Work Text:
'November 6th 1986 5:26 pm Hawkins, Indiana'
Silence enveloped the large group of people currently huddled up in Hopper’s Cabin, all party members (plus the adults, since Hopper and Murry were apparently insulted at being considered part of the party) were stationed around a large circular table, their very own “Round Table.” (Lucas insisted that they were all basically knights, they must’ve met the, “You must have almost died this many times,” requirement by now.) Admittedly they had stolen the table, it was far too fancy for any of them to afford, they nabbed it from an abandoned house.
Jonathon and Argyle had even taken the time to decorate the table by adding intricate carvings. They had carved the face of a compass into the top of the table, symbolic to the compasses that were affected by the Upside-Down’s electro-magnetic field. 8 chairs sat around the table, one for every labeled direction. No chair was the same, as they were also stolen from stores, abandoned houses, and front lawns. Meaning some were made of wood, others were fold-out chairs, and some were plastic lawn chairs they had "borrowed" from other people's yards.
The original party members took the main 4 directions; Will was North, Lucas was East, Mike was South, and Dustin was West. Four other members represented the in-between directions, those who had a chair at the table were required not be related (by blood which allowed El to have a seat since she was practically a Byers), something Dustin insisted on so that voting was spread out and fair.
The first to choose a spot was El, as she had been the earliest added party member, she sat herself at South-East, in between Lucas and Mike. Next up was Max, who sat at North-East, in between Will and Lucas. Steve was the next accepted party member who was unrelated to anyone else who was chosen, he sat at South-West in-between Mike and Dustin. Robin was the final member to be seated, so she defaulted to North-West, in between Will and Dustin. (Steve was originally going to sit there but Robin insisted she sit by Will, all it took to persuade Steve was THAT look and he was seated by Mike.)
Everyone else stood behind the chairs, those related to chair members stood behind their kin, (those were Dustin’s exact words.) So Joyce, Jonathon and Argyle (who really only was there because Jonathon was) stood near Will, Nancy by Mike, Erica by Lucas, and Hopper by El. The three remaining adults, Murry, Enzo, and Yuri, stood near Dustin as it was the only open spot (Murry and Enzo were still not trusting of Yuri and thus never let the man leave their sights.)
“Entry Log number, uh, two hundred and thirty seven. Today’s date is November 1986, it is currently 5:26 pm or 17:26. We are located in Hawkins Indiana.” In Dustin’s hand sat a small hand-held recorder that they had been using to track the days since Vecna’s attack, the day Hawkins was plunged into chaos. Other than the military they were the only people left in Hawkins, not that it was their choice. The government had made it very clear that they expected the party to deal with this problem, something they didn’t even cause, on their own. The military was only there to keep people out of Hawkins and keep them in.
“All in attendance when I state your group’s name and position please state your name.” It was the routine they had done many times over, every single day since they lost the battle. Dustin cleared his throat before calling out the first team, “Members of Research and Data Collection, AKA Scoops Troop, in attendance.” He paused before saying his own name, “Dustin Henderson.” The other three members followed in suit:
“Steve Harrington, Captain of Scoops Troop.”
“Robin Buckley.”
“Erica Sinclair.”
The Scoops Troop often split up what they researched: Dustin and Erica worked towards learning how to make acids and chemical weapons, Robin learned about the Human Psyche and Psychology, and Steve investigated the Creels, and started combining all known maps of any part of the upside down with maps of Hawkins.
Dustin nodded to his teammates in acknowledgement before he continued with attendance. “Members of Recon and Defense Squad A, AKA our very own Slay Squad, in attendance.” Max was the one to pitch the name, claiming it was accurate seeing as how Squad A did most of the monster killing.
“Nancy Wheeler, Captain of,” Nancy always paused, trying to hold in laughter, before saying her team’s name aloud. Max claimed it was an inside joke. “Slay Squad.”
“El Hopper.”
“Max Mayfield.”
“Lucas Sinclair.”
The “Slay Squad '' constantly patrolled Hawkins, killing as many upside down creatures as they could along the way. They kept up to date maps of how the Upside-Down contamination spread day-to-day, they used small flags that they planted in the ground to help them see where the contamination stopped the previous day. During the day they patrolled all together as a group (staying within town near the cracks), and took partner shifts to watch over everyone sleeping in the cabin at night.
In the beginning Max had actually pushed back on Lucas joining their team, claiming they didn’t need some man to protect them. Luckily Will came to the rescue stating that Vecna was probably out to get Lucas since he was the one who pulled Max out of Vecna’s clutches during the Creel House incident, and that it was actually for Lucas’s safety rather than theirs's. The team was made up of the party's best fighters, Nancy with her guns, El with her powers, Max with her "Hellbat" (Steve had made her a copy of his own bat and taught her how to swing after she recovered from Vecna’s curse), and Lucas with his wrist launcher (he had recently acquired a bow and arrow but learning how to shoot was a work in progress.)
“Members of Recon and Defense Squad B, AKA the Russia Regiment, in attendance.” Going/being to Russia was really the only thing all of the members of that group had in common, so it was a little tricky to try to find a synonym of group that started with an R.
“Jim Hopper.”
“Joyce Byers, Captain of the Russia Regiment.”
What, did you think Hopper was gonna be the captain? It was a unanimous decision for Joyce to be in charge. She was constantly hypervigilant, the moment something went wrong Joyce knew, she was a natural leader (her stunt to get Hopper back proved it), she was capable of holding her own, and she didn't take shit from anyone (which is crucial when working with Hopper and Murry, who have their heads so far up their own asses that it’s often up to Joyce to pull them out.)
“Murry Bauman.”
“Enzo Antonov.”
“Yuri Ismaylov.” There was no way Yuri was going with anyone else other than, Hopper, Murry, Enzo, and Joyce, they were very firm on that decision.
The Russia Regiment patrolled outside the town, more towards the outskirts where a lot of forest and farmland stood. They were also in charge of making sure the contamination could not spread outside the border’s of Hawkins (which forced them to have quite a few run-ins with military personnel.) Their group was only in charge of making sure Yuri didn’t try to pull anything while they’re sleeping, so they did one person shifts during the night.
Dustin hummed absentmindedly as he moved on to call the last team, “Members of Base Defense and Survival, AKA Cali Crew, in attendance.”
“Jonathon Byers, Captain of Cali Crew.”
Previously there would have been no way in hell that Jonathon would be leading anybody, not when he was constantly high. But after coming back to Hawkins he sobered up, not just because there was nowhere to get weed, but because his younger brother needed his older brother more than ever, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
“Will Byers.”
“Mike Wheeler.”
“Argyle.” No last name was ever provided. Will had a sneaking suspicion he didn’t have the best home life, considering the fact that no one answered or tried to call back after Argyle called his home to inform his parents he was staying in Indiana for a while. His parents obviously didn’t care, so Will didn’t blame him for not wanting to be associated with them.
The Cali Crew took over defending their home base, Hopper’s Cabin. They had chopped down trees to make it harder for sneak attacks and gave them more of a view of what was around the cabin. They used the wood from the trees they chopped to build a wall around the cabin, they left a good thirty feet between each wall and a side of the cabin, save for the back wall which was about 50 feet from the back of the cabin. They had done this intentionally, Argyle was able to use the space and start a farm. He used seeds, and any produce that could be propagated to start growing vegetables, a few kinds of wheat, and an apple tree he uprooted from someone’s yard. It was also their job to make runs to stores to get any sort of medication, hygiene products, food, or any other supplies they needed.
Now that mandatory attendance was complete Dustin moved on, “The topic of today’s meeting is the distribution of people and supplies as we near the due date to commence “Operation Purge.” We have settled on two groups, each group will have teams within them.” Dustin paused to look around the room, “Each team will have at least one person that is 18 years old or older,” Max cleared her throat in a way that made it clear Dustin had left someone out, “Not counting the already established Revengers.” Dustin added on with an eye roll.
“Okay!” Nancy said as she clapped her hands, “I think we should establish group members before we split up into teams.” The rest of the room nodded in agreement.
“Okay so group 1 is the Upside-Downers and group 2 is the-” Lucas started before Dustin spoke to cut him off.
“Rightside-Uppers.”
Erica stood with her hands on her hips and huffed at the name, “I don’t remember anyone agreeing to that dorky name.”
Dustin rolled his eyes at her, “I don’t remember anyone disagreeing with the name.”
Erica moved to cross her arms over her chest in defiance, “Well I am you dumb fu-”
“Erica!” Lucas cried in protest at her choice of words. Sure he had heard her use worse, hell, he's said worse. But their parents hadn't been too thrilled at Erica's creative development when it came to telling people off, so he was trying to ease her out of it. It was clearly not working.
“What?” Erica replied, sounding offended, “It’s just the facts.” It was her favorite phrase to say, well after 'You can't spell America without Erica.' She's real proud of that one.
“Okay moving on,” Robin replied, “I personally would rather be a Rightside-Upper.” Steve looked extremely betrayed in that moment, he looked as if Robin had sold his first born nugget to an evil witch in exchange for pocket change. “Oh don’t give me that look Steve, you can go in there all you want. The one time, where I nearly died, might I add, is enough for me.”
“Okay Robin, you’ll be a Rightside-Upper.” Will said as he jotted her group down in his notebook, he was in charge of taking notes during meetings. Mike had dubbed him their personal Scribe, he eve went as far as to write on the front of Will's notebook: 'Official Documentation, Scribes Only.' Will did not find it as funny as Mike did, even after the latter gave Will his doe eyes and practically begged Will to laugh. Mike was rewarded with a kiss to the nose and an affectionate head pat before Will went to organize his notes.
“How about we just do a hand raise for what group you want to be in? It’ll go faster that way.” Mike offered as he took note of just how long it would take if everyone gave their personal opinion on their favorite dimension to be in. He really did not want to sit through that, he just wanted this meeting to be over with so he could go sneak off and cuddle with Will.
Will nodded at the idea, “Okay everyone who wants to be a Upside-Downer raise your hand.” Almost everyone’s hands were raised, Max didn’t need to raise her hand as she had already been pre-chosen to be bait/revenge seeker alongside Will. "Okay.....Yuri, Murry, Mom....Nancy.....ERICA!?" Will blinked in surprise at just how many people were willing to go, including Erica and Mike.
“Okay, yeah, that's a no,” Steve stated, doing that little dive-bombing hand motion he made when the party wanted to go into the tunnels. He stared straight at Erica, making eye contact (a feat few tried to do) with the girl who still had her hand raised confidently.
"Why not?! I went into an underground Commie base and survived! I can do this.” She immediately countered but Lucas and Hopper were quick to shake their heads and disagree with the young girl.
“Sorry kid I’m with Harrington on this one, you’re too young to be doing this kind of stuff.” Hopper huffed out.
Erica opened her mouth to argue but Lucas put a hand on her shoulder drawing her attention, “Look Erica, we don’t want you getting hurt. You shouldn’t even be here, you should be with Mom and Dad right now. If you get hurt or, hell, if you get killed, Mom and Dad will be devastated and I will be too.” Erica shut her mouth as she listened to her brother. “You’re my sister, I know you’re more than capable of taking on people twice your size, but even I didn’t go into the Upside-Down at your age.” Lucas’s soft words must’ve actually meant something to the young girl because she huffed at backed up, clearly not going to fight.
“I want Mike by my side,” Nancy declared, causing heads to turn her way. “I don’t want him out of my sight.” Clearly what Vecna had shown her was enough to restart her sisterly instincts that she had shoved away for years. After Mike arrived in Hawkins Nancy had performed a frantic check to see if he injured and then forced him into bed for a good 16 hours before she let him even attempt to stand up.
“Um, hell no.” Will interjected, surprising everyone with how sharp and cold his tone was. “Mike has a fucking target painted on his back. There’s no way he’s going into the Upside-Down.” Everyone looked towards the boy with confusion, the air around them had become tense with the protective energy Will was radiating. Like hell he was going to let Mike fucking Wheeler go into the Upside-Down, Mike could barely avoid walking into random poles and doorways, he'd probably walk straight into a Demogorgon the moment he sent foot in that dimension.
“What do you mean he’s a target?” Nancy gasped out in horror, feeling as though she had already failed at protecting her younger brother. She hadn't even had a chance to try and protect him and he's already dead meat.
“I think I get what Will’s saying.” Lucas said suddenly, causing everyone’s eyes to turn towards him for an explanation. “Think about it, Mike has gotten in the way of the Mind Flayer and Vecna’s plans multiple times.” Lucas waved his arms around while he was explaining, successfully whacking Max in the face. "The Upside-Down has got to have a vendetta against him. If Vecna were here right now he'd probably do a whole villain speech about how Mike's been a thorn in his side for too long and then try to kill him." Lucas took the words right of Will's mouth, he couldn't have said it better himself. It still caused a flash of anxiety to run through Will, Mike's situation fully sinking in. There was no way in hell that Will was gonna let anything happen to his boyfriend, not when he just got him back.
“I have?” Mike questioned, he was clearly confused, three out of the four brain cells he possessed were not pulling their weight. He didn't feel like he'd ever done anything that drastic, he wasn't that important. (Will had given him at least 7 different variations of the "You're the Heart," speech. It had yet to fully sink in.)
Will gave him a blank stare, he wished Mike was joking but he knew the boy too well for him to really believe that. Will pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed before talking, “Remember when I was possessed and you guys tied me up in the shed?” Will asked, his voice soft and tender as he touched a painful memory for the both of them. Will never liked to be reminded of what he'd done and Mike never liked to be reminded that he couldn't save Will, couldn't protect him the way he wanted to. Mike just nodded in response. “I could hear you, that whole speech you gave, that gave me the hope and reassurance I needed to fight back against the Mind Flayer.” Mike made an ‘O’ shape as he realized the actual impact he had made. "Sure the heat and everything helped, but I had to actively fight the Mind Flayer off during the exorcism. You're the main reason he failed."
“Yeah and remember when we were trying to figure out if the Mind Flayer had Billy?" Lucas approached the subject of his girlfriend's dead brother lightly. (Lucas wouldn't say he was glad Billy was dead... but.... he was a racist piece of shit so he wasn't that heart broken over it.) "And he was strangling El, so you hit him over the head with a metal fucking pipe." Mike nodded again, hesitantly. "Dude El would've died had you not done that. The Mind Flayer's mission would have been complete, but you got in the way, again." It was starting to sink in with the rest of the group just how much Mike had done to save them and to fuck up the Upside-Down.
“Your speech when One had me, it stopped him from killing me,” El added on. She didn't have much of a story to it, nor did she really want to take a whole lot of time to explain that the fake speech he gave about (not) loving his ex-girlfriend saved her.
Will hummed and spoke again, because Mike had saved him so many times, not just from the Upside-Down. “When Vecna had me I couldn't hear any music, I could only hear your voice Mike." Will emphasized the your, because he truly hadn't heard anyone else. "Your voice alone pulled me out when Vecna attacked me, he was so close to getting me to give up, but you pulled me out.” Will whispered softly, reminding everyone of the 5th attack that had opened the gates. Will was left alive somehow, El theorized that Will had some sort of energy from the Upside-Down that Vecna siphoned to open the cracks. "That was you, no one else."
“Holy shit,” Steve muttered as he stared straight at Mike. “Dude you’ve messed up their plans like 4 times, there’s no way you’re leaving this house.” Mike didn't even try to fight back, just sitting in his chair knowing he was deeply and utterly fucked.
“Hopper can stay with him,” Joyce stated firmly, seemingly out of nowhere. Hopper, of course, tried to argue, but Joyce quickly shut him down, “You’re still malnourished and we need someone who knows how to kill those things, you have to protect Mike.” Right because leaving Mike with his ex-girlfriend and current (secret) boyfriend's dad is a fan-fucking-tastic idea. Maybe dying from a Demodog wouldn't as bad as having to share a house, alone, with Hopper during the apocalypse. Unfortunately Mike did have a lovely boyfriend, who he wasn't too eager to abandon just because he can't face his Step-Dad.
“Alrighty, so far we’ve got Robin, Mike, Erica, and Hopper for Rightside-Uppers, anyone else?” Will asked. Dustin raised his hand, not keen on having to visit the place that took the life of one of his friends right in front of him. Lucas also raised his hand, opting to stay close to his younger sister. Argyle was the final one, claiming he wasn’t much of an offensive fighter.
“Cool we’ll split you guys up into 2 teams.” Will said after jotting everyone down. “Team 1 will be Dustin, Robin, Lucas, Argyle, Erica. You guys are our fire starters, we need you to light up as many gates as you can.” The members of the team nodded. “Team 2 will be Mike and Hopper, you guys stay here and man the radio. You’re not to leave the Cabin unless it’s to get the fuck out of Hawkins.” The 2 begrudgingly nodded. "We are not doing code names this time. Team 1 and 2 of the Rightside-Uppers will be known as R1 and R2." No one moved to disagree with Will.
The remaining people, AKA Upside-Downers, were split into 3 teams: Team #1 (U1) was Max and Will, they were the bait. With a story made up about coming back for revenge, they needed to keep Vecna busy while the rest of the teams entered through different gates. Team #2 (U2) was composed of El and Nancy, they were the offense, the 2nd group to arrive and immediately throw everything they’ve got at Vecna. Max and Will technically would join the team once the 2 girls arrived, carrying extra weapons for Max and Will. Team 3 (U3) was Offense-Defense, AKA Enzo, Yuri, Murry, Joyce, Jonathon. They were to provide support in killing Vecna but also keep any other monsters he may call at bay.
“Alright!” Dustin cheered, “Meeting adjourned.”
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Mike sat on the bed in El’s old room alone, his left knee bouncing up and down, his gaze turned down towards the floor as he picked at his hands till beads of crimson rose from the surface. The silence was both comforting and suffocating, comforting in the fact that the meeting had been so loud and brimming with energy that he had felt overwhelmed, suffocating in the way that he was now alone with his thoughts and the reality that he had sidelined sinking in.
The bedroom door creaked open as someone slipped into the room before shutting the door softly, Mike didn’t need to look up to know who it was as they settled next to him on the bed. Their shoulders were touching and Mike felt slightly pathetic as he nearly shivered from the electric shock that ran through his nerves and from the warmth they were sharing.
He felt a hand rest gently on his back in between his shoulder blades, he fought back a whine that clawed at the back of his throat from the touch. “Are you okay?” Will whispered to him, knowing to be quiet around Mike after a meeting. Will knew every button and quirk Mike had, he knew that meetings made him sensitive to sound and light, so it was best to approach him quietly, to avoid overwhelming him. The familiar rasp in Will’s voice from having to shout over people was comforting to Mike, it made Will sound much softer than he was.
Mike just shrugged as he stared down at his hands where multiple crescent shaped cuts had formed on his fingers. He heard Will wince from beside him before he gently took Mike’s hands into his own and reached over to the bedside table. Mike heard a drawer open and close before tugging Mike's hands towards him, causing Mike to turn his entire body towards Will who sat criss-cross on the bed. Mike had one leg hanging limply off the bed while the other was bent in a half criss-cross. Will set a small first aid kit on the bed and was currently tearing open a pack of alcohol pads. Will brought Mike’s right hand closer to him and began to wipe away at the small cuts on Mike’s fingers, Mike hissed softly as he did so and Will muttered quiet sorrys every time.
Will sent the wipe down and turned to grab a tube of Neosporin before gently applying it to Mike’s hands. It soothed the burning pain from the alcohol pad and almost made some of the larger cuts feel numb. It didn’t take long for Will to press band-aid over the cuts and press a soft kiss to Mike’s knuckles. The action caused Mike to look at him softly, and full of love as his face turned a dark shade of pink. Will repeated the process to Mike’s left hand, making sure not to forget the kiss, before putting away the supplies. Somewhere in between the action Mike had come to sit full criss-cross on the bed, although he can’t remember when.
Now it was just the two of them and silence. It didn’t take long for Mike to start talking, Will never truly needed to prompt him to speak about his feelings, not like others had to. “I wish you would’ve let me come with you.” Mike admitted softly as he held his lover’s gaze, he watched Will’s face as he took in what Mike said.
“I could never ask you to put yourself in danger for me,” Will replied honestly as he took Mike’s hands back into his own and looked sternly into his boyfriend’s eyes.
Mike smiled slightly, a bittersweet thing really. “You wouldn’t ever have to ask.” The sincerity and deeper promise in those words was not lost to Will. He knew that Mike would throw himself into harm's way without a second thought if it was to protect Will, there would never have to be a word uttered for Mike to try and protect Will in any way possible. He was self destructive in nature and loved so deeply, combine those two together and you get a deadly combination. Will had not forgotten the recent conversation they had about Mike jumping off of a fucking cliff while Will was missing.
Will hummed and stroked his thumbs over Mike’s knuckles, a silent prompt to continue what he was saying. “If I have such a large target on my back then I would be perfect for bait.” Mike continued throwing out his thoughts, unaware that every time he talked about his life as something disposable it cut away at Will’s heart.
“I would never be able to fight if I knew your life was hanging in the balance.” Will stated, hoping his words got through the thick shell of self-sacrificial nonsense that was built up around Mike. “We have to win this fight, everyone has to be at their absolute best.” Will continued sternly, not breaking eye contact with Mike and shaking their hands slightly.
“Do I hold you back?” Mike asked sorrowfully, Will’s expression and heart melting at the heart broken tone his lover used. Will unclasped one of their hands and brought it to cradle the side of Mike’s face tenderly, the act was full of nothing but unfiltered love and adoration.
“You could never hold me back, ever.” Will said as he scooted closer to Mike, he brought his other hand up to cradle the other side of Mike’s face. Will’s thumbs stroked along the edge of his cheek bones right underneath his eyes as he looked Mike directly in his eyes. He made sure Mike was listening with his ears and his heart before continuing.
“You give me my strength. You are the reason I fought so, so hard to get back when I disappeared,” Will’s voice cracked slightly as he was overcome with emotion. “You are the reason I’m still fighting, why I’m still standing. Do you understand?” Will asked, Mike was unable to form any words as he nodded slightly. “I am at my best when I know you’re safe, when I know I have something, someone to come home to.”
Silent tears slipped out of Mike’s eyes as he continued to listen to Will, his expression was dazed and he truly did look starry eyed. “You’re the reason for everything I do. Everything I do, have ever done, or will do is because of you.” Will smiled as he wiped the tears from his love’s eyes, his mind subconsciously reminding him of how beautiful Mike looked with his cheeks red and crystal droplets adorning his skin, Will pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. “I love you, more than you could ever know.”
“How could I ever argue with that?” Mike laughed lightly, more tears spilling from his eyes. “I love you too, so, so much.” Mike knew he couldn’t beat Will’s speech, at least not yet. Will giggled slightly at Mike’s lack of words, loving the fact that he render his other half speechless. He moved his hands from Mike’s face to his shoulders before falling backwards onto the bed, bringing Mike with him.
“Rest now, we’ve had a long day. We’ve got an even longer one coming up tomorrow.” Will hushed as Mike settled onto his chest. Mike always laid his head over Will’s heart when they slept, it was a constant reminder that Will was safe and he was here. The two boys didn’t try to fight the wave of tiredness that washed over them as they fell asleep.
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It was go time.
All the teams were armed to the teeth with weaponry, medical supplies, and protective clothing. Everyone was standing outside Hopper’s cabin, still inside the walls of course. Those going into the Upside-Down were saying their goodbyes and getting ready to head out to the gates where they needed to be positioned. Will and Mike hung off a little bit away from the group, caught up in their own world.
“I wish you didn’t have to go,” Mike muttered, his hands clasped in Will’s as they stood a respectable distance away. Will internally cooed at the soft words and wished more than anything that he could do something to wipe the heart aching expression off his boyfriend’s face. But they were surrounded by family and friends, the action would not go unnoticed nor would it be written off as platonic.
“Trust me love, if I had a choice I would stay here, protecting you.” Will replied solemnly, taking a bit of pride when Mike flushed a light pink at the pet name. Mike’s gaze dropped from Will’s eyes in slight embarrassment, prompting a gentle laugh from Will. Will moved to wrap Mike into a bone-crushing hug, they stayed like that for a while, just basking in each other’s presence and sway slightly.
“Will! Time to go!” Joyce called, causing the boys to -regretfully- let go of each other. They shared one last longing gaze before Will turned and began to walk towards his mother.
“Wait!” Mike called out and grasped Will’s wrist, causing the other to turn around in confusion. The words of a question were left on Will’s lips as Mike bowed down to kiss him, he felt Mike’s hands come up to cradle his face just as Will had done to Mike the night before. The kiss wasn’t dirty or needy, it was passionate and conveyed a million desires for the other to stay right where they are and never leave their side. They broke the kiss and leaned their foreheads together, Will could feel the flutter of Mike’s eyelashes on his cheeks. “I love you.” Mike said in a hushed tone, not that he was ashamed of anyone hearing but wanting the moment to be shared only between them.
“I love you too.” Will replied in an equally soft voice.
“Crazy together, remember?” Mike prompted as he stared right into Will’s eyes.
“Yeah,” Will agreed, “Crazy together.”
“Then come home to me, I ask nothing else of you, just come home.” Mike’s voice cracked in the middle of the sentence as tears welled up in his eyes.
Will smiled up at Mike and moved to wipe the tears away. “You wouldn’t ever have to ask, I will always come back to you.”
__________
Extras:
Steve and Robin stood side by side as they watched the two boys kiss and mutter sweet things no one could hear to each other. Robin nudged Steve with her elbow, prompting him to look down at her in confusion.
She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head in the direction of the boys, “When blue and yellow meet in the west.” She said cryptically, but Steve understood and laughed quietly.
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Mike and Hopper sat silently across from one another, neither had said a word since everyone else left and they had returned to the inside of the cabin. But clearly something was eating at Hopper and Mike honestly just wanted him to call him a slur and get it over with.
“Seriously Wheeler?” Hopper finally settled on what he needed to say.
“Seriously what?” Mike replied, content to play this little game.
“First my daughter?! Now my SON?!” Hopper stated gruffly as he flailed his arms around.
“That sounds a little Homophobic.” Mike said flatly.
“I’m not Homophobic, I’m Mikephobic.”
“THAT’S NOT EVEN A REAL THING!!!!!