Chapter Text
Something was off.
Not that everything wasn't totally backwards nowadays. What else could someone expect from the literal apocalypse?
It had been about two months since they arrived back in Hawkins at the beginning of the end of the world. With nowhere else to go, Mrs. Wheeler offered their home to Will and his family. It was crowded, for sure, basically everyone was sleeping two to a room, but it was a little less so once they found a way to get Argyle back to California, before the military moved in and quarantined them. That was better for everyone. Mr. Wheeler was starting to get suspicious of the smells coming from the basement, Argyle was completely lost and out of place, and Will could move downstairs with Johnathan, putting some much-needed space between him and Mike. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy sharing a room with his best friend; it felt like when they were kids having a sleepover. But that was the problem. They weren't kids anymore, and Mike felt so much more than a best friend to Will now. It was too much to handle, on top of everything else. He was all too relieved to move two floors away, lest he do or say something he'd regret during their late-night talks.
Maybe that was why something felt off.
I was the first time in over a month Will had sat on Mike's bed, or even been in his room, really. It seemed like some forbidden land he shouldn't be allowed access to, but when Mike asked him to meet him here after the meeting, he couldn't find it in himself to refuse.
Steve and Robin had managed to weasel their way into a job at the radio station, replacing the morning DJ who fled town once everything went to Hell. The basement of the WSQK provided them all with a perfect base of operations to come up with a plan to take Vecna down. It was far enough outside of the main part of town that Hopper and Eleven could safely get there without being noticed and close enough to the center of everything, that it provided easy communication amongst the groups. They had begun meeting there once a week to share information after Mike had encouraged Will to tell everyone what he had revealed to him about Vecna still being alive. Everyone quickly spread themselves into groups with jobs and code names and, before too long, they had become a well-oiled machine.
That afternoon, a real plan had started to take place. El and Hopper had been using the tunnels left behind by the Mind Flayer to spy on the Military, while Murry decided to put his CDL and love of disguises to use in order to smuggle them information from the outside. Apparently, a big piece of information had been discovered, and it had led to a discussion which had everyone excited, and Will definitely should have been paying more attention, but he could help but be distracted my Mike and El. While everyone else seemed to be discussing their next steps, she and Mike seemed to be having a discussion on their own, entirely without words. Will had secretly wondered if perhaps El had gained a new form of telecommunication that allowed her to tap into people's minds so they could speak with her without talking, but it was probably just the fact that her and Mike were so close, they were able to convey words to each other without speaking. That sort of thing happens when you're in love.
In his defense, Will really was trying to pay attention to what was happening, but every so often he saw them out of the corner of his eye. El would look at Mike and smile, Mike would beam back at her, she'd look down and giggle. He couldn't blame them for going off in their own little world. With El having to stay in hiding, they didn't get to see each other as much as they probably wanted to. They missed each other. Will missed her too, but nothing like Mike probably did. It wasn't any of his business what they did when they got time together, but he couldn't help himself. He had all but told Mike he was hopelessly in love with him, and there he was, flirting with, what was essentially, Will's sister.
That's how he ended up in Mike’s room, feeling like he wanted to crawl out of his skin. He had definitely been caught staring, and Mike wanted to confront him about invading his privacy. That had to be it. He hadn’t meant to get caught. He really was trying his hardest to pay attention to the others.
It was El who noticed first. Her eyes slipped away from Mike for a second, and she made direct eye contact with Will before he could turn away. Her smile faltered a bit, and she shifted her eyes back to Mike, then back to Will, prompting him to look over at Will briefly. His smile dropped almost immediately before turning back to El, and he shook his head. What ensued after could only be described as the loudest silent argument anyone had ever seen.
El pursed her lips and stuck her tongue against her cheek nodding over to Will while keeping eye contact with Mike. Mike's eyes got wide, and he shook his head again, briefly glancing at Will out of the corner of his eye. She crossed her arms and popped her hip, this time pushing her head forward towards Mike. He rolled his eyes and sucked his lips between teeth like he always does when he's annoyed or really angry. She stood up straight and bobbled her head like the was telling him off and looked over at Will for a good three seconds, making sure to catch his eye before turning back to Mike with a final angry eyebrow raise. Mike threw his hands up in the air and let one drop to his side while the other pulled at his curls. He glanced over at Will then, his mouth open slightly. He looked Will up and down before pulling his bottom lip between his teeth with his tongue, a nervous gesture he's always had, and looked back at El defeated. She smiled victoriously and spared one final look at Will before turning her attention back to the group.
After that, any hope Will had of knowing what everyone else was discussing was hopeless. Mike found him after everyone had dispersed and told him to go up to his room when he got back to the house, walking away without another word.
Now, he was watching Mike pace back and forth across his bedroom floor, looking like he was about to vibrate out of his own skin with nervous energy.
"Um, h-how are you feeling," Mike asked, not stopping his pacing or even looking at Will. He was fiddling with the front of his over-shirt. "Is it hot in here, are you ho-" he paused and glanced at Will before switching gears "it feels really hot in here."
"Uh," Will shook his head "maybe because you're wearing a flannel and it's summer?" He offered. Will had only seen Mike this worked up a handful of times in their lives, and it was never a good thing. It did not bode well for the rest of this conversation.
Mike stopped his pacing so quickly, he stumbled slightly, looking down at his shirt. "Right, yeah you're-" he started unbuttoning his shirt, but stopped three buttons down to look at Will, almost...panicked? "I think it's the air," he squeaked, moving to the window and shoving it open, then he rolled up his sleeves. "I think I just need air. Air's good. Right?” He looked over at Will and half smiled.
"Uh yeah," Will shrugged "air is good." Will fiddled with his hands in his lap, trying really hard not to just tell Mike to yell at him and get it over with already. Watching him moving around like a mad man was starting to make him sick.
"Good." Mike smiled and nodded, before resuming his relentless pacing. "So, uh-crazy meeting, right? We uh -sounds like we might have a solid idea to get the ball rolling."
"Uh, yeah," Will lied. He'd have to figure out what was actually said eventually, but now didn't seem like the best time to bring up that he hadn't been paying attention. "Crazy. Yeah, it’s good."
"Yeah," Mike nodded changing directions "Yeah it's great 'cuz the sooner we can get this all over with, the sooner we can get back to living life, and, like, actually enjoying it 'cuz I mean, now is just really not a good time, like, for anything, and I want it to be a good time, believe me I do, but it's like just dangerous and distracting and just a really bad time. Ya know?"
Mike's words were spilling out of his mouth at a million miles a second, but even if he were speaking at a normal speed, Will wouldn't have any idea what he was trying to say. "A bad time for..." Will prompted.
Mike paused again, looking Will up and down like he was scanning him for information. He opened his mouth to say something and stopped himself, resuming his relentless pacing once again. "Like, everything. Shit, I don't know. Like- relationships." He mumbled out the last word.
And there it was. Will had spent hours in the van on the way from California listening to Mike drone on and on about Eleven. Each mention of her name was another stab to his heart. Once they reunited and got back home, conversation about Mike's love life with El had blissfully dwindled down to practically nothing and now here he was, back in the middle of exactly where he didn't want to be. He felt selfish. He wanted to be a good friend, a good brother. He wanted their happiness; to support them, he loved them both so much. He loved El. But he was in love with Mike. And he hated having to know that Mike would always love El more. He was hoping to be told to butt out of their relationship, not drawn into the details of it.
"Shouldn't you be talking to El about this?" Will asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of his tone.
"What, no!" Mike scrunched up his face and shook his head. "Gross. That would be-weird. Well, kinda. I guess we sort of talked about it, like a lot, but not really. I don't know. She understands though. She's pretty great like that." Mike’s smile beamed so brightly; it made Will want to cry.
"Yeah." Will swallowed. "Yeah, she's great." He couldn't do this. If Mike wasn't going to yell at him then there was no reason for him to be there. Will let his eyes wander around the room, trying to find an excuse for him to leave, looking around at the various posters and pictures scattered over the walls when his heart stopped dead at the latest edition of Mike's mismatched collage. He saw the corner of it peeking out behind Mike’s open closet door. The painting. He wished he had never given it to him. Never laid his heart bare in hours of painstaking work and detail. Of course it was next to his bed. He thought it was from El. Where else would he keep it but close?
He had to stop this now. He was going to make himself sick. He had to find a way to ask Mike not to bring him into his relationship drama. He'd be there for them while they were separated but after that..."Look, Mike, after all this is over- if we defeat Vecna and..."
"When." Mike interrupted. He stopped pacing.
"What?"
"When we defeat him." Mike said firmly. His nerves seem to steel themselves almost instantly, and he looked Will dead in the eyes with determination. "You said if. When we defeat Vecna."
Will rolled his eyes and shook his head "Okay, when, I guess. When we defeat him..."
"No." Mike shook his head and marched over to where will was sitting, dropping to his knees in front of him. He grabbed Will’s wrist and gripped them tight, making sure he had his full attention. "When we defeat him. I need you to believe it. I promised you we would kill him. I meant that. We are going to kill that son of bitch so he can never hurt you or anyone ever again. Do you understand?”
Will nodded, unable to form words. His heart was pounding in his chest under Mike's intense attention. Nothing like the unsure and nervous mess me was just moments ago and everything like the bold hero he had fallen for.
"When he's gone and you're safe, I promise you things will be different. You won't have to be scared anymore; I won't let it happen. Everything is gonna be better. I need you- I need you to believe it's going to be okay." Mike licked his lips and gripped Will’s wrists a little tighter, his voice soft, but firm. "I'm not saying everything's gonna be perfect, but I'm not going to let anything hurt you again. We are going to get through this. Together. Okay?”
"Yeah." Will replied, a little too breathlessly. He was sure Mike could feel his pulse vibrating in his wrists. Will could certainly hear it in his head. He felt dizzy, like he was about to pass out. Mike was so close. So intense. If things were different, if Mike were different, he could just lean forward...
"BOYS!" Mrs. Wheeler's voice cut through the tension like a chainsaw as she called them from the bottom of the stairs. "GET WASHED UP FOR DINNER PLEASE!"
"OKAY MOM!" Mike shouted back slightly annoyed. He looked back at Will and smiled softly, standing to his full height. He used his grip on Will's wrists to pull him up off the bed, leaving Will standing entirely too close. Mike glanced down briefly and licked his lips, before taking a step back and releasing his grip. And suddenly he was back. The awkward nervous boy that had just been wearing a path into his own bedroom floor. "Alright, well," he lifted his hand patted Will on the shoulder hesitantly, "good- good talk. Let's uh-" he nodded his head towards the door and made his way out, leaving Will standing there for a moment by himself, wondering what the hell they even talked about.