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Mike hates Vecna. How could he not? The man..demon..wizard..whatever. The man made him and his friends’ life pure torture for years, not to mention the scars he left behind. Eleven still finds herself jumping at particularly hard gusts of wind; Max covers it up with her snarky comments and dry sense of humor, but he can tell she misses the way things were before. Will too, especially Will. His nightmares have become less frequent, but they’re still there. So yea, it’s safe to say Mike hates Vecna with every bone in his body and is glad he’s dead. However, he wants nothing more than for the ground to open up right now and suck him into the Upside Down. The reason? That would be none other than his father, Ted Wheeler.
“You’re dressed pretty fancy today. Is your little boyfriend coming over?” Mike rears his head up so fast he nearly gives himself whiplash. “My what?” His father seems unfazed, continuing to feed Holly mushed up peas. “Your boyfriend. The one with the bowl cut, has practically lived in our basement since he was 6?” Mike’s eye twitches. “Will”. Ted nods, a barely perceptible gesture. “Yes, little Byers”. His eye is still twitching, he realizes belatedly. “Um. He is coming over, but he’s not my boyfriend”. His father, irritatingly so, still seems very casual about this entire conversation. “Ah, lovers quarrel?” Mike feels as though he is losing his mind. “We’re not lovers!” Ted rolls his eyes as if Mike is the one misunderstanding. “Yes, because of the quarrel. You’ll make up soon enough, you two can’t stay away from each other”. Mike splutters indignantly because, if his father, Ted Wheeler, can acknowledge Mike’s clinginess, that's saying something. His moment of near insanity is, thankfully, interrupted by the doorbell. He stands up, shaking the crumbs off of his (admittedly fancy) shirt, and runs to open the door. The grin he is met with is almost enough to make him forget about his dad’s breakfast time weirdness. Almost.
Mike has never hated having supportive parents more than he does right now. Ever since everything that happened with the Upside Down- which they still don’t have the full story on, just that something terrible occurred and involved their two oldest- Karen has made it a point to be more involved in their lives. And, annoyingly enough, she has also forced Ted to do the same. Which explains how they ended up here. With Mike sitting on the couch next to his mother and across from his father, who is for once sitting up on the La-Z Boy rather than laying back in it. He looks about as eager to have this conversation as Mike feels, which is comforting in a sense. “I don’t understand what’s happening”, Mike looks at his mother, who is staring at him with nothing but love and understanding in her gaze. Which, okay, makes him soften up a little bit (he’s a bit of a momma’s boy, sue him). But still. Ted finally speaks again, in his grating tone of voice as he tends to do. “You’re growing up, so we need to have these kinds of conversations and establish some ground rules. Don’t think we don’t know what goes on in that basement”. Mike feels scandalized, which is confusing to him, because nothing goes on in the basement! He says as much, in a very indignant tone. “Maybe not now, but you and Will are getting older and-” “Will?” Mike interrupts his mother’s speech. “What does Will have to do with this?” His father peers over his glasses, as he always does when he’s preparing to say something ridiculously aggravating. “Son, if your boyfriend is going to be spending the night, there need to be boundaries”. Mike ignores the way his stomach swoops at the thought of Will being his boyfriend . Because Will isn’t his boyfriend. He’s his best friend. Even though he’s gentle with Mike in a way he isn't with others, and even if sometimes when Mike looks at him he’s filled with the strongest sense of want, and- oh. Mike realizes he’s fantasizing about his best friend in front of his parents. Right. His parents, who are currently looking at him waiting for a response. “He’s not my boyfriend”, Mike argues weakly. Ted finally begins to recline into the La-Z Boy, which is a signal he’s done with the conversation. “Whatever you say, son. Whatever you say”.
Okay. Mike thinks he can handle his dad thinking him and Will are dating- which they’re not. He can handle it. His father has the emotional intelligence of a granola bar, and don’t get Mike wrong, he loves his dad, but it’s the truth. So all in all, Mike assumes this whole dating Will fiasco will blow over. But it doesn’t. In his indignation at his dad, Mike seemed to forget he had a very nosy mother and an even nosier older sister, who is unfortunately dating Will’s older brother. Which brings them here.
It’s a Friday night, and the whole party is busy. Eleven and Max are having a self proclaimed “girls’ night” at Hopper’s cabin, while Dustin is away visiting Suzie and Lucas is tied up in family plans. So that leaves Will. Mike and Will. Which is fine, it’s normal, and welcomed even. Except Mike can’t ignore the way he feels whenever he looks at Will these days. He blames his dad, honestly. He was perfectly content to let these.. feelings, whatever they are, simmer for the rest of his days. He’s determined to not let them affect his friendship with Will. His father, however? He apparently enjoys being the bane of Mike’s existence. Which is why as Jonathan and Will step into the Wheeler home- Jonathan to take Nancy out for their weekly date night, and Will to have a sleepover with Mike- Karen calls out to her two oldest. “Kids, Jonathan and Will are here!” As Mike rushes down the stairs, Nancy hot on his heels, his father sighs. “Mike, Nancy, please inform your boyfriends that they are getting my rug dirty.” At that, both of the Byers boys' heads shoot up in surprise. Mike pointedly ignores how cute Will looks, drenched from the rain and how his own cheeks are growing increasingly warm. “Dad, he’s not- I said- forget it. Hi, Will”. Will smiles back easily. “Hey”. The moment is broken by Nancy and Karen, who are now whispering to each other and shooting looks at the two boys, which makes Mike feel oddly exposed. It’s not like they're doing anything. Still, he’s grateful for Jonathan reminding Nancy they’re going to be late. They finally leave, while Karen goes back upstairs to Holly. Which leaves Will and Mike, once again. Oh yea, and Ted, who is currently peering at them over his glasses. Mike rolls his eyes and grabs Will’s hand to guide him to the basement, but not before his dad tosses out, “Don’t forget what your mother and I said, Michael”. Mike responds by closing the basement door more forcefully than normal. Will raises his eyebrows as he follows Mike down the steps and to the couch. “What was that about?” “Nothing”, Mike flushes and fumbles with the VHS tapes. He was not about to tell Will that his father thought they were dating and it was causing Mike to spiral. He joins Will on the couch, pushing their legs much closer than necessary. “I rented that new space movie you were talking about.” Will brightens at that and immediately launches into a long winded explanation of the logistics and Mike thinks in the back of his mind, he could stay like this forever.
Mike is starting to think his dad may have a point about him and Will. Ted Wheeler, being right about something emotion related? That was a first. But he was still right, nonetheless. Mike loves his friends. All of them, even Max (though he’d never tell her that). But Will? Will is different. Will is kinder, and gentler. His smile brightens Mike’s day, and his talent is downright shocking for a 17 year old. Mike knows this for a fact, because he spends more time than he’d like to admit looking at his binder full of Will’s artwork. Mike thinks Will is the best artist he knows (and the only one), which is why he has been anticipating this day for months. It’s Will’s 18th birthday, and Mike has decided to go all out. He convinced his mom to let him host the party at their house this year, which came with an endless supply of smart remarks from his dad. It paid off in the end though, because now he’s here. In his kitchen, which is decked out with yellow balloons and confetti (Will’s favorite color), and a full spread of his favorite snacks. Mike had enlisted the help of Eleven and Max to decorate Will’s cake because unfortunately, the birthday boy himself was the only one with any artistic talent in the party. That resulted in a lot of levitating icing (courtesy of El) and a barrage of insults (courtesy of Max. “I’m blind and I can bake better than you, really Wheeler?”) Yea. All in all, Mike had busted his ass to pull off the perfect birthday for Will, because he deserves it. He deserves everything, and maybe that is sappy to think, but it’s true. He’s shaken from his stupor by the sound of the doorbell. “I’ll get it!” he hollers out before hopping up from his place at the table. Max snorts and says, “Yeah, we know”, only to be elbowed by both El and Lucas. Dustin seems more interested in stuffing as much food as he possibly can into his mouth, which, gross. But Mike has more important things to worry about. Like opening the door for Will, Joyce, and Jonathan. He can’t resist the urge to pull Will into a tight embrace; he just looks too cute in his bright yellow sweater. “Happy birthday”, Mike whispers into his hair. Will seems thoroughly pleased by the attention and allows himself to be pulled into the Wheeler home while still snugly in Mike’s arms. “Are you gonna let me go so I can go see our other friends?” Will laughs. Mike quickly lets go of Will and gives Joyce and Jonathan his brightest smile, who both look very amused. Mike is quick to slide his hand into Will’s and lead him into the kitchen, where their friends are now standing with party horns and Dustin is throwing confetti. That’s going to be a bitch to clean up later, Mike thinks absently. The party slips into a very loud, very horrible rendition of happy birthday, and Mike sneaks a glance at Will. To his surprise, Will meets his gaze and shoots him a shy smile before untangling their hands and going to embrace his other best friends. Mike ignores the way his hand tingles from where Will touched it, and goes over to join the party.
So that brings him back to this. In the kitchen, with all of his friends, wishing the ground would swallow him whole, Vecna related or otherwise. It starts when Ted walks into the kitchen, newspaper in hand as usual. He takes one look at the decorations, and then glances at Will who has on an obnoxiously bright yellow party hat and is currently wrestling with Dustin for the last piece of cake. “I didn’t know it was your boyfriends’ birthday, Michael.” Mike’s eyes widen. This is singlehandedly the most mortifying thing to ever happen to him and he needs to intervene now. Ted, ever the chatterbox, continues. He turns to Will, “Happy birthday, hope my son is treating you well”.
Several things happen at once.
Will turns the brightest shade of red Mike has ever seen on a person, while Dustin promptly chokes on the cake he managed to steal from Will. Jonathan and Nancy’s eyes widen, while Max guffaws loudly and Lucas attempts to cover her mouth with his hand. El blinks owlishly before saying, “Mike and Will are boyfriends?" Mike wants to die. He wants to die and never come back to life. Before he can conjure up a coherent response, Will speaks. “Thank you, Mr. Wheeler. Mike treats me very well, I couldn’t ask for a better friend”. Mike ignores the way his stomach drops at the friend word and turns back to his dad, who is now walking out of the kitchen after absolutely destroying his life. He slowly turns to meet his friends’ curious gazes. Except for Max, who is still laughing so hard she has to lean on Lucas for support. “Mike, your dad said-” “I know!” Mike wails, cutting El off. “He swears we’re dating even though I told him we’re not!” “ Is this why he wanted us to keep the basement door open?” Now it’s Mike’s turn to turn red. “Maybe”. Max, who has decided to stop laughing and rejoin the conversation quips, “Even your dad can see how bad you’ve got it for Will, how embarrassing”. Mike’s indignant splutter is met with the laughter of the entire table. As everyone slips back into easy conversation, Mike meets Will’s gaze across the table. His eyes are swimming with amusement, and Mike feels his irritation melt away.
Later, as everyone sets up in the living room so Will can open his presents, Mike feels his nervousness increase tenfold. Despite his dad absolutely humiliating him, he was right. Mike does like Will, and he wants to be his boyfriend, which is why he’s banking everything on his gift. He can confidently say he got Will the best gift out of everyone else, but is it enough? Enough for Will to realize that Mike is hopelessly and utterly in love with him? Mike doesn’t know. He sits quietly while Will rips open his gifts: a very fancy coat from his mom and brother, a new astronomy book, courtesy of Lucas and Dustin, and hair products from El and Max. (“So you can do something about that bowl cut, Byers”, Max snips. Will rolls his eyes good naturedly. Mike thinks Will’s haircut suits him, it frames his face very well, and sometimes when it's all windswept it makes him look particularly rugged, so- shit. He’s fantasizing again). Eventually, there’s only one gift left. Will smirks at him and wiggles his eyebrows. “I wonder what it could be”. He begins to rip open the gold wrapping paper Mike had chosen, and freezes. Mike feels his panic intensify almost immediately. “What’s wrong? Will?” Will looks up, and Mike is surprised to see there’s tears in his eyes. “Mike..you didn’t”. He pulls the gift from the rest of the wrapping, and everyone gasps. In Will’s lap sits a 100 watercolor set. A very expensive set that Will has been gushing about for almost a year now. Will is still looking at him, tears in his eyes. Mike feels his heart stutter in his chest, and starts talking before he can chicken out any further than he already has. “Will, you’re the best artist I know-” “He’s the only artist you know.” “Shut it Max”, Mike scowls at her before continuing. “I know how badly you’ve wanted these since we saw them, so I saved up. Because you’re worth it. And I”, he hesitates. “I love you. Happy birthday”. Will is silent for a moment, before he tackles Mike to the ground in a bone crushing hug. “This is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for me, I love you I love you I love you!” Will is babbling, and Mike just wraps his arms around Will even tighter. Will cups Mike’s face in his hands, and he’s grinning so hard his eyes are crinkling. Mike thinks he looks like the sun. “I love you”, he repeats before adding, “romantically, I mean”. Will, if it’s even possible, smiles harder. “I love you romantically, too”. Mike feels his eyes water, and before he responds he hears Max again. “Are you two seriously going to make out in front of us? I mean I can’t see but that’s a little inconsiderate, no?” Mike wants to snap at her and tell her to mind her own business, but she has a point. Everyone is staring at them; they’re all smiling, obviously supportive, but still. A little weird. Will and Mike quickly separate themselves, and Will lunges on the couch to grab the rest of the party in a group hug. Mike joins eventually, after being grabbed off of the floor by Lucas. As they untangle themselves, Will tells them to help themselves to the rest of the food.
Mike watches as everyone races into the kitchen, but before he can follow, he feels Will’s hand around his wrist. “Max was right. It would’ve been inconsiderate to kiss in front of everyone”. He’s blushing, Mike notices. Oh. Oh. “Right”, he agrees easily before continuing, “but they’re all gone now”. Will nods before stepping into Mike’s space, close enough that their noses are touching. He’s still smiling when he asks, “Can I kiss you?” Mike doesn’t say anything back. Instead, he cups Will’s jaw in one hand and grabs his waist with the other before he leans in. Will tastes like birthday cake, and his lips are impossibly soft. Mike feels like he’s burning from the inside out, especially when Will kisses back and grabs the collar of Mike’s shirt to pull him even closer. He wishes he could do this forever, but eventually, the two part to catch their breath. Will knocks his forehead against Mike’s, before laughing. “You love me. Romantically”. “And you love me back”, Mike can’t stop smiling. Will brushes Mike’s curls out of his face with one hand. “I’ve loved you since we were 12”. Mike feels like he’s been punched in the chest, at a loss for words. In lieu of a response, he captures Will in another kiss. “This is why your mother wants the basement door open”. Mike and Will jump apart, startled by the sound of Ted’s voice. “Glad you’re done denying it, son”. Mike squawks at his father. “We started dating ten minutes ago”, Will pipes up. Ted tilts his head and says, “Huh”. Then he’s gone again. “Your dad thought we were dating the whole time?” Mike grumbles and rolls his eyes “Yea, something about how clingy I am”. Will snickers, much to Mike’s chagrin. “Well you are pretty clingy. But it’s okay, I still love you” Mike smiles, and then hesitates. “Are we? Dating, I mean. Because we can, if you want”. Will raises an eyebrow. “If I want?” “C'mon Will, you know what I mean!” Will relents, laughing softly. “Yes, Mike. We are dating”. Mike grins at that, and squeezes Will's hand. “Cool”. “Cool”. The two stand there, entranced. The moment is broken, this time, by Dustin. “Come on lovebirds, we’re playing Twister!” Mike laughs and follows Will to the kitchen. As he watches El and Dustin immediately grab Will and try to twist him around the mat, he’s joined by his dad. Mike expects him to make a comment about the confetti on the floor, or perhaps tell them to be a little quieter. Instead, Ted’s hand comes down on Mike’s shoulder as he says, “He’s good for you, that Will”. Mike smiles softly as he watches Will and Dustin fall on top of each other, dragging El down with them in a tangle of limbs and laughter.
“Yea, he really is”.