Chapter Text
The lights in Mike’s basement always made a faint humming noise. Will had first noticed when he was seven years old. He had been pressed up against Mike’s side, his head on his shoulder as the two of them were drifting off to sleep. Between Mike’s quiet breaths, as he slowly succumbed to sleep, Will focused on that humming of the lights to ignore the way the world felt as if it had suddenly been tipped off its axis. It’d been nine years since then, the Wheeler’s never fixed that light that was now preventing Will from sleeping– instead of providing him with a distraction. He didn’t mind staying with the Wheeler’s while in Hawkins. However, his back ached from not sleeping in a proper bed, and sharing a space with Jonathan was less than ideal due to him hardly having any real time to himself anymore. Will’s thoughts suddenly came to a halt when the sound of the stairs creaking interrupted his train of thought. He rolled over to check only to confirm that it was likely Jonathan sneaking upstairs to see Nancy like he did most nights. Will sighed, returning to staring at the ceiling as if it held all the answers to what was going on in his head. He had come to terms with the fact that he was completely and hopelessly in love with his best friend, Mike Wheeler. But he also had to come terms with the fact that Mike Wheeler is completely and utterly oblivious to almost everything. Will ran his hands down his face grumbling to himself before getting up to get a glass of water from the kitchen, and to escape the persistent noise of that light that he really needs to tell Mike to get his parents to fix. He was half-way up the stairs when he heard Nancy and Jonathan’s voices coming from the kitchen. Will considered respecting their privacy for a moment but he really couldn’t help but step a bit closer to the door to hear what the two of them were talking about.
“I… I get that he’s your brother, Nance but Will is mine and I’m sick of watching him get hurt because Mike’s an idiot,” Jonathan huffed, leaning back against the kitchen counter and running his hands through his hair.
“Mike’s just trying to be as normal as he can be,” Nancy whispered, clearly keeping her voice quiet so that they don’t wake up the rest of the house.
“Yeah well– being normal doesn’t have to include using Will to keep his failing relationship afloat.” Jonathan crossed his arms tightly over his chest. Nancy smiled softly, leaning in and gently rubbing her hand across Jonathan’s back.
“Him and El are just like most teenage couples, they’ll grow out of it,” Nancy reassured him.
“But–” Jonathan started, his brows knitted together.
“But Mike should figure out his relationship on his own and shouldn’t rely on Will,” Nancy finished. She glanced at the door, directly locking eyes with Will who had been peering through the crack of the door. “Will?”
Jonathan’s gaze followed Nancy’s, he sighed when he saw Will and walked over to the door looking embarrassed. “Hey, sorry I didn’t mean to wake you up…” his voice clearly laced with concern.
“You didn’t,” Will paused for a long moment, looking between Jonathan and Nancy before lowering his voice. “You– you told her?” Will asked, his voice sounding distressed. He knew that Jonathan knew about his feelings for Mike. Their time in California made that glaringly obvious.
“What? No, no I swear I didn’t,” Jonathan reassured as he placed his hand on Will’s shoulder. “I promise you I was just talking about how Mike’s been annoying lately since apparently he’s incapable of–”
“Jonathan.” Will frowned, sure Mike was oblivious almost all the time but that didn’t mean he liked hearing his brother speak badly about him.
“Right, look we’ll talk in the morning okay? Try and get some sleep,” Jonathan ruffled Will’s hair and smiled weakly. Will ducked his head down and turned to go back down the stairs. He couldn’t believe that Jonathan was talking to Nancy about that, especially with Mike being in the same house as them.
Will fell back onto his makeshift bed, he ran his hands down his face and stared up at the ceiling. It was really starting to feel as if the world was out to get him.
—
The smell of bacon, hashbrowns, and eggs pulled Will out of his sleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to turn his body away from any source of light in the room to save himself from being blinded.
“Hey, you’re awake!” Mike’s cheerful voice was like a bucket of ice water being thrown onto him, making him feel as if he was now as wide awake as ever.
“Mike– what’re you doing down here?” Will hurriedly tried to fix his bedhead. It was embarrassing enough that Mike had jolted him awake, the last thing he needed was for Mike to also see him while he looked terrible.
“I figured it might’ve gotten cold down here and well… I got worried I guess. So, I brought down some extra blankets for you.” Mike shrugged, walking over to sit down on the couch that Jonathan usually slept on. “I also brought down some breakfast for you. I didn’t wanna wake you up but if you slept in too much then there would be nothing left.” Mike gave Will a small lopsided smile.
Will felt his cheeks and ears burn a deep crimson at Mike’s thoughtfulness, damn you Mike Wheeler. He quickly turned his head away, trying to get ahold of himself and to stop focusing on just how sweet that was for Mike to do.
“Thanks, that was… that was really nice of you, Mike.” Will smiled warmly at him, feeling his heart skip a beat at the way Mike’s face lit up at the compliment.
“It was nothing, really. I mean you’re my best friend, it’s the least I could do.” Mike shrugged and patted his hands against his knees. Will felt his smile falter for a second, best friends, that’s all they were to Mike.
“Still,” Will slowly got up, still feeling the lingering drowsiness from his–honestly startling–wake up. He rubbed his eyes again, catching a glimpse of Mike pushing the plate slightly closer to Will. It’d been like this for months now, Will felt like he had been going insane. Mike kept doing small things like making sure Will had eaten, asking if he needed the temperature turned up, even if wanted to stay in his room with him. Although sharing a room with Mike of all people might’ve finally been Will’s breaking point when it came to his feelings for his best friend.
“Again, least I could do.” Mike got up and stretched, causing Will to quickly avert his gaze and decide that suddenly the floor was incredibly interesting. “Jonathan’s waiting for you upstairs by the way, he was all cryptic about wanting to talk with you,” Mike grumbled, showing how annoyed he was by the fact that Jonathan didn’t want him to know what he was wanting to talk to Will about.
“Oh, okay?” Will tilted his head slightly before turning his head to pick up the fork that was resting on the plate.
“I’ll head upstairs so you can like– get ready for the day or whatever,” Mike trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck while awkwardly fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt with his other. Will smiled softly, he liked the way he could sometimes still perfectly understand what Mike was thinking. As if things hadn’t changed between them.
“Right, I’ll see you later?” Will poked with his fork at the food on his plate, looking up at Mike as he did.
“Mhm– bye,” Mike blurted out before quickly turning and practically sprinting up the stairs. Will’s brows furrowed, not entirely sure as to what was making Mike act so weird lately; he couldn’t comment though, he was being just as awkward and tense around Mike.
Will sighed, taking a few bites of his food before deciding that he really didn’t have any kind of appetite at the moment. His fork clattered against his plate as he got up and grabbed some clothes to wear for the day. He grabbed some jeans he really needed to wash after today because he had practically been living in them– and a sweater from Mike. His face flushed as he rubbed the fabric between his thumb and his finger. It gives him a sense of belonging. As if Mike giving him his sweater is his secret way of saying that Will is his.
“Will?” Jonathan’s voice came from up the stairs.
“I’m coming!” Will shouted up the stairs, quickly throwing the shirt on. He made it halfway up the stairs before realizing he had forgotten to brush his teeth and ran back down the stairs.
“Forgot something?” Jonathan was leaning against the doorframe at the top of the stairs, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
“Maybe,” Will smiled at him, quickly wiping off the bit of water that was lingering on his lips. Jonathan firmly clapped his hand against his back. Will glanced over, noticing that as he was putting his shoes on Mike was standing at the top of the stairs watching him. When their eyes locked Mike quickly averted his gaze, it made Will wonder just how long he had been looking if he was so embarrassed about being caught. The thought alone made it feel as if thousands of butterflies had been living inside of Will’s chest and suddenly sprung to life. A buzzing feeling flowing through his veins.
“Hey, everything alright?” Jonathan’s concerned voice pulled Will from his thoughts.
“Yeah– yeah everything’s alright. I was just… um, distracted?” Will lied, offering Jonathan a weak smile. Jonathan gave him a knowing look but just shook his head, ruffling his hair and opening the front door.
“Let's get going then.” Jonathan nodded towards the car before turning away from Will and walking to unlock the door. He slid into the driver's seat while Will slunk into the passenger seat.
“So, where exactly are we going?” Jonathan had been adjusting the rear view mirror but had paused to think about how to answer Will’s question. He bit the inside of his cheek, avoiding directly meeting Will’s gaze for a few moments.
“I mean we’re not exactly going anywhere specific… I just wanted to talk to you about something,” Jonathan finally said. He leant back against his seat and ran his hands through his hair. Will shifted uncomfortably in his seat, based on Jonathan’s tight expression Will assumed that this was about Mike.
“Is this about what you and Nancy were talking about last night?” Will shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He rubbed his hands against his jeans, already feeling anxious about what Jonathan might say.
“Yeah, well kind of– not exactly,” Jonathan sighed and patted his hands against the steering wheel a few times. He was tense, Will figured it might be because Jonathan knew whatever he might say would upset him. “I think you need to get over Mike.”
Will felt as if his entire world was halted at that moment. There was no way that he’d be able to just simply get over Mike. Mike who he’d thought about holding hands with and going on movie dates together since he was eight. Mike who he thought he’d spend the rest of his life with, because Will was content with just being Mike’s friend– as long as he got to stay by Mike’s side. Will Byers would rather stop breathing than lose Mike Wheeler.
“You don’t have to stop being friends or anything, Will,” Jonathan’s voice was gentle, he reached over and put a hand firmly on Will’s shoulder trying to ease his panic. “I just think maybe– I don’t know… just Mike Wheeler isn’t the only guy in existence.”
“Jonathan it’s fine, it’s not that serious,” Will mumbled, biting the inside of his cheek and staring down at his lap. Part of him knew Jonathan was right. Mike was dating El, his sister, someone he could never hurt no matter what, and that included trying to pursue Mike in any shape or form. But god Will wanted to, he never wanted anything more in his entire life and it filled him with a gut wrenching guilt. Mike and El were unstable, sure, but they both seemed happy. Will, no matter what his instincts were screaming at him to do when he was near Mike, would never want to take that from them.
“Will, you deserve love. I know it’s not exactly easy for you and Hawkins isn’t the safest town when it comes to that… you can do so much better than Mike and I know it. I’m sick of watching him hurt you over and over again,” Jonathan sighed. He ran his hands down his face before locking eyes with Will again. “There’s life outside of Mike, Will… you don’t have to be quietly watching him find his own happiness without finding your own.”
Will was quiet for a long moment. Jonathan, in some ways, was right. These past few months had been miserable for Will. When Mike wasn’t hovering around him and watching his every move to make sure he was still alright, he was getting Will to cover for him so he could go see El. Some days Mike would just treat him like a stranger staying in his basement. These days Will could hardly get a read on what exactly Mike thought of him anymore.
“Maybe you’re right… I mean it’s a lost cause anyways,” Will muttered, a bitter laugh escaping his lips as he thought about just how stupid he was for wasting his time wanting something he could never have. Before Will could say anything more, Jonathan pulled him into a tight embrace.
“I just want you to be happy, Will… to find someone who makes you happy and that loves you, all of you,” Jonathan’s voice wavered. Will knew that he was trying not to get too emotional and start crying. A small smile tugged at his lips, it felt good to know that Jonathan would always have his back no matter what.
“Thank you… maybe I should move on,” Will sighed. He melted into Jonathan’s arms burying his face into his shoulder. Jonathan smoothed his hand over Will’s back comfortingly and leant back after a beat of silence.
“Okay, only if that’s what you want and not just because I suggested it.” Jonathan smiled softly at him.
“I don’t really know how to but… I think maybe I should try.”