damn. This is not how I wanted things to go.” Will groused under his breath as he embarrassedly adjusted himself in his pants. He was at least relieved that his spiking anxiety was doing wonders to facilitate the flagging of his erection as he quickly made his way back down the stairs as fast as his deflating boner would allow.

Will barely managed to slide into the seat of his desk and plop his head back down onto the table when his watch timer went off, signaling that the cameras were once again online, and Will could breathe out a sigh of relief.

But now that he wasn’t in any immediate danger of being caught red-handed by the cameras, the full severity of his actions finally hit him with full force.

He had majorly fucked up.

Fighting down the urge to scream with frustration, Will forced himself to take a few calming breaths until his racing heartrate began to slow somewhat, and with his face still hidden from view by his arms, he decided to take stock of his situation.

Maybe it wasn’t really as bad as he thought it was.

Within seconds of mental review, he was able to kill that thought.

First, and most importantly, he had managed to waste his one and only opening to talk to Mike about their upcoming plan, too busy frotting against his maybe-boyfriend like a horny teenager.

And worst of all, he was willing to bet Suzie had been monitoring the camera feeds during the whole thing to make sure the lab security wouldn’t realize she had tampered with the video. Which meant he had given poor, innocent, ex-Mormon Suzie Henderson what basically accounted as a free show.

He would never be able to look her in the eye after this.

And if Suzie had just seen Will getting it on with the current subject of his research, there was no way Dustin hadn’t already heard about it already. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if Suzie had called Dustin in to watch the train wreck that was Mike and Will’s, thoroughly mistimed, albeit completely consensual, actions unfold in real time.

Dustin was never going to let him live this down.

Will wanted more than anything else to brain himself to death on the corner of his desk. At least then he wouldn’t be subjected to the utter torture Dustin would inevitably inflict upon him with his teasing for the next 50 years.

Selfishly, Will allowed himself a few long minutes to stew in silence. Ruminating on the consequences of his actions and trying to decide whether or not he regretted it in the first place. After spending much too long waffling back and forth between regret and satisfaction, and continually having to force himself from unconsciously wandering back to the memories of Mike writhing above him while he kissed Will breathless, he finally gave up on trying to objectively analyze the situation, and instead returned himself back to the present.

What was he going to do now?

Currently Will was facing two problems, the first and more immediate problem would be to find a way to cover up the fact that the front of his shirt and pants were soaked from Mike’s wet skin, and if he sat up now, the change in his appearance from before the cameras shut off would be incredibly suspicious.

The second, and much more pressing problem was figuring out how to pass a message along to Mike now that he could no longer utilize Suzie to outsmart the lab’s cameras.

He could already feel a headache beginning to form itself behind his eyes at the thought. His brain already thoroughly turned to mush by his earlier activities and now being forced to work on overdrive.

Will bit his lip, forcing himself back to the present, and the one slightly easier problem to solve for the time being. The fact that he was currently soaked and looked like he had just been ravaged by a sentient sea creature.

Unfortunately, he could only come up with one possible solution, and he certainly didn’t like it. But it wasn’t like he had any other options.

With an aggrieved sigh, Will quickly snapped his arms out across the table, like he had just been startled awake from his impromptu nap. In the process, his hand flailed violently against his coffee mug, successfully flinging the hot liquid across the surface of the desk, and thoroughly proceeding to soak across Will’s head, chest and lap with a burning vengeance.

Will leapt to his feet, cursing up a storm as the hot liquid scalded his skin in a way that was not at all faked. Scowling ruthlessly as the dark liquid soaked into the fabric of one of his favorite yellow button-ups.

A loud cry of alarm came from where Mike was still floating up against the glass, but Will ignored it in favor of prioritizing the irksome coffee puddle rapidly approach the edge of his pile of papers and sketches.

Thinking quickly, Will instinctively knocked his collection of notebooks and sketchpads onto his chair, out of the reach of the quickly spreading puddle of coffee before even taking the chance to survey the damage to himself. Knowing intrinsically that his research was far more important than a mild burn.

Speaking of, Will scowled down at his damaged clothing. He scrubbed useless at the spreading stain, already knowing his shirt and slacks were likely a lost cause, and figured even without having to look that the painful stinging of his skin where his shirt clung damply to his chest likely signified that he did indeed have a burn.

He scrubbed at the stain even harder. His annoyance growing with every ineffective swipe of his fingers over the soaked fabric.

Out of the corner of his eye, Will could still see the puddle of spilled coffee slowly inching its way across the desk’s surface until the liquid reached the edge and began quietly plopping down onto the floor. Will watched the progress with a strange sense of detachment, his hands unknowingly stilling on his shirt as he became absorbed in the steady drip of coffee cascading down to the floor.

A surprisingly loud thud shook Will from trance. Will’s eyes flicked up, catching sight of Mike just moments before the merman slammed himself violently into the glass, a fierce snarl on his face, his eyes a glowing crimson.

Will instantly abandoned his half-hearted attempt at cleaning his ruined clothes in favor for rushing at the edge of the tank, waving his hands wildly to try to get the enraged siren’s attention.  

“Mike? What are you doing? Calm down!” Will screeched in alarm, nearly faceplanting into the glass in his haste to check on the merman.

Mike responded by throwing himself up against the glass again.

Will reflexively flinched at the resounding thump. But before he could even call out to the merman again, Mike was already pulling himself back to slam into the wall.

“Mike, stop! What are you doing?” Will cried, placing himself directly in the merman’s sightline before he could come barreling into the barrier again.

The siren barely slowed before he rammed into the wall yet again, his hands flashing out to scrabble against the smooth glass uselessly. Mike snarled, a low, dark noise, before reeling back to slam into the wall again and again and again.

“Mike! Stop! Please!” Will wailed, pounding against the outside of the glass, desperately trying to gain the merman’s attention. “You’re hurting yourself!”

It seemed like Mike couldn’t hear him, as the siren continued to fling himself against the glass over and over and over. Each jarring thud echoing painfully deep in Will’s bones. He felt utterly useless. He had no idea what suddenly set Mike off, and he couldn’t think of any way to get the merman to stop aside from attempting to shoot him with a tranquillizer dart, an option that was looking more and more appealing as Will watched a dark greenish bruise slowly spread across Mike’s shoulder in real time as he continuously charged the glass.

Will didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to get through to Mike. How to help him. How to stop him from hurting himself over and over and over. Will wasn’t even sure if he could leave to go find help, too worried that if he left Mike’s sight the merman’s strange, enraged state would only get worse. Every time Mike’s body collided with the wall, Will felt a piece of his heart crack in response. Feeling wholly overwhelmed Will pressed his forehead against the cool glass, his vision blurry as a stray tear squeezed itself out of one eye.

He tapped softly on the barrier.

...  -  ---  .--.

Stop

“Please, Mike.” Will whispered, his breath fogging up the glass even though he knew his fruitless words had no way of reaching the merman on the other side.

“Will?” A voice called out to him softly, sounding confused.

Will’s head snapped up in surprise, hardly able to see Mike from the tears of springing to his eyes, but feeling too overcome with relief to care about his pathetic appearance.

“Mike are you okay? What happened?”

A shaky hand came up to meet Will’s against the glass, Mike’s face oddly blank as he stared back at him.

‘I… you got hurt. Got scared. Didn’t mean to make it worse.’

To his surprise, a watery puff of laughter managed to crawl its way out of Will’s throat, the tightness around his chest loosening as he drank Mike in, proving to himself that the siren was not in fact injured in any way.

“I’m fine Mike. It was just a little burn. Are you okay.”

Mike nodded in response, slowly. ‘Never done that before. It was weird.’

Will frowned, his brows creasing as he saw the faint inklings of fear still lingering in Mike’s tight expression. “Weird how-”

Before he got the chance to interrogate Mike fully, the loud clanging of the security door drew both their attention, the familiar figures of Max and Erica quickly stepping through and waving at them from across the lab.

Will, schooling his expression into something markedly less worried, waved back before turning towards Mike and signing quickly.

‘I’m gonna go talk to Max about something. But don’t think we’re getting out of this conversation. There’s still something I want to talk to you about too.’

Mike nodded solemnly, his face falling slightly at the idea that Will would be leaving, even if he was only going across the room.

Will snorted at the dark-haired siren’s expression, “Oh, don’t pout. I’ll only be a little bit. You know I have actual work I need to do. I can’t just hang out with you all day.”

He whirled away with a quiet huff of laughter at the petulant turn Mike’s lips took at his words and quickly hurried off to intercept the girls crossing the large space.

He barely got more than a dozen paces in their direction when Erica’s sharp voice called out to him, echoing loudly in the cavernous room, “What the hell happened to you?”

Will glanced down at himself, eyeing the notable coffee stain spread across his shirt and pants. He plucked at the damp fabric, hyperaware of the uncomfortable way his wet shirt clung to his skin.

“Uh, coffee accident…” Will sputtered, unwilling to meet the other woman’s sharp gaze as he caught up to the scientists, worried that if he looked at her too long, the younger scientist would easily figure out just what exactly Will and Mike had been up to just a few minutes earlier to wind up with him in this state.  

Erica clicked her tongue, but thankfully didn’t comment. Will redirected his attention to Max, who surprisingly hadn’t made a single teasing remark at his bedraggled appearance. The redhead looked tired; her lower lids stained a bruising purple. Will eyed his friend with concern, and wanting more than anything to ask her how she was feeling but knew that the likely cause of her stress was not something they could freely discuss with all the cameras around.

Instead, he plastered on a fake grin and clapped Max lightly on the shoulder, “Hey Erica, you mind if I borrow Max for a little bit. I’ve got some fishy related research questions for her.”

Much to Will’s relief, Erica just absently nodded, her mind likely occupied with things much more important, like advanced calculus and how exactly she was going to disembowel him with this whole mess was over.

Will trailed awkwardly after Max as the redhead made her way over to her workstation, practically ignoring Will as she glanced through the massive stack of textbooks and research journals cluttering the desk, plucking a few from the tottering pile with seemingly no rhyme or reason.

Will cleared his throat, trying to get her attention. Max continued to browse her research materials as if she couldn’t hear him.

Will tried again, “Max?”

Will watched the line of her back stiffen at the sound of his voice, but the redhead still didn’t turn around to look at him. Will let out an aggrieved sigh, scrubbing a hand down his face.

“Look, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want. But I’m going to talk now, and I hope you’ll listen.”

Only the slight hesitation as Max went to grab the next book from the stack implied that the redhead was even listening, but Will continued, nonetheless.

“I know I never got the chance to apologize for before. For not telling you what was really bothering me instead of shutting you and everyone else out. And then I got all wrapped up in, you know-” Will waved his hand absently, despite the fact Max couldn’t see the movement, “We never really got the chance to really talk things out. So, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

At this, Max finally turned around, the redhead leaning heavily on one crutch as she raised an eyebrow in response, “And what exactly are you sorry for?”

“For being an asshole the past few of days. For being a bad friend. For dragging you and everyone else into all my bullshit because I couldn’t think of a better solution.” Will huffed, deflating slightly underneath the weight of acknowledging all the things he had managed to fuck up over the past week. “You name it, and I probably did it at some point. I was just so obsessed with Mike and the lab and everything that I didn’t realize that I was neglecting myself and the people I cared about in the process.”

Max’s icy expression thawed slightly at his words, “I’m definitely not done being mad at you. You really were being a grade-A asshole these past few days. But I’m sure if you throw in another half-a-dozen heartfelt apologies, and maybe carry all my shit around I might just forgive you.” Max’s mouth twitched up at the corners, and Will felt positively warmed at the sight.

“I’ll do it!”

Max snorted, any reservations she had disappearing entirely under Will’s childlike enthusiasm. She stepped forward, smacking Will in the ankle with her cane, her smile completely genuine.

“You sure as hell will. I’m not giving you a choice.” And before Will could respond the redhead reached forward and snatched at his collar, tugging it aside for a moment, her eyes glinting knowingly before she surreptitiously smoothed the fabric back into place.

“And you can start by telling me just how exactly you ended up with what looks a helluva lot like claw marks on your chest.”

Chapter Text

The only thing worse than having to explain to Max what exactly happened with Mike when he was supposed to have been briefing the merman on their upcoming plan was having to face down Suzie in the aftermath.

The minute he walked in the front door of his childhood home after work, he was quite literally slapped in the chest with an itemized bill, courtesy of one Suzie Henderson.

Will’s face flamed as he read the charges, Suzie standing beside him resolutely staring him down with a fervor he had not realized she possessed.

Pay-Per-View.................................................... $24.95

XXX Content..................................................... $19.99

Suzie Henderson hourly rate............................. $43.25

Therapy (7 sessions)......................................... $350.00

                                                                Total: $438.19  

He couldn’t even find it in himself to argue against the obviously inflated charges, and he figured that the brunette fully expected him to pay it. Suzie’s glare so intense he was 80% sure the woman was attempting to light him on fire from sheer vitriol alone, and he needed her in a semi-forgiving mood for what he was going to ask next.

Will barely had the time to open his mouth before Suzie beat him to the punch. “I already know you’re going to ask me to hack the cameras again, since you mucked it up so badly the first time. So don’t even bother trying to apologize. I got you an opening two days from now, but it’s only for three minutes because I am not sitting through watching you try to bang your fishy boyfriend again. If you mess this one up, you’re on your own.”

Will gaped, honestly shocked that Suzie was even willing to give him another shot. If he hadn’t been gay as the Fourth of July he might’ve leaned over and kissed her, but he had a feeling neither one of them would enjoy that. So, seemed like Will would just have to settle with making sure he got her an actual gift for Christmas this year instead of just scribbling her name on Dustin’s.

He was so overwhelmed with relief that he hadn’t completely foiled their chances at freeing Mike because Will had lost the ability to think with something besides his dick anytime he was in the merman's immediate presence that, in a completely out of character display of affection, with the hand not still clutching at Suzie’s ridiculous bill, Will reached forward and clasped Suzie’s hand in his own, pulling the startled woman into a crushing one-armed hug.

“Thank you so much Suzie! I promise I won’t let you down this time. I promise.”

A muffled noise came from where Suzie’s face was smooshed against his chest, and Will, realizing he probably shouldn’t have hugged his best friend’s wife spontaneously out of nowhere, quickly released her.

Suzie quickly stepped away from him, adjusting her blouse and avoiding Will’s gaze, her cheeks stained a brilliant pink.

“Er- sorry about that. Guess I got a bit excited is all.” Will stammered, rubbing at the back of his head self-consciously.

Suzie just nodded once in response, her gaze finally coming back to meet Will’s as she pushed up the frame of her glasses. “It’s alright, I guess. Just don’t go making a habit of it.”

Will chuckled weakly, trying to break the semi-awkward tension now permeating the room. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not much of a hugger in general. And probably don’t wanna make Dustin too jealous.” He teased before his expression quickly sobered, “Speaking of Dustin, do you think you could maybe not tell him about what you saw on the monitors earlier today?”

Suzie affixed him with a deadpan look, and Will already knew exactly what Suzie was going to say before she could even say it, “He already knows. He was watching the monitors with me this morning.”

He didn’t even bother suppressing a groan, “Yeah, that’s just my luck. I’m never going to hear the end of it from him, am I?”

This time, Suzie cracked a smile, shaking her head affectionately, “He’s spent the past three hours coming up with more and more depraved comments and jokes. I hope you’re prepared.”

Will resisted the urge to turn around and sprint out the front door, not stopping until he was deep in the woods surrounding Hawkins proper, where he would then make a new life for himself eating nuts and berries and living off the land, entirely off the grid, never setting foot in civilization again, all in the name of never having to see Dustin Henderson ever again.

Unfortunately, his plans were ultimately foiled by Dustin himself casually walking in from around the corner, where he had likely been standing for the entire duration of his and Suzie’s conversation, sporting a wide, self-satisfied grin which immediately sent shivers down Will's spine.

“What up, fish fucker!”

Apparently, despite the fact that they now had a looming deadline, the rest of his team had collectively decided that the best way to blow off steam was to spend hours of their precious time finding up with more and more elaborate ways to fuck with Will. Because of course Dustin couldn’t keep his big mouth shut and his entire friend group now intimately knew exactly what had happened when Suzie had switched off the cameras.

He wouldn’t have even put it past Dustin to have sent them all video evidence, but Will was much too embarrassed to ask.

His first day back at work he had found a Little Mermaid themed coloring book, in which someone with very little artistic ability had ever so helpfully recolored Ariel so she looked like a discount version of Mike and had turned Prince Eric into a brunet that Will absolutely refused to believe looked anything like him.  

And if when he was bored later that same day, and just so happened to redraw a few specific scenes from the movie with characters who bore a passing resemblance to himself and Mike, it was a complete coincidence.

But the jokes didn’t stop there. Of course, someone, Will’s money was on Max or Robin, had to take it a step further.

When Will came back into work that same evening, once all the other scientists had left, with a poor bewildered Nancy by his side, he found Mike preening in front of the glass with an eerily familiar purple seashell bra tied neatly across his chest, and he nearly combusted on the spot.

Only after Will managed to close his mouth and tear his gaze away from the plastic shells delicately cupping Mike’s chest, did he realize that he was alone. Since apparently at some point, while his brain was too busy blue screening, Nancy had made the smart decision to just turn around and wait out Will’s lapse in professionalism in the hall.

He decided then and there that Nancy was his favorite.  

Also, that Mike looked devastatingly good sporting a pair of seashells.

The next instance was fairly innocuous at first, just a strange cassette player sitting on his desk when he came back from lunch, a small post-it stuck to the front reading ‘Play me’.

Will didn’t even have to look at the track list to know what this was going to be about.

But because he was a good friend, he decided to listen anyways. Maybe he’d at least find some good ironic song to take away from this entire situation.

His hopes were immediately dashed when the first song to play once he started the cassette was Jimmy Buffett’s Fins.

It only went downhill from there. He could tell this cassette tape had been a joint effort, since he was nearly positive Eddie would never subject Will to the likes of Jimmy Buffett, even if it was for the sake of a joke. But he wouldn’t put that kind of thing past Max or El, they both had shit music tastes.

He only made it six songs in before he ended up spiking the cassette tape into the trash by his desk, face a furious red as he stormed away to the opposite end of the lab, his coworkers snickering unabashedly behind him as he fled.

“Lose something Byers?” Eddie cackled, sauntering over to his trash and plucking the offending tape from the garbage, “You know we all worked really hard on this, you shouldn’t just throw it away. I’m sure Mike would love to give it a listen!”

Will tossed his sketchbook at the tattooed man, and Eddie easily dodged the flying projectile, grinning madly all the while.

Idly, Will wondered if it was possible to hire a new team, because his had obviously gotten far too comfortable in his presence.

Honestly after a few days of constant teasing from his coworkers and friends, Will’s second chance at talking to Mike couldn’t seem to come fast enough. He was hoping if he managed to prove to the rest of his team that given the opportunity he wouldn’t jump the merman’s bones, most of his friends' endless teasing would lose steam and quickly die out in favor of working on their actual plan for taking down the Hawkins Lab.

But now that the time was creeping steadily closer, Will’s anxiety began to blossom like an itch beneath his skin. Even though he had taken every possible precaution so that an unmitigated disaster like last time wouldn’t happen again.

This time, instead of feigning sleep at his desk, so that he’d have to run all the way across the lab twice before the cameras turned back on, Will was currently lounging on the dock that floated at the top of Mike’s enclosure, his feet kicking idly back and forth in the water while Mike rested his head on his folded arms beside him. Will had also made sure to engage in a childish splash fight with the merman, knowing Mike would go overboard and absolutely soak him to the bone, so that on the off chance the siren decided he wanted to attempt to scale Will like a tree again, Will would at least not look suspiciously wet when the cameras came back on, since he really didn’t want to have to spill coffee all over himself again as a coverup.

He had come up with contingency plans for almost everything, made backups upon backups for any possible scenario where Mike did something unexpected that threatened to blow Will’s cover once the cameras came back online. But despite all his preparation, all his plans and ideas, Will still hadn’t quite figured out what he was going to say to the merman, almost positive whatever reasoning he tried to provide would only cause the merman to flip out, and even worse, he only had three minutes to do it.

Will glanced down at his watch for what had to have been the fifth time in the past minute, his heartrate skyrocketing as he realized he only had a handful of seconds until the alarm sounded, signaling the cameras had cut off.

He turned towards the siren, the merman quickly jerking to attention at the likely palpable amount of nervous energy he was giving off.

Mike raised his brows questioningly, obviously waiting for Will to speak, but Will remained silent until the moment his alarm started to blare loudly through the quiet space and then he was instantly in motion, clamping his hand down over Mike’s mouth before the merman had the chance to speak. Words spilling out of Will’s mouth at a rapid-fire pace in the ensuing silence.  

“Look the cameras are off right now. But I can’t have you distracting me again, we only have a couple of minutes. Do you promise to keep your hands to yourself?”

Mike’s eyes flashed a dangerous red, and Will felt a pleasant jolt zip up his spine at the sight, but after a few long seconds, the merman eventually nodded, acquiescing, and Will removed his hand from the merman’s mouth.

Will started speaking again before Mike could decide he’d rather not hear him out and instead try to suck his face off.

“We have a plan to get you out and take down the lab all at once. But we’re going to need your help.”

The excited spark in Mike’s eye took on a much harsher edge, and the merman grinned, each of his sharp teeth on vicious display.

‘I’m in.’ Mike signed, his movements large and excited.

Will had to bodily hold himself back from tossing aside his own rule and just kissing the siren senseless, nearly breathless at the sight of the vengeful merman in front of him, but he managed to restrain himself at the idea that both Suzie and Dustin were likely watching this entire thing go down and he didn’t want to give Dustin any more fodder for teasing.

“Okay, so you’re going to have to help me make a map…”

It was only hours later, long after the cameras had switched back on that Will realized that he never told Mike about their plan to close the gate to the Upside Down permanently, which if successful, would forever trap Mike on one side, and Will on the other.

Will tried not to ponder it too hard, since even the thought felt like a betrayal.

Letting Mike in on the plan ended up going much smoother than expected, although when Will had initially pitched this plan, he certainly hadn’t expected Mike to end up so bossy over their mostly fake, completely inconsequential to the overall success of their plan, map. Will desperately tried to hold back his annoyance as Mike flapped his hand to get Will’s attention, his face scrunched up in dissatisfaction. Normally Will would find the petulant expression quite cute, if he didn’t currently want to throttle the merman for being so picky.

‘Not that. More like…’ The merman made a complicated motion in the air that mostly resembled a snake having a seizure.

Will suppressed as sigh, but dutifully erased the line he had just redrawn for the third time. “Like this?”

Mike huffed loudly, like he was annoyed that Will couldn’t draw the map right.

‘No. Like this-’ He signed again before tracing a shape with a lot of sharp edges in the air, which looked completely different than the original seizure snake shape he had initially shown him. Will wanted to toss his pencil at the irritating siren, but instead just bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood and erased the line, again.

Thankfully this time, Will’s wavering line, which hardly looked any different than his other three attempts, seemed to pass Mike’s impossibly high standards, and the pair was able to move on to the next section.

They had been bickering back and forth over the map design for hours, and Will only had a about ten inches of area roughly sketched out. His back was sore and his hand was cramped, and he was certain that if Mike made him redraw the exact same line again he was actually going to murder his maybe-boyfriend.

At this point Will was beginning to wonder if Mike was actually attempting to map out the Upside Down, because there was no way someone could be so uptight about getting something they made up in their head drawn perfectly, right?

“Okay, so what does the next part look like? Is the house that’s supposed to be here still standing?” Will gestures to a point on the Hawkins map he had laid out across the dock for reference. Since, for some reason completely unbeknownst to Will, the Upside Down existed as dilapidated, dusty, vine-covered version of Hawkins and the surrounding area nearly perfectly.

Why the lab needed to have a hand-drawn map when just a plain old map of Hawkins should have sufficed, Will isn’t entirely sure. But hey, he’s getting paid by the hour, so he’s not complaining.

Mike proceeded to prod roughly at the Hawkins map, his sharp fingernail stabbing through the paper and creating a jagged gash stretching from Lincoln Park to Kerley.

Okay, he’s not complaining much.

Will sighed, cracking his neck and shaking out his stiff fingers. “Okay, I think that’s probably a good stopping point. My back hurts and swear my hand is going to turn into a claw if I have to write any more. We can start up again tomorrow.”

He started rolling up the barely started map when a pair of cool, wet fingers wrapped around his wrist, halting his motion. When he looked up, he saw Mike’s face just a few inches away from his own nose, the merman somehow managing to slither up onto the dock fully while Will was busy packing up his supplies.

“What is it?” Will whispered, his voice tight at Mike’s sudden proximity. He could see the glistening droplets delicately tracing their way across Mike’s leanly muscled shoulders from where they fell like raindrops from Mike’s thick curls. Will licked his lips and saw the way Mike’s eyes darted towards the movement, the merman’s irises sparking red for a brief moment before the inky darkness returned.

Will, retroactively remembering that they were currently being watched, quickly leaned away, breaking bubble of tension surrounding them.

Mike’s lips turned down slightly as Will pulled back, and Will couldn’t help but smirk at the merman’s pouty expression. He prodded Mike on the tip of his long nose with his free hand, reveling in the way the siren’s pout quickly morphed into a scowl.

“Stop being a baby and help me pack up already.” Will teased, flicking a few droplets of water back onto the merman’s face.

He realized his rookie mistake the instant Mike started shaking himself out like a dog, his dark hair holding an impressive amount of water, which he used to soak Will to the bone.

“You know, most of my work shirts are dry clean only. I hope you know you’re costing me a fortune in laundry fees.” Will picked idly at his wet button-up, cringing as the soaked fabric peeled away from the skin of his stomach as he attempted to fruitlessly wring it out.

Mike’s brow furrowed, the merman probably not understanding half the words Will just said, but understanding enough from Will’s light tone to know that he was only teasing.

The merman tugged again at Will’s wrist, which in all the commotion of the past few minutes, Will had completely forgotten he was holding.

“What’s up?”

Mike slid his hand lower down Will’s wrist, his long nails scratching gently against the sensitive skin of his inner wrist, goosebumps forming rapidly in their wake.

“Mike, what are you-”

Once Mike’s hand reached his palm, the siren carefully went about uncurling Will’s fingers while Will sat frozen in front of him, unable to tear his gaze away from the siren’s dexterous fingers, still thoroughly confused as to what the merman could possibly be doing.

It’s only when Mike begins pressing deeply against the meat of his palm and applying pressure to the calloused pads of his fingers, does Will realized what Mike is trying to do.

He’s giving him a hand massage.

Will watches, enraptured, as Mike’s wonderfully strong fingers press and rub in the exact right ways, easily relieving the tension and stiffness from his knuckles with each pass of his fingers. In all honestly, Will’s surprised Mike’s even capable of giving Will a massage in the first place, what with his claws. But either Mike is incredibly practiced in the art of hand massages, or the siren is taking extra precautions against potentially goring Will with his fingernails, because the siren bends his fingers back much farther than a normal human should be capable of in order to prevent his nails from scratching at Will’s skin, and in the tiny part of Will’s brain not completely overwhelmed by the feeling of Mike’s hands on his own, notes down hypermobility as a potential trait of interest, certain that Max would be delighted to know that particular tidbit.

Will was unsure how long he sat there, completely at the mercy of Mike and most definitely magical fingers as the merman methodically worked his way up and down Will’s hand before eventually switching to work on Will’s other hand, despite the fact that Will was not ambidextrous, and his left hand wasn’t even the least bit sore from their work today, but Will wasn’t about to stop him.

At that moment in time, Will didn’t care about the cameras, or his ever-looming deadline, or the fact that his time with Mike was most definitely numbered, instead he was only focused on the soft intimacy that stretched like gossamer thread between them.

That was until Will’s pager buzzed from his belt, jarring him from his blissful state of relaxation.

With a heavy heart, Will tugged his hand out of Mike’s grip to check the pager, already knowing without having to look who it was going to be. Since there was only two possible people who would bother to attempt to page him and considering that he could see Max puttering around on the ground level of the lab, probably busy writing down boring data like the water temperature or pH levels, it left only one possible culprit.

OWENS – OFFICE. 10 MIN

Despite the fact that Will wasn’t currently doing anything remotely suspicious, Will leaped away from Mike’s fingers like the merman’s touch physically burned him, glancing up at the cameras furtively, even as Mike whined beside him and tried to scoot closer.

Will didn’t think that he had gotten the page from Owens due to Mike’s impromptu massage, since Mike’s overt touchiness, especially towards Will, had already been well documented and Will, for completely unrelated reasons, pushed the narrative that the merpeople were a social species, and often engaged in skin-to-skin contact with those they trusted.

It definitely wasn’t an excuse Will completely made up so that he could continue to touch Mike in full view of the cameras without raising any alarm bells with the other researchers. So far, Will had been lucky enough that no one had called him on his bullshit, with Max backing him up with a daunting amount of probably false science to back it up, but Will was happy to keep it that way.

Even if Mike’s casual touchiness didn’t raise any red flags with the higher ups at the lab, considering the fact that Will was currently involved in what many would probably describe as a terrorist plot to take down the lab, he wanted to avoid any and all possible routes of suspicion at all costs, even if it meant potentially annoying Mike, who was still making grabby hands at him like some sort of insatiable toddler.

Will snagged one of Mike’s hands out of the air, “Mike, I have to go. Dr. Owens wants to have a meeting about our progress.”

Mike hissed lowly under his breath, not bothering to his disdain for the head scientist as his fins flared out aggressively around him, his crescent shaped pupils dilating into a thin line before he turned and bared his teeth at the camera.

Will abruptly smacked him on the side of the head.

“Stop that.” He scolded, “I know you don’t like him, but Dr. Owens is still my boss, and we need to stay on his good side.”

Wordlessly, Will tried to convey his true meaning to Mike with his eyes alone. Don’t be too suspicious or they might catch on that we’re up to something.

Will wasn’t entirely sure if Mike understood, but the siren deflated, he lips falling back down over his teeth and his tense posture relaxed slightly in response, which Will took as a good sign.

“I probably won’t get back before the other scientists start to arrive. So, I’ll see you tonight.” Will bent over and quickly rolled up his disappointingly small hand-drawn map, bopping Mike on the head with the waterproof fabric. “We can work on this some more.”

Mike scowled in response, brusquely slapping away the rolled-up map, but Will saw the way Mike’s eyes flashed red for a brief moment before the merman turned away and slid back into the watery depths of his tank. And Will, his lips twitching into a smile, quickly lopped off to go to his meeting.

“You have a week.”

Will had barely shut the door to Dr. Owens’ office behind him before the older scientist began to speak, nearly startling Will out of his skin.

“A week to do what?” Will asked meekly, icy tension beginning to seep into his veins, anticipating, but still not prepared for the next words to come out of Dr. Owens’ mouth.

“We’re sending people into the portal in seven days. You have until then to get the map completed.”

Will felt rooted to the spot, completely unable to hide his alarm at this much sooner than anticipated deadline. He knew that one day he’d have to let Mike go, enacting his plan and leaving the merman stranded in the Upside Down, the only place he’d be safe from greedy hands of the Hawkins Lab. But in his head that date had been nebulous, weeks, maybe even months away, so Will had pushed the thought from his mind as best as he was able.

But now, he was finding out he only had a week. Seven days until his precariously built house of cards crumbled around him. Until Will would be forced to tear his still beating heart from his chest in order to set Mike free.

There wasn’t enough time.  

Seven days. Only seven days left with Mike. Only seven days left to plan, would El even be able to-

“Mr. Byers? Mr. Byers!” A slightly annoyed voice cut through Will’s racing thoughts, throwing Will back into the present, where he was still standing, gaping dumbly at his boss. “This isn’t going to be a problem is it? Because if Specimen-0407 isn’t living up to his full utility, well then-” Dr. Owens raised one white, bushy eyebrow, and for a brief instant, Will thought the normally grandfatherly man looked remarkably similar to another white-haired Hawkins Lab scientist who Will had met years before -Dr. Brenner- and the thought chilled him down to his core.

Will forced down his rising nausea and panic and shook his head slowly, his tongue sitting leaden in his mouth as he desperately tried to formulate a response. “N-no sir. No problem. I’m sure I can get Mi-0407 on board with the new timeline.”

Dr. Owens smiled then, something calculated and cruel and Will wanted nothing more than to sprint from the older man’s office, gather Mike up into his arms and secret the siren away somewhere Dr. Owens could never find him.

“Good. You’re dismissed, Mr. Byers.” The white-haired scientist waved his hand towards the door absently, his attention already wandering back to the large stack of paperwork at his desk. “I’ll expect daily updates about your progress on the map.”

It took every fiber of Will’s being for him to turn around and walk casually out of the head scientist’s office, his face a mask of impartial calmness, never once betraying the storm of anger and nervousness that brewed inside of him as he stalked through the lab’s dingy halls, not even bothering to stop by the part of the lab that held Mike’s tank, exiting the building into the larger world beyond.

Seven days.

The sun was just beginning to stream over the horizon as Will pushed himself out through the glass doors, his entire body numb. Distantly, Will thought he could overhear birdsong from the nearby woods.

Seven days.

He thought it was cruel and unjust that Will’s entire world seemed to be evaporating around him on such a beautiful day.

He didn’t want to face it.

Seven days.

Somehow, he found himself walking completely past his car, his mind on autopilot as he strode into the trees, tension releasing from his shoulders as the thick branches overhead helped disperse some of the morning sun’s light from overhead, leaving the woods cloaked in dew and shadows. Just the way Will liked it.

And Will walked. And walked. And walked.

Eventually he hit the fence that marked the border between the lab and the woods surrounding Hawkins. Will barely even slowed as he sloughed off his jacket, tossing the denim up over the barbed wire covering the top of the fence and quickly climbing over the top.

He didn’t even bother attempting to get his jacket back down, and instead just steeled himself against the early morning chill and continued to walk deeper into the forest, his feet following a thin trail curving through the underbrush, probably left by a deer or some other animal.

Will walked long enough that his feet, in his sensible loafers, began to ache. He could feel the sharp sting of his face and arms from the countless twigs and branches that had snapped against his skin in his mad rush to sprint headlong in the opposite direction of all his problems.

When he was younger, not long after Dustin moved to the neighborhood, his two friends had vowed to never play hide-and-seek with him again, after Will managed to wedge himself in a sewer grate and it had taken Lucas over an hour to manage to track him down.

Will long since thought he had grown out of hiding from his problems, now that he no longer had to deal with the plagues of his childhood, like bullies, or his father, or Upside Down monsters. But it turns out, when his back was up against the wall, it seemed that one skill that seemed to always come back to him was running.

At first, he wasn’t even sure where exactly he was going, as long as it was far, far away from the lab. But after a few achingly long minutes of blindly scrabbling through the brush, Will was surprised to find his feet on a slightly overgrown, but still achingly familiar path.

Instinctively, Will let himself follow the winding trail through the dense foliage, the tension in his gut easing the longer his feet instinctively followed the twists and turns, his mind flashing back to a time when flights through the woods such as these were much more common.

And then he saw it.

Significantly worse for wear, the wood rotting and mildewed and the roof looking seconds away from caving in under a slight breeze, the sign borderline unreadable after years of exposure to the elements. But there it stood, like a perfect time capsule transporting Will back to a childhood he would rather forget, but somehow, it’s presence still comforting, nonetheless.

Castle Byers.

Sparing very little thought for his likely already ruined clothes, Will unceremoniously dropped to the ground, shuffling his significantly taller than his pre-pubescent frame through the cramped doorway and into the small, damp space beyond.

The blanket covering the pallet he had once used as a couch was threadbare and thin, a few holes littering the once colorful fabric, and the strong smell of mildew emanated from the cloth as Will sat down, his legs pressed nearly to his chest in the small space, but for the first time since Dr. Owens told him the news, Will felt himself instinctively relaxing, his soul soothed by the comforting memories of this place.

Other than the noticeable signs of age and decay, the fort seemed almost unchanged despite it being over a decade since Will had last been here. Drawings were still pinned carefully to the walls, although the colors had long since faded, now only vague outlines of dragons and monsters and Will the Wise, his childhood D&D character, remained. His fingers traced absently along a picture of Chester, his childhood dog, stuck in between an old crayon sketch with lines so uneven there was no way it wasn’t from elementary school, when he saw a small photo wedged in between the boards making up the walls that seems to have miraculously survived the worst of years of exposure to the elements.

With careful fingers, Will delicately peeled the photo off the wall, his eyes lighting up as he recognized exactly when the photo was taken, Halloween 1984, when him, Dustin and Lucas dressed up as the Ghostbusters, only to disappointedly find out that apparently, 8^th grade is when kids are suddenly too old to wear costumes to school.

Unable to help the small smile curling at his lips, Will went to tuck the photo into the chest pocket of his shirt, knowing his two friends would likely get just as much of a kick out of the photo as he just did, but in his excitement, he completely forgot his long limbs had no place in the small confines of Castle Byers and proceeded to knock his elbow into a stack of books sitting on the edge of the blanket-covered pallet instead, sending the moldering books tumbling to the floor in a messy heap.

Despite the fact that the books were probably already damaged beyond repair from their fifteen-year long stint outdoors, Will still carefully bent down, mindful not to bang his arms into something else this time and began dutifully collecting the books into a slightly neater pile. He also tries not to wince when he notices at least three of the books have ‘Property of Hawkins Library’ stickers on their spines and were probably due sometime in the 80s. Will distantly wonders how much late fees could rack up over the course of a decade, and ultimately decides to steer clear of the Hawkins Library for the rest of his time in town just in case.

Almost as if to taunt him for his discretions against public libraries, as he goes to reach for the next book, titled ‘How to Draw Comics’, Will inadvertently rips the worn cover off completely, leaving him stunned and clutching what was essentially a thick piece of cardboard as the book once again tumbled to the floor, pages scattering everywhere now that the book’s binding was no longer holding them in place.

With a resigned sigh, Will leaned forward to pick up the papers, something in him not wanting to leave a mess in this space, even if he would probably never be back. As he quickly collected the pages, he found a haphazardly folded piece of paper, notably thicker than the rest of the book.

Brow furrowed, Will quickly plucked up the paper, surprised to see that other than some yellowing, the material seemed to be in pretty good shape, since it must have been protected by the other pages of the book.

Unfurling the paper, Will’s hands instantly go still. His eyes trace lines ragged lines that are achingly familiar to him, but utterly impossible. His eyes dart to the date scribbled in the bottom corner of the drawing. Dec 1983. His breath catches in his throat. Because there's no way. It wasn't possible. Will couldn't have drawn this when he was still in middle school. He would’ve known. He would’ve remembered.

But there was no mistaking what he was looking at. Even Will’s subpar middle school art skills could not hide the truth. He knew every line and curve right down to the depths his soul, considering he had been drawing the exact same thing every day for weeks.

There, old and ragged and drawn by Will’s childish hand nearly fifteen years before, was a picture of Mike.

Chapter Text

As much as Will wanted to dash back to the lab and slap his years old drawing up against the glass of Mike’s tank and demand what exactly was going on. Will at least had the foresight to realize that it would be an absolutely idiotic thing to do.

Not only did they have less than a week to refine and carry out their plan to free Mike, but the lab was also covered in cameras, and he was certain Suzie wouldn’t be willing to turn the cameras off a third time just so he can go yell at his merman.

Will tried to force his thrumming heartrate to calm, which seemed to skyrocket every time his eyes just so happened to catch on the old drawing of Mike still clutched in his grip.

It didn’t matter.

It wasn’t important.

It was probably nothing.

Robotically, Will numbly stumbled back outside, barely paying attention as he stumbled through the trees once again, retracing his flight through the forest from the lab. Something that was significantly more difficult now that he didn’t have panicked adrenaline fueling his plight.

By the time he finally made it back to the parking lot of the lab, looking significantly worse for wear, and likely needing a new pair of work shoes, Will was absolutely exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to fall into his childhood bed and sleep until this whole entire mess was over.

But unfortunately, Will didn’t have that luxury.

Because of course El was leaned up against his car, in another one of her signature eclectic outfits of a long peasant skirt paired with an incredibly neon color blocked shirt and large hoop earrings that on literally anyone else would have looked absolutely ridiculous, but on El, somehow it all seemed to work.

El of course, did not look happy. Her face was pinched, and her already dark eyes a fathomless black eerily reminiscent of Mike's. 

His hand reflexively gripped the old drawing shoved in his pocket a tiny bit tighter, like his subconscious was worried that El would somehow be able to sense it, even though he knew her powers didn’t work like that.

While El may not have Superman’s x-ray vision, the woman did seem to have a preternatural ability to know when someone was thinking about her, since her stormy eyes clicked up to meet Will’s almost as if she had known he was thinking about her.

Or maybe it was the fact that his tired limbs seemed incapable of anything besides stomping that drew her attention.

Considering the way El’s face suddenly fell when she caught sight of him, Will was wondering if maybe El really did have the ability to read minds and could sense his tumultuous thoughts.

“What’s wrong?” El called, pushing herself off his car and quickly closing the gap in between them, “You look upset.”

Will blanked. Too many entirely too stressful events having occurred in the past couple hours for him to even know where to start.

Thankfully, El was patient, standing silently beside him, patting at his forearm in an awkward, yet slightly comforting way, until Will was finally ready to speak.

“We have a week.” When Will’s voice finally came out, it was monotonous, dead, completely lifeless.

El let out a weary sigh that sounded much, much, too old for her age, but didn’t look surprised. “Yeah. I heard. Are you…” She hesitated for a moment, her eyes scanning his disheveled and dirty appearance before she managed to pull her attention back up to Will’s face with a concerned look on her face, “Nevermind. It’s obvious you’re very much not okay. But you and I both know that we really don’t have time to deal with that right now.”

Despite the callous honesty of her words, Will felt surprisingly soothed by El’s candor, glad that for once, he didn’t have to plaster on a smile and pretend the bone-deep weariness that seemed to press down on him more and more each day wasn’t beginning to affect him. It also helped that El, with absolutely no fanfare, opened her arms and quickly enveloped Will into a crushing hug.

It was slightly awkward given their height difference, Will’s nose and mouth filled with pieces of El’s hair, and the clunky bracelet El had on one wrist was digging painfully into his spine, but Will felt the tension that had been building in him since the moment he had entered Dr. Owens’ office momentarily fall away.

Allowing himself this brief moment of weakness, a few tears squeezed their way out from behind Will’s closed lids, falling gently into El’s mound of frizz and flyaways as Will sagged into her touch.

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do. I thought I’d have more time. I didn’t think I’d have to let him go so-” Will’s throat swelled shut as a sudden sob shook his thin frame, drowning out any words he might have said, but even without words, El seemed to instinctively understand him.

“You know, once I had to let my friends go too,” El’s voice was soft, barely audible over the sound of Will’s own cries, but the words managed to pierce through to his heart nonetheless. “I did it to save them, even if they didn’t know it at the time. And it hurt, more than I thought it would, to give up the first friends I ever had. But I’d rather be alone and sad than let them die because I was holding on too tight.”

El’s hands drew gentle circles across his back, slowly soothing the pain in Will’s chest the longer she spoke. “It took a long time, but eventually we were all able to meet again, just like old times. And because of me they lived long enough for us to reunite. It’s hard, I won’t lie. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I’d do it again. And Will-” El pulled back slightly to look Will in the eyes, her expression equal parts soft and hard, sorrowful and proud, and something about the way she looked at him eased the ache in his heart, “I think you’d make the same sacrifice.”  

Despite the fact that El’s words flayed him open to the core, exposing his sensitive insides for all to see, Will surprisingly didn’t feel the urge to cry. He felt strangely buoyed by El’s words, knowing that he was not alone in his ordeal.

Yes, it would be hard. Probably harder than he can even fathom at this point in time. But in doing so, he could save Mike and El and Max and Eddie and Nancy and Robin, and Erica from a much worse fate.

And maybe, just maybe, years down the line, or in another lifetime, he and Mike would get the chance to meet again.

Will drew a shaky breath, scanning El up and down for any sign that she wasn’t being completely and utterly honest, and unsurprised that he found none. He had only known El for a short time, but he had quickly come to realize that while she may be overly blunt at times, and completely miss the point at others, she was as steadfast and truthful as they come.

“And you were okay?” Will’s voice came out barely above a whisper and judging by the way El’s face softened at his words, her dark eyes growing impossibly sad, she knew exactly what he was really trying to ask.

Am I going to be okay?

Slowly, she nodded, her expression pulled tight with words unspoken, “Eventually.”

And while it wasn’t the most uplifting of words, it was far better than Will had hoped for. One day, someday, the ache in his chest would dull to a nearly unnoticeable throb. One day, maybe the thought of abandoning Mike in order to save him wouldn’t make Will want to crack his ribs open and tear out his own heart.

He had to believe that one day things would be better.

With a wobbly smile that probably made him look like he was seconds away from tears, Will straightened up out of El’s hold and began hobbling his tired, bedraggled body back towards the doors of the lab.

Will had already taken a few steps past El before she managed to speak, “Will, where are you going? Shouldn’t you go home and rest? You’re exhausted!”

Although Will could hear the genuine concern in El’s voice, he couldn’t bring himself to turn around. Worried that if he caught sight of his friend’s face, he would immediately fall to pieces once again.

“I have a week to spend as much time with Mike as I can. All while trying to plan a breakout that could very likely end up with us all arrested. I’m not going to waste it at home sleeping.” Will wondered if he sounded as numb as he currently felt. But he didn’t bother turning around to check El’s reaction.

“Do you mind telling the others about the timeline changing. I don’t think-” Unexpectedly, his voice cracked, a brief moment of vulnerability in his unfeeling façade, “I don’t think I can tell them myself.” Will finished, slamming the door down on his wavering emotions, his eyes fixated on the looming glass structure of the lab in front of him.

He walked away before he could hear El’s response.

‘Why are you back? You look awful!’ Mike signed as he beached himself up on the dock, pushing his dripping curls out of his face to peer at Will more closely, his brows scrunched with concern.

Instead of answering immediately, Will just dropped the rest of his supplies down on the dock. The thick roll of waterproof paper they were using to make the map bouncing slightly before Mike caught it with his quick reflexes, letting out an annoyed clicking noise to try to draw Will’s attention.

Will, well used to the merman’s antics, just shuffled over to Mike’s side, ruffling the siren’s dark hair affectionately in the way Will knew he liked before settling down beside the other, quickly unrolling the large map and pulling out his favorite pencil.

“Will.” Called Max’s annoyance-laced tone from beside him and Will glanced up to see Mike pouting at being so thoroughly ignored.

Surprisingly, despite the heaviness weighing down on his heart, seeing Mike’s brooding expression, complete with pursed lower lip had Will cracking a smile, a short huff of laughter managing to escape his lips.

“Are you whining because I’m not paying you enough attention? And here I thought you’d be thrilled to see me.”

At that, Mike actually whined, his pout morphing into a scowl as he butted Will harshly in the shoulder with the top of his head, likely harder than the merman had meant, since Will was fairly certain his arm would be bruised tomorrow, but he didn’t hold it against the siren, and instead just batted him away playfully.

Mike joined him in his childish slap fight for a few moments, before he seemed to remember that Will had never answered his earlier question and froze, his hands immediately switching from lighthearted slaps to rapid-fire signing.

‘Why come back? Is something wrong?’

And instantly Will’s slightly lifted mood was dashed, the memories of why exactly he was here at the lab again, seeking Mike out at a time when the merman preferred to remain sleeping in his tank.

“The deadline got moved. I -we- only have a week.” Will couldn’t bear to look at Mike’s face as he spoke, instead staring down at the undefinable squiggly line that he had Mike had created earlier in the day and willing the burning sensation building behind his eyes away.

Mike wouldn’t understand that the week deadline meant a week left of them, together. He would likely only think that Will was stressed with his new work deadline, combined with the unexpected moving of their plan. Not that the merman could say any of that here, with all the cameras constantly watching.

Thankfully, Will’s morose brooding was quickly interrupted by a long, slender hand clasping him on the forearm, before the same hand carefully pried his pencil out of his white-knuckled grip. Will hadn’t even realized he had been holding the pencil so tightly, too caught up in his own thoughts. But Mike had noticed. Mike always seemed to notice.

Hesitantly, Will lifted his gaze from the incomplete map, his eyes finding Mike’s instinctively. The merman’s crescent shaped pupils were flatted into sharp little half-moons, his attention entirely focused on Will and Will alone, his mouth oscillating between what the siren likely figured was a comforting smile and a concerned frown, except Mike wasn’t particularly good at facial expressions even at the best of times and instead the poor merman mostly just looked constipated.

And the sight was so utterly ridiculous that Will, partially delusional with fatigue and overstimulation, could not help but burst into laughter at the sight. Much to Mike’s confusion, as the siren tried to figure out just what exactly Will was laughing at, making complicated expressions all the while that only served to make Will laugh even harder.

Because despite the imminent deadline looming over Will’s head, Mike still held the ability to make Will smile. His heart grew miraculously lighter in his chest as he watched Mike growl and twitch and roll his eyes the longer Will laughed without any explanation. But Will could see, despite the siren’s dramatic show of annoyance, that Mike was also trying to suppress a smile.

Even though Will was heavily aware of the numerous cameras currently surveilling them, he took the chance to reach up and tuck a damp strand of hair that had fallen into the merman’s face back up behind his earfin, his thumb ever so slightly brushing against the sharp ridge of Mike’s cheekbone as he did so.

“Thank you.” He whispered into the quiet air between them, the atmosphere now suddenly charged with an electricity that hadn’t been there moments before, even though both of them knew they couldn’t act on it with all the cameras around.

‘For what?’ Mike’s hands signed clumsily, his pupils blown wide, looking just as affected by their close proximity as Will, as he worried at his lip absently with his teeth, and it was only by sheer force of will that Will managed to not kiss him senseless at the sight.

It was only after mentally reminding himself of the likely catastrophic consequences he and Mike would receive at the hands of the Hawkins Lab if he slipped up and tried to jump Mike’s bones in the middle of the workday that allowed Will to break the moment and lean away, his breath sounding far too loud in his ears and he tried to pretend he was completely unaffected by the siren sitting in front of him. Since apparently Mike could not be counted on to maintain propriety between them.

Watching Mike pout at the sudden distance between them, his eyes sparking red before settling back into their typical inky darkness, Will decided that even if it meant merciless teasing at the hands of Dustin, Will vowed he would grovel to Suzie after this to see if there was any possibility of him and Mike getting some mercifully camera-free time in the next seven days, otherwise he very well might explode as he watched Mike’s gaze not so subtly flick down to his lips, again.

Unable to think of a better alternative to calm a horny merman, Will smacked Mike on the head with his free hand.

Mike, ever the drama queen, whined in response before collapsing onto Will’s shoulder in a dripping heap like he had just been shot.

“Get up you giant fish, we’ve gotta work on the map.” Will shoved at the heavy body now slowly slipping down his shoulder and down into his lap with a force that could only be intentional.

He prodded the merman’s cheek with the tip of his pen, leaving a black smudge in between the small freckle-like fluorescent pores on Mike’s cheek, but the siren either didn’t notice, or chose to ignore him as he burrowed his head deeper into his lap, nuzzling his cheek against Will’s stomach with a sound that Will could only describe as a purr.

And despite the all-seeing cameras tracking their every move, the ever-present deadline looming heavily over both of their heads, and the years old drawing of a familiar merman currently burning a hole in his pocket, Will couldn’t find it in himself to push the siren off. Instead, just raising his hand to gently card his fingers through Mike’s soft pile of curls, content to enjoy the moment for a just a few seconds longer.

Unfortunately, their small moment of peace barely lasted. Between sketching out their map, which Will wasn’t entirely sure whether it was real or not, given Mike’s insatiable pickiness, and planning with his team for how they would actually manage to pull this off when the day arrived, by the time their week was nearly up, Will had been absolutely run ragged. Existing nearly entirely on far too much coffee and quick twenty-minute power naps in his car.

If he had to guess, Will suspected that he had probably spent close to 100 hours at the lab alone over the past week, determined to eke out as much time with Mike as humanly possible. And while Mike was overjoyed at the increased proximity to his favorite person at first, by the end of the week, even the merman was trying to force him out the door to get some rest, not understanding Will’s strange reticence to leave, since the siren still didn’t know that the clock on their strange relationship was slowly ticking down to zero.

It was almost a bonus that working so much helped keep the guilt of hiding the truth from Mike from eating Will alive.

But despite Will trying to drag every second into minutes, and every minute into hours, eventually his time was up, and the date of Dr. Owens’ deadline had finally arrived.

When Max came to pick him up for work in the morning, since she rightly guessed that Will would probably be much to wound up to drive himself, Will was an absolute mess.

At this point in time, Will couldn’t remember if it’s been two days or three since the last time his face hit an actual mattress, and his stomach had twisted itself in knots so tight he wasn’t sure if he was about to throw up or was developing a hernia.

Max took one look at his waxen expression when he folded himself into her tiny rental car and wordlessly handed him a coffee and a croissant wrapped in a napkin, the kindness of the gesture embarrassingly making Will tear up a little bit, which if anyone asked, he was going to blame on the exhaustion.

Max drove in silence for a few long minutes, allowing Will the time to get his frayed emotions back into check before she finally said the words that both of them had been thinking.

“Do you think this will work?”

The croissant turned to sand in his mouth. Will forced himself to swallow down the lump of bread anyways. “I don’t know. But we’re out of time now. It has to work. Erica and El have been practicing for days now, they have this whole thing down to a science, and Dustin was telling me that Suzie’s virus is working perfectly… after he tested it on Lucas’s computer and wiped his entire hard drive.” Will let out a dry laugh that he certainly didn’t feel. “Robin, Nancy and Eddie spent most of last night in my living room stuffing envelopes to send to all the major, and minor news networks, and the girls drove all the way to Betts to send them early this morning, just in case the Lab caught on to what we were up to and seized the mail here in town. And I- And I-” Will’s voice wavered, his throat growing too tight for any words to escape through.

Max sighed; the noise incredibly loud in the tense atmosphere of the car. “Will, at this point we’ve done everything we can. There’s no use worrying about it now.”

Will, surprising even himself, snorted, “You and I both know it’s not that easy to just stop worrying.”

A warm hand landed on his, stilling Will’s fingers where he had been unconsciously worrying at the edges of his crumpled napkin, his croissant nothing but stray crumbs in his lap. Will looked over at Max, who was resolutely staring at the road, but Will thought her eyes were shining slightly more than normal. “Yeah, I know.”

A slight squeeze on Will’s clammy fingertips had him looking up through the windshield, his stomach dropping down into his feet as the familiar razor wire fence of Hawkins National Laboratory rose into view.

The time had finally come.

There was no going back.

He was going to save Mike, even if it meant breaking his heart in the process. 

Chapter Text

Despite the fact that they had discussed the plan what felt like hundreds of times at this point. Or as much as they could discuss a plan through morse code messages tapped onto palms and shoulders and thighs, or in whispered words pressed into damp hair while omnipresent cameras silently watched on, Will still couldn’t help the sinking feeling in his stomach that something would inevitably go horribly wrong.

He was fairly certain he was halfway to a heart attack as he watched Mike carefully drag himself out of his enclosure and into a small portable tank wheeled over by two men so stoic and scarred that Will doubted they were actually laboratory technicians, fully convinced that the tetchy merman would get fed up by the numerous scientists all staring down from the catwalk, clamoring over each other for a look at the merman struggling to maneuver his unwieldy body on land and decide to just abandon the plan and instead disembowel every human in his vicinity.

Thankfully, Mike managed to slip his way into the wheeled tank without issue, although Will definitely saw his life flash before his eyes after one of the technicians made the mistake of touching Mike’s tail as the siren tried to lift himself over the raised lip of the tank, causing the merman to whirl on the other man with a loud hiss and bared teeth, his eyes flashing a dangerous red. Luckily the man on the receiving end didn’t even have the chance to pull the gun he was definitely hiding in the waistband of his military style pants in response before Mike went back to studiously ignoring him and continued his painfully unwieldy attempt at dragging his tail into the tank as if nothing was amiss.  

No, if anything, everything seemed to be going almost too well.

Mike was oddly cheerful, even being cheeky enough to wave awkwardly at the gawking scientists as his tank was loaded onto the freight elevator. But Will figured that to Mike this was just basically like an elaborate going away party, one last fuck you to the lab who had kept him imprisoned for months before he returned back to his home in Upside Down.

It was only Will who truly knew the ramifications of what they were about to attempt. And what exactly would happen if their plans failed.

And that if everything went well, there would only be one of them coming back.

Will was thankful that only ‘necessary’ staff were allowed to be present for today’s events. It was just him, Mike, El, Erica, and a few other scientists allowed into the large chamber housing the gate, along with nearly two dozen heavily armed men in hazmat gear standing unmoving beside the gaping maw of the portal, the throbbing red mass making Will’s skin itch just from sheer proximity. Dr. Owens and a few other big-wig government and military officials were observing the proceedings from the relative safety of the observation deck a few floors above, their faces indistinct through the glass.

Will was glad that only a small handful of people were present, because if things went wrong, there was a very real chance that everyone in the room would die.

Mike on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to Will’s mounting tension, the merman practically vibrating with excitement from the moment the massive metal doors slid open to reveal the gate. Will wondered if the strange thrumming he currently felt underneath his skin was anything like what Mike felt when exposed to so much Upside Down energy. He wondered if Mike was currently drinking in the excess power spilling over from the other side, filling his diminished reserves full to the brim. He wondered if maybe, he too was absorbing the Upside Down energy into himself like leaking battery, tainting his soul with the dark seeds of a world beyond his own, poisoning him until he was nothing more than a husk of his former self.

Will swiftly nipped that thought in the bud and forced himself to focus on the task at hand.

With shaking fingers, Will unrolled the absolutely massive map of Hawkins in the Upside Down that he had Mike had spent the past week painstakingly recreating from memory.

Will still didn’t know just how much of the map was real, and how much was faked as Mike had been surprisingly tight-lipped about it whenever he had attempted to discreetly ask.

He turned towards the merman in question, who was currently lounging half-way out of his temporary tank, his arms propped up on the edge of the enclosure, his attention wholly focused on the gate in front of him with a single minded focus only an apex predator could muster, and Will was unable to tell if the haunting red glow of his eyes was from Mike himself or just a gruesome reflection of the yawning gate in front of them.

Will gently placed a hand on Mike’s exposed bicep, in an attempt to draw the siren’s attention away from the massive portal.

“Are you ready?”

For a second, when Mike turned to him, all Will was able to see was the haunting Upside Down monster Mike was supposed to be, his pale skin and harsh cheekbones colored in stark contrast by the eerie red glow of the gate, his eyes flat and dead, his pupils compressed to thin crescents, and Will saw nothing of the Mike he had grown to care for. But then he blinked, and Mike resolved himself back into focus, the siren smiling at him softly, his irises returning to a soft brown as he nodded slowly, his attention solely on Will.  

‘Are you ready?’ Mike signed, and Will thought he saw something like anxiety glittering in Mike’s gaze, but Will forced himself to ignore it, already teetering much too close to the edge of shattering to be able to provide comfort to the merman beside him, so he offered him the only words he could think of.

“I trust you.”

So, when, exactly two minutes and 21 seconds later, El tore open the fabric of space and time to create a portal to another dimension, and less than five seconds later, Mike lashed out with claws and teeth and months’ worth of pent-up fury, ripping out the throats of the two technicians minding his tank before either man could even reach for his gun and as the emergency sirens began to blare and red light swamped his vision, Will found his gaze instinctively falling to Mike. Mike bathed in an ethereal fiery orange, his jaw nearly unhinged as he screamed his deadly siren call, a signal to all the monsters on the other side of the now open gate that a veritable feast had arrived, Will thought he had never seen a sight more beautiful.

Even with his ears dripping blood onto the floor from his blown out eardrums, and ash falling around him in swaths while every monster who had ever haunted Will’s nightmares poured through the gate, Will could not find it in himself to look away from the siren. He burned the image of Mike as he should be seen into his memory, knowing, instinctively that it would be one of the last images of Mike he would ever see, a deadly siren with blood on his teeth and dripping down his chin, calling forth the demons of hell itself to punish humans for their hubus, and Will was fairly certain he felt his heart shatter at the awe-inspiring sight.

Because he was so utterly in love with the monster beside him that he would quite literally burn the world down just to grant him his freedom.

Even if it meant he would lose him in the process.

And when the siren reached forwards and dragged Will bodily into the tank beside him, Will, with tears dripping silently down his cheeks, bared his neck in one last show of ultimate trust, allowing the creature who had just ripped out the throats of men far stronger than he, to sink his teeth into the delicate skin of his throat, Will thought the racing pain that flared through his veins was nothing compared to the pain of his currently breaking heart.

Because his plan had succeeded.

And Will would soon lose Mike forever.

When Will’s body decided to finally drag itself back into consciousness, without even opening his eyes, Will knew exactly where he was.

He wasn’t sure if it was the cloying scent of the air, somewhere between sickly sweet and rotting, or the heated thrum of energy running under his skin, but his body seemed to know exactly where he was before his brain had the opportunity to process, if the ratcheting of his heartrate with every damp, ragged breath was anything to go by.

He was in the Upside Down.

His breath rattled in his chest, entirely too loud, but despite his wheezing he still couldn’t seem to get enough air.

He was in the Upside Down.

He refused to open his eyes. If he didn’t open his eyes then it wouldn’t be real. He could wake up and it would all be a dream, a horrible, twisted piece of his own imagination.

He wasn’t here.

He wasn’t.

He couldn’t be.

A soft touch against his cheekbone startled him so badly, Will’s eyes flew open instinctively, his gaze filled with a familiar abyssal brown as Mike blinked down at him, his angular face twisted into a worried frown.

“Will, are you okay?”

A muttered incoherent string of sounds was all Mike got in response as Will’s brain desperately tried to recalibrate. As he forced himself to breathe and waited for his pounding heartrate to finally slow.

As it took Will a few bleary seconds, or maybe minutes to come back online, Mike continued to coo soothingly in his ear, his long fingers brushing gently through his damp and dusty hair. It took Will an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize that the lack of pointed claws against his scalp meant that Mike had shifted into his human form, and in response Will reached a hand out for the siren, his fingers meeting a vast expanse of smooth skin as they traveled lower and lower and-

Almost instantly, Will was shooting up into a sitting position, bodily flinging Mike off of him and purposefully looking literally anywhere except the long, pale line of Mike’s completely naked form, dotted all over with scattered constellations of freckles instead of fluorescent pores.

“Mike, why don’t you have any clothes on!” Will screeched, gazing about wildly for spare clothes, a blanket, anything so he didn’t have to keep looking at the tantalizing expanse of Mike’s pale limbs.

Mike huffed with annoyance before he quickly reached over and tugged a moldering quilt sitting on a stack of rotting pallets over onto his lap, quickly concealing his freckled legs from view.

“Better now?” Mike rolled his eyes, something that Will wished Erica and Max had never taught the merman before turning his attention back to Will with a smirk.

Without the now-present legs as a stark reminder, Mike’s sharp grin and the wicked flash in his eye could almost be the same one Will had grown used to seeing from the other side of a thick pane of glass for weeks now. The sight was almost enough to bring Will comfort, even with the sickly-sweet air threatening to choke him with every breath.

Will had to force himself to tear his gaze away from the humanoid version of Mike, and instead decided to focus on the decaying wooden structure standing around him.

The very familiar wooden structure.

Will almost didn’t believe what he was seeing if not for the tattered remains of a polaroid from Halloween 1982 pinned up to the wall.

The same polaroid that had been pinned to the wall of his version Castle Byers for the better part of fifteen years.

Because that’s exactly where he was. Castle Byers. Or at least the Upside Down’s version of it. Even though he was certain it had been destroyed by the Demogorgon who had been tracking him back in 1983.

Almost instinctively, Will’s fingers came up to brush across the photo, still not entirely convinced he wasn’t hallucinating the entire thing.

“H-how? How are we here?”  

Mike grinned widely, looking no less predatory as a human than he did as a merman. “I thought we had gone over this before. I bit you, transported us both to my world, and here we are.”

Will knew that Mike was only attempting to lighten the mood, since the siren already knew just how severely the Upside Down served to set him off from the last time he had dragged him here on an impromptu trip, but with the anxiety thrumming through his veins and still feeling the phantom pain of Mike’s bite on his neck, despite the fact that there was currently no wound to speak of due to the siren’s magical saliva, Will was thoroughly not in the mood for Mike’s shenanigans.

“No, Mike, why are we here?” He snapped, gesturing expansively to the crumbling structure around him, “Why are we in Castle Byers. I thought it was destroyed.”

To his surprise, Mike looked sheepish, the merman steadfastly avoiding eye contact and picking absently at the falling apart quilt in his lap in a shockingly human gesture.

“I -uh, fixed it.”

Will blinked. Then blinked again. Certain he had misheard the siren. But the longer Will sat incredulous and Mike remained stubbornly silent, not even needing his claws to positively shred the quilt in his lap to bits in his nervousness, further exposing even more of the pale expanse of legs, which was not helping Will’s obviously struggling mental faculties in the slightest, the more he realized that Mike was completely and utterly serious.

“H-how did you fix it? I mean how could you have known what it looked like unless-” Will’s voice cut off, and for the first time since he had awoken in the Upside Down, either minutes or hours or days ago, he could see everything clearly.

“You’ve been here before.”

Slowly, Mike raised his gaze from the ruined blanket in his lap and looked up at Will, his eyes dark and unfathomably sad, and nodded.

“We met before. Here. Fifteen years ago.”

A wet, bubbling laugh clawed its way out of Will’s throat. Because he had known, deep down, that this was not his first-time meeting Mike.

The signs had all been there.

The drawing of a familiar looking merman penned by a much younger Will, hidden in between the pages of a long-forgotten library book.

The strange conversation with his mom about a friend he had left behind in the Upside Down.

Maybe even his strange fixation on the merman himself since the moment they had first met had all stemmed from a faint recollection of the siren in his subconscious.

He had known. Maybe all along. But he hadn’t put all the pieces together until Mike sat in front of him in the Upside Down version of his childhood hideout, looking more tired than an ethereal mythical being had any right to be, and spelled it all out for him.

The siren scrubbed a hand across his face, his eyes looking particularly shiny, and Will distantly wondered if it was possible for Mike to cry in his human form. “I knew from the first time you came into the lab that you didn’t remember me. I could feel your presence like a second pulse, and I felt like such a coward for not showing myself to you sooner. But I got scared I guess-” Mike let out a shaky breath before continuing. “I don’t know what was worse, avoiding you because I couldn’t bear the thought of you not remembering me, or looking you in the eyes and seeing nothing, no familiarity, no recollection, nothing.”

The longer the siren merman spoke, the hazier Mike’s form became, and for a moment Will wondered if the merman was about to transform again, until a dampness on his cheeks made him realize that he was just looking at the siren though the haze of his own tears.

“Mike I-” Will started, his hand hovering awkwardly in the air between them, unsure whether or not he could reach out and touch the siren while he was in such a state.

Mike made the decision for both of them, his thin, long fingered hand coming up to clutch at Will’s own, intertwining their fingers together in a way that was decidedly different than when Will had held his clawed, webbed hand in his siren form, but still somehow felt right.

“I don’t blame you. It’s not your fault that you don’t remember.”

And all at once, Will couldn’t possibly bear the arm length distance between them. Not when Mike was so noticeably upset in a way Will had never experienced before.

Using their still tangled fingers, Will bodily yanked. Tugging Mike out from under his nearly destroyed blanket and sending him flying into Will’s awaiting grasp, the siren’s nakedness barely even registering in Will’s mind in favor of focusing solely on comforting the distraught merman.

Despite the obvious lean musculature of Mike’s form, Will couldn’t help but think the siren felt unbearably fragile. Like the slightest touch would send the boy in his arms shattering into a million glittering pieces.

Will’s touch was gentle, feather light as it ghosted across Mike’s hair, smoothing the errant locks before tracing the elegant line of the merman’s cheekbones and down the slope of his jaw. His artist fingers mapped the curve of the siren’s neck, noting the faint, silvery scars that demarcated the gills the Mike would grow in his other form. His hands followed from memory the jut of the siren’s spine, noting every dip and spur as they traveled the familiar landscape he had drawn dozens of times, but rarely had the chance to touch.

The siren quaked beneath his fingertips, and Will peppered kisses to Mike’s scalp, his lips drawing patterns across the merman’s brow and across his fluttering eyelids, the salt from the boy’s unshed tears bitter against his tongue as he brushed his lips against each and every one of the freckles scattered across Mike’s cheekbones, until he finally, finally reached his mouth.

Will froze just a hairsbreadth away from the merman’s lips, Mike’s breath warm against his cheeks, when he finally spoke.  

“Mike. Mike I’m so sorry I ever did that to you. I’m sorry I didn’t remember you. I’m sorry.”  

And then they were both crying. Their lips meeting in a sloppy, wet kiss slick with the salt from their tears. Will’s hands clutched like a vice under the hinge of Mike’s jaw and into the soft skin beneath the other boy’s ribs, tugging the merman closer, closer, closer, until Mike was all but tumbling into Will’s lap, a pile of uncoordinated, pale limbs.

Like an instinct, Mike’s long freckled legs came around to curl around Will’s hips, his heels pressing into the little divots on either side of Will’s spine. Somewhere along the way Mike’s hands had found themselves buried in Will’s hair, tugging lightly at the strands and causing Will to shiver involuntarily beneath him.

And then Mike was pulling away, words spilling out of his mouth almost too fast for Will to hear.

“It’s not your fault. I knew after what happened towards the end of your time here there was a pretty good chance you wouldn’t remember anything. But I didn’t have any other choice. I’d rather you lose your memories than die here.”

Will pulled back just enough to look at Mike’s face, his eyes scanning the siren’s crumpled expression.

“Mike, I may not remember what happened back then, and for that I’ll forever be sorry. But thank you for saving my life. I’ll probably never be able to repay you for that.”

At that Will’s words, Mike’s cloudy expression cleared briefly, his mouth twitching into something that might have approximated a smile.

“Well, I can certainly think of one way you can repay me.” The merman smirked before leaning in for a kiss that Will returned eagerly.

Chapter Text

Every day was always the same. Wake up. Find some poor defenseless creature to devour. Swim around his territory for a bit, growling and hissing at anything that came to close until the already dim sky once again began to darken. Go to sleep. Repeat.

Occasionally, just to mix things up a bit, he would sometimes transform into one of the four legged creatures that liked to rove in packs, or one of the large upright beings who hunted their prey like solitary beasts of the night. But being in any skin besides his own was always just slightly uncomfortable, pulling at his edges too tight, like he had been crammed into a space too small for his body, so he didn’t like to do it often.

Every dreary day after day was identical in its sameness. But he found he didn’t mind too much. He was well used to the monotony of existence, and while he would likely never grow to love it, he found he could tolerate it just fine.

That was, until it appeared.

He was well used to the way the upright walkers hunted, crawling into rips in space to delve into worlds unlike their own, on the hunt for increasingly exotic prey at odds with the dull, lifeless existence of their home. He would know, since he could hunt in the same way, although he usually rarely bothered with the effort.  

He was used to the brightly patterned colors and strange shapes and sounds of whatever pitiful creature the upright walkers dragged to their doom, and barely paid them any mind at this point. But on one random insipid day in a never-ending string of insipid days something new came through the portal.

The creature was small, a vibrant flash of yellow and red rarely seen in a place so bland and colorless as this, tumbling into the universe on shaking legs with a large unwieldy object clutched in its hands like a lifeline.

His first thought was that from the waist up the creature looked startlingly similar to himself, in a way no other being from any of the other worlds he had encountered ever had.

His second thought was that the creature’s appearance didn’t matter, since its life was soon to be cut short as the upright walker forced itself through the rapidly closing portal, the creature’s home world blinking out of existence the moment the predator’s long legs had stepped through, and with it, any chances at the small creature’s survival.

He had seen this same routine many times before, and he found himself instinctively turning away, not particularly wanting to see this small, delicate creature who looked so remarkably like himself inevitably eviscerated at the hands of the monsters of his home.

So it was to his surprise that instead of hearing the familiar death throes of the creature being disemboweled by upright walker, he was instead met with the sound of an ear-splitting bang loud enough to send him diving back down into the relative safety of the water reflexively. His heart racing wildly in his chest as he fought to regain control of his errant breathing.

He wasn’t sure how long he, one of the most feared predators of their lands, remained cowering underwater, his ear fins twitching from the aftershocks of the unexpectedly loud noise. He was unsure whether to venture back to the surface in case the sound came again. But eventually, after no more similar sounds came, his curiosity got the best of him and he found himself once again breaching the surface, scanning the surroundings vigilantly for any sign of the source of the noise.

What he found when he resurfaced, was something he never could’ve prepared for.

The small creature he had last seen stumbling around on quivering legs was gone, but instead of finding the large predator feasting on its newest kill, he instead saw the pale, elongated figure collapsed to the ground, the unmistakable stench of blood filling the air.

Against better judgement, he crept closer, dragging his unwieldy tail out of the murky water for a better look.

The upright walker’s form was wrong, part of its shoulder completely torn away, dark bloody rivulets dripping down the creature’s torso, its breaths raspy and harsh on his sensitive ears.

The hunter was dying.

Never before in all of his monotonous, unchanging days had he ever seen a hunter fall before its prey. He hadn’t even known it was possible for anything besides his own species, and the upright walkers themselves, to fell such a fearsome monster.

But now, lying here in front of him, the hunter’s lifeblood soaking greedily into the dusty soil beneath the predator, was proof that it could be done.

A tiny, insignificant creature not even half the size of the hunter itself, had managed to defeat the loathsome beast.

The upright walker gurgled in front of him, the creature twitching and clawing at the dirt, likely trying to right itself to no avail, fruitlessly quickening its own inevitable demise with its movements.

He stared down at the upright walker with no remorse, watching soundlessly as the being thrashed and flailed, until he eventually grew tired of the unending cacophony of pained sounds coming from the creature’s mouth and tore out its throat with a single well-placed bite, ending the pitiful creature’s drawn-out misery.

It wasn’t a mercy.

He just knew better than to waste a potential meal.

By the time he finished gorging himself on his kill, the upright walker’s remains were thoroughly picked clean, and he had dark blue, coagulated blood dripping down his chin and onto his exposed chest. With a grimace, he wiped away the worst of the gore from his face, disliking the way eating on land always made for such a mess, and started making his way back towards the water once again to clean himself off when his eye caught on a flash of vibrant red on the ground, the unnatural color nearly obscured by a slowly creeping vine.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he inched closer, gritting his teeth against the way the dirt chafed uncomfortably against his tail until he could clearly see what the strange object was.

The object was small, merely a scrap of torn fabric with a large smear of purplish blood on one edge. And if not for its strange, otherworldly color, he likely would have thought nothing of it.

But he remembered where he last seen this color.

It had been part of the strange coverings from creature the upright walker had dragged through the portal.

But now the upright walker was dead, the small creature nowhere to be found.

And for the first time in recent memory, he found himself intrigued by the small, unassuming piece of prey that had somehow managed to best a fearsome predator.

His lips pulled away from his teeth in an expression that could’ve been a smile or a grimace, dried blood flaking off his cheeks as his skin bubbled and twisted, his bones creaking and snapping into new positions as he shifted into his four-legged form.

Ignoring the sudden tightness of his limbs at being crammed into this inferior body, he sniffed at red fabric on the ground, utilizing this form’s superior sense of smell to try to catch a whiff of the creature who had gotten away.

Underneath the cloying scent of dirt and blood and grime, he caught an unfamiliar tang that was wholly unlike anything he had ever smelled before. And he knew he had found it.

The scent of his new prey.

The hunt was now on.

One of the few points of interest in his homeworld was the ever-changing landscape. He never did quite understand why strange structures would randomly pop up from the ground, fully formed, only to spontaneously disappear some nebulous amount of time later, fully replaced by something else between one blink and the next.

His new prey was currently residing in one such structure.

He was certain this small, rundown building hadn’t existed the day before, but the small creature was scuttling around the space with an air of familiarity that frankly shouldn’t have been possible.

Also, the small creature was loud.

Even though he had hidden himself, once again returned to his natural form, in a small, sluggishly moving stream right on the edge of the deadened, thickly forested area behind the building, and several walls separated him from the object of his curiosity, he could still hear the shrill squalling of the creature crying out repeatedly over and over.

“Mom! Mom! Mom, I’m here!”

The stupid creature was so loud that it likely would’ve drawn every creature in the area if his own overwhelming presence hadn’t it made it abundantly clear that this prey was his. And thankfully, none of the other predators he could sense nearby decided to challenge him on his claim.

But despite the annoyance the repeated sound of the creature’s piercing cries brought, he couldn’t help but run his tongue over his lips at the delightful noise.

It was so rarely that he was gifted with new sounds. And he absolutely reveled in the taste of it rolling around on his tongue. The fear and terror of the creature’s cracking, warbling calls was like the most beautiful of songs.

And like the glutton he was, he couldn’t help but steal a piece of it for himself.

He repeated the calls quietly, not wanting his small, helpless prey to notice until he was fully ready to reveal himself. Gnashing the sounds under his teeth and across his lips, unable to stop his delight as they bubbled out of him, louder than he initially anticipated due to his excitement.

“Mom! Mom! Mom I’m here!”

At first, he froze, worried the creature might have overheard him, but it turns out not only was the small, pitiful thing stupid enough to be broadcasting its location to every potential predator in the area, but it was also apparently deaf too.

He suppressed the urge to sigh as his prey continued scrabbling at the walls and wailing, still completely oblivious to his presence. At first, he had thought the creature would be interesting, since it had somehow managed to fell a predator nearly twice its size, but after observing the weak little thing’s increasingly dumb antics he realized the upright walker’s death must have been a fluke. An accident. The poor creature must’ve just somehow gotten lucky.

Unfortunately, it seemed there was absolutely nothing interesting about this creature at all.

It was just as boring as the rest of this place.

Now that his source of potential amusement had dried up, he decided there was no point in dragging out the inevitable. Especially when he could sense the other predators lurking in the shadows growing restless the longer he waited to devour his prey.

He could easily beat them back, assert his authority over the lower lifeforms that hadn’t quite gained enough courage to outright challenge him over his prey, but the thought of battling over such a pathetic piece of meat seemed tiresome.

So, despite the fact that his belly was still full from gorging on the upright walker from earlier, he decided it was finally time to go in for the kill. Because how often was he going to get such easy pickings as this?

With a pained wince, he shifted into the upright walker’s form, stretching out his new limbs for a few moments before climbing to his feet and quickly striding across the dead grass, enjoying the ease at which this form’s long legs allowed him to easily traverse the open area behind the building in a way his regular form was incapable of, and it almost made the incessant itching beneath his skin at being in this lesser form worth it.

As he crept closer to the creature’s hiding place, he could hear the small being’s heart skittering wildly in its chest, and he couldn’t resist the temptation to unfurl his petal-like mouth and scent the air, wanting to taste his prey’s delicious fear on his tongue.

It was just as divine as he had imagined.

He crept closer to the window, hunching low enough to not be seen, wanting to surprise his unsuspecting prey. He was grateful that in this form his hearing was more dulled than in his natural state, since the small creature, still completely deafeningly oblivious to his presence, had not ceased its unending cries, and if anything had only grown louder.

“Mom? Mom?! I’m here. Please help. I don’t know where I am.”

For a moment, he almost considered shifting back into his normal form just so that he could throw the creature’s annoying voice right back into its own face, to scream and shout and wail in a perfect mimicry of his prey’s shrill cries of terror. But in the end, he decided to remain in his current form, not wanting to have to deal with dragging his heavy tail in through the window in order to reach his kill.

While the miserable creature continued to pound on the walls and screech unendingly, he snuck closer until he was hovering just outside the window his prey was standing beside, the dumb thing’s back completely unprotected.

A small part of him mourned how easy this kill would be. He had been craving something exciting, something to break him out of the never-ending monotony of his days. He thought when he found the upright walker’s nearly dead body that he had finally found it in this creature, but ever since he had started tailing the weak little thing, he had been nothing but disappointed in what he had seen.

It seemed today really was no different after all.

He had just reached his hand up to grasp at the edge of the rotting windowsill, when the unceasing, grating cries of the creature suddenly cut off.

Instinctively he paused, wondering absently if his prey had spotted him while he was trying to sneak in, but when he peeked in through the grimy window yet again, he saw that the small thing had slid to the floor, curled up in a tiny, insignificant ball, its head buried between its legs as the creature’s thin shoulders shook with what he assumed with sobs.

If this form had the able to sigh, he would’ve done it. Of course, his prey had to go and get even more boring. The insignificant creature wouldn’t even be able to run away in that state.

At this point, the thrill of the kill had completely vanished as he slunk in through the window mechanically, barely bothering to smother the sound of his footfalls, knowing the dumb creature probably wouldn’t even be able to hear him even if he shrieked in its face.

Once he had entered the building, he stood up to full height, this form easily towering over the cowering bundle of fabric quivering on the floor.

He was moments away from the killing blow when suddenly out of nowhere the small creature made a new sound that stopped him in his tracks.

“Darling you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?”

The creature was singing.

“If I say that you are mine

I’ll be here till the end of time."

It was nowhere near as melodious and complex as his own songs, or the occasional songs of his own kind he sometimes heard in the distance, but never bothered to seek out.

It was raspy and somewhat flat, muffled slightly by the creature’s knees. But also, at the same time, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.

“So you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?”

And he was greedy. He had to have a taste. He had to know the sound of the music slipping between the gaps in his teeth, sliding gracefully along his tongue, how the words formed in his mouth.

He had never felt such visceral need before.

Never before had a sound entranced him so.

He wanted this sound.

No, he needed this sound.

He needed to hoard it against his chest. Secret it away to the depths of his mind where no one else could find it.

Overwhelmed with the strange urge to mimic, the indescribable need to taste, to touch the beautiful sound, he abandoned all pretense of stealth entirely, ripping his way out of the tight casing of the upright walker’s form with a painful tearing of skin and muscle and sinew and grotesque shifting of bones.

Distantly he thought he heard screaming, and he was unsure if it was himself or the creature in front of him.

He knew he was transforming too fast, forcing his body to change more rapidly than it should, and he would be paying for his haste later with painful, sensitive skin and sore limbs, but he couldn’t bring himself to slow down.

He needed the sounds. And he needed them now.

Unceremoniously he flopped to the ground, his tail thumping painfully against the bare floor as his brain struggled to reassimilate to his new form.

His eyes were bleary with the pain of his rapid transformation, his arms shaking violently as he tried, and failed, to prop himself upright only to fall back onto the dirty floor.

In his delirium, he didn’t even notice that the creature, who had seconds before been huddled in a quivering ball on the floor, was now standing, a large cumbersome object in its grip and pointed directly at him. The creature’s face was pale, too pale, its hands shaking violently as it pointed the object at his head, tears painting rivers in the blood splatters across the creature’s cheeks.

But he didn’t notice any of it.

The only thing he noticed was the sudden lack of song.

And he mourned its loss the only way he knew how.

He sang.

“Darling you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?”

The creature above him froze. Its reddened eyes going impossibly wider. But he didn’t notice. His mind focused on the song and the song alone.  

“If I say that you are mine

I’ll be here till the end of time.”

The small being blinked at him. Its entire body quaking like a leaf as it stared at him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care, he just wanted that beautiful song to come back.

“So you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?”

He was completely at the other creature’s mercy, weak and wrung out from his transformation as he lay panting on the floor. He was almost certain that if it had wanted to, the creature could have easily killed him, much like he had been planning on doing to it mere seconds before.

But instead of striking the killing blow, the vibrantly colored creature lowered the strange object in its hands, looked him dead in the eyes and began to sing.

“It’s always tease, tease tease

You’re happy when I’m on my knees.”

He had never personally been the recipient of one of his own kind’s mating songs, since he hadn’t yet reached breeding age, but as the strange creature stared him down with an oddly intense focus while he sang, its nebulous eyes swirling in shades of brown and green, he wondered if was something like this.

He had never been so captivated, so interested in anything in his entire life. His entire field of vision had narrowed until his sole focus was on the small being in front of him, the same creature who just moments before, he had been thinking of as nothing but a piece of hapless prey.

“One day it’s fine and next it’s black

So if you want me off your back”

But now the creature’s raspy, tired voice filled him up from the inside, sending jolts along his spine as his fluorescence lit up instinctively, pulsing in time to the small creature’s song.

He reveled in the way the way the stranger’s eyes widened in surprise at his glowing display, and he couldn’t help but flash his bioluminescent in increasingly complicated patterns just to keep that same awestruck look on the creature’s face.

And the whole while, the creature never stopped singing. Beautiful, delicious sounds that he crunched between his teeth, looped over his tongue and then swallowed down whole, savoring every bite.

And when the song circled back to the part he recognized from before, he didn’t even have to think before he found himself joining in, heedless to the potential implications of his actions, since he was certain the creature wouldn’t have known them anyways.

“Well come on and let me know

Should I stay or should I go?”

And then finally, finally, the creature’s somewhat wary gaze eased and it lowered the strange object in its hands, and spoke.

“What are you?”

And he couldn’t help but grin in response, wide and feral, all his deadly teeth on vivid display as he parroted back,

“What are you?”

Surprisingly, the small creature, who he soon learned was called a ‘Will’, seemed to open up to him almost instantly, which under any other circumstances, probably would’ve gotten the scrawny being eaten, but he wasn’t going to complain, since it meant he now had ample opportunities to study the unendingly fascinating creature up close.

The number of new sounds he had added to his collection in the brief span since he had met Will would be enough to tide him over for years to come, and he couldn’t help but roll the sounds across his tongue, mimicking the boy’s words at nearly every possible opportunity, which thankfully Will seemed to quite enjoy.

His secondary objective of spending time in Will’s presence was perfecting his transformation. Usually, he was unable to transform into anything that existed outside his realm, but for some strange reason, Will’s body gave off a very particular aura that gave him the suspicion that for some reason he could actually mimic this form.

And it turned out his hunch had been correct.

It had taken him nearly an entire day to get the transformation right, especially since Will seemed oddly reticent to remove his strange coverings to allow him to look at the parts of his body that were normally covered so that he could accurately mimic his form.

So of course, he just decided to look while the boy was sleeping, peeking under Will’s weird fabric coverings until he was certain he knew the lines of his body by heart, unable to suppress the smirk that came to his lips at the idea of seeing Will delightfully surprised by his new form when he woke up the next morning.

The first time he managed to transform into this new form he had expected more discomfort, the familiar tightness in his chest, the uncomfortable, squeezing feeling he had long since associated with all forms besides his natural one, but for some reason, this form, while not as comfortable as his regular body, didn’t come with the normal itchiness and discomfort he was used to, which was a surprise.

And of course, the legs.

This form was smaller than his upright walker form, meaning his legs were significantly shorter, but he almost felt like the lithe form would be even better suited for nimbly traversing the treacherous, ever-changing landscape of his home.

While he had been a bit unsteady on his feet at first, he had quickly gotten the hang of his new limbs by pacing back and forth across the floorboards of the house while Will slept peacefully, keeping an eye out for any potential predators who might deem Will an easy meal.

Once he figured the human had probably gotten enough sleep, he crouched down by Will’s head and gently shook the other boy awake, a near giddy grin spreading across his cheeks at the idea of showing Will just how well he had adapted to this new form as the other boy’s beautiful eyes fluttered open tiredly and shutting once again-

Before snapping open wide with alarm and Will bolted to his feet with a high-pitched shriek that had him wincing, an alarmed red flush darkening the boy's cheeks.

“Why are your balls out?!” Will screamed, covering his eyes with alarm. “Put some clothes on!”

“What do I need clothes for? They seem a bit pointless. We’ve both got all the same bits, and none of my other forms need clothes.”

“Of course you need clothes, I mean what did y-” Will’s voice died in his throat, his mouth dropping open in surprise, so shocked his hand even fell away from his eyes limply as he gaped at him.

“You can talk? And understand me? Have you been able to do that this whole time?” Will’s voice grew higher and higher the more he talked, the other boy obviously on his way to working himself into a frenzy.

“I mean I’d be a pretty bad mimic if I couldn’t understand and replicate the sounds of the form I’m taking.” He responded, “I really couldn’t understand you in my normal form. It’s only when our forms match that I can understand your language.”

“So, you’re a shapeshifter?”

He shrugged, “Hmm, I guess that seems like the closest word for what I am in your language. So sure, we can go with that.”

And then that was that.

Will was certainly one of the strangest creatures he ever had the opportunity to observe. He was almost constantly moving, fidgeting, or randomly standing up and wandering off with no warning, but he found that he didn’t mind the other boy’s odd habits.

Especially not when the boy spontaneously broke into song, his weary, scratchy voice sending tingles down his spine with every warbled note.

He drank in the songs with a fervor previously unknown. Devouring and savoring each and every bite like it was his last.

But nonetheless, Will was definitely odd.

He would randomly start shouting at absolutely nothing, scratching and pounding at the walls like he had gone mad. Or he would get up on top of the furniture and try to touch the light bulbs, coming away with a finger covered in dust and grime and absolutely nothing to show for it, the lights still dull and lifeless.

Once after Will spent nearly half a day crouched in a kitchen cupboard, staring at his hands like they contained the secrets of the universe and babbling quietly to himself all the while, the other boy asked if he could hear the voices too, and he genuinely began to think that getting pulled into an alternate dimension may have broken something fundamental in Will’s brain, if not for the fact that when Will spoke, he almost swore he could see phantom lights clutched in his palms, but then he blinked and the image was suddenly gone.

So, maybe Will wasn’t actually crazy.

Maybe, the tiny brown-haired boy had powers that he just couldn’t understand.

So, from then on, anytime that Will began screaming and crying and throwing himself at the walls, he would just silently get up and go strand by the window, or the door, one eye firmly planted on the woods, or the road, watching for any potential signs of danger, and the other eye solidly locked on Will.

Will never said anything after his strange episodes, but he almost always sent him a tired smile, a strange glint in his eye as he slumped against the wall, utterly drained by whatever force the shifter was completely unable to comprehend, and he knew that the small human appreciated him, nonetheless.

Once, while Will was sleeping, he had decided to sneak out of the house to go catch himself, and Will, some much needed dinner.

He had seen the dark circles beneath the other boy’s eyes, and the increasingly waxy pallor to his pale skin, and he knew that the boy was sick, dying even.

But when he returned with his prize, a smallish fish with far too many mouths, he found Will standing outside in the yard, the same strange object he had when he had first arrived here – the shotgun – clutched in his white knuckled grip, his eyes wide and terrified, swaying wildly on his far too skinny legs.

“There’s a monster inside the house. We need to leave. Now.”

For a moment, he panicked, worried that another creature had encroached on his territory, had endangered Will, his… his… well, he didn’t exactly have a good word to describe Will, but he knew that he was fiercely protective of the human, and he would fight any number of dangerous creatures to keep the other boy safe. But when he cast out his hearing, trying to listen for the tell-tale signs of another predator, he was met with nothing.

No sound, no smell, no evidence of a break in. Nothing to back up Will’s claim that there was a creature in the house.

But despite his explanation to the brunet that the house was completely safe and monster-free, Will refused to step foot back into the structure, an instead just stood in the middle of the yard, as close to the treeline as he could get without obscuring his view of the house, shaking like a leaf.

He could see the exhausted bags beneath Will’s eyes, and the way his hands trembled underneath the weight of the shotgun and knew that the human would not survive much longer in these conditions. His home was beginning to affect him. It had started with Will having trouble sleeping and had morphed into an ever-persistent cough that shook his skinny frame, quickly thereafter Will started refusing food, claiming he wasn’t hungry, and whenever he forced the human to eat, he would often hear Will sneak away a few minutes later just to throw it all back up again.

Will wasn’t made for this place. This monstrous world that chewed up and spit you out until only the hardiest, most deadly creatures remained.

And as he watched Will barely able to hold himself upright even as he quivered from equal parts adrenaline and fear, he knew that soon, something would have to give.

So, with an aggrieved sigh, he turned to the smaller boy, “Okay, we can go somewhere else if this place is unsafe. But at least let me carry you.”

It was a testament to just how beaten down and drained Will really was that he didn’t argue. And as he shifted into his four-legged form, wincing at the tightness in his muscles at the shift, Will all but collapsed onto his back, barely able to muster the strength to hold onto his thick neck with his far too weak fingers.

While he trudged through the woods, Will offered him occasional half-mumbled directions, directing him deeper and deeper into the forest. In this form he couldn’t quite understand the boy’s words, the meanings fluttering just on the edges of his consciousness before ultimately slipping away, but he could usually parse out what Will was trying to say based on the direction the brunet was pointing or which way Will tugged at his neck. Normally, he wouldn’t have bothered to listen to the other boy, but Will’s mutterings had a strange frantic edge to them, and for once, he decided to trust the human, slightly curious as to where Will might be leading them.

It turned out that Will was taking them to a ramshackle shack, if it could even be called that. Barely a pile of half-rotted logs nailed haphazardly together, with a faded sign hanging over the doorway. 

Castle Byers

“This is it.” Will whispered in his ear, and even with his better than normal hearing, he still thought the other boy's voice sounded reedy and weak, barely audible. 

Because Will was dying. 

Gently, he slid Will off his back, his body crumbling to the forest floor in an uncoordinated heap, the human far too weak to do much more than lift his head up feebly to stare at him as he shed the skin of his four-legged form and shifted back into the far more comfortable appearance of a human in order to carry Will inside the small space. 

Will's body was feather-light and limp in his grasp as he carried the boy inside to lay him down on one of the blanket covered pallets, the ragged sound of his breathing sounding deafeningly loud in the small space. 

Because Will was dying. 

And he had no idea how to stop it. 

Delicately, he folded his legs up under himself and settled down on the pallet beside Will's prone form, his hands instinctively coming up to brush the boy's sweaty bangs back from his face as he glanced up the space around them for the first time since arriving. 

And he was immediately stunned into silence. 

Because everywhere around him was remnants of Will. 

Faded photographs, dirty and soiled by the decay of his homeworld were scattered across the walls. Pictures of a bright and smiling Will, the arms of two other boys slung across his shoulders striking a stark contrast to the sickly, dying boy lying on the floor. 

Nearly every spare inch of wall was covered, if not by pictures, then by drawings, over a dozen of them. Some hastily scrawled and childish in appearance, others more defined and well thought out, but each bearing the same scrawled signature in the corner. 

Will Byers

It was like he was taking a look inside the other boy's head. Seeing a snapshot of what Will’s life was like beyond the horrendous confines of this place. 

What Will had unwittingly been dragged away from. 

He saw pictures of Will’s friends, matching grins on each of their faces as they pressed in close to the camera in picture after picture, he saw Will in a picture with two other sandy haired people, a woman and an older boy who all bore a striking resemblance. His family. 

Will, unlike him, had a family, a home, people who would miss him, would probably even look for him now that he was gone. 

In his normal form, he never felt this kind of all-encompassing loneliness, as his species typically spent most of their lives as solitary creatures, only seeking out the company of others during mating seasons before ultimately returning to their lives of solitude. But something about his human form craved connection, someone to talk to, the warm touch of a hand on his skin, in his hair, but ultimately, more than anything he longed for a friend. 

He was beginning to think that maybe Will could be that friend. 

Glancing down at the boy in question, he saw that Will had fallen into a fitful slumber while he had been lost in thought, the small boy whimpering softly in his sleep, his brow scrunched with either pain or nightmares, and he couldn’t help but coo softly in response. Humming softly under his breath even though he knew his friend would be unable to hear him. 

“I promise I won't let you die.” 

Unfortunately, keeping Will alive was a nearly impossible task. The young boy practically asking for death at every turn, and he was all but helpless to watch as Will drew closer to death.

If he had known what world the upright walker had stolen Will from he would've transported the human back in a heartbeat. But as it was, he suspected Will would barely be able to survive one jump, let alone the likely multiple it would take to find his homeworld. 

So for now, Will was stuck here, dying an agonizingly slow death, while he watched on, helpless to stop it. 

He tried to ply the boy with food, mashing up fish and other small creatures he managed to catch in the woods outside before forcing it down the small boy's throat, holding his mouth closed when Will inevitably tried to vomit it up. He even scrounged up some blankets from the surrounding houses piling them on top of the sick boy in ever increasing amounts, but it seemed no matter how many blankets he tossed over Will, or how much food he pushed into the brunet's stomach, it never seemed like enough. 

Because Will kept growing sicker, and weaker, his skin growing gray and pallid, his body constantly plagued with quaking shivers, his hair dirty and damp with sweat. 

Will wasn't made for this place. His body couldn't handle the strain of his world. 

And after days and days of running himself ragged trying to nurse the human back to health, he realized that Will could never survive in his world as a human. 

So, after days of deliberating, after trying every possible solution he could think of to save Will, he realized he only had one possible option left. 

He would have to turn Will into a monster.

“Will. Will!” He shook the small boy awake, a harsh jolt of concern lodging in his chest as Will blinked awake hazily, taking several brutally long seconds to realize where he was, his clouded gaze clearing somewhat when their eyes met. 

“Will. I'm sure you already know, but you're dying. Your body isn't made to survive here. But I think I know a way to save you.”

Will nodded slowly, sweat beading on his brow from just the small effort, “Yeah, I don't think I have much time left. Even breathing is hard. But I'm all ears, what's the plan.” 

The phlegm-y, wheezing sound of Will's breathing only heightened his sense of urgency, because if Will declined his idea, the human wasn't wrong about the fact that he wouldn't be long for this world. 

“There's a place, not too far from here, where all the power comes from. It fuels this place, allows me to shapeshift, gives the plants energy to grow, even without light, all sorts of stuff like that. But I think it can help you. Turn you into something more like me.”

“Something like you?” Surprisingly, Will’s vision was uncharacteristically clear as he blinked up at Mike, the small brunet managing to prop himself up on his arms so he was sitting up, although it looked like it took a significant amount of effort on his part, his stick thin arms quaking noticeably. 

“I’m not entirely sure how it would work, since I've never seen it done before, but I think it's probably your best shot.” 

“B-but I've got people. They're coming for me. My mom-”

A surge of protective, self-righteous anger blew through him, at the idea that Will was potentially willing to die to wait for people that didn't even seem to care that Will was gone, when it was him who stuck by Will's side for the past week, it was him feeding Will, him watching a protecting the other boy while he could do nothing but lay there, helpless. Without him, Will would've died that first day, eaten by the first predator he came across. So why did Will want to throw away all his hard work now? 

“It's been a week, Will. If they were coming, they would've already been here by now! You can't just let yourself die waiting for someone else to rescue you. I can't- I don't-” 

Unexpectedly, his throat became tight, his eyes burning with an unknown pressure he had never experienced before. It was only when Will reached over, his frail hand coming up to touch his cheek, his fingers coming away damp, that he realized he was crying. 

“I don't want you to die. Please. I don't think I could bear it if you did.” He sobbed, his face crumbling as he dropped his gaze to the ground, unable to stand looking at Will. Not wanting to see the look on the other boy's face. But after what felt like centuries of tense silence, Will's fingers found their way back to his face, tugging at his chin until their eyes met. 

And it was impossible for him to look away. 

Because even sick and tired and dying, his skin an unhealthy shade of gray and his hair matted to his forehead, Will was utterly breathtaking. And he knew he would do anything to protect him. 

Will's expression was surprised, his eyes wide as he searched his face, the boy's amber and green eyes looking unspeakably sad even as his mouth hardened into a resolute line. 

“Do you think I'll be able to go back? If I turn into something like you?” 

He wanted to lie, he wanted to tell Will what the boy so obviously wanted to hear, knowing that his answer could ultimately be the thing that decided his friend's fate, but in the end, something stopped him. Maybe it was the earnest expression on Will's face, or the way Will's clammy palm burned against his cheek, but ultimately, when he spoke, nothing but the truth spilled from his lips. 

“I-I don't know.” 

Will didn't look surprised, but he saw fear in the tense set of the boy's lips, “But if we don't do this, I'll die for sure, right?” 

Slowly, he nodded, his expression grim. “You might be able to make it another day or two if you don't. But who knows how long it'll take before someone comes to find you. That's if they can manage to make it here in the first place.” 

For the first time in days, he saw a determined gleam in the small human's eyes, the grime and dirt and sickness falling away for a brief moment underneath the weight of Will's resolve. 

“Okay, then. I'll do it.” 

Dragging Will's limp body all the way to the Source was more difficult than he had initially expected. Shortly after Will had agreed to his slapped together plan The brunet had taken a sudden turn for the worse, slipping into some sort of strange hallucination, mumbling quietly under his breath and staring off into the distance at nothing, his feeble hands reaching out for someone who wasn't there.

So of course while he was in the middle of trying to rouse Will from his feverish hallucinations, nearly all his attention focused on making sure Will didn't choke on his tongue while he writhed and thrashed on the ground with a strength at odds to his emaciated limbs, an upright walker decided to strike. 

Apparently, his presence as an apex predator was no longer enough to deter the other predators, Will’s sickly scent serving as a beacon for the creatures of this realm, the human likely far too tempting a meal that the other creatures were willing to risk a fight with him in order to get a taste of the human in his care. 

Luckily, even when the large creature crashed unexpectedly through the flimsy wall, wood crumbling like paper beneath the upright walker’s strong limbs, he managed to quickly shift into his faster four-legged form, ignoring the painful snapping of his bones from his far too rapid shift. He scooped Will’s limp body onto his back and sprinted off deeper into the forest before the larger creature could even manage to extract itself from the rubble of Will’s hideaway, a faint pinprick of guilt stirring in his gut as he ran away, unable to protect the one place Will had felt comfort in the hellscape of his home. But he felt slightly soothed knowing that at least Will was still safe. 

Will was hardly breathing, his breath coming out in pained gasps when he finally reached the Source. 

Gently, he laid the the small boy on the ground in front of the throbbing source of power, his skin prickling at the sheer amount of energy in this place and spared a glance at the waif-like boy who looked so tiny and pale in comparison. 

There was no going back. 

He shifted back to his human form, needing the extra dexterity of fingers to delicately feed a long tentacle-like vine down Will's throat. 

For a moment Will choked on the large mass in this throat, his fingers coming up to scrabble blindly at his mouth, trying to tear the vine from his throat, but then the vine took hold, slithering deeper down his esophagus and the human finally went still. 

If it wasn't for the faint, rhythmic rise and fall of the boy's chest, he would've thought Will was dead. 

Carefully, he let his fingers trail across Will's sallow cheeks, and he tried to tell himself that he could already see color returning to Will's deathly pale skin. But really only time would tell if this would actually work. 

So instead, all he could do was wait.

And so he waited. 

He stood guard over Will's prone form for what could've been days or only hours, he watched as the vines slowly grew to encase Will's body, until he was nearly indistinguishable from the wall itself, just another part of the landscape. He kept telling himself that this would work. That this would be the thing that saved Will. That he hadn't just resigned his first ever friend to a fate worse than death.  

He refused to think about what would happen if he was wrong.   

For days on end he went without sleep, pacing in front of Will's protective cocoon sometimes on four legs, sometimes on two, sometimes with wings, and sometimes without, as a human, a four-legged beast and an upright walker, guarding him from curious creatures and fearsome predators alike. 

Patiently waiting for the moment that Will finally came back to him. 

On the third day of this, the humans came. Ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time in a wholly unnatural way. 

They wore massive white suits and carried guns not unlike the one Will first arrived with, and despite his inner desire to curl around Will's unconscious form and fight tooth and claw to keep him there, he knew, deep down, that Will wanted more than anything to return home. 

And he had known that if the humans would one day return for Will, his friend wouldn't spare a backwards glance. He would leave this terrible place behind without remorse, and to be honest, he really couldn't blame Will for that decision.

He had just wished he had gotten the chance to say goodbye. 

So despite the fact that it felt like his heart was breaking in two as he crouched behind a pillar in his smaller human form while the female human with long hair tugged Will down off the wall, ripping the tentacle brutally from the brunet's throat, he remained still. 

While the larger man pounded against Will's lifeless chest again and again and again and he was almost certain the force of it would shatter the fragile human's bones, he did nothing. 

When Will finally took a shuddering breath, before sitting up and throwing himself into the woman's arms with a loud sob, he forced himself to watch, drinking in the scene in front of him, determined to etch it into his memory. 

And when the larger man hefted Will up onto his shoulder, the smaller woman carrying both their guns as they trekked back through the forest to their portal, he followed, knowing that even as exhausted as he was from standing vigil over Will for the past several days, his presence would like ward off the majority of the creatures who would dare attack this haphazard team. 

He watched on silently as the trio easily stepped through the portal that felt wrong, wrong, wrong. And he tried not to feel like he was dying when Will didn't even bother to look back. 

And as the portal closed behind the humans, he realized that once again, he was totally, utterly, wholly alone. 

But it gave him a small comfort to know that at least Will was finally safe and back home with his people. 

And even if it meant he had to endure this heart crushing pain over and over again, he wouldn't change a thing if it meant that Will was going to be okay. 

And now, years later, Mike was back in the exact same place, Will once again by his side. 

They were both older, wiser and more world-worn than they were the first time they were here in this place together. 

But as he looked down at the sleeping human's head pillowed in Mike's lap, he couldn't resist the urge to card his fingers through the silky brown locks, quietly singing a song that was as familiar to him as breathing, the very same song that brought them together in the first place. 

"Darling you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go"

Will seemed to lean instinctively into Mike's touch, his cheek pressing into the palm of the siren's hand, warm and pink and alive . And Mike planned to keep it that way.  

"If you say that you are mine

I'll be here till the end of time"

Because he would do anything to keep Will, his human, his love, his mate, safe. Even if it destroyed him in the process. 

“This time I promise I'll protect you.”

Chapter Text

“Will. Will, it’s time to get up.” A voice murmured in his ear, unfortunately dragging him back into the absolute nightmare of reality that greeted him upon waking.

“Five more minutes.” He groaned, throwing an arm up over his eyes to block the trace amount of light before nestling back into the soft skin of Mike’s stomach. Despite the fact that he had probably gotten close to a full night’s rest, Will still felt an aching bone-deep tiredness dragging at his frame that would probably never go away no matter how long he slept, and instinctively, he knew the exact reason why. Because he had felt it before, the last time he was here, fifteen years ago. His all-encompassing weariness was just the first sign of the Upside Down’s toxic atmosphere taking its toll on his body and leeching his strength.

“Will, we really need to go. There’s something nearby.” Mike hissed, his voice taking on a sharp tone that instantly had Will bolting upright, his eyes wide and searching, halfway expecting a demogorgon to burst through the thin walls of Castle Byers at any moment, but instead was met with nothing but peaceful silence. Or as peacefully silent as it could be when in an alternate dimension hellscape.

“I don’t hear anything?”

Mike sighed, aggrieved, as he quickly hustled Will to his feet, the brunet still busy blinking sleep out of his eyes as the siren’s head snapped up with surprising speed, his eyes narrowing as he stared off into some point in the distance.

“Obviously your dumb human hearing is nowhere near as good as mine right now, so if you could just trust me that there is a massive pack of… what do you call them again, demodogs?” Mike’s face contorted into disgust for a moment, as if the word tasted vile in his mouth before continuing, “The demodogs are heading right this way. And it seems like even my presence isn’t enough to scare them off. So, we need to get somewhere more protected than this or we’re going to have much bigger problems than you not getting enough beauty sleep.”

Will almost wanted to snap back at the other boy, surprised by the snark in merman’s tone, but as he noticed the tense set of Mike’s mouth and the stiffness of his movements, he realized that in reality the only reason Mike was being so snippy was because he was nervous. Which was immediately enough to put Will on edge.

Because this was Mike. The ultimate apex predator of this nightmare realm. And if he was scared, then things were probably much worse than the merman was letting on. So, Will elected to ignore Mike’s waspishness as he quickly tossed his meager backpack of supplies over his shoulder, which was really just an old, half moldy sketchpad, a couple bottles of slightly suspicious bottled water, a few cans of unidentifiable food and a rusty Bowie knife, but it was better than nothing.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Anxiety thrummed restlessly under his skin as Mike poked his head out from behind the hole-filled sheet that blocked the entrance to Castle Byers and scanned their surroundings. Even though Castle Byers was just a flimsy structure of random wooden boards nailed together haphazardly and would likely be as useful as a tissue if they happened to be attacked, Will couldn’t help but feel oddly exposed as he stepped out of the rickety structure and into the unknown environment beyond.

Of course, within two steps Will managed to step on a moldering twig that snapped loudly under the heel of his sneaker with a sound like a gunshot. Which had the immediate consequence of Mike whirling on him with a sharp glare, his eyes flashing a dangerous red for a moment before fading back to a dull, unnoteworthy brown, which Will hadn’t even realized was possible for the merman in this form.

“You need to be quiet. Otherwise, they’ll hear you.” Mike snapped quietly, his thin-fingered hand wrapped tightly around his wrist with more strength than expected as he dragged him forward through the ominous woods.

“What will hear me?” Will couldn’t help but whisper, his eyes snapping up towards the eerily bare treetops, unable to shake the distinct feeling of being watched, despite the fact that he saw no trace of any animals in the woods.

Mike didn’t even bother turning around as he spoke, and Will could tell by the tight set of his shoulders that the merman was distinctly stressed by their current scenario, which did little to calm Will’s ever-increasing paranoia. “Everything. When you’re here, just assume that everything has ears.”

Feeling distinctly chilled by Mike’s words, Will lapsed into silence, redirecting all his focus into not tripping over his feet in the gloomy half-light of the Upside Down as they traversed through the woods as quickly and as silently as possible, a feat made slightly more difficult given the fact that Mike refused to release his arm, even as Will struggled to keep up with the fast-paced siren, constantly tripping over tree roots and twitching vines that littered the forest floor. Because somehow, the merman, who didn’t even have legs in his natural form, was miles more adept at easily traversing the treacherous landscape than Will could ever be.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of jogging and sneaking and backtracking through the unsettling forest, which Will swore was somehow bigger than its real-world counterpart, Will’s adrenaline started to wear off and his paltry stamina combined with the bone-deep fatigue that had been gnawing at him since he woke up finally caught up to him, his legs giving out beneath him at the exact moment he was trying to avoid a large rock in the center of the path, which of course, given his luck, he managed to trip right over.

Luckily, Mike, who was still latched onto Will’s arm like a barnacle, managed to react quick enough to prevent Will and himself from collapsing to the ground in an uncoordinated pile of limbs, but the quick stop was enough to send a sharp jolt of pain through Will’s shoulder, causing him to hiss with discomfort even as Mike released his tight hold on him, Will all but slumping over onto the ground in his exhaustion.

“I need- to- take- a break.” Will panted, his chest heaving as he fought to regain control of his racing heart and unsteady breathing.

When Mike turned to face him, his face was drawn into a deep-set frown, but one look at his pitiful state gasping and panting on the forest floor, had his brows immediately drawing up with concern as he settled down beside him, his hand, mercifully claw-free, coming up around Will’s shoulders in order to coax him into leaning back against a nearby tree that was only somewhat covered in slime and some other unknowable substances.

“Are you feeling sick?” Mike asked, his hands fluttering nervously across Will’s hair and forehead and cheeks, and Will wasn’t sure if the siren was attempting to calm him or trying to gauge his temperature.

“I feel fine, Mike. I’m just tired, that’s all.” Will waved Mike’s wandering hands away and hoped he looked less shitty than he felt.

Mike blinked at him for a few moments, obviously not convinced, before he eventually acquiesced and leaned away, his attention once again drawn towards the ambient noises of the woods that Will’s inferior hearing was not attuned to.

“Are you hungry? I should be able to find you something to eat, and all the other predators are far enough away that they shouldn’t be able to get anywhere close without me noticing.”

While Will was still getting used to Mike being able to talk, his voice both wholly unfamiliar yet oddly comforting all the same, Will let the soothing sound of Mike’s raspy, somewhat high-pitched tone lull him into a sense of complacency as Will’s brain slowly began turning into mush, his exhaustion beginning to get the better of him as he slumped back against Mike’s side as Mike still continued to talk, words spilling from his lips seemingly unending, and distantly, Will realized that Mike was rambling.

Mike, whose entire grasp of the English language was due to him quite literally rewiring his brain to be more like Will’s, and who likely subconsciously picked up on Will’s own patterns of speech, so, if Will’s half-awake brain was correct, Mike’s strange oddly jittery rambling was because Mike was worried.

Worried about him.

Guilt burned deep in Will’s stomach as he tried not to think about the fact that if everything went according to his plan, in just a few short days’ time, Will would be returning back to his own dimension, alone.

Because abandoning Mike to a life here, in this nightmarish hellscape of a world, was better than an eternity trapped in a cage.

But Mike had no idea about the swirling thoughts weighing down on Will just as heavily as the toxic atmosphere of the Upside Down, the siren only saw the brunet’s tired, waxen complexion, the sweat plastering his dusty hair to his forehead, and the slight quivering of his limbs that betrayed just how bone-tired he really was.

He saw all of Will.

But at the same time, he also saw none of him.

Will had nearly allowed himself to drift off into unconsciousness when a cold hand pressed up against his forehead, startling him back into wakefulness just in time to see Mike’s face just a handsbreadth away from his own, the merman’s eyes flaring momentarily a vibrant, searing red before they faded back into their typical brown.

“You’re sick.” Mike’s mouth was a tight line, tension wrought in every line of his body.

Will waved away his concern feebly, “It’s just the air. I’m not compatible with it. Don’t you know, everything in the Upside Down was made to kill things like me, even your air.”

Mike’s frown only deepened at Will’s words, “It’s happening faster this time than before.”

Mike’s face was now swimming in front of him, growing fuzzy around the edges despite how hard Will tried to focus. He wanted to bring his hands up to smooth away the creases in the merman’s brow, but for some reason he couldn’t seem to move his arms, a strange numbness overtaking his limbs.

“Ah, is it?” Will thinks he said, but he was beginning to have trouble hearing over the sound of static ringing in his ears, which was odd, since there was no TVs or radios in the Upside Down to possibly make such a noise.

In front of him, Mike’s eyes blew wide with alarm, but Will didn’t get the chance to decern the reason why because in between one slow blink and the next the entire world was pitching sideways, and the instant right before Will’s head hit the ground, everything faded into an all-encompassing black.

When he eventually awoke, he was cold. A cold that seemed to stretch all the way down to his core, leeching away any heat that ever could have possibly existed there. But despite the all-encompassing chill, Will felt oddly refreshed, the soul-crushing heaviness that had been sitting like a stone on Will’s chest ever since he had first awoken in the Upside Down somehow entirely absent.

He almost would’ve thought that he had somehow miraculously returned to the real world if not for the fact that when he opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at a ceiling with far too many holes to be up to code with uncannily familiar vines crisscrossing across the pockmarked surface.

As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he thought he spotted a set of far too many glowing eyes peering down at him from one particularly dark corner. And while Will wasn’t an animal expert by any stretch of the imagination, he figured that normal mice don’t usually come with six eyes and a mouth that looked much too disproportionately large for its small size.

Demomouse. His sleep-addled brain supplied unhelpfully, and Will mentally cursed his much younger friends for coming up with such ridiculous names for the terrifying creatures of the Upside Down that he, and the scientific community at large, were now unfortunately stuck with.  

Hesitantly, Will sat up, still trying to figure out where exactly he was, and how exactly he ended up there.

His movement caused something to shift behind him, and reflexively Will found himself turning towards the sound, only to immediately stiffen in alarm, a bloodcurdling shriek poised on the edge of his tongue and only muffled by his own jerk reflex to stuff his fist in his mouth to block out the sound.

Because there, curled up against Will’s side like some kind of demonic guard dog, lay the biggest demodog Will ever had the misfortune of seeing.

Unfortunately, despite his haste to clap a hand over his mouth, a small cutoff noise still managed to escape from behind his palm, and the large creature began to slowly stir at the noise.

As he watched the creature shake itself back into wakefulness, Will found himself torn between running for his life on the off chance he could get far enough away before the creature fully woke up, and remaining completely and utterly still in the hope that the demodog wouldn’t notice him. Although taking survival advice from Jurassic Park probably wasn’t the best potential course of action, but it wasn’t like Will had any other bright ideas.

Split by his indecision, Will was still sitting frozen on the floor by the time the demodog had full awoken, the large creature turning its massive death-flower of a face in Will’s direction with a pinpoint level of accuracy that let Will know that Jurassic Park was an absolute load of shit, as he quickly scrambled up from the ground in horror, backing away slowly with his hands raised, like his bare fists could somehow fend off a monster who he had seen disembowel prey nearly twice his size.

To his surprise though, the demodog didn’t attack, instead it sat back on its haunches, an awkward looking movement that looked strange on the creature’s hairless, muscular form and appraised Will with a curious tilt to its large eyeless head.

Will, his heart still at risk of beating straight out of his chest, didn’t even question the oddness of the creature’s behavior, not one to look a gift demodog in the mouth when the creature was for some reason, not trying to eat his face off, and bolted.

The instant he took off, the demodog let out a squeaky high-pitched yip before it too joined in on the chase.

Luckily, whatever strange building he had found himself in had plenty of obstacles which lent itself to maneuverability over speed, so he leapt over tables, knocking over chairs in his wake to hopefully slow the predator rapidly closing in, and wound his way through a sea of bookshelves? Fortunately, the demodog seemed to have been built more towards chasing down prey in large open areas, as evidenced by the way the creature ungracefully slid past or banged into the large shelves that Will easily slipped between, showering the floor with rotting, moldy books and scattering plumes of dust in the air, that made Will’s already ragged breathing even more difficult.

Will knew, intrinsically, that there was absolutely no way he would be able to outrun the creature panting at his heels, and that he was only further delaying his inevitable demise, but the animalistic part of his brain whose only instinct was to survive had taken over his more rational senses.

Because Will didn’t want to die.

He couldn’t die.

Because if he died, what would happen to Mike?

Somewhere in the back of his brain, some wriggling thought tickled at the back of his consciousness, because really where was Mike? But before he could dwell on it too long, Will was turning around a corner, glancing behind him to check to see how close the demodog was on his tail, and was surprised to see that the creature was nowhere in sight, that was until, in his distraction, he ran chest first into the large predator and tumbled to the ground in a disjointed, terrified heap and Will knew it was all over.

He was a goner.

Soon to be demodog lunch.

He was unable to help the unintentional shudder that wracked his body as the creature’s dangerous flower-like mouth pulled apart at the seams so that Will could see the gleam of hundreds of dangerously sharp teeth glinting in the low light.

He knew in mere moments that same mouth would be clamping down on his chest, or his head, or his neck, gnawing at the flesh there until he was nothing more than torn bits of fabric and a bloody pile of bones left in its wake.

He wondered absently, in the seconds before his demise, if El would be able to sense the moment his life was snuffed out, he wondered what would happen to his friends, to Lucas and Dustin, Max and Erica, Robin and Nancy and Eddie, if they would mourn him. But mostly he thought about Mike.

Mike, with his otherworldly beauty, breathtaking and glowing a diffuse blue, his eyes a sparking vermillion that Will never could quite match with paints or pencils, no matter how hard he tried. He hoped that Mike was safe, wherever he was, happy and free, no longer confined to the stifling glass walls of his tank at the lab.

He hoped the merman wouldn’t be too upset by his untimely death.

As the demodog closed in, Will squeezed his eyes shut tight, wanting to remember Mike, beautiful, ethereal, awe-inspiring Mike, and not the hideous creature bearing down on him maw parted wide, in his final moments.

But no final moment came.

Will had been expecting the feeling of teeth ripping into his throat, claws tearing at his chest, blood and flesh and pained screams with his last breath, but to his surprise, he was met only with silence.

After what felt like an eternity, Will, scared and tense, finally managed to crack open his eyes, fully expecting that the instant he did so the beast in front of him would finally lunge. But instead, he found the large demodog just staring.

If you could even call it staring when the creature in question had no eyes.

But for lack of a better word, it really did seem like the demodog was just looking at him for some reason. Once again, the large creature had cocked its head to the side, like a demonic overgrown puppy, seemingly content to just watch Will instead of eating him.

Will found himself unable to look away, not even daring to blink, worried that the second he let his guard down whatever strange spell had taken over the demodog would be broken and he would be dead before he could even get the chance to scream.

So, he just lay on the grimy floor, staring up at the demodog like his entire life depended on it.

And the demodog just stared placidly back.

Eventually after what felt like eons, but was likely only seconds, the demodog finally moved, padding closer on silent feet until it was hovering over Will’s prone body. If he hadn’t just spent the past several minutes fearing for his very life, Will thinks he would’ve been more scared. But instead, now he was just tired, the adrenaline and anxiety thrumming through his veins fading away and leaving nothing but exhaustion in its wake.

He watched warily, no longer afraid, just resigned to his fate as the demodog drew closer and closer and closer, easily well within striking distance, but still making no moves to finish Will off. At this point he had mostly given up on trying to understand the mind-boggling creature, that was until the large beast pressed its head against Will’s sternum gently, a quiet snuffling noise coming from the creature’s throat.

Will blinked, looking down at the massive flower petal head nudging against his rib cage, almost like it was nuzzling him.

And suddenly, everything clicked.

Waking up with the demodog nestled against his side.

The creature’s oddly non-aggressive behavior.

And last but not least, the affectionate headbutt.

There was only one possible explanation, and Will felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Some scientist he was.

“Mike?” Will whispered, his eyes fixed on the large creature all but sitting in his lap, the one who looked absolutely nothing like the merman he knew and loved.

The demodog paused, pulling away far enough to presumably look at Will, it was hard to tell with the whole no eyes thing, before slowly, resolutely, nodding.

The tension Will hadn’t realized he had been holding in his frame released all at once and he slumped over, his arms coming up instinctively to wrap around the thick, muscular frame of the demodog – Mike – sitting in front of him.

“Oh, thank fuck!” Will breathed, pushing his face into the pale, slightly slimy flesh of Mike’s throat and tried not to wince at the way he could feel each and every minute shift of muscle under demodog’s thick, tacky skin.

Underneath him, the demodog let out a strange sound, almost like a pained yelp, and Will drew back instinctively, eying Mike with concern. “Mike, is everything oka-”

Before he could even finish speaking, Mike’s form began to twitch violently, quaking almost like he was having a seizure.

“Mike, Mike, what’s wrong?!” Will cried, his hands coming up to clutch at Mike’s petal shaped face, his hands running down the demodog’s muscular shoulders, wholly unsure what he was supposed to be doing in this situation and feeling woefully unprepared when Mike’s rippling skin abruptly split open, peeling apart at the seams with a disgusting squelch.

Will almost screamed, fully convinced that Mike was somehow dying until he heard the unmistakable sound of dozens of bones breaking and he watched in horror as Mike’s limbs contorted themselves into grotesque unnatural shapes before quickly snapping back into place with an uncomfortable click.

He quickly realized what was happening.

Mike was shifting.

He hadn’t thought much of how the merman was able to change forms, especially since the siren had always done it while Will was unconscious, or sleeping, or incapacitated in some way, but in all his limited imaginings, he had never expected it to be quite so, graphic. But considering that the Upside Down seemed to have been cosmically designed to be a place of nightmares, Will honestly shouldn’t have been all that surprised.

Despite the fact that he knew Mike was probably well used to shifting, considering that he probably did it all the time, Will couldn’t help but feel nauseous as he watched the demodog’s face slowly melt away, and Mike’s familiar humanoid features take its place, the merman’s expression pulled into a pained grimace as the transformation took him.

Will looked away. His stomach unsettled by the merman’s contorted expression and cracking bones, no longer able to stomach the gruesome sight.

Instead, he averted his attention towards the bookshelf beside him, squinting try to see if he could make out any of the titles in between the mildew and the dim light.

He only managed to make out the first few letters of the large volume in his eyeline, although given its size he’s almost positive it’s some kind of encyclopedia when a sharp gasp came from Mike’s direction.

A very human-like gasp.

Instinctively, Will turned towards the sound, only mildly surprised to see a completely buck-ass naked humanoid Mike shivering on the floor.

This time, he didn’t hesitate to drag Mike into his arms, uncaring of the other boy’s nakedness as he buried his face in the merman’s hair, one hand coming up to clasp around the back of his head as he inhaled deeply.

“You’re okay.” He breathed, curling his hands even tighter around the siren’s lithe form, reveling in the warmth and familiarity of Mike in this form.  

Mike let out a hoarse laugh, and Will distantly wondered if Mike was still in pain after his transformation, but before he could get the words out, Mike was speaking lowly in his ear, his warm breath ghosting across the shell of his ear as he spoke in a way that sent goosebumps erupting in its wake. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just easier to talk in this form.”

Will responded with a jittery sound of acknowledgement, far too aware of the currently unclothed Mike perched in his lap, miles and miles of his freckled skin on full display. He forced himself not to think about the temptation currently in front of him and tried to redirect himself back to the task at hand, which was a near Herculean effort.

“Why were you even in demodog form in the first place?” Will squeaked, once against burying his face in Mike’s hair so he wouldn’t have to look at the tantalizing sight in front of him.

“Ah,” Mike hummed, shifting slightly in Will’s lap, which was certainly not helping any matters on Will’s end, “Well, you fainted earlier, and you were too heavy to carry in my human form, so I shifted and just carried you on my back till we got here.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Will said with a nod before lapsing into silence yet again.

Slowly, so imperceptibly that Will almost didn’t notice it, every place on Will’s body that Mike’s bare skin touched grew cold, even though Will’s shirt and pants, which should’ve been the scientist’s first sign that something supernatural was occurring, but Will was too busy trying not to pop a boner like a horny teenager to pay much attention to the sensation at first.

It was only when the soreness in Will’s throat began to ease, and the headache that had been pounding at his temples for who knows how long lessened its tight hold on his cranium that Will started to suspect what was happening.

Every place that Mike was pressed against him felt like it had been rubbed in cooling balm, oddly refreshing and leaving his skin tingling pleasantly in its wake, and honestly, it was only serving to work Will up further.

“Mike?” Will breathed, voice hoarse as he tried to keep his wanton want somewhat under control, “What are you doing?”

Mike, tilting his head back from where he had pressed it against Will’s collarbone, looked at him strangely, “I’m recharging you.”

Will’s brow furrowed, “Re-charging me?”

Mike nodded, one hand coming up to brush across the tip of Will’s nose playfully, a line of pins-and-needles following closely behind. “You get sick being here. Breathing in the air. Your body isn’t built for it. I figured it out after you passed out earlier, if I provide you with energy, it seems like the worst of the side effects from being here go away, at least for a little while.” Mike’s lips twitched into the beginnings of a frown, “Although I’m not totally sure how long it’ll work for.”

Will was desperately trying to pay attention to Mike’s words, some small part in the back of his brain telling him that what Mike was saying was vitally important, but the larger, much hornier part of his brain was too busy imagining flipping their positions and pressing Mike into the dirty dusty floor and rutting into him while the siren wrapped his long, freckled legs around his waist.

A sharp finger prodded at his cheek, startling Will from his wildly inappropriate thoughts with a jolt, “Huh?”

Mike blinked at him curiously, a smirk curling at the edge of his lips like he knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Do you maybe wanna go back to where I left all the supplies, so I can at least put some pants on.” Mike’s eyes went hooded as his gaze flicked down to Will’s lips, undisguised want obvious in his expression, “As much as I’d love to let you do whatever you’re currently thinking about. This really isn’t the place. It isn’t safe here. And I really can’t have you distracted right now.”

Rationally, Will knew that Mike was right, but that didn’t make willing away his boner any easier. Especially when Mike pressed a firm kiss to Will’s lips before abruptly levering himself off Will’s lap, turning around to trot back towards wherever the siren had made their camp, and giving Will an absolute eyeful of the siren’s perk ass, pale and freckled and absolutely perfect, and Will was unable to help the pained groan he let out in response.

And the way Mike looked over his shoulder at the sound, a wicked grin on his face, Will knew that the shifter was absolutely torturing him on purpose.

After Will managed to force down his ill-timed horniness and follow Mike back to the makeshift camp the siren had setup in what Will thought was one of the many study rooms of the Upside Down version of Hawkins Library, the already dim sky had started to darken.

“Mike, is it nighttime already?” Will

Mike looked up from where he was currently zipping up a pair of raggedy cargo shorts, much to Will’s simultaneous relief and disappointment. “Yeah, you were passed out for most of the day. You should probably stay next to me as much as possible so something like that doesn’t happen again.”

Will’s stomach turned to ice at Mike’s words. According to their plan, El was expected to pull Will out of the Upside Down on the third day, regardless of whether or not he was successful in finding a way to permanently terminate Mike’s ability to teleport between dimensions.

Meaning, Will now had less than 24 hours to accomplish his task, or all of their work will likely have been for nothing.

Mike, seemingly ignorant to Will’s current mental crisis, was rifling through Will’s backpack, pulling out the two cans of food with labels so faded it was impossible to tell what the contents could possibly be with a puckered frown.

“Is this really what you humans eat?” Mike grumbled with annoyance as he used one nail that had somehow sharpened into a deadly point to quickly saw the top of the can off, sniffing suspiciously at the contents of the tin. “You know, I could shift and go catch us some fresh fish, or rats or even one of those demodogs if you’re really hungry. It would only take a couple of minutes, and it’s surely gotta be better than whatever this is.”

Will moved robotically over to Mike’s side, settling down beside the merman and snatching the can from the dark-haired shifter’s grip without a word, shoveling down the contents, which he thinks might have once been carrots, mechanically, unable to taste any of it. His brain still whirling to come up with a plan to cut off Mike’s teleporting ability at the source.

He remembered from conversations with El and Erica that the pair both theorized that there was a source of power in the Upside Down that all creatures from that realm drew power from.

“Hey Mike,” Will grunted, glancing over at the siren, who had shuffled a few feet off to the side and was currently crouched over something on the ground. At the sound of his name, Mike turned, quickly slurping up something that looked suspiciously like a rat tail hanging from between his lips before casually strolling back over to Will’s side and plopping down onto the dusty ground beside him, leaning heavily into Will’s side, a rush of refreshing coolness spreading from the place their skin touched.

“What’s up?”

“You know how you said you can recharge me like a battery?” Will prodded, looking forward so he didn’t have to look the siren in the eyes, already feeling the sting of his impending betrayal like a punch to the gut.

Mike nodded absently, licking his fingers clean of whatever weird demomouse juices he had gotten on them from his dinner earlier.

“Is there a place here where you get your power from? Like a giant battery for the Upside Down?” 

Mike nodded again, slower this time, his brow furrowed in confusion, “Yeah, there’s a place like that here. Why?”

Will felt like there was a boulder in his throat, threatening to choke him with every breath, and he had to force himself to speak around the pressure on his chest, reminding himself over and over and over that Will had to do this. This was for the best. He was doing this for Mike.

“Do you think you can take me there?”

Chapter Text

The Sorcerer

When Mike’s inhuman shriek called forth the creatures from the other side everything descended into chaos.

It was all technically part of their plan, for Mike to cause a distraction by summoning the monsters from the other side, allowing him and Will to successfully teleport into the Upside Down without being caught. But that didn’t mean that the plan wasn’t without its dangers, considering that the plan hinged almost entirely on letting a large number of murderous carnivores from another dimension wreak havoc on the unsuspecting lab personnel. Which were at best a complete wild card, and at worst, a murder sentence.

Despite all their guns, hazmat suits and training, nearly all of the military security team were felled in an instant, their protective gear about as effective as paper against the razor-sharp claws and fangs of the demodogs and demogorgons that flooded through the now open gate. Even the guns were next to useless in comparison to the hellish predators, since pumping the creatures full of lead seemed to do little to slow them down.

El watched the entire scene unfold from her vantage point near the gate. Surprisingly, the Upside Down creatures seemed to ignore her almost completely, barely even turning their heads her way before sprinting past, likely on the hunt for much easier prey than her.

She watched impassively as the few scientists present were ripped limb from limb, blood splattering the walls as demodogs crowded around the dead bodies, feasting on her coworkers until there was nothing left but bones and ragged bits of flesh covering the floor.

While she may have not been close to many of the people now lying dead or dying on the floor, El recognized nearly all of them. There was the blonde woman who always made a fresh pot of coffee in the break room, the squirrelly looking man with the glasses who drove one of junkiest cars she had ever seen, or the bored looking security guard with a scruffy beard who often searched her bag when she came into work.

She may not have known their names, but she knew she would carry their deaths with her for the rest of her life.

But she knew, ultimately, that their sacrifice was necessary. Necessary to close the gate, which only brought bad things, and to free Mike from his caged existence here.

Mike and Will had performed their part of the plan, the large merman easily felling his two guards before promptly latching onto Will’s throat and dragging them both through a portal of his own creation.

El too had a role to play. And it was a gruesome one. One that no one besides herself could’ve been able to handle.

Stepping down from the elevated platform she had tucked herself away on when the chaos had begun, El stepped casually around puddles of blood and gore, unable to help the way her eyes were drawn to the bodies littering the floor around her.

One military grunt had a large hole torn in his stomach, his hands pressed futilely against the wound, blood pouring out from in between his fingers as he groaned in obvious pain.

El spared him a single glance of pity before she proceeded to clinically snap his neck with a twitch of her chin, the man slumping back down to the floor in a lifeless heap.

Better to die by her hand now, than to spend the next several hours bleeding out slowly and painfully. It was a mercy, El told herself. Less suffering. Less pain.

Not that it made his death any easier to stomach.

Because whether or not she was the one to kill him. His death was still firmly on her hands.

That had been the plan from the beginning.

Will would take care of closing the gate from inside the Upside Down, something he was confident he could do, despite the severe lack of information they had about the place, while El was in charge of making sure that the gate stayed closed from this end.

And there was only one way to prevent the gate from ever being opened again.

A harsh scream jarred El from her thoughts, a young woman clawing at the ground while a pack of demodogs gnawed at her legs. In between the writhing pack of bodies swarming the woman’s lower half, she caught sight of torn flesh, ripped muscles and even bone.

Even if this woman survived, which was unlikely, El knew she would never be able to walk again.

With a quick twitch of her head, the woman’s body fell still, the only sign El had interfered seen in the subtle trail of blood leaking from the woman’s ears.

El kept walking, forcing her eyes ahead.

She had a task to complete.

None of the monsters swarming the room paid her any mind, and many of the smaller creatures, the demobats and dogs, almost seemed to go out of their way to avoid her as she strode across the large room, chittering and howling angrily, but making no move to approach.

Because even these creatures knew what the humans seemed incapable of understanding.

El, even amongst a throng of the most dangerous creatures known to man, was by far the one to fear the most.

The real monster was her.

As she climbed the steps up to the observation room, each footfall pounding like a drumbeat to her ears, El looked down to see the blood spatter staining the hem of her coat and was transported back to a situation remarkably similar to this, where a much younger bloodstained El had taken on the lab and won.

Now, she was older, with nearly fifteen years of experience under her belt. And she would not fail again this time either.

With a flick of her wrist, she tore off the industrial strength security door from its hinges, the extraneous display of strength causing a thin trickle of blood to begin leaking from her nose in earnest, but El didn’t bother to wipe the blood away.

She strode into the room, barely bothering to acknowledge the government officials cowering in the corner, her eyes instantly fixating on a familiar head of stark white hair.

“Hello Dr. Owens.” El smiled, a thin, bitter thing as she looked down at the older man who had backed himself up against the monitors.

Dr. Owens, the most powerful man in the lab, the person who held El’s life in the palm of his hand, and now, when El looked at him, he just looked so old, so weak.

“Jane, w-what are you doing?” Dr. Owens questioned, his eyes wide and bloodshot from behind his glasses.

El didn’t respond to the name. Because right now, she wasn’t Jane Hopper, adopted daughter of police chief Jim Hopper, no, right now she was Eleven, the monster the lab itself had created, and it was time for them to finally pay for their actions.

With barely a thought, El raised her hand, stretching her fingers forward towards the older scientist’s neck, and despite him being on the opposite end of the room his eyes bulged in surprise for a split second before he abruptly slumped to the floor, like a puppet with all its strings suddenly cut.

A voice called out from behind her, “Did you really have to do a Force Choke?”

El turned at the sound, catching sight of Erica stepping out from another corner of the room that El had previously ignored. The brunette couldn’t help the way her lips twitched at the other woman’s sardonic tone.

El shrugged, “Hey, it’s a good movie.”

Erica huffed out a short laugh, striding across the room to prod at Dr. Owens body crumpled on the floor with the toe of her heel, “He’s not dead, is he?”

“He’s just unconscious.” El replied, stepping around the other scientist to levitate Dr. Owens unconscious body from the floor.

Not that anyone else would know it, but it was actually significantly harder for El to incapacitate someone without killing them. When she had just been an experiment at the lab, they had only trained her how to spy and to kill, the higher ups not wanting an asset who left potential witnesses alive to tell the tale of what they had seen.

It was only after living with Hopper, her dad wanting her to learn how to defend herself in a way that didn’t involve snapping people’s necks, that El had discovered that she was capable a myriad of ways to take someone out that didn’t involve murder.

Applying just enough pressure to the Carotid artery caused people to pass out within seconds. Using a controlled amount of force to hit someone on the underside of their chin would leave them unconscious, or reeling, for minutes afterwards. Even a well-timed blow to the balls is enough to have any man down and out for the count.

While El’s powers will have always been designed for killing, she liked knowing that she had other options besides snapping a neck or exploding a brain from inside someone’s head.

“Max should be waiting outside.” Erica’s words pulled El from her thoughts, her gaze swinging back towards the other scientist who was checking her watch, El glanced down at her own wrist, which was sporting an identical device, “It looks like you have a little over seven minutes before the cameras come back on. You’d better hurry.”

El nodded, quirking an eyebrow at the other woman, “You have everything you need?”

Erica grinned, her teeth a pearlescent white against her dark skin, “Don’t you worry about me. Erica’s always prepared.”

And with that, the taller woman was bustling away towards a large bank of computers on the opposite wall, her attention briefly snagging on the scene taking place outside the observation window.

“Hey El, you mind taking care of the monsties before you go?” Erica asked, hooking her thumb towards the gruesome scene that painted the floor below.

El let out an aggrieved sigh, releasing her telekinetic hold on Dr. Owens, the older man dropping to the floor none to gently, but El couldn’t really bring it in herself to care as she stepped back onto the metal stairs leading down towards the gate room proper, taking a second to survey the scene in front of her.

The gate still pulsed ominously at the center of the room, demodogs and demobats and demogorgons still pouring from it in droves.

Nearly a dozen dead bodies littered the floor, miliary personnel and scientists alike all felled before the strength of the creatures from the Upside Down, and now, in death, nothing more than an easy meal for the hell-creatures swarming the floor.

El raised a hand, her powers humming and twitching beneath her skin, just waiting for the moment to be called forth.

And call it forth she did.

She demanded the creatures’ attention. She demanded their subservience. Because El was the strongest. She was the ultimate predator. The ultimate monster. None of them could defeat her. These deadly creatures capable of tearing humans limb from limb as easily as breathing were nothing compared to her.

A thick deluge of blood gushed from El’s nose. She barely even noticed.

And then, El screamed. Using every single ounce and scrap of her power to push. To push with everything she had, her limbs shaking and her blood pounding wildly in her ears.

And in the wake of her might, knowing they were completely outclassed, the monsters turned tail and fled back through the portal they had come through.

And with one last violent shove, El sealed shut the violently pulsing gate until nothing remained of the opening to another dimension besides a large, ominous crack in the stone wall.

El strode back into the observation room, wiping the blood from her lip and chin before lifting Dr. Owens up into the air like a sack of potatoes, the man’s arms and legs dangling awkwardly as she shot Erica a smug look before stepping towards the hidden entrance that led to Dr. Owens office.

“Was that good enough for you?”

Erica grinned back savagely, “That was perfect.”

The Artificer & The Bard

Suzie was pretty sure that her blood consisted of 90% energy drinks and convenience store snacks at this point. She had been practically glued her computer since she had come to Hawkins a little over a week ago, because apparently everyone else she worked with was borderline incompetent when it came to technology, so Suzie was constantly busy making sure that her fellow teammates didn’t accidentally do something catastrophically stupid.

It didn’t exactly help that Will seemed to see her as some sort of magical video erasing fairy that could just magic away any R-rated footage of him trying to get freaky with his fishy boyfriend, or whatever the two defined themselves as, she wasn’t entirely sure.

She also definitely did not fully delete the video when Will had asked her to. While she had corrupted the lab’s camera footage for the chunk of time that Will had been getting busy, she had also, at Dustin’s request, saved a copy of the footage to her own desktop, buried in a secure folder only accessible through multiple passwords and a cypher, mostly because Dustin figured it would be prime blackmail opportunity in the future, and Suzie was weak when it came to her Dusty-Bun.

“Do you really think this will work?” Eddie asked, jarring her from her exhaustion fueled haze, and Suzie dragged her bleary eyes away from the computer monitor just in time to see the dark-haired man somehow procure an entire mess of wires from one of the pockets on his ripped jeans to fiddle nervously with, which Suzie wasn’t entirely sure wasn’t an act of magic considering how tight the fabric looked.

“You’re the audio expert. Shouldn’t you be telling me that?” Suzie teased, turning her attention back to the grainy live feed of the lab she had hacked into on her desktop. She switched between the different cameras until she found what she was looking for, Erica, her expression indecipherable from the shoddy quality of the cameras, which Suzie wasn’t exactly surprised by, considering how easy it was for her to hack into what should’ve been a super secure government database. Honestly, for a governmental agency, they really did cut corners when it came to security.

She watched with bated breath as Erica fiddled with one of the computers in the observation room for a long moment before slipping something from her pocket and plugging it into one of the ports on the large machine. Almost instantly, her computer pinged, and Suzie was unable to hide her excited grin as the virus stored on Erica’s flash drive gave her an easy back door into the very depths of the Hawkins Lab’s mainframe.

“Eddie, we’re in!”

The lanky man who was perched awkwardly on the Byers dining table stood up with a wicked grin, the wires he had been messing with tumbling to the floor, all but forgotten as he reached for the microphone attached by a cord to Suzie’s computer.

“Does that mean it’s my turn now?”  

Suzie, finding herself buoyed along by the other man’s frenetic energy, found herself smiling giddily in response, typing in a quick command into her console before waving theatrically to the audio technician sitting beside her.

“It’s all you maestro.”

While nearly all of her ragtag team of misfits Will had managed to cobble together for his plan could barely tell the difference between a pager and cell phone, despite the numerous college degrees, certifications and Ph.D.’s between them, Eddie had proven himself surprisingly competent in the field of technology, something Suzie had never expected upon first meeting the wild-haired, tattooed metalhead that had strolled into the Byers living room, but he had quickly dismantled that notion after taking one look at her hodge-podge computer setup that had taken over poor Mrs. Byers’ kitchen and without even asking began frantically unplugging and replugging in equipment at random.

“Ah, sorry, I should’ve asked before I started messing with your shit, I just figured you’d get a better connection this way. Check your ping.”

Suzie reflexively did just that, and her mouth dropped open in surprise to see that her internet connection here in middle-of-nowhere Indiana was nearly as good as her connection back at their house in the city, that she paid premium money for. “How did you do that? That’s amazing!”

Surprisingly, Eddie blushed, rubbing the back of his head and looking embarrassed, “Oh, I’m just really good with hardware. It was nothing.”

Suzie dragged her gaze away from her computer screen, to turn her entire attention on the tall, scruffy look man in front of her with a frown.

“That absolutely was not nothing. I’ve been working with computers for almost 20 years and I’ve never been able to do something like that. You’re on my team.”

Eddie gaped, his eyes going round as quarters, “Wa- what? You want me? Like me, Eddie Munson, on your team?” His hands fluttered around his head in an incomprensible pattern as his mouth gaped open like a fish.

Suzie just blinked, her expression unchanging, “You’re the only one who even knows what the difference between an ethernet cord and a power cable are. Unless you’ve got some secret telekinesis powers, I’m pretty sure joining my little geek squad is probably the best place for you.”

“Man, over ten years out of high school, and some of the biggest nerds I know are still calling me a geek.” Eddie scoffed, the edges of his lips twitching with amusement as he brushed some of his wild curls back from his face, glancing over at Suzie with a wild smirk, “Are you sure you can handle me? You look a little straight-laced to be willingly teaming up with Hawkins' resident devil worshipper.”

Suzie scoffed, her face finally breaking into a grin nearly as manic as Eddie’s, “I’ve been married to Dustin for almost eight years. I promise, whatever you can throw at me, I can handle it.”

The harsh guffaw of Eddie’s laughter shook the lanky man’s frame, the taller man nearly bending in half under the weight of his own amusement before he suddenly straightened, pushing his long black hair out from his face before extending one long-fingered hand, dark tattoos curling across the back, rings adorning every finger, for Suzie to shake.

“Well then Mrs. Suzie Henderson, I get the feeling we’ll make an excellent team.”

Suzie reached forward and grasped the proffered hand with zero hesitation, a soft smile blooming across her cheeks, “Indeed I think we will, Sir Munson.”

Back in the present, Eddie tapped once, then twice on the microphone, looking strangely pensive as he spared a brief glance towards Suzie, who was still typing away feverishly on her computer, before he finally spoke, covering the mic with his hand so it wouldn’t pick up the feedback.

“Are you sure I can’t ham it up a little bit?” Eddie whined, shooting his designated partner in crime his best puppy-dog look.

Suzie didn’t even turn around to look at him, just waving away in his direction absently, “Do it like we planned it. We don’t need someone deciding to stick around because you decided to be funny and do an accent or something.”  

Eddie smiled, half feral, not even cowed by Suzie’s dismissal “Okay, working stiff it is, you got it boss!”

He turned back to the mic, feeling a thrum of anticipation as he raised it to his lips, knowing that for him, there was no going back from this point. The past week he had spent patching into all the speaker systems in the laboratory had all been for this one moment right here. Granted Eddie’s personal part in it was pretty anticlimactic, and no one would be praising his name from the rooftops once they were done, hell if everything went to plan, no one would even know that Eddie was even involved in the first place.

But that didn’t make his contribution any less important.

“Attention all Hawkins National Laboratory Employees, we have had a containment breach with a classified specimen, we would like all staff to exit the building in a calm and orderly fashion and move to your assigned muster stations until the issue has been handled, I repeat, all Hawkins National Laboratory Employees we have-”

And then the alarms started.

And Eddie grinned, wild and unhinged, because chaos had finally been unleashed, and he was its conductor.

The Monk

When Max had initially signed on to work at the Hawkins National Laboratory, she never would’ve expected that just a brief few months into her tenure that she would actively be taking part in a plot to permanently take down the organization she worked for with a bunch of people she had only known for a couple of months.

She also hadn’t expected to have what was essentially a live bomb strapped into the backseat of her car as she idled in the Hawkins Lab parking lot, strumming her fingers against the hand controls of her rental car anxiously as she waited for El to arrive and relieve her of her dangerous cargo.

All around her various scientists and office workers were fleeing through the front glass doors of the building like their asses were on fire while alarms blared loudly in the background. Thankfully, given the sheer number of people currently sprinting past her car like their lives depended on it, no one was paying her any mind, the lab workers too busy fleeing for their lives to even notice her entirely out of place car loitering in the fire lane in front of the building.

Despite the very tense situation they were currently in, Max couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, all that education, some of the smartest minds in the entire country, and they were all pushing and shoving and sprinting like a bunch of scared little kids.

A sharp rap against her passenger window startled Max from her laughter, her attention turning towards El’s familiar face smirking at her through the glass. She casually rolled down the window, one eyebrow raised, hoping she was being more casual than she currently felt, considering her heart was currently halfway to pounding right out of her chest.  

“Well, you certainly took your time.” She snarked at the brunette, her lips twitching up almost in reflex as El grinned back at her.

“If you’re up for it, I have a trade for you.”

Max scoffed, “I’d much rather be in the car with a passed out old man than have a bomb in my backseat.”

El rolled her eyes, “You know it’s not going to do anything, I’m the only one who can even activate it.”

“Considering that it’s a prototype you guys built in Will’s living room that’s technically never even been tested before, forgive me if I don’t exactly take your word for it.” Max snapped, but an undercurrent of worry bled into her tone despite her best efforts.

El sighed, long and loud before walking around to the back door and unceremoniously yanked it open, using her telekinetic abilities to easily pull the large cube shaped device from off the seat like it was nothing. And for the brunette, it probably was.

“There, is that better?”

“Much!” Max replied chirpily.

El glanced down at her watch and made a face, “Dang, this took a lot longer than I thought. Here you take Dr. Owens-” El proceeded to levitate the man in question into her backseat, banging his head on the doorframe a grand total of twice, which Max didn’t think was at all accidental before she finally settled his limp ragdoll body against the seat cushions of her rental, at least being kind enough to strap the seatbelt around his torso before slamming the door shut. 

“Kali is expecting you in just a couple of hours. My sister’s not very nice to outsiders so it would probably be best if you’re not late.” El’s wan smile looked more like a grimace as she stepped away from the vehicle. “Thank you again for doing this Max. I know you haven’t known me for very long, but the fact that you’re doing this really does means a lot.”

Max’s expression softened, “Doesn’t matter if I’ve known you for a week or known you for years. What they’re doing in there is wrong and it needs to be stopped.”

When El glanced back at her, Max saw that her smile was genuine, and it suddenly looked like the weight of the world had been lifted from El’s thin shoulders. She looked surprisingly pretty like that, even with blood spattered on her lab coat and the deep circles under her eyes that could even rival Will’s, but when El smiled, and she meant really smiled, it was like her entire body lit up from the inside out, and the sight left Max nearly breathless.

“I-uh-I, yeah, I can do that. You can count on me!” Max managed to stammer out, and briefly considered banging her head against the steering wheel in an attempt to forget just how stupid she had just sounded.

El’s smile didn’t diminish, if anything its wattage only increased as she waved back at Max through the car window and turned to head back into the lab, her body fighting against the stream of people still flooding through the doors, the large bomb-cube casually floating over her head as she retreated, and Max knew she couldn’t possibly let her down.

Heedless of the dozens of people still blocking the street, Max floored it.

She had to get to Chicago as fast as possible.

She had a scientist’s memory to erase.

Meeting Kali was a bit of a surreal experience. When Max had pulled up to the location of the seemingly abandoned warehouse El had given her directions to, she had expected to be meeting with someone who looked a lot like El, tanned with a wavy mass of brown curls, but instead she was met with a 5 foot nothing emo Indian girl with scarily thick eyeliner, more piercings in her ears than Max could count and sporting six-inch spiked platform boots.

Honestly, her first thought was that Eddie would’ve absolutely loved to meet this girl.

When Max got out of the car, reaching over to grab her crutches stowed in the passenger seat before she ambled over to the other woman, she saw Kali quirk one pierced brow, sweeping her figure with a rather unimpressed look.

Max fought back the urge to scowl back at the older woman, knowing that they definitely needed her help and if she sniped back at her the way she very much wanted to then it was very likely that their entire plan would fall apart.

Mike was counting on her. Will was counting on her. Hell, even El was counting on her. She couldn’t mess this up.

So instead of attempting to bite the other woman’s head off, Max just smiled, saccharine-sweet, and extended one hand for the other woman to shake.

“Kali, I assume? I’m Max. Your sister Jane sent me.”

Given Kali’s earlier obvious disdain for Max’s presence, the redhead had half-expected El’s sister to spurn her extended hand entirely, but to Max’s pleasant surprise, Kali’s stern expression melted somewhat at the mention of El and she reached forward to clutch Max’s hand in her own warm grip, her hands rough and calloused.

“I heard you guys are planning on taking down that Lab of theirs once and for all.” Kali smirked, a dark wicked thing that sent chills down Max’s spine as the dark-haired woman released her hand. “It’s a pity Jane said I couldn’t kill any of them. Would’ve made things much easier.”

Without any warning, Kali breezed past Max, her feet crunching loudly in the gravel as she strode up to Max’s rental car, throwing open the backdoor with gusto as she casually reached into the backseat and pulled Dr. Owens from the confines of the car, not caring in the slightest when the man’s unconscious body slumped to the ground in what looked to be a rather painful manner.

She turned back towards Max then, her dark eyes smoldering, even across the distance as she pushed back the sleeves to her leather motorcycle jacket, revealing a tattoo on one wrist that bore a striking resemblance to El’s own.

008.

“So, what memories do you want planted in this fucker’s skull again?” Kali asked callously, looking completely unbothered by the man currently passed out in front of her, her gaze burning into Max’s with a single-minded fervor.

Max knew Kali expected her to back down, to shy away from the jagged, vicious edges the woman was showing her. Kali likely wanted to assert her dominance over the situation by scaring Max out of her skin, weakening her position in their current arrangement, likely with the intention of trying to get something out of her, maybe information, or money, or maybe she just wanted to strike Owens down where he lay helpless in the dirt. Max didn’t know Kali’s motivations, and ultimately, she didn’t care, but she knew one thing. She couldn’t back down. Not here. Not now.

Mike was counting on her. Will was counting on her. El was counting on her.

She was Max Mayfield, and if she had put up with her stepbrother and step-dad’s bullshit for all her teenage years, she can sure as hell handle one superpowered spite-filled woman bent on tearing the world down.

Max’s lips twitched into the facsimile of a smile, thin as a knife, just as angry and hate filled as Kali’s burning eyes.

“I’ll tell you exactly what we need you to do.”

The Druid & The Fighter

“So, uh- how exactly does this all work?” Lucas glanced at the microphone stand in front of his seat dubiously, one curious finger prodding at the mic as he settled into his seat.

Dustin smacked his hand away with a pointed look, “Don’t touch that. This shit’s expensive.”

Lucas hummed noncommittally in response but forced himself to not touch any more of the blinking technology surrounding them despite the itching curiosity burning to do so.

From somewhere off to the side, Dustin was fiddling with a series of buttons and dials on a switchboard, their purpose, Lucas could only guess. “Come on, you were in AV Club with the rest of us, shouldn’t you at least have some idea of how this all works?”

Behind Dustin’s back, Lucas rolled his eyes, “Yeah, when we were in middle school. We could barely afford a HAM radio, let alone whatever crazy setup you’ve got here in your camper.” Lucas’s gaze traveled across the small, unfamiliar space, which was nearly filled to the brim with various scanners, radio equipment, cameras, satellites and other technical equipment that Lucas couldn’t name. Dustin’s passion and livelihood all wrapped up into one.

Lucas was feeling distinctly out of place as Dustin expertly began adjusting settings and powering on equipment while he sat idly by, quite literally just twiddling his thumbs as he waited.

“How did we even get paired up together in the first place? It’s obvious that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.” Lucas’s patience finally snapped, the question he had been thinking ever since Eddie had suggested he team up with Dustin in the first place.

“Actually, I initially wanted Nancy to be with me, since she’s a hard-hitting journalist and all, but Robin was sending me such an aggressive death glare when tried to bring it up that I thought I was better off going with someone else. Like I swear she was trying to set me on fire with her eyeballs or something. Terrifying.” Dustin shivered dramatically before turning away from whatever complicated device he had been fiddling with and slumping down into the seat next to Lucas in front of the mic.

Lucas steadfastly resisted the urge to kick his friend in the shin, “I’m going to pretend to ignore the part where you didn’t even want me on your team to begin with, because I can’t believe you were scared of Robin. That woman nearly jumped in Eddie’s lap the minute El started levitating things around the room.”

Dustin scowled, readjusting the table-top mic stand to hide the embarrassed flush staining his cheeks, “Look, she was scary alright. And I guess I didn’t want to get in the middle of whatever weird tension her and Nancy had going on, and you weren’t a half-bad second option.”

“Wow, glad I was a great second choice. A middle school math teacher.” Lucas teased, bumping his friend with his shoulder so Dustin knew he was only joking. “So, are we doing this thing or what?”

For a moment Dustin just blinked, like he was surprised, and then a wide grin overtook his features, his eyes glinting excitedly.

“Oh, we are totally going to fuck shit up!” Dustin crowed, hitting the large red button on the table to start the broadcast with absolutely no warning, leaving Lucas scrambling to quickly pick up his script and find his place on the page as Dustin started to speak.

“Hello, hello everyone, welcome back to another week of Hidden Skeptics. I’m your host, the man behind the curtain, D'Artagnan, broadcasting from an undisclosed location, risking life and limb to bring you the information our government is trying to hide. This week is a bit different than normal, as I’ve brought on a special co-host to help me break things down, since we’ve got a big one this week. So, let’s all give a warm welcome to my friend, Aramis. Say hello Aramis.”

Dustin shot Lucas an overzealous wink over the mic and waved him forward dramatically like they actually had an audience, and it wasn’t just Lucas and Dustin crammed together in Dustin’s stuffy RV that smelled slightly of Cheetos and dirty socks.

Attempting to channel the same energy he used when playing D&D back in middle and high school, Lucas let his Aramis persona slide over himself like a second skin, trying to will the lingering nerves away as he leaned into the mic to speak.

“Hello, I’m Aramis, and I’m here with my good friend D’Art to help break down the very complicated series of events we have for you today. Today we’re talking about the Hawkins National Laboratory.”

“Yes, that Hawkins National Laboratory.” Dustin cut in, “The same one that nearly got shut down after it was found they had been fabricating scientific data since the 1980s. So it should come as no surprise, they’re up to some less than savory plots again nearly fifteen years later.”

“But in reality, our story starts long before the events that put the Hawkins National Laboratory on the map, so let us take you back to the year 1970 and tell you a little bit about a woman named Terry Ives and project MKUltra…”

Dustin leaned away from the mic, snagging a water bottle sitting on the edge of the table and chugging nearly half of it in one go, his eyes flicking up to where Lucas was still expositing into the mic, looking so calm and collected as he read from the page that if Dustin hadn’t known the other man since they were in elementary school, he would’ve thought he had done something like this before. But no, Lucas was just that effortlessly good at everything. Not that Dustin was complaining, since for their plan to work, they had to convince the public that the ‘Top-Secret’ information they were broadcasting was nothing but the unfiltered, complete truth.

Which was only somewhat accurate.

While all the information they had shared about El’s history with the lab and Project MKUltra were 100% factual, the next stage in their plan was to fudge the truth a bit to turn the tide of public opinion against the lab once again, which hopefully wouldn’t be hard given the facility’s track record of obfuscating the truth or outright lying to the public.

But Dustin always enjoyed taking risks, striking even with little chance of success, and now, in the face of what could quite possibly be the most dangerous entity he had ever faced, Dustin still couldn’t find it in himself to back down.

So instead, with old friends, and a few new ones at his side, Dustin did what he did best, he dove in with both feet.

“So, if you all have been paying attention. The Hawkins Lab has been known to have a history of experimenting on children, and while the last Director of the Hawkins Lab was deposed back in 1983. It seems that even under new management, the experimentation hasn’t stopped in the slightest. So let me tell you about the Hawkins Lab’s most recent experimental subject, Specimen-0407, also known as Michael Wheeler.”

The Ranger & The Bard

Despite having what was objectively the easiest job, which was essentially just Nancy pumping out an entire well-written exposé based on all the research she had done during her weeks spent at the lab as a journalist, compiled with the frankly alarming amount of digging she had done into the lab’s sordid past in order to paint the most gruesome picture of what the lab was doing behind closed doors as possible, she still felt nervous.

Because Nancy knew just how much sway the court of public opinion held, she had seen far too frequently how the masses could be stirred to a frenzy by a fake news story, or a politician spouting complete nonsense on the TV.

But she was one of the best journalists in the business. If anyone could make a story believable, it was Nancy Wheeler.

When the idea for Nancy to write a report about the lab’s dark dealings to submit to major news networks was first pitched, she had initially wanted to refuse.

She had claimed it was because of the frankly alarming amount of NDAs she had been forced to sign on her first day working at Hawkins National Laboratory, but if she was being truthful, Nancy knew how to wheedle her way through the legalese the contracts had in place to prevent leaks in information in her sleep.

It wouldn’t be the first time a company had gotten her to sign an NDA before they spilled all their deepest, darkest secrets, only for Nancy to find the loophole in her contract that allowed her to share this privileged information with the world, and she doubted it would be the last.

So no, Nancy wasn’t concerned about the NDAs or the potential that the lab’s people could come after her for airing their dirty laundry.

No, the thing that Nancy was hung up on, and the reason she was hesitant to agree to the plan in the first place was selfishly enough, her own journalistic integrity.

Because in order for their plan to work, Nancy Wheeler would have to lie.

While the majority of the article would be the cold, hard truth, long buried facts Nancy had dug up through countless hours of combing through Hawkins Library records, tracking down former employees of the lab from when Dr. Brenner was the head of operations, mildly intimidating the same employees for any and all information as to what research the lab was really doing back in the 70s and 80s, including a very heart-wrenching interview from El herself about her time as an unwilling child research subject in the lab’s experiments.

But the problem arose when they tried to tie the lab’s past wrongdoings in with what the lab was currently doing now.

Nancy had over half-a-dozen moleskins filled with her tiny, spidery scrawl, detailing each any every interaction with Mike, and then, once she was given access to the information about the portal the lab was attempting to open into the Upside Down, Nancy documented that too.

Nancy could easily make the argument that Mike was essentially human, picking up language, social cues, and displaying an intelligence unseen in any animals besides humans themselves. But she knew if she exposed Mike as a new species the lab had discovered, there would be no end of scientists attempting to recreate the lab’s own experiments, trying to open up portals to the Upside Down so that they too could wrangle themselves a mermaid, or a demogorgon, or a demobat, essentially painting Mike as nothing more than an exotic pet.

So instead, it seemed the only option was to make Mike an abomination.

A chimera.

A poor child stolen away from his home when he was far too young, experimented on against his will, and turned into a monster. No longer entirely human.

It was a complete and utter lie. But a believable one. One that could easily turn the nation against the lab once and for all.

Because there was nothing the world hated more than monsters they themselves had created.

That is if Nancy could bring herself to lie.

The stage had already been set for everything else. Eddie somehow managed to scrounge up a fake birth certificate for one ‘Michael Wheeler’ born April 7^th, 1971, because the metalhead seemed to think painting her and Mike as extremely distant cousins was absolutely hilarious, and El chipped in to provide a completely legitimate looking missing person’s report on official Betts, Indiana Police Department official letterhead dated nearly seventeen years ago.

Nancy refused to ask how the pair had gotten the documents.

Nancy Wheeler hated lying. She hated it when other people lied, like the trained journalist in her couldn’t sniff out their dishonesty in an instant, but most of all, she hated lying herself.

She was meant to be the person shedding light on the truth, telling the people the facts that large corporations or sleezy businessmen were trying to hide. So, if she lied now, what was stopping her from lying again in the future when it suited her?

She nearly refused, almost stood up in the middle of that meeting in the middle of Will’s living room and just walked right out the instant the idea was even suggested, appalled that the people she had respected and had begun to think of as more than just coworkers thought she would ever stoop so low, but the gentle touch of Robin’s fingers on the sensitive skin of Nancy’s elbow had her frozen in place.

She turned to blink at the brunette, the normally talkative woman oddly quiet during their planning in a way that Nancy was wholly unused to. The linguist’s face was pale, making her freckles stand out in harsh relief against her skin, but despite the fact that the woman was noticeably scared, her brown eyes shone with a striking resolve that left Nancy feeling flayed open and raw.

“Just wait. Hear them out first and then decide.” Robin whispered into her ear, the woman’s warm breath tickling the hair at the back of her neck, and Nancy found herself powerless to refuse. The anger, which she had been so ready to release just moments before seeping out of her like a sieve while Robin stroked tiny circles against the skin of Nancy’s forearm with the pad of her thumb.

So, Nancy had listened to the plan in its entirety.

And in the end, she had to admit, it was a decent plan. Not the best, and there were certainly holes that would have to be improved upon, but given their time constraints, it was likely going to be the best plan they could feasibly pull off.

So, for once in her life, Nancy Wheeler swallowed down her pride and agreed to help. The feeling of Robin’s warm fingers pressing into the meat of her arm surprisingly comforting, providing a grounding presence that Nancy hadn’t realized she needed.

But that was then, and now, as Nancy stared down the bright blue of the innocuous mailbox opening, a large sheath of manila envelopes clutched in her grip, each one immaculately addressed to some of the largest news outlets in the country, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Associated Press, and even a fair number of less reputable sources, just to cover their bases, Indystar, Daily Journal, hell, even The Onion. It chafed on Nancy’s status as a world-renowned journalistic reporter to have her work potentially posted in such chaff, but she knew that the more outlets she sent her tips to, the greater likelihood that at least someone would publish her report, and that was what truly mattered.

But for some reason, as she stood there, shivering in Indiana’s late November chill, she could not find it in herself to take that final step, to slide those incriminating documents into the mailbox, where they would be finally out of her hands and at the mercy of the United States Postal Service to arrive at their multitude of destinations.

“Nance, there’s someone over at the café across the street staring at us! What if it’s a government spy?” Robin’s anxious, high-pitched tone broke through Nancy’s own internal musings as the freckled brunette’s hand snaked out to clutch at Nancy’s forearm in a tight vise grip.

Nancy’s eyes darted over to the person in question, an elderly woman peeking over the top of her magazine to blink curiously at them. Nancy couldn’t help but scoff, a small smile breaking through her stoic façade.

“Robin, it’s just an old lady probably just bored and curious as to why we’ve been standing in front of the mailbox with a stack of letters for the past several minutes. I’m nearly positive that she hasn’t been sent by the government or the lab to keep tabs on us.”

Robin’s attention darted back over towards the woman in question, who now wasn’t even paying them any mind, instead her wrinkled brow was furrowed as she scribbled something into the margins of her newspaper, if Nancy had to guess, she was probably doing the daily crossword.

“Are you sure? I mean what if she’s just in disguise as a grandma, and really she’s like a judo master just waiting for the perfect opportunity to take us down.” Robin rambled, pressing herself even closer into Nancy’s side, like the petite brunette’s significantly shorter frame could somehow hide Robin’s lanky form.

Nancy laughed, the tension in her shoulders dropping as she turned to flash a smile at the taller linguist, “I highly doubt that octogenarian is capable of even standing on her own, let alone judo flipping anyone.”

Although she knew that Robin was genuinely nervous, and the woman certainly had every right to be, since there really could be a secret agent trailing them, just waiting for the opportune moment to take them down, Nancy found Robin’s nerves somehow settling her own. Her friend’s warm chest pressing into her shoulder grounding Nancy in a way she had never expected.

So, with Robin leaning into her side, the brunette’s chin hooked over her shoulder, Nancy found herself leaning forward, spurred on by a sudden hit of boldness and slipping the mass of letters into the mail slot without hesitation. 

It was now officially out of her hands.

Robin and Nancy had done their job, it was up to everyone else now.

She turned towards Robin, the woman who throughout it all, despite her anxiety and nerves and the fact that she was most certainly scared out of her wits, had stood by Nancy’s side, pushing her, encouraging her, and overall, just being a damn good friend.

“So, Robin-” Nancy started, her hand wrapping around Robin’s wrist to grab the other woman’s attention. Robin’s gaze flicked up to meet hers, her pale brown eyes wide and curious, faint flecks of darker brown and green visible in the depths.

Suddenly Nancy felt nervous, almost more nervous than when she had stared down that mailbox mere minutes before, her mouth felt dry, her tongue leaden in her mouth, unable to form the words she wanted to say.

But this was Robin, the woman she had spent the better part of the past few months in close proximity to. The whip-smart, hilarious woman who never seemed to know when to stop talking. She shouldn’t be nervous. Robin was her friend, the first friend she had made in a long, long while, and she was Nancy Wheeler goddamn it. She had gone up against powerful politicians, taken down corrupt companies, and infiltrated dangerous regimes, talking to a girl should make her this nervous.

But somehow, nervous she was.

Robin seemed to pick up on Nancy’s sudden bout of nerves, her freckled face pinching into a frown as she looked down at Nancy with concern, her brows furrowed. “Nancy, is everything okay?”

Nancy shook herself, pushing down the anxiety threatening to choke her senseless and blinked up at Robin, her face lit from behind by the early morning sun, her brown waves lighting up in shades of red and gold and cream.

She looked beautiful.

“So, I uh-” Nancy stammered, tearing her gaze away from Robin before she lost her nerve entirely, “So, we never did get those drinks after work. Did you want to go now?”

“Nance-” Robin’s voice sounded strange, tense and all wrong and Nancy couldn’t help but glance up at the sound, only to see Robin’s kaleidoscopic brown eyes brimming with tears.

Nancy gasped, her hands coming up to cup Robin’s freckled cheeks, “Robin, what’s wrong? What happened? Is it because of what I said?”

Robin laughed, her voice coming out choked and wet sounding, “No, no, nothing’s wrong. I just never expected-” Robin cut herself off before she could continue, a small smile blossoming across her face, “So, drinks, at 9 am on a weekday? Are we those kinds of people now?”

Now it was Nancy’s turn to get flustered, her cheeks heating up to near unbearable levels, and she was certain that Robin could easily see the flush on her wind-chapped cheeks. “No, we uh- It doesn’t have to be drinks. We can go get breakfast, or go to a café or-”

Robin’s eyebrows lifted, the corners of her lips twitching, “Nancy Wheeler,” she teased, her smile warm, like liquid honey, “It sounds an awful lot like you’re asking me on a date.”

Unable to help herself, Nancy found herself leaning into Robin’s warmth, her fingers coming up to curl into the fabric of Robin’s denim jacket sleeve as she looked up at the other girl imploringly, feeling infinitely more nervous than she had sliding her letters into the mail slot, but also infinitely more brave too, the words spilling out of her throat naturally.  

“I am. Asking you on a date that is.” Nancy tried to force her stiff mouth into a smile but had the feeling that it didn’t come out quite right, anxiety eating away at her expression the longer Robin stared at her silent and open-mouthed.

Nancy, realizing from Robin’s prolonged silence that she had probably overstepped, waved her hands in front of her face frantically “I mean we don’t have to. It was just a suggestion, we can-”

Before she could complete her sentence, Robin’s hand came up to catch Nancy’s fingers, stilling her in place, the brunette’s fingers burning hot despite the early winter chill. She found herself looking up at Robin reflexively, not sure what expression she was expecting on the other woman’s face, but certainly not expecting the fond amusement she saw twinkling in Robin’s eyes.

“Nancy, I would love to.”

The Rogue

Erica hadn’t slept at all in the past 24 hours.

She had been too busy holding together a plan that was always just a moment’s notice away from collapse with nothing but her bare hands and her wits.

Oh, and one superpowered vengeful scientist.

Surprisingly, despite numerous potential disasters, like a poor janitor nearly getting dismembered by a demodog before El managed to clear them out, or the fact for some reason Eddie’s evacuation alarm didn’t seem to be working on one of the upper floors of the lab for a solid five minutes until Suzie figured out that the overhead speakers for that part of the building were wired into a different system than the rest of the lab and quickly found a way to circumvent the issue, or the time that El nearly exploded one of the lab’s computers in anger because she kept putting in her password incorrectly and had gotten locked out of the system. But somehow, things actually seemed like they were going according to plan for the most part.

Ever the pessimist, Erica kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. For the FBI to storm the building, or the gate to spontaneously open itself from the other side, belching out a force of deadly predators hellbent on devouring the few remaining people still left in the building, Erica herself included, but somehow, that moment never came.

Other than a few small hiccups, this entire endeavor was actually coming together far better than Erica’s simulations had ever calculated.

Which should have been the moment when Erica realized that something was bound to go awry.

Because Erica’s calculations were almost never wrong.

It had been exactly 29 hours 17 minutes and 32 seconds since El had first opened the gate into the Upside Down. 29 hours 16 minutes and 26 seconds since Mike tore apart his captors and called forth a hoard of monsters that could’ve spawned from the darkest pits of hell. 29 hours 15 minutes and 48 seconds since the merman had disappeared back to his home dimension, with Will voluntarily in tow.

And now, it was time to bring Will home.

According to her best estimates, which considering Erica’s level of expertise were nearly guarantees, based on the difference in time dilation between the Upside Down and their dimension, it had now been approximately 72 hours in the Upside Down.

The agreed upon amount of time they had planned to pull Will out.

While Erica, El and the rest of the team’s portion of the plan had been risky, and could have very easily ended in failure, or with them all locked up in federal prison, none of them were truly risking their lives, not in the way Will was.

Even with Mike’s protection, none of them really knew what the Upside Down had to offer. They didn’t know, not truly, what monsters awaited on the other side. Will could be eaten by a demogorgon, succumb to the poisonous air, hell, if El had ended up getting incapacitated in any way, it would be impossible to bring him back home at all. He would be trapped there, in the Upside Down, for the rest of his, likely short, existence.

And yet, the dumbass had still willingly done it anyways.

Erica resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Love made people stupid.

Erica watched from the observation room as El strolled casually into the large cavern that once hosted the large portal to the Upside Down. The very room where nearly a dozen of both their colleagues were murdered a day before due to both Erica and El’s own actions.

Honestly, Erica couldn’t really find it in herself to feel guilty about that fact.

The scientists and military security team had known what they had signed up for.

Fortunately, the portal was now closed, nothing more than a large, ugly crack marring the rock on one side of the room, but Erica still refused to step foot into the large space, preferring instead to watch over the proceedings from the ‘relative’ protection of the room enclosed in reinforced bulletproof glass, eyeing the multiple monitors setup along one wall to make sure that nothing was amiss.

By the time Erica finished checking all the readings: electro-magnetic flux, radiation levels, temperature, oxygen saturation, and so on, El had already made it to the center of the room, the willowy woman reaching into the frankly hideous tote bag made up of various different shades of fabric that didn’t seem to match anything, and pulled forth the large cube-shaped device that Erica, El and Suzie had spent the better part of the last week working on.

Although she was mostly confident in the theoretical calculations for essentially creating a ‘reverse-wormhole’, the device was barely a working prototype, and they didn’t exactly have the ability to test the device without potentially blowing Will’s mom’s house sky-high, not to mention that the gamma-rays let off by the device would likely instantly alert every scientific research facility in the country.

So even with Erica’s best estimates, there was still a 14.73% chance that the device would just blow up the minute El turned it on.

She watched with bated breath as El began powering on the device using a set of very careful crafted switches inside the cube’s casing that could only be activated by El’s particular brand of telekinesis.

For a moment, nothing happened, and Erica feared that the device was defective, their plan was a bust, and there was no way to destabilize the portals. But then, after a few deafeningly long seconds, the object in El’s grip began to shake violently, nearly throwing itself out of El’s hands with the force of its vibrations.

Erica’s eyes flew to the scanner readouts anxiously, noting the intense spike in both gamma-radiation and actual radiation nearing dangerous levels now emanating from the floor below.

She reached for the intercom mic on instinct, “El you better work fast, that thing is letting off far more dangerous levels of gamma particles than expected. You probably have less than a minute before your body begins to take irreversible damage.”

El spares Erica a sharp look from across the floor before rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to the device in her hand, and Erica had to resist the urge to snort at the sight. Because apparently El really had been spending too much time around Max.

Still looking completely unconcerned about the near deadly levels of radiation leaking from the device in her hands, El casually shrugged her shoulders once, then twice before raising one hand and quickly opening a portal roughly as big as she was tall, making the task look just as easy as breathing if not for the faint trickle of blood Erica saw beginning to bead under the older woman’s nose.

With the cool, unaffected calmness of a person who could summon interdimensional portals at will, El quickly stepped through the portal she had made, disappearing swiftly from Erica’s view, and leaving her left with nothing besides the occasionally pulsing portal spawned in the middle of the laboratory floor.

So, Erica waited.

5 seconds became 10, and then 30, but still no sign of El.

Erica’s eyes flicked towards the equipment beeping around her, trying to calm her ever increasing heartrate with the steady, unemotional numbers flashing on the screen in front of her, but found that she was unable to concentrate.

Erica usually prided herself on being calm, cool and collected. Never affected by the less than normal aspects of her job, but something about seeing the woman who she could tentatively call a friend disappear through a portal to another dimension carrying an incredibly unstable prototype device solely created to destroy wormholes made Erica’s skin itch with nerves.

It was only because she was practically staring daggers at the hole in space-time El had left behind that she even noticed the difference, saw the faint flicker of the orange glow surrounding the portal, that she could nearly mistake for a trick of the light if not for the sudden wailing of nearly every sensor in the vicinity all going off simultaneously.

Erica sucked in a nervous breath as her attention was drawn back to the various scans and read-outs sitting in front of her, the analytical part of her brain quickly ripping apart and processing the numbers flashing across the numerous screens.

Because she knew what those readings meant.

The bomb had gone off.

But El and Will weren’t back yet.

In the corner of her view, the portal guttered like a weak flame, throbbing and condensing until it was only half its original size, and Erica couldn’t help but grip the computer console in a white knuckled grip, her attention completely stolen from the devices in front of her as she stared hopelessly at the slowly shrinking portal, looking for any sign of her two coworkers forcing their way through.

But there was nothing.

For 9.7 long seconds Erica watched helplessly as the portal began to collapse in on itself, shrinking down until it was no more the size of a large dog, sputtering and flickering wildly, like it might close at any second, and still no sign of Will and El.

Erica had nearly given up hope, certain that the plan had ended in failure, and El and Will were surely dead somewhere in the Upside Down when the portal itself shuddered and then exploded in a violent shockwave so strong it knocked Erica off her feet from even behind the protective glass.

For a moment, all Erica could see was shades of white, unable to hear anything beyond the fierce ringing in her ears as she stumbled back to her feet, blinking the spots from her eyes, a sharp pain blossoming in her temples, and when she raised her hand to her forehead to assess the damage, her fingers came away bloody.

But Erica wasn’t worried about any of that, hardly caring about any potential damage to herself, instead, as she dragged herself back to her feet, clenching tightly on the back of a chair to force herself upright, her attention was honed in on the strange mass sitting in the middle of the laboratory floor in the place the portal had once been.

It took her a moment to recognize what she was looking at, since the sheer amount of deep blue and bloody scarlet smeared across the bodies in front of her made them nearly unrecognizable, but Erica would recognize El’s ridiculous peasant dresses anywhere, even when covered in copious amounts of blood.

Even though she could barely stand, and she hadn’t even checked the scanners to check to see if it was safe for her to go out onto the lab floor, Erica found herself stumbling across the observation room to tear open the reinforced door and tumble down the steps, making her way to the two unsteady figures unmoving in the middle of the room. Only one thought circulating in her mind on a loop as she got closer and closer to the familiar figures on the floor.

Are they dead?

It was only when she got within a few feet of the pair, and the ringing of her ears had died down enough that she was able to make out the ambient noise around her did she recognize the painful shuddering sound of sobbing.

Erica froze in her tracks, blinking wildly at the pair, her vision clearing somewhat now that she had stopped moving.

What she had first mistaken as El and Will’s, hopefully just unconscious and not dead, bodies curled around each other on the floor was really El crouching at Will’s side, her palms painted a deep crimson as they pressed against Will’s stomach, the sandy haired scientist twitching and screaming in her hold, almost unrecognizable underneath the dirt and the blood, seemingly completely unaware of the other woman quite literally holding his insides in as he sobbed, oblivious to the pain as he raved wildly.

“It’s my fault! We have to go back! I can’t leave him like that!”

El’s face grew dark as she pushed down even harder on Will’s stomach, blood pooling around her fingers despite the pressure, her eyes flicking up to Erica with surprise, like she had just realized the other scientist was there, “Will, you’re hurt. I need you to calm down. We need to get you to a hospital.”

“I’m not hu-” Will slurred, before promptly going silent, the tension in his shoulders suddenly going slack in a way that Erica knew meant the other boy had slipped into unconsciousness.

Instantly Erica was spinning away, sprinting back towards the observation room with a single-minded focus, adrenaline she didn’t even know she still had flowing through her veins, as she raced for the first-aid kit she knew was stocked inside and hoped it would be enough.

Because Will Byers may not be dead yet, but if they didn’t do something soon. He certainly would be.

Chapter Text

“Is that it?” Will questioned, squinting with confusion at the seemingly innocuous house with a stained glass window of a rose embedded in the door standing resolutely in the middle of an empty field, and Will could almost believe that Mike was fucking with him if not for the strange thrumming of energy pulsing like a heartbeat underneath his skin the closer they drew towards the house. 

Silently, Mike nodded, his grasp on Will's hand tightening to the point of near pain. 

Will glanced down at their interlaced fingers, at the hand that Mike had practically refused to release since they had left their makeshift camp in the library earlier that morning. 

Not that Will had minded, since the cool, refreshing stream of energy emanating from every place Mike's skin touched his own kept the worst of his symptoms at bay. So far it had served to stave off the headaches and nausea and exhaustion brought on by the Upside Down sickness that had initially plagued the scientist, and Mike seemed unwilling to take any chances, plastering himself to Will's side at any opportunity, barely allowing the brunet the freedom to use the bathroom on his own before he was once again sliding his cool palm against Will's own. 

“So, why exactly did you need to come here?” Mike asked, his voice soft, and when Will glanced up he thought he saw the flicker of a frown on Mike's face before the merman managed to school his expression back into a curiously blank expression. 

Allowing himself a brief moment to compose himself, Will took a shuddering breath before turning to face the siren, Mike, noticing the immediate change in Will's body language glanced over at the scientist with concern. 

“Mike, can I tell you something?” 

He knew he should've said it ages ago. Should've told the merman the truth the moment he had learned it, but something inside him had stopped Will from doing so. Maybe it was because he wanted to preserve the precious little time he had left with Mike. Maybe it was because he was scared, scared of Mike's reaction, whether he'd be happy, or resigned, or upset. 

Either way, he knew the time to tell Mike the truth had long since past. He should've done it sooner. But Will Byers had always been a coward. And only now, in the eleventh hour, could he finally find it in himself to tell the siren the truth. 

“So, there's a part of the plan I didn't tell you about-” Will started, his throat growing tight as he swallowed back his tears, dampening his words. 

Mike's eyes shone oddly in the dim light, and if Will didn't know any better, he almost would've thought the siren was about to cry, “You're leaving, aren't you? Without me?” 

Will's mouth dropped open as he studied the merman, Mike's face creased with sorrow, in a way that punched him straight in the gut. “Y-you knew? How?” 

Unexpectedly, Mike tugged his hand from Will's grip, and he immediately felt the absence like he had lost a limb. “I'm not an idiot Will. Even if you were hiding part of your plan from me, there was no way this could end with me still around in your world in my natural form. If the lab didn't have me, someone else would want me, and then the whole thing would start all over again.” 

Mile scrubbed his hand across his face, looking more tired than the merman had any right to be, “I'm sure you thought it was the only way to keep me safe. I mean I would've done the same thing for you. Hell, I did do the same thing for you. I just wish you had decided to tell me the truth.” 

And then there was nothing stopping Will's tears from falling. 

Because Mike was right. He had deserved to know the truth. Will may have thought he was sparing the merman's feelings, but after everything Mike had done for Will, and all the shit the lab had put him through, he should've told him the truth. 

“I-I'm sorry. I-I d-didn't k-know how to-”

He was outright sobbing at this point, snot dripping from his nose, tears running rivers down his cheeks, his body wracked so strongly by sobs he could barely stand upright. The impact of what he was doing, the stress and exhaustion of the past few weeks finally hitting him all at once, and leaving Will a sniveling mess in its wake, unable to even stammer out the words he so desperately wished to say. 

A soft cooing noise startled Will from his wallowing, and the unexpected sound of it halted his tears long enough for him to hear the voice that followed. 

“Darling you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?”

“Mike?” Will gasped, recognizing the sound. Because it was his voice. But not Will's voice now, but his scratchy, adolescent voice Will only recognized from far too many grainy home videos he had watched with his mom. 

It was Will's voice from 1983. 

“If you say that you are mine

I'll be here till the end of time”

“H-how?” Tears all but forgotten, Will glanced up to see Mike, who had apparently managed to shift back to his mer form unnoticed during the brunet's earlier breakdown, staring up at Will with deep carmine eyes, his gaze intense and unflinching as he sang. 

“So you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go”

Will had been trying to hold it back, his burgeoning feelings for the merman in front of him. He had tried to pass Mike’s behaviors off first as passing curiosity, then as friendship, and even when Mike had finally confessed that his feelings were more than platonic in nature, Will had never really, truly allowed himself to hope. He had forced back his blossoming affection, locking it tightly in a box and forcing it into the back of his mind. Because he had always known, deep down, even from the very beginning that there was no way this would last. 

Mike was a magical, ethereal, beautifully deadly creature from another dimension, and Will was well, Will. But as Mike sang in Will’s own hoarse, childlike voice from fifteen years previous, Will’s last barriers were finally torn away. Mike had solidly stolen the key to his heart, had held it all along, it had just taken Will this long to finally realize it. 

Because even though Will had no memory of the little mer boy who had saved him back in 1983, even though he had long since repressed his most important memories of this horrendous place, Mike had never forgotten, and somehow, against all odds, they had managed to find each other again. 

If Will had been more of the superstitious sort he might have called it luck, or fate, or destiny. But Will wasn’t one to believe in such things. 

He did however, believe in Mike. 

And suddenly, all his pent up emotions were suddenly too much to contain. His heart feeling like it might burst right out of his chest if he didn’t get his hands on the merman in front of him right this instant. 

Not even allowing Mike the chance to finish his song, Will threw himself to the ground, lowering himself until he was eye to eye with the merman, his hands coming up to card through Mike’s thick black curls, his thumbs resting delicately across the pale siren’s prominent cheekbones.

Mike’s song petered out, the siren looking surprised by Will’s sudden movement, his breath hitching nearly imperceptibly at their close proximity. But Will noticed. Because when it came to Mike, Will always noticed. 

Because-

Because Will-

Will-

“Mike, I love you.” 

And before Mike even had the chance to respond, Will was closing the distance between them, pressing his lips to Mike's slack mouth, the merman frozen beneath him for a long, tense moment before he seemed to get control of his senses and began pressing back against him in earnest, nipping and biting and sucking at Will's tongue with an impatient fervor that Will strove to match. His fingers tightening in Mike's dark hair, even as the merman's sharp claws came up to cup at the back of Will's own neck, holding him firm. 

Because they both knew what this was. 

They both knew what this meant. 

This would be the last time. 

Their goodbye, their farewell. 

And they were both determined to make it count. 

Will didn't even have to think before he climbed his way into Mike's lap, straddling the merman's thick tail with his thighs, his hands sliding down out of the siren's thick tresses to caress the sensitive skin of Mike’s neck around his gill slits, reveling in the way the siren twitches beneath him at the touch.

Mike's taloned hands find their place along Will's hips, the tips of his fingers skirting underneath the hem of Will's ratty shirt, just barely ghosting along the skin there, Will's skin burning beneath the touch. 

And then Mike began to devour him like a man possessed. Shedding Will's clothes like fallen leaves, and Will was equally as unable to keep his hands to himself, his fingers mapping out the familiar planes of Mike’s stomach and chest and thighs, entranced by the sight in front of him. 

Because even covered in days worth of Upside Down grime, Will didn’t ever think he had seen a sight more beautiful. 

And when their lips met in a lascivious kiss, the warm wet slide of Mike’s tongue against his own a soothing balm. Will’s surroundings fell away. 

Because as Mike’s fingers tugged at the waistband of Will’s pants, Will wasn’t thinking about their impending deadline, or the fact that they were still trapped in the Upside Down. 

No, all he could think about was Mike. 

Mike, in all his beautiful, feral glory, touching him, kissing him, loving him. 

And for one brief, shining moment, everything else fell away. 

Until it was just Mike and Will and nothing else. 

But of course, nothing good lasts forever. 

And eventually the illusion they had crafted for themselves finally shattered. 

Apparently in their distraction, the pair too busy falling into each other for the first - and last - time, Mike hadn't been keeping as close an eye on their surroundings as they should have, and the only warning Will had that something was amiss was the sudden stiffening of Mike beneath him before the merman was abruptly shoving the brunet off himself and letting out an ear-splitting screech, his teeth and claws bared. 

And then the demogorgons descended. 

Will had never seen the creatures roaming together in a pack before, he had honestly assumed the creatures were solely solitary hunters, but now, as nearly half-a-dozen of the creatures bore down on him and Mike, half-naked and vulnerable on the ground, he had never felt more afraid. 

Desperately, Will rolled over onto his front, scrabbling along the ground towards where his backpack lay abandoned on the ground and hastily ripped through their supplies until he found what he was looking for, a rusty Bowie knife. Which looked paltry in comparison to the length of the demogorgon's wicked claws and razor sharp teeth, but as one of the large, grayish creatures leered over him, Will knew that he didn't exactly have any other options for protection. 

Shakily he raised the knife in front of him, hoping that maybe the creature would be stupid enough to impale itself on his blade, since that would likely be the only way he could actually do damage to the nightmarish beast, but Will didn't exactly like his odds against a creature nearly twice his size and designed to kill him. 

As the demogorgon drew closer, and closer, it's large, petal-like mouth unfurling to reveal row after row of jagged teeth, Will reflexively squeezed his eyes shut, his fear overriding his sense of preservation, even as he held his knife in a white-knucked grip, determined to not go quietly even to his last breath. 

Will swore he could feel the demogorgon's hot, rancid breath on his cheeks, and braced himself for the end, certain that he was just moments away from being devoured whole, but then instead of the loud crunch of Will’s bones snapping between demogorgon teeth, a loud, sickening thud sounded from in front of him, the sound so wholly unexpected Will's eyes flew open in confusion as he glanced up at the menacing creature looming over him. 

The demogorgon swayed oddly for a long moment, its gaunt arms suddenly going slack before the creature suddenly slumped forward face first, nose diving for the ground and nearly taking Will down with it if the brunet hadn't quickly leaped out of the way, staring down at the now felled demogorgon with shock. 

Because now, from behind, Will could see that there was a large gaping bloody hole in the demogorgon's back, slowly oozing bluish-purple blood. 

Will glanced back up to see Mike standing on the other side of the body, his hands stained to the elbows the same sort of dark, blue-black as the demogorgon’s blood, the siren’s body stuck in a weird sort of half-shifted state. 

His eyes were too large for his face, flickering a feral, burning red, and his teeth had sharpened into dangerous points, crowding his mouth in a way that made the merman look like he was perpetually grinning, a unsettling joker’s smile. Mike’s fingernails had sharpened into claws, barely visible beneath the gore, and, of course, the siren was once again completely naked, a smattering of small scaled patches visible on his lean legs. 

The pair shared a charged look, standing on opposite sides of the dead demogorgon, the air stilling around them as Will stood rooted to the ground, awestruck as Mike lifted one hand up to his lips, his mouth opening unfathomably wide before swallowing a large bloody object in his grip. 

The demogorgon’s heart. 

And despite the fact that they were surrounded by deadly monsters wanting to eat them alive, Will felt his knees go weak and the front of his pants tighten at the sight. 

And judging by the heated spark in Mike’s eye, he wasn't the only one who was feeling it. 

Thankfully, Mike turned away first, his attention redirecting back towards the other demogorgons, a trio of them looking like they were contemplating whether or not to attack, their attention split between Will, the obviously easier target, and Mike, bloody and near-rabid blocking their way. 

But Mike's deadly presence wasn't enough to hold them off for long, as, if by silent command, the three demogorgons moved forward in unison, two moving towards Mike and the third peeling away from the rest of the pack, its attention focused solely on Will. 

But this time, Will wasn't going to back down without a fight. 

This time he kept his eyes open, adjusting his grip on the knife until it fit comfortably in his palm as the demogorgon prowled ever closer, seemingly not in any sort of hurry to get its claws on Will, likely deeming the smaller human no actual kind of threat. 

But that would be the creature’s biggest mistake. 

Because Will was a survivor. 

He had survived a week in the Upside Down at 12, and he wasn't going to give the hell dimension the chance to take him down at 28. 

Before the demogorgon could pounce, Will was moving first, because while the scientist would never claim to be a fighter, there was one thing he was always good at. 

He was fast . 

Barely giving himself the chance to think, Will streaked towards the demogorgon. The demogorgon, not expecting Will’s small form to suddenly come barreling towards it with abandon, reared back with surprise, giving Will the perfect opening to slice a thick ribbon across the creature’s upper thigh with his knife, before skittering back out of range of the monster’s long reach.

The demogorgon, enraged by its injury, let out an ear-piercing screech, so loud that Will nearly dropped his knife to clap his hands over his ears instinctively, and it was only by sheer force of will alone that stopped him from doing so. 

Shaking his head to clear the ringing from his ears, Will dove back in, knife extended, aiming once again for the sluggishly bleeding cut on the demogorgon's thigh when the creature abruptly jerked back, its arms bending backwards unnaturally until the bones snapped, and then, before Will could even blink, a loud crack echoed out across the clearing, the demogorgon crashing to the ground like a limp doll, and standing in its place, looking entirely out of place in her stark white labcoat splattered with blood and peasant dress sweeping the dusty ground, was El. 

The psychic tilted her head at Will, taking in his dirty, disheveled appearance and smiled warmly, and Will swore the sky brightened noticeably as she did. 

“Do you two need some help?” 

Will, slightly loopy from his exhausting past few days in the Upside Down, and hopped up on entirely too much adrenaline from the fight, couldn't help the slightly unhinged bubble of laughter that spilled from his throat at El's casualness. 

Because of course El was once again showing up just in the knick of time to save his ass. 

Mike, midway through disemboweling one of the two demogorgons who had been unfortunate enough to attack him, glanced up in Will and El's direction, likely both sensing El's presence with his weird Upside Down senses, and distracted by Will's hysterical laugh, a dangerous grin stretching his lips impossibly wider, his face streaked with bits of flesh and blue-black blood. 

“Took you long enough to show up. I thought I was going to have to take care of this all by myself.” 

El, apparently just as unhinged as Will and Mike, laughed darkly, barely sparing the demogorgon behind Mike a glance before the creature's head abruptly exploded in a fountain of blood, the monster crumbling to the ground rather anticlimactically. 

“As much as I'd love to stay and chat, apparently this bomb is slowly poisoning us, so if I don't set it off soon, I'd say there's probably lots of brain damage and tumors in our future.” 

She gestured towards the cobbled together device floating behind her, which Will had to admit, even with his lack of engineering knowledge seemed to be vibrating at a rather unsafe frequency. 

Instinctively, he took a step back, although he doubted the extra half a foot of space would do anything to protect him from the blast. 

From across the clearing, Mike's eyes narrowed. “And why exactly do you have a bomb?” 

Regardless of the numerable demogorgon bodies scattered across the ground, El deftly wove her way towards the innocuous building. 

“Isn't it obvious? If we want to stop the lab from opening another portal, we have to destroy the portals entirely, so that no one can make them.” 

“You want to destroy the Source?!” Mike snapped incredulous, his voice halfway to a snarl. 

At that, El blinked, her attention momentarily swiveling back to Will, a look a sheer surprise on on her face, “You didn't tell him?” 

Will shrugged. 

Mike's ire shifted focus back towards Will as he strode forward, his skin rippling like he was halfway to transforming, his mouth twisted into a pained grimace. 

“ This was the plan? That's why you wanted me to take you here?” 

For once, Will was utterly speechless, goosebumps erupting across his exposed skin as Mike growled in his face, looking like he was severely contemplating ripping Will’s throat out. 

“Aren't you supposed to be a scientist?” Mike snarled, “Don't you know what will happen if you destroy an essential part of our ecosystem? How do you think the plants grow without light? Or how the demogorgons find prey big enough to sustain their population?” 

Will's brain stuttered, because in all their planning, they really hadn't thought about how their plan could affect the Upside Down. Instead they had solely focused on how to free Mike, on how to prevent the lab or anyone else from harnessing the dangerous power the Upside Down possessed. 

He hadn't ever considered that in doing so, they could be damning this entire world in the processes. 

“Did you even think to ask the one person who might've been able to tell you how fucking stupid your plan was? But no, you were too fucking scared to tell the truth.” 

Mike's eyes flashed a dangerous red, his razor sharp teeth bared. “If this is what you think is ‘protecting’ me, then you're just as bad as the people at the lab. Because you're trapping me in a cage just like they did. Only this time, you think you're doing out of love , which only makes it that much worse!” 

By the end, Mike's thin, blood-spattered chest was heaving, spittle on the edges of his lips as he glared at Will with a look of absolutely betrayal and disgust, and Will felt his heart shatter to pieces at the sight. 

Because there was no winning Mike back after this. 

There was no redemption. 

Either Will dragged him back to his world, where he would be forced to suffer through a lifetime of being poked and prodded and studied in the name of science, or he would be trapped here, in a world that Will may have had a part in destroying. 

There was no winning hand. 

Will's fingers twitched, longing to reach out and soothe the twisted expression on Mike's face, but he knew his touch would no longer be welcome. 

“Mike, I-” he began, when suddenly all the tension drained out of Mike's frame, his eyes going dull and glassy. 

And then his beautiful, wide brown eyes turned a peerless black from pupil to sclera as he jerkily swiveled his gaze away from Will and back towards the house ominously thrumming with energy. 

With one of El’s feet poised on the bottom step of the porch. The woman completely oblivious to Mike’s sudden change in demeanor. 

And then Mike shrieked.

An inhuman, guttural, blood-chilling howl. 

And the forest screamed back. 

Before Will even had the chance to blink, Mike was moving, his attention no longer focused on Will, no, his fixation was solely on El. The person he had currently deemed the biggest threat. 

In less than half a second, Mike had managed to span the length of the clearing, standing a mere foot away from where El casually climbed the porch steps, utterly oblivious to the predator preparing to pounce behind her. 

Will barely managed to call out a sharp, “El, behind you!” Before Mike leaped. 

For a brief second Will was worried this was the end, that Mike was going to tear apart his friend just as easily as he had the demogorgons mere minutes before. 

But he had long since learned not to underestimate El, who, without even turning, arrested Mike's motion in midair, flinging the siren flying probably nearly a dozen feet away with nothing but a flick of her wrist. 

But when El glanced back at Will, he could see that the woman's mask had cracked, and panic was leaking through. 

Because really, what the hell was going on?

One second Mike and Will were arguing, at each other's throats, and the next, Mike was actively trying to kill El, with absolutely no remorse. 

Will wasn't much of an animal expert, but he was an expert on any and everything Upside Down. 

And upon seeing Mike hit the ground in a crumpled heap, only the shake himself off and immediately begin sprinting back towards El with a feral snarl, teeth and claws bared, Will knew exactly what was happening. 

The hivemind . 

Much like how bees will attack if their hive was threatened, Mike was attempting to protect the source of the Upside Down's power, mindlessly attacking the threat. 

Except, in this instance, the threat was El. His friend, and Will's only ticket out of here. 

While he was more than certain El could easily stand her ground against Mike, the siren's ferocity no match for El's superhuman abilities, but Will knew that Mike was only the first. 

The rest of the Upside Down's protection was soon incoming. 

At the edge of the woods, a writhing mass of pale white and gray pooled, and Will's stomach dropped. 

Because there, coalescing at the edge of his vision, was the largest grouping of Upside Down creatures Will had ever seen. 

From the tiniest of scurrying creatures nearly being trampled by their larger counterparts, to ravenous demogorgons and demodogs, it seemed the entire population of the Upside Down was hovering at the edge of the clearing, waiting for the moment to attack. 

There was no way El could fend them all off. Not with her busy trying to set up the bomb along with keeping Mike at bay. And Will was no match for the sheer might of these creatures. 

So he did the only thing he could do. 

He ran. 

Straight towards El. 

Because maybe if he could get close enough, the pair could easily set off the bomb and escape back through the portal, hopefully before they got eviscerated. 

Unfortunately, but unsurprising given Will’s luck, it seemed his sudden movement was exactly the opening the Upside Down creatures were looking for, and like an all powerful wave, they suddenly surged forward as one mass, one mind, one goal. 

Protect the Source. 

Too bad El and Will were currently blocking their progress. 

And, now, Will was running for an entirely different reason. 

He was running for his life. 

El, intuned with the energy of the Upside Down in a way Will could never hope to be, noticed the sudden influx of monsters before Will had even managed to make it halfway across the clearing, her eyes lighting up with alarm. 

“Will, go wait by the portal! They’re only after me. If I’m not there in 30 seconds, go through without me!” 

Will’s eyes narrowed as he pushed all his energy into running, determined to bridge the gap between him and El, “Like hell!” He shouted back, barely audible over the sound of the creatures quickly gaining on him from behind. “I’m not leaving you here to die!” 

Admittedly, Will didn’t exactly have much of a plan. He didn’t have telekinetic superpowers like El, or shapeshifting abilities like Mike, all he had was his wits and a half rusty Bowie knife. In all likelihood, he’d probably end up getting in the way more than anything. But he knew he wouldn’t leave El behind. 

Not after everything. 

He was nearly to the porch steps, El now standing at the top of the porch, arm extended, blood flowing freely from her nose as she mercilessly mowed down dozens of monsters with broken necks, or severed limbs, or in a couple of particularly gruesome cases, exploding a body from the inside out. But still, the monsters kept coming like an overwhelming flood, El barely able to keep the tide at bay. 

So of course, Will was the only one who saw it. 

A flash of movement from the opposite end of the porch, aimed directly for El’s unprotected back, his superpowered friend absolutely none the wiser towards the impending attack. 

Will was moving before he could even think. 

With a strength he didn’t know he possessed, he was launching himself off the porch’s top step, diving in front of El at the exact moment that the strange creature lunged, claws outstretched. 

In an instant, everything seemed to slow to a crawl as Will glanced up just in time to meet Mike’s glazed-over eyes at the same moment the siren proceeded to punch a hole directly into Will’s gut. 

Will screamed. 

The blinding flash of pain radiating out from his stomach almost caused him to pass out from the shock, and the proceeding thump of his body against the porch as he tumbled to the ground at the collision actually did cause his vision to flicker violently at the edges, hardly able to think around the all-encompassing pain. 

Will’s eyes rolled blindly in his sockets, his hands coming up instinctively to clutch as his stomach, hot gushes of blood spurting out between his fingers, and Will knew, intrinsically, that he was dying. 

“W-Will?” A tiny voice called out from somewhere nearby, a familiar voice, a tether to fight against the pain, pulling him up from the dark depths he was sinking into, his vision clearing slightly for just a moment. 

“Oh, what have I done? Will!” The voice sounded slightly louder, but it was hard to tell with the ringing in his ears. 

Wait, had his ears always been ringing?

A pale face appeared in front of him like a beautiful angel, Mike, his eyes no longer oil-slick black, but instead returned to a vibrant shade of carnelian. 

Will thought, that if this was what dying was like, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. 

“Will please, don’t die.” Mike sobbed, tears dripping down his cheeks as a hot iron of pain flared in his gut. 

Will writhed, crying out in agony as he tried to pull away from the source of his discomfort, but he was so, so weak, his body unable to obey his commands. 

“Will, please, stop moving. I’m trying to help you.” 

He could no longer hear Mike’s pleas, his brain once again lost in the pain, his vision whiting out until he could see nothing but Mike’s own pale, freckled cheeks soaked in tears. 

He wondered what made Mike cry like that.

He hated seeing Mike so sad. 

Even if he looked so beautiful with tears beading along with eyelashes like dew on the edge of a blade of grass. 

Will let his eyes slip shut because he was so, so tired, the dream he was falling into felt so, so nice. 

“El, get him out of here! I’ll hold them off. You need to go. Now!” 

A sharp rumbling noise jerked Will back into a reality of pain and blood and horror. His senses coming back to him for a moment as El’s face peered down at him, her brow wrinkled with concern. 

“Just hold on a little longer Will. I’m going to get you out of here.”

And then he was floating. 

Just hovering in the air behind El as the woman bolted down the shattered steps of the house that had been there moments before. 

What had happened?

Where had the house gone?

Where was Mike?

From somewhere behind him, he heard a blood curdling screech of pain, and something deep inside him recognized it instinctively. 

Mike. 

Unable to move his body a single inch under El’s telekinetic hold, Will’s eyes swiveled, trying to pinpoint the sound. 

But when his eyes finally found Mike, the siren was halfway across the clearing, welding a large piece of wood like a baseball bat as he swatted at flying demobats and clawed at demodogs quickly surrounding him. 

He looked so pitiably small compared to the monsters. 

For the first time since Will had laid eyes on the merman all those months before, Mike looked weak . 

Will’s ragged breath caught in his throat as a particularly voracious demogorgon got inside Mike’s guard and swiped a vicious scratch across his chest, dark blue blood leaking from the wound before Mike managed to whirl on the creature and finish it off with a nasty bite to the throat. 

But the instant one creature fell, another quickly moved to take its place. A neverending tide of monsters that Mike valiantly tried to fight back. 

But Will knew, deep in his gut, that Mike was going to lose. 

Mike was going to die. 

All because of him. 

His stupid, fucked up plan, had failed. 

And he had condemned Mike to death. 

Somewhere beside him, he thinks El was shouting something, but he could no longer hear her, his ears full of nothing but static, his eyes focused on Mike and Mike alone, standing as a pale beacon against the darkness, and he couldn’t help but cry out, hoping that the merman could still hear him. 

“Mike!” 

And just as the portal began to close around his head, Will saw Mike’s eyes snap to his. Hazel meeting crimson, one final time. 

And then Will’s vision went black. 

Will awoke to the sound of beeping. 

He was instantly upright like a shot, only to immediately double over in pain clutching his stomach, feeling like he was being stabbed over and over with a hot poker. 

“Hey, watch it! You’re going to tear your stitches.”

Blinking away the pain, Will glanced up to surprisingly see Erica, of all people, sitting at his bedside, wearing harsh scowl.

“What are you doing here?” Will managed to bite out, his voice hoarse from disuse. 

Erica shot him a seriously unimpressed look, “What no, ‘thank you Erica for saving my life while I was bleeding out on the floor?’ I swear, you scientists are so ungrateful.” 

Will tried to think back, trying to recall what exactly Erica could possibly be talking about, but drawing a suspicious blank. 

“Erica, can you tell me what happened? Is everyone okay? Did Mike-”

And suddenly, like a faucet had been opened in his mind, all his memories came flooding back. 

The Upside Down. Kissing Mike while specks of ash floated down around them. The demogorgons. El. Mike with pitch black eyes and a blank face. Mike tearing into Will’s stomach as he leapt in front of El. Mike’s cheeks stained with tears. And then, finally, El dragging him back through the portal while Mike faced on a horde of monsters he could never possibly hope to beat… alone.

He remembered everything. And he desperately wished he didn't.

A choked sob tore its way out of Will’s throat. 

Because surely, Mike was dead.  

Will had all but signed his death warrant. 

Despite the pain in his gut, Will keened, loudly, the pain in his heart a thousand times worse than any physical wound. 

Erica looked on alarmed, “Wait, why are you crying? What’s wrong? Stop it!” 

Will could barely hear her, clutching at this hospital gown, feeling like his heart had been torn from his chest, dug out by his own two hands. 

From beside him, Erica’s voice took on a more frantic pitch, the woman obviously unused to seeing people cry, “Damn it Will Byers, stop crying, Mike isn’t dead!”

His crying instantly petered out, “What?” Will whispered, his teary eyes wide shining with hope, “He isn’t?”

Erica snorted, “Nope. Apparently nothing can keep that stupid fish down. El checked on him a couple days ago with her weird spying thing, and somehow he made it through.” She shrugged, “My best guess is the creatures all stopped fighting the instant you and El went back through the portal.” 

Will breathed out a sigh of relief he hadn’t realized he had been holding, “So, he’s okay?”

“I’m not too sure about okay , since it seemed like he was injured pretty badly, but he is alive .” 

A strangled laugh bubbled up from Will’s throat, just on the verge of hysterical, “He’s not dead. He’s not dead! I didn’t kill him.” 

Instinctively, his fingers came up to his throat, searching for his tooth necklace, but coming up empty, his neck bare. 

“Erica, where’s my necklace?”

And for the first time since he had woken up, Erica’s face creased with surprising sadness, “I’m sorry Will. But it’s gone. We couldn’t find it in the lab, so we think it must’ve fallen off in the Upside Down.”

Somehow, finding out that he lost the necklace, the single piece of Mike he had left, almost made Will feel like he had lost Mike all over again, the pain burning in his chest even worse that the pain of the stitches tugging at his ruined skin. 

This time Erica didn’t comment as Will’s tears began to fall. The other woman just reaching over and patting Will awkwardly on the knee, but still, she stayed, until Will had cried himself out, feeling totally and completely numb, unable to think past the drag of exhaustion threatening to pull him back under.

Just as Will was succumbing to his tiredness, each subsequent blink becoming longer than the last, Erica spoke. 

“You know, it may not have entirely gone to plan. And I’d never say this if you were awake enough to remember this, but you did a good job Will. Your plan worked. The lab is being investigated for fraud and illegal human experimentation, Nancy is being lauded as some kind of whistleblower hero, and El confirmed that there’s no way of creating a portal back to the Upside Down. Somehow, despite everything, your stupid ass plan worked.” 

Just as Will was sinking into his drug induced slumber, he felt a warm pressure against his palm, Erica’s hand resting gently against his own, her voice sounding more gentle and fond than Will had ever heard, “Get some rest you dork, you certainly deserve it.”

And so Will slept. His dreams filled not with blood and monsters and claws, but with crimson eyes and sinuous tails and fluorescent spots flashing with happiness. 

Chapter Text

6 Months Later

When the committee he had just spent the past two and a half hours pitching his Ph.D. defense invited him back into the room, Will didn’t feel anything besides a bone-deep weariness.

As the short-statured balding man over thirty years Will’s senior stood from his seat at the middle of a row of other doctors and scientists from Will’s chosen field, a tight smile on the man’s wrinkled face, Will’s mind was numb.

“Welcome back, Mr. Byers. Despite your rather… interesting choice of research,” The man paused for a moment, shooting Will with a look that told him that he certainly did not approve of Will’s chosen field of research, but could unfortunately find no fault with it. “This committee has determined that your research is not only novel in its field but could also be potentially groundbreaking for many other more established fields of research as well. Your dissertation was obviously well-researched and understood, and the quality of your data is nothing but astounding. It is for these reasons this committee has decided to award you your Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Cryptozoology. Congratulations Doctor Byers.”

Around him, lukewarm applause erupted from the other committee members who weighed in on his presentation, but to Will, their polite claps sounded edged in mocking.

One year ago, all Will had dreamed about was getting his Ph.D. He had wanted to prove all those people who had scorned him and called him a liar for the past 15 years wrong. He had wanted to show beyond a shadow of doubt that the Upside Down existed and force the Hawkins Laboratory that had long since cast him aside to acknowledge that he was still useful, that he was still needed.

But now, as he jerkily signed the dozens of forms required to actually get his doctorate while a notary and the Ph.D. committee watched on, the only emotion Will was able to muster was apathy.

Because now that he had finally gotten this far, had finally gotten what he wanted, what he had dreamed of for as long as he could remember, Will realized that the sacrifices he had made to get here weren’t worth it at all.

Absently, his hand stretched down to touch his torso, his fingers running on the seam of a raised scar he couldn’t quite feel through his suit jacket, but that he knew was there regardless.

The last memento he had of the Upside Down, and the boy he had loved so much that he had left there.

Underneath his layers, he swore the long-since healed edges of his scar burned at the memory.

He no longer had Mike’s tooth necklace that the merman had so painstakingly crafted for him, the jewelry lost in his scuffle in the Upside Down, likely moldering in some demogorgon’s stomach, or abandoned on the ground until it was slowly overtaken with vines.

Sometimes, on good days, Will liked to imagine that Mike had found his necklace and was keeping it safe until he could one day meet Will again in the next life. But more often than not, Will’s brain crept towards the more likely idea, that Mike, if he had managed to survive being ambushed by dozens of abyssal carnivores, probably took one look at Will’s forgotten necklace and chucked it into the nearest portal to nowhere.

Because after what happened, Mike probably never wanted to see Will ever again.

And honestly, Will couldn’t exactly blame him.

Will barely paid attention as nearly a dozen professors and scientists stood from their seats the second Will scribbled his signature on the final page of the massive pile of documents, all taking a moment to shake Will’s limp hand, which was clammy and damp with sweat and congratulate him.

But despite the fanfare, Will couldn’t find it in himself to muster up any sort of excitement.

Instead, he just felt empty.

Empty as he blindly pushed his way out of the auditorium where he had given his presentation and shuffled down the barren halls on instinct.

Empty as he pushed his way out the building’s wide double doors, squinting into the harsh California summer sun after hours spent inside the stuffy building, the lovely weather a complete contrast to the storm raging inside Will.

Dr. William Byers. An empty title for an empty man.

He only managed to take a few shambling steps before a familiar voice was calling out to him, causing the brunet to turn towards the sound, “I assume a congrats are in order?” Max called as she pushed herself upright from a bench nestled underneath a large tree beside the building and strode over towards him on her crutches, “Unless of course you totally flubbed it, and have to wait to try again in a few months?”

Her red eyebrow arched curiously, obviously trying to get a read on Will, but likely gleaning nothing from his completely blank expression.

Slowly, as if he was made of stone, Will’s gaze fixed on the redhead and he nodded jerkily, “No, no. I passed.”

Max frowned and prodded Will in the stomach sharply, “Well, at least try to sound excited about it. Most graduate students would kill to be in your place right about now.”

Will just shrugged, unable to argue, “I dunno.” He huffed, “I just can’t seem to think whether or not all of this,” He gestured around himself vaguely, “was even worth it.”

His statement was met with a swift crutch to the ankle, which managed to knock Will out of his brooding mood as he hopped on one foot and cursed wildly, shooting sharp daggers at Max who just stared back at him coolly.

“If you say something like that again I’m going to march right back into that auditorium and demand they rescind your doctorate. Don’t you dare say that. You know that he wouldn’t have wanted that.”

Will lowered his foot back to the ground, the heavy weight that had briefly lifted from his shoulders at Max’s teasing returning in full force.

“You’re allowed to say his name, y’know. You don’t have to keep tiptoeing around it forever.”

Max sighed, appearing slightly frustrated, but the expression quickly retreated to be replaced with a look Will could only describe as melancholy.

“I know he was more important to you than the rest of us. But Mike was my friend too. You’re not the only one who had to leave him behind.”

The unbearably heavy weight on his shoulders threatened to pull Will under as he forced thoughts of dark hair and freckles and wide, shining red eyes away with a vengeance, jamming the memories back into a box in the recesses of his mind, before he finally let out a deep sigh that belayed his weariness, “Yeah, I know. It’s just hard sometimes. Everyone else seems like they’re completely fine, like our time at the lab was just a blip in the radar. Nancy got tapped as a guest journalist for the Washington Post, Robin and Erica jetted off to Russia to do some top-secret government thing, Eddie moved to Chicago, and Dustin, Suzie and Lucas all went back to their regular lives. And me-”

Will scrubbed a tired hand across his face, his eyes burning at the edges, but he refused to let the tears flow, because if he did, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get them to stop. “Why does it feel like I’m the only one who’s drowning?”

A gentle hand on his wrist pulled him from his self-pity, Max’s expressive cerulean eyes swimming with concern, “Will, if you felt like that, why didn’t you say anything?”

Not particularly wanting to wallow in the sorrows he had spent the better part of the past six months fixated on, Will shook his arm from Max’s grasp and plastered on a flimsy smile that likely looked about as fragile as it felt.

“What do you think I talk about with that fancy-ass therapist the government ever so kindly decided to pay for?”

Max frowned in response to Will’s not so subtle attempt at using humor to mask what was really bothering him but seemed to at least reach the correct conclusion that Will no longer wanted to talk about it, and thankfully decided to redirect the conversation towards mercifully lighter topics.

“Well, it’s such a nice day today, and someone just got officially got their doctorate after what,” Max glanced down to count loudly on her fingers, “five-six-seven years. I think that’s a good enough cause for celebration.” The redhead grinned up at him, her eyes fiery and excited and Will was surprised to see she didn’t seem to be faking her enthusiasm in the slightest. “What do you say we head down to the bar and see if we can snag you a couple of free drinks?”

Will, unable to fight back the tide of Max’s good humor, found his lips twitching up in amusement as he glanced down at his watch, a short chuckle escaping his lips, “Max, its 11 o’clock in the morning. I think it’s probably a bit too early to drink.”

Max predictably, pouted, scuffing the ground with the end of one of her crutches in silent contemplation for a moment before she suddenly perked up, a subtle smirk on her lips, “Well, if it’s too early for drinks, how do you feel about coffee? I think El’s working today and I bet she’d totally be able to get you a free drink. C’mon, let us go do something fun for once.”

Rarely had Will ever seen Max so downright giddy, and under the weight of Max’s excitement, who was Will to say no.

So, pushing away thoughts of a dark-haired siren pale as the moon, Will proffered his elbow to the shorter redhead with a warm smile, who shot him a sharp look before slipping the crutch off her wrist and pressing it into Will’s free hand before reaching up to wrap her small, freckled hand around Will’s forearm with a girlish giggle.

“Lead the way Mistress Mayfield.”

“As you wish, Doctor Byers.”

The most unexpected thing to come out of his group’s hostile takedown of the Hawkins National Laboratory was most likely the transition of one Jane ‘El’ Hopper from psychically powered superhuman capable of ripping holes in literal space and time to a bright and bubbly barista in a small café primarily frequented by college students. When Max and Will walked in the door, still arm and arm, El looked up from where she was elbow deep in the milk frother to shoot the pair a blinding grin, a brown apron layered over her chunky color-blocked sweater, a set of matching clips pulling her bangs away from her face.

“So, did it go well?” She asked as the pair strode up to the register, El already punching in their orders before they could even tell the other woman what they wanted. An iced Americano for Will and whatever sickeningly sweet, cavity-inducing monstrosity was on the special menu that month for Max.

“Yep. You’re in the presence of not just one, but two doctors now.” Max boasted as she scanned the display of pastries and muffins by the register contemplatively, even though they all knew she wasn’t going to order one.

“Well then I think I owe you a congratulations.” El spoke softly, her voice warm and affectionate in the cozy atmosphere of the coffee shop as she finished ringing up their order, even going so far as to pull a croissant from the glass display case to place on a napkin and push silently towards Max with a faint rosy flush to her cheeks.

“Thanks El, that really means a lot.” Will whispered, unable to hide the warmth in his voice, not that he wanted to.

And before Will could even whip out his wallet to pay for their drinks, El was shooting him a stern look that looked far more at home on the woman capable of breaking someone’s neck with nothing more than a twitch of her head than a friendly neighborhood café worker, and served to still Will’s hand just long enough for El to swipe her own employee card through the card reader.

“It’s on the house today. You deserve it.”

With a slightly put-out huff that he didn’t entirely mean, Will acquiesced, knowing he stood no chance arguing against the stubborn woman, and instead just sidled over to one of the barstools lining the counter, Max slumping down into the seat beside him, the pair sitting in silence as they watched El prepare their drinks.

When Will had first come back to California after well, everything. He had expected to have a much more difficult time readjusting to his life here. What with the constant hounding of reporters for the first couple months, and the curious, pointed looks of his peers, but thankfully, Will hadn’t come back to LA alone.

No, Max, who held a lecturer position at UCLA, her alma mater and the school Will was still attempting to pry in doctorate from, quickly slotted her way into Will’s life much like she had during their months together back in Hawkins, and for that Will was grateful.

When Will was getting too caught up in his own head about his research, spiraling after spending far too long staring at old research notes about Mike, Max was there to peel him out of his office or scrape him off his kitchen table after staying up far too late reading dissertations, dragging his sorry ass out for dinner, or drinks, or just to chat.

And honestly, it was nice.

He had fully expected him and Max to drift apart after Hawkins, without anything substantial to hold the pair of them together, but after one night when the pair had spent far too much money on cheap tequila shots that burned just as much coming back up as they did on going down, and Max spent most of the next morning sweating and shaking over Will’s toilet bowl while he stroked her back and tried to ply her with small bits of bread and sips of water, he realized that he wasn’t the only one getting something out of their friendship, but that Max needed him too.

A few months into Max and Will’s new start at friendship, another member of their strange group came to join them.

El, fully fed up with all the strained tension in Hawkins, and hating the spotlight even more than Will himself, had spontaneously booked herself a one-way bus ticket to Los Angeles, and only told Will and Max about it via a phone call from the LA bus station.

So, Max had ever so graciously let El crash on her couch for a couple months, while the brunette searched for a job she could successfully do in downtown LA with a resumé that was entirely redacted by the U.S. government. That was until Max’s lease ran out and the pair just decided to rent a two-bedroom apartment together. And El, determined to contribute at least somewhat to their joint expenses, despite the fact that Max’s salary could more than cover the cost for both of them, got herself a job at the university coffee shop, a position she surprisingly exceled at, and seemed to truly enjoy.

And thus, Will’s little circle of friends grew to include one more.

Since the coffee shop was entirely empty at this time of day besides Max and himself, once El finished preparing their drinks, sliding the mugs across the counter and into their waiting hands in a move Will still wasn’t entirely convinced didn’t involve some form of telekinesis, El popped out from behind the counter to plop down on the vacant seat at Will’s side, a tea cup in one hand.

“So, Doctor Byers?” El teased, raising one eyebrow. “Looks like I’ve got two smarty-pants friends now. We’re going to absolutely destroy at trivia next week.”

Will couldn’t help but snort, well used to his friend’s strange fixation on attending Trivia Nights, despite the fact that the lot of them are objectively terrible at trivia. “El, just because I have a doctorate now isn’t going to make me any better at trivia. I haven’t read a newspaper or watched the news in months, and Max couldn’t be bothered to care about anything that doesn’t have gills.”

El shrugged, nonplussed and slurped loudly at her tea, “Eh, I’m sure it doesn’t hurt.”

Max, likely wanting to shut down any trivia talk before El started going on a tangent, quickly jumped in, “So, what’s the plan Byers? You skipping town now you’ve got your fancy piece of paper, or do you think you’ll stick around a while?”

Ah, he should’ve expected a question like this eventually, but ultimately, he had been avoiding thinking about his plans post-doctorate.

His brain had been so jumbled with nerves leading up to his final presentation, and whatever brainpower he had remaining had been staunchly focused on not thinking about a certain dark-haired merman who plagued his every waking moment, that he honestly hadn’t given much thought to what would happen after.

He could tell from the intense stares drilling into both sides of his face that he had been silent for too long for such a simple question, and ultimately decided to just be honest, knowing that both Max and El could read him like an open book.

“I-I don’t know. I spent so long chasing this dream, mostly out of spite, that I never really thought about what would happen if I did achieve it.” Will let out a dark chuckle, “Hell, I don’t even know if I want to continue in research at all, after everything that happened.”

El and Max nodded solemnly, the pair intimately familiar with the seedy underbelly their line of research was capable of.

“Well, if you need a job, we can always use another cashier!” El piped up, trying to brighten the mood, and Will couldn’t help but feel slightly buoyed by her earnest attempt.

“I’ve still got my postdoc position at the university I can fall back on, but thanks for the offer.” Will smiled then, a thin, wan thing, but a smile, nonetheless.

“You know, just because you got the degree doesn’t mean you have to use it.” Max butted in, “You could totally just decide to go full working stiff and just get a job in an office or something.”

Will nodded, “I’m not sure if I could abandon all my hard work just like that, but I can’t deny it isn’t tempting at times.”

Max nudged her shoulder into Will’s playfully, “Well, whatever you decide to do, I hope you decide to stick around. As much as I’m loathe to admit it, things just wouldn’t be the same here without you Byers.”

From his other side, El leaned over to wrap one arm around Will’s shoulders, squeezing tightly, “We’d miss you. But we’d support you with whatever you want to do.”

And with the warmth of two of his friends at his side, for the first time in a long time, Will finally felt like he was home.

Will wasn’t sure how long they sat there, talking about nothing, their drinks long since emptied. Occasionally their conversation was interrupted whenever a customer would walk in, El dutifully stepping back behind the counter to take the order of a tired looking college student or two who shuffled in between their classes to down some horrifically caffeinated beverage before stumbling back out again. But other than that, the group was mercifully alone as they talked.

And Will surprisingly, felt okay.

He wasn’t thinking about Mike, or Hawkins, or the Upside Down, or the lab. No, instead he was just an average 20-something, enjoying an afternoon with his friends.

And it was… nice.

But nothing nice lasts forever, and the bubble of contentment surrounding the trio eventually gave way to reality. Max, standing and shaking the stiffness from her legs, announced loudly that she had to use the restroom, forcing El to take her to the special ‘Employee’s Only’ restroom instead of the regular customer use bathroom at the front of the store. El, particularly weak to any of Max’s requests, easily agreed, quickly ushering Max behind the counter and through the Staff door, and Will couldn’t help but laugh quietly into his empty mug as the door swung shut behind him, thoroughly amused by El’s incredibly obvious affections for the redhead, not that Max seemed to have figured them out yet.

Eventually Will’s giggles subsided, and he was left sitting at the countertop, alone, idly drumming his fingers against the rim of his empty mug.

But he wasn’t left alone for long, shortly after his two friends disappeared to the back, the front door of the store opened, the quiet ringing of the bell announcing a customer’s arrival.

“The barista just went to the back for a moment, she’ll be back in a second.” Will called over his shoulder, not bothering to look back at the new arrival, as the stranger stepped further into the café.

He could hear the soft tapping of the stranger’s shoes on the floor as they walked, the footsteps sounding surprisingly loud in the quiet atmosphere of the store, but still Will didn’t turn back.

The sound of footsteps grew ever louder until it seemed like the stranger was standing nearly directly behind him. The footsteps ceased abruptly.

“Hello, Will.”

Instantly, ever hair on the back of Will’s neck stood on end, his body feeling like it was suddenly electrified in a way he hadn’t felt since his time in the Upside Down. He whirled around, practically falling off his barstool as he took in the sight in front of him.

Shaggy, dark brown curls, nearly black, shorter than the last time Will had seen it. Pale, freckled skin, pink from the sun. A set of curving silver scars on a slender neck. A beat-up denim jacket littered with band patches, some Will recognized, and others completely unfamiliar to him, but the person wearing the jacket however, was very familiar.

“Mike?” Will wheezed, his eyes blown wide as he reached out to press his fingers into the siren’s arm, not entirely sure if he was even real, his hand meeting warm flesh, and Mike shuddered at his touch.

“H-how? How are you here?” Will gasped, unable to stop his staring, even as his brain turned to mush.

Mike smiled, a small thing, just the barest edges of his teeth visible, flat and smooth. Human. “It’s good to see you too.”

Without even bothering to answer Will’s question, Mike settled onto the barstool beside him, the one that had been previously occupied by El. Distantly, Will wondered why it was taking Max and El so long in the bathroom, but the majority of his mental capacity was too occupied drinking in the person in front of him to dwell on that thought too hard.

While Will was distracted with his staring, Mike extracted his wallet from his entirely too-tight jeans, Will’s eyes following the long line of the merman’s legs with an appraising eye, only startled from his admiration towards the siren’s form when Mike slapped a small piece of plastic down on the table in front of him. An ID.

Mike’s ID.

Will squinted at the grainy picture of Mike, looking like he had been caught mid-blink, in the corner, before quickly scanning the words printed off to the side.

“Michael Wheeler?” He pressed, his attention flicking back up to the merman, who was observing him idly. “Is thing even real?”

Mike snorted, his nose scrunching up cutely as he laughed, “Of all the things to ask, that’s the thing you’re worried about? Whether or not I have a fake ID?”

He averted his gaze, face burning, and shrugged, “It’s a valid question.”

Beside him, Mike huffed, amusement coloring his voice as he spoke, “Yes, it’s real. Or as real as it can be according to Eddie. I mean you guys went through all the trouble of making up a fake background for me, it would be a shame not to use it.”

Will’s gaze fell back down to the ID once again, staring at the words so fiercely the letters started to blur until they were incomprehensible scribbles, still not fully convinced he was just dreaming.

“This says your birthday is April 07.”

Mike chuckled good-naturedly, “You can blame Eddie for that one, I think he thought it was funny. Since I was Specimen-0407 and all.”

Will blinked, then blinked again.

And then he started to laugh.

A great big, shaking, hysterical laugh.

Because there was no way this was his life.

No way, six months after abandoning Mike to the hellscape of the Upside Down, was the same boy sitting in front of him, looking entirely human, staring over at Will like he hung the stars in the sky.

Because Will didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to have Mike back in his life. Not after everything he did.

“Don’t you think I have a say in that?” Mike whispered, his dark brows furrowing with concern.

Shit. Had Will said that out loud?

Mike snorted softly, “Yes, yes you did.”

Abashed, Will let his head thump against the countertop, refusing to look at the merman he still wasn’t fully convinced wasn’t just a figment of his imagination beside him.

Even though he couldn’t see the merman, Will’s skin still prickled from their close proximity, and Will swore he could feel the ghost of the siren’s touch on the exposed skin of his neck, but he refused to look up to check to see if Mike had moved from his position beside him.

Mike huffed, “Well, if you’re not going to talk. I guess I will.”

Will met Mike’s words with nothing but silence, which the siren took as permission enough to continue. “It took me three months to heal up enough to find a way back here you know. Whatever that weird bomb thing El brought over to my dimension really did a number on the place. Completely destroyed one of the only sources of energy we had. I spent the better part of a month just trying to heal from my injuries.” Mike let out a hoarse laugh, “I never realized having to heal from things the normal way was so exhausting. Not sure how you humans do it.”

Will’s back stiffened at Mike’s words, and he had to resist the urge to trace his fingers over the long scars cutting swaths across his stomach, a matching set to Mike’s own.

“After that, I ended up having to hunt down as many creatures as I could find so I could drain their energy. All the power of my world was slowly disappearing, since it no longer had any way to replenish itself, so I took whatever I could. Eventually, after I probably murdered half the population, I finally had enough energy to create one last portal. I tried to get it to send me to you, but I guess since you were too far away from Hawkins, I ended up portaling into Eddie’s bathroom up in Chicago instead. Scared the shit out of that guy, his poor boyfriend ran in with and tried to beat me over the head with a bat covered in nails, I mean who does that.” Mike chuckled to himself before continuing.

“Thankfully, Eddie managed to swoop in at the last moment and prevent Steve from murdering me right there on the floor. Which would’ve been a pretty ironic way to go for a fearsome predator like me. Survived my entire life in the cutthroat wasteland of my homeworld only to be felled by some random human with a bat in the middle of the night.”

Despite himself, Will found the corners of his lips curling up at the edges in amusement. Raising his head from the protective cocoon of his arms to blink up at Mike, surprised to see a matching smile on his face as well.

“Luckily Eddie was nice enough to let me crash on his couch for a few months while him and a couple other people who said they were friends of yours, Lucas and Dustin, tried their best to teach me how to ‘be human’ as they put it.”

Will couldn’t help but jump in, “They made you watch all the Star Wars movies didn’t they?”

Mike grinned, a sharp thing even with his blunt human teeth, “Dustin said it was practically required. Although he nearly kicked my ass back to the Upside Down when I told him I liked Phantom Menace better than the original trilogy.”

“He would.” Will snorted, “I went and saw it with Max and El in theaters when it came out and Dustin had me debrief with him on the phone for almost three hours as he complained about how JarJar Binks was an absolute atrocity to the Star Wars cinematic universe.”

“Yeah, he had Suzie lock Lucas out of all the computers at his school just because Lucas said the Ewoks were kinda cute. Honestly your friends are kinda scary.”

“They really are, aren’t they.”

It hit Will just then how strange this whole thing was. Talking to Mike. Laughing with Mike. Talking about something of absolutely no importance, like they were just two normal people.

It was surprisingly, nice.

Eventually, Mike’s long plodding stories lapsed into a comfortable silence, the pair just sitting beside each other companionably, lost in their thoughts, until Mike quietly coughed, dragging Will’s attention back towards the man sitting beside him.

“I-uh, have something of yours.”

Will raised an eyebrow, confused as to what possession of his Mike, who he hadn’t seen in months, could possibly have.

His question was quickly answered as Mike reached into the pocket of his denim jacket and extracted a familiar shape of emerald and cream.

His necklace.

The very necklace he had thought lost forever to the Upside Down. But now it was here, in front of him. Mike’s sharp tooth winking brightly from where it was nestled in amongst the braided shells and grasses.

“You still have it? Why?” Will asked, incredulous.

If Will hadn’t been sitting down, the gentle, soft look Mike shot him as he set the necklace down on the counter between them might have been enough to send him to his knees.

“It was a gift. I had to make sure I gave it back to you.”

And before Will could even manage to say anything in response, his brain still snagged on seeing the necklace he had once thought once forever sitting in front of him, Mike stood from his seat and began to walk away.

Before he could even think about why he was doing so, Will was on his feet, his fingers grasping the sleeve of Mike’s jacket, “Where are you going?”

Mike just shot him another one of those far to gentle and patient looks, before sliding his free hand down to carefully pry Will’s fingers from his sleeve, in a way that was totally at odds from the oddly possessive and jealous Mike he had come to know from his months working at the lab.

“Will, I’ve had months to come to terms with meeting you again. And while initially I had wanted to book a plane ticket straight to you the moment I arrived in this world, Eddie convinced me that we both needed time apart to figure ourselves out without each other. You just found out I’m here and human, I don’t want to overwhelm you with everything. I want to give you time to process. For you to decide what you want to do now.”

And somehow, Mike’s words were the thing that sent him over the edge, silent tears Will had spent months trying to force back finally bursting free, painting shining trails across his cheeks and down his chin.

“You idiot,” Will wailed, all but throwing himself into Mike’s arms, the siren catching him easily in his embrace, “I’ve spent the better part of six months trying to figure out who I am without you and decided that I hated it. I don’t need more time.”

Above him, Mike let out a strangled noise, but Will barreled on, “I don’t need to think about it, or talk it over with my therapist. I’ve wasted so much time thinking. Thinking of what I would’ve done different, what would’ve happened if I never met you, or if I decided to never let you go. Granted I never expected this-”

Mike’s arms tightened against his back, and Will couldn’t help but lean further into the touch, the touch that was wholly unfamiliar but familiar all at once, because this was Mike.

Mike. The boy he had met as a kid in Will’s own personal version of hell, until Mike managed to save him and help him get home. And then, fifteen years later, they met again, in Mike’s hellscape this time, and Will managed to help him find his way back to his own dimension.

A favor repaid.

But not without a cost for each of them.

And now, here, today, they met again for the third time.

If that wasn’t fate, Will didn’t know what was.

And this time, he wasn’t going to let Mike go.  

“Please stay, Mike.” Will implored, pulling back from Mike’s chest just enough to be able to look him in the eye, his gaze steady, is voice certain, “I know what I want. I don’t need more time. Hell, we’ve wasted enough time. I just need you.”

He wasn’t sure if it was him or Mike that moved first, but ultimately it didn’t matter as they met together in a frantic press of lips.

And it was like the entire world fell away.

The coffee shop, El and Max, Will’s future job prospects, none of it mattered now that he was kissing Mike like it was the first time all over again, sinking into the warm, familiar heat that burned against his lips like a brand.

And Mike met him just as fervently, his arms crushing Will to his chest in a vise grip like he never wanted to let him go.

It was just one kiss. But Will was certain that it would be seared into his memory for the rest of his life. When he was old and gray and hunched over, he would still remember this moment, this feeling, of Mike molded against him, kissing him like he was the most precious thing on Earth.

It could have been minutes, or maybe hours when they eventually pulled away, breathless and panting, looking far more debauched than they had any right to be in the middle of a university coffee shop when just anyone off the street could’ve easily walked in on them.

But Will didn’t care. He only cared about the lovely boy in front of him, the one he had nearly lost forever, and now, he knew, he was never going to let him slip through his fingers ever again.

“Do you maybe want to go get dinner? I just realized I’ve never gotten the chance to take you on a real, proper date.”

Mike smiled at him, warm and sharp and crooked, and Will couldn’t help but think that some of the siren’s ethereal beauty must have carried over to Mike in this form, because he didn’t think he had seen Mike ever look so absolutely breathtaking.

“Yeah, I think I’d like that.”