Chapter Text
Sunlight pours through the window and across the bedroom. Will and Mike are tangled together sleeping soundly.
The alarm clock blares loudly into Mike's ear.
"Fucking- ugh," he groans, throwing an arm across it and turning it off. Will huffs sleepily before sitting up.
"C'mon Mike," he says softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Nooooo," Mike whines, pouting.
"Yesssss! Come on we have to go to work." Will grabs his arms and yanks him up, giggling at the betrayed, sleepy expression on Mike's face.
Mike has never been a morning person. He hates waking up early and would sleep well into the day if he had the option. He loves weekends when he can curl around Will and they can cuddle as long as they want.
Will isn't a morning person either, but he's much better at waking up than Mike.
Will gets dressed first, putting on a pale yellow button up and some denim jeans. Mike drags himself out of bed to put on a white button up and black pants.
Will starts the coffee make while Mike feeds their cat, Conan.
Conan is a black cat. He used to be a stray and would hang around outside their apartment. Will would always feed him and give him treats. He begged Mike to adopt him and at first Mike didn't want to, but as soon as he agreed the two became inseperable. Conan sits in Mike's lap while he writes and while they watch movies and cuddles up to his legs when he wants attention. One time Will even found them just laying on the floor, staring at eachother.
Idiots.
Will hands Mike his coffee, black, and pets Conan when he jumps up onto the counter. He sips his own coffee, a life threatening amount of sugar inside, before pecking a grumpy Mike on the cheek.
Mike smiles and pulls him in for a real kiss, setting down his coffee so that he can hold him. Will smiles into it, kissing back lazily.
-----
They park in the teachers lot at Cleridan High School. Mike fixes his glasses before kissing Will softly.
"I'll see you at lunch?" he asks. They usually eat together in Mike's classroom, but sometimes Will has to help students or grade assignments.
"Yes love," Will replies, giving Mike one last kiss on the cheek before heading towards the school. They always get out of the car separately so that people don't see them coming in together. Their students already suspect that they're dating and they don't want them to have confirmation. That would be hell, especially for Mike, whose students are insufferable, coming up with all these theories about their relationship.
Will unlocks his classroom and turns on the lights. Easels are set up in a semi circle in the corner, desks are pulled together to make big tables, and there are murals on each wall that he painted himself. He sets down his coffee and sits down at his desk, opening his planner.
The DC trip is this weekend and he has to chaperone. Every year the art and theater students take a field trip to Washington DC to visit the museums and see plays. Will wonders why they don't just visit the museums here in New York and see something on broadway, but who is he to complain about a free mini vacation.
There's a knock on the door and Will lifts his head to see Jane walking towards him with a smile too big for anyone to have at 7:00 in the morning.
"Hey!" she says, walking over to him. She sits on his desk and smiles holding out a brown paper bag.
"Hey! What's this?"
"Pastries! Dustin bought a whole bunch. There's one in there for Mike too."
"Aw thank you Jane that's so sweet," he says opening the bag and peeking inside. There are too chocolate croissants inside, still warm.
"No problem! Okay I gotta go. I have an early class. Just wanted to give you those. You're chaperoning the DC trip though right?"
"Yeah I have to," he replies. Last year, the old advanced art teacher, Mrs. Jaymes chaperoned, but since she retired and he took her place, he has to do it this year.
"Okay, well then we can share a hotel room if you want!" Jane is the advanced theater teacher so he suspected she'd be chaperoning too.
"Sounds good! I'll call you later. I love you!" he calls out as she walks away.
"Love you too!"
----
Will decides that since his class doesn't start for another half hour, he has time to bring Mike his pastry. He walks down the hall and says hi to some of the other teachers he's acquainted with on the way. When he walks in Dustin is already there. Him and Mike are talking about how Lucas and Max are driving up from Chicago in a couple weeks.
"Hey!" Mike calls out when he sees him. Will smiles and walks over, hugging him.
"What, no hug for me?" Dustin jokes.
Will hugs him and thanks him for the pastries before handing Mike his. He gives him a kiss on the cheek before heading back to his class.
When he walks in, his student Mia greets him.
"Hey Mr. Byers!" she says from where she's sitting on a desk, kicking her legs back and forth.
"Oh, hey Mia! Classes don't start for another 20 minutes. What are you doing here so early?"
"I just had a question about the DC trip. Do I make the deposit now, or do I give it to you the day of?"
"Get it to me or another chaperone by Thursday. Cash or check is fine. Do you need a permission slip?"
"Nah I got one already. Thanks!" She hops off the desk and turns to leave but stops in the doorway.
"Oh, by the way, I saw you get out of Mr. Wheeler's car this morning. What's that about?" She says with a smirk. Mia takes both advanced art and classic literature so she is in both of their classes. She also happens to be one of the many students speculating about Will and Mike's relationship.
"I- we were just... saving gas. We live in the same apartment complex, so it's cheaper that way."
"Ohhh okay. Gotcha. Well, see ya in class!"
Will buries his head in his hands, hearing her giggle as she leaves.
----
Mike has a migraine.
After they finished reading the last few chapters of the Odyssey and discussing the essays they would write everyone got up to sit with their friends.
Everyone is laughing and chatting when suddenly someone asks if he's chaperoning the DC trip.
"No, I'm not an art or theater teacher."
"But some other teachers volunteer," someone shoots back.
"You think I'd volunteer to spend 4 hours on a bus with 60 kids? Not a chance."
"Oh. I kinda thought you'd wanna go. Y'know since Mr. Byers is chaperoning."
"What is that supposed to- hey, wait a minute, Wi- Mr. Byers is chaperoning?"
"Yep!" Mia speaks this time. "He told me this morning."
"Oh. Well he's the advanced art teacher. That would make sense."
Everyone laughs and goes back to their previous conversations.
----
The bell rings. It's finally Mike's lunch break. He pulls up a second chair to his desk and sits in it, opting to give Will his more comfy chair.
Will walks in once all the students are in the cafeteria, none of them able to see him arrive in Mike's classroom.
"Hey!" he says, walking over and kissing Mike on the cheek before sitting down.
Mike pouts at him. "You're going to DC?"
"Well yeah Mike I kinda have to." He giggles, taking two fingers to Mike's cheeks and pulling his lips up into a smile.
"Willll!" Mike groans, burying his face in Will's neck.
"Mikeeee!" Will replies with a laugh.
"You can't leave me! I'll be so lonely!"
"You'll have Conan!"
"But I won't have you! And you know that's another reason you can't go. Conan will miss you."
Will scoffs. "Mike, Conan is like your child. I'm sure he'll be fine."
"I won't be!" Mike whines.
"Mike," Will pulls back to look at him. "You'll be okay for one weekend."
Mike sighs sadly as Will hands him a sandwich. He takes it and finally smiles again when Will flicks him on the forehead.
----
Back at home Will is starting to pack. Mike frowns, taking a bite of pizza.
"Why does the advanced art teacher have to chaperone? Why can't the regular art teacher do it?"
"Because Mike, it's an advanced student trip," Will replies, folding up some shirts and putting them in his suitcase.
"Y'know my students thought I was chaperoning so I could go with you? They definetley know."
"They don't know, they suspect," Will giggles, taking a bite of his pizza and sitting on the floor next to Mike.
"You could come. There are still a few spots left." Will says, nudging Mike with his shoulder.
"I don't want to spend hours on a sweaty bus with sweaty kids. And I don't wanna be responsible for any sweaty kids either."
"We could sit together on the bus, share a hotel room, sneak away for a date once all the kids are in their rooms for curfew," Will smiles, laying his head on Mike's shoulder and looking up. "Could be fun."
"Okay that sounds nice," he admits, smiling softly. "But who would watch the kid?" he asks, gesturing at Conan who is lounging in his little cat hammock.
"Maybe Dustin? I don't think he's going with Jane."
"Not a chance. Conan likes him to much. We'll come back and he'll be his new favorite human."
Will laughs at this. "How about Jonathan? Wait no- shit I forgot he's visiting Mom right now. Steve?"
"I think the baseball team has an out of town game this weekend."
"Hmm... Robin and Nancy? Conan likes them. Not so much he'll hate you when we get home, but enough that he won't maul their faces off."
Mike laughs. "Yeah, okay. I'll call later."
"Yeah? So you're coming?"
Mike sighs and tosses a bit of pizza crust in Conan's direction. He paws at it before gnawing on it. "Yeah, I'll go. Y'know I must reaaallly love you to be traveling across state lines with a bunch of hormonal devil spawn so that we're not separated for 3 days."
Will smiles and kisses him. "Thank you Mike. I love you too."