Archive of Our Own

Saturday, October 24, 1987

Will blinked awake. He propped himself on an elbow, confused. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up in the morning without an alarm, or someone waking him up for breakfast. A shiver ran through his body. The cold was settling in again – particularly in the basement – but that wasn’t it. Maybe it was the light rain coming down outside?

He made a small noise in the back of his throat, causing Jonathan to roll over. “Time ’s it?” he mumbled without opening his eyes.

Will glanced at the clock. “8:17,” he whispered back, then cleared his throat.

Jonathan grunted and rolled away again, putting an end to that conversation.

Will flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling. He angled his body slightly so he was looking right at where Mike was sleeping in his own bed, two floors up. So close and yet so far. Things had been good recently, they really had, it just… He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow, kicking his feet lightly into the mattress.

“Go to bed or go ’way,” Jonathan said softly, muffled by his own pillow.

Will sighed. He was too awake to go back to bed now. He gathered one of his blankets around himself like a cloak and slowly climbed the basement stairs.

Of course Mrs. Wheeler was already awake and making breakfast. He thought he closed the basement door quietly behind him, but evidently not quietly enough.

“Is that you, Jonathan?” she called from the kitchen.

“No, it’s me,” Will replied softly. Dammit.

“Oh, Will, honey, I didn’t expect you to be up so early! Come on in!”

He slowly trudged into the kitchen, face reddening. He’d lived here for a year and a half and he should really be over it, but it still felt weird being in his pajamas while Mrs. Wheeler was fully dressed and present while bustling around the kitchen – which was ridiculous on so many levels. She’d seen him in his pajamas since the age of five – hell, she’d even supervised him and Mike taking baths together back when they were little. And it’s not like he was the only one either. Mike regularly stumbled downstairs in his pajamas fully bedheaded, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and – none of this was helping. “Can I help?” he asked, voice cracking slightly.

“Oh, you’re so sweet,” Mrs. Wheeler cooed, “But I’ve got it handled. Although –” she lowered her voice – “Maybe you could keep Holly company?” She jerked her head towards the dining room.

Will brightened. That he could do. “Sure thing,” he replied, darting off quickly.

Holly looked up as soon as he entered and made a face. “Why do you have a cape?” she asked.

Will rolled his eyes. “Hey, Hols,” he said, casually ruffling her hair as he sat down, “Good morning to you too.”

She shied away from his hand. “Do you think it makes you look cool or something? Like a Jedi or a wizard or something?”

Will narrowed his eyes at her. “I think it makes me warm,” he replied drily, pulling it tighter around himself.

“Oh,” said Holly simply. “I wanna be a wizard. Or a witch. Can girls be wizards?”

“Um. Probably? I mean, girls can be anything they want to be?”

Holly sighed. “That’s something stupid that grown-ups say. I can’t be a waiter, but I can be a waitress. I can’t be an actor, but I can be an actress. Are wizards and witches like that?”

Will stopped to think. “I think they’re different, slightly? Wizards are tinkerers – they have workshops and invent spells – but witches are more nature-based – they live in the woods and brew potions.”

Holly wrinkled her nose. “I want a workshop.”

“Okay,” Will shrugged, “Be a wizard then.”

“So I can?” asked Holly.

“…Yes,” Will declared after a moment, “By the power vested in me, I declare that you can be a wizard.”

Holly grinned. “Can Mary be a wizard too?”

“Mary, your best friend Mary?”

“Duh, do you know any other Marys?”

“I dunno, I just haven’t seen her around in a while.”

“That’s true…” Holly trailed off. “Hey, Mom!” she called into the kitchen, “Can Mary come over next weekend?”

“On Halloween?” Karen called back. “That should be fine. Do you want to go trick-or-treating or?”

“No way, trick-or-treating’s for babies,” Holly called back, which – what? That wasn’t true. Sure, he hadn’t gone last year, but that didn’t mean –

“Then what are you going to do?” asked Karen, walking into the dining room, whatever was sizzling in the kitchen evidently under control.

“We’re gonna watch a scary movie,” Holly replied instantly, even though it was clear no forethought had gone into it. She was so like Mike sometimes.

“Not so scary you get nightmares,” Mrs. Wheeler cautioned.

“She can sleep over!” Holly argued. “We can stay up all night in the basement and keep each other safe from nightmares!” And, oof, if that didn’t make Will’s heart ache a little. He glanced towards the stairs as someone started coming down. Probably Nancy.

“But then where will Will and Jon sleep?” Karen asked.

“Will can sleep with me,” Mike said immediately from the stairs. Sure enough, he was in his pajamas, riding up at the ankle from his latest growth spurt, his hair all poking up on one side. He looked – “I mean. Not with me. But like. In my room. Not in a – You know. Like a sleepover.” His face softened. “Like old times.”

Yeah, this was what Will meant when he said things were good. If only Mike Wheeler knew what he did to him.

Karen made a face. “I don’t know if –”

“I’d love to,” Will cut in quickly. He ducked his head, but felt Mike’s gaze on him. He slowly looked back up.

“Yeah?” asked Mike, tilting his head as he caught Will’s eye.

“Yeah,” Will said softly. He couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from curling up into a grin, which was matched by Mike.

“But what about Jonathan?” Karen persisted, clearly against this for some unknown reason.

“He can sleep on the couch!” Holly suggested. “Please, Mom, please? It’ll be so much fun!”

Karen sighed. “I’ll talk to Mary’s parents, okay?”

“Yes!” shrieked Holly. “Thanks, Mom! You’re the best!”

Will snorted as he and Mike shared another glance. These staring contests could go either way. Some days, Will could so much as breathe in Mike’s direction and he’d fold immediately, avoiding Will’s gaze. Today it was Will that dropped his gaze. The look Mike was giving him, it – It didn’t mean what Will wanted to mean, and that was okay. This was… good enough. More than enough. Best friends.

*          *          *

Monday, October 26, 1987

“Mike, watch out!” Will felt a little exasperation creep into his voice. They were biking over to Washington Elementary to pick up Holly, and Mike kept drifting too close for comfort.

“Sorry, sorry,” Mike was quick to apologize.

“It’s fine,” Will replied, because it really wasn’t a big deal. “You okay? Forget how to ride a bike?”

“Do you wanna go trick-or-treating this year?” Mike blurted out.

Okay, so Will had been living with Mike for over a year and they’d been best friends for like a decade before that, so on the one hand, he was used to these non sequiturs. On the other, it felt like Mike’s brain shouldn’t still be such a mystery to him.

“What?” he asked, stalling for time as he made a left turn into the elementary school parking lot.

“I said,” Mike repeated more slowly, “Do you wanna go trick-or-treating this year?”

Will furrowed his brow as he dismounted his bike and wheeled it towards the rack next to Holly’s pink monstrosity. “Where’s this coming from?” he asked cautiously.

Mike flushed. “I just – You said you didn’t get to go last year, in California, so I just thought – it’s always been our thing and – y’know what, obviously it’s ’cause you outgrew it, just forget I said anything –”

“Mike.” Will grabbed his wrist, causing him to freeze. “I didn’t go last year ’cause I didn’t have anyone to go with – anyone I wanted to go with,” he corrected, not wanting to get into the weeds about Kyle again. “Of course I want to go with you.”

He chanced a glance up and Mike’s eyes were locked on him, blown wide. “Cool,” he breathed.

“Yeah, cool,” Will echoed with a smile. “Not everything needs to be this big deal, Mike,” he joked.

Mike’s face remained serious. “But some things should be,” he replied. “Some things deserve to be. This is our first Halloween together as high schoolers. It should be special, something we can remember for the rest of our lives.”

Will let out a huff. “Okay, sure, I’m down,” he allowed. “Did you have anything in particular in mind? Holly’s having that sleepover with Mary, so we don’t have to babysit her this year.”

“Yeah, I – I know,” Mike stuttered. “That makes it better, right? So we can go farther and faster and hit up all the good neighborhoods, except maybe not Loch Nora, ’cause –”

“It’s fine, Mike,” Will cut in. “As long as you’re there with me, I’ll be fine.”

Mike’s eyes widened and he made a choked kind of noise in his throat. “Yeah, okay, sure,” he agreed. “All the rich neighborhoods, including Loch Nora, and we’ll get the biggest candy haul ever, and –” he paused, “You’re still gonna sleep over, right? Like in my room?”

“Yeah, ’course,” Will replied, ignoring the anxiety that question provoked. “I’m not gonna crash Holly and Mary’s scary movie marathon.”

Mike avoided his eyes. “It won’t be weird, right?”

“Just like old times,” Will promised.

Mike bit his lip. “You sure?”

Will nodded immediately. “Friends don’t lie.”

Mike broke out into a grin. “Cool.” He stared at Will a moment too long, then shook his head and turned his gaze downwards. “You, uh… youshouldbeluke,” he mumbled.

“What?” asked Will.

“You, uh – You should be Luke,” Mike repeated. “Skywalker. Luke Skywalker. For Halloween. If we’re going trick-or-treating, we gotta dress up.”

Will narrowed his eyes. Sure, Mike had been obsessed with Luke Skywalker since the first time they’d seen Star Wars, but wouldn’t that mean that Mike wanted to be Luke? But then – oh. He fought to keep the disappointment off his face. “ ’Cause then El would be Leia, right?”

Mike cocked his head in confusion. “El? What? What does she have to do with anything?”

Will stared at him. The line between Mike feigning ignorance and actually being oblivious was often difficult to discern. “So say I go as Luke,” he explained slowly. Mike nodded. “You’re gonna go as Han, right?” Mike nodded again. “So then El’s Leia, ’cause she’s my sister, right?”

“Oh. Uh.” Mike’s face fell. “I mean, if you want her to come along, she can. I just – I kinda thought it would be just the two of us, y’know? Like old times.”

Now it was Will’s turn to be confused. “No, I – Yeah, of course it can just be us.” Mike’s face brightened again and Will couldn’t help smiling with him. “I just – why Luke and Han, then?”

Mike shrugged but didn’t meet Will’s eyes. “I just – I think you’d look good as Luke.”

Will’s brain stopped momentarily. “Oh,” he managed after a pause that was probably entirely too long. “I – sure? Okay? Let’s do it.”

“Yeah?” Mike broke out into a grin. He leaned in towards Will, opening his arms just as the final bell rang. He rocked back again immediately and stuck his hands in his pockets. “We can talk to our moms about costumes and stuff. It shouldn’t be too hard?”

“Yeah, we can throw something together for sure,” Will agreed, “You still have those lightsabers, right?”

“Do I –” Mike broke off, offended. “Of course I still have our lightsabers!”

“Of course he still has your lightsabers,” Holly echoed as she walked up to the bike rack. “You really think he’d throw away anything that reminded him of you?”

“Holly, shut up” Mike hissed.

Will just chuckled. Mike had always been sentimental about his toys. He would have been shocked if he’d actually thrown away anything. “Ready to go, Hols?” he asked.

“Yeah. What do you need lightsabers for anyways?” she asked as she pulled out her bike.

“For Halloween,” Will replied simply, ignoring Mike waving his hand back and forth over his throat.

Holly cocked her head in confusion, looking uncannily like Mike, before something clicked and she nodded. “Sorry for kicking you out that night,” she said as she mounted her bike, not sounding sorry at all.

“It’s fine,” Will said quickly, not wanting to jeopardize their sleeping arrangements.

Holly snorted. “Yeah, I bet,” she said as she kicked off.

…What the hell was that supposed to mean?  

*          *          *

Wednesday, October 28, 1987

“Why are we here again?” asked Mike as he rolled slowly to a stop outside Family Video.

Will rolled his eyes as he stepped off his own bike and leaned it in the rack next to Mike’s. “To rent a movie for Holly?” he gently reminded Mike, as if he might have forgotten.

Mike scuffed his foot on the ground. “Yeah, but we’re supposed to work on costumes today,” he muttered.

“Right,” Will agreed, “So the faster we rent a movie, the faster we can get home.”

Mike blinked. “Right, yeah. C’mon,” he said, grabbing onto Will’s wrist to drag him into the store. Will flushed but let himself be dragged.

Once they were inside and in sight of the cashier, Mike quickly let go, but stayed in Will’s personal bubble as they walked through the aisles. Fortunately, the Halloween movies were all on display together nearish the entrance, so Will didn’t have too long to wonder what the hell was going on. He stopped in front of the display and Mike stood so close next to him that their shoulders brushed. Will scanned the display then leaned forward to grab Nightmare on Elm Street 3 that Holly had specifically requested. Mike leaned forward at the same time, brushing Will’s hand as he randomly grabbed –

“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? Really, Mike? Do you listen to anything Holly says?” Will teased.

Mike snorted. “You think there’s any way in hell my mom’s letting Holly watch an R-rated movie? This is the decoy.”

“Wait, it’s R-rated?” asked Will, turning the case over in his hands. “Shit, how are we going to rent this?”

“Never fear, my brave cleric,” said Mike, dropping into his DM voice, “For I have secured a scroll of safe passage.”

Will rolled his eyes to hide his shiver. He was in public, for god’s sake. “Yeah, I don’t think an urgent missive from an elf queen across the sea is gonna help us out here, Mike.”

Mike sighed. “It’s just a note from Nancy.”

“I’m just giving you a hard time,” Will smiled.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Mike replied, casually bumping their shoulders together like it didn’t mean anything.

Will trailed behind him up to the checkout counter as Mike confidently proffered the note only for the bored cashier to wave him away. “Whatever, man, you do you,” he drawled. Will drifted closer; the cashier – Tyler, according to his nametag – wasn’t hard on the eyes. Even though he looked terminally bored, he had kind eyes. His nose had an interesting slope, his hair was fluffy in a cute way, and his fingers were almost as long as –

“Will!” Mike called sharply, shooting him a glare. “Time to go.”

Will startled and shook his head. “Yeah, yeah, sorry.”

“S’okay,” Mike muttered, hurrying them out of the store, positioning himself in front of Will so he could hold the door for him. He’d been weirdly insistent about holding doors for Will recently. “Sorry,” he continued on as they were safely outside, “That cashier was just giving me a weird vibe.”

“Huh?” asked Will, confused. “He seemed fine to me?”

“Something was off,” Mike insisted. “He was looking at you funny.”

Will shrugged. “I didn’t notice.”

“Yeah, well, I did,” Mike muttered.

*          *          *

The drive home was short enough, and soon enough they found themselves at the kitchen table with assorted clothes and fabric all around them. Much to Mike’s chagrin, Mrs. Wheeler was also hovering.  He’d insisted that the two of them could figure it out themselves, but Will knew enough to know his own limits. Plus she had legitimately good ideas, like going next door to borrow one of Lucas’s old karate robes or grabbing Mr. Wheeler’s utility belt from the basement (not that Will had ever seen him actually wear it).

Will thought he might have been able to sew a red stripe onto Mike’s pants if they’d had their old sewing machine, but the Wheelers’ was just different enough to be intimidating. Mike clearly had no idea what he was doing but was also deadset on his mom doing as little as possible because he was just stubborn like that. Will knocked their knees together. “C’mon,” he whispered, “We both know that you have no idea how to sew.”

Mike pouted. “But I want this to be our thing.”

Will raised his eyebrows placatingly. “It is. We can go find a lightsaber while she sews.” Before Mike could object, Will turned to his mom. “Help us, Mrs. Wheeler,” he said with a carefully straight face, “You’re our only hope.”

Mike snorted, causing Will to grin, then they both broke down laughing. Mrs. Wheeler smiled fondly at them. “Of course, boys. It should only take a few minutes.”

It took them more than a few minutes to find the lightsaber. They looked in Mike’s room first, then the basement, then the garage, then Mike’s room again where he finally found it high up on a shelf in his closet.

Soon enough, it was the moment of truth. Will went into the downstairs bathroom to change. Lucas’s karate robes didn’t fit quite right and it showed off a little more of his chest than he would have liked, but it was what it was. Mrs. Wheeler helped him wrap some bandages around his legs and had just finished by the time that Mike came down the stairs. Their eyes met when Mike was still on the landing and Will froze.

Mike looked – good. Mike looked really good. His white dress shirt had a sinful number of buttons unbuttoned and those red stripes accentuated just how long his legs were. Fuck. Had he been staring too long? Apparently not, because Mike was still staring back at him slack-jawed.

It was Mrs. Wheeler who broke the impromptu staring contest. “Oh, aren’t you boys just adorable!” she gushed. “Let me just grab my camera.”

That got through to Mike. “Mommm,” he groaned.

“Just a few!” Mrs. Wheeler called from the other room, “In front of the fireplace!”

Will drifted over to the stairs. “I think it’ll be nice,” he said softly.

Mike cocked his head. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Will echoed. “You look g – you look just like Han.”

“Yeah?” Mike struck a pose and preened.

“Well…” Will trailed off.

“What?” Mike looked panicked, “What did I do wrong?”

Will snorted. “Han has more chest hair than you do,” he said, gesturing vaguely at Mike’s chest.

Mike made a face. “Ew, gross.”

Will shrugged. “I think it looks good on him.”

Mrs. Wheeler returned before Mike could reply and ushered them into the living room. Will took it as a point of pride that she didn’t need to ask Mike to smile once.

*          *          *

Friday, October 30, 1987

“Did you consume your family’s entire Halloween candy stash this morning?” asked Dustin as Mike and Will returned from the lunch line. Will snorted. Mike had been buzzing with nervous energy all day.

Mike scrunched up his face. “No? What gave you that idea?” he asked, sounding offended.

“You’re all –” Dustin waved his hands vaguely – “Jittery.”

“He’s right,” cut in Lucas, “You’ve been wired all day. I thought you were just staying home tomorrow night to hand out candy?”

“Right, yeah, um.” Mike looked flustered. “Will and I might have to go out with Holly, y’know, if she wants to go trick-or-treating?” Wow, Mike was a terrible liar.

Dustin raised his eyebrows, nonplussed. “Okay, and…?”

“What do you mean, and?” Mike snapped back.

“And how does this relate to you being a nervous wreck today?” Dustin replied calmly. “I have it on reliable authority that she’s past the ‘Tiny Terror’ stage.”

“Yeah, now she’s a moderately-sized terror,” Mike grumbled, causing Lucas to nod in solidarity.

“Holly’s friends can be – intense,” Will cut in, trying to toss Mike a lifeline.

“Oh yeah,” Lucas agreed quickly, “Erica’s always worse with her friends.”

“So let me get this straight.” Dustin tilted his head, focusing his inquisitive stare on Mike. “You’re so nervous about escorting a few seven-year-olds trick-or-treating tomorrow night that you’re visibly off today?”

“Sure seems like it, huh?” Mike forced an awkward chuckle.

Dustin looked clearly unconvinced. Shit.

“Hey,” Will said softly, reaching out a hand to clasp Dustin’s shoulder. “It’s a weird time of year for all of us, okay?”

Dustin’s face immediately fell. “Oh, shit, sorry man – I didn’t even think – y’know – I mean, it’s –”

“It’s cool, man,” Mike said weakly. “We’re – we’re good.”

*          *          *

Okay, so that had been weird. Now they’d just gotten home after school and he’d barely kicked his shoes off when Mike grabbed his wrist and started pulling him upstairs.

The wrist-grabbing part wasn’t that weird. Mike had done that all the time when they were little, pulling Will around to whatever he’d wanted to show him. Mrs. Wheeler had told him off all the time for it, but Will so clearly had had no issue with it that she eventually gave up. Sure, that had dropped off some as they’d gotten older, but it had ramped up again in the past few months.

The upstairs part was a little more unusual. At this point, they usually hung out outside – the house got a little stifling with so many people living under one roof – or in the basement as the weather got cooler. Mike’s room had changed when he’s been in California, and while it was still undeniably Mike’s room, some part of him expected it to always the look the same as when they were five.

As they entered now, the bigger bed still felt out of place. But Mike himself was bigger too, and they’d never have fit in those old bunk beds. Speaking of Mike – “So, uh, what exactly are we doing here?” Will asked lightly.

Mike flushed. “I dunno, you’re – you’re gonna sleep here tomorrow, right?” It sounded rhetorical, but then he paused.

“I – yeah, of course,” Will cut in before Mike started to doubt himself. “It’ll be just like old times.”

“Yeah,” Mike smiled, “Just like old times.”

“No bunk beds, though,” Will commented.

“We never used them,” Mike replied quickly, and oh – that was – surely he didn’t – “I mean,” Mike coughed. “Your old sleeping bag must be around here somewhere.”

“Right, yeah,” Will agreed flatly, carefully schooling the disappointment from his face. “That’ll be fine.”

“I’ll ask my mom where it is,” Mike agreed casually, “So she doesn’t get suspicious.”

Will narrowed his eyes. “Suspicious of what?”

“Oh, y’know.” Mike flapped his hand vaguely and turned away, leaving Will completely in the dark. Mike Wheeler was an enigma if nothing else. “I’ll need to clean a bit before tomorrow,” he tacked on, sheepishly surveying the room.

“Oh, I can help,” Will offered immediately. “I’m the one coming into your space.”

The left corner of Mike’s mouth tightened. “It’s our space,” he said after a moment. “Always has been, ever since I met you.”

And okay, what the hell was Will supposed to say to that? “Mmm,” he said in vague agreement. “Let’s – I can help clean our space, then, right?”

Mike opened his mouth to refuse, but instead thought for a moment and closed it again. “I… Guess I can’t say no?” he said slowly.

Will snorted. “Can’t find a fault in my logic?” he teased.

“If I could, it wouldn’t be logic, would it, Mr. Spock?” Mike replied.

Will raised his eyebrows challengingly. “Maybe if we dig deep enough in your closet, we’ll find those pointy elf ears you used to make Nancy wear.”

Mike’s eyes widened minutely. “I’ll, uh, I’ll handle the closet, if you wanna –” he gestured vaguely at the floor.

Will snorted. “Sure, Mike, I’ll pick up your dirty clothes.”

“You don’t have to,” Mike said quickly, “That’s not why I invited you up here.”

“Dragged me up here, you mean,” Will commented as he bent down to pick up Mike’s clothes. “Your hamper’s right here, man. Is it really so hard to put your clothes there?”

“Sometimes I’m already cozy in bed and don’t wanna get up,” Mike defended himself.

“We’ll have to call up Lucas and have him teach you how to throw,” teased Will.

Mike groaned. “Will, you know it’s hopeless. I’ll never be athletic like you and Lucas.”

Will shrugged. “I didn’t say it.” He moved on to making Mike’s bed. As he fluffed the pillows, something fell out. “…Mike,” he said slowly, “Is this my shirt?”

Mike turned in confusion, then his eyes widened as he saw what Will was holding and he let out a little eep. “Uh, I mean, is it?” he stammered. “You know how laundry gets mixed up and everything so, uh, maybe?”

Will glanced bemusedly at the The Cure t-shirt that was most certainly his. “Unless you’ve become a closet Cure fan and been buying the same shirts as me, I’m pretty sure it’s mine,” he replied.

“Right, yeah, yeah,” Mike agreed. “You can have it back of course, I mean, uh.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Don’t really know how it ended up in my bed, honestly.”

Will shrugged as he balled it up and arced it perfectly into Mike’s hamper. “It might look good on you,” he said, just loudly enough for Mike to hear.

*          *          *

Saturday, October 31, 1987

“I can’t believe it’s drizzling,” Mike complained as they stood in the garage.

Will shrugged. “If you don’t want to go trick-or-treating, we don’t have to.”

“What? No, of course I do!” Mike said immediately. “I mean, unless you don’t want to anymore?”

Will’s heart cracked a little. “Mike,” he said softly, “Of course I want to go with you.”

“Even if I don’t believe in the Force?” Mike teased.

Will rolled his eyes. “Come on, you dork. Han Solo’s not afraid of a little drizzle.” He started walking out of the garage.

“And Luke would have loved it, right, coming from Tatooine?” Mike chattered, keeping pace with Will. “It would have been a miracle!”

Will smiled. Bantering with Mike was so easy, and the way the water tracked down Mike’s chest was – certainly something. Mike had had all these grand plans about the ideal candy-to-distance route and being out for hours, but it turned out that the rain was a bit of a damper even on Mike’s enthusiasm. “I’m sorry,” Mike said as they walked back down Maple Street within the hour, both considerably more candy-laden and more waterlogged than when they’d set out.

Will frowned. “Nothing to be sorry for,” he said automatically, chancing a glance over at Mike. There had been a lot of awkward eye contact while they’d been out. Well, not awkward. And not eye contact, not exactly. But every time Will had glanced over at Mike, Mike had already been staring at him. So maybe a little awkward. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Mike automatically headed around back, but Will caught his arm. Mike jerked, but didn’t pull away. “Holly’s down there, remember?”

“Right.” Mike gave a weird little half-smile. “Watching Charlie Brown, right?”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what they’re watching,” Will said drily.

“Wanna go up to my room, then?” asked Mike. “We can trade candy and change into some dry clothes.” Will must have involuntarily made some sort of face. “What?” Mike continued, “Aren’t you soaked too?”

“I mean, yeah,” Will agreed readily.

“Then what’s the matter?” Mike pushed.

“It’s nothing,” Will insisted, pushing past Mike to enter the house. Mike hurried to catch up and looked like a kicked puppy dog when Will opened the door himself.

“It’s not nothing if it matters to you,” Mike replied as they kicked off their shoes. Mr. Wheeler was already asleep on the La-Z-Boy and Mrs. Wheeler tipsily greeted them from the kitchen with a glass of wine in her hand.

Mike grimaced, so Will bumped their shoulders together. “C’mon,” he said, “Let’s go upstairs.”

“Willll,” Mike whined.

“Whattttt,” Will replied equally childishly as he ran ahead of Mike up the stairs. He could physically feel Mike roll his eyes behind him.

Once they entered Mike’s room, Mike closed the door behind them with a click that immediately ratcheted up the tension in Will’s body. It really was just the two of them now, alone in their own little world – just like old times, just like they’d said, except now Mike was much taller and hotter and there was a bead of water slowly tracing down Mike’s sternum and –

“So,” said Mike, stepping forward into Will’s personal space.

Will sucked in a breath. “So,” he echoed mindlessly.

“Luke Skywalker’s always honest with his friends,” said Mike softly.

“Yeah,” Will agreed automatically, unable to bring his eyes up to meet Mike’s gaze.

“Why don’t you want to get changed?” asked Mike softly. “I know your clothes are down in the basement, but you can always borrow mine; you know that.”

Shit. Mike was not going to let this go. He sighed. “You look good as Han,” he muttered.

“What?” asked Mike.

“I said, you look good as Han,” Will repeated, a little louder.

“What?” asked Mike, cupping a hand to his ear.

“Oh, shove off,” said Will, pushing Mike away from him. “See if I ever compliment you again!”

“We can save the costumes,” Mike said softly, the tips of his ears pink, “Wear them again sometime?” He turned to his dresser and pulled out a sweater, a pair of pajama pants, a hoodie, some socks, and – Will reddened – a pair of briefs. “But for now you need to be warm and dry.”

Will stood there awkwardly for a moment, Mike’s clothes deposited in his arms – oh god, he was holding Mike Wheeler’s underwear – then turned tail and quickly retreated to the hallway bathroom. Admittedly, it was a relief to get the soaked Luke Skywalker robes off and he luxuriated for a moment, using Mike’s fluffy towel to dry off. But of course now he had a boner. Guess it was a good thing he had to wear briefs instead of boxers tonight. He pulled them on, tucking his dick to the right to minimize any awkwardness. The socks, pants, sweater, and hoodie followed in short order. Will shivered. Everything smelled and felt like Mike, and it was just a little overwhelming.

Once he’d pulled himself together, he returned to Mike’s room. The curtains were closed, and Mike had only left his bedside lamp on, casting a warm glow over the room. Mike was lying stomach-down on his bed, kicking his feet up in the air with his candy spread out on the mattress in front of him. “Hey, you,” he said softly as Will entered. Maybe it was the lighting, but Mike just looked so soft and at ease and – was that Will’s Cure t-shirt? Was he seriously –

“Will? Earth to Will?” Mike interrupted Will’s spiraling train of thought. “You good?” He gave a lopsided smile.

“I – Yeah, I mean, but – Isn’t that my –”

“You look good in my clothes too,” Mike said simply, short-circuiting Will’s brain. “C’mon up,” he said, patting the narrow sliver of mattress remaining next to him, “Candy time.”

Will grabbed his pillowcase full of candy and dumped it on top of Mike’s stash, then awkwardly clambered onto the bed, sitting cross-legged. Mikie was evidently having none of that. He used one arm to tug Will forwards, causing him to lightly faceplant before he rearranged himself to lie on his stomach next to Mike. Mike moved one of his stupidly long legs to kick Will and their legs somehow ended up tangled together. He handed Will one of his Reese’s Pieces.

They spent the next hour or so trading candy until most of their stash was gone and there was a frankly obscene pile of wrappers on the floor. The sugar high had been fun while it lasted, but now Will was nodding off. He dropped his face into Mike’s comforter, mentally preparing himself to get back up. “Where’s my sleeping bag?” he muttered.

“What?” asked Mike, poking his shoulder.

Will raised his head slightly and yawned. “Where’s my sleeping bag?” he said again.

“Um,” Mike said intelligently. He paused. “It’s over there, but, I mean – it’s late already. You could just sleep up here?”

Will suddenly felt wide awake. “What?”

“You don’t have to!” Mike backtracked. “I just meant, it’s late and you’re tired and I understand if you don’t wanna get your sleeping bag set up and everything. I wouldn’t mind if – y’know, just like old times?”

Will thought for a moment. There were so many reasons not to do this, but ultimately it was a foregone conclusion. “Just like old times?” he echoed, glancing nervously over at Mike.

Mike smiled slowly and Will knew he’d made the right choice. Mike shoved the rest of the candy unceremoniously onto the floor and contorted himself in some byzantine Mike Wheeler way to end up under the covers. Will hesitated. “C’mon,” Mike insisted, and Will only possessed so much willpower. In short order, he found himself under the covers too, but he kept a safe buffer zone between him and Mike. Mike reached over to turn off the lamp and the room plunged into darkness besides a faint nightlight plugged into the wall outlet.

“G’night, Mike,” he mumbled, rolling to his left to face away from him.

Mike made a noise in the back of his throat. “You’re gonna fall off in the middle of the night,” he complained. “Here, just –” He shuffled back a little and tugged on Will’s shoulder. Will just curled up tighter. Mike didn’t understand. He didn’t mean it like this, and it wasn’t fair to him when it meant something totally different to Will and he couldn’t – “Will, please,” Mike insisted softly, barely a whisper.

It turned out that – surprise, surprise – Will still couldn’t deny Mike anything. He let himself be pulled back and let Mike Wheeler drape an arm over his chest and let Mike Wheeler tangle their legs together. Mike knocked out within ten minutes, his breath fanning across the back of Will’s neck. It took Will a long time to slow his pulse enough to sleep, but when he did, the nightmares never came.