A/N: Written for tvnetwork2_las, the prompt was Chance encounters. Beta-read by Tania.
In the Past
The arcade was relatively empty when Will entered. It was still early and most of the kids were at school, except for two boys over at the racing cars, and the group of teenagers by the pinball machine. Then there was the owner, who was perched precariously on a chair, reading a magazine and smoking something that Will hoped wasn't weed. He didn't care that those kids shouldn't be there, and that was exactly what Will needed right now. A place where he could get lost, where he could stop thinking. He walked to the farthest machine, put in the coins, and then started fighting the computer, trying to forget what brought him here. It almost worked, until the front door opened, letting in a bit of daylight and a woman's voice. It wasn't about what was said, but the tone in which it was said. It sparked something familiar in Will, something that he hadn't heard for a long time now. He looked up from the game, just catching a glimpse of long dark hair and a pair of twinkling eyes. The rest was hidden behind the teenager trying to enter.
"It'll take only few minutes Henry, then we're off to an early lunch, so don't get too lost in the game, okay?" The woman said, and Will felt a pang of longing.
"Aw Doc, give me at least twenty, I have a record to beat!" The boy spoke and Will almost flinched when the woman laughed in reply. When the boy finally managed to convince the woman to not come back sooner than in thirty minutes, the door closed and the arcade fell into blessed darkness filled with blinking lights, sounds of chatter and the revving of car engines. Will gripped the joystick harder in his hands, grumbling when he realized that the distraction cost him the game. He kicked the console and was just turning away to find another game, when the teenager from the door walked up to him.
"Hey man, mind if I join you?"
Will frowned, suddenly unsure. He didn't really want to socialize, after all the whole purpose of coming here was to lose his mind in the game. But Will wasn't a good player and the conversation he'd overheard brought him back to reality. Maybe sharing a game wasn't such a bad idea.
So he shrugged and looked at the boy, waiting.
The boy grinned and put in another coin, setting up a new game for two players.
"It's always more fun to play Mortal Kombat against a real opponent than the comp. My name's Henry by the way," he added, his eyes focused on the monitor. Will hesitated, but the game started and he was already losing, so he grabbed the joystick.
"I'm Will," he mumbled, then cursed when he got hit. They played in silence for a minute, each focusing on the game, but after a while Will started paying more attention to his opponent.
"What?" Henry asked, feeling his eyes on him and Will hesitated.
"Nothing," he snapped, turning back to the game. Henry snorted.
"Come on man, I know you were eyeing me from the moment I entered. What's the problem?"
Will bit his lip, unsure what to say, or how it would be taken. Last thing he needed was to get into a fight. Finally, he decided to just spit out what was on his mind.
"Who was that woman you came in with?"
"Huh?" Henry turned, losing interest in the game, suddenly suspicious."Why?" he asked, and Will caught a note of protectiveness in his voice.
"Nothing, just... I thought it was your mom. A little weird to call her Doc, is all," Will said, taking a step back. Henry looked at him hard, then smiled.
"It would be if she was my mom. Naw, the Doc... She's cool. She took me in after my parents died." Henry caught a flicker of pain in Will's eyes and the smile left his face.
"Hey man, what's the matter?"
Will shook his head."Nothing. Still playing?"
"Sure," Henry replied, but he didn't pay much attention to it anymore. He could feel that something was wrong; he could practically hear the racing heartbeat of the other boy.
"So, you come here often?"
"Not really," Will said, letting out a sigh. "I'm skipping school today," he admitted.
"Any reason?"
Another shrug in reply. A few well placed kicks later were the answer.
"I'm home sick, like every year."
"You look healthy to me," Henry looked puzzled. "What do you mean every year?"
"The day my mom died. They leave me be on that day, every year. The fosters call in that I'm sick, they give me ten bucks and tell me to do what I want, to have some fun." Will snorted and shook his head. "As if it's even possible."
"I'm sorry," Henry said after a while. From anyone else, Will wouldn't have bought it. But Henry lost his parents too.
"What are you doing on the day your parents died?"
"I don't know the date," Henry admitted. "But I know when the Doc took me in. Every year, we spend the day together. I think… That's what family's supposed to do."
Will looked up from the game, his eyes a little too shiny, but his voice strong.
"I've had a family, and I lost it. I don't need a new one."
"Aw man, everybody needs someone," Henry argued, feeling sorry for the boy, yet feeling happy to have Helen Magnus. He thought Will could use one Magnus too.
Will just shook his head.
"Families are overrated," Will said, then with a sad smile turned and left.
Henry was still looking at the door when Magnus came for him. He was thinking of the boy when he went to sleep that night, hoping that he would realize how wrong he was, that Will would find the family he belonged to. Little did Henry know that it would be his own family they'd share.
The end