Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The bell rang indicating the end of the school day, and Mike was dragged out of his daydream about the new campaign he was working on. Mike refocused his sight and went to grab his backpack from the floor. It felt suspiciously light. He opened the zipper and felt around inside with his hand. Shit. He had left his binder with his campaign notes in the AV room earlier that day. Mike sighs deeply as he resigns himself to trekking all the way to the opposite side of the school, completely out of his way.

The sound of sneakers squeaking on the linoleum floor really irks him as he begins his long walk. The sound of girls making plans echo through the mostly vacant hall as Mike curses himself; he probably could have made it home on his bike before it started sleeting, but now, with this little detour, he was definitely going to get caught in it. After a few minutes, he is finally in front of the AV club room.

He reaches out his hand to open the door when he hears some muffled voices from inside. He can’t quite make everything out…

“---alk to me here! Don’t wa---  --  -------- you!”

“...--- sorry. I won’t ever--- ------”

Mike pushes his ear to the door in an attempt to hear better. Isn’t everyone just a little nosy?

“Yeah. It better not. I’ll drop you like it’s nothing, Byers.”

Huh? Was that a threat? Who was in there talking to Will?

He got his answer as the door swung inward and he stumbled right into Chance. Mike didn’t know his last name, he didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the jocks. He was, however, afraid of them, having made his life a living hell for years. 

“Wha- what the fuck Wheeler? 

Chance shoves Mike away from him, and glances back at Will. Mike can’t see if he mouths something or not, but Will’s face drops and he looks… ashamed? Chance finishes exiting the room, his steps reverberating around the completely empty hallway as he stomps away.

“Mike!” Will squeaks. “What did you h-... Um, what are you doing here?”

“I left my binder in here”

He points at the binder right behind Will on the counter. As Will checks behind him, Mike attempts to assess the situation, assess Will, make sure he is okay. Will turns back around and he looks tired. Tired and scared. Tired, scared and…guilty? 

“What were you doing in here with Basketball Chance?” Mike demands.

“Basketb- Wha-? Um, um. He borrowed my chemistry notes…”

Will was very good at chemistry (he was very good at almost anything he did, actually) so that wouldn’t be surprising…if it were anyone else. But Will was acting squirelly, and he didn’t want to make him anymore uncomfortable than Chance already had. Mike was Will’s safespace, he wanted to keep it that way, keep Will coming to him when he needed to. Mike reached out to put a comforting hand on Will’s shoulder. Will flinched. Uh, don’t like that, Mike thought to himself. He watched Will’s face go from fear, to guilt. He turned his open palm into a thumbs-up shape, and jammed his thumb in the direction of the door.

“Let’s get back to my place. Poor Dustin and Lucas are probably sitting in the living room, being talked at by my mom, while Holly runs circles around all of them. Let’s go home, Will.”

“...Yeah, let’s get out of here.” Will says quietly as he continues to stare at the floor.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In his basement, Mike was making notes of where the party was leaving this session so he could remember for next time. The other three were lined up single file to make their way upstairs. Mike looks up momentarily.

“Hey Will, I had a question, could you gather up these pieces while we talk?” He paused, finally making eye contact with Will. “...please?”

“Okay Mike.” Will said, the tiniest bit of exasperation clinging to his words.

But that’s fine: Mike likes anytime Will says his name. Will walks around the table and starts gathering miniature figures off the table. He won’t meet Mike’s gaze, he already knows what this is about.

“Will… what was that today with Chance? And please don’t say it was the chemistry notes again. Friends don’t lie. Friends. Don’t. Lie.” Mike repeats, his eyes narrowing as Will finally locks eyes with him.

Will fidgets with the figures in his hands, and takes a deep breath in.

“Chance… Chance is, uh my…friend.”

“No he’s not, Will. That’s not possible.”

“Why, Mike? Why not. You don’t think someone like me should be around people like him?”

“No, Will. No, I’m just saying you’re such a good person…such a special person. And, Chance? Well, he’s not. He’s not.”

“You don’t actually know him though, do you?” Will says, a little venomously.

“I know his type, Will.”

Will unceremoniously dumps the figures in a cardboard box on the edge of the table. He’s staring daggers at Mike now. His finger suddenly jabbed into Mike’s chest.

“You know what, Mike? I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Is that okay?” Will is yelling now. “Is that okay with you? I don’t have to tell you everything!” 

Will continued to jab him. Mike felt like the jabs were going straight into his heart. He was suddenly aware that it was becoming difficult to breathe. When did Will stop trusting him? Why was he so agitated? Did Will hate him? Will…please, no Will.

Mike hadn’t realized that his arms had raised until his palms were on either side of Will’s face. Hovering just next to his cheeks. A confused look stuck on both he, and Will’s, face. Mike stepped back, looking at his hands, then dropping them to his side before speaking.

“Will, please. Please, you’re my best friend. I’m still yours, right? …Right? I just want you to talk to me. I don’t want to lose you.”

Will looked touched for a moment, maybe even happy. He took a half step toward Mike, but stopped himself, looking like he was in thought. Then suddenly there were tears in his eyes. Mike almost missed it with how quickly Will whipped around and ran up the stairs.

And suddenly Mike was alone in his basement. Again. His ears ringing, and tears beginning to form in his eyes. Please, no. Anything but this.

Chapter Text

Mike had a hugely difficult time getting to sleep that night. He had upset Will, and Will had yelled at him. That had happened only once before, right before a fight he would still give anything to take back. The way Will looked at him in that garage, the sound of rain pouring down on the roof above. He would give anything to take back those eight words he had spit right in Will’s face.

He rolled over in his bed, letting out a huge groan and bringing his hands to face in hopes of rubbing the memory out of his head.

Mike was outside the AV club room again. Things seemed to move in slow motion as he reached for the door. Then time stopped, and suddenly it was only himself and the door; no hallway, no chattering girls, no squeaking shoes to distract him. He dropped his arm, and put his ear to the door right away this time.

“Don’t talk to me here! I don’t wanna be associated with you!” A brief, but painful pause.

“I’m sorry. I won’t ever do that again. It won’t happen again…”

“Yeah. It better not. I’ll drop you like it’s nothing, Byers.”

Suddenly Mike is outside his body, looking down at himself and everything starts to spin. He is watching the top of his head spin away as his mind gets further and further from his body. Then, he is sitting bolt upright in his bed, covered in sweat. He looks to his night stand. His clock read 5:03am. No chance he was going to get back to sleep before his alarm went off, so he threw his blankets off and trundled towards the bathroom.

Once he was in the shower, he had no choice but to be alone with his thoughts. Ugh. His dream started running through his head again. Will and Chance yelling in the AV room. Why the AV room? Was Will actually friends with Chance? If they were friends, why would Chance not want to speak to Will at school? Because that’s how those people are, of course. But why even bother to be friends with someone you refuse to even look at at school? Some hidden common interest so shameful Chance couldn’t share it with his friends? …Only with Will and nobody else…? Shit.

He didn’t want to think about it anymore, so with the towel still wrapped around his waist, he grabbed the binder barely hidden under his bed and set it on his lap as he sat down. He was only able to look at one picture before he felt a vice grip on his heart. Will hadn’t even necessarily given it to him, he had just left it at Mike’s place. But it was the first picture of Will’s he got to call his own. He could remember everything from that night just by looking at the picture: the stale smell of the basement, the dim lighting because his father didn’t care to change the burnt out bulbs, the sounds of the tape Jonathan made for Will… back when things were much simpler. Simpler? Were they? He shakes his head and closes the binder again, placing it softly on his unmade bed. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He somehow managed to bike to school on the small amount of shit sleep he had gotten last night. He was glad he left a little early as the snow was only just beginning to stick to the ground. It’s no fun to ride in, but Mike did prefer winter. It reminded him of hang outs in the basement with the party, except those days were cold enough to have his friends whining to bring out the blankets. Shared blankets…usually only big enough to accommodate two people… Will was always so cold, all he ever did was sap the warmth from Mike…Mike didn’t mind.

He was there so early it was mostly just the teachers inside. He didn’t want to just sit in his first period class and wait, so Mike found himself wandering the halls. And of course, he was in front of the AV room again. This is so stupid, they’re not gonna be here again Mike thought to himself as he reached out a hand and checked anyway. He was correct, no one there, what did he expect if they had already been caught here before? Caught? They weren’t doing anything so wild as to justify the use of the word “caught”. Right? He entered anyway, had to pass the time somewhere.

He barely saw Will that day. He would see him in the halls, and Mike would hurry towards him, only for him to disappear in the crowd every time. They only had one class together, the last period of the day, but Will sat in the front row this time, refusing to look anywhere but forward. Once the bell rings, Will springs to his feet, and practically sprints out the door. Mike attempts to follow him but there are so many people in the hall now it’s impossible to keep up. Goddamnit. He won’t give up though, he needs to talk to Will, to check on him, especially after the unacceptable way Chance talked to him yesterday.

Mike roams the halls yet again, poking his head into every classroom  he passes, receiving weird looks from teachers and students alike. He even checked the gym where the basketball players were warming up. He stopped for a moment to scan their faces…and no sign of Chance. Damnit damnit, where could he be? 

Mike ran to the front entrance looking outside at the few stragglers left behind. He could see the bike rack from here. Will’s bike was most definitely still there…he’s here somewhere. The only place he hasn’t checked is the field in the back of the school.

The double doors swung outwards violently as Mike jumped outside, scanning. Nothing and nobody. Just a few inches of snow covering the ground. He looked down, there were a couple sets of footprints leading in different directions. There was a set or two leading to the equipment shed, the only place anyone could hide out here. He started making his way slowly, he didn’t want a crunch of snow beneath his feet to give him away. 

He tried to peer in the window, but there was a bunch of equipment stacked right in front of it. Okay, he psyches himself up to reach out a trembling hand once more to a door he is afraid to open.

Oh.

Chance had Will backed up into the wall, gripping the shirt at Will’s shoulders, pulling him just a little towards himself. Will had a hand on each of Chance’s forearms, both for balance and to calm the violent tugs on his shirt. Mike was preparing to pounce and punch Chance right in the mouth. Until Mike saw that was exactly where Will and he were connected. 

Chance jumped back, looking at Mike, then back at Will, shoving him hard into the wall.

“What fuck? Get away from me you faggot. Disgusting-”

Chance grabs Will by the front of his shirt, pulling towards him again. He begins to raise a fist, seemingly aimed right at Will’s face. Mike has zero time to think, he just jumps on Chance, landing a hit in his temple.

Chance releases Will, and shakes the skinny boy off with ease. Swinging around and getting Mike right in the eye with a left hook, then right in his nose with the right hook. Blood immediately begins to leak from the bridge of his nose, as well as dripping from his nostrils. Mike is on the floor now. Chance standing right over him, he bends his knees to get closer to Mike’s face.

“You here to rescue your little fairy boy? You know, I had always heard the rumors that you were the fag. I guess this confirms that, huh? For the record, your boyfriend came at me-”

“And what?” Mike spat. “You weren’t strong enough to fight the gay boy off you? Here, in a secluded shed where no one can see or hear you?”

Another punch lands right on Mike’s mouth, mushing his lips into his teeth, causing even more blood to spout from his face.

“If you tell anyone about this, nancy-boy, I know who to come for,” he glances up at Will, then back to Mike. “Clearly you don’t mind taking a beating.” Chance takes one last opportunity to kick Mike in the stomach before leaving the shed.

Mike is on his side, fetal position, clutching his stomach. Will slowly kneels down next to him, gently moving the black curls out of his eyes. He inspects Mike’s face. He is so close, he can feel Will’s rapid breath on his face. Ah, that’s not so bad… Mike thinks before hearing the last thing Will says before passing out:

“Oh… Mike… let’s get you home. Let’s go home.”

Chapter Text

Mike wakes up on his back in his bed. It’s quiet, unusually so. How did he get here again? As he starts to prop himself up on his elbows, he has a blurry flash of Jonathan in the front seat of his car, one hand on the steering wheel, but turned around, not looking at him or the road. His voice is low, but the words are rushed…something about Nancy and Robin. Mike starts to look to his side, but then he’s suddenly back in his room. 

He looks around his room to see if anyone else is there, or any sign of anyone at all. Nothing. He winces as he sits up straight, a sudden pain right below his ribs. He examines himself. Knuckles sore, but no visible marks. He brings his hands to his face, a little too quickly, knocking himself in the nose. Fuck, fuck that hurt. Gingerly this time, he feels the bridge of his nose where there seems to be some gauze with a couple pieces of thin medical tape holding it on. He can feel the heat and pulsations going from his nose to his eye.

Okay Wheeler, you can do this. You gotta get out of bed and find out how you got here. He swings his legs over the side of the bed, carefully standing up. No problems there, I can walk just fine. He walks past the mirror, pausing for a second. No, I don’t wanna know. He continues out into the hall, calling out, “Mom? Nancy!” No response. Making his way to the stairs, he hears hushed voices. He knows one of them without even having to see his face. He walks quietly towards the kitchen. 

“Will?” he whispers, tentatively, peeking around the corner. The abundant smell of french toast emanating from the kitchen.

There at the kitchen table he sees Will, his back to Mike. Jonathan has had his eyes on Mike ever since he peaked around the corner. He looks at Will and jerks his head in Mike’s direction. Will slowly turns around to face him.

Will’s face is slightly red, and his eyes are more green than hazel. He’s been crying. Mike wants to remember why, but he doesn’t dwell as he rushes towards Will, grabbing him with both arms around his waist, pulling him up into his arms. Mike winces slightly as he pulls him into a tight embrace. Will lets out a small whimper as Mike removes one hand from his waist and uses it to push Will’s head onto his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jonathan shuffle out of the room, and not long after the sound of the front door closing, and finally, a car starting.

After a small sob into Mike’s shoulder, Will pushes him away. He looks up at him for a moment, then starts beating his fists into Mike’s shoulders.

“You idiot! You selfish idiot! How could you do that?!” he pleads.

Mike hesitates, giving Will a quizzical look. Selfish?

Will continues, “I could have handled Chance! I’ve handled him before. I’m not a weak little kid anymore!”

Mike remembers clearly now. Chance raising a fist at Will, Mike jumping him only landing one pathetic punch. Then fists coming at him. On the ground now, a great weight swinging into his stomach. Seeing the kiss that made him feel like he was being electrocuted by some sadistic, otherworldly being, adrenaline rushing through his whole body.

Will has stopped banging his fists on Mike now, instead grabbing his shirt with both fists, pulling him in. He buries his face in Mike’s chest, crying again.

“What would I do? What would I do if I lost you? You were ready to just leave me behind?! Selfish, selfish, selfish! You can’t leave me!” Will half yells in between gentle sobs.

“I-I’m right here, Will. I’m sorry. That’s not  what I was thinking about…I wasn’t thinking at all actually. That’s what upset you though? Not me hitting your boy-, uh… him?”

“Definitely not a boyfriend…” he whispers absentmindedly as he releases Mike’s shirt from his fists, stepping back slightly. Raising his voice now, “And yes! You ran in there with no regard for yourself. Chance has some…issues, and he’s not really afraid to take it on other people. Especially people like me…” he trails off as he looks down at the floor.

“Like you? You mean people who are brave, kind, and compassionate?” He is going to address that “taking it out” bit later, when Will is a little less upset. Before Will can argue the point, he shifts gears, “How did I get here? And all bandaged up? I think I remember Jonathan driving? How did I get in the car?”

Will takes a long moment to answer, looking down at his nails now, “I…carried you. And Nancy and Robin came to help after Jonathan called. They’ve been hanging out with Vickie a lot, picking up some field medicine from her. ‘Cause, ya know-” he gestures to the general outdoors, chaos just beyond the walls.

“Wait a minute Will, go back. You carried me?”

“I guess you haven’t noticed, Mike: I’m stronger than you. And Jonathan honestly.” Will was a little indignant now.

“Oh, I definitely noticed,” he blurts out before he can stop himself. Or stop himself from flicking his eyes down to Will’s arms, and ever so briefly, his lips. 

Will has a puzzled look on his face, which is quickly taken over by wide eyes and an undeniable blush. “Oh!” he gets out before quickly turning around to face the table, hastily scanning it for something. He seems to find it, reaching all the way over the table. “Ah, so…” he turns around, revealing what he was so frantically looking for: a binder. “What is this?”

It’s Mike’s turn to blush now. 

“Have you…opened it? Because if you did, I think you may know.”

“I did, I do. Wanted you to say it though. You kept all my drawings? Not just the ones on the wall downstairs?” Will shifting his weight back and forth from one leg to the other, fidgeting with his hands, a bit compulsively. 

“Of course I did! I would keep anything you gave me.” 

“You mean that?” He takes a step closer to Mike, closing the already almost nonexistent gap between them, raising his arms so he can place his hands on either side of Mike’s cheeks.

Mike felt a small flame light in his chest, somewhere just behind his sternum. Warm inside, but goosebumps suddenly covering his arms and neck, on the outside. He could hear his own heartbeat. At least he is pretty sure it’s his.

“Anything?” He snakes his fingers into Mike’s hair and around to the back of his head.

Will is pulling Mike’s head down towards him. And time stops, just for a short moment, but just long enough for Mike to see Will’s eyes closed, his lips parted ever so slightly. Has he ever noticed his eyelashes before? They were so long and pretty. God, I know I’ve noticed the beauty mark above his lip before, but it’s something else this close. Mike would be perfectly content staying like this forever.

Time is moving again, and Will’s lips are on his. God he tastes so sweet. Powdered sugar? Wait wait, this is Will, his best friend…a boy. It felt so good, but it can’t. There’s no way.  I’m not like that. I’m not. I’m normal. I’m normal. But it feels so good.. He is so confused, but he is kissing back ever so slightly. Until he hears a little whine from Will.

Mike puts his hands on Will’s shoulders and gently moves himself away. Will slowly opens his eyes to look at Mike, first confused, then shocked and horrified. He slaps his hand over his mouth suddenly, gasping.

“Mike. Mike, I am so sorry. I-I don’t know what came over me! You’ve just always been there for me, so kind and so caring. I misunderstood, thinking there was something more there. That was so stupid. Stupid! Putting my feelings before yours, apparently thinking I can have just whatever I want. Thinking someone like me deserve-”

Mike suddenly took a step towards Will, gently prying his hand away from his mouth, using his free hand to wrap around Will’s hips and pulling them into each other, no space between them at all anymore. He drops Will’s wrist, using the opportunity to place that hand on Will’s flushed cheek. How can someone be this cute? This beautiful? He pulls Will’s face into his, kissing him a little harder this time. Will quickly reciprocates, throwing his arms around Mike’s bony shoulders. Will lets out a small gasp as Mike runs his hands through his hair, grazing his nails across his scalp. Mike immediately seizes this opportunity to enter Will’s mouth with his tongue, hungrily licking the roof of his mouth until Will responds with his own tongue. He starts walking into Will, pushing him until the back of his thighs bump the kitchen table. He is trying to push Will into sitting on the table, for stability, of course.

Mike’s mind is still reeling when Will peels himself off of Mike, looking at the ground as he takes a few deep, shaky breaths. He looks up at Mike with tears in his eyes, not yet fallen. He is afraid.

“Mike- why? You can’t- I gotta…” he almost shrieks as he runs towards the front door. A few sniffles are audible just before he turns to look at Mike one last time before running out the door, not even bothering to close it behind him.

And it’s quiet again. Mike is too stunned to move quickly enough. By the time he can move to the door, Will is already gone, nowhere in sight. He turns around and slams the door shut, hard. No one is here to hear the sound of his confusion…anger…despair.

He walks back into the kitchen, looking at the binder placed haphazardly back on the table. Next to it, some mostly eaten french toast, powdered sugar everywhere. Now Mike is stuck in this fucking house, alone with nothing but the smell and taste of Will, lingering.

Chapter Text

Mike knows he needs to go after Will, escaping his suffocating house is an added bonus. He goes to grab his jacket and notices Will left his behind, so he hastily grabs that as well. It’s still snowing pretty heavily, but if he gets a move on he should be able to follow Will’s bike tracks.

Despite the cold temperature stinging at his nose, he finds himself sweating; it’s pretty difficult to bike up and down hills with the snow accumulating on the ground more and more rapidly. He needs to keep going as fast as he can, no time for breaks if he doesn’t want to lose Will’s trail. And so he pedals, harder and harder; heart pounding in his chest, nothing but the sound of the wind whipping by his ears for company. Mike thinks he could maybe live with this type of loneliness: still, fragile…cold.

He’s not fast enough though, the snow is coming down so heavily Mike himself is barely leaving any trace of having been there. Maybe he was wrong, he doesn’t think he could ever live in a world where he was slowly watching any memory of Will be wiped away. Forgotten to something as simple as the weather. Maybe he could just live in the memories. 

He’s come to a four-way intersection and has to make a choice now. Of all the ways Will could have gone, there are only two that make sense: the Byers’ house…Castle Byers, or, the swingset, where they met. Will had destroyed Castle Byers what felt like forever ago, so he turned left and hauled ass to the playground, not taking even a moment to consider he could be wrong, this is Will. He knows Will. I know Will. Right?

The entirety of the day was a complete blur, until he saw the boy on the swings. Alone. Strange how seeing someone sitting alone can suddenly turn up the contrast on your memories. Everything just seemed so… vivid after Mike laid eyes on him, like he suddenly developed consciousness. It was jarring. It was perfect. He knew the minute- the second, he laid eyes on Will Byers that they would be inseparable. He took no extra time to consider it, walking right up to him. The closer he got, the clearer his memory became. He watched as the boy looked up at him as he approached. His big doe eyes betraying every emotion in real time. Mike inhaled through his nose deeply, and then…he asked.

Mike, still pedaling frantically, finally sees the swings in the distance, blurred by the heavily falling snow. But he can see, just barely, a small shape on the only remaining swing. A familiar pang in his chest. He’s suddenly hopping off his bike, throwing it unceremoniously to the ground, and sprinting towards the swing, as fast as he can in deep snow that seems to grab at his legs to slow him down, to keep him from Will. 

“Will? Will!” he’s shouting as he runs up to the figure, Will’s jacket held out in front of him.

Finally reaching Will, he wraps the jacket around his shivering shoulders from behind. He flings himself to the other side of the swing so he can look at Will’s face. Unlike their last time here together, Will won’t look up at him.

“Will, look at me. Please.”

“Why?”

“What? So we can talk, Will. So I can look at you while we speak.”

He reaches a hand towards Will, attempting to tip his chin up towards him. But Will does it of his own accord, and gently bats Mike’s hand away. He gets a short glimpse of the snow that has accumulated on Will’s eyelashes before making direct eye contact, a deep breath in through his nose.

“Why did you run away? You ran out so fast you didn’t even put your coat on, you could have frozen to death! We didn’t even get a chance to talk things out after we k- …after that.”

“You mean kissed, Mike? After we kissed! And since when do you want to hear me out?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Mike almost shouted, but stopped, and softened his tone, using the gentle voice he reserves for Will.

“We used to be inseparable. You actually wanted to hang out with me, hang out and do things we all liked! But then when you got a girlfriend, you suddenly didn’t have time for me and  my ‘childish activities’. I begged you to give me just some of your time, some of your attention. But El was more important. Even after you two broke up, you were so distant… I always had to be the one to reach out. And it was tiring, Mike. To continually reach out to someone who seems so constantly uninterested. And so, when someone else showed the smallest modicum of interest in me, listening to…looking at me, of course I jumped at the opportunity. You never would have even noticed if you hadn’t forgotten your binder that day.”

“Of course I was distant, I just went through a breakup, I was having a tough time! And you’ve never had a girlfriend, never been broken up with, so why on earth would you be the person I go to? You wouldn’t understand.”

“Because we’re best friends, Mike! I don’t have to understand 100% of everything you are going through to be there for you! To just listen… let you know you aren’t alone in this world.”

“Hah! That is so rich coming from you! Hiding something like…that. You and-and the jock. Me not knowing until I saw for myself wasn’t my fault, Will! You didn’t even tell me that you don’t- that you aren’t-”

“Normal?! That I’m not like you? That I am everything my dad, and everyone in this hellhole of a town, said I was? A homo, a queer, a fag! A mistake. God, they were all right!”

“They aren’t Will. They aren’t ri-”

“Yes, they are, Mike. They’re right. That’s who I am. I thought if I just ignored it, buried my feelings, they would change, that maybe they would go away. But they just got worse. They got worse.” 

Will’s voice is barely above a whisper now. Mike places a hand on Will’s knee to steady himself as he bends down to be on his eye level, he has to shuffle a little closer to hear anything he’s saying. Mike takes a long moment to consider his next words carefully, he should probably wait, but it’s eating him up.

“Did he- did Chance give you what I couldn’t? Was he a better…friend? Did he treat you better?” Mike asked, genuinely hoping that Will had someone in his life when he was being such a shitty friend. Someone who deserved Will.

“He did give me some things, yeah. But, other things, he took, Mike. I mean, I deserved it… who I am, how I acted. It was just, whatever. I got the attention I so desperately wanted. A form of validation. It was…enough.”

Ah. Mike’s not sure how long he’d been holding his breath, but he is struggling to breath now, while his heart shatters into thousands of pieces. He manages to take a shaky breath in, the ice cold air assaulting his lungs, a hundred tiny pin pricks in his chest.

“Will…please don’t say those things. You didn’t deserve that, any of it. You don’t need to settle. You deserve someone as kind and as caring as you to be by your side.”

“Doesn’t matter what I deserve. He’s the only one like me.”

A small pause as he looks up into Mike’s eyes. A couple dozen snowflakes adorning Will’s cheeks and nose, giving the appearance of pale freckles.

“Mike… you used to be kind and caring…”

I did, didn’t I? What happened? No words come to him just

*

Clarity. Void, ever expanding. No direction. A green slog that impedes his movements, no advancements. Lucid again. And finally, the last puzzle piece: yellow. Vivacious, radiant, irrepressible. Warm.

*

Mike is out of his mind. He stands up, Will looking at him rather confused again. Mike takes no time to think (hell, it’s never been his strong suit anyway), and he jumps Will, arms around his waist, accidentally knocking him off the swing. He manages to release Will in time to put his arms out on either side, so as not to crush him. Will lands on his back in the snow with a small -puff- as the loose snow flies up and around them.

Will is really covered in snow now, helpless under Mike. Mike reaches for his face and gently brushes away nature’s freckles, then keeping a hand on his cheek, he leans in for another kiss. Very sweet, very chaste.

“Mike…I don’t want you doing this out of some sort of obligation. Thinking this is how you have to make up with me.” Will whispers.

Mike pulls Will up so they’re both sitting now, face to face.

“I’m not nearly that nice, Will. For me, it’s more like….making up for lost time.” His voice cracks a little at the end. “I know I can’t undo who and how I was, but I think I’ll be able to give you what you want and need, now that I know who I am, and what I truly want.”

“...And what would that be, Mike?”

Mike plants another kiss on Will’s chapped lips in response, a little less chaste this time. Finally getting back that powdered-sugar-comfort.

“Hey Will? I think we’ve mastered the ‘crazy’ part already…can we work on the ‘together’ part now? You and me?”