Work Text:
A small bell trilled above the door of the coffee shop Mike was waiting in for Will, and he found himself, once again, mimicking It’s a Wonderful Life. When he saw that the customer was Will, a grin spread across his face.
The two coffees on the table were piping hot from when Mike ordered them a few minutes earlier, and the waitress came and did left two slices of cake, smiling at Mike. He knew her from school- her name was Laurie Jennison, and she was the reason he came out. In ninth grade, she had invited him to the Sadie Hawkins dance, and Mike had spluttered out a panicked “I’m gay!”. A year or two later, she announced that she was a lesbian after inviting Jenny Bates to the same ladies’ choice dance, and she and Mike founded the Hawkins High GSA together. They were pretty good friends, actually.
“Thanks, Laurie.”
“No probs, Mike. Hey Will!” she smiled, before wandering back to the counter. Will sat down.
He picked up the mug of coffee clumsily, with both hands, downing half of it with gusto.
“Sorry. C-cold.”
“No problem.” Mike responded softly, “Do you wanna borrow my jacket?”
“No thanks. I appreciate the coffee, though.”
They started chatting about their days at school, which teachers bothered them and which classes they couldn’t wait for the holidays to offer them a break from.
Will warmed up pretty quickly, the laughter and softness of Mike’s anecdotes lifting him up from his snow-induced bad mood.
They drank cup after cup of coffee, and Laurie jokingly suggested they should set up a tab.
The two didn’t leave until the final employee came over to them, half apologetic and half desperate for them to go home.
As they exited the cafe, they were immediately hit with the blast of cold air, such a contrast from the steamy, homely interior of the coffee shop. Will shivered. Without a second though, Mike shrugged off his thick jacket and slung it around the smaller boy’s shoulders, to much protest.
“You don’t have to baby me!”
“I’m not! You’re cold, I’m fine, so I’m pitting the jacket round you! Jeez, is it illegal to keep your best friend from getting hypothermia?”
“What if you get cold?”
“Then I’m enough of an asshole to take it back off you. Now come on, let’s get you home before your fingers turn blue.”