Archive of Our Own ^beta

════  *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*  ════

After saving the world again, everyone was finally able to move on with their lives, taking it one step at a time. That’s why Steve announced he was planning to host a Christmas party at his house. He wanted to celebrate with everybody as they weren’t able to hangout all together once they defeated Vecna. The aftermath took a toll on most of them so naturally the group weren’t able to come together as everyone was dealing with it in their own way.

When Steve came up with the idea, everyone was on board as the military lifted quarantine a while ago and a lot of families in Hawkins were planning on leaving the town for holidays which included the party. It will be nice to celebrate the holiday together knowing that they all survived hell. 

Right now, Mike was on the way to Steve’s house in Nancy’s car. They were heading to his place half an hour early since Nancy volunteered to help Steve set up and start working on dinner. Mike sat in the back seat with Holly while Robin was in the front, sitting in the passenger seat who kept switching between radio stations. 

The constant switching was slowly irritating Mike but he kept his mouth shut since Nancy was nice enough to drive him there and he didn’t feel like biking today especially in this weather. 

He was excited to hang out with everyone under the same roof but he’s more excited to see his boyfriend, Will. The two had a long overdue confession back shortly after Will gained powers but before Mike was going to pull Will into a kiss, they both got called for a meeting. That left both boys confused for a moment on what they were but they were able to resolve it once the battle was finally over. 

It’s been over a month since they started dating and Mike has never been happier. They still haven’t kissed yet as they haven’t been able to have a moment by themselves, usually someone will join them or they were both busy with something. Especially Mike with his parents' recovery from the attack and Holly returning back home. Mike wanted to kiss Will so badly and he kept wondering when a perfect opportunity will be presented to him. 

Little did he know Steve Harrington was going to give him that opportunity.

════  *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*  ════

Nancy pulled into Steve’s driveway while Robin leaned over to her side and honked the wheel. 

“Robin!” Nancy scowled at her girlfriend’s behavior. 

“Sorry, Nance. I had to let the dingus know we’re here.” Robin innocently smiled, giving a quick peek on the cheek causing Nancy frustration to go away.

“Ew.” Mike commented then opened the door to step outside with Holly following behind him. 

“Don’t act like you and Will aren’t like this.” Nancy called out, causing Robin to snort from her seat. 

“Shut up.” Mike grumbled under his breath, walking up to the door. 

The door quickly opened, Dustin on the other side, quickly went to Mike and hugged him. “Finally, you’re here! Now I don’t have to be the only one hearing Steve’s endless love for a certain someone.” He teased, gesturing to the two Wheelers to get inside.

“Oh shut up! I’m not in love, kid.” Steve explained then walked out to help the girls out. 

“Come on, Holly.” Mike grabbed Holly by the hand and the two followed Dustin inside.

“Steve already started decorating the house last night and let’s say he definitely went overboard, especially on a certain decoration.” Dustin shook his head as he went further into the house.

Mike and Holly looked around the house in awed, Steve definitely went all out for this party. However, Mike thought Dustin was talking about the multiple Christmas lights that seemed to be hanging everywhere they go but he also noticed multiple mistletoes scattered all over the place.

“Dude, I was going to say Steve definitely went crazy with the lights but um,” Mike paused for a moment once they got to the living room. “No, he did. But what’s up with all these mistletoes? Especially since they’re like everywhere you go?” He asked, letting go of Holly’s hand who went to look at the Christmas tree across the room.

“That was the decoration I was telling you about. At first, when he asked me to help hang a few, I was like sure, I don't mind.” Dustin started to explain. “But then Steve just kept bringing more of them from god knows where and next thing you know!” He paused for a moment to point the direction where the kitchen was. “Steve practically put a mistletoe in each corner, doors, and even above the fridge! Same goes in the living room, hallways, hell even the bathroom!”

“The bathroom? Like inside of it?” Mike raised his eyebrow, quite puzzled by the news he’s receiving.

“No, thank god because imagine? It’s right outside the bathroom door but still! And you want to know the worst part?” Dustin asked.

“There’s more?”

“Sadly,” Dustin rolled his eyes before looking back at Mike. “We still need to hang up a few more. One at the front door, a few upstairs even though the party is going to be down here—actually I figured he might bring a certain someone up there, if you catch my drift. I think one more outside but I don’t remember if it was for the front or back.” Dustin sighed, already tired of Steve for the day and the party hadn't even started. 

Before Mike could respond, Steve entered the room. “Hey, Henderson! Come help me finish hanging the rest of the mistletoes.” 

“Ugh, duty calls. See ya, Mike!” Dustin waved then went to follow Steve as the two made their way upstairs. 

Now by himself, excluding Holly who is currently focusing on the tree, Mike took a moment to reflect on what Dustin told him.  “Mistletoe?” Mike whispered, staring at one where it was currently hanging at the entrance of the kitchen. A sudden lightbulb went off in Mike’s head when he realized the perfect opportunity was staring right at him. 

‘If I can get Will underneath the mistletoe then that means we can finally have our first kiss together!’ Mike thought, feeling very proud of himself for his own idea. ‘I finally have a chance to kiss Will, what could go wrong?’ Mike smiled then went to sit on the couch with Holly to wait for the others but most importantly for Will. 

════  *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*  ════

The doorbell rang causing Mike to get up and yell out, “I’LL GO GET IT!” Running towards the door, he heard someone shout back a ‘thanks!’. He figured it might be Steve but he didn’t care at the moment. 

He made his way to the door, quickly unlocking it to open it. 

“Mike!” His friends screamed out besides Max who just nodded at him. 

“Hey guys!” He greeted back, looking at each of them. He noticed Erica was the first one to enter the house and just left them there. Lucas went to give him a hug and Mike returned the gesture. Max and El were next to each other, giggling to themselves. Mike looked around and didn’t see Will there. 

“Wait, where’s Will?” Mike asked.

“Of course, you ask about him.” Max playfully rolled her eyes at him and shoving him a little once she got inside. 

“Will is with Jonathan in the car. They’re grabbing something for the party.” El responded and gave Mike a quick hug. 

“Yeah, don’t worry, your Will is here. Safe and sound.” Max teased, making her way to the living room. “Is Dustin here yet?”

“Yeah, he should be in the living room.” Mike replied, watching the rest of his friends go to the living room to go greet him. 

“Hey, Mike!”

Mike turned his head around and saw Will with Jonathan slowly trailing behind him. 

“Hey, Will. Hey, Jonathan.” Mike greeted both the Byers brothers. Jonathan nodded at him, saying a quick hey before making his way in the house. Will stayed behind, smiling at Mike.

“I missed you.” Will confessed, throwing his arms around Mike. That statement made Mike feel dizzy and he started to smile so big.

“I missed you too.” Mike softly said, wrapping his arms around Will and never wanting to let go anytime soon. 

“Hey, lovebirds! Come join us!” Max yelled at the two from the living room causing the boys to let go of the hug. The two blushing a bit while Mike went to close the door.

“I guess we should go?” Will asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Actually, I’m going to use the bathroom real quick but once you greeted everyone, meet me by the hallway? I have something for you.” Mike cleared his throat, trying to act completely normal despite the small blush forming on his face.

“Oh? Isn’t it too early to give gifts?” Will questioned with a teasing smirk.

Mike shake his head. “It’s never too early plus I think you’ll like this surprise.” He smirked, playfully shoving him a little. 

“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit!” Will replied, shoving him back playfully as well then made his way to the living room.

Mike made his way to the bathroom, locking the door and leaning against the counter. He sighed, looking at himself in the mirror. He was checking himself out but only to make sure he looked fine and he didn’t have anything on him.

“Okay, you got this. You and Will underneath the mistletoe. It’ll be fine. Everything will be fine. You guys will kiss and it’s going to be the best kiss ever in the history of kisses, then you’ll live happily ever after.” He tried reassuring himself, taking deep breaths and finally after a minute, he left the bathroom.

He made his way to the middle of the hallway where one of Steve’s many mistletoes were hanging. ‘Okay, everything is going to be fine. Now to call Will so the magic can happen.’ Mike thought, getting excited for the kiss. 

“Will! Come over here!” Mike shouted at his boyfriend, patiently waiting under the mistletoe and closing his eyes once he heard footsteps coming his way. He puckered his lips, he knew he probably looked ridiculous but that didn’t matter as he was finally going to kiss the boy of his dreams.

“Michael, what the hell are you doing?”

That wasn’t Will.

Mike opened his eyes and saw Max standing there. She looked at him curious, waiting for an answer as to why he’s looking like a fool in the middle of the hallway.

“You’re not Will!” He yelled in frustration, wondering why the hell the redhead devil herself was here instead of his beautiful, sweet angel.

“Clearly.” Max scoffed before shaking her head. “But seriously, are you okay? You look like you’re constipated.”

“Max, what…” Mike trailed off and just decided to ignore that comment, there are more important things that need his attention instead. “I called for Will so I can get him underneath the mistletoe yet you’re here instead for some reason.” He grumbled under his breath, all the excitement for a potential kiss went away as the last thing he wanted to do is kiss Max out of all the people.

“Mistletoe?” She questioned, lifting her head up and spotting the decoration. A smirk found a way on her face with something gleaming in her eyes. This scared Mike knowing she might be up to something—as per usual—but right now, he’s trying his best to not murder her in his mind. “Oh! I see, you wanted to kiss Will under it, is that correct?” 

“Yes!” Mike scoffed like why would he not want to kiss his own boyfriend. “Now, move so Will can come over and kiss me.” He demanded, trying to shove her away but Max wouldn't budge, just continued smirking. 

“I think prince charming is busy.” She looked behind Mike, giggling a little too mischievously. 

He did not like the look on her face. He quickly turned his head over to see Will being occupied with Holly. Holly was talking his ear off while Will was paying attention to the girl. He looked over when he noticed Mike staring at them. He waved at him and mouth ‘sorry’ before redirecting his attention back to Holly who beamed in excitement when she realized he was still paying attention to her. She dragged him to the couch where they could continue their conversation. 

Mike huffed, crossing his arms as he looked at the two. He quickly made his way back to the living room, ignoring how loud Max’s laughing was, to quickly come up with another plan to get Will underneath the mistletoe. He couldn’t really be mad at Holly, she loves Will as much as anyone at the party but he wished Holly didn’t pick Will out of all people. He wanted Will to himself, just for a bit—or forever but no one needs to know that. 

════  *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*  ════

It’s been half an hour and Holly was still attached to the hip with Will. Right now, the two were sitting down in the living room with Mike staring at them across the room, leaning against the wall.

‘It’s totally normal to stare at your boyfriend and your little sister hanging out.’ Mike tried convincing himself that what he was doing wasn’t creepy at all but even he couldn’t fool himself. 

“I’ll be back, Holly. I’m going to the bathroom real quick.”

Mike quickly turned his head and saw his boyfriend saying bye to his sister before making his way to the bathroom. The young girl smiled and turned her attention to the group next to her. It was Max, El, Erica, Lucas, and Dustin. They were all currently debating over something, Mike thought it was which movie to watch later but quite frankly he doesn’t care about that. He knew it was going to take ages for them to all agree on a movie so he figured he would stay out of it since he didn’t feel like fighting anyone today. 

‘This is my chance!’ Mike thought to himself, smiling and trying to pretend he wasn’t following Will but failed to notice a pair of eyes looking at him. 

He saw Will enter the bathroom and decided to wait near the door as there was a mistletoe hanging above it. That was definitely an interesting spot for a mistletoe to be at but he figured he can thank Steve later once his plan works. 

‘Yes, I’m finally going to kiss Will!’ He smiled to himself, waiting patiently for his love to come out.

“Hey, loverboy!”

Mike turned his head around when he heard a voice behind him. It was Robin, who was at the end of the hallway, gesturing to him to follow her. He looked around to see if anyone else was there but found no one. He saw Robin face palming when he looked back at her then she pointed her finger at him and made a ‘come here’ gesture. He glanced at the bathroom’s door knowing Will could pop out at any second but he reluctantly made his way towards her.

“Finally!” Robin whined, shifting her weight onto her right foot. “Anyways, Nancy needs us to grab some supplies she forgot to bring earlier from her car so let’s go!” She lifted her hand, swinging Nancy’s keys around. 

“What? Right now?” Mike asked, shooting a quick glance behind him and sighing in relief when he realized Will hadn't come out yet.

“Yes! Now, come on.” She grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the front where Nancy’s car was.

“Ow! You don’t need to pull so hard and who said I agreed to help?” Mike shouted angrily. 

“If you want a ride back home then yes you have to help.” Robin threatened, opening the front door and continued to drag the poor boy around. They made their way to Nancy’s car and unlocked the car to grab the supplies from the backseat.

“Okay so you carry these!” Robin dropped two full bags on him while she grabbed the rest of the bags. “And I got the rest so let’s go!”

Robin led the way after she locked the car while Mike trailed behind as he struggled a bit carrying the bags. Robin failed to mention the bags were heavy or maybe she purposely gave him the heaviest ones so she didn’t have to carry them herself. 

‘Figures,’ Mike thought, huffing as he struggled to keep up with Robin. 

“Hey, mini Byers!” Robin called out then made her way to the kitchen. 

Mike stopped in his tracks, whipping his head around to see where Will was. Will was leaving the hallway, making his way back to the living room but stopped when Robin appeared in front of him. 

“Hey, Rockin Robin!” Will responded, waving at her direction. He looked over to Mike once Robin left and smiled at him. Will made his way to Mike.

“Hey! Do you need any help carrying them?” Will gestured to the bags that were slowly falling out of Mike’s hands. 

Mike smiled then nodded. “Yeah, yeah. If you don’t mind!” 

“Of course, I don’t.” Will said, grabbing one of the bags and using his other hand to grab Mike’s hand. “Let’s go.”

That gesture alone made Mike’s stomach go crazy with butterflies, trying his best to ignore the blush that was forming on his face. As the two made their way to the kitchen, Mike realized his plan could still work. Of course, they still need to drop the bags off with his sister first then he can take Will somewhere more quiet where a mistletoe will be laying around. He knew there were some in the kitchen but he didn’t want anyone else in the room for their first kiss.

The two finally made it into the kitchen where the older teens were already setting up everything. “Here, Nancy.” Mike dropped his bag harshly on the counter while Will let go of his hand to use both his hands to carefully set the bag on the counter. 

Nancy looked over at the two and smiled. “Thanks, guys.” She made her way towards them to go through the bags, taking out the supplies that will be needed for today.

Will smiled at her while Mike was slowly pulling him away from the kitchen, though Will didn’t get the hint as he stayed in the same spot. 

“Oh! Do you guys mind telling the others we’re going to start baking cookies soon? So if they want to join, they can go wash their hands now, that way they can be ready to start once we finish setting everything here.” Nancy explained.

“Like right now?” Mike questioned, still trying to make his exit out of the kitchen.

“Yes, Mike, right now.” Nancy rolled her eyes at him, wondering if her message was clear or not, she chose the latter that her brother was distracted by the brunette next to him.

“Yeah, we don’t mind. Come on, Mike!” Will made his way to the other side of the kitchen that led to the living room, dragging Mike with him. Entering the room, Will cleared his throat to grab everyone’s attention. “Hey guys! Nancy said they’re going to start baking cookies soon so if you want to join, you guys should go wash your hands before we can get started!”

“Sweet, let’s go!” Dustin got up and raced to the kitchen. 

“The bathroom is the other way, you idiot!” Lucas called out, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“I’m using the sink in the kitchen, you dumbass!” Dustin turned his head to yell back.

“Whatever.” Lucas followed him while Erica trailed behind him muttering ‘idiots’ underneath her breath. 

“Come on, Will! Let’s go wash our hands.” El exclaimed, grabbing her brother’s hand causing Will to let go of Mike’s. 

“Yeah, who knows what kind of germs you have since you hold Mike’s hand.” Max laughed, following the wonder twins with Holly trailing behind who was laughing at the redhead’s comment.

“Hey! My hands are clean!” Mike yelled out then quickly followed the girls and Will to the bathroom. 

“You have no proof!” Max yelled back.

“How the fuck am I suppose to have proof for something like that?” Mike questioned but Max ignored him and continued making her way to the bathroom. 

The five of them finally made their way to the bathroom but before they could open the door, Holly pointed out the mistletoe. “Guys! Look, it's a mistletoe. You know what that means.” She smiled, looking at the group.

“Oh, I guess this means we all have to kiss Will then besides Mike, of course.” Max stated, trying her best to not laugh once she saw his reaction. 

“What?”

“Yeah because we’re all underneath it and you’re all over there!” Max pointed to Mike being near the wall as the rest of them were by the door. That didn’t even make any sense to Mike but most things Max said didn’t to him. “Plus you guys are boyfriends and we don’t want to see you guys sucking face, right? Especially not in front of dear Holly.”

“Yeah, your kiss would be cute but I don’t want to see my brother kissing anyone, especially Mike. Ew.” El playfully teased, pushing Will with her shoulder. 

“Yeah, save that for the bedroom, you lovebirds!” Holly wiggled her eyebrows at them, making the rest of the girls giggle while both boys started to turn red.

“Guys, we don’t—That’s not…” Will tried to explain himself but failed as he kept stumbling over his words.

“Holly!” Mike shrieked in embarrassment before turning to El. “Wait, what do you mean, especially Mike? Huh?”

“Don’t take it too personal, Mike. It’s a joke.” El responded. 

“Yeah, Michael. Anyways, come here Will.” Max called, pulling him closer.

“Hey! Wait a minute, you have a boyfriend and Will is not yours. He’s mine!” Mike stated, his fists clenched together, jealousy slowly coming out. 

Max rolled her eyes at Mike. “I know that! Who said we were kissing on the mouth?” She raised her eyebrow at him wondering where the hell he got that impression. “Also did you really think El and Will were going to kiss on the mouth? That’s gross, they’re like twins but separated at birth.” 

“Oh, I just thought. Obviously, I wasn’t thinking that with him and El but you on the other hand…” Mike trailed off, trying to come up with a reason for his outburst but failed. 

El just giggled while Max looked done and Will was quiet, looking down at his feet. Holly just seemed amused at the whole situation, giggling to herself. 

“Yeah, anyways, before we were rudely interrupted.” Max pulled Will right next to her. She got on her tippy toes and placed a quick peek on his cheek. “See? Friendly.”

“Yeah, Mike, friendly.” El also teased before getting on her tippy toes and placing a peek on Will’s cheek as well. 

“Oo! Oo! My turn!” Holly exclaimed, jumping onto Will and luckily, he caught her.

“Woah, be careful there, Holly!” Will said, smiling at the girl.

“Hey, guys, what’s going on here?”

The five of them turned their heads to the new voice and saw Dustin, Lucas, and Jonathan.

“We’re all kissing Will besides Mike!” El happily explained, ignoring Mike’s ‘hey!’ as she gestured to herself and the girls.

“Damn, Mike. What did you do that Will doesn’t even want to kiss you?” Dustin teased, causing the others to laugh.

“It’s Mike, does he need a reason?” Holly questioned with a teasing tone.

“Damn, Holly. I didn’t know you had it in you.” Max seemed very impressed, giving her a smile. 

“You guys are so rude!” Mike shouted but no one really paid him any attention, everyone’s main focus was on Will and Holly.

“Anyways,” Holly trailed off, turning her head twirls Will and giving one big kiss on the cheek. A snap could be heard.

“That was cute.” Jonathan commented, smiling at the two.

“See?” Max turned to Mike, raising both her eyebrows together. “Time for us to get kisses on the cheek as well!”

Will smiled then returned the gesture to Holly which caused her to giggle. Setting her down, he went to Max and placed a quick peck on the cheek. Finally, he turned to El and placed a kiss on her cheek. While all of this was happening, Jonathan could be seen taking multiple pictures of the four.

“Aww! You guys are so cute.” Dustin said, jokingly being teary eyed.

“When is it our turn, Will?” Lucas playfully joked, a hint of amusement can be seen in his eyes.

“What?” Mike whipped around and stared at his other best friend. 

Will giggled as he rolled his eyes. “Don’t be jealous, Mike.” Making his way to Lucas and Dustin, he quickly gave them a peck on the cheek. Jonathan took pictures of them as well.

“Aww! Yay, this is lovely.” El said, having the biggest smile on her face. 

“Okay, guys. Let’s go wash our hands so we can bake!” 

With that, the girls and Will went inside the bathroom while the others besides Mike went to the kitchen. Mike followed the rest to the bathroom to wash his hands. After they were done, Mike and Will were walking side by side, Will brushing Mike’s pinky and giving him a quick smile. That action alone made Mike's heart beat more than usual. 

════  *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*  ════

Despite being in the kitchen with the others, Mike was currently planning his third attempt. He didn’t want to bake but since Will decided to join, he simply stayed in hopes of finding another opportunity to get him under one of the many mistletoes displayed all over the house. That and everyone at the party decided to join in on the fun so he didn’t want to be the odd man out. He still hasn’t figured out Steve why he put up so many but once he got inside the kitchen, he quickly came up with a theory. 

He’s currently with Nancy, not because he wanted to. It was quite the opposite, despite everyone partnered up besides Nancy, no one wanted him to join their group. Which Mike found rude and quite offensive so Nancy allowed Mike to join her—which she will soon regret. 

Steve and Robin were paired up which surprised no one as the two did everything together. However, Jonathan was lingering around the two a little more than the others. He claimed since he was taking photos of the party, he had to make sure he was getting all the angles but Mike thought he wanted to be near Steve. He feels he was right about his theory as Steve seemed excited every time Jonathan came their way and took every chance to talk to the other teen. The photographer looked annoyed every time but there was a small smile on his face when Steve talked. 

He figured this is what Dustin was implying earlier and it was quite sad how long it took him to notice it. In retrospect, Mike was the oblivious one in the party when it comes to stuff like this so he wasn’t surprised but he should have seen the signs between Steve and Jonathan. It was so obvious from both sides, now looking at it. 

El and Holly dragged Will to be with them on decorating duty since they need his artistic skills to help make the cookies look amazing. ‘Which shouldn’t be hard since anything Will created was always amazing and beautiful just like him.’ Mike thought to himself, smiling so hard as he continued to admire Will from afar. When he tried to join them, Holly refused to let Mike join their group.

“Holly! Let me join!” Mike yelled out, not understanding his little sister's action. 

“No, Mike! You literally ruin everything you cook and we actually don’t want to die before Christmas!” Holly stated, pushing him away from their side. “Don’t you remember that time you gave our whole family food poisoning?" 

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Nancy spoke out from across the room and groaned at the memory before focusing her attention back to her batch. 

“I said I was sorry! How many times do I have to apologize? I swear I followed the recipe the same way mom did!”

“Sure, you did.” Holly rolled her eyes at him. “I didn’t know it was possible for someone to mess up soup, out of all things.”

“Oh my god, Holly. Shut up!”

“Soup? How the fuck did you mess up soup, man?” Max chuckled, leaning against Lucas who was holding in his laugh. 

“Dude, soup, really?” Dustin asked, giggling a bit. 

“Guys…” Mike trailed off, trying to hide his embarrassment but it was no use. He looked over at El and Will. El wasn’t even trying to hide her laugh as she grabbed the counter to hold herself while Will was giggling at him. He looked away when he saw Mike looking in his direction, feeling a little bad laughing at his boyfriend but he really couldn’t help it. The situation was pretty funny. 

“Go join Steve or something!” Holly pushed him towards the party host.

“Oh hell no! I don’t want Wheeler to accidentally kill me in my own house.” Steve complained, blocking Mike from entering his corner with his best friend and his crush in it.

“I’m not going to accidentally kill you! You guys have no faith in me, what great friends you are.” He rolled his eyes and tried getting in the corner, only for him to get hit in the head by a roll of bread. “Ow! Now who the hell-”

“Sorry, loverboy. I don’t want to risk getting food poisoning even though this is a perfect moment for us to bond, I rather risk that than dying before me and Nancy can go to college together.” Robin ranted, grabbing another roll and getting ready to strike again.

“Okay, geez. I see I’m not wanted.” Mike raised both his hands up and moved away from the corner. He looked at Nancy, giving her his best sad puppy eyes. She looked over at him in silence for a minute before sighing and shaking her head.

“I’m so going to regret this but Mike,” Nancy took a deep breath, looking straight at him. “You can join me at my station. I’m sure you wouldn’t kill us if I supervised you.”

“See? This is why Nancy is the best out of everyone besides Will.” Mike praised the both of them, walking over to his older sister and throwing his arm over her shoulder. Nancy looked so done with him while everyone else in the room just laughed and started baking. 

Now, it’s been thirty minutes since he started working. He’s trying his best but notices the glares Nancy was throwing his way every time he messed up. It’s not his fault Will looks so beautiful in this kitchen’s light. He probably looked at Will more than he did at his own bowl. 

“Seriously, Mike!” Nancy yelled at him, smacking his arm causing the boy to wince in pain. “If you keep getting distracted, I’ll kick you out of the kitchen and give you zero cookies.” She threatened him, causing the others in the room to laugh at the two.

“Ow! Chill, Nancy. The cookies look fine, you’re being dramatic for no reason!” Mike claimed. Well, he hoped the cookies tasted good since he baked them but with his past cooking experiences and the way he decorated them says otherwise. 

“You’re not fooling anyone, Mike.” Nancy rolled her eyes before grabbing one of the cookies he finished decorating. “Here, you try it!”

“Gladly!” He snatched the cookie out of her hand, now in front of him, it was his poorly drawn reindeer that was staring at him. Looking at his so-called masterpiece, the eyes were haunting to say the least as they weren’t even. The red nose he drew on the cookie, it started to drip giving off the illusion that the reindeer had a bleeding nose. The whole thing looked like a hot mess. 

He looked around the room and noticed everyone stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. ‘Oh, great! Now I have an audience, thanks a lot Nancy.’ He groaned then started to raise his own hand. Taking a deep breath, he simply took a bite out of the cookie only for him to spit it out a second later.

“UGH! What the-” 

“See! I told you Mike!”

The two siblings started to argue while everyone else in the kitchen started laughing at the whole interaction. 

“Mike! Just get out of the kitchen! You’re practically useless!”

“Why don’t you get out!”

“Unlike you, I actually don’t give people food poisoning!”

“That was one time! Move on!”

“No! I’m going to remind you until the day I die!”

“So forever? You know what!” Mike grabbed some bread that was next to their station and borrowed a move from Robin’s playbook, throwing it at Nancy. 

Nancy gasped in shock. “What the hell, Mike!”

“Shit.” Mike whispered then started to run when Nancy grabbed the bowl that contained the bread rolls.

“HELP ME!”

“COME BACK HERE!”

Mike ran to the other side trying to hide from Nancy but it was to no avail as everyone tried blocking him.

“Lucas! Help me!

“No way, dude! You’re on your own!” Lucas shrieked, squatting down and dragging Max with him.

“Lucas!” Max yelled. “I wanna see Nancy beat his ass!”

“HEY!”

Mike couldn’t focus on Max’s comment for long as he was trying to find some other spot. He looked over at Steve’s corner where both Steve and Robin were too busy laughing to keep guard on their spot. 

“Here goes nothing.” Mike whispered as he was full sprinting at the corner knocking into the duo.

“OW! What the hell, dude!” Robin yelled, holding her head as she winced in pain.

“Sorry Robin but I got to go.” Mike tried to get up but he failed to notice arms wrapped around his waist. He whipped his head around and saw it was Steve. “Can you let go of me?” 

“No! You need to face Nancy yourself!” Steve grabbed Mike and started moving him to the corner. Mike tried breaking free but wasn’t able to since Steve’s grip on him was strong. 

Suddenly, the room was filled with heavy laughter causing the two to stop fighting and looking at the room, very confused. 

“Um, what’s so funny?” Steve asked, losing his grip on Mike for a bit. 

It was Robin who broke out of laughter. “Dingus, look up!”

Mike and Steve both looked up and to their horror, a mistletoe was hanging above them. Immediately the two reacted with disgust and disbelief.

“OH HELL NO!”

“EW NO!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, EW?”

“IT’S YOU! I THINK THAT’S A GOOD ENOUGH REASON BY ITSELF!”

“But you still have to kiss! Remember it’s tradition!” Dustin called out, still dying out of laughter. 

“Can I just kiss Will instead?” Mike offered, not really wanting to be near Steve at all, especially to kiss him. “Or Steve can pick someone he wants to kiss as well. To make it fair, you know?”

“Yes! Yes, let’s do that!” Steve quickly jumped on board with the idea.

“You would like that idea.” Jonathan rolled his eyes before getting closer to the two.

“Sorry, Michael and Steven but tradition is tradition.” Robin stated. “So you have to kiss! On the cheek of course because you know Steve is old and you’re with Will. Plus Steve also has a crush on—”

“Robin!” Steve cut her off, giving her a ‘what the heck’ look.

“Oh! Oh, sorry. I mean just kiss on the cheek and get it over with. Yeah, that’s it. Yup, nothing more.” She nervously laughed, toying with the rings on her hand.

“Yeah, guys. Just one kiss on the cheek.” Nancy said, forgetting about her bowl of bread rolls, now amused by the sight of her brother and her once ex turned friend. 

“Yeah, kiss!”

“KISS KISS”

“ALRIGHT! Fine, I guess we will do it.”

Everyone instantly cheered, now waiting for the two to do the action.

“So who’s kissing who on the cheek?” Mike asked, giving Steve an annoyed look.

“Um, you obviously?” Steve stated like it was common sense. “I don’t even know if you wash your face so I’m not risking it.”

“Why is everyone so rude today?” Mike scoffed before shaking his head. “Fine!”

The teen made his way to the host, clearly not excited about this and pressed his lips on his cheek. The room instantly cheered while Jonathan could be seen taking multiple pictures. 

The two pulled away from each other instantly, Mike went over to Will as Steve went to the sink to wash off the kiss.

“Will! I had to kiss Steve.” Mike complained, hugging him from the back as Will was still laughing from the event that just took place. 

“Is Steve really that bad?” Will asked, leaning back a little into Mike’s embrace. 

Mike groaned, still in disbelief at what just happened. “I would rather kiss you, you know? I mean there’s a mistletoe right behind us so?” His previous thought about not wanting anyone in the room for their first kiss instantly flew out of his mind.

Will hummed, sparing a quick look around the room and noticing everyone was in their own conversations. “Is that so?”

“Yeah,” Mike softly whispered, slowly dragging Will as he walked backwards. The other allowed himself to be dragged away. Once Mike made it underneath the mistletoe, he let go of Will and turned him around. The two stared at each other for a moment, admiring each other despite the chaos in the background. The two slowly started to lean before a scream interrupted them.

“HEY! NO PDA IN THE KITCHEN!” 

The two pulled apart from each other very quickly, turning red from embarrassment as they were caught from their friends and siblings.

“We weren’t…” Will started to say, trying to ignore everyone stares. 

“Mike, out!” Nancy pointed at her brother and gestured her finger to the door. “There’s the door.”

“Wait a minute, why do I have to leave and Will doesn’t have to?” Mike questioned, if anything, the both of them should leave as the two were both mutual about wanting to kiss.

“Because Will wouldn’t give us food poisoning and he’s very much needed in the kitchen for his artistic skills.” Nancy stated, walking over to them. “Plus if I kick both of you out, you guys will probably be making out on the couch and I love you guys but we don’t want to see that, okay?” She grabbed Mike by the shoulders and started to lead him out of the kitchen.

“This is so unfair! You guys just hate me and love Will!”

“That’s true!” Max happily called out.

Nancy pushed him out of the kitchen and Mike now stood in the living room. “What the fuck.” He muttered under his breath, sighing in disbelief. 

════  *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*  ════

After the whole disaster in the kitchen, the rest of the party started setting up the food along with the cookies they baked. They all grabbed food and some drinks, making their way to the living room where Steve put some festive music on. Everyone was having fun, enjoying the food while discussing what movie they were going to watch later as they still haven’t made a decision. 

“We are not watching Ghostbusters! That’s not even a Christmas movie!”

“Frosty the Snowman is a good one! You guys are just haters.” 

“No, we should watch It’s A Wonderful Life! It’s a classic for a reason.”

“Okay so we should watch the Grinch then because that’s also a classic!”

Finally after a long discussion that took over dinner, the group decided that Holly will choose what movie they’ll watch as none of them could agree on one. Holly instantly picked Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer as that’s one of her favorite Christmas movies. Everyone seemed okay with the decision. Before watching the movie, the party decided they’ll listen to music for a bit as some wanted to dance.

Watching the living room be filled with others dancing to the music and sipping their hot chocolate with their baked goods, Mike quietly slipped out of the room and made his way outside. He shoved his hands into his jacket, walking over to one of the chairs in Steve’s backyard. He sat down and looked up at the stars. 

“Well, I tried but maybe today’s not the day.” Mike muttered to himself, sighing as his few attempts failed on him. Maybe this was a sign from the universe telling him that he wasn’t going to kiss Will—he hoped it meant for now and not never.

“Hey, are you okay?” A voice spoke out behind him.

Mike whipped his head around and saw Will standing there, smiling at him while carrying a cup of hot chocolate. 

“Oh, heyyy. Yeah, everything is fine.” Mike answered, looking at Will and patting the spot next to him. “Why do you ask?”

Will softly smiled at him and sat down next to him, placing the cup down on the floor. “I don’t know, I have a feeling something is up and it involves me somehow.” Will confessed, leaning a bit closer to Mike.

“What?” Mike blurted out. He cleared his throat before asking, “Why do you think that? 

“Well,” Will started out, grabbing Mike’s hand to hold. “I noticed you tried to grab my attention a few times throughout the party and I felt bad that I wasn’t able to give you any time or tried to make you feel included with the others. This is our first time spending the holidays as boyfriends but I was too focused with our friends to realize it and you tried reminding me a few times.” Will looked away from Mike, sighing sadly and taking a moment to carefully think of his next choice of words to not upset his boyfriend anymore.

“Will!” Mike cut him off, putting his other hand on Will’s face, making him look at him in the eyes. “No, no, Will! It’s okay, I promise.” Mike reassured, moving his thumb over Will’s knuckles. “I did want your attention, I always do, that would never stop.” That caused both boys to laugh at the statement. “But, oh my god. Actually, never mind, the real reason is quite stupid.” Now it was Mike’s turn to move his head away from his boyfriend, trying to hide his blush as he did not want Will to know the reason why he wanted his attention.

“Mike?” Will whispered, grabbing both his hands and holding them together. “You know you can tell me anything, right? No matter how stupid you claim it is.” He smiled.

Mike nodded. “Alright but promise you wouldn’t laugh, okay?” 

“I wouldn’t! Now, please tell me.” Will pleaded with his doe eyes knowing Mike was a sucker for them. 

Taking a deep breath, Mike finally let out the truth. “I really wanted to kiss you under one of the many mistletoes that are scattered all over Steve’s house. Each time I thought it was the perfect time to do so but no! Of course it wasn’t because every time I did, something else happened! Like what do you mean instead of kissing my beautiful boyfriend, I had to kiss Steve? Out of all people! Oh and don’t get me started when you kiss everyone but me tonight!” Mike huffed in annoyance as he finished his rant.

That annoyance was still there as Will started to laugh, leaning on Mike and burying his head on his shoulder. 

“Willll, you said you wouldn’t laugh.” Mike dragged out his name in a whining tone, he couldn’t help it but smiled at him and pulled Will closer. Despite laughing at his misery, he liked hearing Will’s laugh and how he's leaning on Mike. 

“Okay, first of all, you and Steve only kissed on the cheek which was hilarious. I'm asking Jonathan for the photos by the way.” Will commented, lifting his head up from Mike’s shoulder and looking at the teen. “Second of all, I didn’t kiss everyone at the party, the ones I did were only on the cheek just like you and Steve. It’s tradition, you know? Don’t need to get all jealous.”

“I was not jealous!” 

“Oh? So you wouldn’t mind if I went back inside and kissed someone on the lips then? Like Lucas, perhaps?” Will teased, slowly getting up as he thought about it—jokingly of course. 

“What? Will, don’t do that! Okay, fine! I was jealous, happy?” Mike pulled the boy closer to him, hiding his face on Will’s neck.

“Yes, extremely.”

“Will!” Mike whined, burying his face deeper into his neck. 

“Sorry, sorry, I was just teasing you.” The brunette grinned, still laughing. 

“I’m so glad my misery is making you happy.” Mike playfully rolled his eyes, sighing softly.

“No, it’s mostly the jealousy I found assuming.” He confessed, a small smirk found a way on his face. “But I think you do deserve a kiss after everything you went through today.”

“Wait, really?” Mike lifted his head off Will’s neck to look at his boyfriend who was turning red and looking to the side. 

“Yeah, I mean. We’re both overdue for a kiss, don’t you think?” Will asked, still not looking Mike in the eyes. “I don’t necessarily blame you for trying to kiss back in the kitchen earlier but in front of everyone? Very bold of you.”

“Tell me about it.” Mike rolled his eyes. “First, when we both confessed our feelings, Robin called for us for a meeting. Then, we haven’t found any time for any alone time so the multiple opportunities we miss simply because we couldn’t hang out together. Don’t even get me started today, the way Max was the cause for most of it. We were so close, Will.” He complained, letting out his frustration. 

“Oh, yeah, she did mention how she found you in the hallway looking constipated?” Will laughed, recalling the conversation he had with the redhead before he made his way outside.

“What? She told you that? Wait, I wasn’t even constipated, I was posing for the kiss.” Mike explained, feeling a little embarrassed about what he just admitted.

“What did you do that made her think you were constipated?” He asked, curious about what happened in the hallway. 

“Don’t worry about it!” Mike quickly yelled out, clearing his throat and grabbing one of Will’s hands. “Anyways, enough of that, how about the kiss you were talking about? One we can hopefully have without anyone interrupting us?”

The mood shifted, Will can tell as he suddenly felt shy. “Yeah, I know you wanted one underneath the mistletoe but I don’t think Steve put one out here…unless?” He turned his head around to see if he could find the decoration in the backyard. 

“I mean the mistletoe was included in the plan but I just really want to kiss you. Mistletoe or no mistletoe, it wouldn’t change anything as long as we finally have our kiss.” Mike confessed.

Will softly gasps, finally looking at Mike. “Yeah, yeah. You’re right so are we…?”

Mike chuckled, grabbing Will by the face with both of his hands to look at him. “Will, can I kiss you? Please?” Mike knew he probably sounded desperate but he didn’t care nor did he mind. He was finally getting what he wanted.

Will nodded. “Yes. Yes, you can.”

With that, the two slowly leaned in, closing their eyes as their lips finally met. It was awkward at first seeing that they bumped their noses causing the two to stop kissing for a second to laugh then bring their lips back together. The two quickly found their pace. Soft lips pressed together, the feeling of butterflies were exploding inside each boy's stomachs. The electricity between them was going haywire as Mike pressed more into Will, wanting—no, needing more of him. The other complied, returning the same energy and throwing his arms around Mike’s neck. The two moved in perfect sync, smiling as the moonlight shined on them.

When they both pulled apart, the two were gasping for air. They looked at each other smiling, blushing from the kiss they just shared.  

“So, um, how was the kiss?” Will shyly asked, looking down at his own feet, still blushing from the kiss. 

“It was everything I ever dreamed of.” Mike blurted out, a lovesick look displayed on his face, still flushed from the kiss. “It was so worth the wait, by the way.”

Will started to blush even more before shoving Mike playfully. “Oh my god, stop. Don’t say stuff like that, Mike.”

“Never. Now, come here.” Mike softly whispered, pulling Will back in for more. 

The two continued to kiss underneath the stars, finally happy that they finally got what they both had been dreaming of.

════  *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*  ════