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Will opened the door to Hopper’s cabin. Dust filtered through the beams of light made by holes in the wall and ceiling. The place was a mess, filled with overturned furniture and broken floorboards and a distinct smell of something rotten. It hadn’t been cleaned up much since the Mind Flayer attacked and Eleven and Will left for California.
But now they were back, Will and Mike, and they were looking for anything that could help. They’d reunited with Dustin, Lucas, and Max and learned about Vecna. Music was the only thing that would be able to save someone if they were put under Vecna’s curse and if El was going to fight him, she’d need her favorite song. The two boys were urgently looking through anything they could find leftover in the cabin, but hope was growing dim. She’d taken what little she had with her to Lenora.
“How do you not know your girlfriend’s favorite song?” Will asked opening the room that was once Eleven’s. There wasn’t much left behind: a bookcase, a few posters, and a thick layer of dust on the floor.
Mike walked up behind Will to peer into the room. He sighed seeing there wasn’t anything helpful and the warm breath hit Will’s neck, sending a shiver down his spine.
“She never told me! I guess it’s not something we really talked about a lot,” Will shook his head, and headed back into the living room.
Will followed him and looked through some boxes by the old TV. Nothing but junk and papers. He ran a hand nervously through his hair. This was the first time he and Mike had really been alone together since they agreed to be a team. Friends. Best friends. The last few days they had been mostly stuck with Jonathan and Argyle in the desert.
While they were supposed to be focusing on finding anything to help El or help fight Vecna, his mind was on Mike. His best friend of ten years. The boy who never gave up on finding him. The boy who stayed by his side. The boy he was and utterly and painfully in love with.
Will thought about the painting he had in his backpack. There hadn’t been a time that felt right to give it to him, between Mike and El hanging out constantly; El getting arrested and then taken away to somewhere; and getting back to Hawkins; the time to bring up something like that just never happened. And now it might not ever happen.
“You sent dozens of letters and you didn’t learn anything about the music she liked? What did you even talk about?” Will tried not to sound frustrated, but it was hard. Mike had spent this last year sending non-stop letter back and forth with El and he’d only gotten maybe a few. Why wouldn’t his best friend in the whole world want to talk to him?
Mike groaned as he flopped onto the couch, “You’re really bringing that up again? We need to focus on helping Eleven and you’re mad about the letters? We need to work together right now,” Mike wasn’t looking at him anymore. His eyebrows were furrowed, and the corners of his mouth were turned down. He didn’t look angry, just tired and helpless, and worried. Mike Wheeler, the friend that cared about everyone.
Will got up from the floor and sat to the left of Mike, “I’m sorry. I know, it’s just…frustrating, you know? Moving was hard, really hard, and I felt alone. I know I had my mom, and Jonathan, and El, but it’s not the same as having friends around,” Mike was looking at him now, dark eyes focused on Will’s face, trying to read it. Will could feel his face flush under the gaze. He wasn’t used to this much one-on-one attention from Mike since he arrived in California.
Will cleared his throat, “I guess what I’m trying to say is…that I missed you, a lot, more than I realized I would,” his heart was beating fast now, “Part of me is jealous that you talked to El so much instead of me,” There was a pit in his stomach, and his hands were shaking out of nervousness.
Mike put his hand on top of Will’s to stop the shaking. Will almost pulled back from the unexpected touch. His face was burning and every part of his body that Mike was touching was on fire. He could feel his heart beating in chest and there was no way Mike couldn’t hear it too. He looked down at their hands. Mike’s was still on top, gently holding the back of his hand.
A few silent moments passed, and Will flicked his gaze from their hands to Mike’s face. He was staring back, face dusted with freckles and bright pink splotches on his cheeks. Mike broke eye contact and his eyes darted a few inches down from Will’s eyes to his mouth that was still slightly parted in surprise, then back up to his face.
“Will, I know I’ve been a jackass lately,” Mike was using that soft voice he seemed to only reserve for Will, “I can’t really explain it. I wanted to write you more often, but I just couldn’t. I wanted to tell you about everything that was happening while you were gone. I have so many letters that I wrote but never sent because it just didn’t feel right.” Mike slumped down in the couch, still holding onto Will like his he was his only lifeline in the world right now.
“I wanted to talk to you in person. I wanted to be with you. Writing El was easy because she mostly talked about her life and how things were going in Lenora. Of course, I care about her and all that, but I always looked forward to hearing about you and what you were up to. It felt easier to learn about you through her than to actually talk to you,” Mike was talking so quietly he was nearly whispering like he was almost talking to himself.
Will examined Mike, and for the first time since he’d met the boy, he looked small. The confidence he usually exuded was nowhere to be seen. He seemed unsure of himself and confused, like he didn’t fully understand what he was saying but still knew it needed to be said.
Another moment passed and Will didn’t know what to say. Mike’s carefully picked words were confusing, and it only left Will’s mind wondering what Mike might mean. “You know how El and I had a fight because I couldn’t tell her something? And you said when we found her I could tell her then?” Will nodded slowly remembering the conversation they had back in his room, “Well the thing I couldn’t say to her was that I loved her.”
Will’s jaw dropped a bit at Mike’s confession. With how much El talked about Mike, it was almost a given how in love they were. A protective feeling rose in Will about his new sister.
“But you do love her, right?” Will asked, putting emphasis on the right. As much as he loved Mike, he didn’t want El to be hurt. Between losing Hopper, getting bullied at school, and now being taken away, the realization that Mike might break up with her would be too much to handle.
Mike finally broke the contact between the two and held his face in the palm of his hands and gave a big sigh. Then he ran his hands through his dark locks, still starring at the ground.
“Of course I love her, she’s amazing and the most incredible person in the world. But I just don’t know if I’m in love with her. I can’t even write it, and she knows that. When we fought I didn’t know what to tell her. What kind of boyfriend won’t say he loves his girlfriend?” Those last words sounded as if he’d asked himself that question a million times, “I’ve been afraid to talk to anyone about this. Even my mom, and I can tell her anything.”
“What are you afraid of? That she’ll be mad?” Will asked. He scooted closer to Mike on the couch, trying to look at his turned away face to see how he was feeling. Finally, Mike lifted his head up and turned to look at Will again, face just a foot away from Will’s.
“I’m afraid that maybe I’m in love with someone else,” Mike said quietly, his warm breath the only thing separating the two. His eyes scanned Will’s face, his eyes, his round lips.
“I’m afraid that if I admit that, then everything will change and people will see me differently,” Mike inched forward, closing the gap between the two. Up close, Will could almost count the freckles that were splashed on Mike’s face like a sky full of constellations. He was absolutely beautiful, even with being stuck out in the desert heat and traveling for days without a proper shower.
“I think I understand what you mean,” Will chose the words carefully, not wanting to assume what Mike meant but hoping with every fiber of his being that maybe his best friend felt the same way, “It’s scary to tell the truth and be honest about yourself with people, even the ones you love and care about the most.”
Mike leaned in slowly, steadying himself on his left hand and reaching out with his right hand to interlock his fingers with Will’s. His hands were soft and warm and holding on gently, like anything harder and he might break Will’s hand. He moved his face towards Will’s until his lips were on the other boys.
Will closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly to the right. Mike’s lips were slightly chapped but still soft against his. He brought a hand up to the crook of Mike’s neck and let his fingers entangle with the dark curls. It felt like electricity was coursing through his body, every part that touched Mike was tingling and electrified. The kiss was short and sweet, lasting only a few seconds, before the two pulled away.
Will’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked the boy he had just shared his first kiss with. Mike was grinning and then let out a small laugh.
“I wish I’d said something sooner,” he said. They were still holding on to each other, not wanting to part.
Will chuckled, “Me too,” then he pulled Mike into an embrace.
“Still best friends?” He asked.
Mike hugged him back harder, “Yeah, best friends.”