Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

California was a sad attempt at getting away from all of the trauma. Will gets it, sort of, why his mom wanted to try and get him away from all of the trauma, but a year into it and nothing was better. In fact, things were probably worse. El had no friends and Will still had all of the nightmares, but it was all so much worse now. Back in Hawkins, he was able to play D&D with his friends, he could ride his bike, he had distractions. Sure, he still had to deal with all of the same jerks whether he was in Hawkins or California, but at least in Hawkins his friends were there to defend him. 

When his mom finally announced one night a dinner that it "wasn't working" and they were moving back to Hawkins, Will had been unable to keep the small smile from his lips. It took them a week to get all the way back to Hawkins and when they arrived, Will was severely disappointed. Eleven had of course gotten a giant hug from Mike but Will had gotten this really weird lopsided one that didn't feel right. Dustin, Lucas, and Max didn't hesitate to give Will full on hugs, Max even holding on the him so she could swing around on his shoulders a little. Will was surprised at just how much he had really missed Max. 

El and Mike had immediately gone who knows where, probably so they didn't need to fall the 3 inch rule. Dustin left not long after as he had apparently already had something to do with Steve and Lucas had been called home to babysit his sister. Within barely ten minutes of being back, only Max was left. Will expected her to leave when Lucas did, but she actually stayed. 

"Um, I got you something." Max says, pulling a wrapped package out from her bag. 

"I know it's like super late for your birthday but when we found out that you were coming back home I figured I might as well give you something in person. I hope the call was good enough for the actual day."

Will excitedly unwraps it, finding a large set of the fanciest brand of colored pencils. 

"What, Max!" Will exclaims excitedly. "This must have been so expensive. Thank you!"

"It wasn't that bad. Besides, you deserve something nice after all you've been through."

Will just looks down at his hands. 

"Yeah. Um, thanks, Max. Really."

She pulls him into another tight hug and when she pulls back, Will realizes that a single tear has begun to trail its way down his cheek. Max's soft finger swipes it away. 

"Will, I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

"No. No. You're fine. You're actually the only one who remembered my birthday."

"What?!" Max shrieks. 

"Looks, it's fine. It's really not that big of a deal." Will says, trying to shrug it off.

"No it isn't. That is absolutely unacceptable." Max thinks for a moment before a determined look sets on her face. "I'm gonna call someone and we are going to go do something fun for your birthday. I know it's severely belated but, well, better late than never."

Max rushes into the kitchen, dials a number quickly, and squeals when whoever is on the end of the line picks up.

"Hi, are you doing anything right now?"

A muffled answer.

"Okay, great, can you come to the Byers house to pick Will and I up. Apparently all of these assholes forgot his birthday so we are going to do a little belated birthday celebration for him."

More muffled talking. 

"I know you guys haven't met yet but you are going to love each other. I just have this feeling about it. Besides, you at least didn't forget his birthday because you have no reason for knowing what it was. This way there is at least less awkward. Ish." 

A moment of silence. 

"Thank you. You are literally amazing. See you in ten."

Max bounces back into the room.

"So, um, whose coming to pick us up?" He asks worriedly. 

"Her name's Robin. She is sooo cool! You will literally love her." Max gushes. Will just nods, not feeling assured at all. 

When the car pulls up a little over ten minutes later, Will's hands are shaking. 

"She going to love you too." Max says, gently rubbing Will's arm. She hops in the front seat though, and Will is ever more grateful for it. 

A girl turns back, a pretty full face, freckles, chin length hair and blue eyes. She's beautiful. Will doesn't need to be straight to be able to tell that. She smiles warmly at him and he tries his very best to smile back.

"So sort of birthday boy, where am I meant to be taking you?"

"Oh, um, I don't know."

"What do you like to do?" Robin asks. 

"Um, I like art." He says lamely.

"He's really good!" Max chimes in.

Will blushes. 

"Oooo, this new pottery place opened up a while back! We could do something like that if you want."

"Uh, yeah. That sounds fun." Will says, and it really does. 

The drive to the pottery place is mostly just filled with Robin and Max talking. Will chimes in every once and a while but he feels weird and out of the loop. Hawkins is still mostly the same town as when he left, but a few new stores have popped up, including the pottery shop. Max gets out of the car, going in and securing them a spot, but Robin holds will back. 

"Will, I'm gonna take a really big risk telling you something like really personal that only Steve "the hair" Harrington knows. Because I think that you, I don't know. I just have this feeling." Robin pauses, finally bringing her gaze up from where it has been focused on her hands. "I like girls. In the way that I should like guys."

Will's heart skips a beat, a beaming smile immediately coming to his face. She's like him. OH. MY. GOD.

"Me too. But, like, with boys."

"I knew it!" Robin screams, and Will can't help but laugh. "I knew it! You were just giving my gay vibes. I've had my suspicions about you for a while, just based on what I've heard, but meeting you really confirmed it."

"I can't believe you're like me." Will whispers, partially to himself. "Do you have an annoying straight crush too?" He asks as they hop out of the car.

Robin throws her arm around him as she answers.

"Oh Will darling, of course I do. It is the right of passage for us young queers."

They walk into the pottery shop like that, Robin's arm around Will's shoulders. Max smiles when she sees them. 

Max had already picked out her pottery piece, it was a simple flower shaped jewelry dish. Will immediately chose himself a plate that he can paint a landscape on and Robin grabs herself a mug. Despite the fact that the shop is nearly empty (and Will is pretty sure he would be able steal the entire store without the worker noticing) he still chooses them a table in the back of the store. 

Will immediately sets to painting, not quite sure of where to start the conversation. Luckily for him, Robin starts it up, but it isn't exactly a topic Will would prefer.  

"So, um, did your friends really forget about your birthday?" 

"Not just them. My mom, and Jonathan, they all did. I mean, El I can maybe forgive because I haven't known her for super long and there has been so much going on that I guess maybe it makes sense that she would forget. But, I don't know..." Will trails off. 

"But it completely sucks." Robin says. 

"It doesn't just suck! It is complete bullshit! How does your entire family forget your birthday, all of your friends too! It's so messed up!" Max exclaims in fury. She's so angry that as she is brandishing her brush around angrily, the purple paint smears onto the side of Robin's mug. 

"Ah, crap, sorry." Max apologizes immediately. 

Robin just laughs. 

"It's all good." She takes her own brush, slapping a streak of red paint on so it overlaps with the purple. Max was right, Will loves her. 

"Alright sort of birthday boy, we, as your loyal girl friends, will be here for anything that you need, whether that be venting, fun and platonic dates, and yelling at anyone that you need us to, even if they are our friends." Max says and her and Robin shake hands faux-solemnly. 

"I feel like everyone has forgotten about me." Will begins as he paints his plate. "Especially Mike. Like, I get it. He has a girlfriend now and everything but him and I have been best friends for years. And all of the sudden he just throws me aside because he suddenly has the opportunity to stick his tongue down a girl's throat. I mean, I love El and all, she basically my sister, but it's like I don't have my best friend anymore."

Robin throws him a knowing look but doesn't say anything. But for some reason, Will feels comfortable right now. He simply nods his head to Robin. 

"So he's the straight boy crush," She says. 

"Yep, unfortunately."

"So, Will, you're..." Max trails off, letting her sentence trail off. 

"I'm, um, gay." It's only the second time that he has ever said that. The first time, he just said it to himself in the mirror, just to see if the words felt right, if they made sense to him. And they most certainly did.

"And you have a crush on Mike?"

He just nods, waiting for a more comprehensive reaction from Max. One that will tell him how she actually feels. 

"Aww. Cute. You guys would be freaking adorable together. Or, well, you and Mike before he was, as you so wonderfully put it, enjoying "sticking his tongue down a girl's throat". Mike now I wouldn't want to put you with. You're too sweet to deal with Mike now, whatever the hell made him this way. Don't worry, we've got you."

"Thanks." Will says with a smile. It's nice to know that at least someone in the group has his back, even if it isn't who he had expected. 

Chapter Text

After painting pottery for his birthday, Will finds that he would much rather spend time with Max and Robin. For one, Mike, who used to be his best friend, didn't even seem to care about him anymore. Anytime the spent with each other was awkward and it was exhausting for will to have to try and keep up appearances, even with the others. Lucas was the one that he had the easiest time with. Many times when he would hang out with Max, Lucas would come, but he was okay with it. Max and Lucas weren't grossly could or anything. Like, sometimes they would kiss and a lot of times they would hold hands, but Will still felt like he was just hanging out with two of his friends, rather than just how it felt to be third wheeling with Mike and El. 

But he missed Mike. A lot. He thought he was doing a good job of hiding it, but he definitely wasn't. Him, Robin and Max were just hanging out the two of them one day when it got brought up. He was sprawled on the couch with his head in Robin's lap. She was stroking his hair, which had become sort of like a thing and they were watching tv at Will's house. Well, Max and Robin were but he was thinking about Mike. About how the guy on screen had his face and, god, everything made him think of Mike. 

"Alright, what are you thinking about Will?" Robin asks, stopping stroking his hair. 

"Nothing."

"Lies!" Max declares. 

"Oo, I know what you're think about!" Robin sing songs. "You're thinking about Miiikkee."

"Shut up." Will says, turning and burying his head into Robin's stomach. He can already begin to feel the tears springing to his eyes. 

Robin somehow manages to wrap her arms under Will and pull him up so he is now sitting on his lap. She wraps her arms around him, a hand on the back of his head, stroking the hair softly. She gets it. Too much. 

"Hey, hey, Will. Shh-shh. I've got you, I got you."

He cries into Robin's shoulder, feeling immediately bad for her tears soaking into her really really soft shirt. But this is the first time that he's had people who actually known about him and know who he likes. And its like everything is just pouring out of him now. Robin continues to stoke his back until he's calmed down a little bit. When he finally pulled away from Robin, his eyes were red and there were tear tracks on his cheeks. 

"I'm...I'm sorry." He sniffles. Robin wipes tears from under his eyes, smiling sadly at him. 

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Robin says kindly to him. 

The couch shifts as Max moves from her spot on the floor to the cushion next to them. 

"Look, I know it's difficult right now, but, everything is gonna be okay Will. We've got you." Max says.

"I just miss him." He sobs out. "I miss the hugs that he used to give me and-and he told me that we would go crazy together but now I'm going crazy by myself and-" He cuts himself off in a choking sound. 

"Just let it out." Max whispers. 

"Now I have to watch my best friend and the l-l-love of my life fall in love with someone. And I honestly am glad sometimes that we aren't that close anymore because now I don't have to listen to him go on and on and on about El and, I love El, she's great but, I hate it."

"Will?" Max asks. "How long have you had feeling for Mike? how long have you been in love with him?"

"I'm not sure how long but-but at least since before I went missing. Before I even fully understood how I was feeling. It's, it's always been him. It'll always be him. I know that I'm young and it's probably stupid but I don't ever want to get over Mike. He-he is my everything. All I know is that I don't ever want to be in love with someone who isn't him."

Suddenly the door to Will's house opens and standing in the doorway is the worst person that it could possibly be. Mike. Mike alone, without El. Max immediately glares at him and Robin pulls Will close to him again, holding him protectively. 

"What's wrong? Will, are you okay?"

"Just leave Mike!" Will shouts muffled. 

"Is he okay?" He asks Max.

"Like you really care." Max scoffs. 

Mike scoffs.

"Seriously? I'm his best friend. Of course I care. You guys have known him for what, five minutes? I've known him for years."

"Yeah and you meet El and throw him aside without a second thought." Max snaps. "You forgot his birthday. We, well, I, did not!"

The look on Mike's face is one of pure horror and embarrassment. He goes pale and, and oh my god, tears spring to his eyes. 

"Oh god. Will, I'm so sorry. I don't know how I forgot."

"I do," Max snaps. "It's called being too busy obsessing over El to even remember your best friend. Despite the fact that, may I remind you, you can't even write or say that you love her."

Mike blanches.

"Yeah, El and I talk." 

"Will, I'm really sorry. I never meant to forget your birthday."

Will turns his face so he can look at Mike, but he still stays tucked in Robin's arms.

"Yeah well, you did."

Mike steps forward. Max looks like she is about to stop him, but Will shakes his head at her, so she stays put. However, the closer Mike gets, the tighter Robin holds Will. He isn't sure why at first, but then he looks down at his hands and find that they, and the rest of his body, is shaking. 

"Will, I miss you." Mike says, sitting down in front of the couch.

Will pulls himself further out of Robin's arms. 

"You miss me? Seriously!" Will yells. "You were the one that pushed me out. You're the one who stopped calling me, who stopped even trying with me. I'm sorry that you miss me but you were the one who made it this way. So just, just go away Mike. This is total bullshit. You don't actually care."

"Of course I care Will! You're my best friend!" He yells, standing up furiously. 

Will fully gets up out of Robin's arms now, him and Mike face to face. 

"No, I'm not. I used to be, but now, now I'm just a friend. Even less of a friend than Lucas or Dustin. You don't give a shit about me or my life anymore. You don't even know who I am anymore. Ever since El came along, it's like I don't even matter anymore. I love El, but you have abandoned our friendship for her. So just leave."

Mike grabs Will's shoulders, and then his hands move up to Will's face, his thumb gently brushing away the tears. 

"Will, I'm sorry. But, but, of course I know you. I know that I've been distant lately but I still know you. I still, you, Will, I..." He cuts off. 

"Holy shit!" Robin yells. 

Mike and Will abruptly burst apart. 

"Oh my god! OH. MY. GOD."

"What?" Max asks. 

"N-nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing."

"I can't say." Robin says, but her gaze is fixed on Mike. He's looking back at her awkwardly. 

"You, you figured it out, didn't you?" Mike says, his voice nearly a whisper. 

"Well, I was nearly positive but now I am completely certain. Thanks for confirming that by the way."

"What? I am so confused!" Will exclaims.

Mike sits down again, looking distraught.

"Will, I-I like boys." 

"WHAT!!"

Chapter Text

The room goes completely silent immediately following Mike's words, but then comes Will's distraught voice. 

"No! No, no, no, no, no nononononono. This can't be happening. No, god please no, no no no." He wants to cry, to sob, to disappear. And though the tears don't flow, he lets out a desperate, choked sob. 

"Will, breathe. I need you to breathe for me." Robin say, but Will feels like there is a fog in his mind. And he can't breathe. He tries but he can't manage to get out a single even breath. 

"Mike, you need to leave." He hears Max say.

"No! No, I'm not leaving him." Mike says, trying to push past Max, who is desperately trying to hold him back. 

"Will, breathe. Please. Take deep breathes for me." Robin is saying, but Will has gone into a full blown panic attack and neither Robin nor Max know how to handle it. 

"He's gonna pass out, just, please, please," Mike is full on begging now and despite his blurry vision, Will can see the worry pooling in Mike's eyes.

If Max says anything, Will doesn't hear it, but next thing he knows, Mike is right in front of him, reaching and pulling him out of Robin's arms and into his. The move feels hopelessly desperate, but no one seems to care. Usually being in Mike's arms is something welcome for Will, but today it just feels wrong. But then comes the thing that calm him down, that always has. It's a special Mike thing. 

Mike pulls will tighter into the hug, rubbing his back gently. 

"You're okay Will. You're safe and okay. I've got you. You're okay." He repeats it over and over again until Will is finally calmed down enough to breathe steadily. 

"You-you can't just say that." Will sobs out. "You can't just joke about that or just-just throw it around."

"But, Will, it's the truth. It's not some sick joke or whatever. Will, I like boys. I like girls too, but, I like boys more. A lot more." Mike says.

"I'm totally gay." Will whispers. 

"Um, yeah. I kind of figured that out a while ago." Mike says. "I just didn't want to say anything to you before you were ready."

"You knew? For how long?"

"I don't know, it just, it was something that was always there, I guess."

"What, what about El?" 

"Um, well, I like El. I just, I don't know if I like her the way that I should."

"Is that why you can never tell El that you love her?" Max asks.

"Yeah. I-I think so."

"Aw my poor little queer babies." Robin says. She's off the couch and wrapping the two boys up in her arm in an instant. 

Mike squirms a little but Will just cuddles right into her. It was like his queer mother. 

Then Max pipes up. 

"Would now be a good time to mention that I think I'm kinda like Mike?"

They all pull away.

"What do you mean?" Mike asks.

"I like boys and girls, but I um, I just happen to like boys more."

"Awww! Another queer baby!" Robin exclaims, pulling Max into their hugging pile. 

Mike pulls apart first, staring at Will pensively. Will doesn't notice anything for a moment, but then he catches sight of Mike, staring at him. 

"What?" he asks. 

"You're really cute."

"Huh?"

"You are really cute. I like you. I love you. I, god, Will, I am so gay for you."

"You are?"

"Yeah."

Mike grabs Will's face gently, leaning in as if he is about to kiss him when he pulls back. 

"I, I need to break up with El first. I-I don't want to start something with you until I end things with her. And, even then, are you okay with us keeping it a secret, just for a while? I don't know how the others will react, or my parents, and, I just, I-"

"You don't need to explain." Will says. "I get it. But, can I give you a hug at least."

"C'mere." Mike pulls Will to his chest, hugging him tighter than he ever has before. Will presses his face into the side of Mike's neck, nuzzling him with his nose. It's close and intimate and that when Will realizes he hasn't said it back. 

"I love you too, by the way." He says, his lips ghosting over Mike's neck as he speaks. 

"You can't say that to me. You're just making me want to kiss you more."

Will just giggles happily.

"As happy for you as I am, this is disgustingly adorable." Max says. 

"You guys won't say anything about us right?" Will asks nervously.

"Of course not!" They both exclaim together. 

"When you guys are ready then you can tell, we won't tell before that." Robin says. 

"Thanks." Will says. 

Just as Mike is about to leave to go talk to El, Max pulls him aside. 

"Look, I know that you love Will and whatever, and I'm happy for the two of you, but you've been a real asshole lately. I don't know what it has been about but you really, really hurt him and don't think Robin or I have forgotten about that just because you two are going to be dating know. Get your shit together because I swear to God if you ever hurt Will like this again I will end you." 

"I-I," Mike stutters out.

"And try not to break El's heart when you break up with her. She is amazing and just because you are in love with will doesn't want that she deserves to get hurt like you hurt him. Just, don't be an asshole Wheeler."

Before Mike can say anything else, Max ushers him out the door. Her words echo is Mike's mind as he makes his way to the cabin with the hope to find El.

Chapter Text

Mike was terrified of breaking up with El. He knew that it would be worth it to break up with her so he could begin seeing Will, but he still cared about her. On his bike ride to the cabin, he had come fully to the realization that he loved El, but never romantically. He had wanted to. He had very, very, desperately wanted to because it was the 80's and that would have been so much easier, but Will, god, he would go to hell and back for Will. He always had, and he always would. That should have have been a clue to him a long time ago, but then again, Max was right. He was an asshole to Will. He wouldn't be to El when he broke up with her. He was determined of that. 

When he knocks on the door, El flings it open. 

"Mike!" She squeals, pulling him inside. 

Before she can say anything else, Mike speaks. 

"I need to talk to you about something." He says.

"Oh, okay. As do I."

"You go first," Mike insists. Anything that El needs to say she should say before he breaks up with her. 

"Um, I-I don't know how to do this other than how Max taught me." El begins. "I dump your ass. But not in like a mean way. I just, I don't think you love me and I feel like I need to be myself rather just be with you all the time. You're all I've really known in my time outside the lab. I just need to like find myself. I'm sorry."

Mike tries his best not to laugh. 

"I...I actually came here to do the same thing. It's called 'breaking up' for the future. I do love you El, but the way I like the Party, not romantically. You are one of my best friends. I get if we can't immediately go back to friends after dating, but I hope we can get there."

"Yeah, I think we can Mike."

And then El starts laughing, triggering Mike. 

"I can't believe we both had been thinking the same thing." Mike laughs. 

"I know. We could of 'broken up' so much earlier." 

"Wow, harsh El," Mike says, but he's still laughing so he hopes that she gets that he's just joking.

"I'm sorry."

"It's all good. Maybe of part of our friendship will be me helping you work on your delivery."

"Delivery?"

"The way you phrase your words and say them to people."

"Got it." 

Mike leaves ten minutes later, happy with the conversation that they had had. But he went immediately wanted to find Will, but he decided to wait, as much as it pained him. He didn't want to kiss him so soon after he had just broken up with El. Even after everything, it's just wrong. 

That night, Mike couldn't sleep though. He tossed and turned and despite his best efforts found himself unable to think of anything else other than the lips of Will Byers. So, after nearly five hours of roiling around in his bed, kicking the covers off and then pulling them back on, hitting himself with a pillow, and trying anything he could to fall asleep, he jumped out of bed. It was four in the morning. He couldn't wait any longer. 

Mike climbs carefully out of his window, leaving it slightly ajar so he can sneak back in. He somehow manages to get all the way down to the ground without injuring himself - thank god- and then he runs to his bike. He is on it and biking to Will's house before he can even begin to question whether this is a good idea or not. It probably isn't. 

He gets there faster than he has ever gotten them before. He bikes around to Will's window. He leans the bike up against the house and taps on the window. It's light at first, but then it gets a little bit harder. Then a very scared Will is standing at the window, the panic on his face immediately easing when he realizes that it's Mike. He opens the window quickly and Mike launches himself into the room. 

"Hi. Hi, I'm sorry. I know it's really early, I just, I couldn't sleep."

"So you came here?" Will says, with a little smile. 

"I, I was determined to not kiss you yet. Not right after El and I broke up. It didn't feel fair to her, or to you, but god, I needed to kiss you. It's all I could think about." He reaches his hand up to cup Will's face, gently running his thumb across his face. "You're lips, they have kept me up, and now, I have chosen to keep you awake which is entirely selfish of me and if Max finds out then she will be extremely upset with me but your lips are stupidly soft looking and I want to kiss you more than anything."

"Please kiss me," Will whispers, his face bright red. 

Mike leans forward, delicately pressing his lips against Will's. It's soft and warm, and, not enough. But he doesn't want to push any farther. Will has his own ideas. 

"Mikey, as much as this delicate thing is really nice, I haven't waited this long to kiss you to not get some tongue."

Mike's jaw goes slack, stunned with how forward sweet, sometimes shy Will is being. Will takes the opportunity to kiss him fully and stick his tongue into the other boys mouth. Mike moans and Will grins against his mouth. 

Will walks them backwards and the fall onto his bed. He lets Mike roll over so he's on top of Will, pressing him down into the mattress. They make out for what feels like forever. It takes a little time for them to fully understand each other's lips, understand how to kiss each other, but when they do, it is amazing. They pull apart, breathless and with swollen, tender lips. They lay there for a second, breathless and smiling, with Mike still laying mostly on top of Will. 

"I should probably head home," Mike says. 

"No, no. Please stay." He wraps his entire body around Mike, desperate to keep him there. 

"Will, are you sure you want people finding it out this soon?"

He sighs. 

"No, you're right. Just, twenty more minutes. Please?"

"Anything for you baby." Mike says. 

"Baby?" Will whispers.

"Yeah. Do you like it?"

Will's kiss is all the answer that Mike needs. 

"Twenty minutes baby. And then I'll see you tomorrow."

They stick to that, as hard as it is, because besides Robin and Max, they are ready for anyone else to know. Two other queer people who don't hate them, who aren't going to out them before they are ready, who are there for them, that is one thing. But everything else, that's not something they are ready for yet. 

Mike leaves with a final fleeting kiss and a promise that they will be seeing each other in just a few short hours. When he finally gets back to his house, lays in his bed, exhaustion and pure happiness takes over, and he is able to sleep soundly. 

Chapter Text

When Will woke up, he quickly made the decision for how he was going to spend the day. He was going to pretend to be sick. His mother comes in, ready to go to work. Johnathan is inevitably already there.

"Hey Willy, are you gonna hang out with your friends today?"

Will fakes a cough. "No, I'm not really feeling well."

His mother worriedly walks over to him, placing her hand on his forehead. 

"Oh, you do feel a bit warm. Do you want me to stay home from work?"

"No, no, it's okay." He says, coughing to add to it.

"Are you sure? Here, let me call the Wheelers. I'll see if one of them can come over to watch you."

"Fine," Will says, giving a false annoyed sigh. 

She comes back a couple minutes later.

"Mike is gonna come over to make sure you're okay. I know that you guys have been at odds lately but Mrs. Wheeler told me that when Mike found out you were sick he was really worried."

"It's okay mom." Will says. 

"Are you sure you'll be okay with my leaving before Mike gets here?"

"Of course." 

"Are you sure?"

He coughs.

"I'm sure mom."

"Okay." She gives him a kiss on the forehead and leaves for work. 

Ten minutes later Mike knocks on the door. Will flings it open excitedly. 

"I-I thought you were sick." Mike says confused. 

"Nope." He says, popping the p. 

"What, then, what is all this?"

"Oh, just my elaborate plan to get you allll to myself."

Will pulls Mike inside, closing the door and slamming the other boy against the wall and kissing him deeply. Mike wraps his arms around Will's thighs, allowing the boy to jump up and wrap his legs around the curly haired boys waist. Mike carries Will as far as he can, which ends up being to the couch, before he drops him gently down. 

"Am I too heavy?" Will asks self-consciously. 

"No, I'm just weak. Trust me, the more I do it the stronger I will get." Mike says, kissing his way up Will's neck. "Maybe one day in the future, I'll even be able to hold you up during-sex." He whispers into his ear.

Will coughs for real this time. 

"S-sex? You'll want to have sex with me at some point?" He says surprisedly. 

"Yeah, of course. Obviously not like now, or even soon, but yeah, at some point."

"Oh my god!!" Will squeals.

"What, did you think we'd never have sex?"

"I don't know. I hoped but I didn't really think it would actually happen. Kissing me is one thing but having sex with me is totally different."

"Why? You're gay, I'm, whatever I am, and you are really freaking hot." Mike punctuates it by kissing Will. 

"Yay." Is all Will says. 

Mike kisses Will, coaxing his mouth open by using his tongue to lick at his lips. Will opens his mouth, allowing Mike to slip his tongue into his mouth. He tastes faintly like toothpaste, but mostly just delicious. The kisses are slightly sloppy but neither of them care. Mike pulls away breathily. He trails his mouth down Will's body, finding a spot right between his jaw and neck, kissing and sucking it. Will lets out a moan. Mike decides to do something bold.

"You like that?"

"Yeah." Will says breathily. 

Mike kisses and sucks at the spot again, pulling away eventually, the faint spot of a developing hickey already there. Mike slips his hands underneath Will's shirt, desperate to feel his skin, his stomach, his body. Will sits up, pulling off his shirt. Mike just stares at him, flushed and smiling. 

"You are so beautiful." His voice is nearly a whisper, but Will can't help but think of how sexy it sounds. 

"Thanks," Will says, blushing. They sit there in silence for a second. "So, am I just gonna sit here with my shirt off or are you gonna take yours off too?" will asks. 

Mike giggles, pulling unbuttoning his shirt. As soon as Mike pulls off his shirt, Will pulls him back to him. Their bare chests touch and Will gasps. 

"Sexy," Mike whispers. 

"Thanks"

They make out for probably two hours, stopping only when they are too exhausted to continue. Will has hickeys all over him. There is only the one on his neck, the majority on his chest and a few lay right at the top of his pants. He had no idea that Mike was so, so, desperate. For him. It made him smile. 

"I'm exhausted." Will says. 

"Wanna go to your bed and take a nap?"

"God, I can't even move right now."

Mike just smiles. He gets off the couch, picking Will up and carrying him to the bedroom. He locks the door behind them, opening one of the window slightly for some airflow. He carefully pulls off Will's pants, then his own, and tucks himself into bed next to him. It isn't sexual or anything. Just, them. 

"Will?" Mike asks, as he wraps his arms around the boy. 

"Yeah?"

"This means we're dating now, right?" He asks.

Will giggles. "Yeah, of course."

"So this means that you're my boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah."

"Will Byers, my boyfriend."

Will giggles again. He cuddles into Mike, he head resting in the crook of his boyfriends neck. They fall asleep quickly, happy in each other's arms. 

For now.

Chapter Text

Will woke up, happy and extremely warm. Mike has wrapped his arms and legs fully around Will, keeping him as close to him as possible, even in sleep. But Mike is awake, looking down at Will with a matching smile. 

"Hi," Will smiles. 

"Hi," Mike replies, pressing a kiss against his boyfriends lips. 

"I don't think I ever want to fall asleep without you again." 

Mike smiles. 

"Well, unfortunately, you are going to have to."

Will mopes, giving Mike his best sad face and puppy dog eyes. Mike immediately melts, kissing his nose. 

"How about this? Once, maybe twice a week, we do sleepover's. We, we can't do it with the rest of the party obviously, well, maybe Robin and Max, but that way we can cuddle and sleep together. How does that sound?"

"That sounds amazing." Will says with a smile. 

"It's nice that at least some people know, right?" 

'Yeah, I think so. I mean, it made me nervous at first, because, well, you know why. But having people that know about us and are actually like us, it's nice. Then a least we don't have to hide around them."

"They are gonna hate me so much though," Mike says with a smirk. 

"What? Why?" Will asks alarmed.

"Because," Mike said, pressing a kiss against his temple. "I'm gonna be doing this," Another kiss, this time on the cheek. "All the time."

Will laughs. 

"Well, if that is what's going to make everyone hate you, it'll just make me love you more."

And then Will realizes what he said. He pulls away, fear on his face. The cool air hits his bare skin and he is immediately cold. He wants to curl back into the warmth of Mike's arms, but he's too terrified. 

"S-sorry." He says.

"Will, I-I love you too." Mike says. "It's okay."

The worry falls completely from Will's face, a wide smile replacing it. He throws himself back at Mike, seamlessly pulling the blankets on top of him when he does. He cuddles, rubbing his nose against Mike's neck. He presses a kiss against Mike's neck but is more than satisfied with just cuddling with him. He's never gotten to do this before, not since they were little. Never even dreamed of it happening now that hey were older, but here he was, Mike's arms wrapped around him and the sunlight streaming through the window. 

"I think that this is the best day of my life." Will murmurs.

"Ah, this is the second best day of mine."

Will props himself up on his elbow, looking critically at Mike. 

"Second?"

"Well of course. the first is the day I asked you to be my friend. Without that day, none of this would have happened."

"Okay. First of all, that is the most adorable, most sappy thing that you have ever said to me. And I love it." A brief kiss to the lips. "And I agree. That is definitely the best day, and this the second."

Then Will's radio buzzes with static. "Will come in?" A voice comes. 

"Can you grab that?" Will asks. 

"What, you don't want to grab it yourself?"

"No, it's on your side. And you're so warm."

Mike rolls his eyes but unwraps one arm to grab it. He hands it to Will, who takes it and radio's back. 

"Hey," He says, trying to make his voice scratchy. 

"Hey. How are you feeling?" It's Dustin's voice. 

Mike lightly bites down on his neck. 

"I'm all right." His voice is breathy. 

"Okay. Well, Steve is heading over with some homemade chicken soup."

"Oh, thanks." Will says. 

"That's it." Dustin says. "I hope you feel better. We all do."

Will puts the radio down. 

"How do they know?" He exclaims. 

"I told them. Remember that before I came over here I thought you were actually sick."

Will rolls his eyes but finds he has to concede the point. 

"You're right but now I have to get dressed." Will knows he's whining, but he doesn't really care. 

"Not fully," Mike says. "You just have to put a shirt on to cover all of this hickey's." 

Mike gets out of Will's bed, grabbing him the largest, fluffiest shirt he can find. He jumps on to of Will, straddling his waist. Mike presses his lips in warm, open mouthed kisses against the hickey's on his body. Once he's done, he gently pulls the shirt over Will's body. As soon as it is on, he leans down and kisses Will gently, reverently. Will knew that this probably wasn't the best idea, but he had the advantage of being able to excuse the flush as sickness. The knock seems to come way too quickly. 

Will gets out of bed, leaving one last kiss against his lips before going to the door. He tries his best to seem as sick as possible, but he isn't sure how much Steve is going to believe him. Steve is like having another mother, but one more attentive, one more knowing about what they actually do. He swings the door open and there is Steve, his hair flopping in the oh so attractive way that makes Will try very hard not to melt. 

"Hey there, Will," Steve says, both paternal and maternal at the same time. 

"Hi Steve." Will says.

Steve walks himself into the house. Will has the urge to try and shepherd Steve out, but that will look suspicious. So he just lets him in, lets him lay the soup down on the table. 

"Only a shirt? Are you hot?" Steve asks, his hand already at Will's forehead, worriedly checking his temperature. 

"Yeah, a bit."

"Where's Mike, I thought he was supposed to be taking care of you."

"I'm right here Steve. I was just grabbing Will some water." Out walks Mike, fully dressed in the clothes he had come in that morning, holding a full glass of water. 

"Good. I was worried that I was going to have to take care of him." Steve jokes. 

"No. I've got him." Mike says, a little too forcefully.

Steve looks between them as Will begins to eat his soup. Then Steve reaches his hand out, turning Will's head. 

"Is that a hickey?" He asks. 

"W-w-what? No." Will stutters. 

"And your lips are so red." His gaze flickers over to Mike. "And so are yours!"

"Okay, are you done playing detective so I can take care of Will?" Mike asks, both scared and annoyed. 

"Sure. But I'm not sure you are the right person to be taking care of him. I mean, look at the state of him." Steve says. Will can tell that Steve is tries to rile him up, but before he can give Mike some signal, everything is already snapping into place. 

"I'm the right person to take care of him!" 

"Why? I'm basically Will's parent. I know what's best for him."

"Well I'm his boyfriend!" Mike snaps. 

Will drops his head to the table with a loud bang. And ow, it hurts. And Mike, as sweet as it is, doesn't help the situation. He leans over, picking up Will's head with a gentle hand. 

"Are you okay?" Mike asks worriedly. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Will says, sighing. 

"Soooo, you are together?" Steve asks.

"Yeah." Will says, with a roll of his eyes. 

And Steve goes wild. 

Chapter Text

“Oh my god!” Steve screams, jumping out of his seat. “I can’t believe that the two of you are dating? Wait, how long has this been going on? You weren’t together when Mike was dating El, right?”

”No. No we weren’t.” Will says firmly. El was basically his sister. He feels guilty enough for dating Mike right now without El knowing. He could never, ever ponder that he would date Mike when he was dating El. That was one of the things that Will promised himself when he first realized that he was gay. 

Will knew the reality of being gay in the 80’s. There were be other guys like him, other gay guys, but most of them would just ignore it because it would be easier to say that they were straight and date girls while sleeping with guys behind their girlfriends back. Will would never do that. Ever. He refused to. Will was well aware that this would mean that he was probably going to be alone for the rest of his life, but he had accepted that from the time that he was twelve. 

But know he was with Mike and was going to have to answer questions about whether he was dating Mike while Mike was dating El. And that he hates.

“Okay, so, you just started dating?” Steve asks. 

“Uh, yeah. That’s actually part of why I broke up with El. Neither of us wanted to start anything if I was still with El. It just wouldn’t be fair to her.”

Steve just stares at them for a moment. 

“What?” Will asks.  

“You too are weirdly perfect for each other. Like, first you find out that you like each other but instead of doing what most people would do, Mike goes and breaks off the relationship he’s in because you are both thinking about El instead of each other. God, that is so freakishly annoying.”

”Sorry. I guess we’re just too cute.” Mike says with a smile on his face. He leans in, pressing a gentle against Will‘s cheek. 

Will immediately blushes, but leans in to Mike’s arms. This entire situation has completely tired Will out. Just talking to Steve, who obviously has no problem with their relationship, shouldn’t be enough to exhaust Will, and yet, it is.

”Mike?” Will says quietly.

”Yeah honey?”

”I’m really tired.”

Mike just nods. He gets up, gently shuffling Steve out of the house. Steven protests all the way through the affair, but Mike still manages to shove him out the door with a warm finality. Then he comes back to Will. He scoops Will up before Will even knows what‘s happening.

“I know that I said I was tired, but I can still walk myself to my room.” He jokes. 

“Yes, but didn’t I tell you that I would be able to carry you fully one day? This is just like, my training.”

Will throws his head back with a laugh, wrapping his arms around Mike’s neck, determined to thoroughly enjoy the end of his day with his boyfriend.

Steve finding out seems to be a mini turning point. They quickly tell him that both Robin and Max know and suddenly Will and Mike have an entire group of people who are not only there supporting them, but who are actually helping them find times to schedule secluded dates with each other.

The first is one that neither of them had actually planned. It had been a surprise formed by their lovely, 2/3rds queer trio. 

It was a Wednesday and Steve was keeping near everyone busy with one of his “babysitting fun times” as Dustin had begun calling them. And Max was on her own date, finally enjoying some quality time with Lucas while also keeping him away from Mike and Will. Apparently some excuses had been formulated on their behalf’s - Will had had another nightmare so he was at home resting and Mike had gotten grounded. Luckily, no one had thought to check up on their stories.

Robin had driven them out to the middle of nowhere, ‘complaining’ the entire way. On top of a hill, a large blanket had been set up at the base of a tree, a wicker basket full of food sitting next to it. And then there was the radio, playing a tape that Max had made especially for them. 

Will had sat down on the blanket, positioning himself fully in the sun. Mike sits right next to him, opening up the basket. The food in it is simple sandwiches and pre-packaged snacks, but neither of them care. They eat, talking to each others just as vulnerably as they would when they were kids, when they didn’t even have a thought that what they felt for each other was wrong.

It was a lot easier back then. Will has been in love with Mike since they were little kids, but he didn’t realize it until much later, until years of feeling guilty for the feelings he had for his best friend. But when they were little, they loved each other like all people should love each other. The hugged and Mike would comfort Will when he cried and they would cuddle in the same sleeping back if there weren’t enough for all of their friends and they never, ever, cared. 

Will is very ready to go back to that, to never, ever care again. When they finish eating, Will just flops back on the ground in the sun, making the childish grabby hands that he used to do when he was younger. Mike remembers, laying down next to Will, turning the radio up and wrapping his arms around the boy.

”I can’t believe they did this for us!” Mike says astonished.

Will makes a small sound of agreement. “I can’t believe how warm you are.” He says instead.

Mike laughs.

They have three other dates within the next two weeks and at some point Mike starts consistently sleeping over at Will’s house. Mrs. Byers doesn’t care, but Hopper is a little harder to convince. The biggest upside of their secret relationship is that they don’t have to follow the stupid three inch rule. They can keep the door shut and anyone entering their room always knocks and asks if they can come in. It wasn’t something that used to be done, but ever since what happened to Will, he feel’s so much safer when someone alerts him before coming in. But this means two things for him and Mike.

1. When Mike sleeps over, they can make out or sleep in the same bed, or just cuddle and listen to music, and no one will see them doing it.

2. No one is going to enter Will’s room without him allowing them to, so they don’t need to worry about getting caught.

It takes them a few tries to fully figure out how to do it. They tousle Mike’s sleeping bag to make it look like he slept in it, but they can’t seem to get it right is how the positions that they sleep in. After fifteen minutes of shifting around, the covers ending up getting thrown off and then put back on, they finally find their perfect sleeping position.

They are laying, facing each other. Mike is holding Will’s hand under the covers and he has his legs thrown around Will’s body, keeping him close. It’s perfect for the both of them. Will loves it because when he feels like all of this is just some messed up dream, he can look at Mike and see that it is all real. And Mike is able to be completely possessive over Will, keep him close and in the safe space of his own embrace.

Once they find their position, it’s perfect. They even came up with the perfect excuse for it. If someone were to walk in and see them sleeping this way, Mike would just say that Will had a nightmare and he wanted someone close. It wouldn’t even be a stretch. Everyone knows that when Will has nightmares, the best thing for him is to have someone hold him or just be near him, and tell him that it isn’t real. However, no one really knows that they are sleeping in the same bed every night.

This day was no different. Johnathan was out with Nancy and Mrs. Byers was still at work. They had hung hung out the with rest of the party earlier in the day but now they were biking home to the Byers house. 

“It was fun to hang out to the party today, but, I-I really missed you.” Will says.

Mike giggles. “Will, I was with you the entire time.”

Will walks inside, closing the door behind them. He pushes Mike against the door. 

“You were there, but I couldn’t touch you, kiss you, hug you. I missed you.” He running his hand up his body gently and allowing himself to caress his hip.

”Really, because it sounds like you just missed my body.” Mike jokes.

Will smirks.

”Well, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t miss your body. You are pretty hot.” Will punctuates his sentence by pressing a little kiss on his lips.

”I am pretty irresistible, but you, my gorgeous, sexy boyfriend…you are the one that made me crazy. You kept looking at me and god, god, it was like you were trying to make me insane.”

”It’s good to know that my attempt at subtlety sexy was making you crazy.”

”Subtle, you call that subtle. God, you looked like you were trying to undress me with your eyes.” Will boldly sneaks his hand under Mike’s shirt. Mike was happily allowing Will to be bold and dominant, but that was no longer something he wanted to do. He was more than ready to be the dominant one.

Mike picks Will up, turning him around and slamming him against a nearby wall. He sneaks his hand under Will’s shirt, lightly massaging the skin there. He presses his lips roughly against Will’s own, them moving together in sync.

“Delicious.” Mike whispers, and Will just smiles.

They eventually make their way to Will’s bedroom, shutting the door and shedding clothes. Mike reverently unbuttons Will’s shirt and pants, kissing his body the entire way. Mike quickly undresses himself, not wanting to waste any time. He kisses his way from the bottom on Will’s body all the way up to his lips.  

As they kiss, Mike’s hand begins to wander down Will’s body until his fingers begin playing with the band of his boxers. Will gasps, pulling back.

”W-what are you doing?” Will asks.

”Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

”Just-just, not the front,” Will says, a blush covering not just his face but his entire body. 

Mike blushes too, but boldly slips his fingers down the back of Will’s boxers. Will lets out another gasp but leans into the touch. The feeling of Mike’s bare hand against his butt is, amazing. Will grabs the back of Mike’s neck, pulling him ferociously into a heated kiss, allowing Mike to explore his backside.

Will isn’t fully in the kiss. Well, he is, but all he can think about is the fact that he is kissing Mike, that Mike is touching him. It is filling all of his senses, perfect and so, so right. He could do this forever, just kiss him and let Mike touch him and run his hands through Mike’s hair. 

God he loves him.

He really, really loves him. 

And then Mike squeezes his butt at the same time that he sucks on that little spot under Will’s chin and he can’t stop it from slipping out. 

“Don’t stop love.” Will gasps out. 

But Mike does. He pulls back, looking down at Will, a smirk on his face.

”Is that my new nickname? love?” Mike questions, looking way so smug.

Will rolls his eyes.

”Shut up and just keep kissing me.” He pulls Mike back down to him, who goes without protest. 

And then the door flings open. 

Chapter Text

For a moment, Mike and Will don’t even realize that someone is standing in their door. Mike kisses Will hard, his lips making their way down to Will neck, and when he rubs his hand across Will’s hip, Will throws his head back and lets out a breathy moan. 

“Holy. Shit.” A voice whispers. 

Mike and Will spring back from each other, pulling the covers over their bodies. Johnathan is standing in the doorway, his mouth gaping open as he stares at his brother and his brothers best friend. Will just freezes, staring ahead at Johnathan but Mike grabs Will, holding him protectively. And then Will starts shaking in Mike’s arms, burying himself in his boyfriends chest.

“I, um, I was just,” Johnathan stutters out.

”I thought you were supposed to be out with Nancy.” Will says from Mike’s arms.

”I, I was but then we finished dinner and, since I was worried about you and honestly kind of tired so I figured I would just come home and check on you. Um, I guess I understand why there have been so many sleepovers lately.” A little smirk has found it’s way onto Johnathan’s face and Will finds himself immediately relaxing. 

“You are okay with this?” He asks. 

Johnathan walks into the room, sitting down on the corner of the bed. 

“Look Will, I’m going to be completely honest with you. I have known that you were gay for years. To basically everyone else, you do a pretty good job of hiding it, but I’m your brother. I’ve seen the way you look at boys, at Mike, for years. Mike, well, you’re a little more surprising. You’ve always been completely oblivious to Will’s feelings, and I honestly thought that you were straight. But, well, I’m glad my brother isn’t going to have to pine over you every single day. However,” Johnathan says sharply. “If you break Will’s heart, I will send you too the Upside Down and make sure every god damn portal is and stays closed.”

”Johnathan!” Will screeches, but Mike cuts in.

”I have zero intention of breaking Will’s heart, but if I do, please do send me to the Upside Down. That’ll be the only place I’m worth living.”

”Mike!” Will screeches again. 

“Calm down Will. Like I said, I’m not intending to break your heart so you won’t have to worry about me going to the Upside Down.” Mike says, running his hand through Will’s hair, pressing a light kiss against his temple. 

“Um, this is cute and all, but I am going to leave.” Johnathan says. 

“Wait! You aren’t going to tell anyone, right?” Will asks. 

“Of course not Will. Trust me. I’ve done worse than making out and sleeping in the same bed together. I trust you Willy.”

”Thanks.” Will whispers. He leans himself languidly back into Mike and his bed.

“You want keep making out?” Mike asks.

”Um, can we just, cuddle? That kind of took a lot out of me. I’m sorry.”

”Hey, hey, baby. It’s okay. I am more than happy to cuddle with you.” 

Mike and Will cuddle for hours, not doing anything more than pressing a gentle kiss to the temple here and there. But not long after they find themselves falling completely asleep, wrapped in each other's warmth. But Will hardly sleeps. He keeps tossing and turning, finally getting up. He throws on a shirt and pants, stepping outside. With the sun setting, it's chilly. He wraps his arms around himself but allows the cold air to penetrate his skin. 

Everything should be perfect, everything is perfect, and so Will doesn't understand why he feels this way. He should be laying down in his bed, cuddling with his boyfriend. Instead, he's outside in the cold, trying to feel something, trying to feel what he knows he should be feeling. He doesn't understand what's wrong with him. He feels broken, completely and utterly broken. He knew that the Upside Down had taken pieces of him away, but he was still able to feel things, anger, sadness, his love for Mike and how much it hurt to pine after him, but now, when he should be feeling his happiest, he just feels, numb. 

He sits out there, eventually falling asleep, despite how freezing it has gotten. He wakes up to someone yelling, arms scooping him up and bringing him inside the warm house. 

"Oh my god! Will, what are you doing out here?" It's Johnathan. 

Will opens his eyes. Johnathan has hurried him to his room, dropping him onto the bed. Mike is there, waiting with a large pile of blankets. As soon as Will is on the bed, he is being stripped of his shirt and pants, Mike climbing in next to him, and blankets being pilled on top of the both of them. 

"Will, why were you out there?"

"I-I just wanted to feel something." 

Mike seems taken aback by that and as Will cuddles further into the warmth, he figures he should probably explain himself further. 

"Look, I love being with you, and kissing you, and I feel that and it is amazing but then after I just feel, numb. And I don't know why and I just hate it and-and it makes me feel so stupid and guilty. And I just wanted to feel something."

"God, Will. That is not the answer. Why didn't you talk to me?" Mike asks. 

"You were sleeping and you just looked so peaceful." Will says, but they both know that that isn't the real reason. Mike gives him a penetrating look and Will sighs. "I didn't want to be a burden." He says. 

"Will-" Mike makes to say, but he cuts him off. 

"Look, everything has been going so perfect, and I didn't want to ruin everything with all of my stupid shit."

"Will!" Johnathan reprimands, and they both remember that he is there. 

"Will, I want you to be able to talk to me about everything, not just about the "good" things."

"But then it is just going to make you upset. And I don't want to do that to you."

"Will, I would rather be upset but know how you feel than be happy because my boyfriend is suffering in silence. I want to be able to help you or comfort you or just know what's going on with you. You are my boyfriend and I love you, not just in all the happy moments. I want to have all the moments with you."

"That is so disgustingly romantic." Johnathan says, but neither of them really respond to him. Instead, Will just nods his head and buries his head in Mike's chest. Mike stokes his head, tousling the hair. 

Johnathan says something else and leaves the room, neither of them respond. Will realizes know just how exhausted he is. Despite the fact that they have slept for most of the day, the clock says that it is nearly midnight and there has been so many large emotions that they decide they would rather just sleep. So they do, and this time, Will does sleep.

Mike and Will become completely obsessed with sleeping in the same bed together, almost to the point of an unhealthy addiction (Johnathan's words, not theirs), so when Dustin suggest a group sleepover, too which everyone immediately agrees, Will and Mike find themselves in a headache of a situation. The night before the sleepover, Mike is over at the Byers household again, the two of them tangled in each other's arms when Will brings it up.

"How are we going to do the sleepover?" He asks.

"What do you mean?" Mike turns so that he is looking at Will. 

"Um, I don't sleep well without you. Since we sleep together most nights, it's gotten significantly more difficult for me to sleep without you. I don't know how I am going to handle sleeping so near to you but not actually being able to have you sleep with me."

"It'll be okay." Mike says.

"But, Mike, it's gonna drive me crazy. Can we at least figure out some way where you can touch me, even just a little bit."

Mike tips his head, thinking for a moment. 

"What if we put our sleeping bags next to each other so I can maybe reach over and give you little touches when no one else is looking?"

Will sighs. "I guess that's all we are going to get. So yeah, that works." 

"I'm sorry Will. I wish we could do more and have it be normal but-"

"We can't. I know. I get it. Trust me, when you've been gay for as long as I have, you learn that you can take what you get."

Mike looks pensively at him. 

"Look," Will says. "I'm not gonna lie to you, I've made out with guys before. It's just, most of them are in denial about being gay, which I get, and the few that aren't were like me. They just wanted a quick makeout sessions, to know that you're not the only person whose gay. It's usually only a few moments, but you take what you can get. With you, it's more special. With you, every little second is something that I can cherish until the next time we're alone. The next time I can let you push me into the mattress and kiss me senseless and I can sleep in your arms again. So if little touches is all we can do when we are around the others, I'll take it."

"How are you so perfect?" Mike asks, running his hand over Will's check. 

"I'm not."

"Maybe not completely, I mean, no one is, but God Will, you are amazing."

"Thanks." He says with a blush. 

"We'll get through it together. Promise."

Chapter Text

Will arrives a half an hour before everyone else does. Mike flings the basement door open, smiling wildly when he sees Will. He pulls him into the room, pulling Will in for a passionate kiss. 

"I missed you," He mumbles into the kiss as they walk backward to the couch. 

"I just saw you like yesterday."

"Don't care."

They fall back on the couch, letting out a loud sigh. They are kissing each other hard, taking advantage of every second they can have to themselves before everyone else comes in. A egg alarm goes off ten minutes before everyone is set to arrive and they reluctantly separate from each others, allowing their swollen lips to recover and fixing their clothes and hair so by the time the others arrive they look like they have just been talking, not making out. 

Max luckily arrives first. She walks in, a smirk on her face when she sees Will already there.

"Hmm, you two had some fun, didn't you?"

"Shut up," Will blushes but Mike just looks proud of himself.

"Robin will be in in a minute." Max says.

"Wait, Robin's coming?" Mike asks. 

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that Steve is coming to cause he's Dustin's ride."

Mike just sighs, deciding that it isn't worth fighting over. However, Will can tell that Mike, like himself, if hardly thrilled about the fact that two more people who know about them and could possibly say something to out them is coming to the party sleep over. But with one look from Will, the reassurance on his face, Mike calms. 

Everyone arrives slowly, Robin then Lucas and Erica and the finally Dustin with a smirking Steve in toe. El comes last, Hopper escorting her to the door. He gives everyone a stern look, and though no words are spoken, everyone understands that if El comes home upset, they are going to have to answer to the wrath of Hopper. 

“So, what’s first on the agenda?” Erica asks. 

“Um, I don’t know.” Mike says. 

Erica rolls her eyes. 

“Oh c’mon. What do you guys usually do at sleepovers?”

”I don’t know, it’s been years since we’ve actually done one. Anyone have any ideas?”

”Thank god you finally got there,” Erica says with a roll of her eyes. “We are gonna play truth or dare.”

”Seriously?” Steve says. “That’s so juvenile.”

”You hang out with children all day dingus.” Robin fires back.

”Touché.” Steve rolls his eyes. 

They grab a bottle of beer from upstairs, Steve chugging it down despite the fact that they said they could have just dumped it down the sink. They all sit on the ground in a circle, placing the bottle in the middle. Robin eagerly spins the bottle first and when it lands on Steve, she giggles happily. 

“Truth or Dare dingus?”

”Truth,” Steve says reluctantly. 

“Just how many girls rejected you when we worked at Scoops Ahoy?”

”I don’t know.”

”Just an estimate.”

A blush finds it way to Steve’s face.

”Probably like, 50. But that was over an entire summer!” He says indignantly. 

“It’s okay Stevie poo. You’ll get a girlfriend eventually.”

And then Nancy comes down the stairs. 

“Mike, what is all the noise?” And then she sees the group gathered on the ground. 

“Are you guys having a sleepover.”

”Yeah.”

”And why wasn’t I invited?”

”I figured you wouldn’t be interested.”

Nancy rolls her eyes.

”Make room for me.”

She slides herself in between Robin and Max. 

“What are we playing and whose turn is it?”

”Truth or dare, and it‘s my turn.” Steve says.

”Sweet.”

Steve spins the bottle and it lands on Dustin.

”Truth or Dare?”

They go through many rounds of the game with nothing much happening. And then things begin to heat up. As everyone begins to get a little more bold, choosing more dare’s than truth’s. And then it lands on Mike.

”Truth or Dare, Michael?” Dustin asks.

”Dare.” Mike says boldly.

Dustin thinks for a minutes, trying to find the perfect dare. When his face lights up, Mike is immediately nervous.

“I dare you to kiss Will.”

”W-what?” Mike sputters.

”I dare you to kiss Will. And like, a real kiss.”

Robin, Max, and Steve share a look.

“Um, okay.” Mike says. “If that’s okay with Will.”

He catches an eye roll from Robin.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Mike moves over to where Will is leaning against the couch. He leans forward, meeting Will’s eyes. Will gives him a small nod of his head. Mike connects their lips, as gently as he can. He tries to make it look cautious or unsure but as soon as his lips touch Will’s it’s game over. The rest of the world just disappears. 

Without thinking, Will wraps his hand around the back of Mike’s neck, pulling him closer so he can kiss him deeper. His lips slip apart, Mike’s tongue finding it’s way into Will’s mouth and Will tries desperately to keep his sigh of pleasure inside. It manages to slip out. 

“I’m, you guys are good to stop now.” Dustin says, but it takes another moment for Mike to pull away. 

He goes back to his spot but he catches the look on El’s face and she looks distraught. And everyone else sees it. Despite the fact that they had ended their relationship amicably, Mike knows that he has know hurt El. And he feels like shit about it.

“Um, what just happened?” Dustin asks. 

“So that’s why you broke up with me.” She says.

”Um, what do you mean?” Mike asks, trying to feign confusion. 

“You broke up with me to date him?” El asks, anger rising in her voice. 

“El, I, it…” He tries, but he isn’t what to say to make it better. He glances over at Will, seeing the panic on his face. And that obviously was not the right thing to do because then El is glaring at him.

”You broke up with me to date a boy!” She says harshly and Will and Robin flinch, hard. 

“El, I thought that we both agreed that breaking up was the right thing. You said that you needed to be able to spend more time figuring out who are.”

”Yeah, but why are you dating a boy now?”

Tears are beginning to gather in Will’s eyes and Mike is getting angry now.

”What, would it be better if I was now dating a girl?” He yells. 

“Yes!” El yells back. 

And Will is now full on sobbing. 

“It’s not right!” El yells.

”Get. Out.” Mike grinds out, his voice shaking. 

“What?”

”Get. The Hell. Out of my house. Now!”

El just scoffs bitterly. She gets up and is about to leave when she looks back, as though she is expecting someone to follow her. And then Will realizes. She’s waiting for Max to come with her. Max, who is her best friend and always encouraged her to know her own worth, but Max isn’t following her. In fact, Max is full on glaring at her, so El leaves, using her powers to slam the door behind her as she goes. 

As soon as El leaves, Will finds himself being pulled into Mike’s arms. The sobs are racking Will’s body; his entire body is shaking in Mike’s embrace. Mike leans down, pressing his face into Will’s hair, holding his boyfriend close. 

“Deep breathes baby.”

”S-s-she hates us.”

”Will, baby, it’s gonna be okay. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is you and me. I’ve got you baby.”

It takes Mike fifteen minutes to calm Will down and when he does, Mike realizes the situation. Max, Robin, and Steve are whatever, they already know. But Lucas, Erica, Dustin and Nancy, well, they are a different story.

But when the boys look up, they find tears in Nancy and Erica’s eyes and Lucas and Dustin look on the verge of tears themselves. 

“You guys are together?” Lucas asks. 

“Yeah.” Mike says. 

“First of all, I am so happy for you guys. I’m glad that you are finally together. Well, mostly for Will’s sake.” Lucas says with a smile. 

Dustin looks like he is about to cry. 

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry." Dustin says in a whisper. "I-I can't believe that I caused this. If I had known, if-shit, I am so sorry guys. I'm so sorry I outed you."

"You didn't mean to Dustin, it's fine."

"I just, I thought it would just be fun for the game, I-I'm so sorry."

"It's okay man. I promise you."

"Wait, why do none of you seem surprised?" Erica says, shooting a stare at Steve, Robin, and Max.

"Well, we already know." Steve says smugly. 

Nancy hits Steve over the head. 

"You knew and didn't say anything?" 

"Well, it wasn't mine to share."

"I'm glad that you didn't tell me but I am also pissed at you Harrington!" Nancy says, obviously unsure of how she is actually feeling. Then she turns to Mike. "I still love you and I won't tell Mom and Dad."

"Thanks."

"How did you all find out?" Lucas asks, mostly looking at Max. 

"Um, we were with them when they got together. And Will told us before hand." Max say. "We as in Robin and me."

"I found out when I went to see Will when he was sick. I brought him soup and Mike was 'taking care of him.'" Steve says with exaggerated air quotes.

Dustin and Lucas laugh at that, but Nancy just rolls her eyes fondly at them. Robin just knowingly smirks. 

"Is Will okay?" Dustin asks. 

Mike looks down, and he feels more than sees that Will has fallen asleep. After sleeping in the same bed for so long, Mike almost has Will's breathing memorized. He can tell when he is sleeping soundly or when he is having a nightmare or if he was just pretending to be asleep because he didn't want Mike to move. And this is Will sleepily soundly, just like he does after a panic attack. 

"He's asleep." 

"What?" The group asks in astonishment.

"Yeah. Whenever he gets a panic attack, he usually falls asleep right after."

"Oh god. Poor thing." Robin says, schooching over and running her hand over Will's hair. Will immediately stirs. 

"Whass goin' on?" Will mutters sleepily. 

"Hey there, baby." Mike says, pressing a gentle kiss on his forehead. 

"Do you guys hate us?" Will asks, avoiding eye contact with anyone. 

"No, Will! Of course we don't hate you!" Dustin screeches. 

Will shifts around until he is sitting up, still laying against Mike. 

"You don't?"

"Of course not!" 

Will lets out a sigh of relief. And then the pieces begin to fall back into place. El. The way she reacted. Oh shit. What are they gonna do about all of that?

Chapter Text

Will's cheek's were sticky and his body is exhausted, too. He tries to sit up but ends up just leaning up against Mike instead. His eyes are still watering from the remnants of tears and as he tries to blink them away, they just run down his cheeks instead. Everyone is staring at him, he realizes, looking at him with the sad, pitying eyes that he became used to seeing after coming out of the Upside Down. 

The look on Robin's face is the worst. Her face is nearly completely slack and she looks like all she wants to do is go scorched earth on anyone who has ever hurt him. She too has tears dripping down her face, something that no one has ever really seen from her before, besides Steve. And when Will makes eye contact with her, something breaks. Robin is opening up her arms and before will is even conscious of the decision, he has launched himself into Robin's arm, beginning to sob again.

She wraps his arms around Will, pressing a hand into his hair and stroking it. But it's different than they way Mike does it, more like a mother, or a big sister. 

"I've got you Will." Robin says, holding him close. "I've got you my sweet little queer boy."

And Will both cries and laughs at the same time. 

"Robin?" He asks with a little whimper. 

"Yeah bud?"

"Do you wanna be my sister? Like, a fake sister obviously, or I mean, you can say no, I-I just..."

"Yeah, Will. I'll be your big sister. Fake or whatever."

"Really?" He looks up at Robin, honestly astonished that she had said yes. 

"Of course Will. I got you buddy. Always. I'll be your best gay sister."

"Thanks." He sniffles.

"Wait, Robin, you're gay?" Dustin asks.

"Yup."

"Damn. Okay. Anyone else have any revelations they want to make tonight?" He asks with a laugh.

Max raises her hand sheepishly. 

"What?" Lucas asks, looking almost scared.

"Um, I like boys...and girls. But, I'm much more attracted to guys." Max says, sending Lucas fleeting little glances. 

"Oh, okay." Lucas said. "I thought you were gonna say you only like girls. Which, like, isn't a bad thing at all, but, well, I kinda am in love with you so it would suck if you weren't attracted to me at all and were just pretending."

Max meets Lucas's gaze and full on smile now.

"Well, I love you too." She says, leaning towards him and pressing a kiss on his lips. 

"Um, I am suddenly feeling like, extremely single and lonely." Steve says, half joking, half obviously not.

"Oh don't worry, you'll find a girlfriend eventually dingus." Robin says. "And besides, if you don't, and I don't, we can always get married and I will bear all of your little children and we'll have a happy little family where I can just have little flings with girls where that's all they want and it'll be great. Deal?" Robin unwraps one arms from Will and sticks it out to Steve. He rolls his eyes but shakes it.

"Yeah, sure. Deal."

"Wonderful!" Robin says. "Now who wants some popcorn and to watch a movie? Steve and I brought like six different ones to choose from."

"What movies?" Will asks, removing himself from Robin's arms and laying back against the couch. 

"We have Footloose, The Outsiders, Clue, The Karate Kid, Top Gun, one of the Star Wars movies and," Steve rolls his eyes a little. "By request of Robin, The Breakfast Club. So, what are we watching?"

They debate for almost twenty minutes over what they want to watch before they finally decide on Top Gun. It is the only one that seems to have enough to appease all of them. Mike, Will, and Nancy all find Tom Cruise hot, it has plenty of action to satisfy all of them, there is a hot woman for Robin, and Dustin seems more than satiated with basically everything in the movie. Lucas and Max spend ten minutes "getting the popcorn" and then they begin the movie. 

Mike and Will cuddle up together, and for the first time in his life, Will sighs loudly when he see's Tom Cruise, finally happy with being able to actually enjoy the sight of a hot man. 

"Hey!" Mike scoffs, pretending to be upset.

"You know I love you." Will whispers back, pressing a gentle kiss against Mike's cheek before returning his focus to the movie. 

When Goose dies, Will starts to cry a little, turning into Mike and allowing him to hold him. And they enjoy the entire movie, clutching at each other when they think someone is about to die, sighing in relief. Lucas and Max are cuddled together with a bowl of popcorn in between the two of them. Steve, Robin and Dustin share their own and Mike and Will have a small one on Mike's side. By the time the movie finishes, they are all completely elated, despite the fact that it is getting increasingly late. 

"Another movie?" 

"Yes!" Almost everyone except Will says. 

"You can fall asleep on me if you get tired," Mike whispers into Will's ear and Will immediately agrees. 

The end up choosing The Breakfast Club, because Robin won't let it go. Despite the facade she likes to put up, she is apparently a sucker for The Breakfast Club. Will is also a large fan of the choice as he has already seen the movie. He won't admit it to anyone, but at least now he can fall asleep without worrying about missing anything. And he does. 

They make it half an hour into the movie before Will finds his eyes beginning to droop. He tries his best to keep himself awake, but he sways a little, finally laying his head on Mike shoulder. His eyes flutter shut and something warm lands over him. He likes this, he likes this a lot.

Suddenly Will is being shaken awake. Mike is next to him, but they are sleeping much differently than they usually do. They are still facing each other, but Mike has his arms wrapped around Will, who's head is laying on Mike's chest, right under his chin. It's...surprisingly comfortable. But Will isn't able to enjoy it for more than a brief second. 

"Will! Mike! You need to get up!" Steve is shaking them awake. 

Mike rubs his eyes groggily, pulling away from Will.

"What's going on?" He asks. 

"You need to go!" Steve is saying.

"Huh?" Will says.

And then he hears it. The yelling that is coming from upstairs. And he sees Lucas, Max, and Dustin, pushing themselves against the door, which is straining against them. 

Mike and Will and scrambling to their feet, Will glancing around like a deer in the headlights. 

"What's going on?" Mike asks again.

"El told your parents and your dad is going ballistic. He's saying he's gonna kill Will and some other shit, so we NEED to get you out of here. We're going out the back. Robin and Nancy waiting for us in the cars."

Mike and Will and shooting out of the back door, running to the car. And that's when they realize that it is dumping rain. Steve is behind them, followed shortly by Dustin and Lucas, with an armful of Max. Despite the rain, tears are running down her face and she is hissing in pain. 

"C'mon guys!" Nancy is shouting. She is holding the door open and they pile in. Once they run out of room, Nancy hits the back of the car and Steve hits the gas. Shortly after, Nancy is speeding after them, the rest of the kids in her car. And then there is Mr. Wheeler, standing out in the rain, obviously screaming at the top of his lungs. Mrs. Wheeler is trying to pull him back inside, but he just shoves her off, attempting to chase the car. 

"Where are we going?" Will asks, shaking from the cold and wet. 

"Um, I-We don't know. Robin, radio the others."

Robin grabs the radio, pulling the antenna up and clicking the button. 

"Dustin, this is Robin. Do you copy?"

"We copy Robin. What's the plan?"

"I was hoping you knew. Or Nancy. I don't know what to do. Or where we are going."

There is silence. 

"We can't go to any of our places, our parents will talk to each other. Anyone know another place we could go to?"

"Guys?" Robin asks, turning to the back. 

"Yeah. I know a place." Steve says. 

Robin radio's back to them.

"Stevie knows a place. Just follow us."

"Copy." Dustin radio's over. 

"Where are we going?" Mike asks. "Does it have a shower and clean clothes? Because Will looks nearly hypothermic."

"It doesn't have a shower but it has a bath. And clean clothes. And food. Don't worry guys. We'll be safe there for the time being."

"Promise?" Mike asks harshly.

"Yeah, I promise. You don't need to be so protective." Steve shoots back.

"It's my job as his boyfriend. I-"

Robin cuts them off. "Everyone just chill and DRIVE!" And Steve steps on it.

Chapter Text

They drive for nearly forty five minutes, the rain getting heavier the entire time. Steve’s car is slipping on the wet pavement, Will holding tightly on to Mike in fear.

”Oh my god Steve! I want to get there alive!” Robin is screeching. 

“Robin, its fine.” The car slips back a little more, everyone screaming. 

“Okay, maybe less fine,” Steve admits, but he doesn’t pull his foot off the accelerator. “But we‘re almost there.”

Five minutes later, they skid in a driveway. Before them is a large house, light off, abandoned looking. They are surrounded by the woods, not near anyone. Nancy pulls up behind them, skidding to a stop just like Steve had. Everyone gets out of the car, bolting to the front door. The world is briefly illuminated with the strike of lightning. 

Steve reaches into his pocket, unlocking the door. The flood inside, desperate to escape the rain. 

“Steve, where are we?” Nancy asks. 

“Um, this is my parent’s cabin. We haven’t come up here since I was a kid, but my parents kept it. Whenever they get into a fight, one of them comes up here to cool down. It should have good food though. It’s only been like a week since the last time that one of them came up here.”

”I’m sor-“ Dustin starts.

”It’s fine. The bright side is that they are both out of town so we won’t need to worry about them coming and finding us.”

Will can’t help but notice that Steve turns away for a moment, wiping a hand across his face under the guise of wiping the rain off. But before Will can think too much into it, Mike is cutting in, changing the subject completely. 

"You said that there was a bath here?" Mike asks.

"Yeah, it's. Um it's upstairs at the end of the hall. There should be this bubble bath mixture that my Mom likes in a cabinet, if you want to use it. And bar soap and stuff. Towels are in the closet."

Will makes his way shakily up the stairs, Mike following close behind him. When Will gets into the bathroom, his hands are shaking so bad that he can't manage to grasp the buttons of his shirt. Mike comes up behind him, gently turning Will around. Mike's finger's gently grasp at Will's shirt, unbuttoning it gently. Then he reaches down to Will's pants, gently pulling unzipping them and pulling them down. 

He reaches around Will, plugging the drain and turning the hot water on. He pours way more bubble bath than is needed, but then Mike starts to undress himself. 

"What are you doing?" Will asks.

"Um, I taking bath with you." Mike says, as though it is completely obvious. 

"But, we'll both be...naked." 

Mike giggles. "Yeah. I know Will." But when he turns away from the bath he sees the scared look on his boyfriends face. "Hey. Look, this isn't going to be anything sexual, I promise. But if you aren't comfortable with this, we won't do it."

Will has his bottom lip between his teeth, chewing it hard. 

"I, um, I'm not bothered as much with the you being naked thing. But, um," He hesitates before spitting it out. "Idon'twantyoutothinkI'mugly." 

"Oh baby, I could never think that. I promise. But if you aren't ready yet, we won't do it."

"Um, I want to. But, I might need so...reassurance. Like, during it. If that's okay."

"Of course Will. Whatever you need."

When the bath is completely filled with hot water, Will and Mike just stand there in nothing but their boxers. Mike takes his off first and Will pointedly does not look down. Well, he may sneak a little glance down, and, wow. When he looks back up at Mike, he knows for a fact that his cheeks are bright red. His hands are shaking heavily when he takes his boxers down, but this time from nerves and cold instead of just the cold alone.

"Damn." Mike whispers, looking down at Will. Then his eyes flit back up to Will. "Good damn. Very good. You look, uh, really hot." 

Will blushes even more, now able to feel the blood as it rushes to his cheeks. But as the hot blood travels to his cheeks, he becomes distinctly aware of how cold he is, goosebumps now present on his body. 

"Can we get in the bath?" He whispers. 

"Right. Yeah. Of course."

Will gets in first, sinking into the bubbles. Mike comes in after, laying against the opposite side of the tub, facing Will.

"Oh my god. This feels sooo good." Mike moans out. 

"Good. It really does." Will responds. The two of them lay back languidly, sinking deeper into the bubbles. After probably five minutes of just soaking in the bath, Mike grabs a bottle of 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. 

"Turn around." He says to Will, his voice deep and tired. And Will does just that. 

He gently dunks Will's head into the water, soaking his hair. Mike squirts a healthy amount of the 2-in-1 on his palm. He rubs his hands together before reaching them into Will's hair. His finger's probe Will's scalp, pressing at just the right area and massaging his head deeply. 

"Holy shit," Will says breathily. When Mike presses against the good spot of Will's head again, the boy flat out moans. 

"Shhh," Mike whispers seductively against Will's ear. "The other's might hear and think that we're doing something - scandalous."

Will giggles. "Of course. And we couldn't be doing anything like that, now could we?"

Will's head gets dunked into the water again, washing out the 2-in-1, gently as ever. Mike does his hair quickly, Will laying back and watching as his boyfriend runs his fingers through his own curly hair. He looks extremely, annoying sexy, water dripping from the ends of his hair, bubbles on his arms. He just watches reverently until Mike finishes washing it out of his hair. And then Mike leans towards Will. 

"Now that we have that out of the way, I have another idea." He whispers, leaning so close that their noses are touching. 

"I'm liking this line of thinking." Will responds with a smile. 

And then their lips connect. It's messy and desperate at first, teeth clashing with each other, but after the desperation melts away, it's their lips pressing perfectly together, soft and reverent and amazing. Mike wraps his arms around Will, pulling him forward until Will is sitting in his lap. Will lets out a gasp as him and Mike brush against each other. But Will just keeps kissing his boyfriend, happy in knowing that nothing other than this will be happening. It's a comforting feeling, safe. 

After kissing for who knows how long, there is a knock on the door.

"Hey, I know you boys are probably having a good bath, but Steve is ordering pizza. It'll be here soon. So, um, yeah." Robin says. 

"We'll uh, we'll be right out. It's just a really warm bath." Mike says. Will hurriedly chimes in a, "We're not doing anything like that. Just, taking a bath."

"Mmkay. Sure. I left some fresh clothes outside the door." And that's it. 

Mike gets out of the bath first, grabbing two towels. He wraps one around himself, and moves close to the bath. He dries Will’s hair first, while the boy is still in the bath. When Will gets out, Mike immediately wraps the towel around Will, making sure that Will is as warm as he could possibly be. Then he reaches over and un stoppers the drain. 

He grabs the clothes from outside and the two of them get dressed quickly, stopping every once in a while to press a gentle kiss every know and then. When they leave the bathroom, Will is cuddled up against Mike, desperate for the warmth that he provides. 

They head downstairs, the smell of pizza drifting up the stairs. Everyone is gathered on the couch, eating pizza and laughing. 

“Well hello there lovebirds!” Come’s Eddie’s voice. 

Wait, Eddie?

”When did you get here?” Mike asks. 

“Ten minutes ago. You two were in the bath for a very long time.”

”No we weren’t.” Mike says.

Everyone laughs. 

“Um, yes. You were. You two were in the bath for like 45 minutes.”

”It was just so warm in there.” Will says softly. 

Robin melts. 

“Aww, you are so adorable. C’mere little bro.” Robin says, opening her arms wide. 

Will shares a brief glance with Mike but with a little nod, he runs to the couch, jumping into Robin’s arms. He wraps them happily around him before handing him a slice of pizza. 

“Wait, you two are related?” Eddie asks confused. 

“Not by blood, but I’m basically his big sister now. By choice.” Robin says, stroking Will’s hair. 

"Ew. That is disgustingly cute." Eddie says.

Mike grabs his own piece of pizza, sitting down right next to Robin and Will. Will smiles through his chewing, happy that Mike enjoys being close too Will. 

By the time everyone is ready to go to bed, they have run into a slight problem with this whole arrangement. There are only three bedrooms, but there are nine of them. Leaving them rather unsure of where they are supposed to be sleeping. The one thing that they decide on is that Steve gets one of the bedrooms, as he is the one who got them the hideout in the first place.

"I can sleep on the couch." Max says. 

"Same," Lucas immediately volunteers. Max rolls her eyes but allows it. 

"Eddie can share a room with me." Steve says. When Dustin gives him a look Steve sighs. "Dustin can sleep on the floor."

"Robin and I can share a room," Nancy says. 

"Alright. And that leaves the master for Will and Mike."

"Wait, you're not sleeping in the master?" Mike asks surprised. 

"Uh, no. I don't want to sleep where my parents had when they are fighting." Steve says. 

"Um, thanks Steve." Mike responds. 

After a brief goodnight, everyone heads to their separate rooms. Will is sagging along behind Mike, the exhausting causing him to drag his feet. The two of them strip down to their boxers before climbing into the large king bed. But neither of them want space from each other. Mike wraps his arms around Will and the two of them trying to be a close to each other as possible. Cuddling is their favorite thing. 

Will falls asleep quickly, quicker than he ever has before. He's exhausted with everything that has happened in the day, and being in a large, comfortable bed, in Mike's arms, is his favorite thing ever. 

But he doesn't sleep easily. Will sleep is plagued with nightmares and he shoots upright, shaking and breathing heavily. Mike is immediately up, stroking Will's back and whispering sweetly into his ear. But before either of them can begin to try and fall back asleep, they hear screaming come from down the hall. 

Both boys are immediately out of bed, throwing on t-shirts before running to the source of the screaming. They fling the door open to see-- 

Steve Harrington is sitting against the headboard of the bed, screaming and shaking and sobbing. And they freeze.

Chapter Text

Steve was sobbing in the bed, his entire body shaking with sobs. Robin had run to get him some water, but when she handed it to him, his hands were shaking so hard that it splashed everywhere. 

"Deep breathes Steve. Deep breathes." Robin is saying, but Steve isn't breathing. In fact, his breathes are getting shorter the more someone told him to make them deeper. 

"Shit! Shit!" Robin says. "What do we do?"

Everyone looks at Mike. 

"I-I don't know." 

"What do you mean you don't know?" Dustin yells at him. "You always calm Will down!"

"Yeah, because I know how to calm Will down. Because he's my boyfriend. Because I have literally known him like all of my remembered life! I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to calm Steve down."

"Well then what do we do?"

"Everyone stop yelling!" Eddie shouts. 

When they do finally stop shouting at each other, they realize that despite the fact that Steve is still crying and shaking, but he is finally beginning to breathe like normal again. And the reason is that Eddie has wrapped his arms around Steve in a tight, albeit awkward hug. Steve's tears are dripping onto Eddie's gray t-shirt, staining them with dark little spots. 

"Oh, I guess I did know what to do," Mike says quietly, audible to no one besides Will who is standing close next to him. 

"You guys go," Eddie says, somewhat harshly. 

They all file out of the room, Robin giving Steve's hair a soft tussle before leaving with everyone else. 

BRIEF POV SWITCH

When the door shuts, Eddie hugs Steve closer to him. 

"You're alright Steve." Eddie whispers. 

For some reason though, his words just cause Steve to sob harder. Eddie isn't fully are what is even going on. He had woken up to Steve sobbing and screaming, but when he tried to ask him what it meant, it just made the whole situation worse. And apparently saying that he is going to be alright doesn't actually make anything better at all. In fact, it seems like everything that anyone tries to stay makes things worse. So Eddie goes quiet. 

He reaches down and pulls the covers back over the two of them. And then he just pulls Steve even closer to him. And that causes Steve to begin to relax, very, very slowly. Eddie opens his mouth, considering saying something, but he changes his mind. Steve’s still shaking and Eddie can feel tears dropping onto his shirt everyone once and a while. When that stops, then he will talk to Steve. But not before then. 

When Steve is no longer shaking or crying, Eddie worries for a moment that the younger boy has fallen asleep. But then Steve shifts. 

“You can let go of me know,” He says, his voice softer than Eddie has ever heard it. 

“Right, sorry.” Eddie lets go immediately, and Steve moves over to his side of the bed. 

“Steve, are you okay?”

When Steve doesn’t answer, Eddie just keeps talking, because, well, he doesn’t know what else to do. 

“You don’t have to talk to me. I can get Robin or Nancy or even Dustin but, like, you should probably talk to someone about what just happened. Cause, like, stupid of me to ask in the first place but you‘re like probably not okay, which is fine, but you should probably talk to someone.”

”Why do you even care?” Steve suddenly snaps. 

“I, um, I,” Eddie freezes up. That was not what he was expecting Steve to say. 

“Oh, right, you probably don’t. I bet your just mad that I woke you up for your beauty sleep huh Munson?” 

“I’m not mad Steve. Just, I don’t know, kinda freaked out and worried.”

”That’s such bullshit!” Steve almost yells at him. “God, why are you even here?” 

Eddie makes to answer but Steve cuts him off. 

“You don’t care about me so just go! Just leave!”

Eddie gets off of the bed and makes for the door, but then he turns back. Eddie always leaves when things get hard. But Steve is obviously not doing well and Eddie is not just going to leave him here like this. He’s had plenty of people throw him aside when he was broken and needed someone. He’s not going to do that to Steve. So he turns around, throws himself onto the bed and pulls Steve aggressively back into his arms. 

Steve squirms, trying to push Eddie away from him, but Eddie just tightens the hug, not letting go even when Steve elbows him in the stomach. 

“Let me go!” Steve is crying again, but Eddie doesn’t relent. 

“No.” 

“Please just let me go!” 

“No Steve. You are not okay and I’m not letting go of you and I’m not going to leave.”

 For some reason, that causes Steve to finally relax again. He is crying silently in Eddie’s arms and his voice is shaking when he speaks. 

“I get nightmares.” He says. “About the stuff we’ve had to face. About everything that’s happened. I have dreams that I die and nobody cars, that I die and my parents don’t even realize that I’m dead. And I have dreams that Robin or Dustin or Max or Nancy or any of them die and it’s all my fault. That I’m the monster. That I kill them. And then they come back and haunt me and try to kill me for what I did to them.”

”Shit.” Is what comes out of Eddie’s mouth. He silently curses himself for not being able to say anything remotely helpful. But Steve doesn’t seem to car. Instead, he lets out a sad, humorless laugh. 

“Yeah, shit.”

And that’s it. They just lay there, Steve not moving from Eddie’s arms. Eddie attempts to understand the weird feeling circling. The deep urge to protect Steve, an urge that he has never had with anyone before. Not like this. He want's to protect Dustin and Mike and even Lucas, but that's cause their kids, and he's their older protecter, but this feeling with Steve is different. He doesn't want anything to hurt Steve, but not only that, he wants to hurt anyone that even glares at him. It's like a type of jealousy, but weirder. Eddie doesn't know how he is supposed to feel about this. But then Steve shifts in Eddie's arms, but instead of moving away like Eddie expects, he curls further into the older man. 

And that's when Eddie realizes that Steve has fallen asleep on him. The poor boy is probably exhausted from the whole ordeal, and he clings onto Eddie like a human Teddy-bear. Eddie looks down at sleeping Steve and he looks so peaceful and...somehow more handsome than he usually looks. 

But Eddie doesn't find guys handsome. It's just objective. 

Either way, Eddie slowly moves down so they are laying more on the pillows. He doesn't even try to shift Steve off of him, despite the fact that the logical part of him knows that he should. Right now, Steve needs his sleep and Eddie doesn't want to do anything to disrupt that. However, what Eddie knows he really shouldn't do, is gently put his hand into Steve's hair. It's just as soft as it looks, just like Eddie imagined. 

IF he imagined it. Which he didn't.

Sinking into the pillows, and into the warmth of not only the bed, but of Steve. Eddie knows that having a man cuddling with him should make it harder for him to fall asleep, right? But it makes it somehow easier and before he knows it, Eddie is drifting back into a more peaceful sleep. 

SWITCH BACK TO REGULAR POV

Will doesn’t sleep for the rest of the night. Beside him, Mike is cuddled up, mouth hanging open, sleep soundly. But Will just can’t sleep. He wants to blame it on Dustin, who is snoring on the small chair in the master bedroom. He came in to sleep in their room, figuring that Steve would want his space. But to be honest, Dustin’s snoring is something he is long used to from the years of sleepovers the party has had. But Will was sitting in the bed, unable to sleep. 

He can't help but feel guilty. He knew what Steve was having nightmares about, he knew the look in his eyes. And Steve wouldn't be having these nightmares if he had never gotten taken to the Upside Down. No one would. It's all his fault. 

As the sun begins to rise, Mike stirs next to Will. Without meaning too, Will stiffens and Mike is then fully awake. He sits up immediately, hand on Will's shoulder. 

"Hey, how long have you been awake?" Mike asks. 

"Um, I don't know." Will responds sheepishly. Mike somehow knows the answer immediately. 

"You didn't sleep after Steve, did you?"

"No. I didn't."

"Why?"

"Just couldn't sleep." Will lies. 

Mike rolls his eyes. 

"Baby, tell me." Mike says in just the way that he knows causes Will to melt. 

"It's my fault." Will whispers. 

"What?" Mike screeches, but then he calms himself down. "Why do you think it's your fault?"

"Because, it all stems from the Upside Down. If I had never been taken, you all wouldn't have gotten so involved and you wouldn't have found El, and you never would have gotten pulled into it, and Steve wouldn't have to be dealing with nightmares. It's all my fault."

Mike heaves a sigh before turning so he is facing Will. 

"Will, listen to me. None of this is your fault. You didn't open the gate to the Upside Down, you didn't chose to get taken, you didn't cause or chose any of this. Baby, you got put through so much, so, so much that should never have had to go through. You were so young. Still are. It isn't your fault, I promise you. Ask anyone here and they will tell you that it isn't. Do you believe me?"

"I-I don't know." Will whimpers. 

"Oh Will." Mike murmurs.

Tears are gathering in Mike's eyes and when Will see's it, he has to look away. But Mike pulls him forward, dragging him into a deep kiss. Will isn't sure if this is Mike's way of trying to get Will to believe him, but he doesn't care. Mike's lips are soft and warm and it's all Will wants. All he needs. With a small tear dripping down his cheek, Will shifts his weight, throwing Mike on top of him. At first, Mike tries to keep his weight off of Will, but Will slyly kicks his legs out, all of Mike's weight falling on him. 

"I don't wanna crush you," Mike pulls back to whispers. 

"You won't. Just please-"

Mike puts his full weight on top of Will, reattaching their lips. Any anxiety that Will feels, goes away; Mike his most perfect, weighted blanket. Mike drags his lips away, gently pressing them to his chin, then his neck. His hands slide under his shirt, running over Will's soft skin. 

"It's not your fault," Mike murmurs as he presses kisses along his neck and collarbones. 

Will sighs, wrapping his legs around Mike and trying desperately to pull him closer. Mike keeps kissing him, a mixture of 'it's not your fault' and 'I love you' punctuating the ends of kisses. Will says his own "I love you"s in between Mike's. But then the words Mike is saying get more serious. 

"I wanna be with you forever." Mike whispers. "I wanna marry you one day." "I'm going to love you forever."

It makes Will nervous at first, but then the tight feeling in his chest loosens. Mike wants to marry him. Mike promises to always love him. 

"I wanna be your husband," Will says back.

And then they hear a screech that is from neither Will or Mike, but from Dustin. 

"Oh my god. Did you guys just propose to each other?" Dustin is screaming. "Also, ew! Why are you doing this in front of me?"

Mike and Will spring apart, embarrassed and cheeks red.

"Um, that wasn't me proposing." Mike says.

"Aww, that would have been so cute!" Dustin says. 

"When I propose, it is going to be a lot different." Mike says. 

"How do you know I won't propose first?" Will banter's back. 

Mike places both of his hands on Will's face.

"You spent much too long pining over me while I was completely oblivious and completely in denial of my own feelings. So Will, I am going to be the one to propose to you first. And it is going to be perfect and magical and I swear to god if you even try and propose to me first, I will say no and do everything perfect the next day to propose to you. Because you have waited for me for way to long, and you deserve to have me make you my everything, to put you first, to sweep you off your feet with the perfect proposal that you deserve."

"Oh my god, that is so sweet!" Dustin says. 

Will throws a pillow at Dustin, pulling Mike back to him and planting an open-mouthed kiss on Mike's lips. 

"I literally love you." Will says.

"I love you too."

And then Dustin throws the pillow back at them before screaming at the top of his lungs "MIKE AND WILL ARE ENGAGED!" Oh god. 

Chapter Text

People come storming into the room, all yelling, words blending together, but one voice rises above the rest. Max Mayfield is screaming "I CALL BEING MAID OF HONOR!!" 

"We aren't getting married!" Mike shouts over the din. 

Max deflates but Eddie, Steve and Nancy sigh in relief. 

"Thank god. You are much too young to get married." Nancy exclaims.  

Steve pulls Dustin towards him and smacks him lightly over the head. 

"Why would you scare us like that?" Steve admonishes. 

"You weren't here! They were saying all this lovey dove shit. It was all 'I wanna be with you forever' 'I can't wait to marry you one day' 'I wanna be your husband'. Like, how is that not proposing to each other?" Dustin yells. 

"Um, very easily." Steve shoots back.

"I do wish I could just marry you already." Mike whispers, pressing a gentle kiss right under Will's ear. 

"No!" Steve screams. "No marrying each other! You're too young!" 

Both Will and Mike roll their eyes. 

"Can you just leave now? I wanna cuddle with my boyfriend." Will says.

Nancy comes over and throws the blankets off of them. 

"No! There is, um, so much stuff that is happening with you to right now and the whole idea of you two proposing to each other has made me grow grey hairs. So out of bed, the two of you."

"Nooooo!" Will whines as Mike is being dragged away from him. 

"Bring me back my boyfriend!" Mike is screaming. 

But everyone is pulling them away from each other. And all Will wants is to be back in Mike's arms. As stupid as it is, Will is beginning to feel tears come to his eyes. He tries his best to hold them back but they seem to come despite himself. A single tear drips down his cheek and he tries desperately to stop any more from escaping, but some still do. And then the hands are pulling away from him, no doubt feeling the wet drip of Will's tears. 

"M-m-Mike?" Will whimpers out. 

Mike pushes everyone else's hands off him, immediately scrambling over to his boyfriend. 

"I'm sorry," Will cries out, throwing himself into Mike's arms. "I'm so pathetic."

"No, no you aren't baby."

He's crying into Mike's arms, feeling every bit a baby. And he can feel everyone's eyes on him. 

"Make them go away." He whispers into Mike's ear. 

"What?"

"Just, please make them go away. Everyone is staring at me. I know they are."

Instead of saying 'No one is staring at you', like most people would say, Mike just nods and whispers to Will not to worry, that he'll be right back. Will whimpers at the loss but a part of him knows that is everything is going to be okay. There is some light murmuring and then a door shuts and Mike is back at Will's side again. He scoops the boy up, carrying him to the bed. 

"Will, I need you to talk to me. What just happened?" Mike asks. 

"I-I don't know. It just, everything was, was somehow too much, I guess. I don't know why I reacted like that, I don't know why I cried. I just, I don't know what's wrong with me." Will says. 

"Nothing is-" Mike begins to say, but Will cuts him off. 

"Mike, as much as I appreciate that, we both know that is wrong. Something is wrong with me. I wish I could say that everything is fine and that I am completely fine but that is complete bullshit. I haven't been okay since the Upside Down. Actually, I'm not sure if I have ever been okay to be completely honest. So I don't know what the actual hell is wrong with me."

"Well, I'm sorry for whatever is wrong with you." Mike says, obviously not fully meaning it. "But I just want you to know that I love you anyways." And Will can tell with complete certainty that Mike means this. "I don't know when I am going to be able to get it through that thick, gorgeous head of yours, but whatever "flaws"' Mike heavily air quotes the 'flaws' part "you think that you have, that make you unlovable or some shit, it makes you more lovable. You are some many different things, you've been through so many things and you are so strong. Okay? It makes you completely and utterly lovable. Especially to me."

Mike punctuates it with a gentle kiss to Will's nose. 

"Sometimes," Will beings. "Sometimes, I just lose it. It's little things, and sometimes there are legitimate triggers for it, but sometimes, it just makes no sense. I'm fine one minute and the next thing I know, I am on the floor sobbing and it feels lie someone is clutching at my chest. Like complete, total, panic. And everything, everything hurts me. Physically, and emotionally."

"Oh Will." Mike just says with a sigh. "Is there anything that makes it all better?" 

"Yeah. You."

Mike tries extremely, extremely hard to keep the smile off his face because this is a serious situation, but the fact that he is the thing that makes Will feel better brings a small smile on his face. 

"Okay. How about any time that you are feeling that way, that panicky way, you come to me, and I'll hold you or do whatever I can to make it better. Does that work?"

"Yeah. That works."

That sit in silence for a few moments, Will glowering in his guilt. 

“I’m sorry that I am being so much work.” He finally says. 

“You don’t need to apologize.” Mike says. 

“But I do.” Will says. “Look, our relationship already has enough difficulties with, you know. And instead of actually being able to enjoy ourselves, and our relationship now that we have finally admitted things to each other and finally figured things out, and I am just making things harder by being so, so-“ Will doesn’t get to finish his sentence. 

“Will,  how many times do you need me to tell you that no matter what you think about yourself, no matter if ou think that you are a burden or some shit, you aren’t. I love all of you? Okay?”

”Okay.” Will whispers.

Mike isn’t really sure if he believes him. 

They go downstairs, to find the rest of the group huddled around a walkie talkie. 

“What‘s going on?” Mike asks, his arm firmly around Will. 

“Shhh!” Everyone hisses at him. 

They scramble down the stairs, meeting the rest of the group. And that’s when they hear it. 

“Michael I swear to go if you don’t pick up this radio we are going to kill you!” Ted is yelling over the phone. 

“Oh great.” Mike sighs. 

His parents don’t seem to understand how the on and off portion of the radio works, and they can still here their entire conversation. 

“You can’t threaten him like that. We want him to come home, don’t we?” Karen is saying. 

“Well, yeah. I guess.”

”You guess!” Mike’s mom screeches. “Ted how could you say that about our son.”

”What, do we even really know him?”

”Yes, we know him. He’s our son.”

”Maybe Byers changed him. You know they always have said that he’s a queer.”

”Ted!” 

Will reaches forward and slams down the receiver of radio, unwilling to hear anymore. 

“See!” He says, brandishing his arms exasperatedly. “You parent’s think that I did this to you?”

”Well, you definitely did something to him.” Eddie says with a small laugh, gesturing at the hickey Will had left on Mike’s neck.

”This isn’t funny!!” Will snaps, and the entire group flinches back.

He runs his hands through his hair, trying to take deep, calming breaths. It takes him a few moments to calm himself down, to be able to think rationally about what is happening. 

"I'm sorry." He says. "I knew that this would happen, or something like it at least, but, it's still kind of hard to hear."

"It's okay."

"What happens if you can't go home? What are we going to do?" Will asks. 

"I don't know. I guess, um, I just find some other place to live or something. Maybe, um, get my own place?"

"Um, no offense, but with what money?" Steve asks. 

"Right. Um, I'll, I'll figure something out. You don't need to worry about me."

"Of course I need to worry about you. Mike, if you don't have anywhere to live because of our relationship, god, I don't know what to do. If you parents kick you out, I promise I'll figure out a place for you."

"What if your mom kicks you out?" 

"Then, you guys can live with me." Robin supplies. 

"What?"

"Look, my parents both know that I'm gay and neither of them really care about it. They love me the same and my dad and I weirdly bond over women in movies that are hot and my mom always asks me if there are any girls I have a crush on and they are just really great about it. So I promise you that if both of your parents kick you out, or if just one of your parents kick you out, I will make that you guys have a roof over your head."

Steve is looking at her, doe eyed and prideful. 

"God, if you weren't gay I would so date you." Steve says with a small laugh. Robin laughs with him. 

"Thanks, Robin. You are legitimately one of the best people that I have ever met." Mike says with a smile. 

And in the end, both Will and Mike know that at least one of them is going to have to take Robin up on her offer. 

Chapter Text

They spend a few days in their hideaway house together, but eventually, they know that they need to figure out what they are going to do. After breakfast, Nancy drives Mike and Will home. The two of them clutch fearfully to each other in the back of the car, anxious for what is about to happen. It is almost as though they have switched places. Mike is shaking nearly uncontrollably, but Will is being steady and strong. They pull into the Wheeler driveway and as soon as Nancy stops the car, Mrs. Wheeler is standing at the front door. 

Nancy steps out of the car and she tells Mike and Will to stay in the car, and they happily oblige. She walks up to her mom, who instead of yelling or doing what they would expect, she throws her arms around Nancy and hugs her tightly. They talk tensely for a moment before Nancy gestures at Mike and Will. They step out of the car, hand in hand. 

"Oh baby." Mrs. Wheeler says. She runs towards them, pulling Mike away from Will and wrapping him in a tight hug. 

"Hi Mom."

"Where have you been?" Mrs. Wheeler asks.

"Um, I've been staying with a friend." He says with a whisper. 

His mom seems to recoil a little bit. Will knows what is coming before she even said it. 

"Is there any chance that this friend would let you stay for, um, a while?"

"You're kicking me out aren't you?" Mike says.

"Look, I-I don't want you baby. The fact that you are gay," she doesn't even hesitate on the word, or change her way of speaking, it just blends into the sentence, "The fact that you are gay doesn't make me love you any less and it doesn't make you any less of my soon. Okay? But, your father. I-he-" She cuts off. 

"Okay."

"I'm so sorry. I-I will pack up as much as you need, give you all of it, I'll make sure that you are okay. I promise. Your dad, he, he just can't find out, or he's going to be pissed. I'm sorry Michael. I wish there was some other way I could do this, some other way that this could be."

"It's okay Mom. I get it." Mike steps towards his mom and wraps his arms around her. 

"I love you Michael." 

"I love you too Mom." And it's weird, because Mike hasn't told his mom that he loves her in a while. It isn't that he doesn't but, well, he's a teenage boy and he's supposed to be annoyed with his parents, especially his mother. But he loves her, even more now that she doesn't care that he is gay. 

"I can stay with my friend. She figured something like this would happen, so, yeah."

"Oh, are we really that bad?" His mother asks sadly. 

"No, no. Not you specifically. Just like, people in general."

"Ah, yeah, that makes sense. Well, I love you and I am always here to help you."

"Thanks mom."

"Of course baby."

They left not long after that, with two suitcases of his things, mostly clothing, but some personal items as well. His mom helped him load it into the back of his car and kissed the top of his head, promising tearfully that she would see him as often as she possibly could. With Nancy's promise that she would be back as soon as possible, they pulled out of the driveway and began making their way to Will's house. 

Joyce was pacing on the porch, smoking her cigarette and running her hand through her hair. She ran towards them before Nancy had even stopped the car. Will jumps out of the car and finds his mom smothering him in a massive embrace. 

"Oh god. Will, you're okay."

Will realizes now, feeling positively terrible, that he just went missing on his mother, again. 

"Mom, I'm so so sorry."

"Oh, honey, it's okay. I know you weren't missing again, I was just scared for you."

"What?"

"You're one friend, Steve, he called me. Told me that you were there and that you were safe and that he would keep me updated. He called me this morning, telling me that I should probably be expecting you to come at some point today. He's a really sweet kid."

"Yeah. He is."

"He, however, wouldn't tell me why you weren't coming home. Said that was something that you should tell me yourself. However, I did get a very distressed call for Karen asking if I had seen Mike. Wait, I should probably go in to call her and tell her that I have."

"No, we were actually just there." Mike says.

"Oh, good. So..."

"I'm gay. We're gay," Will gestures to him and Mike. "And, um, Mike's parents kind of went a little bit crazy and, well, we just ran. Or drove. Away."

Joyce bites her lip before deciding what to say. 

"Will, I, I know that you are gay. Johnathan and I have always known. We just didn't want to say anything until you were ready. Mike, I can't say the same, however, you are still just the same to me."

"So, you-you still love me?"

"Of course honey." Joyce says, kissing her son's forehead. She gently releases Will from her arms, turning to Mike. "Do you have somewhere to stay?" She asks worriedly. 

"Yeah. Um, I staying with a friend."

"Okay." Joyce nods. "But you know that you can stay with us at any time. Okay?"

Mike nods. 

"Um, Mom, I'll be back later but, um, I should probably help Mike move in to our friends house." Will says awkwardly. 

"Alright sweetheart." His mother gives him another tight hug before letting him go. 

They drive for a little while before they realize that they actually don't know where Robin lives. So they go back to Steve's house, where everyone is waiting for them. They explain everything that had happened and Robin goes into big sister mode and pulls them to her tightly. And then she hops in the car with Nancy and directs her to the Buckley household. 

It's an average sized house, with red brick on the front and fading white siding. Pin-striped curtains could be seen through the windows and a woman and man are standing there, gazing out the window. Nancy parks in the driveway and they walk up to the door, Robin pulling out her key to unlock the house. 

"Robin? Where have you been!" The man, presumably her father, yells. 

"Sorry, I will explain everything later, but it was really important."

"Alright honey. And who is this?"

"Um, this is Nancy, Mike, and Will. I was hoping that Mike would be able to stay with us. His father kicked him out."

"Of course." Robin's mother responds easily. "Do you have your things Mike?"

"Yes, I do."

"Alright. Daryl, could you help them get that from the car?"

"Yes, of course darling. Is it in the trunk?"

"Yeah. I'll come out and help you," Nancy says, and Mr. Buckley and Nancy are out the door. 

"So, Mike, if you don't mind me asking, why were you kicked out?"

"My parents found out that Will and I are together."

"Ah. I see." Mrs. Buckley nods easily. "Well you can of course stay with us. I understand how difficult it can be."

"Thank you, so much." 

"Of course sweetheart." Then. "God, I just can't understand how someone could throw their child out of the house, especially for something as simple as who you love."

"My mother didn't want to, and she is going to try and visit me any time she can. It's just, um, my Dad. He kind of just controls her more than he really should." Mike says. 

Mrs. Buckley nods sincerely. 

"I'm sorry Mike. I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's okay. I'm just, a little, on edge."

She nods and then Nancy and Mr. Buckley are back with Mike's things. In two suitcases, it honestly makes his life look a little sad. They take him down the hallway to a room that looks as though no one has stayed in it for years. This is where he is going to be living. They strip the bed of its old sheets and put Mike's bedding on it. They hang all of his clothing up in the closet and he arranges everything on the dresser. 

"Now, Mike, we do have a few ground rules for you staying here." Mr. Buckley says. 

"Of course."

"Alright. Rule number 1 - If you could just tell us when you are going out, that would be wonderful. Just so we know. Rule 2 - Will is of course more than welcome to come over, but we would like to know before he comes over. And Rule 3 - just don't do anything stupid. That is about it." Mrs. Buckley says. 

"And, if you are interested in doing anything sexual with each other, that is perfectly natural, but just come to us first so we can make sure that you are being safe." Mr. Buckley doesn't even turn red when he says it, in fact, he says it as someone who be talking about a project for school. 

Will and Mike, and Robin for that matter, all turn bright red, but nod. Honestly, the Buckley's seem pretty amazing. 

"Thank you again for letting me stay." Mike says.

"Of course."

And then, hesitantly, "Can Will sleep over?"

"Yes."

And so Will does. The Buckley's give him the phone so he can call his mother, and then Mike and Will are in Mike's new bedroom, the door closed and laying on the bed. And the Buckley's don't seem to care that the door is closed. They cuddle together, Mike pressing slow kisses against Will's neck every once and a while. Will is whispering 'I love you's' every time Mike kisses him. They fall asleep that way. 

Chapter Text

Will woke up to find Mike staring at the ceiling. He runs a hand over his boyfriends face, bringing his attention to him. 

"Good morning baby," Mike says. 

"Are you okay?" Will responds in loo of any other response. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." 

"You're lying." Will responds easily. 

"Okay, I'm not fine, but I just have to accept that this is my life now. I have to live in someone else's house, I have to live without my parents, without my sisters. God, I didn't realize how much I was going to miss all of it."

"I'm so sorry." Will says. "I know that probably doesn't help."

"To be honest, it doesn't, but I appreciate it."

"Is there anything that I can do to make it better?"

"Um, I, is it okay if we spend a bit more time together? You are such a constant for my life, I really just need you with me. Is that okay?"

"Hmm," Will pretends to ponder while cuddling into Mike. "I suppose I could be persuaded into spending more time with my very hot boyfriend."

Mike giggles just a little bit. 

"Thank you."

"Of course. You've been with me through all of my meltdowns. I'm not just going to ditch you because you are feeling homesick because you got kicked out of your house because we are dating."

A knock comes at the door. 

"Can I come in?" Robin asks. 

"Yeah." Mike says. 

Robin comes in, carrying two plates. Each has waffles, bacon, and eggs on them. It looks mouth wateringly delicious. 

"My parents made you guys breakfast." She sets it down on their laps. 

"Thanks." The eat in an awkward silence, Robin still sitting there and just watching them. 

"Something to say?" Will asks through a mouthful of food. 

"Just, are you settling in okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's rough. But yeah, okay. I think."

"When you finish your breakfast, do you want to come out into the living room?"

They both nod and continue eating. Will leans into Mike as he shovels another bite of waffle into his mouth. When they finish up, the head out to the living room, where Robin is waiting. 

"Hi guys." Robin says. 

"Why does this sound serious?" Mike asks. 

"No, no, it isn't. I just, I was wondering if I could have your guys opinions on something." Despite her words, Will notices that Robin's hands are shaking. They sit down on the couch with each other, Will grabbing one of Robin's hands. 

"Are you doing all right?" He asks. 

"Um, I-I want to know if you guys could maybe try and help me to figure out whether a girl is, queer. I think that she might be, but I am honestly not really sure."

"I'm not sure we are the best people to help you with that. You realize that we didn't admit that we were in love with each other for years, right?"

"Yeah, but like, you still are queer people. So, can you just try? Please?"

"Okay." They both agree. 

"So, there is this girl. And she is really cute. And I think that she might be queer, but, like, she has had boyfriends in the past, which obviously isn't like a definitive way to determine whether someone is straight or not, but I have this feeling that she isn't straight, at least, not completely."

"And what has given you this impression?" Mike asks. 

"Well I sometimes catch her looking at me. And when I make really stupid jokes, even if they are sometimes to someone else, she'll laugh at them. And she doesn't like PDA with her boyfriend."

"Is that all?" Will asks. 

Mike elbows him in the ribs. 

"Sorry," Will whispers. 

"Well, the catching her looking at you could be a really good thing. I used to catch Will doing it with me all of the time. I thought he was just making sure I was still there or something, but, well, it obviously because of that."

"It partially was!" Will says indignantly, but he doesn't bother saying it convincingly. 

"It was cute. Don't worry." Mike says, pressing a gentle kiss against Will's cheeks. 

"Guuuyyysss!" Robin whines. "This is about my girl crush, not how adorable the two of you are."

"Right, sorry." Mike says, but he sneaks one more kiss on Will's cheek. 

"How do I know?" Robin asks. 

"I, um, well, the only way to really know is to tell them. Or if they tell you."

"But that's so annoying."

"Yeah. But, maybe, just, keep observing and tell us and maybe you guys will just be able to figure things out. I promise, we will try to help in any way that we can."

"Okay." Robin says, with a nod. 

Will found himself today, like many others days before. He was laying his bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was one of those days where nothing felt quite right to him. It was a day where he felt like he was going to wake up and realize that everything was a dream, that all he thought was real was just his imagination playing a trick on him. He couldn't really tell, like he was there but not really. It was like when he had been possessed by the Mind Flayer, except this time, he wasn't, he was just out of his body. 

He didn't understand why it happened, not really anyways. All of this just didn't really make any sense. Despite everything that had happened, and everything that had gone on in Will's life, but especially his own brain, he thought that he had made his way past some of these things that ruined him into this complete mess of a person. He thought that for once, despite the rest of the shit that had gone on in his life. All he wanted was for all of the messed up things in his head to go away, for him to be normal like literally every other person in the world. But that wasn't Will. And everyone knew that that wasn't Will, no matter how much he wished that he could be that person.

Will didn't even think to get out of bed, to even think that there was something that he was supposed to be doing, or to think that people might be worried. He just played in bed and stared up at the ceiling until someone burst through the door. 

"Oh thank god." It's Robin. "He's in here! He's fine!" She yells.

Will doesn't even move, just keep's staring up at the ceiling. Okay, this probably doesn't make it seem as though everything is okay, but Will can't seem to find any energy to move. So he just waits until Robin is standing right over him. 

"Will? You are okay right?" She asks, waving her hand across his face. 

"Yeah. I'm fine." He says, but he knows that he isn't anywhere close to convincing.

He hears other footsteps coming closer and he tenses up. 

"No. No one else." 

"Okay. Just give me a second." Robin disappears, exchanging muffled voices and then closing the door. "What's going on?"

Will pushes back against the bed, trying to push himself up. He struggles a little, his body almost confused at his request to now move it, but he finally gets himself sat up against the pillows. 

"I'm just having an off day." 

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"This probably isn't going make any sense, but sometimes I just feel like I am out of my own body. Like, everything around me is happening and I'm there, but my brain isn't? I don't know if they told you about when I got possessed by the Mind Flayer but I was in my own body watching everything happen, but I wasn't really there, the Mind Flayer was there. He had total control. Except with this, I am here and I have control but I feel like I am watching my life happen, like I am watching my life happen. Or like it is a Tv show that is going to end at any second."

"That, um, well, that doesn't really make complete sense but I think that I am mostly on the same page with you. Is this about you and Mike?"

"What do you mean?" Will says, trying and failing to play coy.

"Will, you said that some of your life feels like a Tv that is about to end. Is it your life, or your relationship with Mike? That you think everything is going to end?"

He hangs his head.

"What if one day Mike wakes up and realizes that he doesn't want to be with me? That I have ruined his life or that I am too much drama or-or that I am too messed up? What if he breaks up with me?"

"Okay Will, I'm going to be completely honest with you, I can't tell you that one day you and Mike won't break up. I can't promise you anything, no one can, and that really, really sucks, but Will, you can't constantly live in fear that something bad is going to happen, that your relationship with Mike is going to end. Because maybe it will, but maybe it won't? And how are you supposed to enjoy the moments if you are always worried that everything is going to end. You just need to let it play out."

"But-" He starts.

"No but's!" Robin snaps. 

"Fine." He whimpers. 

"I'm letting Mike in." She says. Will just nods his head and lets her.

And in comes Mike, looking as worried as ever. He comes to the bed, sitting down right next to him and stroking his hair. 

"Talk to me sweetheart."