Chapter Text
*Will*
The front door swung open late that night, as whilst Will was in the kitchen washing up Jonathan. He listened as his footfalls grew softer, waiting until he was sure Mike was long out of earshot before turning to his quizzical-looking brother.
“Where do you think he was?”
Will shrugged. “How would I know?”
“You’re friends, right?”
“Not anymore,” he muttered.
“Sorry—I thought—“ Jonathan frowned. “I thought you slept in his room last night.”
“Rather that than with you and Nancy; since you took my room,” he explained, though he could feel his skin heat.
“Sorry. I just thought that—meant something? I dunno.”
Will shook his head. “No. It doesn’t.”
They fell back into a companionable silence, wordlessly finishing the dishes before Will retired back up to the comfort of upstairs. Thankfully, Mike was in his room when he slipped into the bathroom, going through the motions of showering, and dressing in the pyjamas he’d left in there that morning. However, he stopped in his tracks once he’d realised he’d left his toothbrush in his bag in his haste that morning.
Shit.
Cursing under his breath, he forced himself to walk the distance between the bathroom and Mike’s bedroom, dithering in the doorway. Mike faced the wall as he tugged his T-shirt over his head; a flash of pallid skin before he turned to face Will. His eyes widened as they met his, before recovering.
“Hey.”
“Where were you?” Will asked, too quickly.
“Uh, Robin’s.”
“Robin?” His ears pricked. “I didn’t know you were friends.”
“Uh, yeah. We’re not, really, I just—I had to, erm, talk to her.”
Will raised a brow.
What did they have to talk about? They’d never so much as exchanged a word when he’d been around to witness it. Though it had been years since they’d all been around one another; anything could have changed.
Anything could have happened, and Will would never know. His mind quickly wandered, thinking back to the state he’d found Mike in his first night here. What else had he been through, that Will had missed? What else had be failed to be there for him for?
“Did you, um, get to talk about it?”
Mike nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.”
“That’s good.” He paused, tentatively. “Can I just grab my toothbrush?”
“Oh—yeah, sure—“
Sidestepping him, Will grabbed his bag, fumbling for his toothbrush before moving to dart out the room like the child he suddenly felt like once again. Fuck, why was that always happening these days?
He was halfway out the door when Mike spoke again.
“How did you do it?" he suddenly asked, his dark eyes lifting to meet his.
Heart thudding, he replied. "What?"
"Robin, she had Steve but you-" he cut himself off. "You didn't have anyone."
Emotion flickered in his expression; raw, visceral pain. Pain at the sheer idea that Will had been alone in something.
Something about it warranted a sharp tug at Will's gut, and he felt his chest tighten. He’s turned to face Mike, guard slipping.
"I mean, I had you," he muttered, though he knew it wasn't true, not really.
"Not really," he shrugged, glancing at the carpet. "I was never-that person for you. I wish I had been I just-"
"You don't have to feel guilty, Mike," Will scoffed softly. "I can hardly remember all that anymore."
He was lying, and not very well. "Well, I do," Mike pressed, eyes on him; only him. God, why was he looking at him like that?
That look promised memories that would haunt him forever.
Like it was still the 80s, and Will had never left Hawkins at all.
And as if he could hear his thoughts, Mike continued. "You might not remember what happened before you left, but I remember it like it was yesterday."
"Mike-"
"I remember the way you told us all-when you said you had a crush, on a friend-"
"Mike, please-"
He didn't think he could take any more embarrassment.
"I didn't know it then, but I know now. I know you were talking about me." He sucked in a breath, shakily.
Holy shit, Will thought.
He's serious.
Standing up a little straighter, he felt his heart begin to pound at a hummingbird's pace.
"I'm sorry," Mike breathed. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you think I didn't feel the same way."
"You don't mean that."
"I've never meant anything more in my entire life," he argued, stepping closer.
"But-what about El?"
"I loved her, but I was never in love with her," he confessed, shattering Will's entire worldview just with those words. "How could I be?"
He opened his mouth to reply, but found himself at a complete loss for words.
"I don't-I don't understand."
"I lied to you. When you told me you were glad we could still be friends, and I told you we were best friends I should have told you the truth. I should have told you how badly I wanted to be so much more than your friend. I just-couldn't. Especially after El died, I-I couldn't bring myself to admit it to myself; let alone anyone else. And I'm sorry."
His eyes brimmed with emotion then, meeting Will's with a deep familiarity.
"But I've had a lot of time to think since then, and there hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about you."
"Mike-" Will sucked in a breath, feeling as though the air had been knocked from his lungs. "Me, too."
He moved to lean in, but Mike met him more than halfway; his thumbs two parentheses around his mouth crushing his lips to Will's.
Gasping, he parted his lips, fighting the urge to groan when Mike's finger slid into his hair.
Kissing him back with a recklessness that only he could reciprocate, he curled his own fingers into the fabric of Mike's shirt.
Walking them back against the bed, so that Will's legs hit the mattress. Taking him down with him, Will's hangs slipped beneath the hem of his shirt; earning a low groan.
"Shit," he gasped, stumbling over his own feet as crawled atop him.
"Will-"
Left with no choice but to kiss him harder, Will felt a giggle bubble in his chest.
Because God, kissing Mike was like nothing he'd ever imagined; although he'd tried countless times. Though his inexperience was an underlying current, his earnestness made up for it. Besides, Mike was a quick study and he was Mike; kissing him would never have been anything short of an out of body experience.
Pulling back, he felt his chest tighten at the sudden realisation that this was real and that he was here, Will tugged at his belt loops, causing Mike to chuckle.
"Shh, Holly's right down the hall," he whispered, pressing a selfish kiss to the column of his neck. He made a strange noise in his throat, his eyelids fluttering. Suddenly, all thoughts of Holly or anyone else for that matter were banished.
All that there was, was this moment; this boy.
They kissed until they were both dizzy and their lips swollen; and until Mike could hardly bear to prop himself up anymore, and he rolled off of Will, flopping back onto the mattress beside him.
Lazily, Will draped an arm over his torso, tracing tiny circles on the strip of bare skin where his shirt had rucked up in their antics.
"Holy shit," Mike murmured, his voice husky.
"Yeah." Will paused, exhausted.
"I didn't think you liked boys like that," he then confessed, breathless and bewildered.
"I don't," Mike replied, without missing a beat. "I like you."
He kissed him again, hard and fast.
"Mike-"
"Sorry," he muttered, suddenly slinking away.
"Don't be." Reaching up to stroke his hair from his eyes, he felt the corners of his mouth turn up. "I like you." Chuckling, he added," I think that much was always pretty obvious."