Through the Years

by Superfloxes

A retelling of sorts, showcasing how the most famous animated family came to be. Focusing more on character and drama, you'll see different sides of the iconic family as they grow up and deal with issues such disabilities and homophobia. More-or-less, a darker and more 'realistic' take on canonical events.

5. Preschool Daze

Author Notes - We'll be doing a slight timeskip here, cos there's not a lot you can do with two main characters who are still babies.

Something that I haven't really been able to do until now is have other characters show up. I don't want to have the Simpsons and Bouviers be the only ones who appear. So, every now and then we'll get some cameos from other characters from the show. I doubt I'll be able to use all the recurring cast (thought I can try), but I will use someone whenever I think I can make it work.

Generally, I will say this. If a character in these early chapters has the same name as a character from the show, they are the same character, no exceptions (that I can think of at least). If you see an Edna, or a Moe, or even a Frank Grimes, it is no coincidence. It's more fun that way.

CHAPTER FIVE - PRESCHOOL DAZE

1958... Mona thought preschool was best for Homer, but after that first day she began to have regrets.

It had been a few months after little Homer's third birthday, and his milestones hadn't arrived any earlier. While Abe occupied himself by calling his son 'the r-word' far too many times for Mona to count, the much-more-invested mother couldn't stop worrying. She was certain that there was nothing wrong with her adorable little angel, but Abe's words invested her mind and bred her insecurities.

Homer needed help.

'I'm tellin' ya, honey.' Abe said as they parked by the local preschool. 'This is a waste of time.'

Mona rolled her eyes, and simply looked back at her son in the backseat. His brown hair had been neatly combed - with difficulty - and he looked adorable in his blue shirt and pants. His usual wide smile had shrunk considerably, but not quite into a frown. He fluttered his fingers a little, which Mona saw as a sign of perfectly normal nerves.

'It's okay, Homie.' She said in her softest voice. 'We're just dropping by to see if it's right for you. If it isn't, we can drop by the ice cream place on the way home.'

The promise of sweet food seemed to get a small smile out of him, though he continued to flutter his fingers. Both the parents stepped out of the car, but only Mona went to unbuckle her child. The little boy giggled as his mother gently lifted him into her arms and carried him out of his seat.

'Here you go, sweetie.'

She settled him onto the ground, holding onto him just long enough to make sure that he could stand. After all, walking was one of the many milestones he was late to, and Mona didn't want to take any risks.

Abe crossed his arms and groaned. 'I just don't think this is a good idea. I don't know what the teachers will be expecting, but they won't be expecting him.'

Mona lightly grabbed onto Homer's shoulders before he could run off and chase a butterfly. 'Oh, he'll be fine. Some kids are just late bloomers. That's all.'

'Heh! Don't lie to me, woman. I can see it in your eyes. You're worried that the teachers won't understand him.'

'There is nothing wrong with him, so I have no reason to worry.'

Mona adored her ability to lie. She was never in the mood to tell Abe that anything he said regarding their son was correct. And what did it matter anyway? It certainly wouldn't be Homer's fault if the teachers didn't know how to teach him, and she was perfectly fine with doing that all by herself.

Homer looked around - he hadn't seen anything like this, that he could remember at least. Where were the cows? The fields? The kitchen? He held onto his mother's hand tighter as he observed these unfamiliar surroundings. Why had Mama taken him to this unknown place? Despite his uncertainties, he didn't say a word. If Mama brought him here, then it had to have been a good place.

'Let's go, Homie.' Mona said, leading him by the hand through the door.

Embarking through that door made Homer feel like he was stepping into a whole new world. What would he see? His mind immediately jumped to a room full of delicious donut-topped chocolate ice-cream, and that thought alone got him salivating.

'This is preschool, sweetie!'

That was not what he got, and he couldn't be any more disappointed. His mind couldn't focus on a single detail in the room; there was just too much. Building blocks, a chalkboard, several chairs and tables... and that was ignoring all the people there too. There were many adults, and just as many kids his age too. Only one person really stood out among the massive crowd: a young girl, only a few years older than him and the other toddlers, with light brown hair. She sat on one of the desks with her arms crossed, the look on her face exuding boredom.

The sight of so much new stuff, with hardly anything familiar, made Homer's stomach churn. He hugged his mother's leg like his life depended on it, and he did not want to let go for anything. So many sights, so many sounds...

'Wanna leave, Mama...' He murmured, just barely loud enough for Mona to hear him over the chatter.

She ran her fingers through his smooth hair. 'Aw, that's okay. But you should give this place a chance first, alright? If you really don't like this place, then we don't have to stay. Think you can stay here for just a little bit longer?'

He glanced at the floor in silence for several moments. 'Uh... o-okay.'

She gave him a soft smile. 'I know you can do it.'

Homer almost immediately went back on his answer when one of the many adults in the room approached him and his parents. She did not look familiar to him at all, and seemed a little older than the other adults in the room. At least her smile kinda reminded him of Mama's. This old woman knelt down in front of the little guy, and he stepped back and hid behind his mother's legs.

'This must be little Homer Simpson.' She said, in a gentle voice. 'Hello there, Homer. I'm Mrs Miller.'

Homer had heard her mention her name, but it vanished away like dust in the wind. He simply stared at her, hoping she'd step away.

'Say something, Homer!' Abe yelled, which made him wince.

'Abe!' Mona snapped back. 'He doesn't need to say anything if he's too shy. If you keep yelling at him like that, he'll never make any friends.'

Mrs Miller chuckled. 'That's quite alright. We get many kids who are shy.' She gave Homer her sweetest smile. 'There's only two people you need to know here. One of them is me, your teacher. And over there...'

She motioned towards the seven-year-old sitting on the table. The young girl rolled her eyes and looked away. At what? Literally anything that wasn't all those toddlers running around the place.

'Is my sweet little daughter Edna.' Mrs Miller explained. 'And she'll be my assistant today. I think you'll find that she's a really good teacher for a little girl.'

Edna grinned. 'HA!' Was her only response.

Mrs Miller sighed. 'She does have quite the attitude though. But that won't be a problem, I'm sure!'

Homer's eyes drifted over to Edna, seeing as she was the only being other than the teacher who he could make out. He couldn't be certain, but she looked like someone who really didn't wanna be there, which confused him because why would she be here if she didn't want to be? Perhaps for the same reason he was here.

'We're not doing much right now.' Mrs Miller said. 'It's just the first day, after all. We're just letting everyone find something to do. Soon, we'll all be sitting in front of that chalkboard so we can begin the class. But, for now, how about you just run along and find something to do?'

Homer's eyes widened, just a little. Find something to do? In that mess? He could barely make anything out in that mess of toddlers and parents. He looked up to his mother, and she gave him a soft smile.

'It's okay, Homie.' She said. 'You'll be fine. And we'll be here until it's time to go home. You are not alone.'

'What are ya doing still standing there?' Abe demanded. 'Get going!'

He shuddered. Even at just age three, he had learnt that disobeying Daddy was always a bad idea. So, he let go of his mother's leg and walked into the big crowd of preschoolers. Almost immediately, he regretted his decision. All those kids running around and doing things blended together into a mess of colours that he couldn't understand. His fingers fluttered harder. His breathing got sharp. He emitted quiet moaning sounds that no one could hear.

But he couldn't make Daddy angry. And Momma told him he could do it.

He glanced back at Edna, who was still sitting on the table. She glanced back at him, cocking an eyebrow. Both were silent, waiting for the other to say something.

'What are you looking at me for?' She asked. 'I'm just here to 'assist'. The toddlers are over there.'

He moaned again; the only kid who stood out was the one kid who he could not be friends with. Turning back to the crowd, he tried extra hard to make out anything in that insanity. His eyes fell upon a series of building blocks, lined up in a role of six. A brown-haired boy, even bigger than him, sat behind those blocks looking pretty proud of himself. Homer stared at the blocks closer. They had letters on them, but he had no idea what they could've said.

'Hey Mrs Miller!' The boy called. 'Look!'

The teacher came over and marvelled at his work. 'B-A-R-N-E-Y. Why Barney, you've only been here a few minutes and you can already spell your own name!'

The boy, apparently named Barney, grinned. 'Easy!'

Well, no way Homer could get along with that kid. He hadn't a clue how to spell 'Homer', and he would not have been able to read it anyway. So, he walked away from this very smart boy and over to the corner instead. This must've been the toy corner, judging by all the, well, toys scattered around. Not many kids were there, weirdly enough. Then again, maybe there were more kids and Homer just didn't notice. He only focused on a little girl, and the small pile of cat plush toys surrounding her.

Homer smiled. She seemed nice enough, even if she was hugging that little orange cat toy a little too tightly. With just a little more confidence than he had before, he approached her with a hopeful grin on his face.

'Gimme that!'

Suddenly, another kid jumped into this scene, this one a boy wearing glasses. He had a grin on his face that Homer could only see as evil. The 'evil' boy grabbed the cat toy right out of the cat girl's arms, holding it tight so she couldn't get it back.

'Hey!' The girl yelled. 'Give cat back!'

'Nuh uh!' The boy snapped back. 'It mine now!'

Homer expected the girl to cry, but instead she just picked up the black-and-white cat and cuddled that one instead.

'Fine!' She said. 'You have him. I have Tommy now.'

The evil smirk on the boy's face turned into an annoyed frown, and he just dropped the ginger cat onto the floor. 'Eh. It no fun anymore.'

That left Homer even more confused and slightly scared than before. Whatever just went down didn't make a lick of sense, and didn't make him particularly excited to go over there. A couple of voices could be heard from the crowd of adults, but he couldn't tell which ones were speaking. One of them had to have been that man in the black-and-white striped shirt though.

'Can you please tell your son to stop being just a nuisance?'

'We can't do that, man! That's discipline!'

Now that teasing the girl had gotten old, the evil boy set his sights on Barney's blocks instead. Laughing to himself, he ran across the room and kicked all those blocks away. Barney gasped, and glared right at the evil boy.

'Those were my blocks!' He claimed. 'I had them first!'

The evil boy had no response beyond laughing at him. Edna had been watching the whole thing, and with a sigh she got her feet on the floor. Though she herself was only a few years older than the other kids, she certainly seemed like an adult in comparison, at least to Homer. She, without a sweat, grabbed the evil boy by the back of his sweater and pulled him away.

'Alright...' She muttered, sounding like someone who just wanted to get back into bed. 'That's enough, Ned.'

The evil boy, now named Ned, kicked and whined in her hold as she dragged him away. The look on her face was of exquisite boredom. Homer had to step back a little as she walked past him. Before she could really drag him anywhere, she was stopped - right in front of Homer - by an adult woman wearing some stupid red hat.

'Now where do you think you are taking my son?' The woman asked.

Edna rolled her eyes, again. 'He's misbehaving. My mom says that any kid who isn't behaving should be put in the corner.'

The woman gasped. 'You are going to punish my son? What gives you the right to do that?!'

'Mom says that we have the right to punish your kids. Especially when you won't do it yourself.'

'I can't believe your mother lets you get away with something so... so... horrible!'

That was the last part of the conversation that Homer understood. After that, it turned into a yelling match between Edna and this woman. The woman was the one who did the most (and loudest) shouting, but Edna did a decent job catching up. Ned, all the while, squirmed around more. The young Simpson backed away while his heart rate skyrocketed. He backed away until he hit a desk, and suddenly his breathing turned harsh.

Mrs Miller adopted an angry face that looked unnatural on her. 'Mrs Flanders, stop yelling at my daughter at once!'

'You should control her!' The woman yelled back. 'She's trying to punish my son!'

The teacher sighed. 'Ned has been misbehaving since he got here. I think it's about time someone did something about it!'

Sweat poured down Homer's face as his heart raced as fast as it could manage. Why were so many people yelling? Where was Mama? What was even going on? So many people yelling at once...

'Mama... where Mama?'

Soon, other adults joined the mess. Everyone it seemed had an opinion that they wanted to get out, and the black-and-white-shirt man was the loudest of them all. Homer couldn't make out a single word, and everyone sounded like they were surrounding him.

The table stopped him from fleeing.

'Mama...! Mama...!'

His hands shot to his head and yanked on his hair. He squeezed his eyes shut. His breathing went out of control.

'Homie? HOMER!'

He couldn't take it anymore.

'AAAAHHHHHHHHH!'

He screamed at the top of his lungs, and only then did the arguments stop. Everyone in the room fell silent and stared right at him. Ned even stopped struggling and resisting Edna's grasp. Not that Homer could tell. His senses had been so overwhelmed that they simply stopped. It was the only way to keep his mind intact, and now that he couldn't sense that it was all over, they wouldn't turn back on. It was as if his senses were too terrified to switch on again.

'AHHHH!'

So, he continued to scream as hard as his lungs could handle. Maybe, if he had been given just a few more seconds of silence, his overloaded system would relax and he could finally calm down.

'Okay, that's it!'

One of the many adults in the room, a rather unremarkable-looking man, stepped out from the crowd and rolled up his sleeves. Before anyone could even ask him what he was doing, he grabbed Homer by the wrists. The young boy screamed again, scraping his legs against the floor in a panicked mess.

'QUIET DOWN!' The man yelled.

His yell just prompted Homer to scream more, for it was all his overloaded brain could do. He cried and wailed, hoping and praying that someone would pick up the message that he was distressed. All he wanted was for someone to get the hint and back off, and let him calm down. The evil man didn't listen. Homer flailed his legs and head around, trying his hardest to hit something.

'I know how to deal with kids like you!'

Without giving Homer a moment of warning, the evil man pushed him face-first into the floor. The young Simpson's cries and flailing only got worse, as he struggled to fight his way out of this horrible situation. He couldn't get up. He could barely even move. His heart rate increased far beyond the point that was healthy, and his lungs tried and failed to grab enough oxygen.

Help...!

Homer want help...!

'AAHHHHH!'

'SHUT UP!'

The evil man put his foot on Homer's back, pressing it down just a little, just enough so he wouldn't break anything. The horrified boy kicked his legs against the floor, as that was the only thing he could move anymore. He tried to scream, but his poor throat couldn't handle it anymore.

HELP!

'GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY SON, YOU BASTARD!'

Suddenly - Homer couldn't tell why - the evil man released his tight grip on him. The first thing he did once he was free was get up onto his feet. Among all the people in the room staring right at him, he managed to see his mother. Crying his eyes out, he leapt into her arms immediately.

'Oh, Homie!' She cried, embracing him as tight as she could.

She held onto him as she walked into a much less crowded corner of the classroom, sitting down away from everyone else. Keeping quiet, she brushed her hand through his hair and held him close. Only now, in the warm and welcoming arms of his mother, did Homer calm down. He buried his head into her chest and grabbed fistfuls of the soft fabric of her dress.

Mona had seen the whole thing, and even from where she was she could easily watch the situation continue, fortunately with her son far away from it. Abe stood over the man, glaring down at him, after he had shoved him to the floor. Though she had seen him angry before, he had never looked this furious.

'What makes you think you can put your hands on my son?!' He shouted. 'Homer may be an insufferable moron but he does NOT deserve to be treated like an animal! You wanna shove him to the floor? YOU GOTTA GET THROUGH ME FIRST!'

The evil man scowled. 'Maybe you should learn to control your son!'

'That menace? You'd have an easier time trying to get a battleship off! Don't hurt my son over something he can't help!'

It managed to bring a small smile to Mona's face, even if she really wanted him to shut up. Mrs Miller, like the brave soul she was, stood between the angry men and glared at the both of them. All the other adults and children, including Edna, backed away and gave her some room.

'Mr Simpson,' She said, her tone low and serious. 'We do not push people around in my school.'

The evil man had a smirk on his face as he got back on his feet. Mona frowned, just about ready to join her husband on the yelling match, before Mrs Miller redirected her glare straight into the evil man's soul. It was enough to make him flinch.

'However!' Mrs Miller said, her voice much louder. 'There are exceptions. Sir, I will not tolerant anyone handling children in such a manner. I certainly hope you don't treat your own child that way.'

The evil man scoffed. 'Come back to me after you've taught Frank for a day. Then you'll see he deserves it.'

Mona held onto Homer tighter, fearing that the woman would snap and scream in that man's face for saying just a thing. That was not Mrs Miller's response at all.

'I see why your last name is Grimes, now.' She said. 'You really are just a grimy person, aren't you?'

Mr Grimes growled. 'If you're going to treat me like that, then I'll just take my son and leave!'

'You can certainly leave. However, your son will be staying here with me until the end of the day. I think Frank will be much better off without you.'

All the parents in the room shuddered, waiting for Mr Grimes to lose it and start a physical fight. In fact, he clenched his fists like he really was about to punch someone. One look at the glares that Mrs Miller and Abe were giving him, however, and he hightailed out of there. He nearly tripped over several toddlers as he stumbled over to the door, flashing one quick glare at Abe before he left the building.

Another young boy wearing glasses, who somewhat resembled Mr Grimes, rubbed his elbows to calm his nerves. 'It okay... Daddy come back later...'

Many of the children in the room stared out the door, with their mouths agape. Even nasty little Ned was shocked, and in no mood to cause more trouble. Some of them were crying, and their parents were quick to bring them into warm embraces. Mrs Miller held her arms out, and Edna jumped into a hug. Only when in the safe haven of her mother's hug did she feel comfortable with crying.

'That man made my daughter cry.' Mrs Miller said. 'Maybe I was too kind to him...'

She looked around the room and found that, while everyone was trying to cope with what they just saw, Frank's mother did not go to comfort her son. In fact, all she had been doing the whole time was filing her nails. As opposed to the aggressive Mr Grimes, Mrs Grimes seemed more - though Mrs Miller hated to think it - apathetic. Seeing something like that just made her hold onto her daughter tighter.

'I'm so sorry, Mr Simpson, that your son had to go through that.' She said. 'But I'm not sure why he-'

She stopped when she realised that Abe was no longer by her side, but instead heading over to his wife and son in the corner. Mona quickly noticed the look of anger on his face, though compared to the one he gave Mr Grimes, this one seemed just mildly peeved by comparison. She could tell by the look on his face that whatever came out of his mouth wouldn't be nice, but luckily little Homer had calmed down and was smiling in her arms.

'What the hell was that about?!' He yelled. 'One little fight breaks out and Homer loses it!'

'Don't be like that, Abe.' Mona said. 'It's normal for kids his age to panic when they're scared.'

'But like that? That wasn't just panic or even a tantrum. I know you like to pretend that there's nothing wrong with our boy, but his behaviour is not right.'

She rolled her eyes. 'He's perfectly fine the way he is. Even if there was something 'wrong' with him, there's no need to be acting like this. You're acting like he's...' She shuddered.

She couldn't even say the dreaded 'r-word'. It left too sour of a taste her mouth. Saying it at all didn't feel right for her, let alone saying it about her son. Of course, even if that were the case she'd love him unconditionally, but she doubted it.

'Give me a better word to describe him.' Abe said. 'Hear me now, Mona. I don't know if that's what's wrong with him, but he is not normal.'

'I'm liable to agree.'

All three Simpsons snapped out of their conversation and turned to Mrs Miller. She had settled her daughter onto the floor and walked up behind Abe without any of them noticing until she spoke up. Her expression was one of concern and worry.

'Wait, with who?' Abe asked. 'Me or my wife?'

'With you, Abe.' She answered.

He delivered a smirk to Mona, one that screamed 'I told you so', before he gasped. 'Wait, you serious?'

'Something... wrong...?' Homer asked, to the best of his ability.

Mona cringed, and held her son closer. He was far more receptive than even she thought.

'I would not say 'wrong'.' Mrs Miller said. 'Frankly, the idea of something being 'wrong' with a child is an awful one. Still, something isn't quite right with your son. Tell me, has he been late on any of his milestones, perhaps?'

The mother Simpson shuddered. 'Yes, he has. He didn't say his first word until months after the usual time. Even now he hardly ever talks. Which is fine!' She hastily added. 'There's nothing wrong with being a quiet kid. But...' She sighed. 'I have been worried about him.'

'Ha!' Abe said. 'I knew it!'

Mrs Miller gave him 'the look' - the one usually reserved for wives to use only - which immediately made him close his mouth and stop smiling.

'I have met a few kids, just like Homer.' She said, adjusting her glasses. 'I've seen it too many times for it to be just an isolated incident, but I can't explain what it is.'

'Will my Homer be alright?' Mona asked.

'Him? To be honest... I can't be certain. Some kids like him seem as though they can't develop mentally further than a young child, but others go on to be very smart people. I'm sure, however, that early intervention will ensure that little Homie here will grow up just fine.'

She knelt down to Homer's level and gave him a friendly wave. He didn't wave back, or even turn to look at her directly, but she saw his eyes slowly move over to her hand. It managed to get a small smile out of him.

'I'll be sure to teach him to the best of my ability.' She continued. 'You're lucky you chose my preschool. Many would decide that a kid like Homer wasn't worth it, and write him off completely. I swear, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think a child isn't worth teaching, they won't get the help they need.'

'So...' Mona said. 'We can trust you to take care of our Homer?'

'Mrs Simpson, let me be frank.' Mrs Miller said, her tone low. 'I don't think there are any other schools you can trust.'

Author Notes - Got a few cameos in this one, though the most notable one is probably Edna. I don't know how popular of an opinion this is, but I really like her. Mostly because she would totally be me if I ever became a teacher. Seriously, those kids would drive me to smoke in a week, and I've sworn that I will never even try the stuff in my life. Also, I ship Edna/Seymour so hard that it isn't even funny. And YES, I am heartbroken that she is dead now.

I tried to see if I could incorporate the revelation that Ned Flanders is actually 60 years old. But, of course, that would make him born about twenty years before Homer, and that kinda conflicted with the 'beatnik parents' thing. Then again, Lisa's birthyear has apparently been retconned to 2011, when 'Lisa's Wedding' took place in 2010, so I think I was kinda boned to begin with.

If anyone's wondering about that restraint scene... let's just say that a certain movie that came out earlier this year pissed me off for many, many reasons. I wanted to show the reality of a scene like that when that movie made it seem so good. As for Homer's increasingly odd (and perhaps worrying) behaviour, I'll just say this: just because a disability hasn't been officially recognised yet, doesn't mean it didn't exist.