1000 Ships, 1000 oneshots, 1000 followers

*General Stranger Things

Will, Johnathan, Eleven, and Joyce may not have lived in Hawkins anymore, but that doesn't mean they don't go back and visit so often that people forget they moved away. Joyce isn't a fan of going back, but all the kids insist, so they visit all the time.

It was still kind of weird living with El, in Will's opinion. It was like she was his sister now or something, and he didn't know what to think of it, especially since she was still dating Mike. It was weird, but since she was still quiet most of the time, Will decided to make an effort to get a little closer to the strange girl.

And he really only knew one way to get close with people.

"You've never played D&D before, have you?" Will asked one day. El shook her head. "Wanna learn?"

"Okay."

So Will dug up his D&D stuff and started to teach El how to play the game, watching her through how to make a character, how to play, what stuff like Constitution and Dexterity meant, all the dice, etc. She picked up the game pretty quickly, and wanted to play more. But, as Will explained, it was difficult to play with just two people, and Mike, Lucas, and Dustin didn't really play the game much anymore.

But El could play cards that Will couldn't. She told Max about the game and how fun it was, so Max demanded that Lucas teach her to play, and with the combined power of girlfriends, they convinced Mike and Lucas and by extension Dustin to play next time El and Will came to visit, which they did the following weekend.

The six of them crowded around a table in Mike's basement as the campaign started.

"For starters," Will, ever the DM, began. "Max and El are new, so they should probably tell us about their characters."

"I'm an Elf." El said quietly. 

"ROGUE DRAGONBORN." Max said loudly, slamming her hands on the table.

"Oh no," Lucas muttered, already regretting the decision of teaching Max anything about the game.

"We'll start our journey out on a ship-" Will began, the campaign following.

A few hours and several snacks later, it was still going on.

"El," Will said, storytelling. "Your elf is lost in the woods when a HUGE wolf approaches you. What do you do?"

"Attack it!" Mike suggested.

"Yeah!" Dustin agreed. "Use the enchanted spear, that'll definitely work."

"Kill the wolf- we could sell the hide for more gold pieces," Lucas said.

"El? Your decision." Will urged.

"....Can I pet it?" El asked.

"You.... You want to PET a dangerous wild wolf?"

"Yes." Will shrugged.

"Roll a d20." She rolled, the dice landing on a perfect 20. 

"Okay...." Will flipped through a few papers. "The wolf lies on the ground and flops over like a dog who wants his stomach scratched. He is now entirely loyal to you and will protect and follow you always. You have a pet wolf now."

"His name is David," El said, grinning. Max started to laugh.

"If David eats one of us, I'm gonna be so pissed," Lucas muttered.

It was midnight by the time Johnathan showed up at the Wheeler house to take El and Will home, but the campaign showed no sign of stopping. Max and Dustin were knee deep in a battle with a pack of orcs, and everyone was yelling suggestions, pounding on the table, popcorn flying, Will screaming the events of the battle as Max and Dustin rolled d20s like their lives depended on them.

"If you can drag them away, you can take them home," Karen Wheeler offered from the top of the stairs. Johnathan nodded and made his way down.

"One of the orcs grabs your dragonborn!" Will was yelling. "He looks poised to tear you in half, and Dustin is too busy fighting the other orcs to help you! What happens?"

"I-I-" Max stuttered, struggling to think of a way to fight back.

"David charges in and bites the orc holding her!" Mike shouted.

"Yes!" El cried in agreement.

"How would David know to find them?" Will questioned.

"I used a spell to find Dustin and Max and we ran for them!" Lucas offered. As a wizard, he could do those things. 

"Alright," Will thought for a second. "David CHARGES into the battle, biting the orc's ankle and forcing him to drop Max. The rest of you have joined the fight, and orcs surround all of you. How will you defeat them?"

Everyone started screaming ideas, spells, and attacks at once. The d20s went flying and Johnathan raised an eyebrow.

"I hate to interrupt the game," He started. "But it's time to go home." He was met with six cries of protest.

"Just let us finish this battle!" Will pleaded.

"Please," El insisted. Johnathan sighed.

"I'll call mom, see if she'll let us stay the night." 

"YES!!" Mike cheered, and they immediately charged back into battle while Johnathan called his mother and asked Karen if they could stay overnight. 

He ended up crashing 'on the couch' while the others continued their game because Mrs. Wheeler had said they could stay, as long as El and Johnathan slept in separate rooms than Mike and Nancy did.

That plan royally failed seeing as Johnathan ended up in Nancy's room the minute her parents went to sleep, and no one would be sleeping in the campaign.

They spent all weekend in Mike's basement, playing nonstop. They finally crashed late Sunday afternoon, and when Johnathan went downstairs to again convince his brother and El that they had to go home, especially since there was school tomorrow, he found the whole party passed out. 

Dustin was face down on the table, drooling a little. Lucas was smushed onto one side of the couch while Max was sprawled out and snoring on the rest of it. Will had crashed on the floor beside his chair, using Dustin's snack backpack as a pillow, and Mike and El were curled up on a pile of blankets, looking, because even Johnathan had to admit it, completely adorable.

"Aw, don't they look peaceful." A new voice insisted from a couple steps behind Johnathan. He turned as Steve walked down the rest of the stairs.

"What are you doing here?" Johnathan questioned. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Picking up my kids, duh." They forced the kids awake, and El and Will reluctantly said their goodbyes and got into Johnathan's car while Lucas, Max, and Dustin piled into Steve's complaining that they didn't need him to babysit anymore. Steve scolded them while Mike and Nancy waved goodbye, and the cars drove away.

Will and El stared out the windows in the back of the car the whole way home, wishing they had never left Hawkins in the first place. It had been for the best, but still.

It wasn't the same.