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It was, surprisingly, easy to accept that Mike was just his friend. There was nothing to it other than to accept it, especially after their conversation that discussed the aftermath of Will's (admittedly botched and slightly embarrassing) coming out/confession. Comession, they liked to joke.
Because that was the thing: they could joke about it now. The party liked to coo and prod Will about which guys he found cute, which he easily relayed since he was delighted that they could talk so casually about it in the first place.
Will didn't overanalyze every single thing Mike did, who was just as sweet and attentive as before, and never looked at Will like he was gross or disgusting for having feelings for him.
It was… nice.
Really nice, actually, though Will could have done without the ribbing from Max as they went upstairs in the Wheeler house to grab popcorn for their movie night.
“I mean, come on, Wheeler? Seriously?” Max complained, but her nagging was amused and she gave Will a side hug as he stood close to her so he could help grab some mugs from the top shelf. “Lucas is a way better option. I'm totally down for us sharing him if you are.”
“Sorry, but he's not really my type.” Will laughed as he filled all the mugs with equal levels of hot cocoa, which had been the decided drink for that night. “He's fit, though, so I get why you're so stupid for him.”
“Okay, I'm not stupid for him, he's stupid for me,” Max said with red cheeks as they grabbed the snacks and headed back downstairs.
“Right, is that why you almost fainted when he bought you that bike and played Careless Whisper at the same time?”
“Dude!” Max gasped, her voice breaking with laughter.
“What're you guys talking about?”
Both of them glanced down the stairs to see Mike, who automatically grinned at Will and stuck his tongue out at Max. His hair was tousled from his recent habit of running his hands through it, and his dark eyes kept flicking in between them, like he was desperate to know what was going on.
“We're talking about how nice Lucas’ arms look,” Will said nonchalantly, sputtering on a laugh when Max gaped and elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow! Jesus, Max. Those things should be legally defined as weapons.”
“That's what you get for exposing that I'm attracted to my boyfriend,” Max said tauntingly as she slid down the stairs past Mike and snuggling into Lucas’ side, who looked up at Will with delight.
“Dude, you think my arms look nice?” He said, and he flexed one of his biceps, causing Dustin to cackle and Will to snort as he rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, man, you look so macho with your unicorn jammies,” Will said, and he ignored Lucas’ protests about how he bought a matching pair for himself and Max as Will walked down the steps and sent a small smile to Mike.
Mike, who, for some reason, was staring at Will with a small frown, and then, without any sort of warning, said, “wait, you still like me though, right?”
Will blinked.
Dustin choked on his soda while El immediately started smacking his back with a worried look on her face. Lucas’ eyebrows were so high on his forehead that they looked like they would launch right off, and Max squinted so hard that there was a deep crease in the bridge of her nose.
“What?” Will finally said.
Mike huffed like he did whenever he was annoyed. “I mean, it just - you keep talking about Lucas’ arms - “
“Lucas’ arms?” Both Will and Max repeated.
Mike scowled deeply and threw a filthy look at Lucas, who raised his hands in some combination of confusion as well as the notion of what the fuck did I do? as the rest of them exchanged looks of bewilderment.
Mike was always the eccentric out of all of them when it came to his fluctuating emotions, but this was definitely the weirdest he’d ever acted, which was saying a lot considering how long Will had known him for.
“Uh,” Will said lamely, sensing that Mike wasn’t going to let this go, especially not with the way he was staring at Lucas like he wanted him to drop dead. What the hell is going on? “I - sure, yeah. I still like you, Mike.”
To be fair, no one reacted to the rather lukewarm confession. It wasn’t as if no one knew, but Will had thought that saying it out loud so frankly would have felt weird. It didn’t, though, kind of like how one would state a fact that was so common it didn’t even warrant a thought.
The sky is blue.
The sun is hot.
Will likes Mike.
It was only after Will’s half-assed statement did Mike finally relax. He gave Will another sweet smile, flipped Lucas off (“What the hell, Mike?”), and then helped grab the bowl of popcorn from Will’s hands so he could sit down on the floor next to El and stuff a handful into his mouth.
Will sighed, wondered what the hell went in that head of his, and then sat down beside Dustin, who nudged him gently.
They watched the movie, and the incident was forgotten.
Until it happened again.
“I guess he’s kind of cute,” Will said thoughtfully as he helped El shove the ratty couch into the back of Hopper’s truck. They were currently trying to clean out the old cabin so that it was ready to sell, since Hopper and El had officially moved into the newly furnished Byers house and were planning to stay. “But don’t you think he’s a bit too preppy?”
“No, I think he is the right amount of prep,” El said encouragingly as she knocked the last few cushions into place with her powers. She helped him hop down from the trunk and trailed after him back into the cabin. “Chance is very sweet, according to Lucas.”
“That’s just because Lucas thinks everyone’s sweet compared to Max.” Will huffed in amusement as he picked up a lamp.
“What’s that?” Lucas said, poking his head out from the bedroom that had once belonged to El.
“We’re talking about Chance,” Will said, twisting out the lightbulb and tossing it towards El, who looked at it and stopped it from falling to the ground. It neatly floated over to the nearby, overflowing trashcan and fell in. “He’s the nice one from the team, right?”
“That douche?” Mike’s head came into view over Lucas’, and he had a distinctly sour look on his face. “No, I remember him being an ass.”
“You’re just biased,” Max said from somewhere further in the room. “I think Will should go for it.”
“Go for what?” Mike asked, practically jumping over Lucas to race towards Will, who leaned back when Mike got a bit too close and their noses almost touched. Jesus. “Will, go for what?”
“Mike, relax,” Will said in exasperation, gently tapping the lamp against Mike’s forehead and walking around him to grab the tiny side table and also toss that into the truck. “They’re just joking, I seriously think I’m the only gay kid in Hawkins.”
“I don’t think so,” Dustin said thoughtfully, appearing out of the kitchen wearing a set of rubber gloves and a look on his face that said he was thinking deeply. “I heard rumors that Chance was kissing that Richie kid behind the dumpsters at school.”
“Oh my.” El, a sucker for gossip, gasped excitedly.
“No fucking way,” Lucas and Max both said.
“Richie fucking Tozier?” Mike said, scrunching his nose. “Whatever, they deserve each other. They’re both assholes.”
“You’re just mad because Richie hit on Will that one time during Spanish," Max said nastily.
“What?” Will said, looking up from his lamp. “He did?”
“No,” Mike cried out at the same time Dustin said “yes”.
“Will,” Lucas said patiently, which was a tone that was often used around Will. He would have been offended by it if they didn’t constantly prove him wrong by pointing out how oblivious he was to certain things, flirting being one of them. “That douche literally told you I can show you something real duro y largo.”
“Oh,” Will said, only kind of remembering that incident. “I thought he was talking about his bed. Wasn’t the unit on household items?”
“Yeah, he wanted you in his bed.” Dustin snickered, yelping when Mike shoved him so hard that he was momentarily out of view from being pushed into the kitchen again. “Dude! Fuck you!”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway,” Mike said, looking like he wanted to kill all of them as he settled his intense gaze on Will. “Because you like me, right?”
Will hesitated.
Why does he keep asking me that? Will thought with some level of desperation.
It wasn’t like it was embarrassing or mortifying to admit anymore, but it wasn’t as if he wanted to talk about his unrequited crush on Mike all the damn time, either. It wasn’t private and it wasn’t any more tangible than air, but it was Will’s, and he pursed his lips as he thought about what to say.
“Yeah,” Will managed after several moments of silence and Mike’s stare growing more pointed. “I do.”
Weirdo, Will thought as he turned around and began to help El scoot a small table out the door.
And again.
“I call shotgun!”
“Get out of the seat, Mayfield. I get shotgun because Will likes me.”
“Fuck you, douchebag. Will, you won't let him steal shotgun from me, right?”
“Um…”
“Will, please? You like me, don't you?”
“... Fine, whatever.”
“Ha! Suck it, Max.”
“More like you want to suck Wi - “
And again.
“Hey, who took the last muffin?”
“I did. Sorry, Dustin.”
“Oh. I wanted one, too. It's fine, I'll just - “
“Here! You can take mine, Will.”
“... Oh, um. It's fine, Mike, you had it first so - “
“No, take it. I want you to have it.”
“What the hell? Why does Will get special privileges?”
“Because, Henderson, Will likes me. Right, Will?”
“Can I really have this muffin?”
“Of course.”
“Then yeah, I do.”
“Hah, see?”
“Screw you, Mike. At least my love for Suzie doesn't hinge on a fucking muffin of all things.”
“I'll kill you, Dustin.”
“Mike.”
… And again.
“Dude, Mike, chill the fuck out. Why do you keep insisting Will sit next to you? There's not enough room in the booth!”
“Shut up, Lucas. If you're bothered by it then go sit on the other side.”
“Oh my god. I'm literally the one sitting the closest to the wall. Just get Will to move!”
“Sorry, Lucas. Mike, he's right, there's not enough room for all three of us, I'll just go - “
“No! Will, if you get up, I swear I'll kill myself. Lucas, crawl under the fucking table and go sit on the other side.”
“What the flying fuck are you talking about, dickwad? Are you crazy?”
“Don't test me, I'm like a full five inches taller than you - “
“Yeah and built like a toothpick! This is ridiculous, screw you. Will, let's both sit on the other side and leave Mike and his stupid ass behind.”
“Stop it, Lucas, I don't want him sitting across from me!”
“Why the hell not!”
“Because he likes me! He likes me!”
“Oh my g - what the hell does that have to do with anything? I swear to fucking god I'll kill you if you ask hi - “
“You like me, right, Will?”
“...”
“See? He said yes.”
“Holy fuck. You're so fucking hopeless. I give up.”
It all came to a head, though, when Will's near endless patience started to run out.
A week after the latest incident of Mike pestering Will about his crush, Will was biking over to Mike’s house so that he could help with the newest campaign. Mike had asked Will to draw some character sheets for NPCs, and Will was of course all too happy to help, so he’d said goodbye to El with a small hug and a wave to their parents before he was off.
It was still a bit too cold to wear shorts and t-shirts, but it was warming up to the point that Will could comfortably wear some jeans and a nice polo that he’d received from Hopper’s growing collection of clothes that were too small for him.
If Will had to guess, then he would have said that he looked nice, though not nice enough for Mike to get the wrong idea. Will always worried that Mike would misconstrue any of his behavior as coming onto him, which would make Will want to die, and he had quite enough of the whole death business, thank you very much.
As such, while Will had made the effort to not dress like a slob, he hadn’t done much else. Before his botched confession, he probably would have stressed for hours over the state of his hair, his face, the angle of his watch, the shininess of his shoes, stuff that he knew for a fact that Mike didn’t care about since Mike didn’t care for Will in that way.
Which was why Will was confused when he slowed down his pedaling as he got closer to the Wheeler house, hopped off his bike, and was interrupted with a lilting voice that said, “hey, you were in my pre-calc class last semester, right?”
Will turned around to stare at whoever had just spoken, and it was a girl, someone he only vaguely recognized. She had pin-straight brown hair and clutched a leash in her gloved hand, which lead down to a tiny little weiner dog that sniffed curiously at Will’s shoes.
“Oh.” Will frowned not in anger, but rather concentration as he tried to dredge up the girl’s name. It took a second before he tentatively landed on Isabelle, and he said, “yeah, I think so. Sorry, I’m not good at math, so if you needed help on homework or something then you might be out of luck.”
He didn’t know if he said anything particularly funny, but she tossed her back and laughed anyway, and the weiner dog jumped in its place, its stubby little paw poking at the toe of Will’s shoe like he had done something to offend it.
“I mean, even if you’re terrible at math, I wouldn’t mind any help.” Isabelle batted her lashes in a way that kind of made her look like she was having a seizure, and Will took a small step back in alarm when she shuffled closer. “What’re you doing around here? I thought you didn’t live in this neighborhood.”
“Oh, I don’t,” he stuttered, feeling like he was missing something rather huge as he backpedaled even more at her increasing speed. He had faced Vecna just fine, but there was something predatory in Isabelle’s light eyes, and it made heat race across the back of his neck as he distinctly felt like he was being held under a microscope. “But I’m meeting a friend, and he’s - “
“Waiting for you.”
A hand covered in scars similar to his own wrapped tightly around his elbow, and Will whipped his head around to see Mike, who was glaring at Isabelle so fiercely that it was a wonder she didn’t drop dead.
“Mike,” Will said, somehow surprised despite the fact that he was literally in said boy’s driveway. He glanced down at where they were joined, frowning slightly at how hard Mike was digging his fingers into his skin, and Will raised his own hand to try and subtly brush away the fingers, but Mike’s grip only tightened. Ow. “Uh, this is - “
“Aren’t you going to be late for your piano lesson?” Mike said, completely running over whatever Will was going to say. His voice was tight with anger and he drew himself to his full height, which was already a good head above Will’s, and positively dwarfed Isabelle’s. “It’s almost two.”
Isabelle’s face was an ugly shade of red as she snapped, “how the hell do you know I have a lesson?”
“Because I can hear your shitty playing down the street,” Mike said just as nastily. “Maybe close your fucking windows and spare the rest of us the ear bleeding.”
“Fuck you, Mike Wheeler,” Isabelle spat, whirling around and stomping down the sidewalk, her tiny dog hurrying to keep up.
“Yeah, tell your teacher that, because clearly you’re wasting money on him,” Mike called after her, rolling his eyes so hard that it was a wonder they didn’t fall out of his head as she flipped him off over her shoulder.
Will watched her leave, and then he yanked his arm out of Mike’s hand as he said, “dude, why were you so rude?”
“Me?” Mike said, looking genuinely shocked, as if he hadn’t spent the past minute directly insulting a random girl to her face. “She was the one who was totally invading your space!”
“Mike,” Will said patiently, trying hard not to pinch the bridge of his nose. “You’re invading my space. You invade my space all the time! That’s not a reason to be so mean to someone we don’t even know.”
“Okay, but it’s different with us!” Mike argued, the highs of his cheekbones starting to go pink as he stepped closer and grabbed Will’s arm again. His fingers weren’t as tight this time, but his tumb started to rub circles into the soft of Will’s inner elbow, and the touch was so bizarre that he didn’t step away out of pure confusion. “You know it’s different. We’re best friends, plus you don’t like her the way you like me.”
Will’s jaw dropped. “Mike, please tell me you’re joking.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?” Mike demanded.
Will gritted his teeth and wondered how the hell he spent all these years putting up with Mike’s crap. “Sure, fine, we’re best friends, but she doesn’t know I’m gay, Mike! She just wanted to be friends, and - “
“She did not want to be just friends,” Mike said hotly. “Didn’t you see the way she was all over you?”
“Even if she was, who cares?” Will cried out, truly feeling like he was in bizarro world with how strange this conversation was. “Like I said, she doesn’t even know I’m gay! I would have told her at some point if I felt like she wasn’t backing off!”
“No, you should have told her you already liked someone else,” Mike snapped, and he said it with so much conviction that Will could only gape. “Girls like that don’t back off, even if you like boys! You’re really handsome and tall - “
“What the fuck?” Will sputtered.
“And you became really tanned after you got back from Lenora. Also you got really fit and stuff since we had to go through Hopper’s stupid training regime during the apocalypse and shit,” Mike continued to rant, glossing over the fact that Will was staring at him in complete confusion. “You’re going to get hit on a lot and they don’t know that you already like me! Only me!”
“Oh my god,” Will blurted out. “Mike, jesus, you know that I’m going to get a boyfriend at some point, right?”
Mike looked like he’d been shot.
He actually staggered back, his face pale and shiny with sweat as he said, “wh - what?”
“Mike,” Will said, scrubbing his hand over his face and wondering how the hell he got into situations like these. “Did you seriously expect me to pine after you for the rest of my life?”
Mike was silent.
“Oh my god!” Will said again, only this time out of anger as he pointed an accusing finger at Mike’s pallid face. “You did! You thought I would like you for forever! Holy - how the hell - are you seriously so arrogant that wanted me to remain miserable until I die? Because I am! I’m miserable, Mike, and you constantly reminding me that I’ve been pathetically in love with you since we were fucking five isn’t helping!”
Will was breathing heavily by the time he was done shouting, and Mike swallowed hard in the sudden silence. It was hard for Will to look at him, if only because he was so angry that he couldn’t see straight. His heart pounded in his ears and his chest felt hot with irritation as he scoffed and grabbed his bike again.
“I’m going home,” Will said coldly. “Don’t bother coming around my house for a few days. Leave me alone.”
“Will!” Mike sputtered. “Will! Come on! Shit, I - I’m - Will! Come back!”
Will biked away, unable to bite back the tears that sprung in the corners of his eyes.
Stupid Mike.
Will was stewing in his bedroom at around two in the morning. He couldn't sleep, not with how angry he still was, and he sat on the edge of his bed, biting at his thumb and wondering where it had all gone wrong.
He didn't regret coming out to his friends and family, and he was eternally grateful that they were all so supportive. But why the hell was Mike so fixated on his crush?
Will thought that after everything, they had come to an understanding. That they were going to move on and stay friends, but Mike kept talking about it, bringing it up almost every fucking conversation like clockwork, and Will was losing his mind.
Clack!
He was startled out of his thoughts at the sound of something hitting glass. He watched, mystified, as something hit his window, then again, making the same noise as before.
He slowly approached and lifted up the pane, sticking his head out and frowning as he said, “what're you doing here?”
One sheepish Mike Wheeler looked up from him where he was crouched on the roof of the patio. This particular stretch of roofing was placed several feet under Will's window, and it was too tall for someone even Mike's height to scale easily.
Mike stood up, raised an arm, and with a small smile, he said, “help me up?”
Will hovered in his window.
Then he sighed, muttered something not so nice under his breath, and leaned down.
Their hands clasped together tightly and with only a little bit of effort, Will was tugging Mike up, who helped by sticking the toes of his sneakers into little nooks to boost himself.
Thank god for Hopper's ridiculous physical training, which was the only reason neither of them didn't slip and fall to their deaths as Mike wiggled in through the opening and landed neatly on Will's carpet.
The air was uncharacteristically heavy and silent between them as Will closed the window to block any draft. He didn't turn around, his mouth pinched tight and his brows furrowed deeply as he stared at his reflection, which looked deeply unhappy to him.
“Will - “ Mike started, but for once in his fucking life, he needed to shut up.
“I shouldn't have let you in here,” Will said, whirling around and pinning Mike in place with a glare so hot that it felt like steam was coming out of his nose. “I should have told you to go home, so I'm doing it now. Go home, Mike.”
Mike shook his head rapidly, his eyes wide and his voice pleading as he said, “no, wait, Will, just hear me out - “
“What is there to hear out?” Will said, his voice climbing dangerously. He knew his family was asleep and for a moment, he worried over them waking up, but his concern for them was nothing compared to the sheer anguish that rose in his chest as he stared at the boy he still couldn't help but love. “That you're stringing me along like an ass? That you keep bringing up my feelings so you can use them to your advantage? That you're so fucking full of yourself to the point you honestly thought I don't deserve to like someone else?”
Mike swallowed hard, and his face was somehow both red and pale as he croaked, “oh, Will, I - “
“Because all of those things are true!” Will burst out, feeling half-crazed and out of his mind as he began to pace, running his hands through his hair and even tugging out some of the strands in his distress. “You keep - talking - about things that have nothing to do with you, and I hate it, Mike! God, I fucking hate it!”
“Nothing to do with me?” Mike sputtered, looking like he'd been struck in the head with a bat as he stared at Will in disbelief. “Those things have everything to do with me, what the hell, Will?”
“No, they really don't - “
“Yes, they do - “
“Oh my god, Michael, I don't know what your problem is - “
“Jesus, Will, I don't have a problem, I just - “
“You just! You just! There's no such thing as you just!” Will full on shouted by this point, stepping forward and jabbing Mike in the chest, feeling satisfied when the other boy yelped and rubbed at his sternum. “All my life, I've never known you to do things at half, Mike! You don't just look after your friends. You don't just search for someone for an entire week. You don't just jump off the quarry, you don't just bring up my feelings every conversation like it's your job!”
Will hiccupped, and to both their horror, he sobbed. Tears, warm and salty and all too revealing, rolled down his cheeks and off his chin, splattering onto Mike's shoes as he rocked on his heels, evidently not knowing what to do.
“I thought you said we were friends,” Will said, miserable and defeated and so, so tired as he rubbed at his eyes. “And I trusted you. I trusted that you could handle this, me. God, Mike, do you seriously think I want to keep doing this? That I want to want you? I don't. I just… I need to get over you, okay? So please, for fuck's sake, stop bringing it up. Then we can both move on.”
Mike didn't move.
Then, like lightning, he was grabbing Will's shoulders so urgently that his fingers dug in, and he looked at Will with a desperation that shocked him. Will, who hadn't expected such an intense reaction, blinked up at Mike, tears still clinging to his lashes as he realized that Mike was - oh, no. Mike was crying, too, except it was less crying and more sobbing.
“Will, please don't get over me,” Mike said, his voice thick and shaky, his eyes darting all around Will's face like it was his lifeline, and Will honest to god had no idea what was happening as Mike curled forward and rested his forehead on Will's sternum, sniffling as he did. “Oh, god, I would die if you did. Please keep liking me. Please don't - I can't even stand the idea of you being with someone else, okay? Of you touching someone else, of you, oh, god - kissing someone who isn't me.
“I know I've been a dick, and I'm sorry, I swear I am, but I - I didn't know what to say, okay? All those times I kept saying you liked me - it was actually me saying I like you,” Mike blubbered, squeezing Will tighter when he wheezed out a what the hell, Mike? at his confession. “I like you. I like you so much that I feel sick whenever it feels like you're slipping away from me, so I keep bringing up your crush like a douche to try and remind both of us - “
“Oh my god.” Will gasped wetly, his hands slipping down to grasp at Mike's shaky elbows. “Oh my god, oh my god, you idiot, you absolute moron, I hate you, I - “
“Will, I think I'm in love with you,” Mike said, and Will shoved at him, and Mike stumbled back with a yelp, collapsing onto Will's bed and looking up at him with wide, watery eyes.
Will climbed on top of him, white-knuckled Mike's shirt, and said, “I'm never going to get over you, am I?” And Mike looked like he could pass out from relief as Will leaned down and kissed him.
Mike's arms wrapped around Will's neck and yanked him down desperately, and Will retaliated by digging his hands into Mike's hips and grinning when the other boy shrieked and wiggled below him.
“You have some serious jealousy issues,” Will said some hours or centuries later, the both of them curled up in bed and facing each other on their sides.
Will's mouth felt swollen and tender from the amount of times Mike had bitten at him desperately, but Mike hardly looked any better, what with his red face and cherry-colored lips, a result of Will discovering how much he liked to stick his tongue in between them.
“I know,” Mike said, only looking slightly embarrassed as he lifted their intertwined hands and kissed the back of Will's. “‘M sorry, I swear I'll try to control it.”
“It's fine,” Will said, his hand slipping under Mike's shirt and rubbing circles into his waist, grinning when his breath hitched and his lashes fluttered. “It's kind of cute.”
“Yeah?” Mike breathed.
“Sure,” Will said easily. “Because I like you.”
“Because you like me,” Mike said in awe.
“And because you like me,” Will muttered, inching closer.
“I do,” Mike whispered into his lips. “I really, really do.”