Chapter Text
This wasn't the first time Will and Mike were out on a mission together. And it was a pretty routine one at that. (Well, as routine as things could be with ash raining from the sky). Since Henry had opened a portal to the Upside Down in the middle of Hawkins and the town was abandoned and crawling with monsters they'd started routinely staking out the city in small teams. Over the past year Mike and Will had more often than not ended up in a team together. By now they'd pretty much become an established unit. So yeah, it definitely wasn't the first time they were out on a mission together. It was, however, the first one where Mike found himself this...distracted.
„...ke...“
„...ike...“
„MIKE!“
Mike's head shot around just in time to see a bat demon smacked straight out of the air mere centimeters away from his face. Completely frozen in shock he only managed to stare blankly up at his savior.
„Mike! What do you think you're doing?!“ Will asked incredulously.
That was a very good question. He wasn't so sure either. They were currently monitoring the Hawkins Town Hall, that much he knew. But just as he searched for the next link in the chain of events, Will took his hand to help him up and Mike's brain stopped working again.
“What is going on with you today?”
He was very much asking himself the same thing.
Will took a moment to catch his breath. “At least that was the last of them, this area should be safe for now. Are you okay? Did it bite you?” he asked, looking him up and down and Mike barely managed to shake his head. Will let out a deep sigh. “Even if we're not in the Upside Down like El is today, there's still monsters around. We need to be careful. And this is the second time today. This isn't like you, Mike, what--...Mike?”
After helping him up, Will had steadied Mike by his arms. Which he incidentally still happened to be holding on to. Which wasn't a big deal, obviously. Why would it be a big deal? It was a perfectly normal thing for friends to touch like that and they were best friends! Definitely nothing to feel funny about.
“Mike! Mike, look at me.” Will cupped Mike's cheeks, looked straight into his eyes and all thoughts immediately dripped out of his ears.
“Are you ...okay?” Will asked, voice noticeably more worried now.
No, no not really was all Mike could think as he stared at his best friend. He felt like his heartbeat was a bit off, but that was probably to be expected when you just narrowly avoided death by bat monster.
“Y-yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine,” he heard himself stutter. He shook his head to snap himself out of it and stumbled a few steps backwards until he hit the cool brick wall of the town hall.
“You don't seem fine.” Will said skeptically, one hand on his hip. He still looked concerned when he continued in a softer yet stern tone. “Mike. This mission is dangerous. If you're not feeling up to it, you should've stayed back with Murray. You could get hurt and I-- We can't lose you. Isn't what happened to Max enough already?” Will sighed and Mike's chest tightened. He couldn't stand seeing Will sad. Ever. “So. You either tell me what's going on with you or you're going back. Right now. Which is it gonna be?”
“Nothing is going on! I'm fine!” Mike heard himself insist.
“Bull.” Will took a step towards Mike. “You've been acting weird for a while and this just now really takes the cake. I know you're hiding something. Friends don't lie, Mike. And I thought we-- We're best friends, aren't we?” he asked with those eyes and Mike faltered.
“Of course we are!” he confirmed without hesitation.
“Then tell me! I'm here for you!”
Mike pressed his lips together. Of course there was something going on. He'd had his suspicions for a few weeks now. Lately, Mike had felt super weird. There was this sort of...pressure he felt. Especially when Will was around. He felt his chest tighten a lot, he felt electricity under his skin whenever Will touched him and he couldn't seem to think straight anymore. Mike hadn't wanted to admit it to himself, but by now there was no denying it. He took a deep breath before grabbing Will by the shoulders, which seemed to take him by surprise. It was difficult to meet his eyes, but Mike knew he had to say it now or he never would.
“Will, I...I think I...” It was harder to say than he thought. Will waited patiently, but the concern on his face almost made Mike crumble. He took a deep breath and steeled himself. Now or never.
“Will, I think I...might be possessed.”
“...Huh?”
Mike was sure, he must slowly be taken over by Vecna. Pseudo-Satanic possession was the only reasonable explanation for what was going on with him. Granted, Mike hadn't witnessed Vecna in action first hand before. But from the things he'd heard from the others this had to be it. Everyone that was possessed started acting and feeling strange and since Will had this weird connection with Vecna, it made sense that it would get worse in his presence. That he'd feel strange around him. He didn't want to worry Will, but it seemed to have progressed so much, that keeping it from him now might actually pose a serious risk to Will's well-being.
Mike ran his hands over his face and slid down against the wall behind him. “I've been feeling...off lately.”
Will squatted down with him, hands on his knees, and watched attentively as he waited for Mike to go on.
“I...I can't really think properly and I feel super on edge lately. Like all the time. And--” he interrupted himself before he could continue. He didn't really feel like he could specify. Thankfully, Will didn't pry any further. “When did you start feeling weird?” he asked instead.
That was a good question. When did it start? If he really thought about it, things had been off since Eleven and him had broken up like 10 months ago. No, actually, it started even before that? Was it since his confession at Pizza Boy? Vecna liked to use emotional triggers, Mike knew that. Maybe that's why Mike had been feeling progressively weirder since the break-up? Or maybe him feeling weird around Will had nothing to do with Will's connection to Vecna, but it was just Vecna slowly targeting him through his best friend? Will did always have a special place in Mike's heart, it would make sense for Vecna to pick him - which really sucked, because all of this had made Mike want to avoid Will more and more lately. To avoid this weird ...feeling. This feeling that something wasn't quite right, this nervous energy, this...disconnect within himself.
“A few months ago, I guess? Or more? I don't know, it's hard to tell because it sort of...gradually progressed I think. But I'd say the first time I felt, like, weird weird was during...during that mission where Vecna almost …got you.” Mike hated remembering that day. He couldn't even recall the circumstances leading up to it, it was like his brain was refusing to cooperate whenever he tried. But nothing could ever erase the image from his mind. He still saw Will lying on the street, shaking and unresponsive with El next to him, desperately trying to get him back. She managed, thank God, but something had changed in Mike that day.
Will sighed. “Why didn't you say something sooner?”
“It's not a big deal, really. I thought I could handle it myself.”
“Of course you did.” Will scoffed as he nudged Mike's shoulder. Mike had to crack a smile and their eyes met briefly.
“If you were actually possessed by Vecna... shouldn't I be able to feel it?” Will pondered. Mike looked up again.
“I mean, I do have this connection to him, right? And so far I've always been able to feel his presence whenever he was around. Be it possession or he himself, I always get those goosebumps. And I haven't noticed anything these past days,” he said, rubbing over his nape as if to confirm.
Mike frowned. Yes of course, that made sense. And it wasn't like Mike didn't know about this. Why had he not thought of that?
“And what if he has become so strong that he can hide his presence from you now?” he suggested.
“I don't know... I mean maybe? But in that case we'd pretty much be screwed anyway.”
True. So that was that for the Vecna surrogate theory for now.
They both sat in silence for a moment.
“I think I ...might have an idea. Can I- is it okay if I try something?” Will asked cautiously. Mike nodded before even asking what.
Will shuffled to sit down next to Mike and carefully took one of his hands. His other went up to touch Mike's cheek.
Uh...what?
Wide-eyed, Mike stared at his best friend, only to see his face move closer. He quickly shut his eyes and a second later he felt Will's forehead against his own. All of Mike's cool went out the window.
“Wwww-wwha--” he asked eloquently.
Will shushed him gently and Mike felt like breaking something. “I'm trying to see if I can feel any sort of presence in you. Can you...can you bear with it for a moment?”
He wasn't so sure actually, but his head nodded anyway. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah, cool. No problem. No big deal. Mike's eyes opened again, darting around to find something to distract him. But for some reason, no matter where he looked there wasn't much to see except for Will's face directly in front of him. Which wasn't a big deal, of course, but he decided to close his eyes again anyway. Maybe he should count something to distract himself. Sheep maybe? No, he wasn't trying to fall asleep. Not that he could with his heart racing like this. Huh, weird, when did that start? Was that a new symptom? Actually, he felt like it wasn't a good idea to think about that right now. What else could he count? Will's breaths maybe? His breaths that were hitting Mike's face in a steady and soothing rhythm and-- okay definitely not.
But wait.
This was smart, actually. If Will was to find something, shouldn't Mike lean into the uncomfortable feelings rather than suppress them? To help him? Yeah, that was a good idea.
And so Mike did turn his attention back to Will's breathing. He focused on how his breaths gently hit his mouth with every exhale. On where their foreheads were touching and how with every inhale their noses brushed against each other ever so slightly. On the prickling sensation under his skin where Will's hand still gently rested on his cheek. A sudden shiver ran down Mike's spine. Despite everything, he hoped Will wouldn't pick up on that one. Also, his and Will's fingers were touching. When did that happen?? Now acutely aware of his entire presence, Mike felt heat rush to his face. There it was again. The static. The pressure. That weird unnerving feeling. If this wasn't Vecna Mike truly didn't know what was possessing him.
As if he could read his mind, Will opened his eyes and pulled his head back a bit to look at Mike. Only when Will's eyes met his again did Mike notice that he had stared at Will the entire time. With Will looking at him like that, so earnestly with his big warm eyes, Mike's stomach felt a lot more queasy than just moments ago. For an endless moment they stayed like this - faces only centimeters apart, fingers interlaced, Will's right hand still resting on Mike's cheek. Mike noticed his eyes flutter down to Will's lips for a brief moment. Which was only natural of course, he was waiting for him to say something, after all. That's what people did, it was called active listening.
“So?” he whispered almost inaudibly. He had meant for that to come out louder, but his voice didn't let him.
Will's gaze was still locked to his own, as he slowly shook his head.
“Nothing,” he whispered back. Mike had to suppress another shiver. After a short eternity Will pulled his hands back and Mike suddenly felt a bit cold. Will coughed and repeated himself, louder this time. “I-I couldn't feel any presence in you. I really don't think you're being possessed by Vecna. At least not right now.”
Huh. That certainly made the possession theory much less likely. But if anything, it somehow worried Mike more than it relieved him.
“But uhm...” Will continued.
“Yeah?"
“I could- I mean only if you want, I could keep checking you out. I-I mean as in checking in on you! If you're, you know, still in the clear. With the whole ...possession thing.” He waved his arms around awkwardly and Mike couldn't help but smile.
“Yeah,” he agreed before even fully processing. “Yeah, uhm, that's probably a good idea. To make sure I...uhm...stay ...unpossessed,” he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Yeah...wouldn't want you to get...Vecna-ed. Or ...something...”
“Yeah.... right.”
Mike could feel his face grow warm again.
“Oh and uhm...” Mike quickly started, in an attempt to clear this strange atmosphere.
“Yeah?”
“Could you ...not tell the others? Yet? About the whole ...possible possession thing? I..” he trailed off, because he didn't seem to have a reason for not sharing this possibly crucial information with the rest of the group. He started fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.
“Yeah no problem.” Will smiled that warm genuine smile of his and Mike felt something surge in his chest. “And in turn you'll let me know if anything changes. Promise?”
He suddenly felt a lot lighter. “Promise.” he smiled back.
“Do you feel like you can continue now? Or should we head back? We do need to scout this area, but I'm sure the others agree we can push it to tomorrow or leave it to Steve and Robin if you're not feeling up to it.”
“We came all the way to check the inside of the town hall. All that's left is to get inside at this point. Let's do a quick check and then head home?”
“Alright. But you gotta watch your own ass this time.” Will said, before quickly turning his back to Mike to inspect his backpack. Were his cheeks red?
Mike grinned. “Alright.”
–
The rest of the mission had gone smoothly. They'd managed to check the town hall without another problem and safely gotten back to their base: The old radio-station. It was far enough from the city to be free from monsters and still have clear parts of sky, yet close enough to not make trips to the town take ages.
Mike and Will had gotten roughed up during the last few hours. Nothing major, but enough to warrant treatment, so they decided to head to their make-shift infirmary. It was a room big enough for all of them to comfortably fit into, with cabinets, a sink, a big table with six chairs and a huge window front, that let in the warm glow of the setting sun. Mike figured it used to be this places' tea kitchen or break room.
“How's your back?” Will asked, already standing ready by the equipment.
“Not too bad, we can take care of your arm first,” Mike responded and he could practically hear Will roll his eyes behind his back. During the past months they had gathered all sorts of medicinal supplies here in these cupboards and they were regularly making good use of it. Will got everything ready and Mike helped carry it over to the big oak table that stood in the center of the room. They sat down next to each other. Will lifted the right sleeve of his long flannel shirt to let Mike start treating the various scratch wounds, left by a particularly nasty bat creature. These kinds of wounds were commonplace for them by now, so they'd all gotten used to treating them, but it still bothered Mike to see them today. He was already absorbed in his work when Will spoke quietly.
“You... you do know that we're always here for you, right?”
“What do you mean?” Mike asked, eyes not leaving his work.
“I mean we're always going to have your back. You always want to deal with everything on your own and you're always angry when any of us gets hurt, but for some reason you're throwing yourself into danger like you're invincible. I---Mike are you listening?”
“Yeah,” he assured absentmindedly, looking for the right size band-aid on the table. He heard Will huff.
“Oh for God's sake.”
Suddenly, his chin was being lifted and he found himself staring directly into a pretty -upset looking- Will's face. Mike was glad he was sitting down because he felt his knees go weak.
“Mike. This is important to me, okay?”
Mike nodded in Will's surprisingly firm hold.
“Stop acting like you can't die! It's so easy to tell you get angry when any of us gets hurt, but somehow it's okay for you to take any and every hit? How do you think that makes us feel? Your mom? Your sisters? Or ...” he averted his eyes and continued much more quietly. “Or me.”
Mike didn't know how to respond to that.
Thankfully, Will let go of his face with a sigh and continued before Mike had to.
“Just... please just promise me you'll be more careful. It's not just about your lack of focus today. You've been consistently throwing yourself in harms way to protect us and I can't-- I honestly can't stand to see that any longer,” he released a shaky breath.
Will often told Mike off for being too reckless, but he could tell he was being serious right now. Before he could think about it, he had already reached for Will's shoulders. His plaid yellow flannel felt a little rough under Mike's fingers, having lost a lot of its softness due to the wear and tear of these past years. Mike was glad that didn't apply to its owner.
He still didn't know what to say, but he could understand where his best friend was coming from. If it was the other way around Mike would be livid if Will got himself hurt to protect someone else. Today had been too close a call too, Will could've gotten seriously hurt, just because Mike didn't pay attention. Will was probably right. Mike found his gaze as he gently squeezed his shoulder.
“You're right, I'm sorry. I...I'll be more careful.”
“Good.” Will looked up at him and smiled, visibly relieved. “And for some reason it's always me who has to patch you up again, too. Maybe I should start charging for all that overtime.” He smiled sheepishly. Mike couldn't help but smile along.
“It's not my fault you're best at this stuff.” Mike smirked. “And I already said I'm sorry.”
“Oh yeah, you will be when I'm done with you. Take off your shirt.”
“What?”
Mike's heart skipped a couple of beats.
“Take off your shirt. You're done with my arm, right? Let's look at your back.” Puzzled, Mike looked at Will's arm. It seemed to have already been neatly bandaged up by Mike's hands.
Huh.
“Oh, uhm, yeah. Right. Sure.” Mike got up to do as he was told, but for some reason he was suddenly feeling awkward just undressing like that. He turned around before pulling the blue jersey over his head. Back turned to Will, he bunched it up and hugged it to his chest before he sat back down.
A seasoned medic by now, Will immediately got to work. Mike hissed when he felt the familiar sting of rubbing alcohol below his ribcage, right where he'd been slashed by the claws of a demodog.
“Told you you'd be sorry. You better think twice next time you want to play the hero.” Mike knew he was telling him off again, but he could hear the playfulness in his voice this time. It was relieving to hear, it always meant his injuries weren't serious.
“Yeah, yeah.” Mike grinned, before wincing at an especially nasty sting.
“Shit sorry, I used a bit too much.” Will said, placing an apologetic hand on his back.
“Nngh, no it's fine.” Mike gritted through his teeth. They were all very much used to the burn of disinfecting wounds. As expected, the pain subsided after a few moments but as it did, a different sensation surfaced in its stead. A careful hand was stroking soothing little circles over the bare skin of Mike's left shoulder blade. He stopped breathing. The touch was light as a feather, so subtle it was barely even there, but Mike could hardly focus on anything else.
“Better?” Will asked softly and Mike could feel heat rush to his face. He buried it into his shirt and nodded.
“Uh-huh.”
“Alright. I still haven't covered everything. It'll burn some more, but I'll be more careful, okay?” he asked, his fingers continuing their trails over his skin.
“Okay.” Mike whispered breathlessly, his face on fire. And Will was right. It did keep burning, but unlike with his wounds, Mike didn't know how to handle it.
After treating themselves, they still had some time before their scheduled meeting, so they headed to Will's room on the second floor. Or rather, their room. Up until now Mike had stayed on the couch on the first floor by himself, but with whatever was going on with him, he didn't feel like that was a good idea anymore. With Will's connection to Vecna it seemed like the best idea to room together for the time being. Will could immediately detect if Mike was being targeted. So they entered their room.
It was relatively small. Mike would've said it used to be something like a walk in closet before, had it not been for the single small window at the back wall, that let natural light flood in. The walls were lined with shelves that used to serve as storage for technical equipment. Now they held what little Will had taken with him when they'd abandoned their homes. Mostly clothes, tools and a few drawing utensils and memorabilia. Apart from that, there wasn't really any space for more than the one mattress Will slept on. Which meant...
“Uhm... you don't mind sharing the mattress...do you?” Will asked hesitantly. He must've noticed Mike staring at it. Well, it was pretty much the only thing to look at in here.
“We don't have to! I could sleep at the foot end or something. I just thought it might be fun, you know, like a sleepover. It's been ages since we've last had one. But yeah, if it bothers you, I could--”
“It doesn't,” Mike interrupted immediately. Will was doing that thing again. When he was excited or cared about something, he played it off as being stupid or not a big deal if he felt like it would inconvenience others just the tiniest bit. It was just about the only thing that bothered him about Will. ”It's just like you said, it's been ages since we last had a sleepover. Why would I mind?”
“I don't know, we were like ten when we last shared a mattress, so...” Will grabbed one of his arms and buried his fingers in the sleeve.
“So?”
“We're pretty much adults now.”
“Yeah, and?”
“Well... there just isn't exactly a lot of room for privacy in here.”
“Privacy? We're basically living in the apocalypse, what are you concerned about privacy for all of a sudden? Besides, we've been friends for fifteen years now. Since when has that been an issue?” Mike asked, a little irritated.
“No, I don't know, it's just...Some things change over time and I...I don't want you to feel uncomfortable.” Will stumbled over his words a bit.
“Will, I don't know what you're getting at. You're not rooming with a girl, you're rooming with me. Mike. Your friend. You used to stay over at my place more often than your own home at one point. What exactly is your problem?” Mike hadn't meant for that to come out as loudly as it did. It just irked him, that Will was suddenly trying to make an issue out of something, that had never been an issue before. Hadn't he been excited earlier?
There was an oddly heavy silence. When Mike finally looked over to Will, he had turned away from him. His shoulders seemed tense.
“You're right.” Will finally muttered in a tone, that immediately tied Mike's stomach into knots. “It's not like you're rooming with a girl. I was being stupid. Just... forget about it.”
“Will--”
“It's almost six, we should probably head over to the meeting now,” he said curtly and with that, Will quickly left the room.
Mike blinked a few times, unsure of what had happened just now. Will was upset, that much was clear. But why? Had Mike said something wrong?
“Hey, are you coming?” Mike looked up, to see Dustin in the hallway. When he didn't react, Dustin tapped his wrist watch a few times with raised eyebrows.
“Y-yeah, I'm coming.” he finally said and followed his friend to the conference room on the first floor.
When they arrived, everyone else was already gathered there, so Mike closed the sturdy wooden doors behind them. It was a musty, windowless room, with a big round oak table and about two dozen chairs stacked in the corners, that almost filled the entire space. The only spot still available at the table was between Dustin and Lucas, so that's where Mike headed. Will was standing at the opposite end, between El and Nancy. They had these meetings almost daily at this point, so there was no need to talk about the agenda and everyone went straight to reporting. After hearing out all the other teams, eventually it was their turn.
“Team Byler reporting.” Will said, before he gave a very detailed report of what they found. But the entire time, Mike wasn't able to focus on what anyone was saying. He couldn't stop thinking about what he could have said that upset Will. He knew him inside out and it bothered him that he couldn't seem to figure it out. What was it? What had he said? He reconstructed their conversation in his head. It had started when they were in their new room. Could it be that Will didn't actually want to share it with him? Improbable, he sounded excited about having a sleep-over. No, he got upset after that. It was when he said something about rooming with a girl. Was that it? Did Will want to room with a girl instead of him? And now Mike was ruining that chance? But Will wasn't interested in anyone right now.
Or was he? Was there somebody he liked?? His thoughts started racing. If Will did like someone, why wouldn't he tell Mike? They always told each other everything. What reason could there be for him not to tell him? He kept thinking when suddenly, it hit him.
Oh.
Oh no.
Mike could think of only one thing, that Will wouldn't dare tell him. Will liked El. He wanted to room with her, because he liked her and he couldn't tell Mike because she was his Ex. To further complicate things, she was his new sister. Will had always been very secretive about all things romance, to the point, where Mike had started believing he wasn't interested in it at all. Surely Will was afraid to be judged for who he was in love with. Yeah that had to be it. Mike had cracked the code.
“Mike, do you have anything to add to Will's report?” Nancy asked.
“Huh? Oh, uhm....No, nothing,” Mike said. He looked over to Will, whom Eleven was currently whispering something to. A small smile spread on Will's lips and Mike felt his stomach twist uncomfortably.
“Okay then lets head out in the same team constellations as usual and report back here in three days. We leave tomorrow morning.” Nancy concluded.
When Will hesitantly came over to Mike the tension was palpable. Will was avoiding eye-contact, and Mike was trying not to focus too much on the knot that formed in his stomach when Will gave El a quick resigned smiled as she passed by. He would probably prefer to be assigned to her team too then, wouldn't he? But he couldn't since he was stuck with Mike now? How did Mike never --
A hand on his shoulder swiftly snapped him back to reality.
“Trouble in paradise, eh?” A familiar voice asked from behind them. Murray stepped in between the two of them with that signature smile of his, while all the others filed out of the room one after the other.
Mike didn't know what to say, but he was sure his face effectively communicated his thoughts for him.
???
What do you want?
When neither he nor Will responded, Murray put an arm around each of them and pulled them closer conspiratorially.
“I've been keeping an eye on you two, so, honestly, I'm not surprised. This was bound to happen sooner or later,” Murray said, nodding to himself.
What the fuck was his deal? Was he referring to them fighting? That had literally just happened and also it wasn't even an actual fight yet? But no matter what he meant, why would he just randomly insert himself into their situation like that?
“What do you want?” Mike finally asked.
“Nothing more than to support our youth.”
Mike unconsciously searched for Will's gaze. Will had his eyes fixed on Murray, but he looked as confused and perturbed as Mike felt.
“What is that supposed to--” Mike started but Murray interrupted him, while slowly guiding them out of the conference room and into the hallway.
“You guys have some things to talk about I bet. Some unresolved tension, some unasked questions...” He emphasized each phrase with a pointed look at either of them as he steered them down the hallway. “Allow me to help you with that,” he finally said as they stopped in front of an old door at the end of the hallway. Murray had walked them over to the nearest closet and before Mike could protest, he had already shoved him and Will inside and locked the door behind them.
...
What the fuck just happened.
Mike almost fell while being shoved, so he gripped a storage rack in front of him with both arms to steady himself. He opened his eyes, but it was too dark inside to see anything. What he did know was, that this closet should barely be big enough to fit them both.
He groaned. “Will? Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Will answered and Mike froze. Rather than hear his answer, he had felt it. He had felt Will's breath on his lips so distinctly, he wasn't certain it had only been air grazing them just now. Mike felt chills zip up and down his spine.
Okay.
Okay, okay, okay.
Instinctively, Mike held his breath to try and gauge Will's reaction. Maybe he had just imagined it? But Will seemed to have felt something too. Right after answering, he'd gasped and recoiled like he'd been burned. After that, the small space became dead quiet. Mike couldn't even hear Will breathe anymore. All there was, were his racing thoughts, that he strictly kept from examining what had just happened. He didn't know what to do with himself, he felt like he'd been struck by lightning. Not daring to make the slightest move, he simply stood there in the dark, tightly gripping the sides of the shelf, listening for any kind of reaction from Will.
Gradually, Mike's eyes started adjusting to the dark and now he could see, that he really was barely a couple of breaths away from Will's face. They had conveniently fallen into the closet in a manner, where Mike was now pinning Will against the shelf behind him, with virtually no space between their bodies.
You know, these things happened sometimes.
“Mike..” Will breathed shakily, head pulled back as much as the shelf behind him allowed. “C-could you...move?”
“Oh, uh, y-yeah.” Mike snapped out of his stupor and took a step back, making sure the wobbly shelf behind Will didn't topple over as he let go. Given the size of the closet, one step was enough for Mike's back to hit the door.
The silence that followed was even worse than the earlier one. Mike's entire body was pulled taut, his head filled with nothing but TV static and his mouth unable to speak. His eyes had now fully adjusted to the dark and he risked a glance at Will. The cracks of the door still let in just enough light to make out his general expression. He looked...sad?
“Mike...” Will said quietly, finally breaking the silence.
“I...I'm sorry about earlier. I was being stupid. Can we just forget about it please?” his voice was small.
Mike sighed, relieved that that's what Will decided to bring up.
“No, don't apologize. I should've been more considerate.”
“What do you mean?” He glanced up at him.
“I should've thought about how all this is affecting you. What us rooming together would mean for you.”
“W-what do you think it means?”
“I know you probably didn't want me to know about it, but I kind of figured it out. You weren't exactly subtle about it.”
“What--” Will's eyes grew wide.
“I know we're in the apocalypse and defending against Vecna is our priority, but we still have feelings and they need to be considered too.”
“Mike what--”
“I know you're in love with El.”
“...”
The silence was deafening. So it was true. Mike felt his stomach constrict so tightly, it almost made him nauseous. It was fine, it was no big deal. He and El had broken up almost a year ago, he didn't mind her dating anyone else. At least he hadn't so far. But if he didn't mind, why was he feeling like this was the end of the world? Well, maybe because it technically was, but that wasn't the point right now.
“...Why do you think I--”
“It's fine, you don't need to explain it to me. And you don't need to hide it either. It's fine, El and I broke up so long ago, I'm over it.”
“Mike, I'm not--”
“As for our sleeping arrangement, I will only stay over as long as we need to make sure I'm not possessed. Unfortunately, that still has priority right now. But after that I promise I'll make room for you two.”
“This isn't--”
“And you really don't need to worry about me. I'm absolutely over El and I just want you to be happy. You...you of all people deserve it,” he added quietly. This wasn't about Mike. It didn't matter that he hated the idea of them dating, Will deserved to be happy. “As for her technically being your sister now, I don't think people will--”
“Jesus, MIKE!” Will yelled and grabbed Mike's face so quickly he stopped talking.
“Will you listen to me? I'm not in love with El!”
Mike blinked at him a few times. “You're not?”
“No, I'm not!” he said almost indignantly. “She's my sister. That's gross!”
“Well, you're not related by blood. Just because people don't--”
“No, oh my God stop,” Will said and actually moved to cover Mike's mouth with his hand. For a brief moment Mike thought about how they had reversed roles now, with Mike being pinned against the door by Will. His brain didn't quite know what to do with that.
“El is my sister. I love her like a sister. I am not in love with her. Why on earth would you think I was?” He looked pointedly into his eyes, making sure Mike understood him, before releasing his mouth so he could answer. His other hand did not leave its place.
“Earlier, after our conversation, you seemed upset. I was wondering if I said anything wrong and then I remembered it started after you said you wouldn't be rooming with a girl. So I thought you probably actually wanted to room with somebody else, but had no choice but to take me in with the whole Vecna thing going on. And since you wouldn't tell me, I figured it had to be something to do with El. She also is the only girl our age here, so...”
Will only stared at him incredulously, seemingly unsure how to answer. He let go of Mike to slowly cover his face as he let out a deep sigh. Then he firmly placed them on Mike's shoulders.
“Mike. I don't want to room with El. I don't want to room with anybody else, otherwise I would already be doing that. I only want to room with you. With my...best friend.” He smiled hesitantly.
“Really?”
“Really.” Will confirmed, his smile now warm and suddenly Mike felt a huge weight lift off of him. With the relief washing over him, Mike couldn't resist the urge to close the gap and wrap his arms around Will. Will seemed surprised at first, but soon he also shyly looped his arms around Mike's middle. As soon as he felt Will's arms around him, Mike felt like he was melting into him. It had been so long since he'd last hugged his best friend and it felt so good. Like coming home after a long day of fighting satanic abominations. Like all his stress was just falling off of him. He buried his nose into Will's flannel. He had missed this. He had missed Will. Thanks to all of this stupid possession stuff he'd avoided him for almost two entire months, which he now realized, had been far too long. No matter what happened, he was never going to do that again.
“I still don't know what I said to upset you earlier,” Mike finally stated. He felt Will briefly tense against him, so he pulled back just enough to look at him.
“No really, like I said I was being stupid. Let's just forget about it,” Will mumbled.
“Okay, but whatever it was... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. And ...you can tell me if there's something bothering you. You know I'm here for you too, right?”
Will blinked in confusion.
“What, don't like hearing your own lectures?” Mike said smugly. “You're no better than me. Always dealing with things on your own and then getting upset when others do the same. Hypocrite,” he added with a grin.
“You got me there.” Will grinned back.
“But seriously, if there's ever anything bothering you, I'm always here for you. Even if I'm the one upsetting you. Actually, especially if I'm the one upsetting you. You can talk to me. About anything. Anytime. Okay?” He held Will's gaze and suddenly something in it shifted. Will's smile faded and he looked like he was about to say something. Then suddenly--
BAM.
The door swung open, flooding the room with blinding light. All Mike could make out was Lucas' voice.
“Hey guys, Murray said it's time to--” His voice died down. Mike's eyes still needed time to adjust, but he immediately pictured what Lucas had to be seeing right now. “--let you out. ...Well, seems like you made up, so that's good. I'll go to the kitchen now, we'll have the usual get together before tomorrow. Come join us if you want.” And with that he vanished.
….What???
But - more importantly - Oh God! What was Lucas thinking now?! After seeing the two of them hold each other in a dark closet? Wasn't this weird? Wait no, why would it be weird? They were friends, they had hugged all the time back in the day, so--
“Uhm, Mike?” Will interrupted.
“Yeah?”
“You can ...let go now,” he said, gently patting Mike's arms, that where still holding on to Will.
“Oh yeah, right. Sorry.” Mike said, releasing his arms and they both took a step back from each other.
Mike coughed. “So, uhm...you want to head over to the kitchen and join the others?”
“Yes, please.”
When they went over to the kitchen, everyone else had already gathered there. This day had really tired Mike out, so he'd decided not to stay too long, but he was at least going to show up. These little get-togethers had become somewhat of a ritual before every mission, blowing off some steam and having a good time in case things went south. Party like there's no tomorrow as they say, because there actually might not be. So they drank a couple of beers, played some games and chatted about what they'd do once everything went back to normal. After Eleven congratulated Mike on his win at make-shift darts, he'd decided to call it quits for the day and to go to bed early. Will followed him, insisting he didn't want to wake him up by coming back late.
So they both got ready for bed. They changed into their night-shirts and started brushing their teeth in the small bathroom adjacent to their room. This really reminded Mike of all the sleep-overs they used to have. They talked about ideas for future D&D campaigns and their favorite comics and interesting things they'd found while exploring the deserted city center. It was weird how much living in an abandoned radio station during the end of the world had started to feel almost homely. Especially considering that they'd only made this their base about three months ago. Hawkins was overrun by monsters now and the radio tower was far enough from the city to not pique the interest of monsters. Yet. But they had a plan. And if everything went smoothly, they'd be able to stop all this and save the world. Mike figured their chances were good, since it was a really smart and well thought-out plan, full of surprises and interesting turns, but he had no time to go over it now, because Will had a question.
“So...you're really over El?” he asked with a quick glance at Mike, toothbrush still in his mouth.
“Huh?”
“You mentioned it earlier. In the closet.”
“Oh, uhm...yeah. I mean with everything going on it feels like that was ages ago. And there's much more important stuff to be worrying about right now, you know?” Mike answered before spitting and rinsing his toothbrush.
“Yeah, true.” Will nodded pensively. “Why... did you break up back then?”
The question made Mike pause, which seemed to fluster Will.
“Obviously, you don't have to tell me! I was just curious. Neither of you really talked about it much since and we didn't want to pry, so none of us are really sure what was going on with you guys. Or where you stand with each other. I mean it's obvious you're getting along, but...you know what, forget it. Sorry I asked.”
Right, Mike had never really explained anything. After he and El had broken up, they'd told everybody that they were now separated and still on friendly terms, but that had been about it. Mike had had a lot of strange emotions about that entire relationship, including the break-up, and he'd not been keen on unpacking any of them. But... this was Will. Maybe sharing a little bit with him was okay?
“No, it's fine. It's just...it's a long story,” he said, gaze fixed on the sink. “To make it short, I think I realized that was I felt for El was ...admiration more than anything. I mean she is a real life super-hero. How cool is that? But we met so early, we were both literal children back then. I was way too young to know the difference and just ...went with what I thought was ...supposed to happen, I guess?” His eyes briefly flitted over to Will, who slowly nodded.
“I think she and I both finally realized during my...” Mike cringed at the memory. “...confession. At Pizza Boy. It wasn't genuine and she knew it. Before I did, actually. You remember how she and I didn't really talk after that?” he asked, thumb scratching over the ridges of his toothbrush.
“Yeah.”
“Well, we kind of...put it off for a long time. Talking I mean. There were just...there was so much going on and we were so busy fighting off monsters and making plans to kill Vecna and moving bases that we never really got around to addressing it.”
“Until 10 months ago.”
“Until 10 months ago. El came to me and we talked a bit and we kind of...mutually agreed to break up, I guess. It was only a formality at that point, so there's no hard feelings I just....” The thought of actually ending it had scared Mike for some reason, so he could not bring himself to initiate it. He was glad however that El did, because within that weird mixture of feelings the break-up left him with, relief was a big one. Mike decided not to mention it. That was one of the many things in that relationship that he felt ashamed about.
“I see,” Will said, his tone even more gentle than usual. “I had no idea. I always thought you were...in love.”
“Yeah, well...I thought I was for the longest time,” Mike said truthfully.
Will looked at him, like he was deep in thought.
“What is it?” Mike asked.
“No, it's nothing. Just, I'm sorry? To hear that?”
“No need to be. It's been so long ago it hardly matters anymore.” Also El and Mike were finally back to the friendship Mike had always cherished so much. “As I said, things were over a long time ago, we just never properly addressed it. And actually, it feels good to finally tell someone. Thanks for listening.” Mike smiled.
“Always. Thanks for telling me.” He smiled back and Mike felt a lot lighter. He didn't even know why he felt so ashamed about this whole thing. What made him keep pushing certain thoughts away whenever they threatened to surface. What had kept him from telling Will. But talking to him had made him a lot feel better. It always did.
And just like that, night fell. There really wasn't much space on the mattress Will slept on. They slept on. No actually, the one Will slept on, because it had been three hours and Mike still hadn't managed to fall asleep. He had tossed and turned so much, it was a miracle he hadn't woken up Will. Especially considering that there was barely enough room for them to not touch even when they were both sleeping on their sides.
It wasn't new for him, sharing a bed with Will. They'd done that a ton when they were children. And Mike usually was a heavy sleeper. He was never really bothered by noise or movement, so why the hell was he so tense now? Mike shuffled to lie on his back and draped his arms over his stomach. He let out a deep sigh. It was because of Will. Mike might be an idiot, but he wasn't stupid. Even he had realized by now, that him feeling strange wasn't simply stronger in Will's presence. It was exclusively in Will's presence. Mike had to be careful. If Vecna was targeting him through his best friend after all, he had to make sure Will stayed safe and didn't end up as collateral. But Will said he would feel Vecna and he hadn't so far. Which raised a question Mike spent a lot of energy to not think about.
If it wasn't Vecna, then...why the hell did Mike feel so strange around Will?
He fully turned to his side to look at him. His best friends face was illuminated by the light of the full moon shining through the window. Mike had avoided looking at him recently, but right now Will was asleep, so he did not have to hold back. His chest was rising and falling in a gentle rhythm and Will looked so...peaceful. After everything he had gone through, not just in the last couple of years, but ever since he was a child, Mike didn't want to see him any other way. Peaceful. Happy. Safe. He was the kindest, sweetest soul and he deserved nothing less than the world. He always cared about his friends first and foremost and never really complained, even if he was in pain or mistreated. Although Mike did wish he would tell him these things. He really couldn't stand the idea of anything or anyone hurting Will or Will dealing with it on his own. He wanted to be there for him, through everything. Before he knew it, Mike had already reached out to touch Will's cheek. It really was as soft as it always looked. He stroked his thumb across the smooth surface and suddenly his chest felt so full. Will's long lashes fanned out over his cheeks, his newly curled hair messily covered his forehead and he looked so ...good. Mike really wanted to kiss him.
…
…
…
Huh.
….
That was new.
For what felt like hours Mike just kept lying there. Paralyzed. Staring at Will's sleeping face, letting that thought echo through his head. He really had just thought that, huh. He kept searching Will's face, trying to find some sort of confirmation, that that had been nothing more than a random midnight thought. It was probably caused by that incident in the closet today. Yeah, definitely. Also, Mike had wondered before what would happen if he were to jump off a roof. That didn't mean he actually wanted to jump! But this particular thought did not seem to leave his mind. On the contrary, the longer he looked at Will the louder it became. He really wanted to kiss him.
Shit.
Had he ever had thoughts like that about his other friends? In his mind he went though all of them. Dustin or Lucas? Gross. Max? Definitely not. Eleven? ...Eleven. He did remember wanting to kiss her. He did remember the excitement that had come with it back then. But that had been just that. Excitement. The novelty of kissing a girl. This...this was different. Looking at Will sleeping peacefully just centimeters away from his face, he was filled by a foreign, mellow, exhilarating, all-consuming feeling, that he had never felt before. It was like something had cracked open somewhere deep inside of him and now he was starting to be filled with these strange new thoughts and feelings and he couldn't stuff them back no matter how hard he tried. He brushed a strand of hair out of Will's forehead and there was nothing he could do to stop this fluttering feeling in his chest. He was completely and utterly at his mercy. Carefully, as not to wake him, he gently let his fingers trail over Will's forehead, brushing aside a few more brown locks. He traced a thumb over his eyebrow, down his cheekbone and then allowed himself to let his hand rest there. He did know Will wasn't bad looking, but he'd never really payed attention to his features that much. He'd never actually realized just how handsome he was. Right now, right here, he looked breathtaking. And Mike did not ever want anyone else to see him like this.
Shit, shit, shit.
Even after giving himself a few more minutes, it still was difficult to pull his hand back when he did. He grabbed his own wrist, as if to keep his hand from reaching out again, but he still could not bring himself to look away. One thing was clear. Something was very wrong with Mike. He definitely was possessed. And as he watched a sleeping Will bury his face deeper into his pillow, he had to face an uncomfortable truth.
The one possessing him wasn't Vecna. But he very much wished it was.