Chapter Text
whatever was happening outside of wills own brain during the span of dinner, he wouldn’t know. all of his attention and focus was going towards not looking, moving, or even breathing in mikes direction.
the high pitched screaming that had been plaguing his mind earlier today had now escalated to an outright shriek of panic. all other sounds seemed dull in comparison, and will was getting a serious headache by this point.
during the span of dinner, he was sure there were comments made about yoga and demogorgons. how the two correlated will had no idea. but the main takeaway he had from the conversation was that the wheelers would not be leaving hawkins. part of will was dancing the conga at that news, but the other part, the anxious, awkward, frightened, non confrontational part was making that high pitched shrieking noise that wouldn’t go away.
there was no escaping what had happened between him and mike today. the pair of them would be in hawkins together and consistently working together from now until they sorted this whole vecna situation out. which meant they had two options… a) ignore everything that happened today and go on as if nothing occurred whatsoever. or b) address what happened and confront mike about it all, and possibly lose the one friend will had never thought he would never lose in the process.
why did this have to be so difficult, and why did will have to have a stupid crush on mike, and WHY had mike kissed him?? that was wills first kiss. ever. and it was mike wheeler. his lifelong crush. and the moment it had happened mike had promptly looked like he was going to be sick and then run away. will wanted to bang his head against the table repeatedly. he felt so stupid. he never should have told mike how he felt. he should have just lied like he always seemed to do these days. maybe then they wouldn’t be in this situation.
the remainder of dinner seemed to go by in an excruciatingly long blur. will couldn’t make heads of tails of what was happening, he just focused on his barely touched chicken parmesana and steamed vegetables for what felt like hours. he couldn’t eat. if he did he thought he might be sick. but he couldn’t look up either, in fear that someone might catch his eyes and read everything that was happening in his mind.
multiple times throughout the meal will felt eyes trained on him, although he wasn’t sure who from. he was too scared to check because if it was mike then they would make eye contact and that might just make will disintegrate.
he couldn’t quite figure out what it was that made mike run away. was he a bad kisser? to be fair, will hadn’t even had time to kiss mike back. it just sort of… happened. or maybe mike was disgusted at himself for kissing will, of all people. that seemed more likely. although… if he was disgusted by will why had he done it in the first place?
finally, after what felt like a never ending whirl of unintelligible conversation, will heard chairs squeak as people got up from their seats. dishes clanked. will still didn’t want to move.
“hey will? are you okay? they’re leaving did you want to say goodbye?” will jumped. johnathan was looking at him with concern.
“oh… no…” wills voice broke from lack of use, “they can just go i feel kinda sick…”
johnathan nodded in understanding and promptly left the kitchen.
voices could be heard from the front door but will was sure that he was alone in the kitchen now, still staring at his now cold dinner. he did want to say goodbye. he thought he should but that meant facing mike and what had happened earlier. he glanced nervously out the window and saw mike talking with murray.
after looking back down and staring at his meal for another good minute, will finally made to sit up straight, picking up his plate of untouched food. he looked up and wished he had stayed sitting there, glued to his chair, for the rest of the night.
there was mike. he seemed to be as startled to see will eye to eye as will was.
will was frustrated and annoyed that even after vehemently NOT looking at mike and hardly moving for all of the meal, he hadn’t avoided him at all. and now here he was. for the first time, will actually took the time to notice the bandages on mikes hands and face. what had happened? was he okay?
rolling his eyes at his own concern for mike and for mikes presence in general, will gathered his utensils and turned away. he didn’t give mike a passing glance as he left the dining room and went to the kitchen to find a tupperware to put his leftover food in. he didn’t want to toss it. that seemed like a waste.
“um… hey, will? can we… can we talk?” mike asked, following will into the kitchen.
still determined to not look at him, will closed a cupboard harder than should have been necessary. he didn’t speak for a moment.
“will…” mikes voice sounded apprehensive.
“i don’t exactly see what there is to talk about mike,” will said. it was a total lie. there was something very, very big that they needed to discuss, but will just didn’t want to.
mike exhaled from behind will. there was a shuffling of feet and then mike was standing beside him. he waited.
shoveling his leftover food into a tupperware, will was adamant about not looking at mike. he was just going to put the food away and then leave. he kept repeating that in his mind over and over. he was just going to put the food away and then leave.
apparently mike wasn’t going to make this easy for will. as will reached over to wash his dishes, his arm bumped into mike. he dropped the plate and utensils in the sink and withdrew his hand, keeping his elbows close to his side now. his face was burning with embarrassment. he turned to put the now sealed tupperware in the fridge.
it was almost like deja vu as mike caught wills arm. he stopped and braced himself before turning to look at mike.
mike took a moment before he spoke, “i… look… about earlier today i don’t even… like… i can’t even comprehend what happened myself and i’m really really sorry if i crossed a boundary there and i just feel like a fool because i didn’t even think i just kinda… well… i just… will i’m beyond flattered by… what you said. um… and i really do like you a lot i’m just… i just need some time to figure stuff out. i know it’s my fault for… um… ya know but like, the issue is with me. not with you. at all. i’m sorry i ran and i’m sorry i even… look, i’m just really really confused and i think… i think i just need time, okay? to figure things out because… dammit it’s just so complicated… i just… i just need some time. alright?” as he spoke mike sounded like a broken record. backtracking, pausing, and repeating himself constantly. his eyes darting around nervously the entire time.
feeling foolish, will nodded slightly. he couldn’t speak.
the broken record seemed to be having difficulty to even play by this point, but mike pressed on, “and… i guess in the meantime i just… i want us to stay the same. i don’t want things to have changed because of one… stupid impulse decision on my part. okay? i want to stay friends. best friends. until i figure things out. kay?”
looking away, will nodded again. but he still couldn’t speak. he opened his mouth to say something, but what could he say? i forgive you? i’m sorry?
someone called from outside for mike to hurry up . nancy.
“you… you should go. don’t want to make nancy wait,” was all will could muster. mike seemed ready to say something, but then nancy called for him again.
instead of speaking, mike just rested a hand on wills shoulder, squeezing slightly, and then he left. the moment he was gone it was as if a a boa constrictor had released itself from around wills chest. he heaved a huge sigh, dropping to the ground. he turned, his back resting against the kitchen cupboards.
he couldn’t stop himself. will broke down into sobs. he wasn’t sure if they were tears of relief, or joy, of embarrassment, or of heartbreak, but they were tears all the same. he bit into the side one of his hands in attempt to console himself.
the sound of the front door closing could be heard. joyce, hopper, johnathan and el could be heard chatting quietly. the voices stopped and then quick footsteps. johnathan, shortly followed by joyce came running into the kitchen.
will tried to stop his crying. tried to get over his stupid feelings for once in his life but it couldn’t be helped. johnathan instantly dropped onto the floor beside will, pulling his brother into a hug.
joyce dropped beside will on the other side, “will?! will what happened baby are you hurt?!?” it pained will to hear his mom so panicked. the same panic he heard when he was first taken. the same panic when he had episodes.
hopper and el came into the kitchen now, both looking stricken by what was happening. hopper looked distinctly uncomfortable, but el didn’t hesitate to join johnathan in consoling will with a hug.
the three of them huddled there for a while before will finally felt ready to speak. to be honest. this was his family. these were people he could trust. he could tell them anything.
will wiped away his tears with a sleeve, and told them everything. he told them about what had happened that day, about the painting. he told them about how he was in love with mike and he told them that he had been in love with him since when they first met. it seemed so silly to be talking about his relationship issues with everything that was happening right now, but it couldn’t be helped. even on the verge of an apocalypse, a teenager in love is still a teenager in love.
as he spoke, will saw johnathan seething below the surface, joyce’s quiet support, els sad but calm understanding, and hoppers complete and utter confusion but lack of surprise.
he really was that transparent wasn’t he?
“the main thing…” will hiccuped after talking himself hoarse, “is to not bother mike about this.” he saw hopper and johnathan twitch slightly, because apparently pounding mike wheeler to a pulp counted as bothering him. “i shouldn’t have told you about what happened today anyway because it’s his right to let you guys know, but i just… i can’t deal with this alone.” will finished. he waited for everyone’s responses.
joyce and hopper, who were now sitting on the counter stared down at will, el, and johnathan who were huddled on the floor. el squeezed wills hand, which she had taken part way through his confession. she didn’t have to speak for will to know what she was saying. she understood better than anyone what it was like to deal with mike wheeler.
“so… of all the people in all of hawkins… you chose to fall for mike?” hopper said. will broke into watery laughter. he was right of course. will hated himself for it, but yes he had fallen for mike, out of everyone in hawkins.
joyce smiled softly at will, “it’s okay will. we love you no matter what. even if it’s mike.”
now everyone laughed. will grinned, happy to know that his family was not angry. they were not bothered. they supported him, through and through. he had already known that with johnathan, but it was a comfort to know that now he had more than just a single person to turn to about this.
he pushed himself to his feet and joyce hopped down from the counter to hug her son. even after all these years, will would never not feel small in his mothers embrace, even though she was a good five inches shorter than him now.
she released him and wiped her eyes. will looked at hopper, who shook his head with a smile and brought will into a bear hug.
will didn’t realize how much he looked up to hopper as a father figure until that exact moment. hopper has been there, keeping him safe since when he first went missing. he had helped find and save will, he had gotten will out of the hawkins lab after it was attacked by demodogs. and now he was here, accepting will as he was with open arms.
for the first time in a long time, will knew what it was like to have a complete family. a brother and sister who were always there for him, and two parents, both of which saw him for who he was and didn’t demonize his differences.
it was all going to be okay.
will was safe.
he was home.