Chapter Text
“I thought I’d find you here.”
The voice almost made Will’s soul leave his body, not expecting anyone else to show up yet. He peeled his eyes from the night sky, looking over to see Mike. He couldn’t help but feel the gentle tug at his lips.
“I was hoping you’d show up.” His smile was dopey; he knew it without needing to look. But that was okay because it was Mike who was seeing it. He observed Mike drop his bike to the ground.
“You didn’t answer my radio. I got slightly worried.” He watched as Mike sat next to him on the ground, laying back.
Will gave a shrug in response. “I didn’t bring it. I was just waiting for you to come.” It sounded stupid. He knew it did but it was what he had wanted. It was like a test he had devised in his head: If Mike showed up without being asked, it was true. If not, then he was getting his hopes up.
But Mike was here. So this was true.
“I can never stay away from you for too long.” Will felt Mike nudge his shoulder gently. It was an awkward touch due to their position on the ground but it still made his heart swirl and cheeks fluster.
It had been almost a week since they last sat alone at this spot. Last Monday night when truths were revealed neither of them had yet to address again. It was kind of like it didn’t need to. But Will wanted to. He wanted to know if Mike did like him the way he had hoped for for so long. It was Sunday now and between them was only just gentle touches, hand holding in the basement under blankets so no one would see on movie nights. It was the same as it was before. But a weight was lifted from them both and even if it hadn’t completely gone away, Will felt he could breathe better.
Soon, it would get too cold to stay here but for now, it was perfect. It was like their secret spot where they could be together and truly alone.
“Yeah, you hound me to hang out all of the time.” Will teased with a gentle laugh, earning him another nudge.
“I’m clingy. This isn’t a new fact.” Will couldn’t help but give a laugh at this sentence. It was true. Mike was very clingy. He always had been. When they were little, he would call Will every day during the summer and ask to hang out. Every weekend during school too. And on days when Will was sick, he’d get a call or Mike would come over and give him a get well soon card. He still had those in a box in his room somewhere. Maybe he’d show them to Mike later.
“Very clingy. You’re like a puppy. I don’t know how you’re gonna act when we all leave for college.” Will said this with a slight hum. It was odd talking about college. It felt like ages away but truthfully, only a couple of years.
“Don’t even bring that up, Will. I’m going to be so lost. I barely made it with you away this year.” Mike shook his head with a sigh. “Genuinely. Like… I was a mess.”
Will gave a slight hum, telling Mike to go on. Mike hadn’t talked about that time much and when someone else brought it up, he’d shush them, like when Dustin said he moped all year. The conversations were always quickly turned around because Mike didn’t want to talk about it.
“The only thing keeping me sane was my project. I rebuilt castle byers.” Will sat up a bit, staring at his friend. “What?” He asked, having not heard about this.
“When you left, I rebuilt it. So I could stay there and just… just be sad. I missed you, Will. I missed you a lot. And that was your spot so when I sat there, it was kind of like I was sitting with you..” Mike wasn’t looking at him, just at the sky. “It kind of helped keep me sane.”
Will gave a sad smile, leaning over a bit and nudged him. “I’m here now. Maybe we can go see the new and improved castle byers sometime soon, yeah?”
Mike gave a short, soft laugh, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t say it’s improved. I have learned the hard way that I am not skilled in building, especially with a hammer. Really, I’m surprised it hasn’t fallen apart yet.”
“Well hey, if you take me there, we can rebuild it together. I have learned I’m quite handy with tools, actually.” Will gave a hum. He heard Mike give a surprised and playful scoff. “How did you learn that?” He questioned.
“I was helping Jonathan fix his car and I knew what a wrench was and it only took me two tries to figure out how to properly use it.” Will gave a playful brag that really meant nothing. He could practically feel Mike’s playful eyeroll.
“Oh my- I didn’t realize I was in the presence of the king of handyman- please forgive me for ever insulting your power, my lord.” Mike’s voice was an over dramatic acting- one that wasn’t new but always brought a smile to his face.
“I don’t know if I could ever forgive you, dear peasant. You insulted my power.” Will gave back the playful response, which clearly wasn’t expected from Mike.
“Oh please, dearest! Please find in your heart to forgive a poor boy such as myself!” Mike fake cried out and Will watched as he moved up and started bending down to praise Will.
Will gave out a laugh, shaking his head in pure bliss. “You’re so dumb.” He said, no true harm in his voice. Mike lifted up, giving a fake gasp.
“How could you ever say such a thing about me?” His overdramatic voice never left and Will rolled his eyes playfully, the light pink tint being illuminated by the late night moon shining above them.
“I am only telling the truth. We both know it.” Will said, giving a slight shrug as he remained laying on the ground.
“I am completely heartbroken right now. I can’t believe my dear would say such a thing about me. How can I go on?” He watched as Mike reached up and pretended to die.
Will rolled his eyes playfully, shaking his head. “Get up.” A laugh escaped his lips as he said this, one also following Mike’s as he sat up and laid back down next to Will on the ground.
Their laughter soon seized and a comfortable silence fell in between the two. It was nice to just lay here with Mike and watch the stars in the night. They reminded him of looking at Mike’s freckles. They were light, almost hard to see if you were only taking a glance, but they were so perfectly scattered across his face that it made Will feel as if he was looking at another galaxy. He wanted to count them all or connect them like the game connects the dots. He knew Mike would hate it but maybe someday he could talk him into it.
It was perfect. Everything about sitting with Mike in this spot was perfect. Like the stars were aligned and everything was alright. They were alright.
“Look there.” Will pointed to the sky with his hand that was closest to Mike. He didn’t want to break the silence but a thought popped in his head and he felt the need to say it. “That’s Venus. It’s the hottest one in our solar system, which is kind of odd since it’s not the closest to the sun.” He was babbling and it was nothing but Mike gave a gentle hum that Will knew meant he was listening.
“In Lenora, you couldn’t see the night sky like you can here. Too many lights and it caused too much light pollution. It was something I missed.” Will shook his head a bit, folding his arms over his chest as he laid with Mike on the ground. “But anyways, it was a requirement that every freshman take astronomy, which I thought was stupid since we couldn’t even go out and see the stars.”
He heard a gentle laugh leave Mike’s lips as he said this. He could feel his gaze lightly on him too, as he spoke. “So now I have this like expert knowledge on this planet because it was a science I wasn’t very good at but I wanted to be so I studied all these facts about outer space and found that Venus is actually my favorite planet.”
Another laugh left Mike’s lips and Will could feel his smile. “Why?” Mike spoke for the first time in a good moment.
“I’ll tell you.” Will promised, turning his head to meet Mike’s gaze, seeing some of the stars sparkle in his brown eyes. Originally, he planned for this to only be a glance but once their eyes met, Will didn’t want to look away. So instead, he turned on his side and laid so he was facing Mike.
“Venus has days that are longer than years. And that’s just… it’s crazy. Imagine you go through all four seasons before you even complete a day. Not that they actually have seasons but you get what I’m saying.” Will gave a short laugh, as did Mike. “Sometimes it does feel like that. Like days are years long and for Venus, they are.”
“Heat is like… trapped inside it. It’s got this greenhouse effect that makes it hard for heat to leave so it all just bubbles over and it’s never cold.”
“Sounds like somewhere you’d enjoy.” Mike gave a lighthearted joke and Will returned in laugh and simple nod, still not breaking eye contact. “Yeah, I probably would. If it wasn’t over 800 degrees and all.” Mike gave a laugh now.
“It’s a bit of an outlier too. Like all the planets spin counterclockwise except for Venus. Instead, it’s different. It goes clockwise. And Maybe… I don’t know, people find that weird but I don’t. I think it’s nice. It’s different and just makes the planet even more beautiful.”
Will bit his lip a bit after he said that. “It’s not even just that. Astronomers also think that it spins upside down which is just… it makes it all more fascinating. It’s not following the norm. It’s different, which makes it so much more interesting. It makes it more fun to care and learn about.”
Their eyes were still locked but Will could see Mike’s smile. It was calm and happy, just listening to him ramble about this planet. But it was about much more than the planet. They both knew it.
“They think that some big asteroid or something hit it and made it turn the way it does but they aren't sure. If so, it means it’s just been beaten down and continues to shine there and be this big, important part of our solar system and our understanding of science. It still remains even after going through so much pain. If not, it just means it was born - or, or created that way. And it was made to be different and to be special.”
“Which idea do you prefer?” Mike’s voice was gentle and soft.
He gave a gentle shrug. “I think… I think they are both beautiful and plausible stories.” He admitted. He paused for a moment, having a harsh swallow before he continued.
“It was the first planet discovered too. All the way back in ancient times. Like in the BC years. I can’t remember exactly when. But it was noted early on and now, after discovering others, it’s seen as strange because it’s upside down and spins the wrong way but it was first. It was noticed before anyone else and people spent so long wondering and theorizing about this planet and what it meant. Some even praised it.”
Will swallowed hard for a moment. “But now, that’s not the case. It’s odd. It’s different. And people can shout about it and yell or tear it down but it’s still there. It will always be the first one there and it’ll always be the first one praised and loved. You can’t take away that history.”
“And even with all the odd things about it and the people trying to tear it down, it stays there. And it still is the brightest object, besides the moon, in the night sky. And it’s visible for longer hours and even during the day sometimes. Because it’s special. And it being different makes it special.”
Their eyes were locked and it was quiet. There was a light breeze in the air but really, Will didn’t mind. To him, nothing mattered right then except him, Mike, and the planet in the sky. Will had gone quiet and he watched Mike wondering if he understood what he was saying.
“It’s also the planet of love and beauty.” Mike finally spoke again, voice slow and careful. Will knew this voice. He was tiptoeing around something, just as Will was doing with the silly rant over Venus. He was tiptoeing around them and their relationship.
Will gave a slight nod to Mike’s words, licking his chapped lips quickly.
“Yeah… yeah. And it’s still seen for love, even with all its flaws. And for… for being different. It’s still for beauty and love. Even if people don’t like it. Because sometimes… sometimes love is different.”
Will watched as Mike broke eye contact, shifting his gaze to right under Will’s nose, to his lips. This was the same glance he had made all throughout the summer. It was the same quick look Will had caught him doing so many times before and pushed it off. But he couldn’t push this one off. Not anymore.
Mike’s eyes stayed there for much longer than a glance, longer than any other time this summer that Will had caught his eyes drifting. When he looked back up, his eyes seemed like they were pleading. It was like they were asking permission.
Will lifted his brows a bit, as if to say yes, it was okay. But Mike was hesitating. He wasn’t coming in. He was struggling to kiss him, even if they both knew that this was what they wanted. They knew this is what they had both been craving so much longer than they even thought.
So for once, Will decided to be bold. He decided to rip off that bandaid and be the one to make the first move.
He closed the gap between them, allowing his lips to gently brush over the others. It took a moment but Mike kissed back and Will fell over the moon. It was all he had wanted for so long and it was happening.
It took a minute to find a rhythm but they soon did. Mike’s hand had placed itself on Will’s hips, Will laying one on his cheek. Mike, as the more experienced one, had taken the lead and Will didn’t mind. He had only kissed one girl before and it was a complete mess. This felt so much better. It made him understand why people loved kissing one another and why a first kiss was a big deal. Because this was how it was supposed to feel. It felt like his toes were curling and he was floating on cloud nine. His heart was full and this was what people meant when they said they saw fireworks. For once, Will understood it all. He understood everything.
It wasn’t cute. It wasn’t sexy. It was awkward and messy. They were laying in grass and dirt. It was slightly too chilly and Will could feel Mike slightly flinch when he felt Will’s cold hand on his cheek but he didn’t pull back. They were both eager, far too eager than needed and it caused an almost too rush of a kiss. The kiss was far from cute but it was perfect because it was them. It was just Mike and Will.
It was just them, sitting under the stars. No one else mattered. No one else was there. No judgment or fears. They were entranced by one another's sweet lips and gentle holds.
And it was perfect.