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Two hours. That's how long Will Byers had until his best friend married his twin sister.
In hindsight, he should've seen it coming. After all, Mike and El had been together since they were thirteen, and now that they were 25, they had decided to finally tie the knot.
Will was, for lack of a better way to describe it, in love with Mike Wheeler. He had been since they met that day on the swings, when they were eight. He had been his best friend through thick and thin, even serving as a wingman to help Mike get to El.
Will couldn't say anything, of course. Everyone knew he was gay, but he could never, ever, in a million years, hurt his sister like that, taking away the love of her life.
He remembers the day that they got together like it was yesterday.
~~~~~~~
Flashback - 12 years ago
Mike and Will were in Mike's basement, as always, with Lucas and Dustin. They were playing fortnite, nothing out of the ordinary for the group. Max and El were out shopping, or something. They had walked to the new mall that had just opened up.
Will loved their big group, with the girls and everything, but he really appreciated these moments. These moments where it was just the original group, before anyone had girlfriends, before it was weird to be.... affectionate with Mike.
Will sat on the couch next to Mike, blushing every time their knees touched. Mike, oblivious as always, didn't notice. Will wondered if he ever would. Lucas and Dustin sat cross-legged on the floor, fighting about who was going to use which skin in the game.
His friends already knew he was gay at this point. He had told them a few months prior. None of them cared, thankfully, and there was no awkward tension between any of them.
While their friends stupidly bickered about the game, Mike turned to face Will headfirst.
Will gulped.
"Will, can I ask you something?," Mike started, in his soft voice that he usually reserved for Will. Will loved this voice.
"Of course. You can ask me anything, Mike," Will said.
"Do you think that- that El would ever be... into me?"
Will froze. "U-um I don't know, Mike, to tell you the truth," he said. El always told him about the boys she liked, but none of Will's close friends had ever come up.
"Oh. Well, do you think she'd go with me to the snowball dance next weekend if I asked her?," he asked, hopefully.
Will paused to think. He always prioritized his sister. They were best friends, and her happiness came before his every time. So, Will decided to push down his own feelings, and help his friend in the process.
"I mean, yeah, sure! Go for it," Will strained. "I can help you ask her, if you want. She's coming to pick me up in a few hours, maybe you could ask her then."
Mike smiled. Like, from ear to fucking ear. Will couldn't help but selfishly wish that smile was for him.
"Cool. Thanks, Will. You're the coolest," Mike said, turning back to the game.
You're the coolest. The words replayed in Will's head for the next few hours, until he heard Mrs. Wheeler's voice from the top of the stairs.
"Boys! El and Max are here! I'm sending them down," she yelled, loudly, from the top of the stairs.
"Okay!", Mike yelled, getting all giddy.
"Hey guys!", El exclaimed, pulling the boys into a small group hug with Max. "What's up?"
"Nothing much, we were just pla-," Will begins, getting cut off by Mike.
"We were just chilling. Hey, El, can we talk for a sec? In private?", Mike finished, all confident.
El and Max exchanged a glance, probably some type of girl code or something, and El followed Mike to the secluded corner of the basement. Max went to go give a proper hello to Lucas, giving him a small kiss and everything.
Will and Dustin were left at the couch.
"Hey, I'm gonna.. go call Suzie, okay? She just woke up, so-," Dustin began, slowly getting up from the couch.
"Yeah, man, don't worry about it, go talk to her," Will reassured him.
Dustin smiled at Will and pulled out his phone, scrolling to find Suzie's contact before he went to another corner of the room.
Will sat there, alone, for about five minutes before Mike and El came out of their corner, looking all flustered.
Mike was grinning mischievously, and El was blushing.
Will could only assume the worst. That they'd kissed.
"Will, we have to go," El started, giddy-sounding. "Mom's probably going to be worried if we're not home soon," she finished.
"Y-yeah, sure, let's go," Will said, more than happy to leave this basement full of his best friends and their girlfriends.
"Bye, Mike," Will said, and Mike just waved back at him. As he was walking up the stairs, he glanced behind his back to see El softly embracing Mike. The same way he used to when they were younger, when Will had gone missing for a week and Mike held him like there was no tomorrow upon his return.
Will wished he was still lost in this very moment.
Once they were outside and biking home, Will had to ask. "So, what did you guys... um... talk about?"
"Let's just say there wasn't much talking," El said smugly.
Will, as devastated as he was hearing this, immediately flicked his supportive brother switch.
"Oh my god, El! You have to tell me everything," he said, genuinely excited for her.
"I'll tell you everything over a movie and pizza tonight," she grinned, turning into the Byers-Hopper family's driveway.
Will just weakly smiled.
~~~~~
Present day - 2025
As it turns out, Mike and El had kissed that day. They were each other's first real kiss. Will longed for that connection with Mike, the connection that he could never have.
But as always, his sister's happiness came first. No exceptions. So, here he was, two hours before the big moment, helping El with her final dress fittings.
Usually, this was something that the maid of honor would do, but Mike and El decided on something a little less traditional for their day. The two of them wanted Will as their person on that day, so they decided to do just that. Will was the man of honor, Mike's best man and El's maid (man) of honor.
He would never tell them anything, but this made it all the more painful for Will. He put on a smile for his sister, though, as he helped her tie up her dress.
"El, you look so beautiful," Will said, in awe of his sister.
"Thank you, Will. I couldn't have done it without you," she says, gesturing to the makeup and hair that Will did on her. He learned how to do both just for today.
Will hugged her. "I can't believe this is it. I can't believe you're getting married. It still feels so... surreal."
"Come on, Will," El fake groaned. "I've practically been married for the past seven years. Me and Mike moved in together during college, remember? You're gonna make me cry."
Of course Will remembered. He remembered going to their apartment when the three of them went to UCLA together, he remembered staying in their guest room while they shared the master bedroom. He remembered crying himself to sleep whenever he'd visit, thinking of what could've been if he hadn't been such a wimp when he was younger.
Will hugged her one more time. "Are you ready?," he asked.
Mike and El wanted to do a "first look" before the actual wedding. Will wanted to gouge his eyes out. He felt so guilty, feeling this way toward his new.... brother-in-law. His nose scrunched at the thought of him and Mike being brothers.
Their first look was intimate. They didn't want anyone else there except the photographer, so Will roamed around the venue until he found Jonathan sitting at a table with Nancy.
"I can't believe our siblings are getting married," he heard Nancy say. "It feels like our wedding was only yesterday."
"I know, right? It's so crazy. To me, they're still... children," Jonathan laughed.
Will felt sick. He didn't know if he could make it through the rest of the day without throwing up. So, he decided to retreat to his room in the hotel which the wedding was taking place and stay there until he was needed.
He did everything to get the wedding off his mind. He flipped through channels, tried reading a book, scrolled on his phone. But somehow, nothing seemed to work.
So he sat there. In complete silence. Until his phone started ringing. Mike.
He grabbed his phone with trembling hands.
"H-hey, Mike," Will said.
"Hey, Will, where are you, man? We're starting in ten minutes," he heard Mike's voice from the other side of the phone. He was using his 'Will' voice, as his friends liked to call it.
"I'm going now, I just- I had to use the bathroom," Will lied, pulling on his suit and walking out of the door.
"Cool. See you in a few!," Mike exclaimed. He sounded so excited. Will was crushed. He was happy for his sister, of course, but he didn't think he would ever get Mike out of his system. At least not in this lifetime.
Will went downstairs to see everyone in their places. El was at the front of the aisle, arm in arm with Hopper. Mike was standing up on the makeshift altar, Dustin and Lucas by his side. Max and one of El's college friends were standing opposite to them.
It was Will's turn to walk down the aisle and give his speech before the ceremony.
He walked down, by himself, until he reached the end, giving a hug to Mike and the groom/bridal party.
He cleared his throat to give his speech as El walked down the aisle.
"You're all gathered here today to witness the union of my two favorite people, El Byers and Mike Wheeler. I've had the privilege of growing up with both of them. Mike's been my best friend by choice, and El by chance. I'm so grateful to be able to be here and bask in their love, a love I've seen flourish since we were awkward teenagers in Mike's basement.
I want you to know that I love you both so much and wish you nothing but happiness. Congrats to Mike and El!"
He finished his speech just as El finished walking down the aisle. Will took his spot on the groom's side, in front of Lucas and Dustin and behind Mike. He could see they were getting teary-eyed, and so was he.
"Michael Wheeler, do you take El Byers to be your lawfully wedded wife?,"
"I do."
"And El Byers, do you take Michael Wheeler to be your lawfully wedded husband"
"I do." El's smile was miles wide as she stared into Mike's eyes.
"By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Everyone clapped politely as Mike and El kissed, as a new couple. She was officially a Wheeler. El Wheeler.
Will felt slightly jealous for a moment, until he saw the ecstatic look on his sister's face.
It was in that moment that Will Byers decided he would just take what he could get.
At least he would still keep Mike and his gorgeous brown eyes in his life, even if it wasn't in the way Will wanted.