Chapter Text
The forest was always a place to be about your wits. This was drilled into the paladin since childhood, getting scolded by his most trusted confidant while his scrapped knees were tended to with a mix of herbs and cloth.
The forest held danger and allure, home to monsters plenty, yet still housing songbirds and deer. Today’s journey, a simple voyage to a neighboring town, the map had taken him and his cleric through a rarely trekked path through the forest. Vines and roots were constantly attempting to trip an unaware individual, leaves carpeted the ground to bury the small white flowers from spring. The thick trunks held onto shared memories between the Cleric and the Paladin. From when the oath was muttered to forever to protect the most important person in his life, binding him to a life of devotion, to witnessing that same person saving his life with glowing hands, magic flowing from his very essence.
“Must you spend more time gazing at the willow trees I? Have I lost your interest after these long years, Micheal?” The laugh that came out of the Paladin at the accusation scared a yellow warbler from a nearby branch. “As if that could ever possibly occur, William. Why, matter of fact…”
Micheal kneeled with one knee in front of the other, reaching out and taking a hold of the cleric’s right hand, staring into his golden brown eyes while pressing a kiss across soft knuckles. “I believe I would never be able to take my gaze from you in any lifetime. My love for thee surpasses time and space itself, dare I even say my love challenges the Gods above-”
William’s face was a rosy, dusty pink, highlighting the beauty it held. “Oh hush you. I do not believe The Dawnfather would be pleased to hear you claim to be able to conquer him.” Micheal stood, intertwining their hands as the duo began to walk side by side. “If you requested me to, have no doubt I would accomplish anything.” William squeezed his hand, shaking his head in disapproval, yet a pleased smile climbed on his face.
The sun had set in the sky, light quickly fading as the forest began to disperse into a clearing, with a stream flowing mere feet past a short line of trees. “Let us set up camp for the night, my heart. The map claims we still have a while to go, and it is unnecessary and ill advised to rush our trip. We must conserve our energy to explore and enjoy Hawkyens to the fullest.” The lovers easily assembled their shared tent and bedroll, years of practice allowing them to work in unison, like two halves of the same soul.
The night was quiet. Micheal had made it habit during travels to ensure William was asleep, protected and safe, before allowing himself to rest. The peaceful expression, free from the stressors of an adventurer’s life, suited William nicely. Micheal would fight The Dawnfather hundreds, no, thousands of times over to allow William to experience that bliss forever more.
An odd noise, one Micheal did not recognize, came from outside the cloth housing. It was not unlike an Owlbear, yet they were not in the proper environment for such a creature. Reluctantly, Micheal climbed from their makeshift bed, careful not to awaken the brown-haired boy beside him.
The cold forest air stung his cheeks and he ventured out of the tent, scanning the treeline. Bushes, leaves, and darkness were all that met his eye, yet an unsettling feeling settled upon his shoulders, feeling watched. Micheal cleared his throat. “Leave. Do not force me to make sure you do.”
His voice met uneerie silence. Often, during the night, frogs would croak in the meadows, bugs would buzz around the air. Yet it was as if no animal existed in this space.
A branch crunched behind him, and he spun on his heel, holding his shield up just as a fleshy creature dove at him, its head split open five ways into a mouth full of razors.
Yet, rather than the monster bouncing off his shield, a red light filled Micheal’s vision, engulfing his sight as he saw his Cleric’s terrified face.
Gone. William, the creature, the tent. “William!?” Micheal called out, pain and panic fueling him as he spun around. The forest was similar, though any collection of trees do. “William!!?” Micheal continued, beginning to frantically rush into the treeline, turning his head wildly. Being separated from his Cleric always brought its own set of worries, let alone everything else having disappeared as well.
A vine below him caught his boot, sending him tumbling to the floor. Micheal braced himself, yet his hands did not make contact with the leaf covered ground. Rather, they connected with cloth, something warm: someone. Micheal let out a sigh of relief. With his Cleric with him, they could get through anything.
“Mike? Why are you all the way out here- what are you wearing?” Micheal lifted his head to meet those golden-brown eyes, raising an eyebrow. The boy in front of him was unmistakably William- down to the scar on his left cheekbone from childhood play. Yet, his robe was not what adorned his body, rather, a set of odd-looking plainclothes was donned.
Micheal got to his feet, looking slightly down at the other, a sense of worry washing back over him, yet William’s calming presence eased his shoulders. “Mike?” Micheal parroted, his eyes glued on the other’s, who were scanning him up and down with concern and admiration. “You jest, William. Whatever magic you have attempted in order to trick me has failed. Who was it that claimed we must need our energy for Hawkyens again? Unless we’ve magically arrived without me knowing and you have decided to purchase farmer’s clothes, I think it’d be advised to get back to sleep so I can fluster you properly in town.”
William’s face was an expression Micheal hadn’t expected. It was one he rarely saw, full of shock and embarrassment, while also being entirely smitten. Micheal laughed, taking William’s hand. “Why are you acting so odd? What, my intelligence surprised you, my Cleric?” At the title, William shook his head, muttering something under his breath as he stared with wide eyes. “Uh- Mike, I don’t- I’m. Let’s-”
William took a shaky breath, turning and beginning to walk. Micheal allowed William to lead him. He would follow William to the ends of the Earth, so if his love was this committed to some silly prank, he would indulge. The forest ended much faster than William had said earlier. It was only a quarter hour of a walk. Yet, it was not the scarcity of the trees that surprised him. No, it was…
Houses, he recognized. Rather, that is what Micheal deduced them as. The shape was roughly similar, yet the stone and bricks were swapped for what appeared as wood. The road had an odd coloring of yellow and white, which was illuminated by a lamp above a large, metal door. Yet, no flame was flickering inside the glass. Thin poles of solid stone were perched every few houses, with ropes of what appeared as thick, silvery wire connecting all of them.
“We can… You can stay at my house for now. Mom’s with Hopper and Johnathan is spending the night with Nancy, so I have the house to myself.” Nancy, as in the elf drow they had met years prior…?
This was not his world. There had been rumors of alternate dimensions, myths spread to children to dispel mischief, yet everybody knew there was no truth to the story. However, the riches and trinkets scattered throughout the house and this odd version of William couldn't be explained by anything else.
William shut and locked the door behind him, guiding Micheal to a cushioned sofa (which he had only seen in royal quarters) and sitting. Micheal followed suit, staring at an odd device hanging off the wall. A black box with an object attached by a curled wire hanging on it. William cleared his throat, bringing Micheal’s attention back to him. Despite all the strangeness, his cleric did not look any less breathtaking. Yet…
“You’re not Mike.” The voice of his soul-bond broke the quiet air between them, sounding sure and steady. “You look and sound just like him, but… you’re not Mike.” Micheal shook his head. Mike- a name that had occasionally been given to him, yet it never stuck once an individual of any intelligence had interacted with him for more than mere seconds.
“Who are you?” The question made Micheal take a sharp breath. Hearing those words, from a man he had spent his entire life by his side, was akin to getting thrown into a frozen lake in the middle of the winter storms. “I’m Micheal. Micheal the Paladin at your service, Sir…”
He trailed off, queuing Non-William to give him a name, noting the surprise he had at the mention of Micheal’s career. Had he never heard of Paladins? No, that was not possible, paladins were known worldwide. “I’m Will- just, Will.” Micheal nodded. This was not his William, yet he still felt an urge to protect Will. To cherish, care and love him.
“Let’s get some sleep, okay? Tomorrow I’ll bring you over to Mike, and we can figure out what to do from there.. You’ll need to wear something other than that though.” Will mused, motioning towards the iron protecting him. “I don’t know how you have a set of armor, but, you can’t just go LARPing outside during the day here in Hawkins.”
The name-. “Wait, we’re in Hawkyens? I need to find William, he must be here somewhere-” Micheal began to stand, and Will grabbed his shoulders, pushing him to sit back down. “Hey- We can find him tomorrow. Tomorrow, okay? I’m sure someone will be searching for a guy in armor.”
Unhappily, Micheal relented, switching into plains clothing after Will left to his own quarters. This doppelgänger of William still had an effect of getting Micheal to do whatever he wanted, and hearing the weary tone of the other’s voice, he would do whatever Will told him to. So, the night passed as Micheal did his best to rest without having William’s body pressed beside him. He was so used to having the Cleric beside him at all times that attempting sleep was as hard as climbing up a tower slick with water.