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“Hey,” Mike said, both Joyce and Will looking up at him when they realized he was there. Will was tapping his foot anxiously, twirling his hands together. He seemed stressed. “Hopper told me to let you guys know we leave in about ten minutes.”
Joyce smiled stiffly. “Alright, thanks. We’ll be right out, just give us a sec.”
Mike nodded, curiosity brimming. What were they talking about that had Will so nervous? Was everything okay?
“Wait,” Will said, rising from his seat when he turned to leave. “I think… I think you need to hear this too.”
“Hear what?” Mike asked, slowly approaching and sitting across from him and Joyce. Joyce didn’t seem too keen on having him there, but she deferred to Will, who still looked scared.
“Vecna… he - he showed me things… while he had me. He—” he huffed, glancing around like he was trying to think of the words. “He sees everything. He knows everything. All my thoughts, my fears, my… my secrets. And… He showed me a future where everyone else knew too, and it was horrible. A future where… where no one trusted me, and where we all drifted apart and I was alone and - and I know he can’t see the future, I know that, but I thought that maybe… maybe if I don’t have secrets then… then he can’t use them against me. He can’t show me…” He trailed off, tears welling in his eyes, and he looked sick.
“What did he show you, Will?” he asked softly.
“You,” Will said, his eyes sharp even through the tears. Mike went cold. “I… I talked to you, and I told you, and you… hated me. And I am terrified that he’s right but - but if I let him have that then he’s just going to use it to hurt me and we can’t afford that right now. If I… freeze up because of something he says then we’re all screwed, and—”
“I could never hate you,” Mike said firmly, stopping Will’s panic in its tracks. He felt sick now. He had never hated Vecna more than in this moment. It was one thing to attack him and his family, that was to be expected. But to make Will believe that Mike wouldn’t be there for him? That he could ever hurt him? That was a new low. “Never, Will.”
Will smiled weakly through his tears. “I don’t like girls,” he said quickly.
It took a moment for the sentence to process. Oh, he thought. Oh.
“I mean, I like girls, I just… not like you do. I’m… different. And that’s why he chose me. And I tried to pretend like I wasn’t, but it’s not true. And I know there’s nothing wrong with me, I know that, but people still think there is and I couldn’t handle it if you guys didn’t - didn’t care about me anymore because I’m - because I’m gay. And there was this - this boy I had a crush on—” His eyes flitted to Mike, then darted away to stare at the floor. “And I know he’s not like me, and it doesn’t matter, but I just… I needed you to know.”
“Oh baby,” Joyce said as soon as he stopped talking, wrapping him in a tight hug. “I love you, Will. I love you. Nothing could ever change that. Least of all who you love. I’m here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
Will curled his arms around his mother’s back, sobbing quietly. He opened his eyes, meeting Mike’s, and he looked terrified. Mike couldn’t move. He was still caught on what Will had said. There was this boy. There was this boy. There was this boy. But Will’s face crumpled further as he looked away and Mike couldn’t stand for that. He forced himself up, wrapping his arms around Will’s other side, trapping him between him and Joyce.
“It doesn’t change anything, Will. I could never hate you,” he said.
Will sobbed louder, and Mike could feel him shaking. He was so brave. Mike couldn’t imagine doing such a thing. Saying such a thing. Will was… incredible.
“Okay,” Will said as he pulled back, wiping his tears. “I just… I needed to do that. We should - we should go.”
Things moved quickly after that, but Mike wasn’t paying attention. His mind was only on one thing. There was this boy I had a crush on. He had looked at Mike. That had to mean something. It had to. Mike just… didn’t know what it meant for him. He wasn’t… he didn’t…
Did he?
He thought about it as they loaded up Murray’s truck. Could he feel that way?
He thought about it as they drove through the Mac-Z, bullets raining down around them as they were thrown from side to side. His relationship with Will had always been… different. More.
He thought about it as they crossed through to the Upside Down. Could he imagine a future like that? With Will?
He thought about it as he watched Will and El and Kali climb up the radio tower and prepare to fight. It sounded better than anything he’d come up with between him and El. It sounded real.
He thought about it as they drove off hordes of demogorgons and other creatures. He and El had broken up a while ago, but he’d always assumed that they’d… get back together eventually. That it wouldn’t last. This… Will… he liked that future a lot more than any waterfalls.
He thought about it as Holly came crawling down through the rift, barreling into him and Nancy with a broken sob. Will had always known him better than anyone else.
He thought about it as they collected the kids in the van and set the bomb. He wanted to spend forever with him.
He thought about it as he helped Hopper drag El away from Kali, kicking and screaming, as her sister drove a knife through her own heart. He wanted to kiss him, to hold him, to have that.
He thought about it as El explained their suicide mission on the way back, and the rest of them comforted her that she didn’t need to die to end this. He wanted to love him.
He thought about it as El snapped Dr. Kay’s neck and Hopper talked to the military and they worked out some kind of agreement. He maybe already did.
He thought about it as the gate shattered and closed behind them, and the ground shook as it resealed underneath Hawkins, bending and breaking the metal plates overtop. He was in love with Will.
He thought about it as they regrouped at the Squawk, cleaning each other’s wounds, and finally getting to go home. The question was… did Will still love him?
He thought about it as Joyce drove them all home, climbing over the caution tape and the pools of blood around their house to go get washed up. He had said that there was a guy, not that there still was.
He thought about it in the shower, and as he pulled on a fresh pair of clothes. Was it still worth trying?
It had to be, he thought, as he walked down the steps of the basement to talk to Will. Nancy and Jonathan were with Holly, comforting her in her room, and Joyce was trying to make some sort of food in the mess that was the kitchen, so Will was alone.
“Hey,” he said, standing in front of the couch where Will was sitting. He looked… soft. His hair was damp from his shower, his t-shirt and shorts loose and ruffled for sleeping.
“Hey,” Will said, glancing at him. “What’s up?”
“I just… wanted to talk,” Mike said, fiddling with the edge of his shirt. He didn’t know how to approach this. How to approach Will. “About… what you said?”
“Oh,” Will said, standing so they were eye level. There was only about a foot of space between them, but it felt like it could be a million miles. “That.”
“Yeah,” Mike said, throat dry. “Was - the boy. Was it me?”
Will looked away, his lip trembling, and nodded slightly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Mike shook his head. “Don’t apologize for that. You can’t… you can’t control it, Will.” He would know. He had tried so hard to love El, but it didn’t work. His heart had been set, little though he had known.
“Still,” Will said. “I should’ve—”
“Will,” he said, amusement in his voice. “It’s not your fault. Besides, I…” he trailed off. Will was even braver than he’d realized. Why was this so hard? He knew the words. He knew what he wanted to say. He just… he couldn’t. He couldn’t force them past the lump in his throat. “Do you still?” he said instead.
Will’s face crumpled. “Don’t make me answer that, Mike,” he said, shaking his head.
“Please,” Mike begged. He needed to hear it. He needed to know. Really know. That this wasn’t in his head. That this could be something real.
Will nodded, the movement so slight that Mike barely caught it.
“Say it out loud,” he said, practically begging. “Please. I just—”
Will laughed in disbelief, his expression hardening into something dark, the same as that fight that awful summer. “Are you serious, Mike? What is this about? You need to hear me say it? Say what? That - that I’m a stupid queer who couldn’t help but fall in love with his friend even though I know it doesn’t mean anything. That I still feel that way, even though I know I shouldn’t. I’m sorry, okay. I’m sorry, Mike. But if I had any say in it I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you in the first place, let alone—”
As soon as the words clicked, Mike was moving, surging past Will’s angry pointing hands and meeting the scowl on his face with his lips.
Will went silent, and Mike pulled back, his heart pounding. That was a bad idea. He should’ve… led up to it. Talked about it. At least asked. Will’s jaw hung open, his hands frozen in mid-air. He looked stunned. Confused.
“Say it?” Mike asked again. “Please?”
Will didn’t move, blinking furiously. “I… what just happened?”
“Will,” Mike said, groaning. “Just - please.”
Will’s face shifted slowly as he glanced around the room, morphing into something more like understanding as he finally met his gaze firmly. “I’m in love with you,” he said slowly. His voice shook, but he didn’t look away. He didn’t run. He was the bravest person Mike had ever met.
Mike nodded. That was what he needed. That was it. “Good,” he said. Then he curled his fists in Will’s shirt and pulled him back in.
Will kissed him back this time, and it was a thousand times better. Better than kissing El had ever been, because there was a want curling through his entire body, a desire that had never been there before, regardless of how much he tried to force it. Will kissed him like he was drowning and Mike was air. Mike felt like it, too. His head was light as he stumbled back against the couch, pulling Will down with him as his hands dancing around his chest, his neck, his hair, his face. Touching everywhere to assure himself that he was here. He was real. No more mind games. No more lies. No more hiding. Just Will, here and now and wanting Mike the same way Mike wanted him.
“Mike, you—” Will tried, interrupted by Mike’s mouth on his.
“Me too,” Mike said, desperately. “I - I’m in love with you, Will. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Will’s breathing hitched, and Mike pressed their foreheads together, breaking off the kiss to let Will breathe as he cried.
“I never thought… I assumed—”
“Yeah,” Mike laughed. “Well, you know what they say about assumptions.”
“You calling me an ass?” Will quipped, his eyes crinkling with his smile, even though they were still filled with tears.
“Definitely,” Mike said, poking him in the stomach.
Will’s hands clasped his, stopping his assault as it began, and Mike went pliant beneath him as Will lifted them to his face, pressing his lips against the corner of Mike’s wrist. Mike felt himself flush bright red, more entranced by that simple act than any of the kissing before. It didn’t feel like an act of physical desire. It was a sign that Mike was here. A sign that Will wanted him here.
Will sighed against his wrist as Mike traced his chin, letting his thumb press against Will’s lips; the affection he had always been too scared to show. Will stared at him like he was something precious. Mike didn’t know about that, but he knew that Will was the most precious thing he had ever seen.
“Sleep in my room tonight?” he murmured.
“What?” Will asked, confusion painting his features. He was still holding Mike’s wrist up to his face, almost like it was a telephone, and he seemed to realize this at the same moment that Mike did, dropping in with a sheepish grin.
“It’s cold down here,” Mike said. “Besides, I… don’t want to be alone right now.”
Will pressed his lips together, his hands curling into fists as he thought about the day they’d had. The week they’d had, to be honest. How strange to think that it was less than a week ago that they were preparing for their next Crawl, blissfully unaware of what was to come.
“Okay,” Will said. “I… okay.”
“Good,” Mike said. “It’ll… it’ll be like when we were kids.”
“Exactly like that?” Will asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Mike burned red.
“Uh, maybe a little different,” he said, high pitched. “Good different.”
Will leaned forward slightly, hesitating, and so Mike sealed the gap for him. This kiss was gentle, with no urgency like the previous ones.
“Did you… know?” Will said as they separated. “About me? That I…”
“No,” Mike said. “I mean, I… I never expected it. I guess I just… I guess it just wasn’t even… on my radar. I never thought that that could be an option for me. To… have this.”
“Even after…” Will trailed off, but he didn’t need to finish his sentence for Mike to know what he was talking about.
“I didn’t mean that. And I’m sorry I said it at all. It wasn’t about you. It was just… it was me being scared. But I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“I thought you’d figured me out,” Will admitted. “And I was so… scared. I was scared that you were avoiding me because of it. I thought… I thought that was why you didn’t write, and why you couldn’t… couldn’t hug me, back at the airport. I thought—”
Mike wrapped his arms around him, cradling him as he cried. “I could never hate you. Ever. I’m sorry I made you feel like I could. I’m so sorry, Will.”
“You’re here now,” Will said against his shoulder. “You’re here.”
It was almost fun to set up their stuff in Mike’s room, if he ignored the way Joyce and Jonathan were mopping up his mother’s blood in the kitchen. Mike stopped in his tracks, arms full of blankets, when he got up the stairs and remembered that sleeping in his room… wasn’t really an option.
“Oh,” he said lamely as Will hissed in a breath behind him. “Oops. I forgot about that.”
“You can sleep in Mom and Dad’s room,” Nancy said as she stepped out of the bathroom. “The bathroom’s a wreck, but the bedroom is fine. Holly’s staying in my room and Joyce is going to stay in the basement with Jonathan.” She smiled at Will. “He figured you two would probably share. Didn’t want to be alone.”
Mike felt, suddenly, incredibly stupid. He dropped his stuff in the hall and hugged his sister tightly. “I’m glad you’re okay, Nance,” he said. “I’m sorry about Jonathan.”
Her breathing stuttered, but then it evened out as she hugged him back. “It’s okay, Mike. It was a long time coming.” She patted his back, pulling away. “I’m going to go lay with Holly. You should get some rest too. We all need it.”
“I guess quarantine will be lifted now,” Will mused as they dragged the stuff into his parents’ room. The bed was twice as big as Mike’s, and he was almost sad at the realization that he wouldn’t have the excuse to curl right up against him the way he always did when they were kids. “And Hopper said something about a check for our silence? I don’t know, I wasn’t really listening.”
“I guess you’ll be moving out then,” Mike said. The thought made him sad. He liked having Will here. He didn’t care so much about Joyce and Jonathan, but if allowing them kept Will by his side, he’d tolerate it.
“Guess so,” Will said.
“Will you go… back to California?” Even saying the words made Mike ill.
“Definitely not,” Will said, crawling into the bed and under the covers. “No way Hopper would stand for that, and Mom’s not leaving him. Or El. She’s one of us now.”
“The Byers-Hopper family,” Mike said, sliding into bed next to him. “You know, Hopper is not going to be happy that we’re dating.”
“Dating?” Will asked, his cheeks turning pink, and Mike blushed in return when he realized he hadn’t actually asked the question. In his defense, he had never really asked out El either. They’d kissed at the Snowball and had acting like they were dating since. He didn’t even remember the first time they referred to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Mike didn’t want it to be that way with Will.
“I mean - yeah. If you’ll have me.”
“Of course, Mike. You’re - that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Mike felt giddy. “Will Byers,” he tried. “My boyfriend.”
Will buried his face in his hands, clearly embarrassed. “Oh my god,” he groaned. “Don’t be weird about it.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m going to be so weird about it. Forever and ever. I’ll never shut up again. Unless you want me to. Obviously I’m not gonna, like, tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”
“Mike,” Will said through his laugh, laying his hand on the pillow beside his head. Mike wanted to hold it. “It’s okay. Just… we’ll just take it one step at a time, alright?”
Mike nodded, reaching out and laying his hand overtop Will’s, allowing their fingers to interlock. He was allowed to do that now. “One step at a time,” he agreed.
Laying here, in his parents’ bed in his parents’ room, beside the love of his life (maybe it was too soon to say such a thing, but Mike was under the impression that this had been a long time coming), it wasn’t strange to Mike that he would think of his parents. He thought of their loveless marriage, their anger hidden under fake smiles and excuses. He didn’t want to be like them. It had hung over his head for years, every time he and El fought, every cold look she sent his way, every time he rolled his eyes at her. He had looked at his parents and seen his future.
Now, with Will’s eyes fluttering shut as exhaustion took over, his breathing slowing and his face evening out into something peaceful, he finally let himself believe that it didn’t have to be. His future was right here, beside him, and it was bright.