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“You’re never going to lose me! Never”
The group hug shed its layers slowly, peeling apart like scales of an onion. Jonathan pressed a quick peck to Will’s cheek, his face hot with tears. Will took a few steps back, and gazed upon everyone in the room with a newfound sense of hope. For fear of sounding like a cliche, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest, and his heart was no longer strangling against his ribcage. It felt…almost good. Almost.
“I’m going to show him that I’m not afraid anymore”, he said shakily, offering a watery smile to El, whose face softened in response. Don’t get her wrong, El was relieved that Will appeared more empowered, but this wasn’t her first rodeo. Her encounters with Vecna and his grim creations had haunted her since she was a young child, forcing her to grow into someone she now barely recognizes.
“Good,” she finally settled on, pulling her shoulders back to stand up taller, “now, we will finish this. For good. Forever.”
A pause settled over the crew, not tense, not awkward, just there. Steve glanced around at the kids and, well, the strangers that had joined them on this impossible journey, and clapped his hands together once.
“Okay! Well, now that that’s done,” he started, glancing between Will and the rest of his friends, before he’s cut off.
“Seriously?” Mike sputtered, his brows knitting together right above the bridge of his nose.
“I’m sorry, what?” Steve countered, his hands up, confusion and a hint of annoyance in his gaze, “Did you wanna add something, Wheeler?”
Mike blinked in response. “I…well I’m just saying, I mean, I don’t know. It seemed like a big thing just happened and you were just ready to start talking about whatever nonsense you normally do”, he said, then coughed obnoxiously and mutters “Nancy.”
“You wanna say that again?” Steve replied, crossing his arms and taking a step towards Mike.
“Alright!” Murray shouted over them, stepping between the boys and extending his arms slightly. “For Christ’s sake, it’s damn near the end of the world and you two are going at each other over something stupid?”
“She’s not stupid!” Jonathan and Dustin chimed in at the same time, exchanging a look of both confusion and mutual respect between them.
“Why don’t we all just take a minute,” Hopper started, scratching his beard in exhaustion, “get something to eat, and take a beat. We’re not gonna kill this…this demon if we’re constantly at each other’s necks.”
Another moment of silence. Everyone seemed to shrug their shoulders in agreement. Plus, despite it not being spoken, getting on Hopper’s bad side wasn’t something the group was particularly curious about exploring. They’d done enough exploring for a lifetime at this point.
Lucas was the first to rise and took a few strides towards Max, his hands settling on the handles of her wheelchair. “Don’t have to tell me twice, I’m starving,” he announced, patting his stomach for emphasis, “First one’s over get the best pick of the snacks!” He spun Max around, who let out a high pitched yelp mixed with laughter as Lucas rolled her out of the room and towards the stockpile of snacks.
That seemed to be enough motivation to light a fire under everyone’s asses and get them moving. It turned out that trying to save the world from a complete and total apocalyptic meltdown is a tough job, and will tire you out if you don’t fuel yourself properly. Murray was quick to follow them, yelling “Don’t you dare touch my Bugles!” as he darted out. After a moment, only Joyce, Jonathan, and Will are left, the three of them sitting on the sofa, knees touching.
“You okay?” Jonathan asked quietly, his voice filled with tenderness.
“Yeah…yeah I’m, I’m alright” Will whispered, the breath of a laugh escaping his nose, “I mean, as alright as I can be given,” he waved his hands around vaguely, “the everything of it all.”
Jonathan nodded in response, and Joyce took Will’s hands into her own. “Sweetie,” she croaked, her voice thick and hoarse, “I love you, so much, we all do,” she smiled, unshed tears trembling at the corners of her eyes, “and if…if it ever felt like, like you couldn’t tell me this, if I ever made you feel…alone,” she winced at her own words, “honey, I am so, so sorry.”
Will felt his bottom lip trembling, and gave his mom’s hands a gentle squeeze. He glanced between her and Jonathan, and he could feel the tears stinging at the back of his eyes. He blinked quickly and tried to push them down.
“Mom, no,” he shook his head gently, pressing his forehead to hers. He took this moment to look at her, really look at her. Of course, Will always saw her as someone to rely on, someone who would stare down the personification of death in the face without so much as a hint of fear written in her expression. But up close, he could see beneath that. He saw the scars, the scratches, the wrinkles that had become more prominent as Will grew up and the Upside Down invaded his every move. He could feel her breath on his face, soft but ragged. Her hair tickled against his skin, and she smelled like ash, but he could also smell the shampoo in her hair, a brief wisp of sandalwood.
“You never,” he whispered, “never made me feel alone. You’ve always been here for me. For us,” he added, leaning back a little bit and glancing at Jonathan behind her.
“But if I had known that you were keeping this, this heavy secret,” Joyce sighed, squeezing Will’s hands even tighter, “maybe I could have prevented all of this from happening, or the world wouldn’t have become this…this nightmarish hell of-”
“Hey,” Jonathan interjected quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder softly, “you couldn’t have known this would happen. None of us could. We only just found out today that everything we thought we knew about the Upside Down was wrong.”
“He’s right,” Will nodded, “and after El and Kali and I come together and finally defeat Vecna once and for all, you won’t have to worry anymore.”
Joyce looked up at him, both her and Will’s eyes filled with unshed tears. Except she didn’t see Will Byers, her almost driving-age son, talking about how he’s ready to take on this dangerous creature and prevent the destruction of the world as they know it, no. When Joyce looked at him, she saw Will, tiny, naive, eleven-year-old Will. Will, who had faced unspeakable horrors as a little boy. Will, who had braved through years of bullying in school for things that he did not even yet know about himself. Will, who once told her that he would never fall in love. Will, who would sacrifice absolutely anything for his friends, even if it meant sacrificing a foundational part of his identity. Joyce saw every younger version of her baby boy in front of her, the memories dancing in her mind.
“Oh baby,” she started, taking her hands out of Will’s and placing them on his cheeks, “you’re my boy, I’m always going to worry about you,” she breathed, her thumb brushing gently along his cheekbone, “just…maybe not about the end of the world this time.”
Will laughed through his nose, and he could hear Jonathan do the same. Joyce put her arms around both of them and squeezed them tight, like she couldn’t bring them close enough.
“Yeah, maybe now we can just worry about normal teenager things,” Jonathan added, his lips curling into a small, knowing smile, “like trying to make sure no boys go breaking my baby brother’s heart.”
Will groaned in response and put his head into his hands. “You’re ruining a perfectly beautiful moment,” he grumbled, voice muffled from his hands, “we still have the end of the world to deal with, this isn’t the time to talk about my love life.”
Love life. It felt strange, almost foreign, for Will to say those words out loud. His tone came off in a lighthearted joking manner, but he could feel the tears threatening to spill. Despite the years of internal turmoil, the nights he spent dreaming and wishing about how his life would go, it did, at the end of the day, all feel like a fantasy moment. He never believed he would actually be upfront and honest about who he was. Not now, at least. Maybe when he was older, in a world where it was easier for people like him to be authentically themselves. In this moment, however, even with the impending doom of the end of the world resting on his shoulders, Will almost felt like a normal teenager. Almost.
“I’m just saying,” Joyce threw her hands up in surrender, “there’s never a wrong time to talk about love.” She smiled, a truly genuine smile, for the first time that day. “Well,” she tapped her hands on her thighs, “I think we should go get you something to eat, honey. Fuel up for the final battle.”
“I guess I’m just chopped liver over here,” Jonathan huffed in a half-joking manner, “you do know you have two sons, right?”
Joyce rolled her eyes and grabbed Jonathan’s hands, pulling him up from the couch and stumbling back a couple of steps. “Okay, c’mon then,” she started, “let’s get you something to eat so you can stop being so,” she tapped the tip of his nose with her finger, “grumpy.”
Jonathan sighed, but smiled half-heartedly. “First dibs on anything with chocolate in it,” he says, turning his head towards Will, “you coming?”
“I’ll be there in just a sec, I think I just,” Will started, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, “I think I just need to be alone for a little bit.”
Joyce nodded once, and walked over to press a soft kiss to the top of Will’s head. “Okay,” she said into his hair, giving it a soft ruffle, “don’t be too long though, okay?”
“I won’t,” Will replied, giving her a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
Joyce gave him one last look, and then headed towards the others, with Jonathan following close behind her. Will took in a shaky breath and let it out through his nose, closing his eyes gently. He could still feel his heart hammering away in his chest like a runaway rabbit. Objectively, this whole ordeal had gone…well it had gone better than he expected. His fears of losing those that he loved dearly had all but vanished. He could still feel the warm embraces from just a little while ago, the collective sobs from his friends, and the feeling of knowing that he had one less secret to keep. One less piece of himself that Vecna could use against him in the battle that loomed ahead. He felt…almost invincible. Almost.
Will shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the scenarios that it was already building. He was just hungry, he decided, and needed something in his stomach to put him at ease. Maybe Murray didn’t end up finishing the bag of Bugles yet and there were still some left, or maybe Jonathan had set aside some beef jerky and trail mix without raisins, or even better yet maybe his favorite--
“Will.”
A voice broke him out of his mental ramblings about which grocery store snack he hopes is still up for grabs. Mike’s voice, to be exact.
“Oh, hey,” Will said, looking up at Mike, who’s lingering by the doorway.
“Your mom and Jonathan came down for snacks but I didn’t see you,” he paused, fumbling with the zipper of his jacket, “and I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay.”
Will’s face softened. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay,” he replied quietly, twirling the frayed drawstring of his hoodie, “thanks.”
Mike nodded, and looked around the room, almost nervously, as if he were to make a move too suddenly, he'd startle the other boy. Will seems to take notice of this, and laughs to himself.
“You know I’m not like, contagious, Mike, you can come sit on the couch,” Will joked, but the quick chuckle that follows after is a little less than lighthearted. Contagious, Will thought to himself. The word lingered in his mind for a beat.
“I don’t want that, that queer on my team, I bet he’s fucking contagious!” Troy had said once in gym class. Will is certain that Troy wouldn’t remember that happened, or that he even cared, but Will remembered.
Mike’s eyes widened slightly, and his lips parted. “Wh-contagious? No I, I know that, I was just,” he hesitated, taking slow, almost calculated steps, towards Will, “I didn’t know if you wanted, like, space, or whatever,” he finally decided, taking a seat on the couch. There’s an appreciable amount of distance between the two boys. Mike didn’t think twice about it. Will thought about it for the next few minutes.
An uncomfortable silence fell over them, the only sound being the hum of electricity in the room. It felt like it was getting louderlouderlouder when Mike finally broke the silence with a crinkling sound coming from his pocket.
“Here,” he said, pulling out something from his jacket, “thought you could use an energy boost.”
Will glanced down at Mike’s hand and saw a small 3 Musketeers bar, its silver wrapping glistening softly in the light that pours in from the windows. He reached over and took it from him, their fingertips ever so slightly brushing up against each other. Will almost jumped, the electricity coursing through him feeling much like the Demogorgon wired down on the roof of the radio shack.
“Wow,” he said quietly, as if he was holding a bar of gold in his hands, “I’m amazed you were able to grab one of these, I thought for sure Jonathan had the last of them when he was high out of his mind with Argyle.”
Mike smiled, pleased with himself. “It wasn’t easy,” he chuckled, “but I know they’re your favorite, so,” he shrugged, picking at one of his nails with his other hand.
Will ducked his head slightly, hoping his ever growing mop of hair could hide the faint tint of pink that was warming up his cheeks. Sure, it was just a kind gesture from a friend, from Mike, but Will was still repeating “I know they’re your favorite” to himself inside his head.
Will peeled open the wrapper and broke the candy bar into two pieces as best he could. “We can split it, since you went through so much trouble to get it,” he offers, a shy smile dancing on his lips.
Mike looked at him with a look of mild disbelief, his head tilted slightly to one side. “You’re acting like I just took down a Demo or two to get you this,” he bantered lightly, “you,” he leaned over and bumped their shoulders together, “Will the Wise, are the one who deserves this…” he waves his hands around, trying to find the right word, “this reward.”
Will laughed, honestly, and popped half of the candy bar in his mouth. It reminded him of Halloweens he used to spend with Mike and Dustin and Lucas, trading candy in the Wheeler’s basement. Mike always made sure to trade for all of Dustin and Lucas’ 3 Musketeers so he could “trade” them with Will (in all honesty, Mike would have given them to Will without a second thought, but didn’t want Dustin or Lucas to think he was picking favorites).
“Hey Will?”
Will glanced up at him, swallowing down the rest of the candy. “Yeah?”
“Can I ask you something…kind of personal?”
In any other universe, Will would probably have sputtered and started panicking like a child that’s lost their parents in a grocery store. Can I ask you something kind of personal is the question every queer kid dreads hearing from others, even people that they know and trust with their whole heart. Truth be told, Will didn’t feel completely at ease with the question, but considering today’s events, he tried to push his fear down. He felt like he’s been almost stripped bare of all his secrets after his confession. Almost.
“Yeah, of…of course, what’s up?”
Mike hesitated a moment, looking down at the carpet. He tapped his toes inside of his shoes. “Who the hell is Tammy?”
Will’s mind froze. His hands jumped to his frayed drawstring once again, rolling over the tan threads between his fingers. “What?”
“Tammy,” Mike repeated, a little bit louder this time, “you said that this, this person this…” Mike paused, swallowing, “this…crush is your Tammy. I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m, I’m super happy for you,” he started, massaging the skin in between his forehead with his index finger and thumb, “but like…isn’t Tammy a girl?”
Will blinked. He tried to piece together what Mike was saying, but something must have gotten lost in translation. “Wait, what?”
“I don’t mean any offense!” Mike quickly added, stealing a quick glance at Will before continuing, “but like…sorry, I feel like I’m rambling here. If…if you don’t like girls, how can you have a crush on Tammy Thompson if you don’t like girls…like that.”
Will blinked again, taking in what Mike said. Then he laughed, a true, belly-aching laugh that nearly brought tears to his eyes. “Oh my god,” he got out between giggles, “it’s a good thing that you’re Mike the Brave and not Mike the Wise,” he joked, clearing his throat.
Mike’s jaw dropped in mock offense, but he still wasn’t not clear on what was going on. “Wh-hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Mike I’m not in love with Tammy Thompson, it’s a metaphor that Rob-” Will started, before closing his mouth abruptly and swallowing the remainder of the words that he was going to spill. In between his fit of laughter and Mike’s inability to read between the lines, he’d forgotten that this, this Tammy Thompson analogy was something sacred and delicate between him and Robin. He didn’t know if anyone other than him and Steve knew the truth, but he sure as hell knew it wasn’t his truth to share.
“It’s uh,” he backtracked, trying to find the words, “it’s like, well, it’s a metaphor that, uh, that Robin…helped come up with,” he stammered, offering a smile that is definitely not convincing in the slightest. Will knew it, he’s just hoping that Mike doesn’t notice.
“Oh,” is all Mike said, and Will wondered if he was feigning ignorance or if he really was that dense, “well…what does it even mean?”
Will silently prayed ‘thank you’ to any angel (or demon) that would hear him. God bless Mike Wheeler and his lack of being able to make an astute observation. “Well, you know like when you have a crush on someone, and it’s…it’s almost…” Will trailed off, trying to find the right words.
“Debilitating?” Mike interrupted, and Will looked at him with awe.
“Uh…yeah. Actually, that’s…that the perfect word for it,” he shook his head in disbelief, “anyways, yeah debilitating. Well, it’s like, you spend so much time building up this person in your mind, who they really are, and you take notice of some things.”
Mike leaned in a little bit closer, and Will wasn’t sure if it was knowingly or because Will’s talking quieter so Mike doesn’t hear the thoughts inside his head. “What kind of things?”
Will shrugged, trying to play it off nonchalantly. “You know like,” Will waved his hands around, “how they look at you, or the things they say to you or…” he paused, glancing over at Mike, and without forcing himself to overthink things, gave him a gentle nudge on the shoulder, “or like little touches and bumps.”
Mike looked between Will and the floor and nodded, although Will isn’t sure if anything that he just said made sense to Mike.
“So, what does that have to do with Tammy Thompson?”
Will’s shoulders sagged and he let out a sigh. Mike Wheeler, god love him, was going to be the death of him. “Well, I have this…this friend, who had a really big crush on Tammy Thompson.”
Mike raised an eyebrow. “Steve had a crush on Tammy Thompson?”
Will turned to him, mouth ajar and eyebrows drawn together. “What? No! It’s not Steve. Plus, I barely know him. It doesn’t matter who it is,” he clarified, “I’m just saying, my friend had a huge crush on Tammy, but it wasn’t reciprocated, and that was really tough for R-, my friend” he corrected, watching Mike’s facial expressions.
Mike shrugged. “I mean, it sucks when someone doesn’t like you back,” he paused, “but I still don’t really get it. Why the hell did you even mention Tammy in the first place?”
Will sighed, but not out of annoyance, no, it was out of hesitation and a little bit of fear. He could sense that he and Mike were dancing around a conversation that felt dangerous and unstable, like the mysterious magic from the Upside Down. Will wondered if he’ll turn to goo after this.
“Mike,” he started, but the second he looked up at Mike, his words died on the tip of his tongue. Mike was looking at him, really looking at him, and Will took it in for the first time in what felt like a century. Mike wasn’t this scrawny little kid anymore, he meant, well, he was still an agile and slender person, but he’d grown into himself. His hair fell into his face just so, the soft curls contrasting Mike’s sharp facial features. His eyes, which have been hardened with the nightmarish experiences he’s had over the years, always seemed to hold a certain softness for Will.
“This…crush,” Will started, “it was like…a jumping off point, I guess. Like, like in the movies when a character finally pieces things together, and a lightbulb goes off on top of their head.”
Mike nodded. “Right, right okay. So it was like…you realized you didn’t have a crush on Tammy and that’s how you knew you…didn’t like girls?”
“Oh my god,” Will groaned, a snort of disbelief coming out his nose, “for the last time, I did not have a crush on her, ever. What I mean is that…my friend’s crush on Tammy made them discover a part of themselves that they had been…” Will paused, chewing on his bottom lip, “that they had been…well, not ignoring, but-”
“Avoiding?” Mike offered.
Will once again blinked in disbelief; how Mike could manage to finish his sentences but not grasp the concept that Tammy Thompson was a metaphor was beyond him. “Yeah, avoiding. And once…once they stopped avoiding that part of themselves, they realized that it was…it was never about Tone Deaf Tammy, it was-”
Mike let out a loud chuckle and nudged Will’s knee with his own. “Tone Deaf Tammy? Jesus Christ, that’s some nickname,” he laughed, and then cleared his throat. “Sorry, go on.”
Will smiled shyly. He always loved Mike’s laugh, and he always especially loved when he was the one who made him laugh. “It was never about Tammy, it was always about…my friend. And that Tammy was just…just a crush that helped them realize a really important part about themselves.”
Mike nodded, but didn't say anything. Will didn’t say anything either, and the two of them sat in silence. It didn’t feel comfortable, but it also didn't feel suffocatingly awkward. Will glanced between him and Mike, who was staring at the ground. His hand rested on the edge of the couch, fingers gently drumming the cushions. If Will really wanted to, he could have extended his pinky every so slightly and brushed Mike’s, but he refrained. After all, he was Will the Wise, and not Will the Brave.
“So,” Mike started quietly, almost aware of their proximity, “you had a…Tammy? Like, I mean, a crush that helped you realize something important?”
Will nodded, tentatively. He could hear the blood thumping in his ears. He bit down hard on his lower lip, nipping at the pieces of dry skin. “Yeah, I do-did. I did.”
At this, Mike turned his head up towards him. There were maybe two feet separating their faces, and if Will were to look up at him, he probably could have counted all of Mike’s lashes. But Will kept his gaze fixated on his knees.
“You did?” Mike pried, emphasis on the latter half of his sentence, “What happened?”
Against his better judgement, Will looked up from his lap and meets Mike’s gaze. His breath hitched in his throat and he tried to cover it up by swallowing, but he’s certain that didn’t change anything. He was trying to maintain eye contact with Mike, but being this close to him was distracting, almost dizzying in a way.
“Well, I mean, nothing happened,” Will started slowly, a sad smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, “I just…I think I realized that I never stood a chance, so I tried to give up on it.”
“Tried to?” Mike echoed back quietly, tilting his head to the right in confusion.
It’s almost, almost, funny, how oblivious Mike can be at times, but how other times, he can fixate on just the right thing. Will was choosing his words carefully, brick by brick, trying to assemble a fortress that can protect his heart from being shattered into a million pieces. But Mike somehow always knew which brick to remove, like the worst Jenga player, and left the fortress crumbling to the ground. Left Will’s heart bare and exposed.
Will tried to shrug it off, looking between Mike’s face and his hand that he was increasingly aware of, was near Mike’s. When Will didn’t say anything for a few beats, Mike placed his hand overtop of Will’s. Mike’s hand was cold and he could feel that his skin was dry, but Will didn't care. He felt like his entire hand was on fire under Mike’s icy touch.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Mike said softly, in that voice that he reserved only for Will and no one else, “whatever’s going on in here,” Mike tapped Will’s forehead twice, softly, with his free hand, “isn’t anything I, we, can’t handle.” Mike gave Will’s hand a gentle squeeze, and Will could feel his heart come to life again.
Will exhaled shakily. “I just feel so…so crazy and so…” he hesitated. He held his breath to try and hold back the tears that he knew were definitely building up behind his eyes.
“So scared.”
Mike blinked. One beat. Two beats. Then he shook his head, and placed his hands on Will’s shoulders. “Hey, look at me,” he prompted, meeting Will’s nervous gaze, “remember what we said? If you go crazy, then so will I. Crazy together.”
Will smiled back meekly, biting down on the inside of his cheeks. “Yeah. Crazy together.”
“Plus,” Mike continued, hands still on Will’s shoulders, “what’s there to be scared about? I mean,” he corrected, “well, we are fighting a multidimensional monster later,” he continued, and Will let out a quiet laugh at that, “but I mean…is there really anything else to be afraid of? You’ve already been so…brave.”
At that Will scoffed. Sure, it took guts to tell his friends (plus his mom, his teacher, his friend’s friends, and some people he’s never even met), that he didn’t like girls. But there were far scarier things out there. Things that were much more terrifying than the Mind Flayer or Vecna or the Upside Down or even his own identity.
“Mike I’m not, I’m not Will the Brave,” he half joked, laughing at himself. He looked up at Mike, expecting him to share the same laugh at Will’s self-depricating joke. Instead, he found a look of sincereness and what could only be described as utter incredulity written on Mike’s face.
“Are you kidding?” Mike started, shaking Will gently by his shoulders, “you…you were just so honest and authentic with everyone. With…with people you didn’t even know Will!” Mike’s voice was louder and more animated now. It almost sounded…hurt?
“You saved me and Lucas and Robin from those Demos, you helped Max escape and make her way back to us, and you…you stripped Vecna of the one thing that he could have used against you,” Mike paused, “Will, you’re not just brave, you’re…you’re a goddamn hero.”
You’re a goddamn hero. If the sound of his heartbeat in his ears was any louder, he probably wouldn’t have heard anything Mike said. But by some miracle, he did. Here was his best friend, the most important person to him probably in the world, bestowing him with this title. Will hadn’t ever felt like a hero. Despite everything that had happened in Hawkins and Lenora, despite every battle that he had faced, he never felt like he was anything other than a sidekick that backed away when things got tough. But here was Mike trying to push all that doubt to the side. Will wanted to tell him it wasn’t true, that he wasn’t a hero, and that he never would be. But Mike was looking at him in complete awe, his eyes sparkling in the now sunset-lit room. Will didn’t want to call Mike a liar. Maybe he wasn’t actually a hero, but if Mike said that, Will decided that there must be some truth to his sentiment. Glancing up at Mike, he looked a little bit blurry; Will hadn’t realized he started tearing up at some point.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, pressing the heels of his palms harshly over his eyes to push the tears away.
Mike scooted forward a bit and pulled Will into a tight hug, squeezing him enough to let him know he was there, but not enough to suffocate him. “You don’t have to apologize,” Mike whispered, and Will could feel Mike’s words on the back of his neck, his breath warm. Will took a deep inhale through his nose. In the face of all this chaos, Mike still smelled like how Will always remembered -- nothing specific in particular, just familiar. Will was eternally grateful that some things about Mike never changed.
“You’re wrong though,” Will found himself saying, “I don’t…I’m not free from Vecna’s evil-doings.”
Mike pulled back slightly, a worried frown etched on his face. His hands rested on top of Will’s shoulders. “What? I mean, it’s all going to be over soon, but you’re basically free now, Will.”
Basically free. Almost free, Will thought. “Mike,” Will hesitated, meeting his gaze. He could have sworn he saw Mike’s glance dip down to his lips, but Will knew better than to believe the tricks that his mind plays on him.
“Yeah, Will?”
Will closed his eyes for a beat before looking back up at Mike. “Do you remember the painting that I gave you? In the van?”
Mike blinked, and Will could practically hear the gears turning in his head, trying to make some sense of Will’s question. “I…yeah. Yeah, of course, the one El commissioned? With us fighting the dragon?”
Will winced, realizing this was going to be harder than he had originally anticipated. “Yeah that one. I haven’t…been entirely honest with you about it.”
Mike all but let out a laugh. “It’s a painting, Will, how much more honest can it get?” Mike joked, but upon seeing Will’s face fall, he tried to correct himself. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it, I love it! It’s great, Will, okay? It’s a great painting, it’s so good and I love it and you did such a great job with it and--”
“El didn’t commission it!”
A beat. Will could hear Mike’s breathing, a bit heavier than normal, but that’s all he could hear. The ringing of his words echoed in his ear.
“What are you talking about?” Mike questioned, looking all over Will’s face for some sort of clue, “you said she commissioned the painting.”
Will let out a sad laugh. “Yeah well,” he starts, “that’s not…entirely true. Actually it’s not true at all. El didn’t commission it.”
“What?” Mike asked again. Will can’t find any anger in his voice, only pure confusion. “Will, what are you talking about?”
“I painted it on my own, okay!” Will blurted, louder than he had intended, “El didn’t ask me to make it, it was all my own ideas. I didn’t…I didn’t even let her look at the painting,” he admitted, his voice faltering. “I painted it for you, Mike.”
If Mike could have brought his brows any closer together they would have been united as one. The poor boy looked so confused, so lost. “Then…why’d you say that El asked you to make it?”
Will swallowed. He wanted to choose his words so carefully that they wouldn’t get misconstrued, but a part of him wanted things to remain ambiguous. Being Will the Wise, he knew he couldn’t have both. It was either clear or it wasn’t. Black or white. Yes or no. No more almost.
“I thought…” Will started, shaking his head. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say or how, and he felt like he was grasping at straws. Mike, confused as he was, took his hands off of Will’s shoulders and grabbed Will’s hands in his own. Will glanced down at their hands, Mike’s thumb gently rubbing his palm. He wanted it to stay like this, holding Mike’s hand, his one last, true secret buried deep, deep inside his soul. So what if Vecna used this against him? At least he’d had moments like these that he could keep as a memory when shit hit the fan.
But then he looked up at Mike, whose expression was not new to Will, no, but new on Mike’s face. It was the same face that Jonathan had when they were in the pizza shop getting El’s bath ready. The same face that his mom had every time that they had a heart to heart. The same face that Robin had when she was telling him about Tone Deaf Tammy.
Mike was looking at him with an expression that said I understand, and I’m not going anywhere. I love you.
Will tried to steady himself, giving Mike’s hands a gentle squeeze. “I made that painting for you because…because I like you, Mike.”
The words floated in the air like the spores from the Upside Down. Will wondered if they breathed in too quickly, too deeply, if they would be poisoned. He shut his eyes tight, seeing colors dance on the backs of his eyelids. He waited for a bomb to drop, for Mike to go sprinting out of the room, for something extraordinary to happen, but nothing did. The clock continued to tick and the light coming through the window continued to dim. The world kept spinning, it seemed.
“I like you too,” Mike said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, “you’re my best friend, Will.”
Will released his breath and swallowed. This was one of those moments where he really wished Mike wasn’t as dense as ever. “No Mike, I…I like you the way that you like El. The way that El likes you.”
Mike blinked once, twice. “Oh.”
Will let out a defeated laugh. “Yeah, Oh.”
Mike released Will’s hands, and Will could already feel that he needed to swallow down a sob that was making its home in his throat. He didn’t expect confetti to fall from the sky or the choir to sing, but it still hurt feeling Mike pull away.
“So…you mean you actually don’t like me?”
Will snapped his head up at that. “What? What are you even talking about? Can you hear the words coming out of my mouth?”
Mike put his hands up in mock defense. “You like me like I like El, so you don’t like me” he said, as if it was plain as day.
Will pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t in a weird time-loop dream. When all he felt was a small sting, and realized that he was still sitting on this couch with Mike, he spoke again. “Are you that fucking dense, Mike? How is that at all what I’m saying?” Will got louder, bordering on shouting, “I mean, I get it, Mike, I really do, but how can you even say that I don’t like you because of-”
“El broke up with me!”
Mike’s voice rang out. It felt like time slowed, but the clock on the wall continued to tick monotonously. There was an uneasy silence that followed.
Will was the first to break it. “She…what?”
Mike sighed, picking at his nails again. “She broke up with me. A while ago, I dunno. I never said anything because I didn’t think it mattered. We’re still friends and the end of the world is coming so,” Mike shrugged, “didn’t seem important.”
Will’s anger seeped out of him like tea into a hot mug of water. “Mike I…I’m so sorry.”
Mike shook his head. “It’s okay. Really, I’m not even that upset about it,” he let out a mirthless laugh, “probably why she dumped me in the first place.”
Now it was Will’s turn to look confused. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Mike started, an edge of hesitation in his voice, “that I don’t think I ever really…really liked her. Like that, I mean,” he added, as if to clarify further, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, El’s great. She’s smart, and generous, and pretty and everything, I just…” he paused again, glancing up at Will, “I don’t think I ever really loved her. Romantically, that is.”
“Oh,” was all Will said in response, quiet and slow, “oh, okay. Well…I mean I guess, I guess it could be worse then, right? You two are still good friends?”
Mike nodded, not looking up at him. “Yeah, everything’s fine between us,” he let out a weak laugh, “she knows me better than I thought. Then again, that’s what I get for going out with someone who can literally make her way into my mind.”
Will hummed in response, not wanting to pry too much into Mike’s breakup. He felt sorry for Mike, but a tiny, unrelenting part of him felt relief. A much larger part of him felt guilty for reveling in the breakup of his best friend.
“Mike,” Will spoke slowly, looking up and now meeting his gaze, “what did you mean? When you said that I didn’t like you?”
Now it was Mike’s turn to feel scared. Will could see his entire face flushing red, and could practically hear his heartbeat. Will put his hands over Mike’s, running his thumb along his knuckles gently.
“I mean,” Mike started, eyes flitting between Will’s and their hands, “well, El doesn’t like me. Not like that, at least. And well…you said that you like me like I like her,” he continued, “so…you don’t like me.”
Will’s expression twisted into one of confusion and compassion. “Mike,” Will whispered, “I like you in the way that…I guess in the way you feel like you’re supposed to like El.”
At that, Mike looked up at him, and Will swore he could hear his own heart cracking. Mike’s eyes were red around the rims, and glossy all over with unshed tears. Will and Mike had been best friends since they could remember, but Will could count on one hand the amount of times he had seen his best friend cry. Almost cry, perhaps.
“So…Tammy is--”
Will pressed his hand over Mike’s mouth, his fingers trembling slightly. “Forget about Tammy, Mike,” Will said quietly, moving his hand up to brush away the stray tears that had slipped down Mike’s face, “Do you need me to spell this out for you?”
Mike let out a weak laugh at that, and blinked away the remainder of his tears. “I mean, you are Will the Wise,” he offers.
Will rolled his eyes, but he was smiling softly. The sun was all but gone for the day, the last few orange rays spilling through the blinds and illuminating Mike’s face in a way that could only be described as beautiful. Mike Wheeler was so beautiful, Will thought.
“I,” Will pointed to himself, “like you,” he turned his hand around and prodded Mike gently in his chest, “and not in the way that you like El or how Jonathan likes Nancy or Lucas likes Max,” he paused, gathering his breath, “I like you just the way that I like you.”
Will could see Mike fighting a smile that was trying to make its way onto his face. He swore he can see Mike’s cheeks turning pinker, but with the dimming light, it’s hard to tell.
“So…you’re saying you like like me?” Mike asked cautiously, but a childlike grin had already broken through on his face.
Will let out a quiet laugh, and reached down to interlace his hands with Mike’s. “Yes, Mike,” Will said through a smile, “I like like you. Jesus, what are we, in elementary school?”
Mike gave Will’s hand a squeeze. “Is that the other secret that you were worried about? With Vecna?”
Oh, right, Vecna. In the midst of this series of confessions, Will managed to forget about the evil monster he’s supposed to battle. “Yeah,” he replied lamely, “I just thought that, maybe I could get over this crush, and if I pushed it away and pretended it just was just a Tammy Thompson situation that it might be easier but the truth is,” he paused, taking a breath and meeting Mike’s soft gaze, “the truth is that you are not my Tammy Thompson, Mike. And you never have been.”
Mike blinked in response, but Will saw him leaning in closer and closer. Will wondered if he was actually dreaming this time because there was no way that Mike Wheeler was leaning in this close towards his face.
Right before their noses almost touched, Mike whispered “I was your Tammy Thompson?”
Will gave him a playful shove to the chest but it caught Mike so off guard that he ended up falling back against the couch, with Will falling beside him, the two of them dissolving into giggles.
“You’re so full of it,” Will insisted, but there was no malice in his tone, “you are something else entirely.”
“Something so cool and awesome, I know,” Mike said with bravado, trying to puff out his chest. Their laughter subsided, and for the first time that day, the silence that settled between them was comfortable.
“Mike?” Will whispered. He was dangerously close to Mike’s face, to the point that if he leaned in ever so slightly, his nose would graze his jawline.
“Yeah?” Mike replied, looking down at Will. Well, looking down at Will’s lips, to be more precise. Will knew he wasn’t imagining it this time; Mike Wheeler was staring at his lips.
Will propped himself up onto his elbow and tried to steady himself. He leaned down slowly, and pressed the faintest and most delicate kiss to Mike’s cheek. He could feel his lips stinging, a sense of warmness flooding all the way down to his toes. He knew his entire face was certainly a shade of red never before discovered by scientists.
“Sorry,” Will said meekly.
“You missed.”
Will met Mike’s eyes. “What?”
Mike brought his hand up and cupped Will’s jaw tenderly. Involuntarily, Will relaxed his head into Mike’s hand, feeling as though the weight of the world was being lifted off of him. He could feel Mike moving closerclosercloser until the tips of their noses were touching. Will had seen Mike close up plenty of times, but this close, Mike looked ethereal. Every freckle on his face was painted with strokes from a god, his facial features carved out of marble, and his eyes gleaming brighter than any star in the entire multiverse. Will wondered if Mike would be open to a name change from Mike the Brave to Mike the Beautiful.
“You missed,” Mike repeated again, softer this time, and before Will could comprehend what he was talking about, Mike swooped down and kissed him. Will wondered if his body was turning to goo right now, like the one that had trapped Jonathan and Nancy, but he pushed that thought aside because he was kissing Mike Wheeler. And it wasn’t an almost kiss, it was a proper kiss. Granted, it wasn’t perfect. Will had never kissed anyone, and Mike, admittedly, didn’t have much experience with El, but to Will, it was better than he ever could have imagined. The sun had dipped down completely, so now it was just him and Mike, sharing this bright and beautiful moment in a dark room.
When Will pulled away for air, his only wish was that he could see Mike’s face. He felt around with his hand and could feel his cheeks were hot, his lips chapped, and his heart felt like it was going to bruise his ribcage. As soon as he caught his breath, he didn’t waste a second more before going back and kissing Mike again. And again. And again. And again. At one point he got a little bit carried away and accidentally bit down slightly on Mike’s bottom lip, earning him a soft groan from the other boy.
“Sorry, did I do it wrong?” Will worried, pulling away and trying to scan Mike’s face for any sign of pain or discomfort.
Mike breathed out heavily, cupping Will’s face with both his hands. “What? No, no.” he shook his head, “it was just…unexpected. But,” Mike bit down on his own lip softly, “It was a good surprise…you should do it again.”
Will knew he was flushing red hot right now, and thanked his lucky stars that Mike couldn’t see him well enough. “Mike Wheeler, are you saying you like it when I kiss you like that?” Will waggled his brows, and he swore Mike could see him do it when he laughed.
“Don’t get a big head about it, Will Byers,” Mike laughed and tugged Will’s face closer to kiss him again. Will truly did not care if the world ended in the next hour, because at least he was here, fully kissing Mike Wheeler, the boy he’d been in love with since god knows how long. In the middle of their millionth kiss (or maybe their 37th, Will wasn’t counting), Will suddenly saw the room light up and his eyes squinted to try and accommodate. Both Will and Mike glanced up at the door frame.
“Jesus Christ,” Hopper sighed, rubbing his hands over his face as the boys scrambled apart from one another, “we were worried about you two so Joyce asked me to come look for you and…well…” he hesitated, groaning, “I guess at least you’re safe.”
Will and Mike glanced at each other. Both of their lips were slightly swollen, their hair pushed out in various directions, and their breaths shallow and uneven.
“Sorry,” Will mumbled, not apologetic in the slightest, “we got…distracted.”
“I can see that,” Hopper quipped, annoyed, “Just…please make sure you eat something before we leave. I can’t have you trying to defeat this bastard on an empty stomach.”
Will nodded. “I will,” he looked at Mike, “we should go down and join the others.”
They both got up to stand, but Hopper put one hand up. “Not so fast there,” he stopped them, crossing his arms, “you two need to look less…well, less like you just got caught making out before joining the rest of us.”
Will went red. “W-What? We weren’t--”
“Don’t care,” Hopper interrupted, already turning towards the door, “when you compose yourselves, please, just come join us like regular people, okay?” Hopper sounded so exasperated that all Mike and Will could do was nod.
“Oh, and Wheeler?” Hopper added before passing through the doorframe.
“Yeah?”
“Stop dating my fucking kids,” he grumbled, before walking away to join the rest of the crew.
Will let out a snort of a laugh through his nose. “Good luck getting back on his good side,” he joked.
Mike just smiled in response, giving Will’s hand a squeeze. “I’m not scared of him,” he said softly, “...alright, maybe just a little bit. But I’d never tell him that.”
Will laughed in response, and tilted his head so he was resting on Mike’s shoulder. He could hear his stomach growl as he opened his mouth to say something.
“Let’s get you something to eat, yeah?” Mike offered, standing up and taking Will’s hand. He pulled the boy up, and didn't let go of his hand.
“Got anymore 3 Musketeers?” Will asked, the two of them walking towards the door.
“Oh what, the one I rescued for you wasn’t enough?”
Will squeezed Mike’s hand. “Sorry that I can’t fight the demons with a single fun-size candy bar in my stomach, Mike.”
And when Mike and Will walked in to join the rest of the crew hand in hand, and no one said anything about it (save for Jonathan giving him a look that said you need to fill me in later), Will finally relaxed all the way. Not almost.