Chapter Text
adulthood had been very strange for mike wheeler. he'd graduated high school, and although his friends branched out and left, mike stayed behind. he couldn't leave indiana even though he desperately needed to. the furthest he had gotten was indianapolis. he had enrolled in the local community college, but much to his parents' disappointment, he dropped out. he just couldn't be a business major like his father.
mike was, instead, an accomplished author. he was only 21 years old, but he'd somehow managed to publish a very successful fantasy novel. everyone knew about his book, including his old friends, who did not know that the stories he wrote were based on them and the adventures they had been through as teenagers.
one day, mike was in his apartment, writing another book. writing was all he seemed to do these days. as he was working on a particularly detailed fight scene, his phone rang. he got up and answered it.
"hello?" he spoke, holding the receiver as he looked back at his computer. he was a bit impatient, but not rude. mike couldn't afford to be rude.
"hey, mike!" a cheerful voice called out on the other line. mike felt his heartbeat increase. it was will byers. his former best friend and the one who got away.
"will, oh, wow. hey. how did you get my number?"mike smiled, even though he knew will couldn't see it. his tone shifted from impatient to gentle. even after all this time, mike still had that tone of voice reserved for will.
"max gave it to me. she said to give you a call, so here i am. how are you?" will explained. mike couldn't see it, but will was twirling the phone cord around his finger. he was genuinely happy to be speaking to mike. even after what happened in '87, will still loved mike. it was wrong, given the fact that will was now dating carlton, but the wrongness of the situation didn't change a thing.
"i'm good, will. i'm working on my next novel. how about you? what are you up to these days?" mike replied, clearly interested in what will was doing now that he lived in new york city.
there's a pause before will speaks. "i'm alright. still in art school. i have been working on a collaborative piece for a pop up gallery in downtown manhattan. i'm really excited for it to be displayed. my boyfriend is convinced i love it more than him." will spoke of his project with pride. it's clear that this art piece was important to him.
mike felt his heart sink the moment he heard the words "my boyfriend" come out of will's mouth. he knew he didn't have any right to be jealous, seeing as he was the one who kind-of-sort-of indirectly rejected will, but still. something about will giving his love and attention to another man made mike feel some type of way. "hey, that's really cool," mike spoke, trying to keep his jealousy at bay, "when is the pop up?" he asked.
will hummed with delight when mike asked when the pop up was. the idea of mike coming to new york just to see it brought back some feelings that he hadn't felt in five years. "june 24th. admission is free, but donations are encouraged. all donations will go to the human rights campaign fund." will replied, his tone confident. mike smiled. he was so proud of will. he loved that will was more open now.
"i hope i can come see it, will." mike said softly. he really wanted to go. he wanted to support will. in fact, he didn't just want to support will. he wanted to go and tell will how much he loved him and how he regretted being such an asshole to him for so long. mike wanted to hug him and kiss him and tell him just how important he was.
"i hope so too, mike. i think you'd like the piece." will replied. he didn't tell him, but the piece was a portrait of mike. will was painting mike for an exhibit about love, because even though time passed, time didn't affect the way will felt about him.
there was a moment of silence between the two before will spoke again. "i should probably go. i have to cook dinner before carlton gets home. i'll talk to you later, mike. bye."
before mike could speak, will hung up. mike sighed, putting the phone back on the hook before going back to his desk to try and finish writing. of course, that proved useless. mike couldn’t write anymore. the only thing that was on mike’s mind was how much of a fool he was for not telling will how he felt sooner. he regretted their conversation on the radio tower and the way he carelessly got will’s hopes up. he regretted the way he still couldn’t say anything, even during their final D&D campaign before college.
it felt as if though in every universe, mike was destined to miss the sun by just a few minutes, even if the sun was the who approached him first.