Archive of Our Own ^beta

Monday, November 5, 1984

Mike clenched his fists. He was breathing heavily in the backseat of Max’s brother’s car. Objectively, this was better than the drive out to the tunnels. They did the thing, the gate must be closed based on the outflow of power, and – most pertinently – Steve was a way better driver than Max. By all accounts, he should feel much better now, and he kept telling himself that, but it wasn’t helping.

On the way out, there had been a plan. There had been steps he had to follow and hold himself together for in order to save W – to save the world. And adrenaline must have kept him going through that but now it was still here and it didn’t have any outlet except making Mike frantic about the one thing that mattered, and which he didn’t have any control over. They needed to go faster. They needed to get home. They needed to go faster. They needed to get home. They needed to go faster. They needed to get home. They needed to –

“Mike, Mike – Mike!” Mike slowly realized that Lucas was shaking his shoulder. “We can’t go any faster. We’re almost there. C’mon, breathe with me, man.”

Mike looked over at Lucas with wild eyes as he continued to breathe heavily. Shit, was he hyperventilating? That made him laugh, because wouldn’t it be hilarious if he made it through all this just to die from not being able to breathe? Then laughing made him cry because – he didn’t know, some stupid glands or hormones or something? And now he was bawling in the backseat of Max’s brother’s stolen car, which was being driven by a beaten-up Steve Harrington while the most important part of himself wasn’t here and might be at home, or might still be possessed or might be – He let out a silent scream as he clenched his fists even tighter.

“What’s wrong with him?” asked Max with something that might actually have been real concern in her voice. “Is he possessed now?”

“You possessed now, Mike?” asked Dustin, turning around from where he was sitting shotgun.

Mike just closed his eyes, letting the tears stream down his face. Too late to pretend he wasn’t crying. They needed to go faster. They needed to get home. He needed to see –

“Okay,” said Lucas definitively, “Come on.” He pulled Mike over and Mike collapsed bonelessly into his lap. If he had any self-awareness it would have been weird and awkward – they didn’t do that kind of thing – but it was hard to focus on that when his entire being was focused on –

“We’re here,” called Steve. “Seriously though, is Mike okay?”

“Yes,” said Lucas.

“No,” overlapped Max.

“Yes, he will be okay,” Lucas clarified. “He just needs to see that El and Will are okay.”

Will. Will. Will. Was Will here? Lucas helped him out of the car. Steve’s car was there. Hopper’s police van was there, so El was back. Joyce’s car was there. But she hadn’t driven it. Will had been bundled up in the back of Jonathan’s car, which – he scanned again – wasn’t there. It wasn’t there. It wasn’t there.

“What’s not there?” asked Lucas softly, a hand on his back guiding him to the Byers’s front porch. The living room window looked like it had been freshly boarded up.

“Jonathan’s car,” Mike gasped out. “He’s not back. He’s not here. Shit. Shit.”

“Not here yet,” Lucas corrected carefully. “He’ll be here soon. We just gotta get you inside, okay? We just gotta –”

The front door slammed open and out stepped Jim Hopper pointing a gun at them. Lucas immediately stepped back, removing his hand from Mike’s back, and Mike almost collapsed backwards before steadying himself.

“It’s just us,” shouted Dustin. “Geez, put that thing away!”

To his credit, Hopper quickly lowered the gun. “Harringon,” he growled, “What the hell happened to staying put? And why is there an unconscious Billy Hargrove in the house?”

“I can explain,” Steve said quickly. “Just let us inside, we need – Mike needs –” El popped her head around Hopper’s form in the doorway. She looked drained but was clearly still conscious.

“See, she’s alive,” Hopper stated. “Happy now?”

Mike brightened for a moment. He hadn’t failed Eleven again, but –

“We’re happy she’s alive,” Lucas said, “Good work, El, but where’s –”

“Will,” Mike gasped out. “Where’s Will? Is he okay? Is he alive? Did closing the gate –” A fresh round of tears and snot poured out of him as Lucas reached out to support him again.

Hopper looked a little taken aback at the display, which he really shouldn’t have been after Mike had pummeled him earlier. “They’re on their way,” he said quietly. “They got it out of him. He’s alive.”

It felt like everything stopped for a moment. Mike’s ears rang with white noise.

The next thing he knew, he was on the couch, with El on one side of him and Lucas on the other. Dustin, Max, and Steve were in the kitchen talking to Hopper, presumably answering questions like where they had been, why Billy was unconscious on the floor, what happened to the fridge, and who in their right mind had decided to let Max drive, judging by the growled “Henderson!” that rumbled forth.

“She said she had learned how to drive in California!” Dustin said in a high squeaky voice before Mike tuned out again.

El tried to talk to him, but he couldn’t focus on that either. It was like he had tunnel vision. One thing at a time. Lucas’s arm around his shoulder. Check the window. El burrowing under his other arm. Check the window. His free hand placed on Lucas’s chest, trying to match his breathing. Check the window. Max stalking back into the living room. Check the window. Taking his shoes off under Lucas’s supervision because, “there’s only so much I’m willing to do for you Mike, seriously.” The crunch of gravel. The flare of headlights. Mike shot up off the couch and ran out the front door with one shoe on.

Jonathan and Nancy were in the front seats. The car rumbled to a stop. The headlights went out as Jonathan turned the car off. Joyce got out on the driver’s side, so Mike dashed around to the passenger’s side. The door opened slowly.

“Careful,” called Joyce from the other side of the car, but it was wasted breath.

Mike saw Will for half a second, bathed in the familiar light of the front porch, before he was crushing him in his arms, sobbing once more.

“Mike,” breathed Will, and it was the sweetest sound Mike had ever heard. He breathed in Will’s scent. Even under all the sweat there was still something that was just – Will. Joyce ushered them slowly back up the porch stairs. Mike refused to let go of Will and Will was still clinging onto Mike, so at least it was mutual.

“It’s you, yeah?” Mike whispered as they crossed the threshold.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Will turned to look up at him and yeah, his eyes were the right color again. Mike reached up and held Will’s face in his hands for a second before Dustin and Lucas almost bowled them over.

“Byers!” yelled Lucas. “You did it!”

Will winced as Lucas collided with his side and Mike put out an arm to protect him. “Careful,” he said. He didn’t know what had injured Will yet, but by god was he going to let Dustin and Lucas make it worse. Fortunately, Will ended up squished against Mike in this group hug, and Mike was definitely not complaining about it.

Joyce continued to usher them further into the living room. Jonathan and Nancy had grabbed some blankets and sleeping bags and laid them out on the floor. Will frowned at them. “What about Max and… El?”

“They can stay,” Joyce said softly. “I think we can make an exception this once.”

“Thank god,” whispered Max, “I did not want to go home tonight.”

“Who’s – ?” asked Jonathan, gesturing vaguely at Billy.

“I’ll take care of it,” Hopper replied. “Get some sleep and we’ll work it out in the morning.”

Will sank down into the floor nest, so Mike followed him. The rest of the – extended? – Party joined them. He watched as the older teens slunk off to Jonathan’s room which on one level – what? – but on another level was exactly what he was doing, so he couldn’t exactly give Nancy shit for it. Will was in front of him and El was behind him and Lucas and Dustin were here and safe (and so was Max, he acknowledged begrudgingly). Before he knew it, he sank into sleep.

*          *          *

When he woke up again, sunlight was streaming through the windows. His left arm was slung over Will’s torso in front of him, and he could feel Will’s fluttery breaths on his neck. Okay. His other arm had fallen asleep beneath Will. He carefully got it out without disturbing Will and winced as the blood flowed back in. Peering over Will, he saw Lucas, Dustin, and Max all cuddled together – he was definitely giving them shit about that later. He looked over his shoulder to – El was gone. He went rigid, then forced his muscles to relax. She must have woken up first.

He controlled his breathing as he gently extricated himself from Will. A small whine from Will at the lack of contact nearly broke his resolve, but Mike’s pillow pacified him for the moment. There was no one in the kitchen or dining room. Okay. He padded down the hallway. No one in the bathroom. Will’s door was open, but no one was in there either. His breathing got heavier. Jonathan’s room was across the hall and the door was closed. He took a breath and knocked. No response. He knocked again. No response. He steeled his nerves and slowly opened the door, averting his gaze. When he dared to glance in, there was no El. The three older teens had all their clothes on, thank god, and were all cuddled up in each other just like Lucas, Dustin, and Max. Just like – oh no. Mike shut the door. Wouldn’t it be weird if Jonathan was his brother-in-law?

The last room to check was Joyce’s. He knocked, and thankfully her voice came back through the door. “Come in. Hey Mike,” she said softly as he opened the door and slipped inside. “What’s wrong?” There was no El here either. Had she disappeared again? Was last night a dream? “Mike, hey, what’s wrong?” she said again, and when he just stood there, staring at nothing, she stood up and walked him over to sit down on the bed next to her.

“Where’s El?” Mike whispered. Whispering was better than sobbing, and those felt like the only two options at this point.

“Oh, honey. Hop had to take Max’s brother to the hospital and El went with him. She’s safe.”

“To the – Is he – Did Max –”

Joyce chuckled. “He’s fine, just a little disoriented from the sedation. It will make more sense to his parents if they pick him up from the hospital.”

“Oh, so when is El coming back?”

A shadow passed across her face and his heart sank. “She needs to lie low at Hopper’s cabin for awhile. Hop says it’s not safe yet.”

“Oh. That makes sense. I can still visit her, yeah?”

“I’m not –”

“Mike,” said Will’s voice softly from the doorway. He was still in the hospital gown, his hair was all tousled, and he yawned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “I woke up and you weren’t there.”

“Shit,” hissed Mike, “I mean, Shoot – sorry Mrs. Byers – I’m sorry Will, I just –”

“It’s okay,” Will smiled. “You’re here now. Come back to bed?”

Mike’s heart did something funny. “Yeah. ’Course,” he said quietly and let Will lead him back to the living room.

*          *          *

The next time Mike woke up, it was getting dark out and his stomach rumbled. There was a low murmur of voices from the kitchen and he and Will were the only two left in the living room. He glanced at Will – sleeping Will was maybe the cutest Will – but Will wasn’t asleep; he was just staring at Mike.

“Hey?” asked Mike, a little self-conscious.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Will smiled back. “You hungry? Mom ordered pizza.”

Mike’s stomach rumbled again and he snorted. “Yeah, let’s get up.”

Will stood up and put a hand out for Mike. Mike grabbed on and Will hauled him up surprisingly quickly, causing Mike to kind of crash into him. Will just hummed contentedly and hugged Mike. Okay. This was a valid outcome. His stomach growled. “Okay, pizza,” Will giggled.

They walked into the kitchen and Mike blinked. He’d heard the low murmur of voices, but everyone was there – Mrs. Byers, Lucas, Dustin, Max, Jonathan, Steve, and Nancy.

“I wanted to prank you but Will wouldn’t let me,” said Max immediately.

“Thrilled to see you too,” Mike grumbled as Will glared at her. “Thanks, Will.”

The corners of Will’s mouth twitched up, but he might as well have been beaming. Mike’s heart swelled. He grabbed a piece of pizza and scarfed it down, then grabbed another.

“Slow down, Mike,” Nancy scolded.

“He hasn’t eaten all day,” Will said reproachfully and Nancy backed down immediately. Damn, he had to learn how to do that.

“You ready to go soon?” Nancy asked in a softer voice.

“No,” Will said reflexively as Mike stiffened. He couldn’t go home yet. He had to stay with Will. He had to stay with Will and make sure he was safe. He had to –

“I think,” Mrs. Byers cut in, “That he can sleep here for another night.”

Nancy frowned. “What am I supposed to tell Mom?”

“Anniversary effect,” Mike mumbled around his mouthful of pizza. “That’s what I’ve been telling them. I haven’t been home since Friday.”

“I – haven’t either…” Nancy trailed off. “Do you think they’re worried about us?”

Mike shrugged. “Mom, maybe. Dad probably hasn’t noticed.”

Joyce’s face twisted. “Well, give her a call to let her know you’re alright, then you can stay here with Will, okay? Is anyone else staying?” She glanced around the room. There were a few head shakes but not one said anything. She clapped her hands once. “Right, then. Go ahead and finish up the pizza, then Steve and Jon can make sure everyone gets home okay, yeah?”

There was a chorus of assent as Mike continued to stuff his face with pizza. He felt Will lean into his side and he leaned right back, increasing the pressure. Will was here. Will was real. Will was alive.

The others slowly gathered up their things and started to say their goodbyes, when suddenly – “Son of a bitch!” yelled Dustin. “Sorry, Mrs. B, son of a gun! Wait, how does that even make sense as a substitution…?”

“What’s wrong?” called out Mike.

“The Demodog I put in the fridge turned into sludge!” lamented Dustin.

“The what you put where?” yelled Joyce. “Steve, what exactly were you supervising?”

Mike and Will shared a look. “Your room?” asked Mike softly.

“Yeah,” Will agreed. They grabbed their pillows from the living room and hastily retreated to Will’s room, flopping down on Will’s bed. After a little more back-and-forth, it was just the two of them and Joyce left in the house. “Ugh,” Will muttered into the silence, “Can we –” he gestured at the walls. Joyce had taken down Will’s map in the common areas, but she must not have gotten to Will’s room yet.

“Yeah,” agreed Mike easily, returning with a groan to an upright position. “What was it like?” he asked cautiously, “Being possessed?”

Will turned around and made a confused face.

Oh shit. “Too soon?” asked Mike, back-pedaling. “Sorry, I didn’t – We can talk about something else or –”

Will snorted once and shook his head. “Only you, Mike.”

“What?”

“Just – you’re so you,” Will said fondly. “Your first concern is what it feels like to be possessed.”

“That is not my first concern,” Mike spluttered. “Just like, a secondary concern. Or tertiary, even.”

“A sub-concern?”

“Yeah, sure, that.”

“So what is your first concern?” asked Will, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

“You,” said Mike automatically.

Will blushed furiously. “…Oh,” he said after a moment.

“Is that weird? I’m sorry, I –”

Will strode over and put a hand on Mike’s shoulder, effectively shutting him up. “Nope, not weird,” he declared. “Anyways, what did you want to know?” He moved back towards the wall to take down more of the map and Mike trailed after him.

“Just – what it was like,” Mike said softly, shrugging even though Will couldn’t see him. He reached up to pull down a page Will couldn’t quite reach. “Usually I know everything about you, but now there’s this – thing you experienced and I want to be able to share that with you as much as I can, even if it’s, like, fundamentally unknowable to mortal minds.” He handed Will the page.

“Yeah, okay,” Will breathed, “Okay. So like – I was having these visions, yeah?”

“Yeah, for how long?” Mike frowned.

“The first time was at the arcade. It’s like being stuck between slides, like I said. First there were just spores outside the door, and I heard you all talking to Keith and I asked if you were seeing it too, but then bam, it was the upside-down version. And it was starting to storm outside, and I was just – frozen. And I sensed this – evil that wanted to kill everyone. But then just as suddenly, I heard your voice and that was it – I was back in the real world and we went back inside.”

“I knew you were off that day,” Mike frowned. “Lucas couldn’t tell the difference, but I knew.”

The corners of Will’s mouth turned up. “Yeah, ’course you did.” He threw the last of the pages in the trash can and flopped onto his back on the bed. Mike flopped next to him and maneuvered his arm so Will was nestled on his chest.

“And they didn’t notice anything weird at your appointment?” Mike confirmed.

“Nope,” Will shook his head. “They just chalked it up to the anniversary effect.”

“Idiots,” Mike hissed.

“Anyways, the next time was that night after the appointment. I got up to pee at like 1 or 2 AM and when I got out, there was that storm outside again, angrier, with flashes of red lightning. The inside of the house was normal, but the outside was the Upside-Down. That’s when I saw – it for the first time.”

“The shadow monster?” Mike confirmed.

Will shivered. “Yeah.” Mike rolled them so Will was facing his chest, snug in Mike’s arm just like last night. Will winced a little when Mike squeezed his left side, so Mike avoided that spot.

“So then the next time was Halloween?” asked Mike and Will could feel the words, with his ear pressed to Mike’s chest.

“Yeah,” Will confirmed. “You were pissed about Max and stormed off, then some older kids scared me and knocked me down, and it was so much closer than last time, and it saw me and I tried to run and hide but it was going to find me but then you were there.”

“Wait, how did you get out the second time?” asked Mike, “Without me?”

“I –” Will hesitated. “I thought about you. How the doctors told me it was all in my head, and I figured that if that were true I might as well put things in my head that made me happy.”

“And that worked?” Mike asked, awe creeping into his voice.

“Yeah, ’course,” Will murmured. “It’s you. Anyways, the last time was when we were looking for Dart. I found him. He screeched at me and I got scared and then I was back there and so was the shadow monster and I tried to run but Bob told me to stand my ground and I just wanted it to stop and I told it to go away, but instead it put down this tornado and surrounded me and then it went inside me and  –”

Mike squeezed him tighter. “Inside you?”

Will tensed up. “Everywhere,” he whispered. “It was smoke, in my mouth, my nose, my ears, my eyes, my – everywhere.” He shuddered and started to gasp for breath.

Mike rubbed his back. “Hey, hey,” he whispered. “I’m here. I’m sorry I got there too late.”

“It was my fault,” sobbed Will. “I should have kept running. I shouldn’t have stood up to it. I shouldn’t have tried to make it go away.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Mike said firmly. “You’re the bravest person I know, Will.”

“Can we just go to sleep?” Will asked softly.

“Yeah, ’course,” Mike said immediately. “You wanna shower or brush your teeth or anything?”

Will shook his head vehemently.

“Okay, that’s cool. Are you comfy now?”

Will made a noise in the back of his throat. “PJs?”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed easily. “Let’s go get changed.” They slowly sat up together and walked over to the dresser to grab their pajamas. “I’ll just –” he jerked his thumb towards the door.

“No,” said Will immediately, his eyes widening. “Don’t leave.”

“Uh, okay? How do you want to –” It’s not like he and Will never changed in front of each other, but it wasn’t exactly common anymore, outside of gym class.

Will shrugged. “I won’t look if you won’t,” he said easily, turning his back.

Mike turned that over in his head as he pulled down his dirty jeans. Ugh. How had he slept in these all day? He turned slightly to grab his pajama pants and snuck a peek. Will was faced away from him, bent over at the waist to pull his pajama pants on over his boxers. Shit. Mike’s face reddened as he averted his gaze.

“You good?” called Will.

“Uh.” Mike still needed to change shirts. “Just my shirt left.” He took off his dirty shirt and turned around to find Will looking him up and down. “Hey! What happened to not looking?” he asked, covering up his chest.

Will frowned. “We’re guys, Mike,” he said coolly. “We hang out shirtless all the time in the summer. It’s not a big deal.”

Mike deflated. Will made a compelling argument. “Yeah, that’s fair,” he allowed as he pulled his pajama shirt over his head. As soon as he did, Will grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the bed. Will sighed as he settled back into Mike’s arms. Okay. Mike could work with this.

*          *          *

Tuesday, November 6, 1985

Mike could really get used to waking up with Will in his arms. He spent a minute or two just looking at Will, at the bowl cut Will hated but was just so him, at the freckles on his neck, at the rise and fall of his chest, and marveled that Will had chosen him to be his best friend, to go crazy together with. Soon enough – too soon? – Will stirred and blinked his eyes open. Still hazel. No Mind Flayer. “Time is it?” Will mumbled.

Mike glanced over at the clock. “Like 8:30?”

Will groaned in acknowledgment. “Hungry, but don’t wanna get up.”

“I can grab you some food and we can eat in here?” Mike offered quickly.

Will frowned, but then stopped to consider it. “Yeah, okay,” he conceded. “Be quick?”

“Yeah, of course,” Mike reassured him, giving him a squeeze. Before he could think about it, he leaned over and gave Will a little kiss on the forehead. Before he could start freaking out about it, Will gave a sleepy smile and made a contented noise in the back of his throat. “Be right back,” Mike whispered, turning around so Will couldn’t see how red he was turning.

Fortunately, Joyce was already up and making breakfast, with the air of someone who needed something to do to keep the grief at bay. Mike would know. It was easy to convince her to grab a tray and load it up with food for the two of them. She insisted on carrying it back to Will’s room, because she “trusted his intentions but not his ability”, which was just the nice mom way of calling him a klutz. He supposed Will getting breakfast was more important than his ego.

“So,” Mike asked through a mouthful of pancakes, “Can I ask some more questions?”

“About being possessed by an unknowable eldritch being?” Will asked, raising an eyebrow.

“…Yes. But we don’t have to! We can talk about other stuff!” Mike clarified hurriedly.

“Nah, I should talk about it with someone,” Will agreed, “And you’re you, so.” He shrugged like that should mean something. What did he mean?

“So your mom took you home after the field,” Mike prompted.

“Yeah… yeah,” Will started haltingly. “I – It – How – Have you ever done something and then right after you don’t know why you did it?”

Mike blushed, thinking of kissing Will’s forehead earlier that morning. “Yeah, all the time,” he agreed easily.

Will snorted. “Yeah, I’ve noticed. It was – kinda like that? Like, I was always there, but at first it was pretty subtle in my mind. Mom started talking to me and asking questions when we got home and asked what I remembered from the field, and I said I couldn’t remember anything. At the time it just let like a little lie ’cause it would be too complicated to explain, but it was probably the shadow monster twisting my thoughts to protect itself.”

“Oh,” Mike breathed. That was insidious. He watched as Will started in on another pancake.

“But then Mom had a sketch of the shadow monster from the Halloween camcorder and it matched the drawing in my room, so the jig was up, so I told her what I knew, which wasn’t a lot. And again, it all felt normal, like I’d been caught in a lie so I just told the truth.”

Mike frowned. “But you don’t lie.”

Will leaned over to elbow him. “Not to you.”

Mike smiled involuntarily. “Oh. …Cool.”

“So anyways,” Will said hastily, “Mom slept with me in my bed that night. I wish it had been you, but the shadow monster didn’t want you there. I think it wanted me isolated,” he clarified at Mike’s confused expression. “Normally I’d have invited you over in a heartbeat, but it just didn’t occur to me.”

Mike nodded. That made sense.

“It must have done a lot of work overnight, because the next day it was way more embedded in my mind, or I was embedded in its, or…” He trailed off.

“The now-memories?” asked Mike.

“Yeah,” Will nodded.

“I still – don’t really get what you mean by that,” Mike prompted.

Will hummed. “Okay, so like, you remember our trip to the zoo in first grade?”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed quickly, “Of course!”

“But when’s the last time you thought about it?”

“I dunno, a couple weeks ago, probably?”

“Exactly,” Will said. “It’s in there, you can call it up at any time, but if you’re not consciously thinking about it then you’re not aware of it. I just had access to a bunch more things I could call up if I thought about them, but they weren’t memories – they were happening now in other parts of the hive mind.”

“Okay,” said Mike, slowly nodding, “That makes sense.”

“Anyways, Mom took my temperature and it was low, so she drew me a warm bath and I wanted to get in, I really did, but it wouldn’t let me. It’s like – When Mr. Kowalski is helping someone else you can do whatever you want, but when he’s hovering near you, you have to do exactly what you’re supposed to be doing. Sometimes the shadow monster was paying attention to other things and I had relatively free rein, but sometimes it was paying attention to me specifically and took over, and I was just in a tiny box observing it pilot my body.”

“Like that fungus that takes over ants.” Mike shuddered. That had always creeped him out.

“Exactly,” Will said quietly. “It needed to be cold, so it drained the bath and told Mom no. I wanted to explain so bad, but it wouldn’t let me, and then Hopper was there, and I couldn’t explain to him either, but then Mom suggested I draw things. And the shadow monster didn’t really care about that. I guess it thinks more in concepts and networks than literal images? So, I had to draw it divided enough that it couldn’t tell I was drawing the network, but Mom and Hop figured it out,” he said, a hint of pride creeping into his voice.

“That’s so smart of you,” Mike smiled at him. Will blushed.

“Hey,” said Jonathan, poking his head into the room, “Have you two – Oh,” he paused upon seeing the tray. “I was gonna ask if you’d eaten, but clearly you already have. No one offered me breakfast in bed,” he – teased? Mike could never quite tell when he was making a joke.

“It would be weird if Mike offered you breakfast in bed,” Will shot back.

“Mike?” questioned Jonathan, “You did this?”

“It was his idea,” clarified Will. “Mom brought it in here.”

“Oh, that makes more sense,” Jonathan agreed.

“Hey!” Mike squawked indignantly, but it was hard to stay mad for long when Will looked at him like that.

“You guys wanna play some Atari?” asked Jonathan. Will’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah, sounds great,” Mike agreed.

*          *          *

They spent a couple hours playing Frogger, one of Will’s favorites. Mike had been saving up to buy Will the sequel for Christmas ever since he’d seen it announced, even before Will had said how much he wanted it. Mike personally found the game a little stressful, but apparently helping all the frogs get home was relaxing for Will. To be fair, Will was also much better at it than Mike was since he played it more. Mike was better at illustrating that magazine quote about how it was “the arcade game with the most ways to die”. Will laughed as Mike sulkily tossed away the controller after his latest death, and he wanted to be mad about it but it was hard when Will was happy and carefree and laughing. He smiled in spite of himself and leaned over into Will’s space.

“What?” Will asked.

“ ’M just happy,” Mike mumbled. And he was. He felt lighter than he had in a while. No angst about school, no Upside-Down bullshit, just him and Will, and Jonathan reading in a nearby chair.

Will frowned. “Losing makes you happy? There can be more where that came from!”

Mike glared at him. “No, idiot. You make me happy.”

“Oh,” Will practically squeaked and Mike bumped their shoulders together. Jonathan gave them a look. Ugh. Whatever. Actually…

“Hey Jonathan,” Mike said casually. Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on between you and my sister?”

Will barked out a laugh. Mike smirked. Mission accomplished.

“Uh,” Jonathan stated eloquently.

“Yeah, Jon,” Will chimed in, “You steal her from Steve?”

Jonathan frowned. “Okay, look, I know you’re teasing but there was no stealing involved. They had a fight on Halloween and broke up so I made sure she got home safe, then we went on this investigation together and one thing led to another and –”

“Okay,” said Mike holding a hand up. “That’s enough. We’re good!” He and Will collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. “Dweebs.” He raised an eyebrow. “Someday you’ll find someone to be gross with.”

Will stilled. “Sounds lame,” Mike said casually, and then they were giggling again. Jon rolled his eyes again as he stood up and headed off to his room.

“So,” said Mike once Jonathan was out of earshot, “The now-memories started getting worse after I showed up, right?”

“Yeah,” agreed Will, shivering slightly, “Well, not as like a direct consequence. That’s just how the timeline lined up. It would’ve happened regardless.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Mike said softly, bumping shoulders again and letting the touch linger. “I wasn’t trying to say it was my fault or anything.”

“Okay, good. I didn’t think so; just wanted to clarify. Anyways, you showed up and I explained everything to you, and you told me I could be a super spy and you held my hand and –”

Mike grimaced. “Yeah, sorry about that. I know you said you were too hot to touch.”

Will frowned. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I mostly meant, like, cuddling or sharing the bed at night. That was fine. That was – nice.” He turned away a bit, but Mike could have sworn his face flushed a little.

“I still feel bad,” Mike insisted. “I told you we wouldn’t let the shadow monster spy back but it did and I didn’t know what I was talking about and I didn’t protect you and –”

“Mike,” said Will softly, covering Mike’s hand with his own to break the train of thought. “Whatever it is you’re blaming yourself for, I forgive you.”

“What? You – you can’t just offer blanket forgiveness like that.”

Will shrugged. “Too late.”

Mike sighed. “Okay, well, you shouldn’t.”

Will shrugged again. “Don’t care. I forgive you and you’ve just gotta live with it.”

Mike gave up and lay back on his elbows, head positioned so he could look up at Will.

Will smiled down at him. “Anyways, you were right, at first. I don’t know how much the shadow monster really understood that I was autonomous. Like, the hive mind was mostly vines and a few demogorgons. So it didn’t pay me any extra attention at first.”

“But it sought you out!” Mike insisted.

Will shrugged. “I was marked from last year, probably. Occam’s Razor. It was just trying to get the gang all back together.”

Mike frowned. It made sense, but he didn’t like the metaphor.

“But because it wasn’t paying me much attention,” Will continued, “I was able to save Hopper.”

“That’s right,” said Mike quickly, “That was you. You saved him.”

Will ducked his head. “I had help. You and Mom and Bob.”

“Boys,” called Mrs. Byers from the doorway, interrupting them. Mike jerked up. How long had she been standing there? “Are you hungry? I made some grilled cheese and tomato soup.”

Mike’s stomach rumbled. He glanced at Will for confirmation, and he gave a slight nod.

“Yeah, we’ll be there in a moment,” Mike replied.

*          *          *

Hopper stopped by in the afternoon. Mike wasn’t sure how he had nothing to do on election day, but that wasn’t really his concern. There was a mutual something simmering between them, but he knew Joyce needed Hopper and Hopper knew Will needed him, so they were on equal footing. Plus Hopper had brought a VHS as a peace offering.

“Where’s El?” asked Mike as Hopper handed over the video.

“Safe,” Hopper grunted.

Mike narrowed his eyes. “Where’s El?” he asked again.

“Safe,” Hopper repeated. “I can’t tell you, for your own safety – and for hers,” he tacked on quickly. “You know the government’s still looking for her.”

“When can I see her?” Mike persisted.

Hopper shrugged. “Not yet.”

Mike breathed in and was about to argue more when Will sidled up to him. “Watcha got there?” he asked softly, grabbing onto the VHS in Mike’s hands, brushing Mike’s fingers with his own.

“Uh,” said Mike eloquently. He hadn’t even bothered to look at it and now had to focus on not dropping it.

“Ooh, Footloose?” said Will excitedly.

Hopper shrugged. “Wasn’t sure what you’d like.”

“Thanks, Hop,” Will smiled. Mike wasn’t a huge fan, but whatever. If Will was happy, he was happy.

Mike drifted over to the couch as Joyce and Hopper retreated to her room. He flopped down lengthways on his right side as Will put the tape in and was gonna move, but then Will lay down in front of him, so Mike just put his arms around him instead. Having Will pulled flush to him was nice. It meant he knew that Will was alive and safe.

The movie itself was about what he remembered. Nothing super-exciting. When they got to the locker room scene, Will tensed up a little. It’s not like you could really see anything… Just a couple butts. “It’s just butts,” he whispered into Will’s ear. Will jumped a little but giggled along with him. “What, are you scared of butts?” Mike teased.

“No,” Will whispered back. “But, like, is that what high school’s really like? Are we gonna have to shower in front of everyone?”

Mike frowned. He hadn’t really thought about that. “I hope not,” he murmured. “I don’t look anywhere near as good as them.”

Will rolled his head up to look Mike in the eyes. “They’re like four years older than us. Probably more, ’cause they’re actors. You don’t know what you’re gonna look like.”

“Not like that,” grumbled Mike, gesturing at the screen where the stupidly attractive actors were still shirtless.

“Sure,” Will agreed easily, “But different people find different things attractive.”

Mike shrugged. “Not me.”

“Hey,” said Will, rolling over, all pretense of actually watching the movie abandoned. “Stop that. At least you’ve kissed a – a person.”

“She didn’t know what kissing was,” Mike retorted. “And you could kiss someone if you wanted to. There are lots of girls interested in you,” he said darkly.

“But I’m not interested in any of them,” Will replied, flushing a little.

“Oh.” Mike wasn’t sure what to say to that, but his heart felt a little lighter. “Okay.”

Once the movie was over, they turned off the TV and returned to the couch, now sitting on it like normal people. Mike missed holding Will a little. He scooted closer so their shoulders bumped together.

“I don’t remember too much after rescuing Hopper,” Will admitted quietly, filling the silence. “The shadow monster took more and more control. It had been observing how I interacted with people so it could mimic my behavior, I think.”

“What was it like, when it took control?” Mike asked softly.

“It was – it was like it had shoved me into a small box inside my own mind.”

“Shit,” Mike whispered.

“With some effort, I could look out and could see what was going on, and sometimes it let me see so it could get the right emotional reactions, but I don’t remember a lot.”

He trailed off, so Mike started talking. “So once we got Hop out at the pumpkin patch, the soldiers started burning the tunnels –”

“Burning me,” Will cut in. “I mean, that’s what it felt like then. I’m not possessed anymore.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Mike easily. “Your eyes are the right color again.”

“Huh?”

“Your eyes.” Mike gestured – and oh shit, his hand was a little too close to Will’s face, abort, abort! – “They’re back to hazel. They got darker and darker the longer you were possessed.”

“Oh.” Will frowned. “Why didn’t anyone else say anything about that?”

Mike shrugged. “Maybe they didn’t notice.” He felt a flash of pride. “Anyways, they rushed you to the lab, ’cause you had a temp of 106 and a heart rate of 220 and, y’know, were being possessed.”

“Shit,” whispered Will.

“Yeah,” Mike acknowledged. “But maybe that’s normal for shadow monsters, who knows. Anyways, I obviously slept over at the lab. Your bed was too small and had railings so I had to sleep in some stupid chair. Then it must have fully taken over by the next morning ’cause you only recognized your mom and me – not – Bob or Owens or Hopper… I’m glad you remembered me,” Mike admitted.

Will snorted. “If an eldritch being is gonna possess me, it’s gonna have to know about you.”

“Thank you? I think?” Mike chuckled.

“Then they burned me again,” Will scowled. “And the shadow monster saw the soldiers guarding the door outside and recognized them. I – I couldn’t do anything. I was trapped as it sent soldiers to their deaths and then sent the demogorgons to the lab to get the rest and I kept trying to fight and get out but I couldn’t and –”

Mike could tell Will was getting worked up. “But you did,” he said, grabbing his hand. That night, you said you were sorry, that he made you do it. That was you, right?”

“Mm-hmm.” Will nodded and squeezed Mike’s hand. “The shadow monster was distracted controlling everything else, I guess. But I was still too late. I –”

“Hey, I got you,” Mike whispered, pulling Will into his side. “I got you. It’s okay. It’s – gonna be okay.”

*          *          *

Joyce, Hopper, Jonathan, and Nancy were all there for dinner, which, Nancy? What the hell? “Where’s Steve?” he asked when she entered the house.

Nancy shrugged. “I dunno, with Dustin maybe?”

Mike made a face. “So it’s true then?”

“What’s true?”

“You’re with Jonathan now?”

Nancy pursed her lips. “What Jonathan and I are is none of –”

“Yep,” Will nodded solemnly. “If they weren’t she would have said so.”

“But why? What did Steve do?” Mike asked.

“Nothing!” Nancy said immediately. “I just – I didn’t love him.”

Mike glanced from Nancy to Jonathan back to Nancy. He dropped his head to his hands. “Noooo,” he moaned. Nancy dating Jonathan was fun to give them shit about in the abstract but them actually dating was just – weird. He and Will made sense, were a – team. Their siblings also hanging out and going on dates and kissing and – just, ew.

“Hey.” Will knocked their heads together lightly. “Think how much we can tease them,” he whispered.

Will did have a point. “Okay,” he acknowledged. “Whatever.”

“I don’t need your approval,” Nancy said snootily, “But thanks, I guess?”

After dinner, Mike and Will retreated back to his room. “So what happened after?” Will asked quietly. Both boys were lying on their backs on the bed. “I don’t remember much after that, between the shadow monster taking over and the sedation.”

Mike grimaced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Will frowned back. “What are you sorry for?”

“You kept screaming as we tried to sedate you. I had to cover my ears to block it out or I would have broken and stopped Joyce from doing it. But I couldn’t look away.”

“You know that wasn’t me, right?” Will said gently, reaching over to find Mike’s hand and squeezing it. “It was the shadow monster. You did the right thing, Mike.”

“But I was too late,” Mike managed as he felt tears dripping down his face.

“What do you mean?” asked Will, “We’re all here.”

Wait. Will didn’t know. Shit. A fresh round of tears sprang forth. And now Will was coming closer, holding him and this wasn’t how this was supposed to go at all, but he was too weak to pull away. “Once you were out, we hid in a security closet,” he said neutrally. “The power went out and the building was on full lockdown. We were trapped in with the demodogs.”

“The what?” asked Will.

“Juvenile demogorgons look like dogs, I guess. I dunno. Ask Dustin. Anyways, someone had to go down to the basement to reset the breakers and then manually reset things through the computer. The only person who knew how was Bob.”

“What, where is –”

“He got the power back on,” Mike plowed ahead, because he knew he’d break down if he stopped. “He got everything working again and we got out and he met us in the lobby, but he was just barely too slow and –” Will sucked in a quick breath as his arms tightened convulsively around Mike – “He didn’t make it. The demodogs got him.”

“Oh,” said Will, a quiet, broken sound. Mike wriggled around so he could cry into Will’s shoulder. He was shaking and could feel Will shaking too and he didn’t know how long they laid there like that but eventually both of their tears subsided. Mike brought his head up and Will looked – shattered.

“I – killed Bob,” Will said slowly.

“No!” Mike protested loudly, too loudly. Will flinched back. Shit. “No,” he said more softly, “That was the shadow monster and the demodogs. Not you. Never you.”

“But I was part of the hive mind,” reasoned Will. “If it weren’t spying through me, Bob would still be here.”

“If it weren’t spying through you,” Mike countered, “We would all be dead. We wouldn’t have figured any of this out in time and Hawkins would be overrun with an army of demogorgons. You saved us, Will. You saved me.”

Will looked skeptical, so Mike barreled on. “So Jonathan and Nancy had tracked us to the lab and they drove us back here. Jonathan had to like pry me off of you, but I went to plan with the others. Hopper wanted to just wait for the military to get here but like – what were they going to do? Dustin realized the shadow monster was like the Mind Flayer, but Hopper kept saying it was a stupid kid’s game, which it’s not and –” Will squeezed his hand. Back on topic – “But it reminded me it was a hive mind, and if anyone knew how to stop it, it would be you. We had to ask you, but you couldn’t know where you were.”

“So you disguised the shed,” Will breathed.

“Yeah. And we kept trying to reach you.”

“I – remember it being bright,” Will said slowly. “At first, I was trapped in that little box it kept me in, but I could still hear you.” Mike flushed. “I don’t remember a lot of it, but it was like happy memories and stuff, right?”

“Y – yeah,” Mike stammered. “Just like – memories that were you, trying to remind you of who you are, to us, at least.”

“I… think it worked,” Will said slowly. “The shadow monster – Mind Flayer – didn’t understand emotions, at least not the way we do. You said - something –” Was it Mike’s imagination, or was Will flushing? – “And I was able to break out enough to tap my hand.”

“Yeah, the Morse Code,” agreed Mike, squeezing that same hand. Short short short short. Short. Short long short. Short. “I was so proud of you. And you told us what we needed to do, but then the stupid phone ruined everything. The Mind Flayer sent the demodogs our way and I thought we were goners, but then El showed up. She flung a dead demodog through the living room window, and I guess Dustin tried to keep it in the fridge for like science or something? But then she came inside and –”

“And?” prompted Will.

“I had thought she was dead,” Mike whispered. “I thought I had failed her. But I hadn’t. She was alive, and she was there to rescue us and save the day. She was the only one who could close the gate. At first, I was really pissed at Hopper –”

“What else is new?” interjected Will.

“Because,” Mike continued deliberately, “He never let me know Eleven was alive, and he let me think she was dead for a whole year. And now I was worried about you too, because you were part of the hive mind, and if we closed the gate, the hive mind would die.”

Will nodded.

“Wait.” Mike’s mind went blank. “You knew?”

Will shrugged. “I assumed. But if you didn’t close the gate, everyone would have died,” he pointed out.

“But – You –”

“Am I wrong, Mike?”

“No, but –” Mike spluttered. “If it was a choice between everyone and you, I’d choose –”

“Mike.” Will sounded pained. “Don’t. You don’t mean that, and if you do, you shouldn’t.”

“I do mean it,” Mike grumbled sullenly.

Will drew in a breath through his nose and let it out shakily. “Okay, Mike. I hear you.”

Nancy knocked lightly on the door. “Mike, I’m heading out. Are you coming home tonight? Mom’s starting to get worried.”

Mike felt Will squeeze his hand tightly, so that it almost hurt. He squeezed back. “I can’t tonight,” he said, “But I’ll be in school tomorrow.”

Nancy pursed her lips. “And home for dinner?”

Mike glanced over at Will. His eyes were soft. “Yeah, I’ll be home for dinner,” he sighed.

“Okay,” said Nancy. She turned to leave, but then paused. “You two – you’re lucky to have each other. I hope you know that.”

“Thanks, Nancy,” said Will quietly.

“Yeah, thanks,” Mike echoed. Why did it take supernatural horror for them to interact like actual siblings?

“So what happened then?” prompted Will once Nancy was further down the hall.

“El and the Chief went off to the Lab; Jonathan, Nancy, and your mom took you – somewhere to get the Mind Flayer out of you; and Dustin, Lucas, Max, and me were left behind – with Steve.” Mike’s eyebrows furrowed.

“What were you doing here?” asked Will curiously.

“Nothing,” Mike griped. “Like cleaning up and shit, I guess. But we needed to do something. Dustin and I came up with a plan to burn the tunnels to distract it long enough for El to close the gate, but then Steve vetoed it, but then Billy Hargrove showed up looking for Max and Steve fought him but Billy won and knocked Steve out but then Max sedated him, which I guess was kind of badass,” he acknowledged begrudgingly.

“Praise for Max?” teased Will, “Who are you and what have you done with Mike?”

“Yeah, well, turns out she can’t drive for shit,” Mike continued. Will shot him a questioning glance. “Steve was out, so someone had to get us to the tunnels, and Max said she had driven in California.”

“…Had she?” questioned Will.

Mike shrugged. “At least in parking lots. Steve wasn’t thrilled when he woke up in the back, but we made it all in one piece. And the plan worked. We got the demodogs away from El and Dart remembered Dustin I guess, so they didn’t bother us?”

“That sounds… pretty risky.” Will frowned.

Mike shrugged. “It worked, didn’t it? El closed the gate. And you’re alive.” He let his hand ghost over Will’s left side, where he kept wincing. “What happened here?” he asked softly.

“So Mom and Jon and Nance brought me somewhere with a bunch of space heaters to burn the shadow monster out of me, like a fever,” Mike nodded. “And all I remember is painful heat, but it was working. It just wasn’t quite enough. It was so close to getting out, but then it was trying to choke Mom, and then Nancy stuck me with a fire poker and –”

“Nancy did what?” Mike was outraged.

“Nancy drove the Mind Flyer out of me just in time,” Will said calmly. He lifted up his shirt and Mike let his fingers glide around the scar. Will shivered.

“Is it gonna heal?” asked Mike.

“I dunno,” Will whispered back. “If I get a scar, it’ll be pretty badass, right?” He chuckled nervously.

“Yeah,” Mike giggled along with him. He ghosted his fingers over the scar, feeling the difference in texture. “…Yeah,” he whispered.

“Are you okay, Mike?” Will asked softly.

“Yeah,” Mike answered immediately, reflexively.

“Hey,” Will said, reaching out a hand to tilt Mike’s face towards his and oh, Will’s eyes were right there. Mike’s eyes flicked down to look at the entirety of Will’s face, then he made eye contact again.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?” Will asked again and Mike felt something bubbling up inside of him. “I don’t know,” he admitted, “Maybe… maybe not? I’m still processing.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot,” Will agreed easily.

“But you’re here,” Mike continued, “And that helps. I couldn’t – I can’t do this without you.” Will frowned in confusion. Mike gestured vaguely to – “Everything. Life. I –” he hesitated. “I meant what I said, last night in the shed.”

“Yeah?” Will breathed.

Mike sucked in a breath. “Yeah.” He nodded once, definitively. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He could feel himself flushing and tearing up but he didn’t care because it was Will and Will was here and alive and that’s all he really needed. He’d see El again soon, but he had everything he needed right here.