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Mike squints against the wind hitting his eyes, zoning out of the conversation happening in front of him. Will and Holly happily chat ahead of him on their colourful bikes and he allows himself to watch, while attempting to ignore the feeling settled inside his chest.
Holly must’ve said something funny because Will laughs brightly, his eyes adorably crinkling at the corners and as he watches with what he’s sure is an embarrassingly fond expression, he forgets to peddle for a second, almost falling off his bike and catching himself with his foot.
Unfortunately, the both of them notice and look back at him. “You alright?” Will chuckles teasingly, his smile warm while Holly rolls her eyes dramatically, mouthing something that looks like the word ‘idiot’.
Suddenly breathless, he starts to cycle once more and laughs sheepishly “Leave me alone!”.
Holly, obviously eager to continue their conversation, ignores Mike, swivelling forward again but Will lingers there a couple seconds longer before facing back to her. Mike catches his breath and realises that he and Holly have reached their house.
His sister and Will stop ahead of him and Mike begins his daily “Are you sure you don’t want me to ride to the cabin with you?”.
“Yeah Mike, I always make it back here, don’t I?” Despite having to repeat this for the millionth time, Will remains grateful and reassuring each time.
He’ll never be fully convinced but it’s enough for now. “Okay, we’ll see you later for dinner, yeah?”
“Of course.” Will replies, in that way which makes him sure that he’ll never leave his best friend’s side.
“Bye, Will!” Holly exclaims, dismounting her bike while Mike does the same. “Bye Holly, bye Mike!”
“Bye.” He responds in a quieter voice, his expression soft and Will rewards him with another smile, waves his hand endearingly and bikes away, like he does every day to go help El and Hopper in the cabin.
The two siblings start walking their bikes to the garage quietly before Mike breaks the silence. “You seem to like Will.” He tries to sound uninterested and neutral but it still sounds like the question it is, the same way his mom does when she’s being nosey.
Holly shrugs, feigning nonchalance (unsettlingly similar to his own behaviour) “He’s pretty cool, I think”
He grins widely in her direction while absentmindedly settling their bikes against the wall “Yeah?”.
“I mean he’s a little funny and he’s nice and a good drawer so.” She doesn’t look at Mike, pretending to care less as if she hadn’t been talking to Will with extreme enthusiasm mere minutes ago.
“I can’t argue with any of that, I think he’s cool too.” He feels his face warm slightly and just hopes it doesn’t show, walking into the well lit kitchen.
“That much was obvious.” She adds with a mischievous grin stretched across her face, trailing after him.
Panic floods his body and he tries to play it cool “What? What are you talking about?”.
“Well he is your best friend and you kinda stare at him a lot.” Holly replies around a chocolate bar shoved in her mouth despite the way their mom would react if she saw her.
“I do not stare at him alot!” The heat in his face is definitely showing now. “Yes you do!”
Mike flounders for a moment, his hands gesturing at nothing. “Well, things are… dangerous at the moment. I'm just worried for him, Holly.”
“When you’re staring your face doesn’t always look worried.” She’s clearly trying to raise one eyebrow but it’s not working, though he still feels caught nonetheless.
There’s no way his kid sister managed to figure him out, how obvious has he been? “That’s because it’s happening in my head.” His shoulders are almost at his ears at this point.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter, i’m gonna be his favourite soon.” Her face is smug as she turns to leave for the living room.
Although briefly grateful that his feelings aren’t being scrutinised anymore, he’s now outraged as he follows behind his sister “You are not!”.
She picks up her colouring book and pencils calmly, like she knows how mad she’s making him “Are too, he talked to me way more than you on the way home today.” Mike stomps over and plops down in front of her with a frown, crossing his legs.
He crosses his arms moodily “I’ve known him since kindergarten, he’s my best friend!”
“Not for long…”
Mike decides that if he responds he’ll probably make her cry so he keeps his jaw shut and glares at her colouring.
—————————————————————
After a long time watching his sister colour and playing board games with her he finally hears teeth clattering and sniffling, the tell-tale sign of Will’s arrival. Mike stands up and Holly follows in tandem, abandoning their game, to go to the kitchen and greet Will.
“Hey guys.” Will greets, his voice nasally from the cold. Naturally, Mike feels the urge to hold Will until he’s warm again, especially since his nose is red and it’s making Mike feel like a weak man. Still, he refrains and settles for a quick greeting and pulls Will down into the basement to warm up.
As soon as they’re down there, Holly starts rambling away about drawing and Will listens intently as Mike delicately settles a blanket onto his back. Will pulls it around himself and bashfully smiles in thanks. He settles himself next to Will and fails to stay focused on his sister’s words when Will’s shoulder is pressed against his like that.
He only tunes back in when Holly mentions him. “It would’ve been better if I wasn't put off by Mike’s stupid face.”
“Wha- my face isn’t stupid!” He argues, deeply offended.
“It is when it’s scrunched up like that!” She points to his face and Will nods in agreement with a small grin, similarly evil to Holly’s from hours before.
“See! Will agrees, I’m his favourite!” She looks positively victorious while Will lets out a little shocked laugh.
Mike glares harder than before and as always Will attempts to soothe him “I’d say both of you are my favourite.”
Holly and Mike respond simultaneously, “That’s not how it works.”.
“Well sorry guys, I can't pick just one.” He shrugs while appearing very entertained by their squabble. Both siblings huff and the conversation moves on to Holly’s new DnD character.
——————————————————————
Once everyone’s had dinner, Holly finally decides she’s bored of them and goes up to her room, leaving Will and Mike alone in the basement.
In the soft basement glow, Mike can’t help but notice how soft Will’s hair looks as he updates Mike on how El and Hopper are doing. He doesn’t see much of his friend after they broke up but he’s glad to hear that she’s doing well.
Will yawns and that’s Mike’s que to bother Will until he goes to bed but he’s interrupted when he opens his mouth to do so. “I’m fine, Mike” He chuckles and places a strong warm hand on top of Mike’s, effectively ceasing all his brain function “You haven’t told me about your campaign for Dustin yet”.
As always, Mike complies and begins to happily tell him all about the campaign in great detail.
During his fifth side rant he eventually notices the weight on his shoulder. He fades his voice out, trying not to wake a seemingly asleep Will as he looks impossibly peaceful, his dark eyelashes beautifully contrasting against his skin. “I’m not asleep.” He croaks, eyes still shut, apparently having noticed the lack of Mike’s voice.
The corners of Mike's mouth upturn “You sure about that?”.
“Yeah, i’m just listening” He shifts slightly, his head moving so it’s more tucked into Mike’s neck and Mike will be lucky if he doesn’t hear his heartbeat.
“Can’t let Holly see you ‘listening’ she might think, i’m your favourite.” He’s stopped caring by now, after being around his best friend for a while, however he can see Will’s lips tick upward so he’s staying with the bit.
“Shut up, I'm yours too.”
Before Mike can respond he hears heavy breathing, signaling that Will’s fallen asleep now. He lays his best friend down, climbs up to his room, and prays that he hasn’t been figured out while trying to ignore the ghost feeling of Will’s head on his shoulder and the way his hair tickled his neck.