Work Text:
1
Mike, Will, Dustin, and Lucas sat on a firm gray futon in Lucas’s dorm playing Mario Kart.
“WHO THE FUCK JUST BLUE SHELLED ME.” Dustin border-line yelled as he got knocked out of first place.
“Quiet down, we’re gonna get a noise complaint.” Will grumbled, intensely focused on the game.
Mike, as invested as he was, started doing the thing where he turns his body, mimicking the direction he was trying to steer. Suddenly he became hyper-aware of his surroundings, realizing he was leaning into Will’s body as he did so. He pulled away, flushed and embarrassed, and tried not to lean his body anymore.
“Byers I’m gonna fucking kill you-” Dustin murmured as Will overtook him in the game, now in first place.
Mike smiled a little bit at Dustin’s remark. Both Will and Dustin were notoriously good at Mario Kart, and it was always funny to watch them play against each other. The party had started keeping a tally of how many times each of them won, and right now Will and Dustin were tied for first, both of them having 18 wins. Mike had 12 wins, and Lucas had 10.
“How about you focus on the game rather than bitching about losing.” Will stuck his tongue out slightly, almost at the finish line.
Mike quickly shook his head, trying to get his hair to cover his face. He did NOT want the other party members to question why he was blushing so hard right now. I mean, can you blame him? Will was so cute just sitting there, sticking his tongue out, trash-talking Dustin.
“HA! Suck it.” Will extended his arms in victory as he passed over the finish line right before Dustin.
“Screw you man, let’s play Smash Bros and then we’ll see how you feel.” Dustin said.
“Like you’d win at that either.” Lucas bribed. Like how Dustin and Will were notoriously good at Mario Kart, Lucas was freakishly good at Smash Bros.
“Screw you too Lucas.” Dustin said, stretching his back.
“Mike, why are you so red? Maybe you should take off your hoodie, it is a bit hot in here.” Will gazed over at Mike, who hadn’t been saying much.
Mike’s heart nearly stopped. “Y-yeah that’s probably it, I guess I wasn’t really paying attention to anything other than the game-” He quickly stripped off his hoodie, leaving him in only a Rick and Morty t-shirt. Mike willed (no pun intended) himself to not blush anymore. He can’t have anyone knowing why he was blushing in the first place.
2
It was 5:05 pm when Mike received a knock on his dorm door. He got up from his desk and opened it, revealing a tired looking Will.
“Hey, what’s up man?” Mike asked.
“...Do you mind if I hang out here until I have to leave for the art exhibition?” Will nearly whispered.
“Yeah, sure, that’s totally fine.” Mike stepped aside, allowing Will to enter.
Mike watched as Will put his backpack on the ground, knelt down, and then laid flat on his stomach on Mike’s carpet. Something didn’t seem right.
“You okay man?” Mike asked, sitting back down at his desk.
“Yeah I’m just really tired… I barely got any sleep last night.” Will nuzzled his head into his arms, attempting to use them as a pillow.
A while back when Mike had switched from having a roommate to being in a single dorm, he told the party that they can come crash at his place whenever they need to. Will had done this a few times because his roommate, Marcus, was being too loud while Will was trying to do homework.
“Is Marcus being an asshole again?” Mike asked.
Will nodded his head, sighing. “Wake me up at 5:25, I have to leave at 5:30 to be at the exhibition by 6.”
Mike nodded, even though he knew Will could not see him. “Will do.”
As the time passed, Mike kept glancing down at Will, who was now sleeping peacefully on the shaggy area rug. Mike couldn’t help himself from stealing a glance every now and then. Will just looked so peaceful and beautiful while sleeping. Mike could do nothing but think about how he wanted to lay down on the rug with Will, and run his fingers through Will’s perfect hair. Maybe give him a nice little forehead kiss while he’s at it.
Mike hated that he thought these things, but he couldn’t stop them. He would make them stop if he could. Even though the thoughts made him feel good, Mike hated them so much. It was like there was this hole in his chest that would open up whenever he had those thoughts. All he feels is pain, because he knows he will never be able to act on those thoughts.
3
Mike and his friend Ryan sat on Mike’s dorm floor, both high out of their minds. Ryan was from Colorado, and his parents were super chill about marijuana. They were so chill about it that they would buy edibles for their son, who would then share them with his friends. Ryan and Mike had started a “movie night” tradition of taking an edible, laying around in Mike’s room, and watching shitty movies and TV shows and YouTube videos. For this particular movie night, Mike chose to watch the Netflix series Inside Job. Mike, who was curled up in a beanbag chair, rocked back and forth, enjoying watching his favorite show. Ryan was checking his Discord, and lifted his head to look at Mike.
“Hey, Will said he just got off work and is down to hang out and try an edible for the first time, is it cool if I invite him over?”
Mike’s head perked up at the sound of his best friend's name.
Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will-
“Oh yeah, definitely.” Mike replied after a second or two. His mind was reeling with the effects of the marijuana and thoughts of his best friend.
“Aight bet.”
Within no time, Will was knocking on the door. Mike doesn’t remember much between that and the absolute chaos that took place after Will ate the edible. The edibles Ryan had are only 10 mgs, and they will take a half a gummy to start off. After saying he was not feeling anything yet, Ryan reluctantly gave him the other half. This, as the boys were about to see, was a very bad idea.
Soon, Will was rolling around on the ground, laughing his ass off at absolutely nothing. He physically could not get up off the floor, so Ryan and Mike moved spots to sit next to Will. Mike’s head was still fluffy from his dose of weed, but he had enough brain cells to tell that Will was out of his mind. Will, still laughing, tried to explain to Mike and Ryan that everything had a color counterpart, and soon Will was just saying names of colors rather than answering in actual sentences.
“Synesthesia be like.” Ryan said softly, as both him and Mike tried to calm Will down. By now, Mike and Ryan were getting very worried about Will, because he kept forgetting what happened a few seconds ago.
He kept reaching out or rolling over into Mike, seeming to crave physical affection. Every so often Will would laugh out something that sounded like “I’m sorry”, and it was concerning Mike.
“Will, what are you sorry about?” Mike asked gently, having gone into a protective mindset.
“I feel… really touchyyy…” Will whined and rolled over into Mike’s leg again, pressing his forehead to Mike’s outer thigh. Mike blushed, still high, and not thinking clearly. Before he could think about what he was doing, Mike moved his leg out, gently picked up Will’s head, and placed it on his thigh, using it as a pillow. Mike then began to card his fingers through Will’s hair, smiling at the intimate feel the motion had. Will’s eyes fluttered closed and he seemed to relax. Mike hoped neither of them would remember this in the morning.
+1
It was late at night, and Will and Mike were walking through the hallway in their dorm building. Will glanced over at Mike, who was glancing around the hallway anxiously. Having been best friends for so long, Will knew that Mike struggled with anxiety. Mike was never one to ask for help, but Will could almost always tell when something was bothering him.
“Mike?” Will stopped walking.
Mike’s head snapped up to attention and he stopped walking as well. “Hm?”
Will faced Mike slowly, opened his arms, and hugged Mike. Mike froze at first, but sooner melted into the hug, allowing himself to be vulnerable. The hug lasted a little longer than it needed to, and soon Mike was pulling away. Will gazed softly at Mike, noticing a soft wetness in the others eyes.
“What was that for?” Mike asked, trying to calm himself down.
Will shrugged, looking into Mike’s eyes. “You just looked like you needed a hug.”
As Mike looked away, embarrassed and anxious, Will looked Mike up and down. If only Mike knew how much Will loved him.