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the first rule.
It’s a rainy day in early November when the party’s first rule is born.
They’re not even the party yet—no, that won’t come for a few more years. Right now, they’re just Mike and Will… Will and Mike. Two boys who have been best friends since the first day of kindergarten, nearly three months ago. Two boys who don’t have anyone else at school but who don’t care, so long as they have each other.
“Mike!” The familiar sound of his mother’s voice snaps Mike out of his thoughts, and he looks up from his comic book. “Will’s here, sweetheart!”
With a bright smile, Mike jumps off the couch and runs upstairs, nearly colliding with his best friend. “Will!” Mike says excitedly, throwing his arms around the other boy. “ Finally! I had the best idea for a new comic today, and I was thinking we could work on it this weekend, huh?”
Will just gives him a tiny smile; he nods slightly. “Yeah,” he says, his voice soft. “Yeah, that sounds like fun.”
Mike’s brow furrows, and he puts his arm around Will’s shoulder, walking with him down the steps. “Hey, are you okay? What’s going on?”
“I’m fine,” Will reassures, but his voice is shaky. He tries for another smile, and Mike’s brow furrows. “I’m fine.”
“Will,” Mike says softly, pulling his best friend to the couch with him. “Will? Talk to me… Did something happen? Do you want me to get my mom? Please, Will… What’s wrong?”
Will sniffles, and he ducks his head, looking away from Mike. He mumbles something—so quiet that Mike can’t even understand what he’s saying—and Mike’s brow furrows.
“Huh?” Mike tilts his head. “Will, what’d you say?”
Finally, Will looks back up at him. There are tears in his eyes, and his face is blotchy. “Do you actually want to be my friend?” he asks, his voice small.
Mike just blinks, staring at his best friend in complete shock. “Wait, what? Of course, I do! Will, you’re my best friend in the entire world! Why would you think I wouldn’t wanna be your friend?”
Will’s bottom lip trembles, and he shakes his head. “I… I don’t know,” he whispers back. “My… my dad—”
“Your dad?” Mike echoes, and he scowls, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. He’s only met Mr. Byers a handful of times, but Mike hates him. He’s nothing but a jerk to Will and to Will’s older brother, Jonathan, and sometimes, Mike wishes he could just punch Mr. Byers in the face. “Your dad told you I didn’t want to be your friend, Will?”
A broken look crosses Will’s face; he nods, ever so slightly. “Yeah,” he says, his voice impossibly soft. “He says that you… that you’re just lying because you feel sorry for me.”
“Yeah, well, he’s lying,” Mike spits out. He stands to his feet and paces back and forth around the basement, throwing his hands up in frustration. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Will! You’re my best friend in the entire world, and nothing’s ever gonna change that! Nothing’s ever gonna ruin our friendship!”
Will just stares at him with wide, still teary eyes, but this time, he looks hopeful. “You… you really mean that?”
Mike just stops in his tracks, before walking to sit back down next to his best friend. “Of course, I do,” he says genuinely. “And I would never lie about this. Friends don’t lie , Will. I would never lie you.”
“You promise?” Will asks, a slow smile forming on his face.
“I promise,” Mike says, and he pulls the other boy into a hug. “That’ll be our new rule. Friends don’t lie. We tell each other the truth, no matter what. Okay? That way… that way, we can always trust each other.”
“Yeah.” Will smiles again, and he nods, hugging Mike back. “I like that rule! Friends don’t lie.”
“Cool,” Mike says with a smile. “Now, come on. I’ve gotta tell you about this comic idea I had!”
the first break.
Things are different now, and Mike doesn’t know how to fix them.
All he knows is that Will is different, and honestly, Mike can’t blame him. All of them are different now, but Will, more than any of them, has changed. And despite how hard Mike tries to break down the walls that his best friend has put up, he just can’t quite figure out how to.
Nancy says he just needs time. Apparently, she has told Jonathan the same thing. They’re friends now, Mike supposes, but he’s almost certain his sister and Jonathan will end up being something more. It’s a sweet enough thought, but then again, that would make Will like his brother (sort of, at least)... and Mike’s not sure what to think of that.
Oh well. Nancy is still dating Steve anyway. He’s better than he used to be, and so is Nancy. She’s nicer to Mike now after this whole Upside Down mess, and she even lets Mike vent to her about how much Will has pulled away from him. There’s not really anyone else that Mike can talk to—since Lucas and Dustin just don’t get it—so Nancy is the best he has to work with right now.
“Just give him time,” Nancy always says. “And be there for him. You’re his best friend. He’ll come around soon.”
Finally, on a snowy day in the middle of January, the break happens.
Hawkins Middle School calls a snow day late on Sunday evening, and both Mike and Will cheer as the local news makes the announcement of the school closures. A quick phone call to Mike’s parents ensures he can spend the night at the Byers’ house until the roads clear up, and Mrs. Byers lets them stay up a few more hours before insisting they go to bed.
It’s a little past midnight when Mike and Will both shuffle into his room, and Mike begins to set up the sleeping bag on Will’s floor, the way he’s done hundreds of times in the past.
“Hey, Mike?” Will says quietly.
Mike glances up, offering his best friend a smile. “Yeah?”
There’s a hesitant, embarrassed look on Will’s face. “Do you… do you mind if we keep the lights on?” Will whispers, his eyes darting around the room. “I just… I don’t… I can’t…”
A dark reflection, or an echo of our world, Mike recalls himself saying to Lucas and Dustin, just a couple months ago. It is a place of decay and death.
“Yeah, of course, Will,” Mike says with another smile. Anything that he can do to help make Will feel better, he’ll do it. “It doesn’t bother me.”
Relief spreads across Will’s face, and he nods, climbing into bed. “Thanks, Mike,” he says quietly. “Goodnight.”
“Night, Will,” Mike replies, and he pulls the blankets around himself, closing his eyes.
There’s silence in Will’s room. But then, barely a few moments later, Will whispers, “It was so dark there.”
“Yeah?” Mike whispers back, turning to face his best friend.
Will’s eyes are trained on the ceiling above him, but even at this angle, Mike can see the tears forming in his eyes. “It was so dark,” Will repeats, his voice trembling. “A-and… and so cold , Mike. And it… it was like, no… no matter where I hid, someone… something was watching me.”
A small hiccup escapes Will’s mouth, and he turns to face Mike, a guilty expression on his face. “I… I didn’t want to lie to you,” he whispers. “I-I just… I don’t want to think about that place, or-or what happened there, or anything, because I’m just scared, a-and—”
“Will, hey.” Mike sits up, crawling over to the edge of the bed, and he reaches for his best friend’s hand. “Hey. Just because you haven’t been able to talk about that place yet doesn’t mean you were lying to me, or-or to Lucas or Dustin! We know you weren’t lying, Will. I know you weren’t lying. And you don’t… you don’t have to talk about this if you’re not ready yet. It’s okay, Will. It’s okay.”
Tears roll down Will’s cheeks, and he holds onto Mike’s hand like it’s some kind of lifeline. “I’m still so scared,” he whispers, his voice cracking. “I’m so scared, Mike, a-and I can’t sleep because it’s like I’m back there… A-and sometimes, even when I’m awake, it’s like I’m there again, and I just… I’m so tired, and I’m so, so scared.”
“Will…” Mike stands, climbing up onto his best friend’s bed, and he pulls Will into a tight hug, holding the other boy close. “Shh, shh… It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.”
Will just folds into Mike’s embrace, and finally, finally, Mike sees the walls begin to break down. All at once, Will’s walls crumble right before Mike’s very eyes, and he lets Mike in.
And God, Mike doesn’t have all the answers, or any answers really. He doesn’t know how to fix this for Will or how to help him or anything that might be remotely useful. But he does know one thing for certain: Mike will always be there for his best friend no matter what.
“I’m here, Will,” Mike whispers, and he closes his eyes, hugging Will tighter. “I’m here.”
the first realization.
Mike hates change.
He hates it, just as much as he hates the assholes from Hawkins Lab who robbed El of a childhood, or the Russians who managed to infiltrate his hometown and nearly destroy the world, or every single goddamn monster of the Upside Down that has made it their personal mission to make Mike and his friends’ lives a waking nightmare. He hates change. He always has, and no matter how hard he might try and pretend that change doesn’t bother him, Mike is more certain than ever that he’ll always hate change.
It’s something he and Will have in common.
And so of course, that makes saying goodbye hurt so, so much more.
The Byers’ last day in Hawkins feels a bit like a fever dream. Mike wakes up well before his alarm clock that day, and he wanders into Nancy’s bedroom. The two of them leave early that morning for the Byers’ home. For the first couple hours, it’s just the six of them—the Wheelers, the Byers, and El. Clearly, Mike has nothing against Lucas, Dustin, and Max, but he’s grateful for those few hours.
All he wants is to be able to soak up every last moment in this house—this place which has become like a second home to Mike, this place where Mike has learned so much about himself and about Will and about the world at large… this place that Mike just isn’t ready to say goodbye to just yet.
He doesn’t cry throughout the day. Not as he helps Will sort through his old things—through memories and mementos and pieces of their childhood—and not as he carefully packs away the last remnants of the life they shared together in Hawkins.
Please don’t forget about me, Mike wants to say, as he watches Will carefully pack his art supplies into another box. Maybe if Mike were braver, he’d say it out loud. But his throat feels like it’s closing up, and his heart is pounding inside his chest, and he can hardly breathe, let alone even speak—
(Mike hates change. He really, really does.)
After Max, Dustin, and Lucas show up, things begin to move along much faster. One by one, the boxes are packed, and they are brought out and stacked in the Byers’ rented Uhaul. Slowly but surely, this house full of so many memories—both good and bad—becomes emptier and emptier, and with it, Mike’s heart does the same.
Eventually, only a few boxes remain, and Mike pauses in the living room, just trying to breathe for a moment. Maybe if he just stands here frozen, time will stay frozen. Maybe if he stops, everything else will stop too. Maybe if he doesn’t change, nothing else will change either.
Someone walks back into the living room, and Mike glances up, watching as Will walks over to a donation box, his old D&D board game and books in hand. His best friend carefully places the items in the box, and Mike’s heart nearly stutters to a stop.
“Whoa, dude,” Mike says quickly, and Will stops, looking up at him in confusion. “That’s the donation box.”
“I know,” Will says with a slight nod. “I’ll just… use yours when I come back. I mean, if we… still wanna play.”
There’s a hesitancy in his voice, as if he’s testing out the waters of their friendship again. It’s been like this for the past few months—since their fight on that rainy day in July, actually. Sometimes, the two of them are alright, but other times, it’s as if they don’t quite know how to be around each other anymore.
Mike hates it. He hates the fact that his friendship with Will has changed so much, hates the fact that he and Will have drifted apart even though they promised they never would, and hates the fact that by the end of the day he might just lose Will for good. He hates all of it.
“Yeah, but… what if you want to join another party?” Mike asks quietly, and he looks up, meeting his best friend’s eyes. There’s so much more he wants to ask, like: What if you find other friends? What if you find a new best friend? What if you replace me? What if you forget about me? What if I lose you? But he just can’t find the courage to.
A small but genuine and oh so Will smile forms on his best friend’s face, and Will just shakes his head. “Not possible,” he says softly, except Mike knows Will, just like Will knows Mike. And just like how Will was able to see right through Mike’s question and know the truth of what Mike was actually trying to say, Mike knows exactly what Will is saying in return.
Not possible—it’s the simple yet still perfect response to all of Mike’s hidden fears. No, Will won’t replace him or forget about him. No, Mike will not lose him.
Mike smiles to himself as Will walks away, and he glances down at the donation box, doing his best to ignore the fluttery feeling inside of his stomach. He’s not quite sure why he’s feeling like this, especially around Will. The only other time that he’s felt like this was when…
No.
No. No way.
Mike swallows the lump in his throat, and he sets down the masking tape, pushing those thoughts out of his mind. No, he’s not even going to entertain those thoughts. Maybe he’s just feeling weird right now because he knows he’s going to miss Will and El. It’s nothing. All of this is nothing, and Mike has more important things to deal with—like finding El and spending time with her while he can. Yeah. That’s what he needs to focus on.
With another deep breath, Mike walks down the familiar hallway of the Byers’ home, peeking his head into the various empty rooms. He finally finds El in Will’s old bedroom, her hand outstretched towards the open closet. After a few moments, she lowers her hand, staring at the closet in frustration, and Mike’s heart clenches inside his chest.
“They’ll come back,” he reassures, walking into the room and reaching up to grab the item—Will’s old stuffed bear—from the closet. “I know they will.”
El just smiles back, and she takes the stuffed bear into her arms. “Thanks.”
“You packed your walkie, right?” Mike asks with a smile.
Once again, his girlfriend just gives him a little smile in return. “Yes.”
“Because you know that I’m gonna steal Cerebro from Dustin and call you so much you’re gonna have to turn it off, right?” Mike says, and he’s only half kidding. Between calling both El and Will, he’s going to be spending so much time on his walkie and on the phone. Long distance relationships just suck.
El laughs quietly, and the two of them exchange a small, somewhat awkward smile. Like with Will, Mike is… honestly still trying to figure out where he stands with El. Things are different now, but El’s also been through a lot. It makes sense that things are different, and surely, they’ll get better eventually.
“Did you talk to your mom?” El asks, snapping Mike out of his thoughts. “About Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah.” Mike nods quickly. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got the okay. I’ll be there. And then I was thinking you could come up here for Christmas… and Will too! You can come before or after Christmas, or whatever Mrs. Byers wants, but I was thinking Christmas Day could be super fun because we’d all have cool new presents to play with, and uh…”
Mike’s voice trails off. He’s suddenly so much more aware of how stupid and childish he sounds, and he forces a weak laugh. “Sorry, that made me… sound like a seven year-old.”
El gives him another awkward smile. “I like presents too,” she reassures, and God, why is this so damn difficult?
“Yeah, cool, yeah,” Mike says with a forced smile. “I, ah… I like presents too.”
She definitely just said that, Wheeler, Mike thinks to himself, and he fights the urge to walk into the closet and smack his head against the wall.
“Cool,” El says awkwardly. With another forced smile, she walks past Mike, and Mike nearly breathes a sigh of relief. He shouldn’t feel this awkward and uncomfortable around his girlfriend, right? It’s been months since he and El fixed things after their big fight, so why are things still so different and weird ? Why does Mike feel so weird?
“Mike?”
Mike turns around, his brow furrowed. “Yeah?”
El shifts, giving him an uncertain and shy look. “Remember that day… at the cabin… you were talking to Max?”
The cabin?
“I… I don’t think I follow,” Mike says, giving her a confused look.
“You… talked about your feelings,” El explains. “About your heart.”
“Because I love her and I don’t want to lose her!”
Shit.
“Oh, oh !” Mike feels like he’s scrambling, and his heart pounds rapidly inside his chest. “Oh, yeah, that… Man, that… was so long ago. Um… yeah, it was real heat of the moment stuff, and we were arguing… And I don’t really remember… What did I say exactly?”
“Mike.” El’s voice is soft, and she walks back over to him, a small smile on her face. She places her hand gently on Mike’s face and steps so close that Mike’s certain she’ll hear the nervous thump thump thump of his heart. “I love you too.”
Then, El is kissing him, which is completely normal because they’re literally dating, but Mike… Mike just stands there. Once again, he feels completely frozen in place, and all he can do is stand with his eyes wide open as his girlfriend kisses him.
“What if you want to join another party?”
“Not possible.”
Oh God, Mike thinks to himself. There’s nothing—no spark, no fluttery feeling in his stomach… nothing but dread in his heart as El kisses him. El, his girlfriend , admits her love for him, and Mike…
Mike can only think about his best friend.
Oh God, Mike thinks again, even as El pulls away and gives him another smile. Oh no.
(Mike hates change.
But he thinks he might hate this change the most.)
the first lie.
Will breaks their rule.
Will breaks their rule.
The party’s number one rule, known to every single member of their little group of six, has always been and will always be that friends don’t lie . From the very first time that Mike and Will made the promise to one another, to the all the times when Mike and Lucas and Dustin had to remind to each other of this trust and this honor code, to teaching El what friendship and love looks like, to bringing Max into the mess of the Upside Down by sharing the truth with her… The foundation of the most important relationships in Mike’s life is this simple rule. Friends don’t lie.
Will breaks their rule.
But Mike breaks it first.
Because if lying by omission counts, then Mike Wheeler is just as much a liar as Will Byers is. If lying by omission is considered a lie, then Mike has been lying to Will, to El, and to himself since that day, standing in Will’s old bedroom and coming to the best and worst realization of his life.
See, the reality is that Mike has been running since that day. Running from the one thing that used to be the foundation of everything important to him. Running from the truth and from trust and instead hiding from himself, from his friends, from everyone he loves. Because if he continues to run and continues to hide, then… then that realization can’t be true, right? Maybe… maybe if he just continues to pretend, it will all go away.
His feelings for Will eventually will go away.
It doesn’t work though. And California only makes it so much worse, because Will is right there—God, he’s right there in front of Mike’s very eyes for the first time in months. And all Mike wants to do is hold him and pull him close and never let him go, because the past several months have been nothing short of miserable without Will.
Going to California simultaneously feels like coming home but not being allowed in the front door. It feels like coming up for a breath of air but immediately being thrown back underwater. It feels like safety and security and an intimacy that Mike has missed so badly, dangled right in front of his hands and then ripped away at the last moment.
Because Will breaks their rule.
Will lies to him.
Will never lies to Mike.
And so when the words tumble out of his best friend’s mouth—when the lies tumble out of his best friend’s mouth—they hurt. They hurt because there is so much truth in Will’s words, but they are all wrapped up—nice and perfect like a little bow made out of lies.
Will speaks the truth to Mike, and it’s… everything that Mike has ever wanted to hear. It’s what Mike tries so hard not to want even though he catches himself late at night thinking about it.
Will says things like, “These past few months, she’s been so lost without you.”
(These past few months, I’ve been so lost without you.)
And things like, “If she was mean to you or pushing you away, it’s because she’s scared of losing you, like you’re scared of losing her.”
(If I was mean to you or pushing you away, it’s because I’m scared of losing you, like you’re scared of losing me.)
And, “So yeah, El needs you Mike. And she always will.”
(So yeah, I need you, Mike. And I always will.)
Will lies to him, but he also tells Mike the truth. And… and God, he has to know that Mike can see the truth, right? Surely, Will knows. They have always been able to see right through one another. Always. And yeah, maybe they have drifted apart over the past few months, largely because of how much of an idiot Mike has been, but doesn’t Will’s speech just confirm all of Mike’s suspicions and hopes and fears? That their relationship is different and that… that maybe, Mike isn’t the only one who has noticed this. Surely… surely, Will must know that Mike can see the truth, right?
But then Will turns away from him, his entire body tense, and Mike watches out of the corner of his eye as Will begins to cry, doing everything in his power to stay quiet. Mike’s heart feels like it has shattered into a million tiny little pieces, and he can’t breathe.
Just do something, a voice in the back of his mind shouts. Will needs you, so do something!
But Mike feels frozen in place, just like that day standing with El in the Byers’ old house. It’s as if his body and mind have both stopped working, and all he can do is sit there, completely useless and unable to do anything but listen to his best friend—the boy he… he might just love—cry.
I need you too, Mike thinks to himself, and God, how he wishes he could say it. How he wishes he wasn’t so afraid, wasn’t such a coward, wasn’t so insecure in who he was. He wishes he could be braver, like Will. Because even though Will has to lie to speak the truth, at least he still says it. Whereas Mike? Mike just… runs and hides and pretends like there is nothing wrong.
Will has broken their rule.
But Mike has too.
And now, a wall of their own making has been put up between the two of them, built on a foundation of fear and lies, instead of truth and love.
I’m sorry, Mike thinks, and he dares to glance over at Will. Hot, salty tears sting his own eyes, and he looks away quickly. I’m so sorry.
the first i love you.
It’s a rainy day in early November when Mike finally admits the truth.
It doesn’t come at some high, climatic point of the battle, or in the heat of the moment circumstance. No one pushes him to say it, and no external source forces him into action, the way something always does.
No, this time, Mike Wheeler willingly chooses the truth and chooses to step into the light.
It happens after the battle is finally won and after Hawkins is finally freed from the evils of the Upside Down. In the end, Eleven does it. Mike's best friend—his hero—saves them all.
But she doesn’t do it alone.
No, in the end, it’s El and Will that save them all, and Mike watches in awe as the two of them stand in the center of all the chaos, making the final stand against Vecna and the Mind Flayer and all the evil of the Upside Down. He watches as the darkness of the Upside Down is quite literally overcome by the light coming from El and Will’s combined powers. Every single light in Hawkins—the street lamps, headlights on cars, even their flashlights—glows brighter and brighter until the death and decay and darkness of the Upside Down is swallowed whole.
Mike only looks away at the last moment, and only because he absolutely has to, lest the light blind him. But for as long as he can, he stares at the source of the light—or rather, at Will.
Beautiful, Mike thinks.
Then, for the first time, he lets himself think those three simple words:
I love you.
Once all the lights dim and Mike can finally open his eyes, he finds himself staring at Hawkins—the real Hawkins. It’s still destroyed and crumbling, and some of it is still on fire. But it’s Hawkins. The Hawkins that Mike knows and loves.
Thunder rolls overhead, and Mike tenses, expecting to see the Upside Down’s storm, with its red lightning strikes and its nearly pitch black clouds. But instead, he only sees gray storm clouds rolling in and a familiar and wonderfully normal strike of white lightning.
“El!” Mike glances up as both Hopper and Joyce run towards the center of Hawkins, right where the gate used to be. “Will!”
Both El and Will have collapsed from the overuse of powers, and for a brief moment, Mike’s heart stops. No, he thinks to himself. No, he can’t lose them—either of them. No, they have to be alright; they just have to.
His legs begin working before his brain can catch up, and the next thing Mike knows, he’s kneeling down in the rubble next to Joyce and Will. “Will?” Mike whispers. “Will, hey… hey, come on… Will!”
A small groan escapes his best friend’s lips, and Mike nearly bursts into tears of relief. “Mike?” Will mumbles, blinking weakly and looking around. “Mom?”
“We’re here, sweetheart,” Joyce whispers, and she hugs Will close. “We’re both here.”
Though he still looks out of it, Will wraps his arms around his mom, leaning into the embrace. Above them, lightning strikes again, and Mike glances up, just as the sky opens up and begins to pour on them.
It’s the first rain Hawkins has had since all of this began, and Mike just laughs, holding out his hand to catch the little rain droplets. It’s just one of the first signs of life returning back to Hawkins, and this time, Mike knows in his heart that the Upside Down is gone for good.
“You did it,” Mike whispers, though he’s not even sure if El or Will are even listening. “You did it.”
Joyce pulls away from Will and gives Mike a small smile. “I’m going to go check on your sister,” she whispers, and she kisses Will’s forehead one last time before standing and hurrying over to El.
As soon as they’re alone, Will turns to Mike, a hesitant and shy smile on his face. “I can’t feel him anymore,” Will whispers, clearly relieved. “I… it’s over, Mike. I think it’s really over.”
Mike just smiles widely in response, and he throws his arms around his best friend, holding him close. “You’re incredible,” he murmurs. “You’re incredible, Will.”
Will laughs softly, and he wraps his arms around Mike and buries his head into Mike’s shoulder. “El did most of the work,” he replies. “I was just there as support.”
“No, no… that’s not what I meant,” Mike says softly, pulling back just enough to look Will in the eye. “That’s not… that’s not what I meant.”
Will’s brow furrows. “What did you mean?”
“I…” Mike swallows the lump in his throat, and for a moment that somehow also feels like an eternity, he and Will just sit there, eyes locked on one another.
I love you, Mike thinks again.
The next thing he knows, his lips are crashing into Will’s, and he holds Will’s face gently, pouring every ounce of love and trust and truth into the kiss that he can. For a brief moment, Will tenses, clearly caught off guard by Mike’s kiss, but then he leans in, kissing Mike back with just as much fervor.
It’s exhilarating and terrifying all at once. It feels like coming home, and it feels like a brand new adventure. Somehow, it is entirely new but also entirely familiar , as if the two of them were always meant to be.
“I love you,” Mike says breathlessly, the moment he and Will pull away. “I… I think… I know I’ve always loved you. Deep down… I’ve always loved you, even if I didn’t realize it yet. I’ve loved you since the first day that I saw you, sitting all alone on that swingset, and since the very first moment we became friends in kindergarten. I… I’ve said it before, but asking you to be my friend was the best thing I have ever done.”
Mike laughs weakly, and he blinks back the tears in his eyes, offering Will a shy smile. “And I… I know I’m an idiot sometimes, Will, and I don’t… I don’t know how to tell people how I really feel… And for so, so long, I’ve been pretending and… and hiding because of how scared I was… how scared I still am to lose you, because honestly? All the times I… I’ve almost lost you? Those have been the most terrifying moments of my entire life, and I think that the worst thing that could happen to me is losing you, Will.”
“But I’m tired,” Mike whispers, looking back at Will. “I’m tired of pretending and… and of being scared of what people will think… or of what might happen if… if I let myself admit the truth… I love you. I know that, and no matter how scared I was to accept it and… and accept myself , it’s always been you, Will. It’ll always be you.”
Will’s eyes are shining with tears, and he has the world’s biggest smile on his face. “Mike,” he whispers back, leaning his forehead against Mike’s. “You utter sap.”
Mike just bursts into laughter, and Will joins in too until both of them are laughing so hard there are tears in their eyes. “Over ten years leading up to this, and that’s your response?” Mike whispers teasingly. “Really?”
“Oh, shut up,” Will laughs quietly, and he gives Mike a shyer smile now. “You really mean all that?”
“Of course, I do,” Mike says, offering Will an equally shy smile. “Friends don’t lie, right? But… I… I am sorry I didn’t say it sooner. I should’ve, Will. It… it probably would’ve saved us both some heartache.”
Once again, Will just laughs, and he leans forward, stealing a kiss from Mike. “Maybe,” he muses. “But all’s well that ends well, right?”
That familiar, fluttery feeling has returned in Mike’s stomach, and he can’t help the dopey grin that forms on his eyes. “Yeah,” he whispers back. “I think so.”
“I love you too, by the way,” Will adds softly, giving him the most tender, loving look that Mike has ever seen. “I always have.”
“And always will,” Mike finishes, his voice just as soft.
Will just smiles. “And always will,” he agrees, and he leans in close, closing the space between the two of them once more.
I love you, Mike thinks to himself once more, relaxing into their kiss. I love you.
And that is the truth.