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The sky is falling.
Black pieces detach from the air as they fluctuate around them. Red and white veins are painting what used to be blue air.
There’s little life left. There are fallen everywhere.
Mike drags himself around the battlefield, blood dripping out of his leg and it hurts, it probably will leave a scar but he doesn’t care. There’s a missing part of him and that’s Will.
“Will!”
He shouts and his desperation echoes around him, dissolving in the toxic particles that have been characterizing Earth for the past few years.
Death is everywhere. He can’t remember the days where he only touched death in games and arcades. It’s been part of his life for so long that he’s almost afraid that those death-less days were just fantasies of his.
“Will!”
He trips over a dead demogorgon’s body and almost falls on a soldier’s body. He's stiff and with his eyes open. He’s not going to see better days and Mike tries not to think about it. He moves around and he hears other names being screamed. He recognises a few of them.
Jonathan! That’s his sister screaming. They’ve been fighting together for most of the time and he remembers them standing together with their backs pressed against each other. He wonders what happened to Jonathan but he can’t dwell on that. There’s another Byers on his mind.
Steve! Come on dingus, where are you? Robin. She’s safe. Mike stops and he’s tempted to turn around and run to her and hug her because Steve died trying to defend Dustin and he saw every bit of it. He saw Steve’s brave expression turning into fear, Dustin screaming and dying one more time while trying to bring his friend back to life. He almost turns around but he doesn’t because Dustin screams for Robin and he lets them be.
He hears other names being called, some he doesn’t know, some he does. He hears screams of joy being drowned by screams of pain of lost loved ones and his mind is racing, panicking, and he keeps on looking.
“Will!” he screams and it feels like his name is going to stay dancing on his vocal cords forever. He looks around and he doesn’t want to, because he’s looking at the ground and there are only dead bodies and that’s not where he wants to find Will, but he’s not answering his calls and fear is slowly guiding his movements.
The battle happened all over Hawkins, he could be anywhere , he thinks. He could be anywhere , but he knows he was near him because he’s heard him fight but that’s a hope he’s willing to hold on to.
But hope was never meant to last that long because it shatters the moment he recognises Will’s yellow shirt tainted with red buried under a demon’s body.
“Oh god, Will!”
Mike runs to him and shoves the monster off his best friend’s body and for a brief moment he thinks his world has just ended because Will is covered in blood and his eyes are closed, but everything starts to make sense again when he picks up his body and Will starts breathing.
“Will. Will, it’s me, Mike. I’m here.”
He cradles him in his arms, a hand stroking his hair, trying to clear away the white pieces from his hair. It looks like ashes from the sky and Mike doesn’t want it anywhere on Will’s body. He wants to remove any trace of the Upside Down from him.
“Mike,” Will whispers and he gradually opens his eyes. The corner of his mouth slowly goes up and Mike smiles back at him.
“Hey,” he says and makes himself comfortable on the ground. “Hey, you’re okay, I’ve got you.”
Mike’s not sure how okay Will actually is because he’s looking at the blood and it seems fresh, like it’s flooding out of his body but he can’t find the source of it.
“Mike.” It’s a whisper again and Will is closing his eyes.
“Hey, no, stay with me.” Mike shakes him and Will coughs, roughly, shortly, and his breath catches. “You need to stay awake, okay? Help is on its way.”
Mike looks around and he doesn’t see ambulances but he sees people helping the wounded and it’s just a matter of time before they get to them. “Help!” he screams.
“Mike,” Will murmurs and his hand raises, finding its place on Mike’s cheek. This action immediately catches Mike’s attention and he puts a hand over Will’s to keep him there. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being here. With me.”
Mike shakes his head because it sounds like goodbye and that’s not why he looked for him. “Of course I’m here with you. There’s no paladin without his cleric.”
“I think... the paladin needs to learn how to... live without him.”
Will coughs and Mike holds him tighter. “No, stop. You’re not going to die, Will. It’s over. Vecna is dead, there's no more Upside Down. We made it.”
“I know,” he sighs. “I know.”
“There’s nothing that can hurt you ever again. You hear me? You’re safe.”
Will is smiling and his eyes, once shimmering and bright, are veiled with darkness and Mike doesn’t know what to do but he doesn’t want to see them die out.
“Do you remember the first day that we met?”
It’s Mike’s turn to hold his breath and he remembers the first time he said those words but it’s Will saying them this time.
“It was-it was the first day of kindergarten. I knew nobody,” Will says and Mike wants to tell him to save his breath and his energies, that they can talk about it later, but he’s taken aback by the words because they’re exactly the same he said years before.
Will takes a deep breath and his smile is still there. “I remember mom t-telling me it was going to be o-okay.” Will tries to hold onto his cheek a little harder. “That I was going to m-make new friends. But then I got there and e-everyone already had...someone.”
Mike wants him to stop, wants to postpone this discussion for a future that is close and that they now can have because the war they’ve been fighting for years is now over. Mike wants Will to stop but at the same time, he doesn’t want him to.
“And I just sat there on the swings, a-lone...because that’s what I was used to be. Alone.”
Will laughs and it’s watery. It feels like he’s drowning.
“And then you walked up to me,” Will continues and he’s smiling and the rest of the world doesn’t exist anymore. “You-you walked up to me and I thought you wanted me to get off the swings.”
They laugh and it’s a weird sound to hear on a battlefield, but that’s not where they are anymore. They’re blocks away, in the playground of an abandoned kindergarten, and it’s day and the sky is not falling. It’s day and it’s the first day of their lives together.
“But you didn’t,” Will continues. “You walked up to me and a-asked if I wanted to be y-your friend. And I said yes.”
It was a promise, a seal to a friendship meant for more and Mike knows he’ll treasure it for the rest of their lives.
“Mike.” Will’s breath shakes and Mike holds him closer. “Saying yes was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
“I’m glad you did,” Mike croaks out and his voice almost dies in his throat but he manages to clear it out. “I’m really glad you did.”
“Me too.”
Will manages to free his hand from Mike’s grasp and slips it to his lips. Mike wants to turn around and call for help again because time is ticking out but he’s hooked into the moment.
Will is looking down at his lips and Mike wants to close the gap and kiss him like there’s no tomorrow, but just the thought of it stops him because it looks like tomorrow’s there for only one of them and he doesn’t want to be the one facing it alone.
“We’ve had a-a pretty good time, huh?” Will asks and he laughs. “Monsters and alternate dimensions a-apart.”
Mike joins him with a laugh and brings his now free hand to Will’s face, to inch him closer. “Yeah, we had a few good adventures I’d say.”
“We definitely did,” Will replies and he’s choking again and Mike holds him closer. It feels like that’s all he can do. His leg is aching and he can feel his own blood drenching his clothes but he doesn’t care.
“It’s fine, you’re fine, you’re okay,” Mike whispers to him and he realises only now that he’s crying.
“Mike.” Will pales but he’s still smiling. “Falling in love with you has been the greatest adventure of my whole life.”
He’s been dreaming of hearing those words for quite some time, since he realised that his heart belonged to his best friend in a way that made him feel complete by just being with him.
Mike leans in and rests his forehead against his and for one moment, he allows himself to close his eyes and dream.
They’re in his basement. It’s night, the whole party just left after a movie night together and Will stays to spend the night. It’s just them because at the end of the day it’s always just them. Mike and Will. Will and Mike, and that’s all that matters.
Will is holding him close and he’s just whispered those words into his ears and Mike says it back by kissing him. It’s nice. The world is at peace and they have time.
The world is at peace now, too, in this world. In their reality. But time is slipping away.
“I love you, too,” Mike says and he can’t hold back anymore because even though he hates the thought with every single fibre of his being, he might not get another chance and he’s already full of regrets. He leans back just to lean in again and he finally kisses Will.
It’s a short and desperate kiss but Mike can feel it all: the love, the warmth, the adventures, the campaigns, the lost I love you's and the love that was always there but never seen. It’s all there, in their lips moving together, in a dance guided by lovers’ desires and wishes of tomorrows together.
And it all ends too soon because Will takes a deep breath and he takes all of Mike in and suddenly, he goes limp.
Mike opens his eyes and Will’s hand slips from his face to the ground.
“Will?”
Mike shakes him and Will doesn’t move. His body weighs much more than it’s supposed to and Mike shakes him again.
“W-Will?”
It’s a whisper and Mike can feel reality trying to find its way to his heart but he blocks it out because he’s not ready.
Will is smiling. He looks at peace. Mike is not ready for this to be the last memory he gets of Will.
“Will. Will.” He caresses his face and the smile doesn’t fall. It’s there, Will is smiling up at him but his brain quickly corrects him. He was smiling up at him. “I love you. Will, please.”
The sky is falling.
Black clouds are hovering over them and death is everywhere.
Lives are lost, loves are buried and Mike realises it’s not their lives anymore but just his .
He’s alone now.
“I love you.”
Mike kisses his smile again and this time, Will doesn’t kiss back.
“I love you. I love you.”
He holds his body close to him. Will doesn’t move and Mike cries, regrets and what-ifs pouring out of his eyes. That’s all he gets to have now because Will is not moving and his heart stopped beating.
The war is over. Victory should taste sweet but there’s nothing sweet about this and Mike feels like a part of him just died in his arms.
He tightens the grip on Will’s dead body.
He knows that this is going to be his forever scar.
It feels like the sky is falling.
It’s pouring and the sky’s black, clouds blocking the light away, and it feels like the world is ending.
Mike remembers the feeling of the sky falling. It stuck on his skin and no cold showers or rainstorms ever managed to wash it away.
He never forgets his umbrella but on days like this it feels useless because the sky is falling and it’s falling all over his raincoat.
He enters the bookshop just in time to avoid a wave of water raised by a car passing by. He shakes the rain off his coat as he closes his umbrella and puts it in the umbrella stand.
Warmth hits his face like a heatwave in summer but it’s winter and it’s cold and it’s December.
“Mike!”
He turns around and waves at El. She’s standing in the middle of the bookshop, smiling up at him with a book close to her chest. Mike smiles back and he looks at her and a warm feeling settles in his chest.
She looks beautiful with her jeans dress and colourful tights. She’s always been colourful.
“Hi El.” He walks up to her and kisses her on the cheek. “How are you?”
“Me? I’m good! How about you? It’s your big day!”
Mike chuckles and he nods. “Yeah, I know. I’m kinda nervous.”
“There’s no need to be.” A new voice chimes in but it’s not new because it’s familiar. Mike turns around and Lucas hugs him. “I’m sure it’s going to be great.”
“Thank you,” Mike answers. The bell of the shop rings and Mike turns around to see Dustin run in.
“Mike!” he shouts and drops his dripping umbrella on the ground. “I was shouting for you out there.”
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
“I figured.”
Dustin hugs him tight and then immediately finds his place next to El. He kisses her quickly and El leans into his embrace. Mike smiles. It’s something nobody saw coming but surprisingly, it’s been the best thing to happen to the party. They got together a few years after the last battle, after being single for the same amount of time. At first it looked like it came out of nowhere but time proved them wrong and six years later, they're still going strong.
“Where’s Max?” Mike asks.
“She’s running late but she’ll be here, don’t worry,” Lucas answers.
“So, are you excited?” Dustin asks, arm around El’s waist.
“Kinda, yeah.”
Dustin punches him on his arm and Mike feigns pain. “Kinda? Mike! It’s your big day! You’re signing copies of your book today! And you’re reading the first chapter to an audience!”
Mike smiles and looks around. Copies of his book are lying all around the entrance of the bookshop and there’s a desk where he knows he’s going to sit behind because someone might want for him to sign their copy of his book for them. Mike can’t believe he actually got there.
It’s been ten years since the last battle. Mike still has a scar on his leg but the one he knows will never fade away is the one on his heart.
“I know,” Mike says and El beams with his book in her hands. He gives her a look and raises an eyebrow. “Did you already read it?”
The book’s been out for barely two weeks and he knows that El is a fast reader, but he knows she’s been busy with university.
El shakes her head. “We’re on chapter seven. We read it together at night.” She smiles up at Dustin and Mike can feel his heart clench.
“It’s good, you know,” Dustin begins and there’s still a smile on his face but it’s painted with dark colours. “I like Steve’s character.”
Mike’s breath shakes with emotions and he holds back tears because he’s been dreading this day for quite some time.
He never let any of them read his book while he was writing it. It was a sensitive topic and he felt quite protective of his project. He’s poured his heart into it and it feels weird that the world now gets to read it.
“I’m happy about it.”
There’s a knowing silence that settles between them and Mike doesn’t get the chance to dwell much on it because the bookshop’s owner calls him over and Max enters the shop shortly after and he gets thrown into a busy day.
The party stays around the entire time. Dustin and El sit on the couch near the table and read chapter eight together, El gasping every now and then while Dustin tries to hold his laugh.
Lucas charms people into talking to Mike, making him sound like he’s the coolest person in the world. Max stands next to him, sometimes, and teases him like old times. It’s not old times anymore, though, and Mike knows it.
He gets to sign a few copies and the people are nice. Some people actually ask him about the plot, some are just polite and curious. It’s a weird feeling and Mike likes it.
When the clock hits six the bookshop is full of people. There’s a yellow chair in the middle of the shop right in front of many other chairs. People are sitting down and there are little empty spots left. Mike knows El forced a lot of her classmates to join her tonight and she can be intimidating. He doesn’t mind. He’s happy that the party’s there.
He looks around again and knows he’s not going to find them there, they’re not coming but Mike still feels pain take a grip on his heart.
“He’s still not ready for it, Mike. He tried but...it’s too early for him,” Nancy told him last night over the phone. He wasn’t really expecting Jonathan to show up. They’ve never been close friends but him being his sister’s husband changed things. And him being Will’s brother kind of made him think he’d be there. “And it’s a long drive for Joyce. She sends you her love, though.”
He wasn’t expecting them to actually show up but Mike still wishes they did anyway.
“We are ready to begin, Mike.”
Mike turns around and nods at the owner of the shop. He takes his copy of the book, the first he printed, and slowly makes his way to the yellow chair. Lucas claps so loud that he thinks people on the other side of the street can hear him. He smiles, nervously, and sits on his chair with trembling hands.
“Hello everyone,” he begins. “Thank you all for being here tonight. It’s the first time I do this so be gentle with me.”
He gets a common laugh from his audience and he’s okay with it. He can do it.
“I’m Mike Wheeler, the writer of The Greatest Adventure. As you probably know since you’re here.” Comedy has never been his forte but Dustin taught him well. “If you ended up here by accident, there’s still time to leave. This is a story about love and superheroes so if that’s not your cup of tea, you may leave. I promise I won’t be offended. Superheroes are not for everyone.”
A laugh here and there, soft looks, and El gives him the thumbs up. Mike takes a deep breath.
He looks down at the book cover and his finger traces the figure of a boy on a bike.
He looks up again and looks at his friend, his party, his family . They’re all here for him but they’re not all here.
He misses Will every single day and he feels like a fish out of water, gasping for air and barely breathing, but living nonetheless. He feels stuck in those moments where the air is killing him but he doesn’t get to die quite yet. He’s been feeling like this since the day Will died and he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to breathe properly ever again.
Mike opens the book and his hand browses the pages until he gets to chapter one.
He takes a deep breath.
“Chapter one: The Party. If you asked anyone to describe Will Báthory, the words kind and selfless would for sure be used. He was a small kid, known for being quiet and reserved, a reputation he preserved for many years. His friends though, the few he had, knew the true side of him: he was the silent kid who lived in the shadows but that was ready to fight monsters the moment they attacked his loved ones. Will was many things to many people but with years people began to know him as Will the Wise.”