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They've been driving for nearly 14 hours already; the trip back to Hawkins has been a long one. Jonathan had finally decided that it was time they stopped for gas, and to take a moment to rest. Everyone gets out of the van to stretch and move around except for El and Mike.
El looks around aimlessly, spotting a rolled up canvas on the floor by the seat. Curiosity takes over as she tilts her head and points towards the object. “What is that?”
Mike follows her finger and smiles. “It’s the painting that you commissioned Will to make for me. I guess I should say thank you, it was really nice to hear those things about me, and how you feel.” El looks confused, eyebrows furrowed as if she's not sure what he's talking about.
“What do you mean? What does commission mean? Will never showed me what he’s painting, he kept it a secret, I told you that in my letter.. can I see what the painting is now?” She looks hopeful, excited to finally see what Will spent so much time and dedication on.
But, now Mike is confused as well, the painting wasn’t from El? Why would Will say all of that if it wasn’t even El’s feelings?
“I-you didn’t ask him to paint this for me? You mean you don’t-you don’t know anything about it? But, Will said-” Mike stops talking, suddenly thinking back to what Will was telling him.
“But you make her feel like she’s not a mistake at all, like she’s better for being different. And that gives her the courage to fight on. If she was mean to you or she seemed like she was pushing you away, it’s probably just because she’s scared of losing you, just like you’re scared of losing her.”
Mike freezes slowly, his mind running a thousand miles a second due to a sudden realization. “Oh. Oh. I-I need to go, I need-I need to think. Let me know when we’re leaving again.” He rushes out and jumps out of the van before running to the back of the gas station building, sliding down the wall and cradling his head in his hands.
He’s breathing shakily and tears are forming rapidly in his eyes, he can’t think clearly. Will lied to me? El doesn’t think any of that? She doesn’t actually need me? Why would Will lie to me?
He hiccups softly, trying to gather some form of coherent thought for what to do, he suddenly feels so useless and stupid. He can’t think of any reason as to why Will would say that if it wasn’t true, Will never lies to him, especially about stuff like this, so why now?
He takes deep, shaky breaths to try and calm down before he’s going over both interactions again, and again, and again. Thinking about what Will said, trying to imagine the times where El might’ve felt or done any of it, and he just can’t. El wasn’t mean to him since he got to California, and she wasn’t pushing him away either. Sure they had one fight but they’re gonna be okay now, right? They were gonna talk it out, try again.
It just doesn’t make sense that Will would say any of that when it wasn’t El that was even pushing him away, if anything it was Will that-… what.
Mike stiffens in shock and realization, once again going back to everything Will had said in the car but changing it, trying to make sense of it.
“But you make me feel like I’m not a mistake at all, like I’m better for being different. And that gives me the courage to fight on. If I was mean to you or I seemed like I was pushing you away, it’s probably just because I’m scared of losing you, just like you’re scared of losing me.”
Mike trembles, gasps leaving his mouth as he thinks about what this means. Everything that Will said in the van wasn’t from El, it was from himself, those were his feelings for Mike.
Will… needs me? I make him feel better for being different? Wait-Will feels like a mistake? But he’s amazing! He’s the bravest and strongest person I know, he’s so caring and selfless, he always cares for others before himself, it’s some of the reasons why I love him so-..
“What?” Mike can’t help but squeeze his arms around himself at the thought, talking quietly and broken to himself “I’m-what? I-I don’t-I like El, I should love her. Fuck, what’s wrong with me?!” Mike cries out, raking his hands through his hair and burying his head in his knees.
Am I in love with Will? But, I’m with El, I should be in love with her, not him. Fuck, why am I so confused? It shouldn’t be this hard. Is Will in love with me? Why-
“Mike?” A soft, deep voice calls out to him from afar and causing Mike to jump from his place on the ground, embarrassed at being caught crying behind the gas station. He rubs his eyes, trying to wipe off any left over tears, but he only reddens them and now he looks worse.
Will is standing a few feet away, concern showing all over his face as he slowly steps closer. “Mike? Are you okay?” He reaches out a hand to Mike’s shoulder to try to reassure him, but Mike flinches away unintentionally, confusion clouding his judgement. Will pulls his hand back, obvious hurt shining through his features, but he ignores it and the sinking feeling in his stomach as he stands just a couple feet away.
“U-um, we’re leaving now.. El asked me to find you, so..” Will speaks quietly, he can’t hold back the hurt in his voice but he hopes Mike doesn’t catch it, not that he would care, it seems.
Will goes to turn and walk back to the van, deciding to give Mike his space and just tell the others that he’ll be right there. However, he only gets so far before Mike speaks up, his voice cracking.
“Why-why did you lie? About the painting, about-about what El said? You said she needed me, that she feels better for being different from everyone else! I spoke to her, Will. In the van. She never-she never said any of that, she didn’t commission that-that stupid painting! Why did you lie?!” Mike rambles before he can stop himself, he can’t understand what to feel or how to process anything right now. He watches as Will turns to him, watches his face fall in shock, then fear, guilt, sadness, and hurt as Mike speaks.
Will’s eyes well up with tears, but he holds them back, “I didn’t-I didn’t lie, Mike-”
“Bullshit! El told me that she didn’t say any of that, Will! I know you lied! Why?”
Will bites his lip, holding back a sob that’s threatening to escape his throat. “I-I didn’t lie.” He says quietly, shakily. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Mike. I was just trying to help, I thought that if what I said was-was from El then you would believe it and you wouldn’t put yourself down so much. I thought that if you knew it was me who thought that, then you wouldn’t care! I didn’t mean for this to happen! I’m sorry, okay? I’ll just take back my s-stupid painting and everything I said, then! How’s that? Is that what you want?” Will is shaking, no longer able to hold back the tears, he lets them fall as he voices his hurt. He speaks again as he looks at the ground. “I’m sorry, Mike. I was just trying to m-make you feel better, but I guess I fucked that up too. Just like I always do, right? I guess I’m really living up to my title, huh? Worst mistake ever!” Will throws his hands up, waving them slightly above his head as he cries.
Mike doesn’t know what to say, his vision is blurred, yet again, with tears. Fuck, I messed up again.
“W-wait, Will, I didn’t mean that-”
“Just forget it, Mike. I already know what you mean, you made it pretty clear earlier.” Will cuts him off, shaking his head with a heartless chuckle leaving his lips, “I don’t know what I was thinking in the van. I never should have said anything. I should have known that you would hate it if you knew it was from me. I never should’ve made that stupid painting in the first place. I never should have said any of that, because now you know! You know that your mistake of a best friend is a disgusting fag and in love with you! So go ahead and treat me like everyone else does! You probably want nothing to do with me now. I should’ve known this would happen the minute you stopped reaching out to me and never sent me any letters!” Will rants, his pain getting the best of him as he cries harder.
Mike cries as he listens to what Will is saying, grabbing his own arms in search of comfort. “I-I never stopped trying to call you, Will. I called you every night for months! You never picked up the phone or it was always busy! I probably tried calling you more than I wrote letters to El! You’re the one who pulled away from me, what was I supposed to think? And don’t you dare call yourself those things, I never thought of taking you out of my life! I don’t care that you’re different, and I love that painting, Will, I really do, I didn’t mean to say it was stupid, it’s not. I’m just-just confused! I’m supposed to be in love with El! And what you said in the van is what made me believe that I actually was!” Mike is near yelling, his voice raspy from crying.
Will is looking wide eyed and he’s breathing heavy. “What-”
“But then I go and find out that, that wasn’t even her feelings! I didn’t fall in love with her, I fell in love with you! I’ve been in love with you! Thinking back to every night after you guys left, I found myself thinking more about you than El, and I just tried to push that aside and bury myself into the letters for her so I wouldn’t have to think about why I couldn’t send my letters to you. About why I couldn’t write "Love, Mike” on those letters to her but I could so easily write it on yours. I ignored every sign to the point that I really believed myself! Mine and El’s relationship has been falling apart for so long and I forced myself to try and make it work, to do things that didn’t feel right, because that’s what everyone was telling me to do! I thought that I could just fake it ‘til I make it, but guess that didn’t turn out good, did it? I just ruin all of my relationships!“ Mike is breathing heavily when he finally stops, his throat aches from the crying and yelling, he didn’t even stop to think about if anyone else could hear them.
He feels so weak and overwhelmed right now, all of the feelings that he tried so hard to bury, to forget about have come tumbling in all at once. He thinks about El, and what he’s gonna say to her, he thinks about everything he said to Will, he can’t take it.
Will is standing there, crying and shaking as he processes everything that he just heard. Mike loves me back? He did try to call me? He has letters for me? He’s not disgusted with me?
"M-Mike, I’m sorry.” Will can’t seem to stop apologizing, “I didn’t know you tried calling me so much, I thought t-that was just your way of saying you didn’t want to be my friend anymore. Seeing El get letters every week, while I only got a couple phone calls, and then when you got to California, you could barely even h-hug me back at the airport! W-what was I supposed to think when that was my only view of things? I didn’t try calling you back because I didn’t want to bother you or seem annoying, so I just p-pushed myself away from you so when the time came that you would tell me you didn’t want to be my friend anymore, it wouldn’t hurt as much. I didn’t want to push myself into yours and El’s relationship, so I just stayed in the background. All I ever wanted to do was help you be happy Mike, it seemed like El made you really happy and I didn’t want to get in-in the way of that. I-” Will stops for a moment, bites his lip and takes a deep, shuddering breath. “I love you, Mike. So much, that I would do anything to make sure you were happy, even if that meant that I had to get out of the picture.” Will chokes out, his throat tightening with more tears building up in his eyes.
Mike shakes his head, he can’t keep the tears out of his eyes, he’d long since given up trying to wipe them away, he finds the strength to move his legs and closes the distance between him and Will. His arms wrap tightly around Will’s neck as he cries into his shoulder. He can feel Will quickly wrap his arms around his waist, his head falling into the crevice of Mike’s neck and shoulder, sobs wracking through both of them as they hug for God knows how long.
“I-I love you, Will. And I think I a-always have, I’ve just been too scared to admit it to myself. E-everyone has always been telling me that I should be with El, and it never felt right but I just went along with it because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do. I’m sorry for what I said earlier, about the painting, and for not sending you the letters I wrote, and for accusing you of lying. I’m just sorry for everything.” Mike sniffles, trembling hands grabbing handfuls of Will’s shirt, holding on tight.
Will can’t help but let out a small whimpered cry, trying to bury his head deeper into Mike’s neck, “I-I’m sorry, too, for everything. I should have reached out, too, I was just scared. And I shouldn’t have used El like that either, it wasn’t right. And about the phone calls, I shouldn’t have assumed what you were thinking, I could have at least tried to talk to you a-about it.”
Mike pulls back a little, not wanting to let go fully yet, and takes one hand to move Will’s head so he can look him in the eyes. “You don’t have to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong, it was my fault for making you think that, I could have sent you letters too. I was just being a coward.” He smiles slightly, wanting to lighten the mood after the both of them have been so upset.
Will smiles back, even if just a little. It still makes Mike happy to see it.
They finally pull away from each other, deep breaths escaping both of them.
“Are we okay?” Will asks quietly, just to make sure. Mike looks at him with a fond gaze, eyes flickering low for a moment, barely noticeable. “Yeah, we’re good.” He speaks softly.
Will looks relieved, a smile slowly spreading on his face. “Cool.”
Mike reciprocates the smile, “Cool.”
They stand there for a moment, gazes locked on each other, faces seeming to be slowly inching closer without either of them realizing it. Until Will gasps, smile sliding off of his face as worry covers his features, “What about El-”
He can’t finish the question due to another voice coming from behind him.
“Guys, c'mon, we gotta go, we’ve waited long enough.” It’s Jonathan, he’s standing right past the corner the the building, judging by the tone in his voice, the two younger boys were gone for a lot longer than they thought.
Mike and Will quickly move to put distance between them, nerves shooting through their bodies at the knowing look Jonathan throws between them before he’s speaking again, this time in a softer tone. “C'mon, we have food and water for you in the van. We should be back in Hawkins by tomorrow night.”
Mike and Will glance at each other for reassurance before the three of them are making their way to the van where El and Argyle are waiting for them. Jonathan hops in the drivers seat while Mike gets in the back, sitting back in his original place beside El. Will hesitates for just a second before climbing into his seat as well, trying to not think too deeply about sitting alone. He plays the fight, the confession, and the apology in his head over and over again as they continue driving until he falls asleep, his head gently resting on the window as they pass by the 'WELCOME TO HAWKINS’ sign.
===
The group has been in Hopper’s cabin for a few hours now, cleaning what they can and filling each other in on everything that’s been happening. Mike and Will are standing in the living room, sweeping up dust and debris, picking up any fallen items. They don’t talk, but they find themselves occasionally brushing an arm against each other as they pass by with a broom.
El is walking around the whole cabin, quietly picking up any garbage or broken things that she finds and throwing it in a large plastic bag. She passes by the two boys swiftly but heavily, a bunch of emotion evident on her face and yet she says nothing as she walks to her old room, swinging her arm behind her as she closes the door, leaving it open a few inches.
Will stops sweeping as he watches her go, turning to Mike who follows his movement, both of them putting the brooms away for now.
“Did she talk to you at all? After you guys talked about the breakup?” Will asks, worried for his sister. He follows Mike to sit on the flipped couch, moving the cushions for better comfort.
“Not much, but it’s understandable, I was a total asshole for leading her on for so long. I should’ve ended it a long time ago once I started thinking about someone else that wasn’t her. I don’t think she’s mad, maybe just confused or upset, I’ll try to talk to her more later.” Mike sighs, clearly stressed about the situation but also slightly relieved that he’ll no longer be dragging El into a loveless relationship, she deserves better anyways, someone who can really treasure and love her.
Will worries his lip with his teeth, eyebrows furrowed in thought. “Did she.. say anything..? About me?” Mike looks at him, confusion on his face. Will speaks up to explain more. “I mean, does she know the truth? About the painting and.. and my feelings?”
Will is scared that El will think he took Mike from her, he doesn’t want to be the reason she won’t open up.
Mike nods slowly, “Oh, um, no, I don’t think so. I mean, I never really said anything specific like that, or say any names. She knows I have feelings for someone else. I haven’t told her what you said that day in the van, she only knows about the painting, but that shouldn’t be too obvious since I have so much of your art anyways. But, anyway, she said she understands and agreed that we breakup, but after everything that happened later on with Max.. she kind of shut down, so I can’t be for sure on what she’s really thinking or feeling.”
Will nods slowly, hoping he’ll have a chance to speak with El later. “O-okay.” He sighs shakily, nervous. “I’m gonna go find Jonathan, I think it’s time we talked properly. Maybe try talking to El? See if she’ll open up a bit?” Will suggests, standing up from the couch with Mike following suit.
“Yeah.” Mike nods and takes a deep breath before he leans down to press his forehead to Will’s, closing his eyes for a moment while bring a head up to stroke the back of Will’s head gently. Will’s heart speeds up, they’re both still not used to the close proximity of their faces but it’s not a bad feeling.
They’re not dating, but they’re aware of each other feelings and everything is good, they’re just taking things one step at a time.
Will smiles slightly, his own eyes fluttering shut as they stand with their foreheads pressed together for a moment, happy to have at least a few minutes of privacy before they head of to the rest of the group.
“We’ll see each other later, yeah? My mom said it was cool that you and Jonathan can stay with us at my house.” Mike says in a whisper, getting a hum of agreement from Will before they’re pulling away, they share one last smile before Will walks out the front door and Mike take a few steps towards El’s room.
Knocking gently a couple times, the door swings open after a moment or two, revealing El sitting on her bed as she looks at old polaroid’s from last summer, a bittersweet smile on her face.
Mike clears his throat a bit, suddenly nervous to talk. “Hey, El, um, is it cool if we talk?” He slowly walks over to the edge of the bed, sitting down. El glances at him, face blank, but she doesn’t seem angry. “Talk about what?” She asks, eyes giving away her curiosity.
Mike glances around the room, tapping his fingers on his legs. “About-about us. I think we still have some.. stuff to say. I mean I do, at least.” El nods, her hands messing with a polaroid, “Okay, I’ll listen.”
Mike nods, “Alright, um, I guess I just wanna start with asking if you’re okay? Like, what I did was a total dick move, and I just wish I didn’t drag you so far into our relationship when I already knew that we weren’t working out, I was just trying to do what everyone wanted me to and I ended up hurting people in the process and I’m really sorry.”
El is silent for a moment, putting her thoughts together and thinking about their relationship through the years, “I.. understand, Mike. I will not lie and say that what you did, did not hurt me, but I’m okay now. I have been thinking, too, and I realize that our relationship was not working. I realize that I still need to find out who and what I like, and for that, I think it’s better that we are broken up. I am happy that we can still be friends, I love you, but not in a boyfriend way.”
Relief washes over Mike, he’s happy that she isn’t upset with him, but there’s still some things he has to say, and it makes his stomach feel like it’s tying itself in knots. “I’m glad, I love you, too, but not in a girlfriend way.” They smile at each other, the air in the room not as tense as it was when Mike first came in. “So, I do have something else to ask. Are you-are you mad or upset with Will..?” He asks nervously, not sure how she’ll take this information.
El tilts her head, confused. “Why would I be mad at Will? Did he do something wrong? Should I be mad?” Mike shakes his head quickly, waves of hair flying around, “No, no, no, he didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just-just asking for him, he was worried that you would be upset with him after.. after what happened in the van.”
El nods her head in understanding, although Mike can see that she has some questions, “No, I am not mad at Will. It has to do with what happened in the van? Do you mean his painting?” Mike tilts his head side to side, unsure of how to say it. “Well, kind of, but it’s not the painting itself. Do you remember when I tried to thank you for asking Will to commission it for me? And then you said that you didn’t ask him to? Well, it made me start to think about some things he had said on our way to find you, because if you didn’t commission the painting, then what he said during that time wasn’t from you either. Anyways, he was scared that you would be mad at him for using your name as a sort of veil, so I just want to make sure you guys are okay.”
Humming, El nods again, “Okay, yes, I’m not mad for that.” Mike sighs, glad that everything is good between the three of them.
“Okay, awesome, I’m glad we’re all cool. I’m gonna go find everyone now, alright? I’m gonna be going home later, so Will and Jonathan are going with me, so you can say bye before we leave.” El shoots a thumbs up and goes back to looking through her polaroid’s. Mike walks back to the door, hand on the door knob before El calls out to him. He turns, “Yeah?” El looks contemplative, “Is the person you fell in love with, Will?” Mike freezes, skin going red as he stammers out a reply. “Um-um, how did-what-how did you know?” He sighs in defeat, he wasn’t expecting El to find out so quickly, he was planning on talking to her another day so they could have some time to rest.
El smiles, “I just notice that you look at him the same way Hopper looks at Joyce, or how Lucas looks at Max.” She looks upset as she brings up Max, but she knows that Max will be okay. Mike’s blush reaches high on his cheeks, “I-uh, yeah.. yeah, he is. I realized that I’ve loved him for awhile, I was just too stupid to think about it because of everything that’s been happening these past few years.” Mike is upset to think about all the drama that happened, but he has to remind himself that it’s all in the past and everyone is as happy as they can be in moments like these.
El stands up from the bed and walks over to Mike, wrapping him in a hug, “I am happy for you, I’m happy that you are happy.” She grins, causing Mike to smile right back, returning her hug. “Thank you.” He whispers, tears lightly stinging his eyes.
===
Later, everyone that was going to Mike’s house piled into the pizza van, tired from cleaning and planning all day. Will and Mike are sitting next to each other now, Argyle and Jonathan up front along with Nancy behind them. Mike and Will are sitting with a bit of space between them, not trying to be obvious about their feelings but also not too far to the point that they look upset at the other.
Their hands are resting on the seat between them, pinkies brushing every so often, and each time sending goosebumps up each of their arms. Mike glances over at Will, who is looking out the window, although there’s a noticeable blush on his ears. Mike gulps as he looks down at their fingers and slowly locked his pinky with Will’s, looking back up to see the other boys reaction.
Will jumped slightly at the full contact and turns his head to look over at Mike and then down at their joined pinkies. He smiles and looks back at Mike with shining eyes, happy that he finally gets to do this, even something so small.
Once they arrive at the Wheeler’s house, they all make their way inside, greeting Karen and Holly in the kitchen, while Ted is in the living room watching the news. “Oh, good to see you all finally here! I made some snacks if you’d like, and we have a bunch of drinks in the fridge. Are sleeping arrangements settled?” Karen asks when everyone walks into the kitchen, laying a big plate of food on the dining table.
Jonathan speaks up for everyone. “Yeah, thank you Mrs. Wheeler, my friend Argyle and I are gonna take the basement if that’s okay. Mike is sharing his room with Will.” He smiles, thanking Karen once again as he takes some food. Argyle makes his way up as well as he scans the food, “Thanks for the magical meal, mother Wheeler.” He follows Jonathan to a door leading them to the basement, leaving Karen slightly confused but glad. “Oh, well, okay.”
Nancy makes her way into her own bedroom upstairs after grabbing some food for herself along with a drink, thanking her mom before leaving. Mike and Will are the only ones left, although they’re about as confused as Karen. Since when did they talk about sleeping arrangements? Neither of them remember doing so. Will blushes just as bad as Mike as they make their own little assortment of food and drink before making their way up to Mike’s room.
Mike is glad he cleaned his room before he left for California, not because he has Will over, no, Will has seen worse messes. Mike is just glad that he doesn’t have to clean anymore than he already did today. He groans loudly and lands face first onto his bed after setting his food down. Will laughs quietly and settles on the edge of the bed, looking around the room while taking in all the decorations and items that are splayed across the desk.
Will focuses his gaze on the poster above Mike’s bed, “I like your poster.” He says, chuckling at Mike’s face once he realizes what Will was talking about. Mike sits up and faces Will, gaze locked on his face. “I talked to El earlier.” Will perks up at that. “Yeah? She’s okay?” Mike nods, a smile on his face.
“Yeah, she’s great, she said she understands why we broke up and she’s not mad at you for what happened that day in the van.” Will smiles in relief, feeling like a hundred pounds of weight got lifted off his shoulders at the news. “She also.. um, she also knows about us, I think.” Mike is nervous to say this, he and Will had planned to talk to her once everything else had settled a bit, but El is smarter and more observant than she looks.
Will looks like a deer caught in headlights at that, body going still and eyes wide. “W-what? How did she f-find out? We haven’t even done or said anything!” Will is slightly frantic, terrified for what El might think about them. Mike scoots closer and places his hand on top on Will’s, calming the shaking that Will didn’t even realize was happening. “Hey, Will, it’s okay, she’s okay with it. And I promise I didn’t tell her without you, I didn’t tell her at all, actually. She just asked me if the person I was in love with was you, because she saw the way I’d look at you. She said it reminded her of Hopper and your mom.” Mike smiles gently. Will smiles fondly at the thought, he had noticed a difference when his mom and Hopper came back.
Will lets out a shaky breath, slowly turning his hand so he can lock his fingers with Mike’s. “I’m glad she’s okay with it.. with us.” Will looks at Mike with a smile, eyes slightly glossy from the amount of joy he’s feeling. He never thought he’d get to experience this feeling in his lifetime, he never thought he’d be able to be with the love of his life, someone who he’s known since he was only five years old, his best friend. “Is there… an us?” Will asks after a second of doubt, he has a hard time believing it. He hopes he can get over this fear of doubt soon, but right now he just needs confirmation.
Mike looks Will straight in the eyes, unwavering. “I love you, Will. I would be very grateful if you would go out with me.” Will smiles, nodding shakily, his nerves dissolving within a few seconds, now replaced with happiness. “I love you, Mike. I’d be honored to go out with you.” They grin at each other, laughing slightly at the cheesy declaration.
They settle back on the bed, eating their food and looking at comics while one of Mike’s cassettes plays in the background, volume quiet but loud enough to hear the music. They sit like that for awhile before Mike gets off the bed and goes to his closet right next to the bed, rummaging through a few things before Will sees him pull out a couple stacks of what looks like envelopes.
Will’s breath catches when he realizes what exactly those envelopes are. Mike walks back over to the bed and lays the envelopes in front of Will. “I wrote to you.. everyday since the night you left.” Mike says, voice soft. “I’m sorry I was never able to send any of them to you, it’s just-once I put the stamp on and sealed it, I would get scared and put it away. But, I kept every single one of them, so you can read them now, if you want.” Mike finishes, looking down at the multiple stacks of colored envelopes.
Will can feel his eyes sting as he pulls the band that held one of the stacks together, what was probably around 30 envelopes slipping from his hand and falling back on the bed. Will feels breathless as he looks at them, not believing his eyes. “Every day?” Is all he can let out. Mike nods his head, “Yeah, I mostly wrote about my day, kind of venting because you would always listen to me when we were younger, but also a lot of them have some stuff in it that I was too embarrassed to send to you without sounding weird.”
Will smiles and sifts through the envelopes until he settles on a light green one, carefully opening it and unfolding the letter.
October 31st, 1985
Dear Will, it’s Halloween today! I was going through some boxes in the basement and found my old Ghostbusters costume from last year! I can’t believe we’ve grown so much since then, this costume is so small now. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately, I honestly don’t know why, maybe because of the anniversary of that night two years ago is coming up, or because it’s October, the one month that we can be whatever and not have to worry about what other people are thinking! Either way, I hope you’re doing okay, I̶ m̶i̶s̶s̶ y̶o̶u̶.. I̶ r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ w̶a̶n̶t̶ t̶o̶ s̶e̶e̶ y̶o̶u̶ s̶o̶o̶n̶ , I know it hasn’t even been a full month but it’s weird not seeing you everyday. Let me know what you’ve been doing! Have you found anything cool in Lenora yet? It’s not the same here without you, it makes me feel like I’m gonna go crazy, but remember what we said? Crazy Together, right? I’ll talk to you later, Will.
Love, Mike.
Will can’t help but sniffle, this letter was short but he could see that Mike genuinely worried about him and wanted to know how he was doing, Mike was thinking about him. He wasn’t ignoring him, at all. Will looks up to meet Mike’s gaze, eyes shining with unshed tears from the both of them.
“I’m really sorry for not sending these. I wish I did, maybe then things would be different by now, but I’m just glad you can read them now.” Mike says, a wet smile on his face. Will shakes his head and smiles, moving the envelopes out of the way before he crawls closer so he can wrap his arms around Mike’s shoulders, hugging him tightly. “Thank you, Mike. I can’t explain how much this means to me, the letters. Knowing that you were writing to me, that you tried calling me. If only I wasn’t so busy with school and my mom with her telemarketer job, we probably would’ve had tons of conversations by now. So, I’m sorry, too, for not trying to reach out more.” Mike holds onto Will just as tightly, rubbing his head lightly on Will’s shoulder.
“You don’t have to apologize, it’s all in the past now, we’re okay now, yeah?” Mike whispers, pulling back to look Will in the eyes for another moment, letting him know that he’s being serious. Will nods, eyes dropping down slightly for a moment before he gets shy and turns to look at more envelopes, although he doesn’t turn away from their hug. Mike keeps his gaze locked on Will’s side profile, admiring every part of it as Will tries to focus on suddenly sorting the envelopes by color.
Mike can’t help it, he’s been thinking about it all throughout the day, and the way Will is sitting is giving Mike the perfect opportunity to just lean forward and press his lips to Will’s skin. So, he does, he leans in and presses a soft kiss to Will’s cheek. Mike can feel his ears burning a bit, but he ignores it in favor of watching Will blush from his neck all the way to the top of his head. A smile makes it’s way on both of their faces, albeit a bit shy, but can you blame them?
Will turns back to Mike, who hasn’t looked away yet, and smiles before he’s biting his lip and carefully leaning in, pressing his lips onto Mike’s forehead. He reaches his hands up to place both of his hands on Mike’s shoulders, giving himself some balance, and then he’s pulling his lips away. Mike’s eyes had slid shut, a comfort and warmth he’s never felt anywhere else enveloping him like a blanket. He opens them to look back at Will, before he’s the one leaning in again to press a small kiss to Will’s nose.
Will catches on quickly, a grin forming on his face as he targets the next spot. Once he does, he leans in next, planting his lips on Mike’s cheekbone. Mike copies his grin and takes his turn right away, kissing Will’s temple this time. Will hesitates for a moment on his turn, but in the next moment, he’s turning his head slightly and pressing a kiss to Mike’s jaw, right by his ear.
Once he’s back in his spot, he waits, wondering what Mike’s choice is this time. He catches Mike’s gaze, he looks contemplative as he switches his focus from Will’s eyes to his lips. They sit there for probably 10 more seconds before Will takes the initiative, leaning forward and uncoordinatedly giving his first kiss to Mike, his heart jumps and his stomach twists with nerves, but he wouldn’t change a thing about it.
Mike is shocked for half a second before he’s kissing back and gently holding the back of Will’s head, helping guide him through the movement and feeling Will’s hands tighten on his shoulders. He smiles slightly, accidentally breaking the kiss with a laugh, he catches Will’s confused and slightly unfocused gaze, wondering what happened. Mike smiles even bigger and just shakes his head, leaning in again. “I love you so much.” Their lips meet again once more, they slowly get used to the rhythm until their more confident, molding their lips together comfortably.
They settle down a few minutes later, Will then went through a couple more letters before he wrapped them back up and promised to read more tomorrow. Mike ends up giving Will some clothes to change into for bed, and then they laid down, facing each other but not yet touching. Will looks at Mike, he honestly has a problem at this point, and leans in a bit to press a gentle kiss to Mike’s nose. “Mike?” He whispers, earning a hum from the other boy, “We forgot the light.”
Mike groans, “Shit, right.” He heaves himself up, walking over to the light switch right by the bedroom door, flicking it off just as said bedroom door is pushed open, a silhouette of a man standing there, causing a scream to erupt from both Mike and Will. However, Mike ends up tripping on a random shoe, falling on the floor with a grunt.
“Oh, sorry, dude, I was lookin’ for the bathroom,” The voice is familiar, Argyle. Mike groans from the floor, slowly picking himself up off the floor and turning the light back on, seeing Argyle standing there with a slightly zoned out look on his face. “You do know there’s a bathroom in the basement, right? I’m sure Jonathan could’ve told you that.” Mike deadpans, watching as Argyle freezes and then lets out a chuckle. “Oh, yeah, I know, I saw it when I was down there. I’m just following orders from your bro, little Byers. Said to check for “funny business”.” Argyle laughs as he air quotes and looks to Will, who is now hiding in the blanket, only his head sticking out. “Seems clear to me, goodnight little dudes.” Argyle walks off back downstairs, Mike sighs and shuts the light back off and closes his door.
He’s careful when walking back to the bed, not sure where that shoe went, but he makes it. Falling down and pulling the blankets over himself, he looks forward to see Will staring at the ceiling. Mike nudges him a bit to get his attention, “You okay?” Will looks over and smiles, although it’s a bit hard to see in the dark, only some light from a small lamp shining in the room. “Yeah, I’m okay, just thinking.”
“About?” Mike pushes.
“Us. You. Everything that’s happened in the past couple days. I’m just in shock still, I guess, it all just feels like one long dream and that if I go to sleep I’m gonna wake up and this will all just be in my head.” Will worries, teeth biting on his lip again. Mike uses a hand to pull the lip away before he places his hand on Will’s cheek, rubbing his cheekbone with his thumb. “I promise, everything about this is real, we’re real.” Mike reassures Will, pressing a couple small kisses to his forehead before he connects their lips again.
They lay like that for a bit, enjoying each others warmth, before drowsiness takes over and they fall asleep.
The world might not be perfect right now, and neither is Will and Mike, but as long as they have each other, they can make it.