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Will felt his chest lighter.
His chest, his heart, his breathing. He still felt nervous, of course. The feeling of not belonging, of being something unwanted to the people close to him… it was still there, lingering. But it was much smaller now. After everyone’s reaction, he felt lighter, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders (because it had been, really). The room still felt too quiet, like the air itself was holding its breath, but for the first time in a long while, that silence didn’t crush him.
There wasn’t much time left before they would have to actually act against Vecna and, well, Will knew he would play a central role in it. Alongside El, they were the key pieces. But now, with his biggest secret finally out in the open, he knew he could fight better and stronger alongside his team.
Still, something was bothering him…
Mike wouldn’t stop looking at him.
Will wished he could tell what kind of look it was. A good one, a bad one. If Mike was angry, or disgusted by him. He had hugged him, just like everyone else. He didn’t look upset, and it wasn’t like he was avoiding him, or like he didn’t want to look at him. He was looking at him, but it was strange. Unreadable. Almost like Mike was even more distant than usual.
And honestly, Will was a little tired of indecision. Of unsaid words. Of secrets. And he also knew that, as his friend, Mike wouldn’t say anything. Even with his girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend? Will didn’t really know), he could be an idiot sometimes. Will knew that firsthand; sometimes he thought Mike Wheeler only got more idiotic as the years went by, and Will simply had to work around that.
He had often wondered why he loved him so much. What it was, inside Mike, that kept him so tightly bound to him. And the thing was, even if it was true that Mike could be an idiot sometimes, he was genuinely a good person. A little dumb, with almost no ability to communicate, but also sincere, and full of something that pulled Will toward him all the same.
Maybe he was simply full of love. Or maybe Will was just too clouded by the love he felt for him to think of anything else.
“Everything okay?” a voice asked from behind him, and Will turned his head slightly. Robin was there, without Vickie, and there was a hint of concern on her face.
“Yeah,” he answered quickly. “Just… you know. The Vecna thing and all that…”
“I meant more the other thing,” Robin replied, sitting down beside Will. “What you did was really brave. I wish I had that kind of courage.”
“You should know that a big part of my motivation was you, you know…” Will fidgeted with his fingers, a little nervous. “Knowing that it’s not something strange or disgusting… seeing you with Vickie and knowing that you’re happy, it gave me a kind of hope I didn’t have before.”
Robin smiled, clearly moved. She lifted a hand and gently ruffled Will’s hair.
“There is hope. And if we get through all of this… well, you know… you’ll have a boyfriend who loves you and truly values you. And you already know that your family and your friends value you too, and they’ll keep loving you no matter what.”
“I know,” Will replied, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Mom, Jonathan, my friends… that was what mattered most to me. I feel calmer now.”
Robin gave him one last smile and stood up almost in a bounce, like she always did. “You know, I should go check on my girlfriend before all this calm disappears. I don’t want her to feel alone. You get some rest, okay?”
Will nodded slightly, the small smile still there. Robin had become a close friend so quickly, and he felt grateful for that.
For a few quiet seconds, Will stayed where he was, letting the warmth of the conversation settle in his chest. The room felt calmer now, still tense, still fragile, but no longer suffocating. He exhaled slowly, his shoulders relaxing as the distant sounds of the place filtered back in: footsteps, muted voices, the low hum of something moving somewhere far away.
He thought about everything that had just happened. About Robin’s words. About hope.
Just before standing up, someone opened the door.
It was Mike. Again. Just like a few hours earlier, when he had interrupted Will while he was talking to his mom.
“Oh,” Mike said, his expression still unreadable. “I thought no one was here. Sorry.”
And just as he was about to turn around and leave, Will decided to speak, the words spilling out of his mouth too quickly to stop them.
“What’s your problem with me?”
“What?”
“Your problem with me. You’ve been making this face. I don’t know. And I don’t know what happened. Did you fight with your girlfriend or something?” His expression hardened slightly. “Or did you change your mind about what I said?”
Mike’s face shifted almost instantly, like Will’s words had flipped a switch in his head. Looking unsettled, he stepped closer to Will and sat down beside him.
“Of course not. I don’t think anything bad, Will, it’s just...” Mike looked away, swallowing hard. “I was an idiot to you. I’ve said things to you that I don’t want to repeat, and…”
Silence.
Mike’s hands were clenched in his lap, his knee bouncing faintly as if his body couldn’t stay still. Will could hear his own breathing again, too loud in the quiet room.
“I’ve been a shitty friend to you. And not just now, this has been going on for a while. And I don’t know if I wanted to see you, I didn’t want to see your face, because seeing you just reminds me of how shitty I’ve been to you, and I don’t want to face that. Not now. I’m a shitty friend,” Mike said, sounding almost defeated, something strange in his voice that Will couldn’t quite decipher. “And I was a shitty boyfriend too. Answering what you asked earlier, because I don’t have a girlfriend anymore.”
“Oh,” Will replied softly. “And how do you feel about that?”
Mike frowned slightly, just barely, but his face visibly tightened with distress. “We’re not talking about that, Will. We’re both fine with it, if that’s what you want to know. But what matters to me right now is this.”
“Our friendship?”
Mike didn’t answer right away. The seconds stretched, heavy and uncomfortable, before he finally spoke. “Yeah. We’re friends.”
Will nodded, unsure where the conversation was heading. “We are.”
“And because of that, I also think that…” Mike trailed off, and something like embarrassment flickered across his face. He rubbed his hands together nervously. “I think I felt a little weird about what you said…”
Will felt his chest grow heavy again.
Oh. That was what was going on with Mike.
He had understood who Will was talking about. Who the person he liked was. And maybe he didn’t feel disgusted, or repulsed, or like Will was a terrible person, or like he didn’t want to be his friend anymore, none of the catastrophic scenarios that had been racing through Will’s mind. But maybe it made him distant because it made him uncomfortable.
And all of it was Will’s fault.
“I didn’t know who you were talking about… honestly, I thought maybe there was something going on with Robin, and that made me feel like…” Mike stopped himself. “I mean, you’re my friend, Will. I want to know those things. I want to know you, like before.”
“I think things haven’t been like before for a long time, Mike.”
Will noticed how that must have hurt him, because Mike looked away again, something like helplessness flickering across his face. Or maybe resignation. It was so hard to read his expressions, really. Like he was constantly holding something back, even from himself.
“I’m just… I’m really sorry. I really am,” Mike said, his voice quieter now. “And I think, because of what you said, I’ve been thinking about something too. Especially considering we could actually die, and you know I’m not really the kind of person who does this.”
“What are you talking about?” Will asked, confused.
Mike looked restless, unable to stay still. He wasn’t looking at Will when he spoke, his eyes fixed on some random point in the room, almost like he was just saying every thought as it crossed his mind, afraid that if he stopped, he’d lose the nerve.
“I’ve thought about it,” he said. “And I think I’ve been thinking more than I should, and I don’t want to keep thinking about it or questioning it. But there’s a difference, and I notice it, and I don’t think I can deny it anymore, because it’s making me sick.”
The words hung heavy in the air.
Will’s heart started to pound, slow and loud in his chest. He didn’t move. He barely breathed.
And still, Mike couldn’t quite look at him.
“I feel like maybe what I had with El was more about my self-esteem. About knowing that I didn’t disgust a girl. About proving to other people, and to myself, that the problem wasn’t me.” Mike took a slow breath, his shoulders tense. “I care about her, and you know that. I love her, and I want her to be okay. But when we had problems, or when she broke up with me the first time, and even now that she’s not my girlfriend anymore, I don’t feel this crushing pain in my chest. I don’t feel this desperate need to fix it.”
Mike finally turned to look at Will. His cheeks were slightly flushed, not enough to be obvious, but enough to notice. His eyes softened too, like he was no longer bracing himself for impact.
“But when we’ve had problems, you and me,” he continued, his voice quieter but more intense, “even when I act like an idiot and say horrible things, my chest hurts. I feel like I can’t breathe. And I need to fix it as fast as possible. And hearing now what you’ve been feeling, and realizing how shitty I’ve been to you and how I couldn’t do anything about it, it kills me inside, Will. It really does.”
“Mike…”
“And you know what the worst part is?” Mike went on, his words spilling faster now. “Even now, I don’t really know what to do. I keep thinking that maybe everything is going to end. And I try to be optimistic with El, because I want her to have hope, but I don’t know if things are actually going to turn out okay.”
His voice faltered just slightly at the end, like he hadn’t meant to let it show.
“And I don’t want to die with this regret.”
The room felt impossibly small after that. Will could hear his own heartbeat again, loud in his ears, his throat tight. Mike was looking at him now, really looking at him, like he was waiting for something. An answer. A sign. Anything at all.
“I need to know, Will,” Mike said, his voice barely above a breath. “I need to know if it’s just me. If I’m sick. If I’ve been misreading things.”
He swallowed hard, his hands curling into the fabric of his sleeves like he needed something solid to hold onto.
“Because even though everything you said hurt,” he continued, forcing the words out, “I can’t ignore the fact that I was jealous. I was so jealous when I found out you like someone.”
He finally looked straight at Will then, eyes raw and unguarded in a way Will had never seen before.
“And it killed me to realize it wasn’t me.”
Mike didn’t wait for an answer.
The space between them disappeared in a heartbeat, like he’d made the decision before his mind could catch up with it. His hand brushed Will’s arm, tentative, almost asking for permission even as he leaned in. The kiss was soft, barely there at first, more a question than a statement, like he was afraid that too much pressure might make Will pull away.
Will froze.
His eyes widened in surprise, his breath catching awkwardly in his throat, but before panic could take over, something warm spread across his cheeks. Heat. A rush of awareness. Mike was there, close enough that Will could feel his breath, the slight tremble in his hands. Instinctively, clumsily, Will tried to follow his lead, moving a fraction closer even though he had no idea what he was doing. He had never kissed anyone before, and it showed in the way he hesitated, unsure of where to put himself, how much was too much.
Mike pulled back almost immediately.
“Is this okay?” he asked quickly, the words tumbling out with concern, his forehead still close to Will’s, like he didn’t want to go too far away.
Will nodded, still a little breathless. “Yeah,” he said, then hesitated before adding, quieter, “I just… I’ve never done this before.”
Mike’s expression softened instantly.
“That’s okay,” he said gently. “We can go slow. At your pace.”
When Will leaned in this time, it was deliberate, even if it was still shy. Mike met him halfway, the kiss gentle and unhurried, nothing rushed or demanding about it. Just soft lips, careful movements, and the shared understanding that this was something fragile, something new.
They kissed again, and then again, like they were both afraid that if they stopped, the moment would slip through their fingers. The room felt smaller now, warmer somehow, the air heavier as if it carried everything they hadn’t said for years. Will’s thoughts blurred at the edges. He was too aware of how close Mike was, of the way his presence filled the space around him completely.
Something unfamiliar stirred in him, sudden and overwhelming. Not fear. Not confusion. A restless, aching pull low in his body that made his breath come faster, made his hands tense where they rested, unsure of what to do with themselves. Will had never felt this before, not like this, not so sharp and insistent. It made him dizzy, desperate in a way that startled him, like his body had leapt ahead before his mind could catch up.
He kissed Mike a little more urgently, without meaning to, pressing closer, chasing the warmth because it felt too good to lose. His cheeks burned, his pulse loud in his ears, every nerve awake and buzzing. He didn’t know what he was asking for, only that stopping felt unbearable.
Mike noticed immediately.
He pulled back just enough, a quiet, breathless laugh escaping him, not teasing, just soft and fond, like he recognized the feeling all too well. His hands stayed gentle, steady, grounding.
“Hey,” he murmured, smiling, his forehead resting against Will’s. “Yeah… I get it.”
Will swallowed hard, embarrassed and flushed, unable to look away. He nodded slightly, like admitting something without words.
“If everything goes well,” Mike continued softly, still smiling, “we can keep going. Just… later. We have time.”
The reassurance settled something inside Will, easing the sharp edge of the feeling without making it disappear completely. When they kissed again, it was slower, still charged, still full of want, but held carefully between them. Gentle, controlled, intimate in a way that felt just as intense.
When they finally pulled back, just enough to breathe, Will let out a soft laugh.
“Robin is going to love hearing about this,” he said.
“Oh yeah,” Mike replied, raising an eyebrow. “Your new best friend.”
“Jealous?”
Mike rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched like he was trying not to smile.
They didn’t say much after that. They stayed close, shoulder to shoulder, not touching constantly but never drifting too far apart either, like an unspoken agreement had settled between them. Outside the room, the world was still messy and dangerous and uncertain. Vecna was still out there. Nothing was really solved. But for now, they were here.
They stayed like that until they had to go. Close enough that Will could feel Mike’s warmth beside him, close enough that neither of them felt alone anymore. Nothing had magically fixed itself, and tomorrow would still be complicated and terrifying, but this was real. This was something they could hold onto. Whatever waited for them next, they would face it side by side. And this time, they meant it.