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Mike's hopes of making a quiet, though late, entrance are immediately crushed by the pained squeal the door makes. Stares from everyone in the packed room land on him all at once, including a glare from Nancy that he fails to avoid. It's a bit of a squeeze, but somehow, and without noticing, he manages to end up next to Will, who quickly returns his awkward wave.
"So as I was saying-" Nancy begins, finally directing her pointed gaze away from Mike and back onto the map laid out in front of her. "In order for El and I to collect everyone's belongings from my house, Steve is going to have to park around 100 yards from the driveway, arriving in the late morning, so that we don't draw too much attention."
Despite it seeming like years have gone by, the battle at the MAC-Z where Will discovered his awesome powers was only a few days ago. That's the reason why Nancy thinks El will be safely able to go to the Wheeler house — the military are still scrambling after the demos plus Vecna destroyed their camp and their men. It's kind of weird that Mike can relate. He also feels like a Demogorgon waltzed right up to him and clawed his guts out. Because Will has powers. And that's Mike's new crazy reality. Even if he'd been the one to predict it initially, seeing it in person right after facing the probable likelihood of his imminent and violent death was something else.
Mike's not sure how to describe the large wave of blistering emotion that crashed over and consumed him in that moment. Sure he'd been saved by a superhero before, but this was different. El is a bad ass, of course, nothing is going to stop him from singing her praises, but watching Will was different. While at the time El had been a cool weirdo he'd found in the woods, Will is his best friend of now over ten years, and watching him stop the demo mid-leap was like watching the culmination of every single amazing thing about Will explode into an amazing display of power. Finally everyone can see Will like he does, braver than Mike will ever be. But that growing balloon of pride that threatened to burst out of his chest was soon popped by anxiety and fear, leaving him to still feel the sticky remnants of his joy caked over and tangled around his heart.
Once the battle had ended and Will had spent the night in the hospital (luckily ending up with minimal injuries), Mike had only seen him a single time. He's been telling himself that he's busy and that he needs to let Will's family spend time with him, but the truth is that it was easier to see Will when Will couldn't see Mike's frenzied emotions dance across his face. After what happened, what Will did, it's becoming harder and harder to stop himself from acknowledging the heavy truth. But Mike's still struggling on admitting it, he doesn't know what he should say or do — and so this is a roundabout way to say that he's been avoiding Will. And even when Mike has every intention to go see him, that plan always ends up slipping from his mind until he's made it to the end of yet another day where he hasn't seen Will (though it doesn't seem like Will is too upset since he has Robin to visit him all the time…).
Except now they're pressed basically shoulder to shoulder in this tiny bunker that they have to move to because his house has been destroyed and they both know what Mike hasn't talked to Will over the past few days and Mike is starting to feel fourteen again because neither of them are talking about it but the tension is there and —
"We're going to need someone who is going to be able to sit in the car with Steve and makes sure there are no Demogorgon nearby." Nancy's voice jolts him out of his spiraling thoughts and Mike watches Steve purposefully look past a disgruntled Dustin and straight at him.
"Wheeler, you're a nerd who can understand this shit, right?" Steve half-yells, making sure Dustin can't ignore him. You can't try to be more subtle? Trying to catch Dustin's eye and ultimately failing, Mike turns to Steve and does what could be described as a weird mix of a nod and a shrug. Technically speaking he knows how to operate the Demogorgon detecting system, but it has been a while.
When Nancy first told him about her plan to go home and get their stuff, now that the house was wrecked and they'd be living in an underground bunker (hopefully temporarily) while they made their house livable again, Mike had wanted to go. The way Nancy had phrased her going was patronizing to say the least, telling him that she was going to go instead of asking. It made Mike feel like a child, like now that Holly wasn't here he had defaulted to being the youngest. Although he'd argued with her at first, Mike was secretly glad he wouldn't have to go inside. He'd been quite proud of himself for keeping a straight face, but with all that is going on, Mike doesn't know if he could keep that mask up for much longer. Bloodied footprints mapping out where his sister had run, wooden shards pointing to where his father had been thrown, and the glass fragments of his mother's desperation were the first things that came to mind when he thought about that night. Since he had run through that house so fast he could still pretend that it all took place somewhere else, but going back in the daylight would just override all the other, better, memories he held of the place.
Once the meeting is dismissed and Mike is told to get into Steve's car within the next ten minutes, Mike finds himself waiting around the door for Will. He feels bad, alright? Plus the whole not talking to Will thing was starting to become scarily reminiscent of his earlier teen years, a time he did not want to relive and has been actively trying to make up for. In a weird way, it's comforting to feel as though it's been too long since him and Will have talked, even if that 'too long' is a mere couple days.
"Oh, hey Mike," Will says like he wasn't standing next to him thirty seconds ago. It would be hard not to notice that Will looks different. Not in a new haircut or new clothes kind of way, but the way he holds himself. He stands taller now, and Mike finds himself not looking down as much. Will's new confidence suits him, well not new, it's always been there, Mike has just never seen it look like this, like an old jacket he's finally grown into. That's another thing Mike has noticed recently, the amount of Jonathan's hand-me-downs in Will's closet has shrunk now that Will has overtaken his older brother in height.
"Hey!" Mike tries to smile but it comes out as more of a grimace. Guilt shoots up his throat like it's yesterday's lunch trying to make a reappearance. Silence fills the air while they both try to figure out what to say to their best friend since kindergarten.
"So, you're going back home? That'll be good, right?" Will says simply, and even if he didn't mean it that way, the phrase 'going back home' makes it sound like Will considers it his home too and that just about stops Mike from breathing.
"Well, sorta. I'm staying in the car while Nancy and El get all of our things. I just have to be on the lookout to make sure that no demos are going to attack. Again." As soon has he closes his mouth, Mike realizes that he didn't quite manage to come off as unaffected as he wanted to sound. "I'll make sure they get your stuff. And Jonathan's too," he tacks on, trying to steer the conversation away from the emotional minefield he just landed in. Nonetheless, Will's eyebrows still do that thing where they squish together when he's concerned.
"I mean you're in good hands with both El and Nancy, you'll probably be even safer up there than you would be down here! And when they're in the house, you'll be with um-" Will pulls a face that suggests he didn't quite figure out where this sentence was going to end before he started it "-Steve".
Mike snorts. "With all that hairspray he's got to be more flammable than the demos."
After all the complaints about Steve from Jonathan that Will had to endure (which he then told Mike about), Mike isn't expecting Will to come to Steve's defense, and when he doesn't, they both grin. The light fluttery feeling that Will always brings with him is back, twisting his insides and making his brain go fuzzy.
"Well, maybe you could ask Nancy or El to retrieve that Cosmic Fleet Voyager LEGO set that we were supposed to start last Friday. I feel like I haven't seen you in a while and it would be fun to do something normal…" Will trails off. Desperate not to upset Will, Mike talks before he can think.
"Oh yeah, I'll see what I can do. That sounds super fun." Mike nods like the butterflies in his chest haven't just turned into wasps trying to sting their way out. How do you act normal around your friend when you're on the cusp of a major crisis that you've so far managed to avoid through intense determination and repression? He can't just cancel plans because he's scared, right?
"Will!"
"Mike!"
Two voices coming from opposite directions call out to them, one sounds like Robin, the other, Steve.
Mike starts to take a few steps back, "Well, duty calls," he says.
Will doesn't move, in fact he crosses his arms and stares Mike down. "Stay safe, okay?"
"Didn't you hear, I've got Steve with me!"
"Ha ha very funny. I'm serious, Mike!"
"Hey, I'll be safe, alright. Plus if a demo gets close, you'll know and you can radio. Like a spy."
Will nods, smiling at the reference. The fact that something that reassures Will, that helps him keep control over his life, came out of something so bad, fills Mike with pride. Only someone as amazing as Will can flip the script like that, turn a weakness into a strength. Because Will has never been weak, despite what all the mouth breathers said. Will was never fragile or a pushover, he's kind and compassionate. Where others said 'sensitive' like a slur, Mike sees someone who knows what he feels and isn't afraid of it.
A skill Mike severely lacks.
"Mike get your skinny ass over here!" Steve calls again, louder and more impatient.
"Jeez, now I really have to go. See ya!" Mike turns and runs before Will can say anything else, hating himself with every step he takes.
As soon as Mike climbs into Steve's van, the frigid tension smacks him in the face. It's the kind of uncomfortable that reminds him of trying to roll out of his nine layers of blankets and duvets on a sub-zero January Monday morning. The cold silence continues as the van starts to move and Mike looks over to say hi to El except…
"Bitchin', right?" El grins.
It's not bitchin'. Mike might not know a lot about fashion, but whatever wardrobe malfunction happened here is so bad that even Mike, known word vomiter, doesn't know what to say. The platinum blonde wig looks as though it could actually be El's hair but that's about it. Blonde curls form what is best described as misshapen candyfloss, a style that reminds Mike of a phase his mom went through not too long ago, while a garish neon pink lipstick stains both her lips and cheeks. The eyeshadow is even worse. Just about every single blue on the pallet is layered on her eyelids, and it goes all the way up to the bottom of her eyebrows. Meanwhile, a frilly baby blue top is paired with some deep purple jeans and the brightest sneakers Mike has seen in his life.
Mike figures that his thoughts on her outfit must be clear on his face due to the way that El bursts out laughing at his expression.
"I'm joking. Hop said that my disguise had to be really good. So I am hidden in plain sight. Nancy helped with the makeup."
"Oh, uh, that makes sense. Kinda genius, actually."
Meanwhile in the front, Nancy and Steve still haven't said a word. Whatever words of wisdom Steve must've tried to bestow on Nancy after what happened to their parents and Holly probably didn't go the way that he imagined.
El turns to him and grimaces. "Awkward…" she whispers, loud enough that it could be considered a stage whisper. The two in the front clearly hear her if the sharp glances to the rear view mirror are anything to go by, but Mike doesn't care and laughs anyway. As some kind of attempt to ease the atmosphere, for the first time in the whole journey Steve speaks.
"Is the radio okay?", he asks, and everyone nods or hums in agreement. As it turns out, the timing is perfect, as Steve manages to turn on the radio as the opening guitar strums of Bowie's Rock 'n' Roll Suicide begins to play. Oh so that's what Will's doing. It was Robin who wanted him earlier, after all. The music had been one of the best parts of the Byers staying with the Wheelers, floating up from the basement in the rare moments that Will and Jonathan weren't hanging out with Mike and Nancy, respectively. Deep chords and thumping bass became Mike's preferred background noise over his father's grumblings, his mother's lectures, and the weird tension that came with family that didn't know how to talk to each other beyond the superficial checklist of things that family ought to know, like school, dinner, and homework. There was comfort in the chaos that the Byers brought.
Despite it being almost noon, the sun seems to be struggling with all of the dark and moody clouds in the sky, to the point where Mike isn't sure if it's the just the November weather or something more supernatural. Since it has been darker than usual, especially over the past few days, they can't even rely on daylight to keep them safe from the demogorgons. The streets are almost empty and with every pothole and overgrown weed they drive over, Mike increasingly feels as though they are driving through a ghost town. But it's not a ghost town from the movies, it's his ghost town. Because that road over there is where Mike skinned his knees like five times, that bookstore is where he would beg his parents for comics, the Palace Arcade is where the Party first knew of Max, and that swing set is where he met Will. Instead of picturing old-timey ghosts with buckled shoes and pitchforks, Mike sees the phantoms of his childhood, flickering and fading like an old film reel.
Through the corner of his eye, Mike can see El picking at the mustard yellow paint that covers her fingernails, staring mournfully at the flakes of color that are drifting into her lap. Her jovial mood has fallen away and Mike can imagine why. While he hasn't seen much of El's sister Kali, but he knows that her and El haven't been able to talk much. So, in the breathing room between Bowie ending and In Between Days by The Cure starting, Mike takes out the notebook and pen he always keeps on him, and starts drawing evenly spaced dots along the printed lines, before joining two of the dots with a short line, and passing the notebook to El. Since the discovery that neither of them were good at talking honestly with each other, Mike found that simple games like this, where they had to be the one to create the most squares between the dots with just one line at a time, were the best, and most fun, way to build up trust again.
They reach the Wheeler's house just as El has spent the past couple minutes gleefully filling in squares. After boastfully passing the notebook back to Mike, where there is little to no space for him to make any squares, they both get out the car and Mike makes his way to the front seat and reminds El to stay safe and to call if they run into trouble. Before he gets in, however, he needs to talk to Nancy, who is staring at their house with a stony face and glistening eyes with a crumpled note in her fist.
"Hey Nancy," Mike starts nervously, as Nancy blinks hard before turning to him. "I was wondering if, while you were down in the basement, well, if you could go grab this LEGO set Will and I wanna work on-" Nancy sighs and rolls her eyes "-it's called Cosmic Fleet Voyager and-"
"This trip is for essentials Mike, not LEGO sets," she scolds, while doing that big sister thing where she crosses her arms and clenches her jaw in an almost comical impression of their mother.
"Yeah but it took months for Murray to get it so it kind of is an essential, plus it isn't even that big so it will definitely fit, like you won't even notice it," he argues, trying to express the LEGO set's importance with grand hand gestures.
"It's going to the bottom of the list."
And with that, Nancy and El walk towards the mangled corpse of Mike's childhood home.
"I thought you and El were broken up," is what Steve says as soon as Mike closes the van's door, like it was a burning question that he just couldn't keep in any longer.
Mike pulls a face. "We are?"
"You sure about that?" Steve remarks incredulously.
Rolling his eyes and sighing to the invisible audience Mike wishes were here to witness this, Mike simply replies "Yeah pretty sure dude, since I was like, there."
"I don't know man, you didn't seem that broken up to me."
"We were just playing a game? Because we're friends?" And not awkward exes who can't even spend a normal car ride together. Mike doesn't get everyone's insistence that they know more about his relationship with El than he does.
"Well if you want to get her back I can give you some advice…"
Now it's Mike's turn to stare incredulously. No wonder Jonathan can't stand this guy.
"I don't want to get back together. We're both happier as friends." And it's true. Their mutual breakup, which took place over a year ago, felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Since then, Mike hasn't felt solely responsible for El's happiness and well being, and El hasn't lied about her life in California, thinking that the truth would drive Mike away. Now they're broken up, they're somehow closer than they were before, because now there's no dishonesty, or failed expectations about what they're supposed to be.
"So you… don't have a crush on anyone?"
"Dude. What are you talking about? What are you talking about!"
"You're so deflecting right now."
If only Mike hadn't spent the past eighteen months trying to be a more emotionally honest person. Lying about his feelings used to come so quick and easy to the point where he didn't even need to think about it. Unfortunately, Steve hasn't stopped talking.
"Don't worry Younger Wheeler, I remember when I was your age I almost always had a crush. There are a lot of babes out there."
Mike almost wishes a demogorgon would come out of a glowing, red hole in the ground and give him an excuse to end this conversation right this second. Then he remembers one of the 'babes' Steve dated was his sister and he throws his head in his hands while telling Steve to shut up and that he doesn't need any help.
"Oh, so if you don't need my help, then why are you single?" Steve insists.
Mike's so dumbfounded that he almost doesn't know how to respond. "I have… other things on my mind right now?" He stammers.
"You know it's okay if she doesn't like you back. I have a few fool-proof tricks up my sleeve I can lend ya." Steve declares nonchalantly, pretending to examine his fingernails.
Mike doesn't know which is more humiliating, getting relationship advice from Steve Harrington, or Steve thinking that he would need his relationship advice. Rolling his eyes and committing to spend the rest of the wait looking out of the window, Mike just says "Whatever."
Maybe (hopefully) there would be a time in the imminent future that Mike would need to know this kind of stuff. And the greatest writers and scientists were always talking about getting diverse opinions and perspectives, right?
"Well," Steve starts, already dropping the nonchalant act and rolling up his sleeves like he's some sort of college professor, "there are two golden rules of dating, know her, and know yourself. Firstly, target audience is super important. You gotta know whether she likes the whole hot to cold mixed signals thing, or if she wants you to tell it to her straight, or what her type is. Does she like bad boys, nerds, jocks, because then you know if you actually have a chance and then what to do with that chance."
This sounds like pretty generic dating advice, but Mike nods along anyway and lets Steve keep talking.
"And the second thing is arguably more important — knowing yourself. You have to know what you want, whether it's a fling, something committed, or something else entirely. Because if you don't know what you want or what you're doing, they can smell it on you, man. They think it's immature. Girls love confidence. So, take a second to think about your feelings, and then you have to own them."
Oh.
If Steve notices Mike's lack of response, he doesn't make it obvious.
"Okay, so let's say that you've successfully asked her out, now what? This is where knowing your audience can really come in to play. Say maybe she's a little shy, then a double date at the movies is usually a good go to. Or, maybe she has a hobby or something you guys both like that you can do together. The key with that one is setting a romantic mood. Make it different to how it would be if you were hanging out with a friend. Easiest way to do that is touch. Graze hands, brush knees and elbows… even eye contact is a good one! And that's kind of a type of touch if you think about it because well contact is really in the name…" Steve trails off as Nancy and El return with a few hefty bags. That was quick. Mike can't imagine that they actually have everything that they'll all need. Nancy must be assuming that this new living situation really will be temporary then.
Nancy opens the front door of Steve's van and motions for Mike to get out. Before he can get in the back seat next to El, she calls his name and throws a box at him, which Mike juggles for a few seconds before getting a proper hold on it. It's his Cosmic Fleet Voyager LEGO set. By the time Mike remembers to say thanks, however, Nancy is already in the front seat and has closed the door.
"Thanks," he says anyway to the empty air in front of him. Because manners are another thing he's been trying to get better at.
The car ride back is pretty quiet. WSQK is no longer airing and Mike and El spend most of the journey passing Mike's notebook back and forth, even after El wins their first game. Mike doesn't care too much because Steve's words have begun to settle deep into his bones. Because there's no use in ignoring it now, and Mike finds that he doesn't want to anymore.
One thing that Mike Wheeler knows about himself is that he likes Will, no, is in love with Will and that's because he's queer or gay or homosexual… something along those lines. He's known for a while now, and has been hit over the head with it every waking hour since Will killed exactly three demogorgons. Even though Mike can't believe that he's taking Steve's surprisingly sound advice, the only thing he can do about it, is to do something with it. Figure out how his 'target audience' feels, so to speak.
Therefore, the first thing that Mike does when he gets back to their base, is to find Will, and fortunately, it doesn't take long. He's in one of the rooms above ground, flipping through an old comic when Mike knocks on the first door he tries. Since the sun has reached its peak, warm rays shine through an open window onto the previously cold floor, seemingly in defiance of the moody weather.
"Hey Will," Mike smiles while holding the LEGO set behind his back. He hopes his face isn't as red as it feels.
Will grins back. "Hey Mike."
"So I got something for you— for us. You know since I'm sorry I haven't been around lately and I think it would be fun to work together on something that isn't saving the world or whatever."
As Mike goes to sit next to Will (as close as he possibly can) he reveals the LEGO set, accidentally on purpose knocking their knees together while their hands brush as he passes it over. Watching Will's face light up makes his own face flush even deeper, but this time Mike doesn't look away. Not that Will can see him, as he's too busy examining the box.
"So… you busy now?" Mike asks.
While already opening the box and pouring out the pieces in front of them, Will smiles. "Nope."
"Cool."
"Cool."
They burst into quiet giggles and Will's eyes flicker up to meet Mike's, who didn't realize that sitting right next to Will would mean, well, being so close to him. Being as brave as possible, Mike holds the eye contact for a couple beats and when Mike grabs one side of the instructions, Will grabs the other, and they read it together. While Will isn't looking, Mike takes a second to sneak in a glance and admire him. The way the light makes his eyes look greener, the moles that caress his skin, the bumps and marks on hands that are so strong, yet so gentle. Mike loves it all.
While today might not be the day he outright confesses (he has a really bad habit of rushing into things and wants to take his time with something as beautiful and fragile as this), Mike realizes that the thought doesn't make him anxious. He isn't scared of losing his nerve or this connection, this chemistry, that they have. And maybe he should be, since they're gearing up to fight a supernatural monster from another dimension after all, and maybe Mike's optimism borders on naivety. But Mike knows somewhere deep inside of him that he has the time and the care to make it work, somehow someway because even if you stripped the world of everything in it, you still could not get rid of Mike's beating heart, and his innate love for Will.