Archive of Our Own

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Will looked around the room where it was only just him and his mom. He was getting ready to tell her the truth, he was scared. So scared but he knew he needed to do it. 

He glanced at his mom before looking at his own hands on his lap and opened his mouth to speak. “When Vecna attacks, he weakens you by turning your own mind against you, by bringing out everything inside you that hurts. So I fought back by focusing on happy memories, memories from when I was a kid. When I wasn't scared. When I felt most happy.” A few memories he used flashed in his mind, he paused for a moment before continuing. “That’s how I took control in the MAC-Z and how I killed those Demos.” 

Joyce nodded, her eyes never leaving Will and grabbing his hand, squeezing it.

“And I thought the same would work on Vecna too. But he found a way past it.” He let out a shaky breath, “And he showed me things, Mom. He showed me the most awful things.”

“No, listen.” Joyce firmly gripped his hand. “Whatever he showed you, it’s not real. He plays tricks. He lies.” She stated, reassuring her son how evil and manipulative Vecna was. 

Will shook his head. “No, he doesn’t. What he showed me…It didn’t come from him. It came from me.” He confessed, looking down. 

Joyce looked a bit confused, wondering what he meant by that.

“He sees everything, Mom.” Will choked out, trying his best not to start crying in front of her. “My thoughts. He sees my memories and he sees my secrets. But Max, she told me he’s also afraid, which proves I can beat him.” He gasped for more air and tried to ignore his mom’s worried look. “But for me to do that, you need to know…I think you need to know the truth.” He finally lets out, a shaky breath follows as he nervously plays with his hands. 

The door suddenly opened causing Will and Joyce to whip their heads to the entrance. They see Mike walking in. Mike noticed the tension in the room instantly, feeling bad that he interrupted an important conversation between the mother and the son. His eyes immediately met with Will’s, never looking away. “Oh. Uh…Sorry. We just heard from Hop. He’s fifteen minutes out so we should probably leave in five.” Mike quickly apologized, pointing behind him and continued to stare at Will. He looked like he was seconds away from breaking down which made Mike worried. 

“Is everything okay?” He asked, glancing at the two, hoping he wasn’t overstepping before maintaining his focus back onto Will. 

“Yeah, we’ll be out in a minute.” Joyce responded, taking a quick glance at Will. 

Mike nodded, not really wanting to leave the room, especially since Will didn’t respond but he’s not part of the conversation and he should respect that. He turns around to make his exit when he hears a ‘wait!’ behind him. Mike quickly turns around, looking at Will, now displaying a worried look.

“I think you need to hear this too.” Will stated before taking another deep breath. “Everyone does. Can you please grab Jonathan, the party, and Robin?”

The two stared at each other for a moment before Mike nodded, a little confused on why Robin should be there but just ignored it for the time being and headed out to gather everyone into the room. 

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After Mike got everyone into the room, Will sat there, fidgeting his hands as he put his sleeves over his hands. He glanced around the room, nervously as he saw everyone staring back at him, waiting for him to start the conversation.

“I…I…I haven’t told any of you this because…because I…I don’t…I don’t want you to see me differently. But the truth is…The…the truth is I am.” He glanced to his left before shifting his eyes back to the front of the room. 

“I am different. I just…I just pretended like I wasn’t because I didn’t want to be.” Will glanced up from the floor and looked around the room. “I wanted to be like everyone else. I wanted to be like my friends and…” He smiled at them as he continued with his speech. 

“And I am like you.” Mike nodded to his words, smiling.

“I’m like you in…in almost every way. We…We like playing D&D late into the night. And we like that old-person smell in Mike’s basement. And we…we like biking to Melvaid’s for malted milkshakes.”

Everyone in the room was focusing on Will, although a few were confused on some parts he was referring to but chose to ignore as it was not the time nor place to bring it up.

“And we like getting lost in the woods, and getting lost in Family Video and arguing about what to rent and settling on for the millionth time.”

Both Dustin and Lucas start to smile as Will continues on to his speech.

“And…and we like Milk Duds in our popcorn with extra butter.” He gestured to the party, letting out a quick laugh. “And we like drinking Coke with pop rocks. And we like bike races and trading comics. And Nasa and Steve Martin and Lucky Charms and…Literally all the same things. I just…I just…I…I…I just…” After listing things, he started to stutter as the part he most dreads is coming up but it needs to be done.

“I…I…” Will looked down, trying to push the words out. “I…I don’t like girls.”

He finally said it.

He told the truth.

Mike swore he stopped breathing for a second once he heard those words coming out from Will’s mouth. He takes a deep breath and immediately straightens his back, eyes still focusing on Will. Then guilt instantly hits him as he remembered the words he said back to Will, that summer in his garage. 

‘Does this mean…?’ Mike quickly shook that thought away, it was not an appropriate time to be thinking that, especially when his best friend since he was five years old just told everyone his secret.

Will was gasping, trying to form his next words. He looked over where Jonathan and Robin were. They were both smiling at him, still listening to him and looking proud. Robin nodded at him to continue as tears were slowly forming in her eyes.

He looked at her for a few seconds before continuing. “I mean…I mean I do. Just…Just not like you guys do.” Will fidgeted with his hands, trying his best not to look directly at his friends. Feeling terrified of what their reactions will be.

He gulped. “And I, uh, I had this…this crush on someone,” He confessed as looked over at his friends but more specifically at Mike. He didn’t mean to look directly at Mike but it was too late as words kept coming out from his mouth. “Even though I know…I know they’re not like me.” He looked down for a quick second, a sad look displayed upon his face. 

Mike just stared at Will, his mouth slightly open as he quickly looked away from Will for a second. It was too much to handle before ultimately looking back. He gave a tight smile, various thoughts quickly consuming his head. ‘Is Will talking about me or…was it someone we know?’ He thought to himself, but now it’s not the time to be delusional and jealous as his best friend needed them, needed him at this very moment.

“But…But then I realized he’s just my Tammy.”

Mike felt his lips twitch when he heard the statement. ‘What the hell does that mean? Who is Tammy? Is Tammy the guy he liked?’ He tried his best to keep his cool but it was difficult when finding out your best friend, your crush, the love of your life, does in fact like boys like you do. However, finding out he had a crush this whole time broke his heart. Mike knew it was silly to feel jealous at a time like this, especially when Will is being vulnerable and honest with all of them. He pushed those thoughts to the side, for real this time as this was the third time he kept thinking about this.

Will took a quick glance at Robin as he carefully said his next words. “And by Tammy, I mean it was never about him. It was…It was about me. And I thought I was finally okay with myself, but…but then today…” He trailed off for a moment, breathing heavily. 

Jonathan kept staring at his brother, smiling so big. He bit his lip to hold back from crying right there, he put his hand over his mouth as he continued to focus on Will.

“Today Vecna showed me what would happen if I did this, if I told you guys the truth.” Will glanced at El for a quick second. “He showed me a future, and in this future, some of you are just…are just worried for me. Worried that things will be harder for me and it just makes me feel like something’s wrong with me.”

Joyce looked worried as Will took a moment to pause for a bit. 

“So I…So I push you away and for the rest of us, we just drift apart more.” He choked out, shaking his head as the memory played back in his mind.

Mike gulped, looking sad. The feeling of guilt deepened in his stomach.

“And more and more and more and more until I’m alone. And I know none of that has happened, and Vecna can’t see into the future. But he can see into our minds, and he knows things.” Will blinked, trying to push the tears away as Max shifted uncomfortably at that statement, knowing how true it was.

“And it just felt so real. It felt so real.” Will gasped, remembering the horrible things Vecna showed him, no longer holding back his tears. He was terrified, so terrified that everyone would see him as a freak. Stop being friends with him and stop loving him, all because he likes boys, not girls.

“Will. You gotta listen to me.” Joyce puts her hand on his arm, trying her best to comfort her son as he starts crying. “That will never ever happen. You’ll never lose me. Ever.” Joyce reassured her son, tears of her own were coming down her face. “I will always love you, my baby. My sweet baby boy. Nothing can change that and I’m sorry if I made you feel like you couldn’t tell me earlier.” She leaned over, giving him a hug. 

Will kept sobbing and gasping, “Okay. Okay. Mom, it’s not your fault. I was just scared, that’s all.” He embraced her back.

“And you’ll never lose me.” Jonathan stood up from his seat. “You’re my baby brother and I will always love you and protect you until my last breath.”

Will started sobbing badly as he looked over at his brother. Jonathan got up and made his way towards him, Will quickly stood up. The two brothers embrace each other as Will sobbed into his arms, feeling overwhelmed by the support he was getting from his family. 

“Will, I hope you know that you’ll never lose me too. You’re one of my best friends and I will always love you man.” Lucas stated then quickly got up from his seat to join the hug.

Dustin also got up from his seat. “Same, Will. We have been through a lot together and who you like doesn’t change the fact that you’re still the same Will we all know and love.” He grinned, a few tears in his eyes as he joined the group hug.

Lucas, who was the one closest to Mike, kicked him once he realized he hadn't said anything to Will and the boy was looking over at his best friend anxiously as Mike sat there frozen.

Mike realized the group was staring at him—more like glaring for his lack of response—waiting for him to say something, say anything. He quickly snapped out of his trance and got up. “What they said. Will, you were my first friend. My best friend. I never regret asking you on that day, on the swings to be my friend and nothing will ever change that. You’re still our Will, especially my Will and you’ll always have us. Nothing can get in the way, especially an ugly monster named Vecna.” His eyes soften, staring at the boy he loves and quickly joining his side to hug him. 

Will felt himself blushing a little after Mike’s words, it felt a little intimate compared to the others. He shook his head, he needed to move on from Mike, not continue to be hopeful. He heard shifting from the other side of the room and saw El get up.

She softly smiled at him with tears in her eyes. “Will, you are my brother and nothing can change the fact that I will always love you. You can never lose me too.” She made her way to the group and joined in on the hug, smiling so hard.

Robin smiled at the scene in front of her and stood up from her own seat. “I know we only recently became really close the past few days but I just wanted to let you know that you’ll never lose me as well. We’re friends now, whether you like it or not. I’m not letting you go, anytime soon, mini Byers.” She choked out, trying to wipe away her tears as she made her way towards him and joined the group hug. 

The hug between everyone lasted for a good minute before one by one let go and went to take a step back. It was only Jonathan left, he was still hugging his brother and turned his head to give him a few kisses on his face causing Will to laugh.

“Guess you didn’t need truth serum, huh?” Robin chuckled.

Both Jonathan and Will smiled at her before a voice across the room interrupted them. 

“Sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt a beautiful moment.” Max called out, her voice cracking a little. “This sucks but you’re gonna have to hug me.” She tearfully joked, smiling at Will, feeling a little bad that she couldn’t get up and give him a proper hug.

“Oh, Max.” Will laughed a little before making his way towards her and leaning down for a hug.

“Just imagine I’m hugging you really tight, okay?” She told him, trying her best not to sob but it was to no avail as a few tears slipped out. 

“Okay.” The two continued to embrace each other as everyone else in the room looked at them with smiles on their faces. Max was whispering words to him, saying how proud she was of him and in response, Will let out a few more tears. 

Breaking the hug, Will stood up and his eyes wandered around the room for a bit before he sighed and looked at his sister.

“El. I know you’re strong enough to defeat Vecna but he can retreat to the physical world and we need to be ready to fight him there too. We have bullets and fire but none of that helped those soldiers.” Will took a deep breath before finding the courage to say, “I need to be there.”

El stared at her brother, she looked worried but he was right. To defeat Vecna, Will has to be there, needs to be there with her and Kali so they can end this, once and for all.

“I’m ready to show him I’m not afraid anymore.” Will remarked and looked at his friends more specifically at Mike.

Mike nodded at his words, smiling a little as everyone agreed with him.

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After Will came out to everyone, the group started to disassemble for a moment to finish setting up their plan and making sure they had everything for the final battle. Mike was currently leaning on the wall, his mind kept drifting to Will, especially on what just happened. 

Though, multiple questions lingers in his mind. First of all, who is this crush of his and why didn’t Will tell him? Second of all, was he Will’s crush? The brunette kept glancing his way when he mentioned it and the memory of it made Mike gulped. No, he couldn’t be Will’s crush, no matter how much that thought made him all excited and gave an insane amount of butterflies in his stomach. Third, if he was Will’s crush, what made him this Tammy person and what happened that made Will stop liking him—if it was him of course. Lastly, who the fuck is Tammy and how does she relate to this? 

The realization that Will liked boys, especially a boy—with a chance of a possibility of it being him—gave Mike butterflies. Then the butterflies went away as Will mentioned crush in past tense. Will had a crush. His best friend, Will Byers, who became a real life sorcerer and killed three demogorgons, had a crush on someone. 

He had a crush on a boy. 

A boy.

Had.

Not have.

Had.

This brought tears in Mike’s eyes realizing maybe he’s too late. Of course he was too late. When he finally realized what he was feeling to his best friend was definitely not platonic at all, Will decided to tell everyone that he does not like girls and no longer likes this old crush as he was his Tammy. The same questions kept popping in his head when he heard that, when did Will start liking this crush of his? Did any of them know him? What made him stop? Could there still be a chance of them still happening if Mike confesses his own feelings right now?

In fairness, he could answer a few of his own questions. He wasn’t a great friend once Will left to live in California, their friendship was getting better since the Byers moved back to Hawkins and Will started living with him but it wasn’t the same. The harsh words he said to Will that summer in his garage knowing Will heard words similar from bullies, his own father, and now his best friend. Guilt was forming in the pit of his stomach, Mike felt sick. He couldn’t blame Will for not trusting him anymore, hell, he’s even surprised that he’s still friends with him despite how he’s been treating him these past few years. He’s grateful he still has Will in his life but Will could do better, Will deserved to have a better best friend who isn’t cruel to him.

He needed to talk to Will. To apologize for being an asshole to him the past few years, to let him know he doesn’t blame him for not telling him everything anymore, how it’s his fault for pushing Will away as it was definitely not Will’s fault and most importantly, how he feels for him. He desperately needs to tell Will all of this and get the answers for his never ending list of questions. If Will bothered to answer any, Mike thinks he would be just satisfied if Will just gave brief answers. He’ll take anything—okay that’s a lie, he desperately wants to know everything about this “Tammy” crush and he already knows he’s not going to back down when it comes to talking with Will. 

After thinking about this, he needs someone to talk to before he crashes out in front of everyone and blurts out his thoughts, unprovoked. Someone who knows what he feels for his best friend. Someone who wouldn’t judge him. Someone who became a very good friend after a mutual break up and gave great advice, although Mike never followed through as he backed out at the last minute. 

El.

She was with her sister, whispering to her, most likely going over their plan again. Mike waved at her when she glanced at his way and immediately knew the boy wanted to talk. She nodded before saying something to Kali and getting up to follow Mike.

The two walked down the hallway into a smaller room that wasn’t occupied by anyone. Mike opened the door to let El enter and closed once they were in. El sat on one of the chairs and looked at Mike, waiting for him to start the conversation. Mike had his back against the door.

“Hey,” Mike finally said after a minute of silence. “Thanks for coming, by the way.”

El smiled. “Of course, that’s what friends do.”

“Yes.” He nodded before shifting around. “So you know how Will came out to everyone?”

She nodded, smiling but a little confused on what direction this conversation was going. “Yes, he’s very brave for that.”

“Yeah, he is.” He looked down, smiling as he admired the boy in his head. “So brave. Anyways, when he was talking about this crush he had…” He trailed off, thinking carefully of his next words.

“Did you want to know if I know about his crush?” El asked, tilting her head to the side, studying him closely.

“What? No! But I mean if you do know, do you mind telling me?” Mike nervously laughed, scratching his neck and avoiding looking into her eyes.

El narrowed her eyes at Mike. “I do not know his crush. I assumed it was a girl. Back in Lenora, I mean, because of the painting since he was secretive about it and wouldn’t allow any of us to see it.”

“Oh, yeah. I thought so too because of your letter.” Mike grumbled under his breath. He should have known his feelings for his best friend back then when he felt this intense jealousy about the possibility of Will having a crush on someone and how he was working on a painting for them. He only drew and painted for his friends, but mostly for Mike. Looking back, he felt stupid for ignoring and treating Will like that because he simply couldn’t handle Will painting for someone else. He still blames himself and tries his best to make it up to him but clearly it wasn’t working as he hoped.

“Yes, I was wrong about who it was for. It was for a boy after all.” El responded, looking at Mike. “Do you want to be that boy he was talking about?” She teased as she smiled at him.

“What?” Mike squeaked, turning red. “No! I mean, maybe! Look when he was talking about his crush, he kept looking at me and I think he…he was talking about me. But I’m not a hundred percent sure since this could just be me being delusional and just pulling this crazy theory out of my ass.”

He said what he has been thinking the past hour. Well, just one thought out of hundreds but El didn’t need to know all of them. He looked over at El, she was deep in thought as she took a moment to reflect Mike’s words.

“Mm, I guess it makes sense why you would think that. You two have been friends since you were five, correct?” She asked.

“Yeah, since we were five. I know how it sounds thinking Will likes me and it makes me look like this big narcissistic delusional asshole but the way he looked at me…I-” He swallowed, tears were forming in the corner of his eyes. “I swear, he was telling me through his eyes and the way he kept crying when he was explaining everything.”

El was nodding, letting him know she was still listening and to continue. 

He let out a shaky breath. “I’m not going to lie, I was happy when he said he didn’t like girls. I…I thought I finally had a chance. A chance to tell him I’m the same as him and maybe, just maybe, let him know my feelings for him.” He choked out, trying his best not to cry.

El frowned and slowly got up from her seat, putting her hand on his arm. “It’s okay, take your time. What’s wrong?”

“He said he had a crush on him. Had. Past tense!” He screamed out. “Meaning he doesn’t like his crush anymore. That his crush was his Tammy, whatever that means! Who the fuck is she anyways and why the fuck is this “crush” of his being compared to her?” He angrily spat out, his hands moving all over the place as he did quotation marks around a random girl’s name. He felt frustrated about the possibility of being compared to a Tammy and by the words Will carefully chose to say, it doesn’t seem to be a good thing to be a Tammy.

El went to hug him and he hugged her back quickly, tears falling down his face. “Shh, it’s okay.” She tried her best to confront him, frowning at the sight. It hurts seeing her friend like this. “I also don’t know who this Tammy is but I think you should have a talk with Will. You clearly have a lot of questions to ask him, there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m sure the others do too but you’re his best friend so it’s natural to be curious about it. You also need to tell him how you feel, Mike. Do it before it’s too late. Don’t have any regrets, especially right now.”

“I know, I know. I was planning to have a talk later with him because there’s just so many questions I have and I need to apologize to him.” Mike let go of the hug, sighing as he looked around the room. “But a part of me is scared. Obviously, he moved on from…from his Tammy so I’m not sure it’s the appropriate time to tell him how I feel. I’m scared that I’m…I’m going to lose him forever once I tell him the truth.” He finally lets out, refusing to look at her.

“Mike, look at me.” She grabbed him by his face, softly smiling at him. “It will be okay. Having a talk with him will help you, I think it will also help him too. Please let him know how you feel and that you’ll always be there for him. I don’t think you can ever lose Will. The two of you will always be Mike and Will. Nothing could ever separate the two of you just like you said to him earlier.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The tears kept falling, he wiped them away quickly as he took a deep breath. “But I did lose him, El. When I actually thought he…he…he died. I thought the world was over. My world was over. It was for a moment. I was so ready to go too. I didn’t want to live in a world without him and I still don’t.”

He broke down completely, falling down to his knees. El quickly followed and wrapped her arms around him, moving her hand up and down on his back. “Oh, Mike. It’s okay.” 

He continued to sob as El whispered ‘it’s going to be okay’ in his ear and held him. After a few minutes, Mike finally stopped, gasping for air. “Thanks, El.”

“Of course. Are you okay?” She asked.

“Uh, I will be.” He didn’t sound too confident but El ignored that for now. “But I needed to let some of my thoughts out or I would have gone crazy so thank you for letting me…vent? Rant? Let it all out?” He shook his head, he didn’t know the right word but there’s no time to dwell on it. “Yeah, anyways, thank you. This conversation helped especially if I’m going to face him later and talk.”

“Of course! What are friends for?” El chuckled before getting up from the floor and offering a hand to Mike to get up. He grabbed it and he was brought back to his feet. 

“Remember it’s Will and don't be too afraid. I’ll be rooting for the both of you!” She winked at him and patted his shoulder as she left the room, letting him to recollect himself before he went out.

Mike slightly blushed at her words, shaking his head as he took the next few minutes to calm himself down. 

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His talk with El helped Mike gain the confidence to finally face Will and possibly ruin his friendship with Will but he didn’t care, he needed Will to know. Mike tried to get Will’s attention to have a talk before they go on their mission on saving the world, hopefully for the last time. 

However, it seemed like Will was ignoring him as he walked out of the room or went with someone to help when Mike tried to approach him. Mike huffed in annoyance, time was ticking and Will didn’t even seem to care. Wait, he shouldn’t be too harsh on Will since that’s what probably made Will not be so trusting of him nowadays. He sighed, looking defeated as he stared at Will from across the room. Everyone was ready to go, finally putting an end to this.

‘Fine, I guess we’ll talk somewhere in the upside down.’ He thought as he followed the others outside to get inside the truck. He spared a quick glance at Will, softly smiling before shifting next to El.

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Their plan worked. They made their way to MAC-Z, successfully sneaking into the Upside Down.

“Jesus Christ.” Steve lets out, shaking a bit on what just went down. 

“Everybody all right? Everybody okay?” Hopper asked, turning his head around the room to look at everyone. 

People quickly mumbled a ‘yeah’ or just nodded in his direction.

“Hey, nice shooting back there.” Hopper complimented the older Wheeler, seeming very impressed by her skills.

“You too.” Nancy smiled back.

Robin was holding onto a railing, looking very anxious and a bit sick. “I kind of thought that was supposed to be the easy part.” She admitted, gulping for air.

“It was.” Lucas responded, holding tightly on the rail on his side.

Mike turned to El, putting his hand on her shoulder and asked, “You ready?”

She looked back at him, putting her own hand on his. She nodded. “Ready.” 

He nodded back at her, a little nervous before shifting his back to the wall. El doing the same, spotting a quick glance at her sister. The two nodded as the truck continued to drive to their destination, everyone in the truck anxiously waiting for the battle to start.

Will, who was next to Lucas, saw the interaction between his best friend and his sister. Although they have broken up after coming back to Hawkins from California, seeing them close made his stomach hurt. He shouldn’t be feeling this, he looked away as he turned his attention to the floor. He told himself that calling Mike his Tammy would help dissolve those feelings away but he knew it wasn’t going to be easy getting over him just like that, especially in a day. He sighed before shifting a little closer to his brother.

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Once Murray got them to their destination, everyone got out of the truck, all moving to their positions. It seems like Hopper, Nancy, and Dustin were leading them. Most of them were going to stay here at the tower while a few will be going to the lab. 

Hopper was going to lead El and Kali to the lab, where the bath was going to be with Murray tagging along for some reason. That left the rest pretty much around the tower. A few of them will be up to the tower to assemble the bomb Mike built and look out from there while the rest of them will stay on the ground and look out from there.

As everyone split into their groups, Mike saw this as a perfect opportunity to talk to Will as everyone was talking with each other, presumably saying any last words before they head to battle.

Will was next to El and Kali, he wasn’t going with them as Hopper insisted he stayed with others at the tower. He felt okay with that, especially since he knows he can still try getting into the hive mind anywhere it seems. Joyce decided to stay with her son and the others, making sure nothing like last time would happen again.

Kali went back to the truck to take a moment for herself, leaving Will and El themselves. Will can sense his sister shifting a little closer to him and he takes a quick glance at her. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.” El smiled and went to grab his hand. “But how about you?”

“Me? El, I’m fine. If anything, you shouldn’t be asking that question to me.” He confessed, tilting his head at her, slightly confused.

“Will. I meant after you told everyone your secret. You are okay, right?” She looked at him, her eyes showing nothing but concern. 

“Oh! Oh, yeah. Don’t worry, I’m still surprised that it happened but I’m really fine.”

“Okay, good.” She nodded, shifting her eyes behind Will as she noticed something, more like a certain someone lingering around. She shifted her eyes back to Will. “I just wanted to tell you that you can come to me and talk to me about anything, okay?”

He smiled, nodding at his sister as he went in for a hug. “Of course and I hope you know the same thing applies to you too.”

The two let go of the hug, smiling at each other before El slightly smirked. “I think someone wants to talk to you.”

Confused by her words, Will turned around to see who El was looking at and realized it was Mike, who was only a few feet away from them. He waved when he realized they were looking over at him. He quickly whipped his head back to El.

He felt El shift closer to his left, “You should talk to him.”

“Huh? What?” 

“Mike.” She playfully rolled her eyes. “It seems like you two need to talk.”

Oh. 

He did not like the tone she was using but it probably meant nothing, she’s just being playful and that’s okay as the fate of the world is going to be in their hands soon. 

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think we have enough time because, you know, the end of the world can literally happen any minute now.” He joked, awkwardly laughing, trying to change the conversation. 

El didn’t laugh, instead she looked right at her brother. “Will, I’m serious. Please talk to him, he really needs it, trust me.”

‘He needs it…?’ Will thought, glancing back to Mike who was nervously pacing around. He looked back at his sister, she’s right. ‘Okay, you can do this. It’s just Mike.’

“Okay, okay. Yeah, you’re right. Of course, I’ll go talk to him.” 

El smiled. “Great! I’ll leave you two alone. I’m going to check on my sister.”

With that, she headed her way to the truck and stopped by Mike on her way out. She gave him a ‘go talk to him’ look before leaving the area. Mike nodded, feeling nervous and the talk hadn't even started. He made his way to Will who was staring at his feet, lost in thought.

“Will.” He softly spoke, placing his hand on his shoulder. Unknowingly, he was doing his Will voice. It just came naturally to him.

The sudden action made Will jolted and moved away a little from Mike. “Sorry, hi. What’s up? El said you wanted to talk? To me.” He clarified, clearing his throat as he waited for a response. 

Mike nodded, a little too fast in his opinion but cleared his throat. “Yeah, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not!” Will smiled at him. “So what do you want to talk about?”

“Umm…actually let’s go somewhere private.” Mike nervously scratched his neck, looking away from Will as he felt his face heat up. 

“Oh? Um, okay, yeah. Let’s go.” Will quietly said, gesturing to Mike to take the lead.

The two quickly left their spot and made their way inside the Squawk. 

No one seems to notice the duo leaving. Mike opened the door to the building, letting Will walk in first. Mike then led the way, the room he chose was the same room Will told everyone the news. It looked the same as it did in their world, the only difference is what was displayed on the walls. The two walked in, Will walking over to sit on the couch while Mike went to close the door and locked it. He really didn’t want anyone to barge in on them and he hoped no one would realize they were gone. 

Mike took a deep breath before nervously making his way over to the couch, sitting on the other end. “Hey.”

Will chuckled a little, smiling at him. “Hey.”

The two sat in silence, Will patiently waiting for Mike to start the conversation as he looked around the room, shifting in his seat a bit. Mike took a deep breath before he shifted a little closer, staring at Will.

“So there’s a lot I want to talk to you about and it’s okay if you don’t want to listen or answer any of the questions.” He reassured Will, still staring at him but the other boy kept shifting eyes somewhere. “I wouldn’t be offended or anything, just listen to what I have to say. That’s all I’m asking and if you have nothing to say to any of it, that’s perfectly fine, I promise I wouldn't be mad.”

Will finally stopped shifting his eyes around and looked back at Mike. He nodded, “Okay, okay. That sounds good.” He gave him a small smile.

“Good.” Mike repeated back, a soft smile was slowly forming on his face as he kept glancing at Will. “I-I When you told us about you…um…you…”

“Coming out?” Will finished Mike’s sentence for him. He knew something was up when Mike froze in his seat when he told them.

“Yeah, yeah. I-I want to apologize to you like really apologize to you.” Mike blurted out, looking down as he felt guilty.

“Apologize? Apologize for what, exactly?” Will questioned, titling his head as he looked at Mike.

Mike swore he stopped breathing when Will looked at him. “When you said…when you said you don’t like girls. It reminded me of the fight…you know back in my garage. When I said…those words to you.” 

“Oh.” Will lets out, remembering that day. It still replays in his mind from time to time but he wasn’t that hurt by it anymore. Well, it does hurt a little when Will thinks about it. “Mike, it’s okay. You couldn't have known at that time. It was just a poor choice of words, yeah, poor choice of words and it’s fine. I forgave you, remember?”

“No, Will! It’s not fine!” Mike spoke out, his voice getting a little louder. “That was a shitty thing to say especially considering you practically been bullied your whole life by assholes who said similar words to mine! And I knew that! Yet, I’m your best friend and said awful words just like them. I…I regret it, Will! I didn’t mean it like that and if I could, I would take those words back, god, I would.” He confessed, sniffling as he wiped away some tears that were spilling from his eyes.

Will froze in his spot, still processing what Mike said. He leaned closer to Mike. “Mike, I already told you I forgave you. I’ll admit it stringed a lot at the moment and I was scared because I thought…you knew I didn’t like girls and I didn't want to lose you.” 

Mike snapped his head to look at Will, who was avoiding his stare as he was looking at his own hands. “Will, you can never lose me. I swear I wasn’t thinking! I mean I never think, just ask the party.” That comment got Will to chuckle a little, making Mike smile. “Oh god, you really deserve a better best friend. All I’ve done is cause you so much pain the past few years.”

“Huh?” Now it was Will’s turn to snap his head towards Mike. “Mike? What do you mean?”

“Come on, Will! I’ve been a very shitty friend. I didn’t hang out with you during summer since I wanted, at the time, to be with El and you wanted to play DnD. But I refused, too focused on a girl. If I had known, you'll be leaving for another state next month, I would have played with you, maybe come up with a plan to kidnap you and hide you in my basement forever.” He chuckled at the idea before returning back to his train of thought. “I tried calling you, you know? But the line was busy and I knew about Joyce’s new job. I could have reached out more, maybe called on the weekends or sent the letters I wrote to you but instead I shifted the blame onto you. That was so unfair to you and I saw the look on your face when I brought it up in another fight. Another fight I caused.”

Will had tears in his eyes, feeling shocked at what he was hearing. “Mike. It’s okay, it’s all in the past now and I know you’ve been trying your best the past eighteen months to make up for it. I noticed.”

“Will.” Mike whined, wondering how did he get an amazing best friend who easily forgives him when he knows himself he doesn’t deserve any forgiveness at all. “You’re too nice, you know? You should be more angry at me, push me away, hell, I don’t blame you if you want to fight me!”

“Fight you?” He laughed at the part, smiling. “Mike, I think you know I could never be mad at you, well not forever at least so please don’t be too hard on yourself.” Will said and leaned over to give him a hug. Mike leaned into his touch, smiling.

“You’re amazing, you know?” Mike breathed out, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at Will.

“So I’ve been told many times.” Will quietly joked, letting go of the hug. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

“Um, no actually. There’s more.” Mike confirmed, shifting a bit around the couch.

“Okay, that’s fine. What is it?”

“When you were telling us about this boy you liked, you mentioned he was your Tammy? I was just wondering what that meant, like who’s Tammy in this situation and if I know this crush of yours?”

“Oh!” Will gasped, he should have known Mike would have asked this. He was the only one in the party that never talked about having a crush so he wondered if the others were also curious about his so-called crush. “Well, um…”

Mike noticed how Will darted his eyes away from him. “Will, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it.” 

Will shook his head. “No, you’re good, just give me a second to think of the words to explain it, yeah?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course, take your time.”

It took Will two minutes before he started to speak. “I have this friend who’s just like me but she likes girls. Tammy was basically her hallway crush, someone who isn’t the same as her as she didn’t reciprocate her feelings. That hurt her so bad, she started failing some of her classes and wasn’t her usual self. Then she realized all she needed to do is accept herself, for who she truly is and only she can do, no one else. Move on from Tammy and by doing that, she was able to accept herself.” Will explained to the best of his ability, hoping Mike could understand what he was trying to say.

Mike nodded, carefully listening to each word. “So this crush of yours…he was your Tammy? A hallway crush? Nothing else?”

“Well,” Will started off, thinking of his next choice of words. “If we’re being honest, no. I actually knew him and I fell for him hard so maybe my experience isn’t quite the same as my friend, feelings wise? I guess you can say but I know he isn’t like me so I moved on.” He bit tongue as he just lied to Mike. He hasn’t moved on as it wasn’t a crush, more like love but Mike didn’t need to know that. No one did.

“But how did you know…that he didn’t like boys? Did you ask him?” Mike kept pressuring, hating how desperate he sounded but Will didn’t seem to notice or maybe he did, just choosing to ignore it for the time being.

“Well, no. I never asked him but I just know.” He responded, shrugging his shoulders.

“Will! How could you know if you didn’t ask him? 

“Mike, I just do. It doesn’t help that he had a girlfriend.” Will spat out before realizing his mistake, shifting his eyes away.

“He had a girlfriend?” Mike asked, he had a girlfriend too. No, it couldn't have been him, that’s just wishful thinking. “So he had a girlfriend. Past tense but that doesn’t mean he isn’t like you!”

Will looked at him, shocked at what he was hearing. “No offense, Mike, but I think having a girlfriend definitely screams that he likes girls and not boys. Especially boys like me.”

“Bullshit! Who wouldn’t like you! Will, how could you know that? Maybe he dated her because he thought it was the right thing to do, pressured by his friends, family, and society because it’s the normal thing to do.” He lashed out, an angry look displayed on his face. Before realizing he was projecting himself onto the words.

Will just stared at Mike, not knowing how to process what he heard. “Mike…Can we just drop this please? I don’t want to talk about him anymore.” He felt conflicted, he knew he shouldn’t be looking between the lines at Mike’s comment but he couldn’t help it.

“No, Will! Clearly this crush of yours is an idiot for not realizing how amazing you are and any boy will be lucky to be dating you!”

Will started to blush, shaking his head. “Mike, you’re just saying that to be nice. It’s okay, I know people like me don’t get happy endings but at least I feel free now, no longer ashamed of who I like.” He sighed, debating if he should walk out of the room. The room suddenly felt smaller and he was suffocating.

“Will!” He placed his hand on top of Will’s causing the other to silently gasp. This brought back memories of them, sitting in Mike’s basement as they made a promise to be crazy together. 

“Mike?” He asked, looking up from their hands. “What’s wrong?”

“I have something to tell you, something I need to get off my chest.” Mike confessed, not looking at Will.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Will smiled at him, squeezing his hand. “Take your time.”

“Back in Hawkins, here in this room, you said you weren’t afraid anymore.” Mike gulped, still refusing to look Will in the eyes. “Well, I’m not afraid anymore either.”

Will snapped his eyes back to Mike. His stare felt more intense, there was something lingering in his eyes that the brunette couldn’t pinpoint. That made Will’s heart beat faster, trying to ignore how loud it was. 

“M-Mike, what do you mean?” He questioned, still not understanding what was going on.  

“Will. I-I…I haven’t been honest with you either.” Mike confessed, still not breaking eye contact.

Will let out a small gasp, still confused but he gestured to Mike to continue. 

“I-I, Will, I love you.” Mike blurted out, breaking eye contact as the floor seemed more interesting at the moment.

“I love you too, Mike. You’re my best friend.” Will smiled at him.

“No, Will.” He shook his head. “I love you.”

The tone shifted making Will realize he meant it in a not so friendly way. 

Mike just confessed he loves Will.

Mike Wheeler, his best friend since kindergarten, is in love with Will.

He feels the same way as Will did.

“Mike…”

“And I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable but I needed you to know how I feel.”

“Mike, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t have to make me feel better just because my crush didn’t feel the same way.” Will stated, letting go of Mike’s hand and shifting back a little. 

Mike snapped his eyes at Will, looking a little furious. “Will! I’m not doing this to make you feel better! I love you, I have since forever!”

Will started to get up from the couch and walk towards the door, he couldn’t handle this, especially when the world could literally be destroyed any second now. He needed to get out before anything else happened. He could hear Mike getting up behind him, which caused him not to look back.

“Will! Please!”

“Mike, please leave me alone. I don’t want to talk anymore.” He let out a sigh, still making his way to the door.

“Will!” 

Mike grabbed Will’s hand, gripping it so tightly. Will tried pulling but Mike was stubborn and refused to let go. He looked at the ground, refusing to look up, especially at his face. “What, Mike?”

Mike got down on one knee which caused Will to look at the other in shock and tried pulling his hand harder. “Mike? What are you doing?” He stared at him, confused.

Mike softly smiled at him and moved his thumb around Will’s knuckles. “Will! I wasn’t kidding when I said I love you. I do, I have always loved you and I was a fool for not realizing way earlier. Maybe if I did, I wouldn’t have caused so much pain to you.” He sighed, feeling more nervous, especially with Will looking at him. “I’m so sorry for being a shitty friend. I should have been there with you, no matter what. And I promise I’ll make it up to you until the day I die.” Mike got up, staring intensely at Will, not letting go of his hand.

“Mike.” He sighed, shaking his head as he finally broke out of Mike’s hand holding and made his way to the door.

“Kiss me.”

That made Will stop in his tracks. He let out a gasp, slowly turning around and seeing Mike stare at him with a mix of emotions that even he couldn’t decipher.

“Mike.” was all that Will said, trying to ignore the butterflies. He really shouldn’t even consider it, no matter how long he dreamt of this moment.

Mike walked over to Will and dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around his legs and refusing to let go. 

“W-What? Mike! Get up! What are you doing?” He questioned, looking at his best friend like he was crazy. He tried pulling Mike off but he refused and hugged Will more tightly.

“No.” He looked up at Will, his eyes pleading with desperation. “Kiss me. Kiss me as if the world were ending later.”

What the actual fuck.

Will shook his head, this was too much. He needed to get out of here, fast. “Mike, we shouldn’t! This…we can’t. Plus the world might actually end later if we don’t have our guard up! Please! Now it’s not the time to be joking around!”

“I’m not fucking joking, Will.” Mike harshly whispered, he felt frustrated that Will couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. “The world might fucking end so please just one kiss! Just one! And if you don’t feel anything for me after it, I’ll leave you alone forever! I promise!” He begged, whining a little. He looked at Will, his eyes darting towards his lips. The lips he always stared at since they were kids and how desperately he wants to put his lips onto his.

Will felt himself blushing by the sudden actions. A lot is happening and Will has no idea what to do. “Mike, I don’t want you out of my life.” 

Mike looked at him, eyes a little teary. “Oh, thank god. I know I said I was fine with it but the thought alone…sickens me.”

Will felt his stomach drop, he gulped nervously. “W-What do you mean?”

“I never want to leave you. Ever.” He cried out, lowering his head down. “I always want to be with you. By your side. Forever until the end of time.” He confessed, pouring his heart out.  

“Mike…please.”

“Will! Please understand that I meant everything. I love you and I know I’m not your crush or maybe I am, I’m still debating that in my head but I’m in love with you, Will Byers. And I will always be in love with you even if you don’t feel the same, even if you decided to hate me.” Mike cried out, clinging to the boy he loves. He kept whispering, more like begging, to kiss him.

Will felt his face getting redder, eyes widened as he stared back at Mike, who was still on his knees and begging for a kiss. A kiss out of all things. This can't be real. He shook his head, this must be Vecna’s doing, of course. That’s the only logical explanation.

“Mike. Get up.”

“No.”

“Mike! Please get up.”

“No, Will!”

“Michael.”

Hearing Will say his full name, he instantly stopped hugging his legs and hesitantly stood up. “Will, are you mad?”

“At you? Never. At Vecna? Yes.” Will replied, wrapping his arms around himself.

“I mean we’re all mad at Vecna but you said my name.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “Um, yeah. That’s your name and you usually respond back to it.” He stated like it was the most obvious fact. 

“To Mike, yes. But never to Michael and you only say it when you’re mad just like my mom so it’s not my fault I jumped into that conclusion.” 

“Oh, well, I was getting a little irritated that you wouldn’t listen to me so I had to say it. Sorry.” He apologized, sparing a quick glance. “You weren’t acting like your usual self so I assume it must be Vecna evil doing.”

“Will, what the fuck!” Mike lashed out, throwing his arms up in the air.

“What?” 

“You think now that I’m sharing how I feel, how I really feel towards you and showing you what I want…you think that monster is playing tricks on you? That I would never act like this because it’s all some sick play of his?” 

“Well, you can’t blame me, Mike. He showed me awful things about…about…I-” Will felt a few tears forming in his eyes, he turned around, not wanting Mike to see.

“Shit.” Mike whispered before turning Will around and grabbing him by the shoulders. “I’m sorry. I-I, Will, I'm so sorry. I keep messing everything up. All because I couldn't hold my thoughts in anymore.”

“It’s not your fault, I’m just trying to keep my guard up. What he showed me, Mike, it was terrifying.” He cried, wrapping his arms around Mike’s neck. Mike quickly hugged him back.

“But I mean it, Will. I do love you and I know I’m not your crush and you’re not obligated to like me back just because I do. I just wanted to finally tell you my truth.” 

Will continued to sob, feeling bad as he still hasn't told anyone the full truth but maybe now it’s the perfect time to do so. “Mike, I haven’t told you the whole truth. About my crush. About my Tammy. And something else.”

Mike pulled back from the hug to look at Will but his arms stayed around Will. “Oh? Will, it’s okay. You don’t have to because I keep bugging about it. It was the curiosity and jealousy part of me that wanted to know, mostly jealousy.” He chuckled, admitting it so freely. 

“No, I need to. I think it’s time to tell you another part of my truth as well.”

Will shifted his weight onto his right feet, staring at Mike. “My crush…you actually do know him, he’s-”

“Oh my god, is it Lucas?” Mike cuts him out, his eyebrows furrowed as his jaw tightens, trying his best not to show any jealousy.

“What? No! I mean I did have a teeny crush on him back then but no. He isn’t the crush I’m referring to and can you stop interrupting for a second?” He asked, quite annoyed but amused at Mike’s jealousy. 

“Yeah, yeah, sorry about that. Continue.” 

“As I was saying, you do know him. He’s one of my best friends in the entire world. He can be quite annoying and rude for the most part but he makes me laugh, he knows how to cheer me up when I’m feeling down, takes care of me, is always gentle with me, and always compliments on my art even though it’s not the best.”

“Will! How can you say that? Your art is amazing! You’re amazing!” Mike couldn't help it, he needed to compliment Will, especially when it came to his art.

Will blushed at the compliment. “And so much more. That’s why to me, he isn’t a simple hallway crush. It’s more than that, I love him. I love him so much that it hurts. I actually made him a painting, basically indirectly telling him my feelings and what he means to me but I made it seem like it was coming from someone else. How I wished I had the courage to say it was me, back then. So that’s why, I’m finally saying it out loud. He isn’t Tammy to me but I just said that so Vecna couldn't hold that against me. Because I’m afraid he was going to do something terrible to him. That’s why I forced myself to call him my Tammy, to convince myself to move on from him so he wouldn’t get hurt. But it’s not easy to get over someone that you loved since you were five. He was never my Tammy, he was my Mike. He will always be my Mike.”

Mike’s eyes widened and he started to blush when Will referred to him as his Mike. “Will, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” 

Will laughed, tears slowly falling down his face as he nodded. “Yes, Mike. It’s you. It’s always been you. I love you Mike.”

“Oh my god, Will!” He yelled out, pulling him closer. The two cried while holding each other before Mike pulled away, placing his forehead on top of Will’s. “You have no idea how excited I am to know that you love me. The painting coming from you…I…fuck. I should have realized it, I still can't believe it. That you actually love me. My Will. My beautiful, wise Will. My sorcerer.” 

Will giggled, a blush forming on his face. “Of course, I do. How could I not fall in love with you? My Mike. My handsome, brave Mike. My paladin.” 

Mike's heart was beating crazy, he kept glancing down to Will's lips. He let go for a moment before getting down on one knee and grabbing Will’s left hand.

“Mike? What are you doing?” Will blushed.

“My Will. Please let me kiss you. Please. Just one kiss, that’s all I’m asking for. Please give me the thing I most desire in my life before the world ends. I don’t want to die without any regrets and I fear if I don’t kiss you before we go to battle, I will regret it. In case, something happens to both of us, worst case scenario, if anything happens to you.” Mike tries blinking away the tears as the thought of Will getting hurt in the process terrified him. “So please. Can I kiss you? Pretty please?” He begged, staring intensely at Will.

All Will could do was stare Mike back in shock while still blushing so hard. “Yes, Mike. Kiss me. Kiss me as if the world were ending later.” Will repeated Mike’s words back to him. It seemed to cause a reaction in Mike as his eyes darkened with desire.

Mike quickly stood up and grabbed Will’s face, caressing it for a bit before leaning down to kiss him. Will wrapped his arms around Mike’s neck, pulling him closer. The two moved in perfect sync, Mike started to move Will back into a wall causing him to break from the kiss from the sudden movement and gasp. Mike immediately took action, pushing his tongue into Will’s mouth. Will put one of his hands in Mike’s hair as he pulled Mike closer, never wanting this moment to end.

The two both let go of the kiss as they were out of breath, both their faces red and smiling so hard. Will breathed heavily as Mike suddenly made his way back to his face and started to kiss Will all over his face. 

“I love you.” He placed a kiss on his cheek.

“I love you so much.” He placed a kiss on his other cheek.

“I love youuu.” He placed a kiss where his mole was, above Will’s lip.

“I’m so in love with you.” He placed a kiss on his nose.

“Okay, seriously, Mike. We need to go, the world probably needs saving now.” Will tried pushing him away but the taller one kept his grip as he planted kisses all over his face.

“Well, sorry that I’m trying to give my boyfriend some kisses before we head to our doom.” Mike teased, giving a kiss on Will’s forehead.

“Boyfriend? I don’t recall you asking me to be your boyfriend?” Will leaned back, tapping his finger under his chin as he continued to tease Mike. “All I remember was how you confessed your undying love to me and how you practically begged on your knees for a kiss. But nothing about being asked to be your boyfriend.” He shrugged, smirking. 

“Will,” Mike whined, putting his head on his shoulder. 

“Just because we both love each other doesn’t mean we're automatically boyfriends.” 

“Are you really making me go on my knees again and ask?”

“Well, I didn’t say you should go on your knees but feel free if you want to.” He chuckled, loving the way Mike’s face kept turning red. “But how about you ask me after we go and save the world, yeah?”

Mike lifted his head, staring at Will so lovingly. “Sounds like a plan.”

The two embraced each other, swinging a little before they let go and looked at the door, knowing they should head out to the others soon.

Mike went to the door to unlock it but stopped for a moment to look back at Will. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that you got this. You, El, and Kali. Plus we’ll be there to help in case something happens.”

Will nodded, not daring to say anything in case he will start crying again.

Mike softly smiled at him. “Are you scared…of what we’re going to be up against?”

“Yeah, I’m terrified.” Will gulped at the sudden realization of the battle that awaits them. “But at least, we have each other so it wouldn’t be too bad.”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed, putting his hand out for Will. “Together?”

Will smiled and grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers. “Together.”

With that, the two walked out of the room and made their way outside to finally put an end to this. Not knowing what they are heading into but at least, they have each other and that’s what matters the most. 

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