Work Text:
Mike and Will walk through the upside down having split up from the group to cover more ground, they aren't talking much between the two boys who have been friends forever, Will's coming was still in the air even though it was on the right side up and hours ago. Not that Mike was homophobic he never understood why he dad had so much hated for people who are just like him, yeah they might like they same gender but that's all like hell mike have seen much stranger things and hell Will is his best friend the last eighteen months have been heaven yeah him and el decided to stay broken up and they haven't told anyone but the only time they all together is on crawls and Mike don't think that be the best place and time to tell everyone that him and El are over and god he doesn't know how Hopper would react, but him and Will who do the only one who knows about the break up, thats have been amazing they weren't okay in Cadillac and the last 18 months had been amazing for them and Their friendship yeah it's wasn't like before but stronger. Mainly mike mond was one who was Tammy? The guy that will have a crush on. Will who had been ahead of Mike had stopped in his tracks, Mike also stopped looking at Will.
‘Wil?, you okay?’ Mike asks, slowly walking up to Will who is still standing as still as a statue. Fear slowly move up to mike’s body as he walk up to Will and move to see will's face he fear is confirmed, will eyes aren’t green or either brown There are snow white ''Shit' mike hiss mentality slapping himself for not packing a walkman or any cassette tapes.
‘WILL’ Mike wills shoulders hoping that his voice is able to help a bit. Mike quickly grabbed to wake that wills was still holding. ‘Anyone there please, it's Will vecna have him” Mike quickly said into the walkie talkie.
‘Anyone there’ he asks again, waiting a few seconds for anyone, El, Dustin, Lucas, Jonathan, anyone to reply to him and help. “Please anyone's”
mike cried out as hot tears fell down his face not knowing why anyone wasn’t answering. 'Are they died, did mike just love everyone' God you are an idiot'Mike said to himself as he kept his eyes n will who haven’t moved a niche. God he couldn’t lose Will he knows that they will ever get together well he knows whoever was will’s tammy was well better then mike could ever be in hundreds years .
"Hello Michael" A voice behind made Mike jump, it doesn’t sound like anyone in the party but still Mike thought that they didn’t respond to him just over the fact that they all ran to get to him and Will in time and didn’t have any time to tell Mike that they were coming to help him. Mike turned to see the once dark wooden area is now bright red and the once hard ground now feels wet like Mike's is in water. Mike turned back to will now realising that will is gone with someone else in his place . Mike lets out a horror movie scream now knowing that's will isn't under the curse but Mike is.
--------
Will was a couple steps ahead of Mike he isn’t really big fan of this told everyone that he had a crush on mike , well he nickname mike Tammy he knows that they will never happen helmets out a breath trying to remember what vecna showed him, a nearly feel real reaction of Mike finding out about Will's crush on him and mike’s face filled with disgust will forever in tattooed in Will's mind until his last breath. So he decided before when mike and his mom was getting everyone is to let Mike go not in stop talking to him because that would kill will, he will lets he love for mike be a secret lets mike I've a happy life with el even if that's means will could only seen his best friend be happy with someone that aren't him. He will forever put mike Infront of himself. Will heard a growl something that bought him back to when he was first back into the upside down for that whole week. He moved around trying to see if he could see what made that noise. He turned to look at Mike who was just standing there.
‘Mike? Will slowly looks back in front of him wondering if mike eyes is one something In front of him, but there is nothing only woods. Then will felt I the goosebumps on his neck something that made him what to vomit up everything he had ver eating in his whole life he quickly turned back to mike now taking into mike and realising something that he didn't notice before that's mikes eyes are white. Will realise and before another thought could be made he ran over to mike.
"No,no,no no no MIKE" Will scream shaking the unmoving mike's shoulders, why haven't he noticed even do he wasn't there Lucas had been very into making sure that Will, Mike and Jonathan know the symptoms of Vecna curse as he doesn't want anyone else to be in the same spot as Max in a hospital bed with her arms and legs in casts broken by Vecna. Will quickly move his hands off mike's shoulders even so it's felt like taking yours grip of your happiness but will remember that they had packed a Walkman and two cassette tapes one is will's favourite song should I stay or should I go by the clash and mike's Heroes by David Bowie the second the Walkman and cassette hits the ground Will swiftly follow leaving The clash tape on the ground taking t the Bowie's tape and Walkman off the ground and running back to Mike stopping to take the tape out of the case and shoving it into the walkman placing the headphones and pressing play and turning it up to full volume. "MIKE CAN YOU HEAR ME" Will scream so louder than his throat burned.
"YOU NEED TO RUN"
--------
Mike flew into a stone vines wrapping tightly around his ankles, wrist and neck making him stay in place as vecna slowly walked up to him.
"Michael wheeler, the heart, the leader" he said his voice like venom as he made his way right into mike's face. A claws hand slowly reached up to Mike's face who with the tiny movement he could try.
“A sad thing, the heart of the team who can’t even listen to his own one” Vecna said as he still reach for mike his cold fingers touching mike cheek who bites his tongue that he could taste his own blood, his close his eyes trying to think of good memories but nothing came to mind.
“I know what you are, Micheal” vecna told him.’ A weak little boy who is so afield of his own selves so much that he hurts everyone around him, just like a snake” vecna said as his hand moves to mike chin making him look right into vecna's soulless eyes.
‘I know you’re biggest wish is’’
And with that mike is brought back to a memory, the quarry he is standing at the eagle looking down at the water and rocks, tory’s voice echoing in his head. Mike jump off the quarry just like he did all that time ago but this time he didn’t stoop halfway to the water he just fall right into to it, hitting the cold,hard water that made mike choke or maybe its was the vein around his neck now knowing that was vecna making him replay that day. He made Dustin promise to not tell Will about what happened on that day as in his own words 'it wasn't important’ and that Will had been through more than that one small insect so even Dustin who did not want this big secret had kept it from everyone except El who saved him in the real world.
‘See you even know the truth that you hated Eleven for saving you as you know you not deserve to live you know something is wrong with you”’
That “something is wrong with him” his parents fight about a lot about Mike his parents was very popular had they were younger and even Nancy was but Mike wasn't at all he never like anything his dad tried to get him into at all even do mike really tired to like and be good at them to make his dad happy and to stop the fighting, his parents try not to fight a lot but when his mom have a glass of wine let just say a waterfall of her emotions falls out and most of the are especially when he was young most of the fights was about him about how he wasn’t like the others boys even he dad think he is a queer which is true which mike hate himself when he realises he didn't like girls like Dustin or lucas and how he tired to be normal while dating El which just hurt her,maybe vecna is right,what he been thinking was right he shouldn't been alive, Barb, Bob, Eddie, Jason, Chrissy and hell even Billy all deserved to be alive living their lives but there aren’t and mike is breathing and alive and that was the worse thing in the world to mike. Vecna smiled, his clawed hand moving away from Mike's face.
'Finally you realize the truth’he said Mike just stay there not knowing what to do as he realise that this is how he going to die he he read a familiar tune, so much.
“I, I will be king And you,
you will be queen”
Mike look around to see a light in the distance the white popping out against the red area, and then he heard him
"MIKE CAN YOU HEAR ME" its was Will voice, he sounded scared,
“PLEASE MIKE YOU NEED TO RUN, PLEASE” Mike listened to departure in his voice, something he hadn't heard in Will's voice, he had heard Will in so many different ways and emotions and this was a new one.
‘PLEASE I NEED YOU DON’T LISTEN TO HIM JUST COME HOME’
'Don't listen to him Micheal he is lying he doesn’t need you none needs you, you are just a burden ’ vecna said to him as his hand moved in front of Mike face outstretching Mike moved his hand back tears running down his face.
‘MIKE’ I NEED YOU PLEASE JUST RUN’ will sound like he is crying.
Mike closes his eyes and thinks of every good moment in his life. Meeting Will and becoming best friends, bored Lucas d Dustin, Jonathan helping Willa and Mike with they first D&D campaigns, Nancy dressing up for one his first ever good written campaigns, seeing Will again in the hospital and listening to his heartbeat, Lucas, Dustin and Will jumping around after winning in D&D, Max riding her skateboard around him, seeing El again after a year, the summer of 85, Will giving him the painting, the last 18 months between the party, spending times after the crawls ok the early morning listening to music and dancing with Nancy planning on their next crawl while Robin with the very little help of Steve shows other music skills and Jonathan filmed or takes photos while Joyce and hooper watches on while having cup of coffee, having Sleepovers in the basement with Will on the nights when he help Jonathan to spend in Nancy's room watching movies and talking until sunrise.
"PLEASE MIKE I NEED YOU, I LOVE YOU"
With that his eyes jumped open and with the all of his strength ripped one of the vines off his wrist and gripping Vecna's neck ripping out of part of it making him scream in pain and move away, the vines quickly disappear off mike's body making him fall onto to the ground, he didn't even let's himself take a second to get his breathing back to normal he just quickly push himself up to his legs and start running. Mike ran as fast as he did not daring to look back at vecna who was screaming in pain but mike doesn't care as he still runs to the portal, to Will
“Though nothing will keep us together
We could steal time,
just for one day We can be heroes,
forever and ever What d'ya say?
he reaches out to the portal Closing his eyes and he just jumps.
Mike opened his eyes as he fell onto something, well someone his breathing still hard as if air was out of arm reach as Will moved to have Mike who was crying hard half on his lap his head under will's chin. "It's okay I'm here you okay" Will muttered into Mike's hair as he lets mike cry into his shoulder, Will doesn't remember the last time he saw mike cry as Ted Wheeler anytime mike would cry would tell him to men up and boys don't cry which is a big fat lie. Will doesn't know how long they stay like that as one thing about the upside down time isn't really good at keeping check at the time, He ran a hair through Mike's raven hair as he kept repeating that Mike is safe and that they are okay after a while Mike slowly moved off will's shoulder as will kept on hand on mike's shoulder as mike moved the headphones off his ears the song still playing, wiping his tears.
"You okay nothings hurts" Will asks now fully taken Mike paper he doesn't look hurt physically but mentally that a whole another thing.
"Yeah I- I’m fine" Mike stuttered looking down at the ground the voice of David Bowie still could be heard. "Good thing we pack these" he said trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah you right" Will replied. "Why didn't you tell anyone that you have the symptoms" he asks with anger in his voice that felt like venom.
"I di- didn't" mike stutter "the only is I had been having problems sleeping but hell I'm not the only one right with the crawls are sleeps schedules are messed up" The silence could cut with a demogorgon hand between the only thing that was making noise was the voice of David Bowie.
‘Yeah sure but still mike you should have still told someone I know he has been zoning out Nancy told me about how you were in the hospital, zoning out that's a system of it, you still should tell someone, anyone’ Will told Mike who didn’t say anything as Will keep going on.
'I can’t, i can't lose you mike okay, can you understand,you are my best friend god, do you think on how I would had been if you died, if Nancy because we both know that she would bring you back to life just to kill you herself not with her guns but her own two hands and don’t get me started on Dusti-
Mike cut Will with a quick kiss before moving back. Before quickly moving back like Will's lips were on fire and burn him.
"Shit Will I- “ Will cut off Mike just like he did by kissing him back longer than mike little peck. Will's hand slowly moved to Mike's head, his fingers moving into Mike's soft hair as Mike's hand moved to Will's shoulder. They both move out of the kiss, moving his forehead to Mike's forehead. They didn’t say anything just looking into each other's eyes. 'Woah’was the first thing will said,
"God we crazy" Mike said as he and Will's other hand landed on the other side of Mike's face, while Mike's hand moved to Will's arm's one his thumbs moved on Will's shirt.
"Crazy together, right?" Will asks, kissing Mike's forehead wiping some new falling tears off Mike's face who let out a small laugh.
"Yeah crazy together," Mike replied. Mike pecks Will's lips again.
"I love you too" Mike said Will laughed, bringing Mike back to a hug and placing a kiss onto Mike's hair.
‘I love you too Tammy” Mike looked up. Wait I'm your Tammy’ he asks at will who looks down with a . 'Well that kiss is anything be it’ will said bomping Mike's noise.
'But yeah you are my tammy.
'Well you were wrong about one thing will's mike said as they move the stand back up will keep a tight hold on mike as he shakes while standing up. Will look at him confused,
“I'm like you,” Mike said with a sweet smile. Will laugh giving one last kiss one last mike's forehead.
'Well we are crazy’
“And we kissed as though nothing could fall (Nothing could fall)”