Chapter Text
The Byers-Hopper living room had been temporarily turned into a large cave of sleeping bags and blankets. They had managed to get away with the excuse of Max and El coincidentally having a sleepover at the same time the boys did. Not at all a mixed event. Dustin had been trying to throw popcorn into Max’s mouth while Lucas bugged Will with the same question he had been asking since he came out to them.
“When are you gonna get a boyfriend?” Lucas whined.
Will rolled his eyes and set his soda down on the floor next to him. He had answered this question about fifty times before so he didn’t have to think about his response.
“As soon as I find a gay boy in Hawkins that is out and wants to date me,” he said with a dry tone that implied the odds of that were very slim, at which Dustin scoffed as if personally offended without looking away from his mission.
“Will, if I liked boys, I would be all over you,” he insisted.
They all laughed as Will pulled a disgusted face, though he appreciated the gesture. “Thanks, man, but I’m good.”
“You must like someone,” said Lucas with a raised eyebrow.
Will’s eyes darted to Mike, lightning quick so no one would catch it, but he met his gaze before looking away and clearing his throat.
“Leave him alone, guys,” Mike said, annoyed. Max’s eyebrows appeared to launch off her forehead but she said nothing. Dustin and Lucas side eyed each other before both shrugging. They all just sat there for a moment before El stood up and stretched.
“I am getting more pizza,” she announced, blissfully unaware of the awkwardness that Will was currently feeling.
“Me too,” Dustin said, walking off with her.
They managed to make it another two hours before the topic came up again. This time, surprisingly, it was El who said something. Everyone else was getting ready for bed and she sat next to him on the floor. He had been picking at the carpet for a while, sitting there in his pajamas and generally feeling sorry for himself.
“Do you not like anyone?” she asked earnestly. Will sighed. Now this, he did not know how to answer. It was hard to lie to El, so he didn’t make a habit of it.
“It’s complicated.”
She paused before saying, “I hope it stops being complicated. You deserve to be happy.”
She laid a hand on his shoulder and they smiled at each other. How did he get so lucky to have her as a sister? El was so full of love and to be on the receiving end of it made it hard to not look on the bright side of things. Maybe everything could work out, who knows.
“What are we talking about?” asked Dustin as they all filed back into the room and on the couch.
“Boys,” El told him.
“Yes! Get my boy some di-“
“MAX!” Will interrupted before she could finish her sentence. His face flushed a dark red and he shook his head in disbelief. This feeling only increased when he saw Mike trying to cover up a laugh with a cough.
“Something funny, Michael?” he asked.
“Nope,” he said, finally laughing out loud.
That laugh. Will had heard it all his life and yet he never tired of it. The way his nose scrunched and his cheeks dusted with pink. He made a mental note to draw him like that later.
They had all settled in to watch a movie, and the subject was not brought up, but Will’s mind wouldn’t let the topic go. When would he get a boyfriend, if ever? Why was he stuck on Mike after all these years? Why couldn’t he just move on?
“Hey,” Mike said in his ear from beside him on the floor, “You ok?”
Will swallowed. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Mike’s breath had been hot on his cheek and they were pressed up so close against the couch that he could smell Mike’s shampoo. Will wiped his sweaty hands and excused himself to go to the bathroom. He just needed a moment to breathe.
When he reached the bathroom and closed the door, he finally felt his limbs relax. Maybe he should’ve just gotten some things out of the way while he was in California. He should’ve found a boy that could be his first kiss and maybe get him over Mike. Well, if nothing else, maybe he could find someone at college. Or maybe he was doomed to be alone forever and buy a dog, who knows. It had only been about a minute and a half before there was a knock at the bathroom door.
“Yeah?” Will called.
“Will, it’s Mike, I just came to check on you.”
He opened the door to let Mike in and closed it once more. The two boys sat on the cold tile, knees touching ever so slightly.
“What’s going on?” he asked softly and Will sighed deeply.
“It’s stupid, I’m just a bit tired of all the relationship questions.”
Mike nodded sagely and his brows furrowed. Will knew that face. It was the same face Mike made when he had an idea for a campaign. That was a dangerous face.
“Miiiike. What are you planning?” he pouted, shoving the boy.
“Shh, let me think,” he said, putting his finger to Will’s lips for a second. He went cross eyed to look at the hand on his mouth and his heart picked up about ten paces. Mike removed his hand and stood up, beginning to pace the small bathroom and Will stood soon after in confusion.
“Okay, so the party won’t stop bothering you about dating someone, yes?”
“Yes?” Will said slowly.
“And your family is worried you're lonely, yes?”
“Hey! I-”
“Shut up and let me finish. I want to move out of my dad’s house but he won’t let me…” Mike trailed off as if Will could finish the thought for him.
“Mike, literally what do those things have to do with each other?”
He looked at Will like it was obvious and held his hands out in a general ‘duh’ gesture.
“You date me!”
Will caught a glimpse of the face he made in the bathroom mirror, and no words could describe what that emotion was. Will calls it, ‘my-best-friend-who-is-a-boy-and-very-straight-who-I-am-in-love-with-says-I-should-date-him.’
It took a moment for Will to get the word out of his mouth, as it had gotten very dry. “What?”
“You date me! Pretend, of course-”
“Of course.”
“-so everyone leaves you alone and my dad kicks me out because he’s a piece of shit. Everybody wins!”
“Mike, did you take a trip to Argyle’s van?”
“What?” Mike asked, offended. He seemed to think it was a great plan. Will caught his breath and leaned against the wall, suddenly not finding it so funny as he considered what might happen.
“Mike, no one’s gonna buy that. Also, it is not worth losing your family over a joke. What if he- what if he hurts you?”
As Will tried to get Mike to see reason, some part of him wanted to say yes. Some awful, selfish, thirteen year old part of him wanted Mike in whatever way he could get him, even if it was fake. Mike seemed to think Will’s words over, and he had a moment of hope that the boy would change his mind.
“You think he would hurt me?” Mike asked, as if this had never occurred to him.
“Mike, I’m not saying your dad’s a bad person, but-”
“He’s the scum of the earth, but continue.”
“People do crazy things when they think someone they love might be g- might be like me.”
Mike’s face twisted in a way that churned Will’s stomach. No, don’t be sad, don’t look like a kicked puppy.
“Well then we gotta do it.”
“What?!?” Will exclaimed, more confused than ever. He thought he had changed his mind, not egged him on.
“Think about it. If Hawkins has a publicly gay couple, it could make it easier for other people.”
“You want it to be public?” Will screeched. Okay, Mike had officially lost his mind, because if he thought the bullying was bad already, just wait until he announced he was a boykisser.
Mike grinned. “Are you agreeing?”
“No! I’m the opposite of agreeing! I’m disagreeing! I am the antithesis to whatever point it is that you’re trying to make!”
Mike just laughed. “The point is it’s a win-win situation. We say we’re dating, we hold hands in front of people, maybe kiss a few times then we stage a break up. No harm done.”
Kiss. He wanted them to kiss. Well, no, not wanted, but he suggested it. Oh god.
“You do realize if your father kicks you out, you might never speak to him again.”
“If that’s the worst case scenario, then this plan is better than I thought.”
Will sighed again, running his hands over his face. He only had so much willpower. The boy he had been in love with for years was offering a free trial on a silver platter and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“How would it work?” he asked quietly, trying not to read into the way Mike’s face lit up when he said it.
“We would walk downstairs now holding hands and tell the party we’re dating. Then tomorrow we tell your family. Word gets around, my dad explodes, I move in with Nancy.”
“That’s it? That’s your genius plan? We need to figure out every step. How long have we been dating? Who asked who? When did you realize you were gay? Are you even gay or are you bisexual? Do we…”
Will trailed off and grinded his teeth. Mike cocked his head.
“Do we what?”
“...kiss?”
Mike paused a second before laughing at Will’s hushed tone. “I would hope so, if we were dating.”
Will rolled his eyes and grabbed Mike by the shoulders to make him look at him, ignoring the way his heart fluttered at the contact. He needed to get this point across.
“Mike. If we were fake dating. If we kissed. Then that means that you would have to kiss me. On the lips. Me and you,” he said clearly, sure that this would be the deal breaker to snap him out of it. Instead, Mike just looked at him with the same serious face, pushing Will’s hands off his shoulders.
“Will. I know. That’s how kissing works,” he said with a shit eating grin.
“And you’re okay with that?” This was Will’s lifelong dream and worst nightmare all wrapped into one.
“Yeah, I mean, it would be weird if it was like Lucas or something but it’s you.”
He said it so plainly, so surely that Will knew he meant it. And that hurt so wonderfully. His head was spinning. No, he did not want to kiss him, but he would rather kiss him than another boy. He offered.
“Have you ever kissed anyone?” Mike asked, making Will roll his eyes.
“Mike, when would I have ever had the chance to kiss someone?”
Mike just shrugged and leaned back against the sink. “Wanna practice? Y’know, before we kiss in front of someone else.”
Will blanched. “I- I still haven’t agreed, technically.”
His heart seemed to be trying to escape his ribcage and he willed it to calm down. This was not happening. Mike smiled at him, that wonderful smile, and knelt down on one knee, holding out cupped hands in front of him.
“William Byers, will you do me the honor of fake dating me?”
There was a pause, and then, “Ugh, fine. Get off the floor.”
Mike stood and brushed off his pants with a haughty sort of pride at having convinced him. The boys looked at each other for a moment, saying nothing.
“So, uh, what now?” Will asked, fidgeting.
“You never answered my other question.” Mike said, stepping closer. Will’s heart pounded as the other boy just smiled as if they were planning a trip to the movies.
“What other question?”
Mike took another step so he was almost pressed against Will, but not quite. “Wanna practice?”
Oh god. What was he supposed to say? Which answer was less suspicious? If he said yes, he would seem too eager, but if he said no, it would look like he was hiding something.
Mike studied his face and took a quick step back, looking guilty. “Hey, we don’t have to kiss at all if you’re not comfortable with that. Maybe we’re not a PDA couple.”
Will groaned internally. Had he just missed his one chance to kiss Mike Wheeler? It’s not like that offer was going to present itself again.
“No,” he said too quickly, “I mean, no it doesn’t make me uncomfortable. We can… kiss.”
Mike raised an eyebrow and stepped back into Will’s personal space.
“You sure?”
“M’sure,” he breathed.
Mike slowly reached out to grab his chin and Will tried not to squirm. His hands were big enough to cradle his whole face if he wanted to. He felt himself being tugged forward slightly and Mike Wheeler was kissing him. It was… disappointing. Will forgot to close his eyes or do anything with his lips and his hands were just hanging at his sides uselessly. Mike pulled away slightly. Well, that was it. His first kiss. Wahoo.
“You gonna kiss me back or what?” he asked with a smirk, his voice slightly scratchy, setting every nerve ending in his body on fire.
Their lips touched again, and this time he responded. He closed his eyes and kissed him back. Their lips slotted awkwardly at first, but Will tilted his head to the right and there it was. This was the kiss that he had wanted. It was soft and his heart was in his throat as he was trying so hard to not fuck it up. Mike pressed closer to him, putting a hand on the wall beside him. His lips opened slightly, prying Will’s open as he skated his tongue across his bottom lip. Will inhaled sharply through his nose and pulled away so he could breathe. His lips tingled slightly and he felt like he was only half awake.
“We should probably go back downstairs,” Mike said plainly, looking unaffected. Will drew in a deep breath to steady his thoughts and nodded. Mike stepped away and held out his hand for Will to take.
“Shall we?”
Will took his hand shakily and their fingers interlocked. They had actually held hands before. They did it a lot as kids until they were told they weren’t supposed to. Mike’s hands were much bigger now than they had been back then, and Will hoped his weren’t too sweaty.
They made their way downstairs, hand in hand in the dark living room. All eyes flicked over to them from the TV, aside from Max who hadn’t been looking in the first place.
“What took you so long?” she asked while everyone else silently clocked their intertwined hands.
“Uh, sorry. Headache,” Will said plainly.
“Bullshit,” Max called from the couch.
“What?”
“Bullshit. What happened?”
Although she was blind, Max still never missed anything.
“Uh, well,” Mike said, cheeks coloring, “Me and Will are kinda dating.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment and Will considered taking his chances with a tall building, but then there was a cacophony of, “Finally!” and “I knew it!”, which Mike made a face at, but said nothing.
Eventually, everyone was tired enough to actually go to sleep, and they began to settle into their sleeping bags.
“What are you doing?” Will asked as Mike pushed his sleeping bag closer to his.
“Shouldn’t we sleep together?”
Will’s mouth went dry at the wording but he just nodded mutely as he crawled in to go to sleep. Mike did the same, so close that Will could feel his breath on his nose. Those lips. He had kissed those lips. Rather poorly at first, but still. Mike shifted even closer and Will swore all of Hawkins could hear his heart beating. Everyone else had already fallen asleep, it being three in the morning, so it was really just them.
“Mike,” Will whispered, “No one’s watching.”
“Just to be safe,” Mike whispered back, and leaned in, pressing their lips together quickly before pulling away and laying his head down, still facing him. “Goodnight, boyfriend .”
Will sighed. “Goodnight.”
If this plan didn’t go to shit, he owed the universe a lot of money.