Chapter Text
mike woke up slowly, becoming aware of his surroundings slowly, a pleasant way to wake up compared to the normal yelling at his house.
oh, shit.
his eyes snapped open, shattering any peace he had. everything he did last night came back to him, and his mind screamed. oh fuck why did he do that, it's gonna be so bad when he gets back oh SHIT-
the room seemed to sway, a wave of nausea washing over him. it felt like an icy hand had reached through his ribcage and was squeezing his heart. he couldn't breathe. oh, god he couldn't breathe-
he heard a muffled voice calling his name. he tried his best to focus on it, but everything felt woozy right now.
"...ike? mike, can you hear me? mike please, breathe with me, okay?"
didn't lucas know he couldn't? that thought would've made him laugh if he was able.
maybe lucas could read minds because he then said, "try to, atleast. in for four out for four, okay?"
he tried. he gasped for air but every breath felt shallower than the last. a sob escaped him. "i can't!"
"yes you can, you're so strong, and you're so brave." mike shook his head violently, dizziness hitting him.
"hey, hey buddy, mike the brave, remember?" he let out a half-laugh, half-cry.
"oh, there you are!" he trembled, scrunching up his face. "okay, now that you're more... present, try and breath, mkay?"
he tried to speak, but was interrupted by hiccups. "it's okay bud. take a deep breath with me." lucas took in an exaggerated breath, holding before pushing it out. he did that a couple more times before mike joined him.
"alright. are you feeling any better?"
"i- am. yeah. thanks." he breathed out, trying not to start crying again. hormones are dumb.
"i'm glad. do you want a hug?" lucas held his arms out. mike dived into them. lucas hugged him so tightly he thought his ribs would break, but it was also very calming. mike let out a deep sigh.
"do you wanna talk about it?"
oh. of course. no, mike doesn't really wanna talk about what caused him to a full blown panic attack. but he will talk about it. lucas deserves it after dealing with him when he was like this.
"so, um. basically i got really stressed about how my parents will react when i go back home and-" his voice wavered as he spoke.
"oh dude, it'll be okay. i don't think they're gonna hurt you, but even if they do, you can just come right back here. you are always, always welcome here. you're my best friend, you're kind, my parents love you, they always have. i mean, even erica likes you."
mike sniffled. "i love you, dude. platonically."
lucas chuckled. "same here, man." his voice was full of mirth. "i also know you're never leaving will."
"never ever." mike agreed. he then pulled back. "okay, what time is it? i think it's probably a little late."
lucas shrugged. "it's a saturday, it's okay to wake up a little late. it's around 8:45 now and breakfast should be at like, 9:00."
"alright then. should we pack up my cot?"
"fine by me."
they folded the blankets, putting them in the closet. lucas took the pillow downstairs, leaving the room so mike could change. mike's outfit today was a pair of baggy jeans, and a faded band tee for the smiths that he got from jonathan. he also put on the heart locket he got from will. when he was done, he picked up his backpack, leaving the room to go downstairs.
he placed his bag down near the door. mrs. sinclair turned her head towards the noise. "mike? is that you?"
"ah- uh, yeah, it's me!" he shifted nervously.
"well, come here! you know you're always welcome." mike's cheeks flushed. he made his way over to the kitchen.
"how are you doing sweetie? i didn't know you stayed over last night." her tone was soft, comforting. it was really nice.
"i'm doing... fine. i had a bit of a fight with my parents last night so i decided to come over." he fidgeted with his hands.
she abandoned the stove for a moment to pull him into a hug. mike screwed his eyes shut, fighting back tears. "it's alright sweetie. i know your house isn't always the best. i'm glad you feel safe coming here." okay, he gave up on fighting tears. it was impossible at this point. she released him to flip the pancakes, a perfect golden brown.
"you've always been great at pancakes." he said with a smile.
"thank you, dearie. since you're here, can you get the eggs out of the fridge? and if you could put the syrup up at the table." she put the plate of pancakes on a counter, taking a bowl out of the cupboard.
mike happily complied. lucas came down shortly after that, erica trailing after. those two got to set the table.
mike chopped some strawberries after checking with mrs. sinclair that it'd be fine. he liked feeling like he could do something. maybe he should learn how to bake.
after all the preparation, they sat down to a meal that was really good. mike put syrup on his eggs, a combo that is honestly really good. at first he did it to gross out nancy, but he grew to really like it. after looking at mike's plate for a little bit, erica decided to try syrup on her eggs, too.
"alright wheeler, this is pretty good. i see why you like it." she declared.
"thank you!" he exclaimed. he felt justified, who cares what other people say. what erica says, goes.
the rest of the breakfast passed peacefully. after radioing the others, they decided that the party should meet up around noon at the squawk.
they helped clean up, washing dishes and putting away the orange juice and syrup.
after one last tight hug from mrs. sinclair to both of them, they were off.
on the way there it was quiet, except for mike occasionally bursting out in song and talking. it wasn't uncomfortable, though. it was nice to be able to just be loud.
they arrived a little earlier than the others, robin let mike choose a song. he chose tarzan boy by baltimora. as the song was ending, the others walked in. will locked eyes with him, and then he was rushing over to mike. he hugged him with such force he almost fell over, the only thing saving him was the counter behind him.
mike let out a breathy laugh. "hey, love. miss me?"
"so much." will's voice was muffled by his neck. he then brought his head up to kiss mike's forehead. despite this being a normal occurrence, it still made mike blush every. single. time.
then their lips met.
and oh my goodness it was like any troubles he had had, any worries, anything stressing him, it was like they vanished. he knew he'd be safe with will. there was also the insane heady feeling he's getting. they broke apart out of respect for their friends. he and will had time to make out later.
he looked around, his friends talking amongst themselves, so he felt like he could let himself be held by will for a little longer.
"baby?" will was gently swaying them. it was really nice.
mike hummed in response.
"i can tell you've got something going on, you willing to share?"
he hummed again.
"you wanna sit down?"
mike nodded against will's shoulder. will picked him bridal style, bringing him over to the couch. he sat them down on the couch, mike clinging to him tightly.
will rubbed soothing circles into his back, slowly relaxing him. "it's okay, baby."
tears ran down mike's face. god, he was doing a lot of crying today.
"oh, baby." will pulled mike as close as possible. mike shook with sobs, muffling himself against will's neck. "oh, my baby. it's alright. it's okay. breathe."
"i-" he hiccupped. "love you. so- much."
"oh, i love you too. it's gonna be okay, baby." will gently wiped his tears. he traced his cheekbones for a moment.
"i know you weren't- there this morning, but i had a panic attack," will looked at him with concern. "i'm fine, lucas helped." will looked more confused now.
"i stayed over at his house last night. um... long story short is that i had a small fight with my parents and i overreacted. so i am staying with friends for a few days." he took a breath.
will took all this in. "do you need to stay over at my house tonight?"
mike nodded enthusiastically.
will chuckled. "alright, alright. you can stay over anytime. my mom loves you."
"yeah, but your dad..." mike trailed off.
"hey. look at me." mike met his eyes. "if hopper says anything, any offensive at all, we can leave and go to my room. i know my mom would go off on him if he said anything."
mike pursed his lips. "okay."
will pulled him into a hug. mike smiled as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. "i love you, my dear."
mike pulled back, pecking will's lips. "i love you, my love."
and that was all they needed.