Work Text:
Mike was running late, as usual. Though he would argue that it wasn’t entirely his fault this time. Holly had insisted on brushing his hair before he left the house, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her no. He sure as hell wasn’t going to tell the party that, not that they’d find it to be an adequate excuse anyway.
He quickened his pace so he was jogging down Main Street, toward the theater. The theater, like most everything in Hawkins, was new. It was in the same spot as the old theater, rebuilt after the “earthquake.” It was a little larger and a lot nicer, thanks to the funds provided to the city by the federal government.
It was just after sunset, and the white lights on the front of the building shined bright, illuminating the sidewalk. Mike walked right past the ticket booth at the front of the building, past the front doors, and down the alleyway on the left side of the building. It was significantly less well lit, but he could make out the party waiting at the end of the alley, right outside the theater’s side door.
Lucas had his arm draped around Max’s shoulders. Dustin was leaning against a dumpster, which Mike thought was disgusting, and El had her arm linked with Will’s, leaning her head on his shoulder.
“Oh my god, finally!” Dustin said.
“Relax, I’m here,” Mike said.
El pulled her arm away from Will’s and put her hands on her hips, expressing her disapproval at Mike’s tardiness. Mike gave her a sheepish smile.
“We almost went in without you,” Max said and Lucas hummed in agreement, because of course he did.
“Yeah, well, you didn’t. And I’m here. So let’s all calm down,” Mike said, knocking three times on the side door and stepping back. He stood close to Will, who hadn’t said anything to him yet.
“Hey,” Mike said, nudging Will with his shoulder. If it was just the two of them, he would’ve kissed him. That was something he was allowed to do now, because they were dating.
“You’re late,” Will remarked, biting back a smile. Mike really wanted to kiss him. Sure, the party had no idea they were dating, so it might raise a few questions, but god, Will just looked so incredibly kissable.
“Is that my jacket?” Will asked, quiet enough that only Mike could hear, and tugged on his sleeve.
Mike flushed and opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off by the door swinging open.
“Alright, twerps, come on!” Steve said, ushering them in the door.
“We’re not ‘twerps.’ We’re fucking adults,” Mike said as he walked in through the door.
“You’re only seventeen,” Will very unhelpfully pointed out, following behind him. Mike waved him off.
“Well,” Steve said to Mike, “If you’re ‘adults,’ then you can all pay for your movie tickets instead of me sneaking you in every time and risking my employment.”
“Adults or not, some of us are still poor,” Max said as the party followed Steve down the hall to the back door of one of the two theaters in the building.
“We appreciate it, Steve,” Dustin said, shooting the rest of them dirty looks.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re in theater two,” Steve said, gesturing to the door. “Don’t act like assholes, and if you tell anyone about this–”
“We’re dead,” the party chorused.
There wasn’t room for everyone to sit in the same row, so they ended up in pairs. Mike stuck close to Will, making sure it was clear to everyone he would be sitting next to him. As if they’d consider anything different. Mike and Will weren’t physically affectionate in front of their friends, but they usually weren’t more than three feet apart at any given time, which Mike was sure didn’t go unnoticed.
He and Will sat in one of the middle rows, with Lucas and Max directly in front of them, and Dustin and El behind them a little to the left. Mike watched as Lucas did a fake yawn and draped his arm over Max’s shoulders.
“Oh, real smooth,” Max said sarcastically, but she leaned into it anyway.
Mike glanced at Will, whose hands were folded in his lap. Mike’s own hand twitched with the urge to grab Will’s, but he resisted.
Will was uncharacteristically quiet. Usually he’d be whispering into Mike’s ear during the previews about which movies he wanted to see and which ones looked stupid. Generally, Will thought most movies that weren’t sci-fi or fantasy looked stupid.
“You okay?” Mike whispered.
Will nodded, and gave a weak smile.
“You don’t look okay,” Mike pressed.
“I’m fine. Tell you later,” Will said.
Mike frowned, but he supposed he’d have to be satisfied with that for now. The movie was about to start anyway, so they couldn’t exactly carry on a conversation. They were seeing Back To The Future II. A few months prior, they had finally rented the original for movie night, since none of them had seen it. (Except for Dustin, who said he’d seen parts of it but was distracted, whatever that meant.) Mike thought it was a pretty good movie, until Will remarked that Michael J. Fox was “cute” in it. Then Mike thought it was perhaps the worst movie he’d ever seen in his life. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to the sequel.
As soon as Marty McFly appeared on the big screen in all his glory, Mike leaned over and whispered, “He’s not even that hot, though. Right?”
Will giggled and waved him off.
“Right?” Mike repeated.
Will started to quietly laugh again, then suddenly stopped. Mike followed his gaze to the people sitting right beside them, who were giving them a strange look. Mike shifted uncomfortably, and turned his attention back to the screen. He couldn’t help but notice that Lucas kept leaning over to whisper to Max. Nobody else seemed to notice or care. Mike frowned and tried to just pay attention to the movie.
“Honestly? That kind of sucked,” Lucas announced as the party exited the theater through the front doors.
“The original was way better,” Dustin agreed, “Hey, do you guys wanna come back to my place? My mom’s at my uncle’s house in New Jersey for the weekend, and I know where she keeps the booze.”
“You had me at booze,” Max said.
“That was literally the last thing I said,” Dustin pointed out.
“I will come too,” El said, “Will?”
“Oh,” Will said, “Uh…”
“Will and I have a homework assignment we need to work on,” Mike said.
El looked suspicious. “What homework?”
“The essays for Click’s class,” Mike said.
“Those aren’t due for a week,” Lucas protested.
“Yeah, but we want to get a head start. I’m trying to stop procrastinating,” Mike said.
“Fine, suit yourselves. Come join us if you change your mind,” Dustin said.
Mike and Will took Mike’s car back to the Hopper-Byers house, while El drove Jonathan's old car that she and Will had come in to Dustin’s house. She told Will she would probably just sleep there, since Max and Lucas were too. Mike felt a little guilty for skipping the party hangout, but he could tell Will wasn’t feeling it and they hung out with the party almost every day, so he figured it was fine.
Once they arrived at the Hopper-Byers house, Mike followed Will up to his bedroom. Will sat down on his bed, and Mike dramatically flopped on the bed next to him. Will laughed and laid back so they were side by side.
“What did you think of the movie?” Will asked.
“It sucked,” Mike said.
Will chuckled. “Yeah, it wasn’t great. But you know–”
“Don’t say it,” Mike groaned.
“–Marty McFly. He’s–"
“Are you trying to kill me?” Mike asked seriously.
“You’re such a dork,” Will snorted.
“Great, now you’re calling me names,” Mike said, “My feelings are hurt and you’re calling me names.”
“Okay, I’m sorry!” Will said with a laugh.
“No, if you want me to forgive you, you have to say I’m hotter than Michael J. Fox,” Mike insisted, turning on his side to look at Will.
Will mirrored his movement so that they were face to face. “Michael Wheeler. You are hotter than Michael J. Fox.”
Mike nodded his approval, “Thank you. I love you.”
“Dork,” Will said.
Mike smiled and leaned forward to press their lips together. Will kissed back, and brushed Mike’s hair out of his face. Mike pulled back, grinning like an idiot. “I love you,” he repeated.
“I love you too,” Will said fondly.
“Oh, hey. What was wrong earlier?” Mike asked, “You said you’d tell me later, and it’s later.”
Will frowned. “Oh. It’s really not a big deal, it was stupid.”
“If it was bothering you then it’s not stupid,” Mike asserted.
Will paused for a moment, then sighed and asked, “Do you ever wish we could go on real dates? Like normal dates?”
“What do you mean?” Mike asked.
“I don’t know, I guess I was just thinking... we don’t get to go out and do normal date things like every other teenage couple can. Sometimes I just wish we could go to the movies and hold hands and be stupidly corny like Lucas and Max. But it’s Hawkins, and it sucks, so we can’t. And I’m okay with that most of the time. Really, I am. But just sometimes I wish I could hold your hand at the theater and have it not be a big deal. That’s all.”
Mike frowned and grabbed Will’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
Will laughed, “Why are you sorry? It’s not your fault.”
“I would hold your hand, I mean. I want to hold your hand. All the time. It’s just…”
“Not safe,” Will finished for him.
Mike winced. It was so fucked up, how true that statement was. It made Mike angry. It made him angry that something as simple as holding his boyfriend’s hand could put them in danger. Not from the party, of course. Their friends would probably be supportive, if a little shocked, and they were going to tell them about their relationship – when they were ready. But most everyone else in town was a different story. They wouldn’t be quite so tolerant. Mike was flooded with memories: nasty words spat at Will across the recess yard at Hawkins Middle, the same words muttered in the halls of Hawkins High, and the murmurs of adults – town busy-bodies who found the possibility of the Byers boy being a queer to be worth gossiping about. And it was odd, wasn’t it, that the Wheeler boy spent so much time with him. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Will claimed that none of it bothered him, though Mike wasn’t sure how that could be true. It bothered him immensely.
“I love you, Will. And I promise we’re gonna get the hell out of Hawkins after graduation, and things are gonna be different,” Mike said, not because he was really sure that things would be different, but because he didn’t know what else to say. It seemed like the right thing, because Will smiled.
“I know,” Will said, “I love you too. It’s not a big deal, really. I was just thinking.”
Except Mike could tell that it was bothering him, and so it was a big deal. He brought Will’s hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles. “You know what? Screw that. I’m gonna take you on a real date. Next weekend.” he promised.
“Mike, you don’t have to–”
“I know. I want to. I’m gonna figure it out,” Mike said.
“Okay,” Will said with a fond smile.
Mike was nothing if not determined, so he came up with a plan to take Will on a real date – one where they wouldn’t have to constantly look over their shoulders, and where all of their friends weren’t tagging along. Mike’s plan, however, relied entirely on the cooperation of one Steve Harrington. Steve was, for some unknown reason, still in Hawkins. Everyone just sort of assumed he would follow Robin to the city when she left for college, but in Hawkins he remained. Dustin said it was something they were “working on.” Depressing as Mike thought it was, it was pretty convenient for the party to have Steve around, especially working at the theater. They saw movies for free whenever they wanted, and even got free popcorn sometimes.
As Mike walked into the theater – through the front doors for once – he immediately spotted Steve behind the counter of the concession stand. Luckily, there was no one in line.
He approached the stand and cleared his throat awkwardly to get his attention. Steve was salting the popcorn in the large popcorn machine, and he looked over his shoulder at Mike.
“Hey. What’s up?” Steve asked, closing the door to the popcorn machine and turning to face Mike.
“Uh– hey. How are you?” Mike asked awkwardly.
Steve looked at him and raised an eyebrow, placing his hands on the counter and leaning forward, “I’m fine.”
Mike nodded. “Cool,” he said, “So, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?” Steve asked skeptically.
“Yeah, it’s not that big of a deal,” Mike said.
“M’kay, well, how about you tell me what it is, and I’ll decide if it’s a big deal.” Steve said.
Mike fought the urge to roll his eyes. “I need a private showing of Back to The Future for Will and I.”
Steve stood up straight and crossed his arms, “That’s a big ask. Why do you need a private showing? You guys already saw it, and Dustin said you hated it.”
“That’s– not important. Look, we’ll just come after closing time, and you can play it in one of the theaters. Just hang out until we leave, then you can lock up. Easy.” Mike said.
“Oh, great. You’ve got all the logistics figured out, very impressive. Except I think you forgot the part where we get caught, and I get fired.” Steve said.
“You won’t get fired! You close up the place on Saturdays, right? Nobody’s going to catch you. Nobody’s caught on to the fact that you’ve been sneaking us in for months!”
“Will you keep your voice down?” Steve hissed.
“C’mon, you owe me!” Mike said.
“Oh, I owe you?” Steve asked.
“Yeah, for all the times I kept quiet about you sneaking in my sister’s window!” Mike argued.
“Okay, so like twice?” Steve said.
“Two times too many. I was a kid, man. You scarred me for life,” Mike said.
“You’re so full of shit, Wheeler.”
“Look, will you please just do this for me? I can pay you,” Mike pleaded.
Steve scoffed, “I don’t want your money.”
“Because the theater pays so well?” Mike said pointedly.
“Low blow, kid,” Steve said.
“Steve. Please?”
“Jesus, fine! But if I lose my job or some shit, it’s on you,” Steve said.
Mike led the way down the aisle of the dark, empty theater, Will trailing behind him. The previews were already playing on the screen and the house lights were down. It was so dark Mike almost tripped coming down the aisle, which made Will laugh.
“I can’t believe you convinced Steve to do this,” Will said.
“Why? Steve loves me,” Mike said.
Will scoffed, “Sure he does.”
Mike shot Will a grin and grabbed his arm, pulling him to the middle of the very back row.
“Why are we sitting in the back row of an empty theater?” Will asked as they took their seats.
“Because that’s what couples do on movie dates, so they can be all touchy and shit,” Mike said, then turned and looked up at the projection booth, “Also, I’m pretty sure Steve is up there, and this way he can’t see us.”
“Fair enough,” Will said.
“Now, I believe some hand holding is in order,” Mike announced, resting his arm on the armrest between them with his hand outstretched.
“You’re such an idiot,” Will said, but grabbed his hand anyway.
“You love it,” Mike said.
“Mhm,” Will said, keeping his eyes on the screen.
“You do,” Mike insisted, “You love it. You love me. You–”
“Oh my god Mike, shut up,” Will laughed.
Mike looked up at the screen, which read Steven Spielberg Presents.
“Hey, the movie is starting, pay attention,” Mike said, shushing Will and turning his full attention to the screen while biting back a smile.
They watched in silence for a few minutes, Will huffing a laugh as the flying DeLorean narrowly dodged the flying taxi cab.
“This is really dumb,” Will said.
“Yeah, I know. Isn’t it great? We’re on a stupid date watching a stupid movie like stupid teenagers.” Mike said.
Will nodded. “Yeah, it’s great,” he said sincerely.
Will was smiling, making little comments here and there as they watched. Mike wanted to kiss him. Mike wanted to kiss him and he could kiss him. In fact, they’d already seen the movie anyway, so he thought…
“Hey,” Mike whispered.
Will turned to Mike with a giggle. “Hey.”
“How’s the movie so far?” Mike asked, leaning closer into Will’s space.
“Is that why you interrupted it? To ask if I like the movie we’ve already seen and established that neither of us liked?”
Mike shrugged. “Wanna make out?”
Will made an undignified sound. “You’re so– You’re ridiculous,” he stammered.
“Is that a no?” Mike asked teasingly.
Will huffed, but said nothing.
Mike grinned and leaned in slowly, so Will could pull away if he wanted. Of course, Will didn’t pull away, he leaned in to meet Mike and tilted his head to the side in the way Mike had become so familiar with. Mike’s smile widened and he surged forward to connect their lips.
The kiss was tentative, at first. Sure, they were alone, and there was no way anyone was going to see them, but they were still technically in public. Then Mike rested one hand gently on Will’s waist, and the other on his face, cupping his jaw. Will tilted this head a little more, leaning into Mike’s touch. Will deepened the kiss, and being in public suddenly mattered very little to Mike. All that mattered was Will, and the warmth of his mouth, and Mike was starting to feel a little lightheaded.
Prior to dating Will, Mike thought kissing was fine. It was something people were supposed to do when they were dating, and it was fun, he guessed. And then he kissed Will for the first time, and – despite the fact that they were both sobbing, so it probably wasn’t objectively the best kiss – he realized in that moment that he actually enjoyed kissing very much. Kissing Will always made him feel a little like he was floating, and he tended to lose track of what was going on around them.
They made out for a few minutes, open-mouthed and passionate, the movie long forgotten. At some point, they had to break apart to breathe, but Mike only had time to take a single breath before Will pressed forward, tightening his grip in Mike’s hair and connecting their lips again. He made a surprised sound, which caused Will to laugh into the kiss. He nipped at Will’s lower lip in retaliation, and Will let out a shaky breath into his mouth. The hand on Will’s waist slid behind him to rest on the small of his back, and Mike pulled him closer, blissfully unaware of their surroundings.
“Holy shit! Holy fucking shit!”
Mike and Will sprung apart and turned to see Dustin standing in the aisle of the theater gaping at them, his giant tub of popcorn on the floor, popcorn spilled everywhere.
The three of them stared at each other for a tense moment before Mike blurted, “Dustin, what the hell are you doing here?” He scrambled to lean even further away from Will, as if that would throw Dustin off their trail. Dustin opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then snapped it shut. He was bright red, his eyes wide. Redder perhaps, was Will, who looked like a deer in headlights.
“You,” Dustin pointed at Mike, “and you,” he pointed at Will, “you’re… What? What? ”
“Um… no?” Mike said intelligently.
“No?” Dustin questioned.
“No,” Mike confirmed.
“Okay, dude, what the fuck?” Dustin asked, clearly confused.
“What Mike is trying to say is–” Will started to say.
“That it’s not what it looks like!” Mike finished.
Will and Dustin both gave him questioning looks.
“You guys… weren’t just sucking face?”
“Okay, yeah, but it’s not what you think!” Mike said.
“What the hell do you mean?” Dustin said.
“We were just– practicing…” Mike answered.
“Practicing?” Dustin and Will asked in unison. Mike shot Will a look.
“Yeah, um… so Will’s never been on a date before, so I took him on a practice date… to a movie.” Mike said, glancing at Will, who had a look on his face somewhere between amused and mildly pissed off.
“And the face sucking?” Dustin demanded.
“Well, Will’s never kissed anyone either, so we were practicing that too,” Mike said sheepishly.
“Unbelievable,” Will muttered.
Dustin looked between them and shook his head. “Look, it’s totally fine if you guys are… together or whatever, I just didn’t expect to find out like that. I’m not like– weirded out, if that’s what you’re worried about. Well, I am, but not in a bad way. Just in a ‘I saw my two best friends eating each other’s faces' way.”
Mike cringed and glanced at Will. Will gave a little shrug that said, it’s up to you.
Mike took a deep breath. “Yeah we… We’re together. Dating. We’re dating.”
Dustin nodded, “I– Look I don’t uh– I don’t really know what the right thing to say is, but it doesn’t change anything. I’m– happy for you guys.”
“Thank you, Dustin,” Will said.
“I guess it kinda makes sense, in retrospect, I just never would have… Wow.” Dustin said.
Mike stared at Dustin. Truthfully, he’d been terrified when Dustin walked in on them. When he saw the shock on his face, he didn’t quite know how to read it.
“So this is why you made Steve give you a private showing, so you could make out during the movie?” Dustin asks.
“So we could um… have a real date,” Will said quietly.
Dustin paused. “Oh.”
“Why are you here, anyway?” Mike asked.
“Well, I asked Steve if he wanted to hang out, and he told me he was gonna be here because you guys were having a private showing. So I thought I would join.”
“And you didn’t consider that maybe there was a reason we didn’t invite you?” Mike asked.
“Well… yeah. I thought you guys were just being assholes, I didn’t think you were gonna be rounding first base.”
“Dustin, what the fuck?” Mike asked, putting his head in his hands.
“Anyway, I guess I should leave you guys alone. So you can… get back to it,” Dustin said.
“Y’know, gonna be honest, you kind of ruined the mood,” Will said.
“Oh. Right, yeah. So… I can stay?” Dustin asked hopefully.
“No!” Mike said, “What is actually wrong with you?”
“Okay, Jesus shit, calm down. I’m leaving!” he said, putting his hands up in surrender and swiftly leaving the theater, his popcorn bucket still spilled all over the floor.
They sat in silence for a moment.
“So… that happened,” Will said.
“It did,” Mike agreed.
“So does this mean… I mean are we gonna tell them?” Will asked.
“Do you want to?” Mike asked in return.
Will smiled a little. “Yeah. I think I’m ready. Honestly I think El already knows, and now Dustin, so…”
“Yeah, but we still don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna do, Will,” Mike said firmly.
“I know,” Will said, “I want to. I want them to know.”
“Me too,” Mike said.
Will smiled at him again, and Mike couldn’t help leaning in to kiss him. But before their lips touched, Will pulled back and put a hand on Mike’s chest, stopping him.
“Actually, I think I’ve had enough practice,” Will said with a glint in his eye.
“Oh, come on! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” Mike said, trying again to lean in.
“Nope,” Will insisted, “I think I’m ready for the real thing now, so I don’t really need you anymore. Thank you, though.”
“You’re not serious,” Mike said.
“Oh, I’m very serious.”
“Will, I’m sorry, I panicked,” Mike whined.
“Why are you sorry? It was very valuable practice, it was fun… while it lasted,” Will said.
“Will. Will, you have to kiss me right now or else I’ll die,” Mike insisted, pushing against Will’s hand on his chest.
“That seems a little dramatic,” Will said.
“No, really, you have to--”
And then Will – finally – kissed him. Mike wrapped his arms around Will and pulled him closer. And all was right in the world, until…
“Hey, what’s with the popcorn on the–” Steve stopped abruptly when he saw Mike and Will break apart and look at him with guilty faces.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Mike said.
“Woah, hey. No worries,” Steve said, putting his hands up, “Dudes kissing dudes? All good. Great, even. I am an ally,” he said, pointing at himself with both thumbs.
Mike and Will exchanged glances. There was an awkward silence.
“I think we’re just gonna go now,” Will finally said.