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It had been 2 months since everything happened. Vecna was out of the picture— thankfully— and Holly was back home. Karen and Ted were still in pretty bad shape, but it was a lot easier than they had thought since the Byers boys were still bunking in their basement.
Ted had wanted them out a month ago, and now— without fully admitting it— he was thankful for them being there. Will helped a lot with Holly. Most nights she would wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare she’d had. Every time, it was a flashback. Flashbacks from the horrible time she spent with Vecna, or Henry.
Nancy tried to be there for her, help her in any ways she could, but it never worked. This devastated Nancy, as all she wanted was to protect her little sister, but Holly was too traumatized for family dynamics to work. Mike was able to help calm her down from screaming a bit, but the only ones who could really keep her from a full fledged panic attack— or help her come back from one— were Max and Will. Max only at times when she was present, and Will for a majority.
After they saved Holly, Will volunteered to try and help her get back to herself. He knew what it was like to be taken at such a young age, to have no hope on escaping, being scared of everything and anything, he’d lived it first hand. He was taken by the same man and held prisoner for years.
Holly cried when Will told her he had been in the same position as her a few years back. She hated that someone she was so close to had to suffer as she had. But nevertheless, Will was able to empathize with her and connect with her emotions enough to calm her down in times of distress.
Nancy and Jonathan took over with the roles of “Mom and Dad” whenever Ted and Karen were out of commission. Which was, most of the time. Karen tried to help as much as she could, which was a lot more than she should be doing. But Ted was still useless as usual.
Will knew that his brother and Nancy had been having problems those 18 months while they were living with the Wheelers, they seemed okay sometimes but obviously angry and fed up with each other during the rest. During the duration of the whole “we might die” battle with Henry though, they were able to solve everything and seemed to be a lot happier than before.
He was happy Jonathan could be happy, he deserved it more than anything.
Will however, has been having an… interesting time these past two months.
Steve was OVERLY joyed with the fact Will was gay for some reason. He and Dustin kept going on and on about attending the pride parades in Chicago for some reason…. It was nice they accepted him but it was still incredibly odd.
After the fact everything that happened, and letting stuff sink in, Will grew a bit uncomfortable with the fact he was basically forced to come out to everyone he held important to him. Sure it was nice that everyone knew and loved him for who he was, but it was just overwhelming to have everyone know all at the same time. And the fact that Vecna forced him to do it, really pissed him off. He just… sort of wished he could’ve done it on his own terms. Not during the battle of the end of the world when everyone was about to die.
No one really bothered him about it, or acted any different. All he got was the occasional “so.. who’d you have a crush on??” from Lucas in a fun tone with his eyebrows raising as a tease. This was always followed by a “I bet I could guess” from Max, but she never followed through with who she thought it was.
Hopper was just glad having a gay son meant he didn’t have to worry about Will “Getting anyone pregnant at 17”— in his words— which was always shut down by Joyce saying Will wasn’t that kind of boy anyways.
El didn’t even know what it was so Will had to explain it to her. That was definitely a simple conversation since she generally didn’t care and thought it was normal.
The only one who seemed different however, was Mike.
He made it obvious he accepted Will when he hugged him at the wsqk station, but ever since the world, well, didn’t end, he seemed a bit distant. Will wasn’t sure why, or if Mike was secretly a raging homophobe— which hes sure he isn’t— but it just didn’t make sense.
——
Mike hasn’t left his room in a week.
Well a week was probably an over— no it’s definitely been a week.
A week ago, he officially broke up with eleven.
After they had come back to Hawkins from California, they hadn’t really talked. But as the months went on they started to get closer again and it seemed like they were probably getting better.
Mike was happy about this, or so he thought. With all the talk of him and eleven going away somewhere far away with three waterfalls, it was nice. A dream, a fantasy. Something out of a movie, a true happy ending. But then, it felt like an avalanche had hit him.
“I don’t like girls.”
oh
oh
“I had a crush on someone…….. and I realized they weren’t like me…….. they were my tammy…….”
Mikes heart stopped in that moment as he heard his best friend’s words. “I don’t like girls.” “I had a crush on someone”.
Will had a crush… on a boy.. HAD, past tense. But still, on a boy. They were his “Tammy” whatever the hell that means, Mike had thought in that moment.
He later came to learn the story by Steve when he was curious and asked him knowing that Steve was the first one Robin had told about her liking girls. He told him about how Robin told him, that she told Will this speech in the tunnels about “finding the answers in himself” and a videotape and basically how Tammy was just a simple crush that she was basing her moods off of for no reason since it was a useless crush.
Mike thought back to the moment of Will looking directly at him as he said “I had a crush”. Was it me?? But no, it couldn’t be…. right? Because he thought about how Will had told Max who told Lucas that when he used his powers, he saw a “videotape” of his favorite memories which had mike in them. So Mike couldn’t possibly be his tammy if Mike was the one that Will HAD a crush on, right?
Theoretically speaking, Mike would be his Vickie? But then no, because Mike doesn’t like Will back.
Right?
Mike was utterly confused.
He had always been smart, I mean, he was one of Mr. Clarkes star students for crying out loud!! He planned finding the NINA Project in California, going to find Suzie, using Wills memories against the mind flayer, etc. He was smart, WHEELERS were smart, and the last time he checked, his birth certificate said Mike Wheeler.
He was so smart, so why was this suddenly so hard? And who the actual hell was Will talking about. Mike didn’t want to think that he was the person Will USED to like because then that meant that Will didn’t like him anymore, and he was just a simple crush.
Mike didn’t want to be a simple crush. Why did he have to be Wills Tammy.
El was confused on why Mike wanted to break up. They seemed to be going good, like they were in an actual relationship again, or what she knew a relationship was supposed to be at least. She thought they were fine.
But then Mike started going on and rambling about how he needed to clear things out in his mind, and how nothing was making sense to him— and some of it clicked in her mind. He was obviously struggling with something he needed to figure out on his own, and El could never hold someone back like that.
She started thinking back to Lenora, and their fight about him never saying I love you, and then his words clicked. “You love me, but it was never really how I wanted you too. Was it?” we’re the words she told him.
Mike didn’t say anything after that, but now, on his 8th day of isolation— other than bathroom breaks and nancy leaving plates of food outside his door— they really started to sink in.
The truth was, no. Thinking back on it, Mike wasn’t sure he ever really felt in love with El. Sure he liked being around her, her company, being seen with her, everyone knowing he had a girlfriend. But really being in a relationship with her, loving her, it never felt right. Thats why he couldn’t say it to her face when she wanted to hear it, because friends don’t lie, and he never wanted to lie to her.
But then that day, in the back of Argyles pizza van, when Will told Mike all those things and gave him that damn painting, he couldn’t say no to that. “She needs you, and she always will.” Will was telling him to go tell her I love you, and about how she had wanted that painting of him.
Mike wasn’t sure he loved her, but when Will told him those words, it gave him hope that maybe he could. Maybe he didn’t love her yet, but those words made Mike fall in love with them, and if they came from El, he could learn.
But he never did learn. The day never came when he felt true, romantic love for her.
When was the last time he felt romantic love for someone actually?
Lucas always says “You just know”, and Nancy explains it as your heart feeling like it’s about to explode and you get funny feelings in your stomach.
Mike never felt that with El, and that was the only crush he had that he was aware of.
But no— he did feel that once. Or at least one memorable time.
Lights flashing, everything moving in slow motion, his sweater drenched in water as cold air hits him— yet he’s somehow starting to feel warm. His stomach fluttering as if small butterflies are flying around in there, the hairs on his neck sticking up, his lips quirking into a smile.
The MAC-Z. The demogorgans limbs being snapped as he looks behind it to see Will. Will with his hand up, his hair tousled, his eyes frosted white, his cheeks somewhat pink, his lips even pinker.
Will.
It was always Will.
He really hopes he isn’t Wills Tammy.
—-
Will sat in the basement alone. Jonathan was upstairs with Nancy making dinner for everyone, holly was in her room with Karen, Ted on the lazy boy watching conspiracy channels on the TV.
A mixtape he had asked robin to make for him played softly on his boombox as he sat crisscrossed on the floor with his sketchbook in hand.
He was drawing Steve and Robin, a request she had put in for how their DnD characters would look if Will had to guess. She asked to make them whole storylines and everything for her and Will to geek over the next time they hung out.
Will was more than joyed to do it, he would be lying if he didn’t look at Steve and think about making him a DnD character sometimes to match somewhere in with Dustin. But now, making Steve and Robin, seemed more appealing
Right as he finished the slope of Steves hair, a loud noise of the basement door being slammed open was heard from the top of the stairs.
“Jesus Mike—“
“Shut up!”
Mikes voice yelled back to his dad in the living room. The boy sprinted down the stairs and plopped himself directly across from Will in the same crisscrossed position.
“Hi!”
“Hi….”
Silence. Mike just started into Wills eyes with an.. odd expression.
Will couldn’t lie and say Mike didn’t look incredibly beautiful at that moment. His brown eyes staring directly into Wills with a warmth he hadn’t felt in years. It made him remember exactly why he had fallen in love with him in the first place.
Nope— he shouldn’t be thinking like that. This was his sister’s boyfriend that liked girls and would never love him back. Mike was straight and Will needed to get over him—
“Am I your Tammy?”
That was not what he expected.
“I— What?”
“Like— Am I the person you like. Liked, past tense.. Do you still like me? Or them, whoever it was. Im not sure if it was me, I’m hoping it wasn’t because that would be bad— not for you!! For me, I think, no it’s not, is it?”
“Woah hey, slow down yeah?” Will said as he leaned forward for Mikes hands which he was frantically waving around as he rambled. It kind of reminded him of Robin in a way..
“Okay yeah, sorry. No I’m not, am I? Please tell me I’m not.”
“Tell you what exactly..?” Will laughed awkwardly. Mike was not making sense to him.
“That i’m not your Tammy!”
“What does this mean though? Mike you’re not making sense.”
“Okay— when you came out to us—“
“Mike that was months ago—“
“— you said that you USED to like someone. Past tense right, you don’t like them anymore.”
“Yes, but I don’t know how thats relevant-“
“Okay, then you said that person was your ‘Tammy’.”
“Uh-huh..” He followed, not quite sure how any of this mattered.
“Okay well, I was confused so I asked Steve who told me that Robin told him that she told you about Tammy and how she was a useless crush, basically, and you needed to forget your Tammy to figure out yourself.”
“Basically— Steve told you that??!”
“Yeah he sucks at keeping shit to himself apparently— anyways, this person you used to like that you had to forget since he was your Tammy, was it me??”
Will felt even more confused now. Why the hell was Mike so worried about Tammy??? And why did it matter if it was him? Maybe he really was secretly homophobic.
“Is this because I’m gay?”
“WHAT???” Mike asked frantically, pulling his arms back defensively “Definitely not—“
“Is it because I’m gay, and you’re making sure I don’t like you or anything because you’re dating El who’s my sister now?”
“What no—“
“Or are you scared because you think I like you and it would be gross—“
“Will i’m not homophobic—“
“— because it would be okay if it was, I can stay away from you if I make you uncomfortable. I never want to make you uncomfortable—“
“I don’t want to be your Tammy!”
“Well yeah that’s why I’m saying all this—“
“No you’re— you’re not getting it.”
“Not getting what? Mike you’re not really being very straightforward here.”
“Okay I’m sorry. I just— I don’t know how to word it.” Mike groaned as he threw his hands onto his eyes and swiped his face in frustration.
“Just try your best.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath in, shifting a little closer to Will, their knees bumping in the process.
“If i’m your Tammy… that means you LIKED me. Past tense.”
“Yeah…”
“I don’t want to be your Tammy, because then that means… that you forgot me.” Then suddenly, everything began to flow out. “And if you forgot me, that means you got over me and don’t like me anymore. And I don’t want you to forget or get over me. I want you to keep liking me and not stop, and I don’t want to be a dumb, stupid, useless crush.”
Wills eyes widened as the words rushed out of the boys mouth. Their eyes staring directly into each other as their knees knocked against one another. Will could feel the warmth emitting off of him, almost feel the way his heart was pumping rapidly from the pulse on his knee against his own going just as fast.
“Mike what are you saying..”
“I broke up with Eleven.”
oh.
“I told her— well more agreed— that I was never really in love with her. Then I thought about if I even know what love feels like. I tried to think of it in the way Nancy explains it with Jonathan since all Lucas ever says is ‘You know when you know’, and it made me think of that damn time at the MAC-Z when you saved me— and you looked so good.” He let out a deep breath.
“But— How? You— You told El that you loved her in the—“
“In California— or Nevada, wherever we were! I didn’t want to. The truth was, I never really was able to because I couldn’t. But in that moment I thought— I thought she wanted to hear it and— and I thought back to the words you told me she told you about the painting and how she needed me, and it made me think ‘These words make me want to love whoever said them’ and it happened to be her so I thought that I could learn to love her but—“
“— But it never came.” Will finished for the boy as tears welled up in his own eyes.
“It never did.” he smiled softly, “I never learned to and I don’t think I ever can. Because— Because she isn’t the one I want.”
Mike leaned forward, grabbing wills hands into his lap as he laced their fingers together, “So please, please tell me i’m not your Tammy because I don’t think I can live with myself if I am.”
Will let out a sob as his tears began to fall.
All his life, since his earliest memory, the one thing he knew was a constant in his life besides his mom and brother, was his love for Mike. The boy who came up to him that day during kindergarten recess, the one who enjoyed being his friend and wanted him around while everyone else called him a “fairy” and “queer”. A “freak”, just because he was different.
Mike didn’t care, he never did, no one could get him to be away from will. And Will was sure he didn’t ever want to be away from Mike either.
“I thought you were.” He choked out between tears, a small smile forming on his face as he comprehended the words Mike was telling him.
“I thought you were but— You aren’t. And you never could be Mike.”
Mike lunged forward, embracing Will into a tight hug as the boy cried into his shoulder. Letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, but knew was there, he felt so relieved.
“I’ve loved you longer than I even knew what love was Mike. You could never be anything remotely close to a Tammy, you were never someone simple— a small crush I had that would simply pass.”
Will pulled away, grabbing Mikes face and holding him between his two palms. Mike letting tears of his own stream down his face as Will wipes them with his thumb.
Mike looked so beautiful, his hair was perfectly messy and his cheeks were the most amazing shade of pink Will had ever laid his eyes on. His freckles peaked out too as the terrible basement lighting somehow managed to hit his face perfectly.
“And the painting, god— Mike, El never commissioned that.”
Mikes tears paused, “What?”
“She— Jesus, I made that for you. I lied. The words I told you, they never came from… El. I made you that painting with those thoughts in my own head Mike. That spring break I just— when you arrived and seemed so awkward, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give it to you and say what I felt—“
“Wait— Those were your words the entire time?!!” His words came out a bit muffled as Will was currently squeezing his face more than he realized, but he could still hear the confusion and slight anger in the boys voice.
“Im sorry—“
“We could’ve been dating ages ago!!”
“We— You want to date me??!”
“Was this conversation not leading to that????”
The two stopped and just stared at each other for a few seconds, letting everything sink in as their irises aligned. Then suddenly, Mike burst into laughter. Pulling away from Wills hands, Mike fell forward in a fit giggles straight into his lap.
Will sat amused, looking down at the boy he’d loved since the day he met him, giggling happily in his lap. Instinctively, his hand flew down to the boys dark brown mop of curls, which were, way more softer than they looked. Will knew they’d be soft, and satisfying to run his fingers through, but wow they were extremely silky.
Or maybe he just loved him.
They both stayed like that for a while. Mike curled into wills lap as Will let his fingers roam through the other’s curls. Mike was satisfied, his heartbeat calming down as Wills soft fingers massaged his scalp. It felt so calming.
After a while, Mike brought his head back up and sat comfortably beside Will who was now sitting with his back against the couch. He looked at the boy in admiring, awe, as his face comfortingly smiled at Mike with tears starting to dry on his cheeks.
Mike looked down to Wills lap to grab his hand into his, but as he went to do it, Will suddenly felt bold. The boy got up a bit till he was sitting on his knees, and moved so both his legs were on either sides of Mike and he could comfortably sit in the taller boys lap.
Will sat silently, as they scanned each other’s faces in awe. Will looking to count each and every one of Mikes freckles since he was allowed to be this close, and Mike staring at a very kissable beauty mark on the side of Wills neck.
Mike knew he wanted to close the distance, but he wasn’t sure what was okay yet, so he leaned his head forward and onto wills left shoulder.
“Hey, come back,” Will chuckled as he brought Mikes face back to level with his own, yet this time more closer. Their noses brushing against each other as their eyes now started directly into each other.
None of them spoke, but suddenly Mikes hands brushing against wills waist were speaking a whole lot.
Will tilted his head forward, Mikes nose brushing his cheek now. Their lips were only seconds apart, if he just—
Mike couldn’t hold back anymore and instantly connected his chapped lips to Wills plump, softer ones.
It was simple at first, Will taking a deep breath through his nose as their lips connected and stayed still against each other for a while. Mikes Fingers digging into Wills waist as Will cupped mikes face with his lengthy fingers.
Then Mike pulled away for a quick second, before going back in with full force. It was a lot easier for both now since they knew what to do, and Will had imagined it for years so he knew exactly what he wanted to do.
Taking Mikes bottom lip between his own, Will instantly sucked it into his mouth as Mike made a small sound, before Will bit into it with his teeth. It wasn’t hard, but i guess Mikes lips were either very sensitive, or extremely chapped because Will suddenly caught a metallic taste, and he breathed it in as if it were his own.
“Ohmygod” he said through breaths as his lips were getting absolutely devoured by Will Byers.
His hands quickly reached under Wills thin, graphic starwars tee-shirt until they were roaming across his stomach, Mapping every inch of skin he could find.
Will let out a deep, whiny sound as Mikes fingers brushed his collar bones and suddenly, he had an idea.
Mike leaned a bit back to get his lips free, then went back into a deep kiss, yet now, he was trailing his kisses down from his lips to his chin, then down his neck and making sure to suck small marks in every now and then, before making it down to his collar bones. Wills shirt was big on him already, so all mike had to do was pull it down his shoulder then go to town as if it was thanksgiving dinner.
His teeth dug directly into his collar bones on his right shoulder, not hard enough to hurt, but enough for him to gain a footing before he started sucking hot, wet kisses into the area. Wills hands instinctively went up to mikes head, pulling at his hair while whines flew from his own throat and mike sucked marks into his collarbone.
He knew they definitely shouldn’t have evidence, but the way Mike seemed so incredibly eager, made Will want to scream Eureka.
“Mike,” he whined out making the boy suck even harder across the, now middle, of his collarbones and moving to the other side. His hands still roaming around Wills skin.
When Mike pulled back once again for just a few seconds, Will took his as his own chance to go crazy (heh crazy together) and kiss his own way down Mikes throat. Except, instead of getting to his collarbones, Will stopped at his adams apple and kissed his own marks directly onto mikes neck.
Will never thought he’d get any closer than hugging mike, and even that was a stretch in the recent years. Besides when he saved him at the MAC-Z. I wonder if I still have my powers..
Mike liking him back, having feelings for him, kissing him crazy as he did just a few minutes ago before Will decided to reciprocate it and cover his neck in his own marks. None of it would’ve even crossed his mind a few months ago, hell, not even a few hours ago.
Will lifted his head and gave one more kiss, before pulling away and grabbing Mikes face into his hands once again. The two stared at each other with amazement. Both of them, faces red as tomatoes, and necks covered in marks that would be practically impossible to hide without a turtle neck, scarfs, or incredibly heavy makeup.
“Wow, I’ve always wanted to do that.” Will admitted with a smile.
“Always?? Were you imagining it with someone else??!!” He asked in response, his brows furrowed slightly as he stared,
“Never,” he giggled, “It was always you Mike.”
“Always you, Will.”