Chapter Text
The summer of 1985 was definitely not one of the best for the party. There were fights, fires, and fall out to follow; a lot went wrong basically. However, Mike Wheeler was right about one thing: they really were going to sit in his basement all day and play games. Hopefully for the rest of their lives.
It had been a few years since then, Hawkins had finally settled down after the defeat of Vecna, and it was actually cheesy how everything kind of went ‘back to normal’, even though it was definitely not easy.
Hawkins was sunnier now, lighter, with no looming threat of death and darkness. Sure, the new military base on the outskirts of town and increased surveillance was definitely a new addition, but it made Mike’s parents at least feel a bit safer after everything. And now the party was finally reunited, no one hidden away, no one in the Upside Down, and no one trapped in another realm.
Dustin sat at the head of the table, his DM Screen sitting imposingly in front of the rest of the party. Lucas had his face in his hands, hanging onto Dustin’s every word, stress binding his shoulders into a rigid position. Mike sat there, looking over the notes he had been keeping. They had become much more advanced players since they were kids, and Dustin had become an excellent Dungeon Master, taking over Mike’s old role of creating campaigns. They had a new appreciation for the game now as young adults and the creativity it took to get lost in these games. Mike regretted ever shutting Will down for wanting to play.
Will was tense, he looked thoughtfully at Dustin, likely calculating his next move, but he was smiling. It was a little, casual smile, like that was Will’s resting face. Dustin’s monologue faded to the background as Mike watched over Will, his lank fingers resting on his chin.
Will had changed a lot in the best ways. He’d put on some muscle and gotten taller, he was almost taller than Mike now. Will was more carefree nowadays, and would experiment with more clothing now, brighter yellows and layered shirts with swirling patterns. It was all nice, but Mike did miss seeing Will in his old wizard getup, it was cute.
The best change to Will was how happy he was. Without Vecna, without the threat of being outed anymore, he was so happy. Mike could just stare at Will’s smile all day and never get bored. If Mike had ever been possessed by Vecna, he would’ve told them to play Will’s laughter to bring him back. But he couldn’t say that out loud.
He didn’t know if Will knew this or not either, but Mike still had his wizard cloak and hat, folded and ironed in the toy chest that had been long untouched since they were little, waiting to be played with again. Mike could never bring himself to throw anything of Will’s away. Every piece of art, every drawing, and even notes passed at school, Mike kept them all. He figured that’s just what friends do. Or maybe he was more sentimental than he realized. Something like that.
Will glanced to Mike and it caught him off guard. How long had he been staring at Will?
“What?” Mike sputtered.
“I said how many hit points do you have left?” Will nodded his head at Mike, a lock of hair falling between his eyes. He really was cute.
Mike looked down at his notes. “Not enough for whatever you’re thinking.”
Will sighed, reviewing their options in his head, eyes flickering across Dustin’s cheeky grin.
“Do you surrender to my gang of liches, or will you fight on?” Dustin’s face was shadowed by the overhead light, he looked sinister. Dustin was a ruthless DM.
“What do we do?” Mike leaned in towards Will and Lucas.
Lucas and Will shared a look. Lucas slapped a hand to Will’s back.
“Whatever we do, it’s up to Will the Wise here, he’s the only one with enough HP to do anything now,” Lucas strategized.
Will placed his hands on the table.
“I cast a teleportation spell,” Will declared.
“Running from the fight I see! Oh, but you’re so close!” Dustin mocked.
“We’re not running,” Will looked at Mike, his eyes alight with a golden star from the lamp. “We need some distance. Once we’re away, I’ll heal you and you take the next hit if the portal doesn’t close or something happens.”
Will grasped the D20 in his hand and rolled it around in his palm. Dustin watched with intense eyes, daring them to play on. If this move fails, the game ends, and evil prevails. Somehow, this felt more pressing than any given fight with a real life demogorgon.
Will tossed the dice down, watching it skip and wobble across the wood of the table, missing their game pieces by inches. The dice settles at last. It’s a 20. Critical hit.
The party jumps out of their seats, celebrating their momentary success, boosting morale to keep the game going. Dustin smiled while shaking his head, he moved something behind his screen. Will grabbed Lucas and Mike by the shoulders and they shared a moment of touch that Mike wanted to linger in for a second more.
“Alright, alright, settle down, let’s see what happens.” Dustin gestured for everyone to take their seats again. Will dropped his arm from Mike, gently running an accidental finger from his bicep down to his wrist. The basement suddenly felt hotter.
Dustin settled in. “Will the Wise raises his scepter above the party, the liches–” Dustin stopped. The D20 was wiggling. Actually, everything on the table was wiggling. Every little game figure, the DM board, Mike’s pen, everything was moving as if the table was shaking.
“Earthquake?” Lucas asked, slowly moving from his seat.
“In Hawkins?” Mike scooted his chair back.
“This can’t be a gate reopening, right? We already… What’s going on?” Dustin shouted. The whole room felt like it was moving now, the floor shifting up and down like a thick liquid. The table legs were screeching as they moved back and forth by some invisible force. A bright light beamed straight out of the center of the table. They all shouted, covering their heads and turning away. There’s a loud sound and their vision turns white before an eerie silence falls between them again.
Mike lowered his arms from over his head. He looked at the couch and the bookshelf, nothing had fallen out of place. He looked at the ceiling and the stairs– absolutely no damage. He whipped his head back to the table, to where Will was, and his eyes widened.
The table was indeed damaged. By Will. Or, was that Will? The table had been smashed down the middle by the body of Will Byers, but something was off. At the beginning of the game, Will was wearing a cream colored sweater and brown slacks, his hair was longer, but well kept off his neck and combed back nicely. Now, Will was wearing a midnight blue robe, draped with purple velvet. He wore a red crystal pendant centered over his chest, accented with gold markings. A pointed hat of the same blue color laid bent and wrinkled on the floor beside him. His hair was now longer with bangs hanging over his eyes, cut in a stark line like his good old bowl cut.
Will (?) had his eyes closed, he rubbed the top of his head with a slow hand. Mike then noticed a red cut against his jaw, then multiple scratches over his knuckles.
“Will!” Mike exclaimed. Mike jumped to his help, kneeling on the splintered wood of his table. He moved one of the table legs out of the way and leaned over Will’s heavy body.
“Will, are you alright?” Mike reached for Will’s face before he could stop himself and swiped his thumb across his cheek. He quickly retracted that hand.
Will’s eyes blinked slowly open. They were definitely Will’s eyes, but Mike was still confused about the costume change.
Will’s eyes focused on Mike’s face. His lips were dry and he seemed dazed; he blinked once more and cracked a small smile.
“Mike!” Will shot up into a seated position and threw his arms around Mike with a hand laced through his hair. Mike went completely still. He stumbled forward, surprised at Will’s strength and the hug. Mike pushed against Will’s broad chest to free himself and he toppled over on his back, cheeks burning.
Will looked at Mike with confusion. He rolled into a kneel and then noticed Lucas and Dustin. He then looked frantically around the room, slowly standing up among the pieces of the broken table.
“Will?” Lucas look a cautious step forward.
“My friends, where are we?” Will’s voice was airy and regal, Dustin looked at Mike strangely.
“Uh, the basement?” Dustin dragged the word out, unsure of the situation.
Will leaned down and picked up something from the floor. It was a long, golden scepter with a crystal dome on the end that shimmered brilliantly in the basement’s lame lighting.
“Why are you dressed like that? What is the meaning of these new garbs?” Will threw a hand out towards Mike as if he was the ridiculous looking one.
“Garbs?” Lucas questioned.
“Will, I think you hit your head kind of hard, let’s sit down for a minute,” Dustin approached Will, setting careful hands on his arms.
Will shook him off and turned to face him. “We are not going anywhere until you tell me where we are?” Will backed up with his hands splayed out to his sides, his scepter gleaming in his fist. There was no way it was a prop.
“I don’t understand,” Lucas said, “Will, just, how did you change so fast?”
Will’s confusion seemed to be morphing steadily into frustration.
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you all that? Acting as if I’m the one in alien attire, look at yourselves!”
They were all sufficiently confused now. Mike decided to approach Will. Will softened his eyes at Mike and met him half way.
“Mike, you would never lie to me, just tell me what has happened,” Will lowered his voice, sending sideways looks at Lucas and Dustin.
He was right. Mike would never lie to Will. But Mike wasn’t sure if this was his Will.
Mike looked at Dustin and Lucas for help, but they just stared on at Will, scratching their heads at what was wrong with him.
Will placed his hands over Mike’s shoulders and pulled him in closer. Mike pushed down the weird feeling in his stomach at feeling Will’s breath waft over his face. Mike moved Will’s hands.
“Why don’t you tell us what you last remember, okay?”
Will thought about it for a second, his beautiful hazel eyes shifting down in the way they always do when he’s thinking, and then nodded.
Mike, Dustin, and Lucas had only been listening to Will speak for five minutes before they decided they needed to call in more help.
Will recounted their game of D&D in perfect and explicit detail, adding in some parts that hadn’t really even happened, or at least small things that could have happened, but weren’t written into Dustin’s storyline. He talked about casting the teleportation spell and then landing here in this “dungeon”.
They first wanted to believe Will was just taking a joke a bit too far, or getting way too into character, but then Dustin asked: “Where do you think you are, Will?”
Will looked at Dustin incredulously. “Are we not still in Hawkstone? Did I cast us elsewhere?”
“Hawkstone?” Lucas repeated. “You mean Hawkins?”
“Hawkins? Where would that be?” Will looked between all of them again, his eyes always landing on their clothes.
“Guys, I don’t think this is Will,” Mike whispered. The three of them stepped away from the couch where Will sat to talk.
“What do you mean this isn’t Will, he looks exactly like him! How else could that be possible?” Lucas whispered pointedly.
“Well is a category seven earthquake in Hawkins normal? Especially without causing any damage?” Mike quipped back. “And that white light! What was that all about?” Lucas couldn’t muster a rebuttal.
“Did we open another parallel universe to our D&D campaign?” Dustin rasped, eyes as big as golfballs.
“Did we? Or did Will the Wise?” Lucas added on.
“This is an illusion, isn’t it?” The three boys turned back to Will who was now standing, scepter pointed straight at them. They all threw up their hands and shouted for Will to stop.
“You will release me from these visions and bring back my real friends and away with these imposters!” Will demanded to a disembodied power, eyebrows arched. The crystal at the end of his sphere grew a fiery red. A swirl of blue energy formed around the end and slithered around the golden staff. Each of them begged Will to slow down, to put down his scepter, but Will remained unshaken.
“Will! Will, please, just give us a minute to explain!” Mike stepped in front of his friends, a hand still defending out against Will. Will’s hold on his scepter seemed to waver, his eyes dropped their intimidating glare, just for a moment.
“Will the Wise, you’re no longer in Hawkstone, but you need us to help you get back, just please don’t!” Mike yelled. Will held his stance, the blue light of his power getting brighter still, but then he dropped it. His scepter crystal dimmed back into a ruddy red and the blue light wisped away.
“You have quite a bit of explaining to do then, dear.” Will crossed his arms.
Dear? Did Will just call him dear? Or, Will the Wise, but still, why would he say that? And why did it make his chest feel weird?
Mike called over El and Joyce, and so of course, Hopper followed as well. Mike explained to them that something had happened to Will. Joyce’s face immediately fell, fear filling her eyes, wrecking her body.
“Wait, it’s not bad! I think?” Mike had them follow him to the basement, keeping their voices down to not alert his parents.
“Basically, we were playing D&D and Will cast a teleportation spell, but that seemed to open some sort of alternate reality and now we think Will got exchanged for Will the Wise in our reality and we need to get him back somehow.”
Hopper looked at Mike blankly.
“What does that mean?” he deadpanned. Mike groaned and brought them downstairs, Joyce pushing ahead.
“I mean, this is not our Will. This is Will the Wise.” Mike moved to reveal Will the Wise in his lavish robe, sitting with Dustin, curiously twisting the knobs on his walkie talkie. Joyce gasped.
Will raised his head and recognition flashed over his face.
“Mother? El? What are you all doing here?” Will stood to hug his mother, her figure getting swallowed up in the flowing fabric of his gown. Joyce happily hugged him back, but her eyebrows were slanted in uncertainty.
Hopped looked at the two of them, his face tired and unconcerned.
“I don’t see the issue, didn’t you say he used to dress up like a wizard all the time?”
Will the Wise pulled out of the hug and looked at Hopper warily. Joyce squeezed his hand and examined his face.
“You’re not listening! This is not Will, Will is physically somewhere else, this is just Will from a parallel universe!” Mike was practically pulling out his hair.
“Mike’s right, this is not my boy,” Joyce said with disappointment. Now the stress was really setting in.
“Oh my god, after all this time, Will is lost in another dimension again? How could we let this happen?” Joyce paced at the bottom of the stairs’ landing. Mike looked desperately back at Will, his friends, and El.
“Well we figured El could try opening some sort of portal back up? Kind of like the gates a few years ago?” Mike looked to El.
El looked nervous. Hopper stepped between them.
“No way, she’s retired from opening and closing gates, of any kind,” Hopper growled. He had never been a fan of Mike, not when they were dating, and especially not after they had broken up last year. El nudged Hopper with her elbow. She looked at Mike again, her forehead tight with worry.
“I would, but I am only experienced with opening gates to the Upside Down, I’m not sure I could open one to just anywhere,” El chewed on her nail as she thought.
Will the Wise joined Mike’s side, everyone stopped to watch.
“She won’t have to do anything. Dustin has been helping me realize perhaps this was my doing in some way. I will teleport back to Hawkstone, hopefully sending your Will back to you, I just need a bit more space. Some rest, as well.” Will the Wise glanced at Mike again, flashing him another familiar smile, but it wasn’t the same.
Hopper clasped his hands together.
“Well, okay. Nothing we can do right now, we’ll figure out everything tomorrow.”
“Hop, Will is alone in yet another different dimension! He must be so scared, I– how am I supposed to rest knowing he’s…” Joyce was beside herself with fear, and Mike felt for her. As crazy as this all was, Mike couldn’t stop thinking about Will and how traumatizing this must all be, to be taken away into another world for the second time? Why did it always have to be Will? If he could change places with him, he would, immediately. He just wanted to take away all of Will’s pain and replace it with the love and happiness he deserved.
Love?
Will the Wise approached Joyce and she looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“Do not fret, I’m sure your Will is just fine as long as he found my Mike,” Will the Wise’s voice was so gentle and melodic, it almost completely soothed Joyce’s worried quivering.
My Mike, the phrase repeated secretly in Mike’s mind in Will’s voice.
“Your world isn’t… full of monsters and… evil sorcerers, is it?” Joyce squeaked.
“Oh no, it’s full of them,” Will the Wise answered innocently.
“Cool,” Dustin whispered.
Joyce looked like she could faint.
After they left, just Mike, Dustin and Lucas sat with Will the Wise in the basement as the moon lit the night sky.
“So, Will the Wise,” Lucas rubbed his hands together. “What am I like where you’re from? Or, do I exist, I guess?”
Will grinned, and god, it was so weird seeing Will look so different and yet exactly the same.
“Of course I have a Lucas. He’s the most skilled archer I know. He’s incredibly strong and quickwitted, a wonderful ally.”
Lucas offered Will the Wise a fist bump, but he didn’t fully understand, and they awkwardly touched fists.
“What about me?” Dustin could hardly sit still, excited to hear about who he could have been in another world. Will the Wise enjoyed his enthusiasm.
“You two seem quite similar already. My Dustin is a spirited young man, excellent fighter,” Will the Wise nudged his shoulder. “He sings quite well, too, it’s lovely.”
Lucas instantly looked at Dustin with a goofy smile, humming “Never Ending Story”. No matter how many years it’s been, Lucas would never let that go. Dustin’s smile dropped immediately.
“So then… what am I like?” Mike asked, trying to restrain the curiosity in his tone.
Will the Wise had this way of looking at Mike that he didn’t quite understand yet. It was like looking at Mike made him understand everything else around him. His eyes would light up, swim with a new confidence and something else. It made Mike want to reach out to him, but also run away from the feeling.
“Mike the Brave, oh, he is the greatest warrior I’ve ever seen. He’s been at my side ever since we’ve met. He’s the heart and soul of our party.” Will the Wise looked down at his lap. “I miss him terribly.”
The three friends exchanged a pitying look. As cool as it was for them to hear about themselves, they could understand how strange this all must be for him; he nearly screamed when Dustin accidentally turned the TV on earlier. Mike thought about their Will again, missing him just as much, hoping he was safe.
“You and Mike the Brave are close then?” Dustin said to Will the Wise.
“Well yes, we are courting each other.”
Lucas and Dustin looked directly at Mike.
Mike cleared his throat. “You’re… you’re what?”
Will the Wise looked at Mike, and suddenly he understood all the gazing, the tight hug, the lingering by his side. Will the Wise was looking at Mike like his consort. Like his boyfriend.
“You mean to tell me you and your Will are not lovers?”
Mike’s stomach twisted painfully. A cool sweat clammed his hands. He rolled them into fists to rest on his jeans. Mike couldn’t look at Dustin or Lucas, he feared what their faces were saying, what they’d think of him.
“Of course not!” Mike squawked. Will the Wise reared his head back at his tone.
“What do you mean of course not? I just assumed given everything else—“
Mike cut him off before he could say more.
“No. No! Will and I are just friends I don’t… if there’s one difference between our worlds it’s that right there.”
Will the Wise narrowed his eyes, never looking away from Mike. He huffed air out of his nose.
“I suppose so.”
Dustin gave a weak cough, or was it a laugh? Mike finally looked back at his friends.
“Maybe we can call it a night? We’ll sleep over so we can get an early start tomorrow to get Will back,” Lucas said. He stood from his seat and walked to the cabinet by the TV stand for blankets. Dustin agreed and went upstairs to call his mom. Mike wiped his hands on his pants and stood. Will the Wise kept an eye on him as he moved across the room.
“I’m gonna get you a change of clothes,” Mike took one step up the stairs, “So you can blend in.”
Will the Wise turned his head, his long hair flouncing with the movement.
“So be it.”
Lucas and Dustin were pretty much settled into their spots by the time Mike returned with pillows and clothes for Will the Wise. Dustin was dozed off in the big chair off to the side of the couch Lucas was laid out on. Mike tossed a pillow to Lucas to which he snuggled into it with a soft thank you.
Mike handed a pair of sweats and a hoodie to Will the Wise. “Here, you can change in the bathroom over there.”
Will the Wise nodded and left for the bathroom.
Mike turned to the coffee table where Will the Wise had left his scepter. Mike quietly picked it up and rolled it around in his hands, tracing the fine carvings in the handle. It was heavy, yet so beautiful and delicate. He wondered if this is how Will imagined it in his mind.
Mike crept past his sleeping friends and opened the toy chest off to the side of the stairs. Will’s own wizard gown was still there, sitting a top Star Wars figurines and plastic weapons. He picked up the flimsy fabric, purple and studded with yellow stars. Mike knew he had a drawing of himself and Will as their D&D characters somewhere, there was always that painting in his room, too.
“What is that?”
Mike turned back, Will’s child sized robe held to his chest. He dropped it.
“Nothing.”
Mike’s eyes wandered over Will the Wise’s frame. He was… big. Mike’s clothes were usually a little oversized even on him, but on Will the Wise they seemed to just fit. His sweatshirt was stretched taut over his large chest and the sleeves stopped just short of his wrists. The pants tapered down his calves where he could see scars peak out on his skin. Fighting liches and chasing dragons must keep you in pretty good shape.
“I can’t believe you’re not my Mike,” Will the Wise was looking at him, too. “You two look just alike. So handsome.”
Mike’s cheeks warmed. He glanced to make sure Lucas and Dustin were asleep.
“Stop that.” Mike said quietly through clenched teeth. He didn’t know how to feel hearing those words from a guy, a guy with Will’s voice nonetheless. It made his stomach bubble with heat and guilt trickle through his veins. He swallowed.
Will the Wise sighed and pulled on one of his sleeves.
“I don’t understand any of you,” he muttered. A drawing on the wall caught his attention, he walked over to look closer. Mike joined him, trying to keep a few feet of distance.
It was a drawing of a blue and yellow dragon, eating a knight. It was from Will when they were really young, the edges had tiny tears from the years and the scotch tape was beginning to lose its stickiness.
“I remember this dragon,” Will the Wise said quietly, “A nasty quest this was.”
Mike pointed to the drawing.
“This… actually happened to you?”
Will the Wise looked nostalgic and grinned to himself.
“It was attacking a neighboring kingdom, we were summoned to remedy the issue. It was not exactly easy.”
Mike found himself smiling with Will the Wise. Even though it wasn’t his Will, seeing his friend glow with such contentment made his heart warm.
“After hours of healing and strategizing, and striking, we felled the awful creature.” Will the Wise looked to Mike with a lively expression. He seemed like a great story teller.
“We did such a good job, the king offered his daughter’s hand in marriage to Mike the Brave as a prize. But of course, he declined. I do miss him so.”
That feeling seized Mike’s chest again. He looked at his sleeping friends one more time. He took a deep breath.
“How did you and… Mike the Brave begin um… courting?” Mike’s voice was just above a whisper.
Amusement shadowed Will the Wise’s face.
“I think we were always going to find each other, I can’t imagine my life without him. We’ve known each other since young, and he has always cared for me. And I have always loved him.”
The phrasing felt weird to Mike. Part of him didn’t want to listen, felt it was all wrong and not normal, but another part of him burned to have someone feel like this for him. For his Will to feel like this.
“But…” Mike started. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything more. Will the Wise looked at him with such steady eyes it killed any words he did have in the back of his throat. “I just don’t get it. Like why not just stay friends? How would you even know you like…” Mike’s throat tightened, cutting himself off.
“You know.” Will the Wise whispered. They stood facing each other for another minute, pale blue shadows dancing in the gold lamp light. Mike let out a breath and glanced around the room; Lucas and Dustin quietly snored.
“Well, goodnight.” Mike nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Mike headed for the stairs and felt Will the Wise close behind, his foot falling on the first step with Mike’s. He turned.
“Where are you going?” Mike huffed.
“Mike the Brave and I usually retire to bed together.”
Mike's stomach nearly dropped to the floor.
“Well I’m not Mike the Brave!”
“Where do you expect me to sleep here? On the floor like some sort of dog?”
Mike silently cursed his friends. Lucas hogged two blankets for himself and Dustin had the third one. There were no chair or couch cushions left for Will the Wise to even put on the floor if he wanted to. The only thing left was the one pillow Mike had brought down from his room.
His room did have a trundle bed, a spare mattress tucked away under his for when he and Will used to have sleepovers. He could try to carry the mattress downstairs, but that would make enough noise to wake his whole family and his friends. Mike clicked his tongue.
“Fine, follow me, but try not to make any noise,” Mike continued up the stairs, Will the Wise happily following. “And we are not sharing a bed.”
The morning sun shone through a crack in Mike’s navy blue curtains, it cut a line of light right over his eyelids. Mike brushed his hair out of his face and hoped everything yesterday was a dream. Maybe he’d open his eyes and Will, his Will, would be sleeping on the floor, safe and sound and not in another dimension.
Mike squinted his eyes open and looked at the floor. For a moment, he saw a young version of Will, with his messy bowl cut and sweet face. But then, he noticed the scars over his skin and the sharpness of his cheekbones and knew this was no dream. Will the Wise was real and sleeping in Mike’s bedroom.
Mike laid back down, looking over Will the Wise’s sleeping form. His lips were pouting and his face looked peaceful. He really did look like his Will.
Mike missed having sleepovers as kids, everything used to be so easy and innocent. Mike and Will would stay up late into the night, reading comic books with flashlights under his covers. Sometimes they’d create their own stories and speak them into the flashlights like microphones, shadows hollowing out their eyes and mouths. They always talked about writing their own stories one day, Will on illustrations and Mike on the dialogue. Sometimes they’d fall asleep, exhausted from sharing their ideas and wake up cuddled together. Mike wondered if Will missed that, too.
Will the Wise made a small sound and Mike sat up in his bed. Will the Wise rolled flat onto his back and opened his eyes. He rubbed his face and stretched his arms out.
Then he caught sight of Mike and hummed a small hello.
“Good morning, dear.” Will the Wise’s voice was gravelly and thick with sleep. It made something in Mike shiver.
“Are you ready to go back home?” Mike brushed right past the pet name.
Will the Wise stood from his mattress and the sun hit his brown hair and peachy skin in the perfect way for Mike to stop breathing.
“I am,” Will the Wise yawned, “I am ready to see my Mike again.”
Mike rolled out of bed and put another shirt on, turned away from Will the Wise.
The two of them walked downstairs just to see Dustin and Lucas already awake, shoes on by the front door. Lucas and Dustin shared a mischievous look.
“Did you guys sleep together?” A smile pulled at Lucas’ lips.
“We did,” Will the Wise said.
“We did not! No!” Mike exclaimed.
“So you guys were both just hanging out upstairs for the morning?” Dustin pointed back up the stairs.
“He slept on my floor, but what does that matter?” Mike’s nose wrinkled defensively.
Dustin put his hands up. “It doesn’t! Just asking… making conversation.” There was a cheeky look to Dustin’s face.
Mike suddenly became aware of how fast his heart was racing. He fought the urge to look at Will the Wise, he could always feel when he was looking at him.
“Here, man, catch,” Lucas tossed Will the Wise’s scepter to him and he caught it easily with one hand. The four of them left Mike’s house and trotted down the front steps. A car honked at them a few times and Mike looked at the curb. Steve and Robin were pulled up in front of his house.
“What are these guys doing here?” Mike asked out loud.
“I called them,” Dustin said with a shrug, “I figured they could drive us around to find a good spot to open a portal.”
They all ran over to Steve’s car and squeezed into the back seat.
“We all ready to rumble?” Steve twisted around in his seat, grabbing the back of Robin’s head rest.
Will the Wise gasped. “King Steve?”
Steve blinked hard and looked right at Dustin. “You tell him to call me that?”
Robin snickered. “King Steve is back, it’s been awhile since I’ve heard that one.”
“Quick recap, Will the Wise is from another fantastical realm, we all have fantasy versions of ourselves back where he’s from.”
Steve turned back to face the steering wheel, Mike could see him thinking this over in the rearview mirror.
“You should be happy Steve, you’re a king in another life,” Dustin beamed.
“Let’s just get going.” And with that, they began driving around Hawkins.
Robin began rapid firing questions at Will the Wise, getting an understanding of the situation, all the details of what happened yesterday and learning all about who she was in Hawkstone. Mike was getting overwhelmed just listening to the conversation; the speed at which Robin could talk was genuinely baffling, but Will the Wise looked totally comfortable. Him and Robin were getting along better than any other party member and him. Mike leaned his head against the window and rested his hands on his knees.
Ever since the November of Vecna’s downfall, Robin and Will (their Will) had started hanging out more. They would get coffee every so often when Robin was on a break at work or sometimes if they were biking past the WSQK, Will would separate from the group to say a quick hello.
Did this bother Mike? Well, yes it did, but he would never admit that to himself. He just found it annoying how Robin seemed to always interrupt his time with Will, making him awkwardly stand around waiting for his turn to see his best friend. They were best friends, why should Mike fall to second place whenever Robin enters a room?
Now Mike knew Will could never be interested in Robin, but there was something in their constant whispering in a group, their hugs that were a little too tight, and Robin ruffling Will’s hair while giggling that rubbed him the wrong way. But that was just because they were best friends. All best friends feel like this, right?
“Let’s go to Weathertop, Will the Wise will have lots of room to cast up there,” Dustin proposed.
“I’ll tell the others to meet us there,” Lucas said, riffling through his backpack for his walkie.
“I hope Will’s doing okay, you think he’s okay, right?” Robin leaned towards the backseat, looking at Will the Wise with a crease in her forehead.
“Will is the strongest person I know, of course he’s fine,” Mike scoffed; he had meant to hide the sourness in his voice. He wasn’t sure if he totally meant it either, he spoke it into the world more to convince himself than anything else. But Will was strong, that he knew. He felt a leathery warmth hover over his hand. Will the Wise grasped Mike’s hand gently.
“Yes, I am sure your Will will be fine,” he said tenderly. Mike caught Robin looking at their joined hands and he felt a prick of heat pinch somewhere in his chest. He moved his hand out from under Will the Wise’s and crossed his arms.
“Let’s just hope this all works out.” Mike said quieter. Let’s hope Will is okay.