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Mike knew confronting Will alone was a risky choice.
Just a few hours ago, Nancy had cornered him in his bedroom door. Told him he was forbidden from doing it. Even though he insisted, he knew, they needed to keep it simple. They couldn’t send the whole group. They needed one person to hold his attention, to stare into his eyes, to cut into his soul.
And that person had to be Mike.
They all knew he was right, but no one was willing to take that chance. They spent hours through and after dinner shouting over each other, trying to think of the best way to go about it. Everyone tried to piggyback off of each other’s plans, and Mike was the only one who didn’t budge.
He had to go, and he had to go alone.
“Okay,” Nancy finally concluded. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Tomorrow morning, me, El, and Hopper are going to take Mike to the MAC-Z to find Will. We’ll send him out there to talk to him alone while the three of us hide in case he needs backup. Everyone agree?”
Mike stared furiously at everyone nodding their heads.
”No!” he shouted, unable to wrap his head around the sheer amount of ignorance at this table. “We won’t be able to break through to him with more than one person.” He felt like a broken record with how many times he had to remind them. “I have to talk to him alone.”
”And you will,” Nancy insisted.
”We’re just gonna be there in case something goes wrong, kid,” Hopper added.
Mike bit down on his lip until it bled and balled his fists under the table.
He’d know. Mike was sure of it. Vecna would know.
”We’re not putting you in any more danger than we have to,” Joyce finished.
”I need to be in danger!” Mike couldn’t hold back from slamming his hands on the table. “Will won’t be able to break free if Vecna knows I have backup!”
”Mike, it’s out of the question,” Nancy said firmly. “This is the plan. If it doesn’t work–“
”It won’t.”
”If it doesn’t work, we’ll figure something else out.”
”We can’t lose you,” El agreed, reaching for his hand, which he let her squeeze. The two of them had broken up over a year ago, but their friendship had strengthened more than ever in that time. He hated the idea of scaring her, but he knew he had to do this.
Mike looked at Lucas and Dustin, pleading with them to say something, but they avoided his eyes completely. Finally, he turned to Jonathan. If he had any hope of getting anyone to understand and side with him, it was Jonathan.
Unlike his friends, Jonathan held his gaze, completely unblinking. Mike tried with all his power to crack into Jonathan’s brain and get him to understand.
Please, Jonathan. You and I know him better than anyone. You know I’m right. This is the only way.
He didn’t know exactly what Jonathan was thinking, but his eyes didn’t lie.
Unfortunately, his words did.
“They’re right, Mike. He already took Will. We’re not letting him take anyone else.”
Mike sighed and shook his head, falling back in his seat. That was it. If Joyce, El, Lucas, Dustin, and Jonathan were against him, he’d lost. No one else was going to side with him.
”Mike's right,” a small voice peeped from the corner.
No one had realized Holly woke up. They’d managed to rescue her from the Upside Down that night using Will’s powers, but it came at a cost. Once Will tapped back into the hive mind, Vecna was able to take over before they could rescue any of the other kids. And before they could rescue Max. But this time, it wasn’t like when they were thirteen.
This time, Will wasn’t able to break through at all.
Holly walked up to them and pushed her way to the table. “When I was with Henry, alone, I was able to get to him. To the real Henry. But once he started taking more kids, it got harder. The… mind flayer?” Mike nodded. Holly was still catching on to all the lore of the Upside Down, “the mind flayer took control of him again. I think it’s the same with Will.”
”Yes. Yes!”
”No!” Nancy still fought back. “Mike, we almost lost Holly and our parents. I’m not losing you too. We’ll find another way. Any other way.”
”Are you not listening? Nance, Holly was in there. She was with him. No one here knows how Vecna works better than her. And she’s saying I’m right. We can’t waste any more time. Who knows how much longer Will has?”
”The answer is no. We have a plan. We’re sticking to it.”
”But-“ Mike and Holly both started.
”We’re sticking to it,” she repeated. “Now everyone go to bed. Set your alarms for five. We leave at dawn.”
Everyone dispersed before Mike could get another word in. He couldn’t bring himself to go to bed. He just sat there at the table, clenching and unclenching his fists, trying to think of different words he could use to convince everyone they were playing it way too safe, and coming up with nothing. Nancy tucked Holly into bed. Lucas and Dustin crashed on their air mattresses in Mike’s room. The Hoppers and the Byers went down to their room in the basement. And finally, Mike forced himself upstairs.
But before he could close his bedroom door, Nancy jammed her fist on it and leaned inches away from his face.
”You are not to leave this room until morning. Until we’re all ready. Do you understand?”
”Nancy–“
“Do you understand?”
Mike searched her eyes for an escape, an excuse, anything, but in the end, he took a deep breath and nodded. She gave a single nod back and headed to her room.
But before Mike could close the door, he noticed Holly peak her head out of her room.
Mike scrunched his eyebrows as Holly pointed behind him. He noticed her mouth moving but couldn’t make out the word in the dark.
Holly grabbed one of her light up toys and held it up to her lips so Mike could just make out, Sleeping?
He turned around to Dustin and Lucas, who were both knocked out and snoring.
He turned back to Holly and nodded, which she returned. She held her gaze with him for a moment before quietly tearing across the hall and tapping on Nancy’s door.
Mike pulled his door back until there was just a sliver for him to see out of. Right before Nancy opened her door, Holly started shaking and quietly sobbing.
”Holly?” Nancy asked. “What’s wrong?”
”I had a nightmare,” she said through very convincing sniffles.
”Oh, Holly, come in.”
Once she was in, Mike understood. He listened to the muffled sound of Holly talking Nancy’s ear off as he slipped out of his room, tip toed down the stairs, and ran for the MAC-Z.
Unfortunately, Vecna spotted him first.
Mike suddenly felt his body go very still. He couldn’t feel his limbs and couldn’t keep moving. His head jerked back, and he struggled to make a sound.
And then, Will emerged.
His pupils were fully white, as they always were when he unlocked his powers. But when it had happened to save Mike, Lucas, and Robin from the demogorgan and rescue Holly from the Upside Down, Mike had found it memorizing. It was like Will was at the truest state of concentration, like Mike could see right into his soul, see the beauty and heart in the powers he was harnessing to protect the ones he loved.
Now, it was just eerie.
“Will…” Mike croaked out.
Will raised Mike off the ground and drew him closer. For a moment, he just held him, suspended in the air, tilting his head to the side as if contemplating what to do with him.
Then, Mike felt his jaw soften. Every other part of him was drawn back and tense, but he had regained the ability to speak.
He wasn’t going to waste it.
”Will. Will, it’s me. Please I know you’re in there. Just listen to me. It’s Mike. I need you to remember.”
Will continued to stare. Mike quickly sifted through the list of memories he had prepared for this moment. He opened his mouth to start when Will threw his hand out and pushed back.
Mike’s body started to curve. His head leaned back, his arms shot out behind him, and his jaw quivered. Will raised his hand to bring Mike higher into the air.
”Will!” he forced out, but his mind suddenly went blank. He tried to search his brain, but everything he had wanted to say was gone.
Instead, he heard a different voice.
”He doesn’t hear you, Michael.” The deep growl pounded in his brain. “He. Is. Mine.”
”No,” Mike croaked. “No!”
”But don’t worry,” Vecna continued. “I plan to let him go. Very soon. I just need him to do one more thing for me.”
”Will!” Mike shouted again. It came out strained, but it was something. It was the only part of his body he could still use. He had to do something with it.
”And now, it’s time he does.”
Mike felt his heart pounding as his mind began to piece together what Vecna was saying.
”Will!” he groaned again, his words getting weaker by the second. “Will please! Will, I know you’re in there. Please!”
”It’s no use, Michael.” Mike felt his body get even stiffer, his neck craning to the sky. “And when he sees what he did, he won’t even need me in his mind. He. Will. Break. All on his own.”
”No!” Mike could feel the tears behind his eyes, but Will was holding them inside of him. “No, Will! Please!”
That only made Will tighten his grip. Mike let out an agonizing scream as the force of Will’s powers pushed him against an invisible wall, his bones fighting for their lives, just one push too far away from snapping.
”Please…” Even he wasn’t convinced by his words anymore.
”This is Will’s final step, Michael…”
Suddenly, an image appeared in Mike’s head. A girl on a rafter, screaming a name, telling someone to fight, telling him she loved him.
The name became clear.
”Henry!”
Mike watched as a hand shot out and the girl slowly fell off the rafter and crumpled on the ground.
Then, the image faded.
“…just like she was mine.”
The image was gone, but Mike felt something. He could still feel what Vecna had felt showing him that memory. The hard twisting of the heart that stayed with you no matter how much time had passed.
Mike shifted his eyes to look at Will, far below him on the ground now, pushing hard against Mike to lock him into place.
”It is time, Michael.”
Before he could get another word out, Mike felt every inch of his body tighten. He opened his mouth but couldn’t think of anything left to say. And then, he felt tears of blood streaking from the corners of his eyes.
And that’s when he knew it.
This was going to happen. He was going to die.
He was going to die at Will Byers’ hands.
He couldn’t stop Will from killing him any more than the girl in the memory could stop Henry.
But then, Mike remembered another voice in the memory. A voice encouraging Henry to keep going. A voice reminding Henry he was responsible.
The blood dripped into Mike’s mouth. He was going to die.
But Will was still in there. Even if he wasn’t in control of himself, maybe he could at least hear Mike.
“Will…” Mike’s voice came out soft. The way he always spoke to Will. It wouldn’t be any different in his final moments. “Will, listen. I’m not mad at you. Okay? I’m not mad. It’s okay. I'm okay.”
His throat started to cramp, but he couldn’t stop. Will needed to hear this.
“This isn’t your fault. Okay? No matter what he tells you, you didn’t do this.”
The blood kept spilling from his eyes. The air around him felt toxic. His body was fighting, but it would give in at any second.
”You didn’t do this,” he repeated. “Don’t give into him. Fight him. Okay? When he sets you free, fight him. Make sure I’m the last life he takes.”
Mike wasn’t sure how he was able to get the words out, but he knew he had to keep going.
His body felt lighter. Softer. He was able to feel his limbs again and was in more control of his voice.
This must be the light at the end of the tunnel, he decided. He must be seconds from death.
”I’m not mad at you for this. I’m not. I forgive you. Okay, Will? I forgive you.”
There was one more thing. One more thing Mike never thought he’d ever have the courage to say.
But if he was going to die, Will needed to hear it.
”I forgive you,” he whispered one last time. “I love you, Will.”
And that was it. Those four words would be the last thing he would ever say. He closed his eyes and let himself give up the fight. Surrendered himself to whatever death awaited him and hoped, somewhere deep down, Will had heard every last word.
It made sense this was how it would end for him. That the final person he would see would be the one that took up every corner of his brain at any given second. In a strange way, it was an honor to die at Will's hand. Mike was always Will's for the taking.
But then, his bones didn’t snap.
His eyes didn’t gloss over.
He didn’t plummet down and crumple on the pavement.
When Mike opened his eyes, he was being slowly lowered to the ground until he was lightly placed down. His hand flew to his face. Blood streaked his cheeks, but it had stopped flowing, already starting to dry. He raised his head and saw, standing before him, Will.
Mike stared into his eyes. Into his beautiful, deep hazel eyes. Will was panting in sync with Mike as they stared at each other. Mike felt his eyes soften, his jaw slack, and the corners of his lips pull up at this gorgeous sight in front of him.
Will lowered his hand and fell to his knees, pulling Mike into his arms.
”Mike…” he cried, holding onto his arms for dear life. “Oh my God…”
”Will…” Mike reached his hand towards Will’s cheek, but he started to shudder. He fell over into Will’s arms as his vision went blurry.
“Mike?” Will’s voice came out panicked. He held Mike back and lightly tapped his cheek. “Come on, Mike. Stay with me. Stay with me, please.”
”I’m okay,” he breathed. “I just… feel lightheaded…”
”No,” Will sobbed, tears welling up in his eyes as he tried to gently wipe the blood from Mike’s face. “Just… just stay with me, okay?”
”MIKE!” El’s voice filled the air. Mike couldn’t turn his head and started falling in Will’s arms.
”EL!” Will screamed. “El hurry!”
”WILL!” she shouted back, half in shock, half in delight. She fell to her knees next to Mike as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
“El, do something!” Will was full on crying now, his voice hardy audible behind his sobs. “We need to save him! How do I save him?”
El took one look at him and rested a hand on Will’s shoulder. “It’s okay.” She turned around and shouted, “Hop, call 911!” But her voice didn’t sound worried or panicked. She turned back to Will and wiped his tears away. “It’s okay. He just lost a lot of blood. That’s it. Henry did this to me once. He will pass out for a little, but he’s going to be okay.”
”Are you sure?”
She nodded, resting her hand on his cheek and letting him sob into it. “I’m sure. You stopped it before it could get worse. Before it could get too far. You saved him.”
Mike’s vision was getting darker, but he saw Will shook his head. “No. No, I did this to him.”
”No,” Mike croaked out. “You didn’t. Remember Will. Remember what I said.”
And that was the last thing Mike remembered before the world went black.
When he woke up, everything was bright. Too bright. He heard a beeping sound next to him. He felt something in his nose.
Once his vision adjusted, he took in the hospital room. He raised his fingers to his nose and felt tubes running into his nostrils. The air in his lungs felt fresh and clear. He had never breathed so easily in his life. The curtains were closed, so he couldn’t see out into the hall.
The next thing he took in was a figure waiting in the doorway.
He blinked until his vision cleared.
Will.
“Hi,” Mike said softly.
Will took it as the invitation it was, closed the door behind him, and ran up to him, nestling his head on Mike’s chest and sobbing into it once he heard the steady beat.
Will looked up at him with a huge smile, refusing to let go of his arms. His eyes welled up in tears, making the hazel in them shine, which was easily the most gorgeous thing Mike had ever seen.
”Hi,” Will said back, his voice cracking. “They let me visit you first. But your sisters are in the waiting room.”
Mike nodded, barely processing Will’s words. All he could think about was, “You’re back.”
Will nodded rapidly. “Yeah. Yeah I’m back. All because of your crazy ass. What the hell were you thinking? I almost killed you.”
Mike shook his head and sat up, moving his arms so he could entwine Will’s fingers in his. “You were never going to kill me. Please tell me you heard what I said.”
Will nodded, slower this time, starting to sit on the edge of Mike’s hospital bed. “I know. I know it was him. But–“
”But nothing,” Mike cut him off. “It wasn’t you. And I couldn’t let you think I blamed you for it.”
”You forgave me,” Will remembered. “You would’ve forgiven me for killing you?”
”Yes,” Mike stressed, so desperate for Will to believe it. “I couldn’t stop it from happening. But I could remind you who you are. Really are.”
”And I guess that stopped it anyway.”
A small smile slipped onto Mike’s lips. “I guess it did.”
The two sat there for what could have been seconds or minutes, but one thing for sure was that they both became very aware of the fact that they were still holding hands, yet neither made the first move to pull away.
Mike swallowed as he braced himself to say his next words.
”Did you, umm… did you hear what else I said?”
Will’s eyes shifted up to meet his gaze, and he nodded slowly. “Yeah.” Mike held his breath as he noticed Will was moving closer. “Did you… did you mean that?”
Mike didn’t hesitate to nod back. “Yes.”
Will’s face was inches from him now. His right hand was no longer holding Mike’s. It had found its way around Mike’s neck. Mike took his free hand and wrapped it around Will’s back, gripping his shirt to keep himself steady. Mike could feel Will’s breath on his face.
His eyes fluttered shut as they closed the gap.
Will’s lips were soft and warm against Mike’s. They started hesitant, unsure how to navigate this, but quickly fell into a steady rhythm. Like they’d done this a million times before. Like their lips were made for each other.
Mike released Will’s hand and ran his fingers down Will’s arm, causing him to shudder, until his hand found Will’s waist and pulled him in closer. Will brought his free hand to Mike’s chin and tilted it back to kiss him deeper. Mike sighed into Will’s mouth and let himself get lost in him.
When they finally came up for air, Mike couldn’t take his eyes off Will. Just to look into those hazel eyes and know they were real and they were looking at Mike made his heart leap. He tangled their fingers together again and let himself stare.
Mike was about to kiss Will again when he noticed the door had been open a crack. His eyes widened, and his hand flew away from Will's as it pushed open, but the panic in his body was quickly washed away when he saw Holly’s smiling face in the door.
”Holly!” he cried as his sister ran up to his bed. Will moved aside so she could hug him. “Your plan worked.” Mike beamed at Holly with pride before moving his gaze back to Will. “We got him back.”
"It almost didn't!" Holly whacked him. "You didn't close your door all the way. Nancy notices these things, idiot. She sent El and Hop after you."
"They came at the right time," Will reminded her. "But yeah, Holly told me all about this plan while we were waiting for you to wake up. Nancy is pissed.”
”Oof. Maybe I don’t want her visiting for a while.” He crinkled his eyebrows together and looked at Holly. “Wait, how did you get in?”
”I snuck on a cart,” she said as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Mike shook his head and chuckled. “We’re gonna have issues with you, aren’t we?”
Holly nodded proudly before wrapping her arms around her brother again. After a few seconds hugging Mike alone, she leaned away slightly to grab Will and pull him in too.
Will’s nose bumped into Mike’s, and Mike couldn’t help the blush that came to his cheeks.
When they finally pulled away, Holly leapt off the bed and said, “Well, sadly, Nancy does want to see you.”
Mike threw his arms up in defeat. "Guess I’d better get it over with.”
Holly reached for the door but turned back before she could open it. Her eyes flickered between the two boys, a mischevious smile dancing on her face. “And hey… the waiting room is kinda far. If you want to, you know, kiss him again.”
Will’s face flushed bright red, and Mike felt his eyes bug out of his head.
”Holly…” he started.
”Don’t worry,” she said as she turned the knob. “I won’t tell anyone.”
And with that, she slipped out of the room and fully shut the door behind her, leaving Mike and Will alone again.
”We might need to put a bell on her,” Mike said.
”She’d find a way to get around it. She’s definitely smarter than all of us.”
”Oh absolutely.”
Mike didn’t know when it happened, but he noticed his and Will’s hands had found each other once again.
”So…” Mike started, “do you want to?”
Will gave a giddy smile that made Mike’s stomach do somersaults, and Mike leaned into immediately, pulling Will back into a bruising kiss. They were stronger and steadier this time, clinging to each other with all their might.
There was still a lot more they would have to go through before the war was over. Vecna was still out there. The other kids were still in the Upside Down. Will could always end up possessed again. And Nancy could kill Mike right now before any of that could be solved.
But for now, Will was free, Mike was alive, and they were kissing happily as they held onto each other and melted into the other’s warmth. For now, Mike kept his hands firmly around Will's neck as Will ran his fingers through Mike's hair, tugged his shirt to bring him closer, broke the kiss slightly only to pepper the rest of Mike's face in tiny pecks that Mike happily leaned into as he felt his face warm with each touch before their mouths found each other again.
For now, he was Will's for the taking.
And for now, that was enough.