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the sun was starting to set on a late july evening. will's watch read 09:47pm already. they were sitting on the load area of the pick up mike had talked his dad into lending him, while staring towards the horizon. they've been there for a long time already. will couldn't remember but it must have been around 4pm when they left hawkins to drive out into the desert and find a spot to watch the sunset at.
it was their very first official date since they got together. they had been to many unofficial ones before. at least will counted all the times they hung out alone as little dates when they had yet to get together. never would he have dared to dream about mike reciprocating his feelings, but as it seemed, sometimes things just fall in place and work out. will wouldn't say he was worthy of such luck to happen to him but it didn't quite matter. he had mike with him and they had seen each other everyday the past 2 weeks.
time passed by so fast now that will for once felt a spark of happiness guide his life. getting back to a normal life after finally defeating vecna had been harder than expected for all of them. will had found everything hard, not matter if it was sleeping, being awake, carrying on with life, going to school or meeting friends.
mike seemed to be the perfect bandaid for his unhealed trouble and will hoped he could be that for mike too.
the load area of the pick up was filled with a mattress, blankets and pillows, creating an awfully comfortable space. will thought that if they could talk ted into lending them the pick up again, they could drive out to the desert, sleep beneath the stars and keep each other warm.
he was pulled out of his thoughts by mike softly saying his name and putting a hand on his shoulder. "what are you thinking about? you seem stuck up in your head...", mike carefully said, making sure to not overstep any boundaries. "nothing. i-.. sorry, i was just... i don't know, i just think it's crazy we're here together right now", will answered, too hastily, voice trailing off at the end of the sentence. he couldn't explain it; he still got so nervous around mike sometimes.
even though he knew that he had nothing to loose. mike was with him and they were fine, at least for the moment.
he figured it was the initial nervousness that stayed from crushing on the other so long. the fact that they were together now was still hard to grasp sometimes. mike let go of a little shaky breath before nodding. "yeah... i'm glad to have you here", he then whispered, almost too quiet for will to hear. will could feel his cheeks heating up. he wasn't used to mike paying attention so rawly to him, being affectionate, noticing the smallest of details about him. it was something that still made him feel flustered, though he savored every bit of attention he got.
he craved it at lot, all the time. he knew he was attached to mike, though not dependent on him. sure he needed mike, but he had already learned to somewhat live without him. having him around now, in this way, especially, felt a bit overwhelming.
"me too", will whispered, carefully reaching out to lock the pinkies of their hands resting between them together. for a moment his gaze lingered on their hands, both of them wearing black nail polish for fun, just as he himself had requested. matching bracelets decorating their wrists. they really belonged to each other, didn't they? when he looked up mike was grinning, slightly blushing himself, but not caring to hide it at all. he went to take will's hand, intertwining their fingers and pulling him closer.
mike's face was so close to his own that will could see his caramel freckles. they were always more prominent in the summer, sunlight made them appear more on his skin. will desperately wanted to reach out and ghost the tips of his fingers over them. but he didn't. after all he was too shy for such bold move.
mike gently rested their foreheads together. "i'm sorry i took so long", he whispered, eyes closed, savoring the moment to its full potential. he had said that often already the past two weeks. "it's okay, you don't need to apologize for that, i already told you", will mumbled. he knew it wasn't really mike's fault. it's not common to even consider the possibility of a same sex partner and he couldn't really blame mike for taking forever to understand that he had fallen in love. it was a hard pill to swallow for both of them.
"still, i made you wait... and i'm sure you felt miserable and i swear i'm so sorry for that", mike gently said, his free hand coming up to brush the bangs out of his will's face.
will couldn't deny that he, indeed, felt quite miserable, though he surely wouldn't let mike know. mike really went through enough already and knowing that he at least somewhat made will feel like shit for some time wouldn't help at all. "i promise it's okay, really is.. it doesn't matter how long i'd have to wait for you. i'd wait forever if it would promise me to get you someday", will mumbled. it was so disgustingly cheesy that will would have cringed in any other given scenario, but now that he got the chance he couldn't help voicing out his feelings this way.
he was infatuated with mike, it was no secret. every single piece of him wanted mike, needed him.
"you know, that really means a lot to me", mike mumbled, his cheeks still blushing cutely. before will could answer anything, mike pulled him close, pressing their lips together in a small, quick and somewhat shy kiss. it was only a peck for now. they had already kissed a few times and yet both of them were mostly still too afraid to do the first move. when will looked at mike, the other's eyes were wild, somewhat glittering and definitely asking to be kissed again. mike always looked at him like that and will was sure that sooner or later it would drive him absolutely insane. he felt the desperation too.
the want to finally feel after waiting for so long. he had been patient for longer than he could remember, now he wouldn't let go ever again. he needed to use every chance he could get to kiss the hell out of mike, he had a lot to catch up on. so he pulled mike back and pressed their lips together again, kissing him hard. he couldn't tell where that confidence came from but it was there and that was the only thing that was important. their lips moved against each other's and it felt so familiar, yet like it was the first time they kissed. it was always like that. messy, rough and most definitely inexperienced, but so heartfelt that it always made will long for more.
mike's lips were slightly rough, dry from the hot weather outside, but it wasn't uncomfortable, will had gotten used it by now and it felt just right. just how kissing generally felt just right. everything about them fit together; from head to toe they were made for each other, will thought. he tilted his head to give mike better access to deepen the kiss even more.
making out felt magical, out of the world. mike tasted like the cheap wild berry soda they had before (will was sure he did too) and he had let go of will's hand to pull him closer by the collar of his shirt. closer, closer, closer; they needed the proximity more than anything. eventually mike pulled away, having will make a little confused noise, almost like a whine, trying to chase after the other's lips. mike chuckled, shaky gaps, trying to catch his breath.
they stayed close to each other, will feeling like everything around them had vanished into golden light and sparkles.
he couldn't quite explain how it felt, but enchanting was probably a word that described it pretty well. will's feelings were all over the top, a wild mess inside of him. in the past he used to be afraid his feelings would grow too big, spill all over, expose every single piece of him. but now there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. it felt so relieving to finally feel, savor what was bottled up inside of him, instead of being afraid of it.
will couldn't help himself, he pulled mike into another messy kiss. their teeth clashed together with the force of the movement and will momentarily cringed, but before he could think about it too much he already go too caught up on mike's lips against his own. they always managed to get spit everywhere and it should have been really gross, but there were other things to care about in the world than their tongues intertwining and their hands being tangled in each other's hair.
neither of them could keep their hands off each other, to infatuated by the feeling of finally living with all of this out. neck kisses and hugs, hickeys and holding hands, oversharing and being quiet together. they had it all. and as long as they'd stay with each other they'd always have it all. it was overwhelming sometimes, a lot to comprehend, but it made will feel whole. he was more than himself than he had been in a long time. the truth was he was always better when he was with mike. and he hoped that mike also felt like a better person when he was with will.
will broke the kiss, really needing to catch his breath. he leaned his head against mike's shoulder. he felt the other put his arms around him, as will shakily breathed in his scent. so familiar and yet still so new. he moved closer, bringing his hands up to thread his fingers through mike's hair, making them end in a tight, heartfelt hug. after a moment mike softly let himself fall back onto the mattress, taking will with him. will snuggled against his shoulder, his gaze falling into the colorful sunset sky above them. mike holding him tight and the world was alright.
"god, i'd crawl beneath your skin, if that'd made me be closer to you", will whispered, sounding way more dreamily than he intended to, before placing a chaste kiss right under mike's jawline. "that's scary", mike mumbled, followed by a small laugh. nevertheless he pulled will closer to him. "is it really?", he asked, grin evident in his voice. "can't quite tell", the other responded again, placing a little kiss on the top of will's head. "you take up all the possible space inside of my head and i can't even complain about it", will carried on, earning a little laugh from mike.
god, how much he loved hearing the other laugh.
"that's cuz you're super obsessed with me", mike joked, running his finger up and down will's arm. "maybe a bit. but only as much as you're obsessed with me", will replied. he closed his eyes, enjoying the affection he was receiving. the sunset could wait. they could watch that another day. "oh yeah definitely", mike breathed.
they could stay like this forever. will thought that he'd gladly fall asleep like this; under the stars and out of town where no one could get mad at them for holding hands. everything that was weighing him down seemed so much lighter now that it was shared with mike. knowing they'd always get through stuff together. he felt safe, peaceful, at ease. in the comfort of mike's embrace he was sure nothing could ever hurt him.
"will.. will?? dude are you listening?".
"uhm what?", within what felt like less than a second will snapped out of it. everything vanished in front of his eyes, making place for a new scene. there was no desert, no sunset, no van and most definitely no mike. at least not with him. the fast food restaurant was ugly, the color of the furniture too bright and the air too stuffy. "sorry, i guess i spaced out...", will mumbled. he felt overstimulated with every piece of himself. he was sure he was blushy as hell, his mind felt fuzzy and half of himself was still stuck in that damn van in the desert.
mike and el sat on the opposite side of the table in front of him, mike's arm slung around her shoulder. "i was talking for like 5 minutes", mike said, face scrunched up in annoyance. "yeah sorry", will mumbled, staring at his hands to avoid having to look at mike. there was no black nail polish on his nails, there was no matching bracelet around his wrist. if he was really honest he hadn't even fully processed what was going on. "it's whatever, wasn't really important anyways", mike stated and by the tone of his voice will genuinely couldn't tell if mike was mad at him or not.
he hoped he wasn't.
will didn't even have time to take note of the sadness and utter shame of having fallen into such a vivid daydream that washed over him. life carried on and he needed to get his shit back together as fast as possible, otherwise he'd expose himself horribly. sometimes he wasn't sure of comprehending how his mind was able to make something so wrong look so right. the truth is will had accepted the fact that he wasn't to have mike a long time again. there was no space in this world for him to date his best friend. he needed to learn how to deal with it. will always thought he was quite good at that but it only lasted until moments like these where he felt like he had done something extremely inappropriate with falling into another daydream about mike. the world was cruel and mike had a girlfriend. two things that went together hand in hand perfectly. will knew that it was never his fault. things happened the way they did and there was nothing that he could do about it. it still hurt. and will thought that he'd only be able to move on if he learned to deal with the fact that he wasn't worthy of having mike. that day had yet to come. he hoped that when it would come he'd be able to feel happiness again.