Chapter Text
Mike is annoyed.
A little more than annoyed actually. Head against the steering wheel, he bites the inside of his cheek until the metallic taste of blood fills his mouth. Just a little. But enough to know when to stop. He leans against the horn hard. A guy down the street walking his dog flips him off, he returns the gesture in kind, the sound of his horn long and sustained as he adds a glare for safe measure.
Finally– Finally Will is rushing out of the doors to his apartment complex. Mike feels a tad bit of relief that eases the tension in his shoulders and the slight headache creeping up his temples. His wristwatch beeps. It’s 7am and far too early for him to be awake, let alone witnessing the worst thing in his entire life as Carlton follows Will out, carrying his bag along with that big goofy fuckass smile that already has Mike rolling his eyes as they casually chat about something that Mike can’t hear like he hasn’t been waiting for 8 whole minutes. His headache spikes.
Will smiles at him, and Mike returns it with his own tight lipped smile. Right, he can’t be upset with Will. He’s not at fault. Carlton throws a stupid three fingered wave at him and Mike very pointedly ignores it. Instead, he focuses on Will who tips his head to the side, a silent gesture to the trunk. He reaches for the latch and unlocks it. Carlton heaves up the luggage and carefully places it in.
When the trunk is shut, Mike drops his head back against the steering wheel. He didn’t need to assault his eyes with anything more, after all. He only turns his head a little when the door opens and Will gets in. Will threw a soft morning his way which was returned with a mumbled out mm mm which probably meant morning.
He watches Will as he tries to get his seatbelt on when he clears his throat. “So like… did you pack to run away or something?” He raises an eyebrow and starts the car. “You know we're only gonna be there for a week and a half right?”
His snarky comment does nothing to make Will’s smile fade. In fact, he only smiles wider. He turns to Mike with a cheeky smile and a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Easy there, grumpy. Unlike you, all my things are here.”
Mike rolls his eyes playfully and he’s about to pull out of the parking space, but there’s a knock at Will’s window. They turn and it's Carlton. Mike really suppresses the urge to scowl when Will winds the window down and even more so when Carlton leans forward, arms resting against the door as he goes face to face with Will.
Gag me with glass. Mike thinks to himself.
“You two drive safe now. Call me when you guys arrive. I’m sorry I couldn't come along, I just really need this job and-”
“It's ok.” Will practically jumps to reassure. He places a careful hand on his forearm and he grins and lifts Will’s hand to his mouth and presses a kiss to his knuckles. “Promise?” He asks. And Will visibly swoons.
“Promise.” He breathes out.
Suddenly, Mike feels out of place in his own goddamn car.
“I love you.”
He turns his head and looks out the window to try and focus on that guy's dog on the side of the street taking a dump on the sidewalk, but he can hear the warmth in Will's voice and he can imagine the genuine love and warmth in his eyes when he replies. He hates it. “I love you too.”
He feels like shit.
He doesn’t know if they kiss nor does he really want to. But when they start saying their final goodbyes, he just gets the car going.
Will keeps looking out the window until they’re far from the building.
Then finally he turns to Mike. “I made you coffee.” He says sweetly.
Mike clears his throat and his voice comes out in a croak, “With-”
He’s already nodding at Mike and passing the thermos to him while he’s still rifling through his bag. “No milk, one sugar, yes. Just the way you take it.”
Mike makes a sound in the back of his throat that sounds almost like a wounded dog and he almost wants to feel embarrassed about it. But he’s too tired for that, he drinks about a quarter of it in one go before sighing out deeply as he feels his life finally coming back to him. “God, you're a life saver.”
Will shrugs and pulls out a sandwich for himself and another one for Mike, placing Mike’s in between them on the console before unwrapping his own. “I figured you'd wake up exactly five minutes before you had to pick me up. You're so predictable, Mike.”
A slight tinge of pink flashes in his cheeks slightly at the thought of being read like a book, so easily. He pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue and throws Will a playful glare. He’s got a mouthful and places the sandwich down in his lap before reaching for Mike’s. “Maybe you just know me too well, Will.” He says pointedly.
He chews and swallows and unwraps Mike’s sandwich. “15 years.” Will muses, “It’ll come with the territory, I guess. Ahh~” He calls as he holds the sandwich to Mike’s lips, leaning over the console as far as his seatbelt would allow him to do safely. Mike takes a bite, keeping his eyes on the road.
Turkey with extra mustard and no mayo. His heart warms.
They continue like that, Will taking turns giving them alternating bites of their respective sandwiches while Mike ensures that they are kept alive in the car until their sandwiches are finished.
“Thank you!” Mike sing-songs.
“Ah, there’s my Mike Wheeler. Not some grumpy weirdo.”
“Shut up.”
Will sticks his tongue out at him and pulls out his water bottle for a sip.
“Have any tylenol in your bag of wonders by chance?”
Will raises an eyebrow at him and eyes him warily. “Your head hurts?”
Mike waves a hand dismissively, “Just slightly. But I think I should take care of it before it gets any worse.”
Will opens his bag and fishes the bottle of tylenol out. He keeps it specifically for Mike the scatterbrain that he is, he constantly either never brings any or always runs out in a manner that has been concerning Will for a long time. He hands the pill and then his open bottle of water over to Mike, he takes another sip from the same bottle after Mike takes the pill and hands it back to him so he can cap it. He tosses it into his bag before throwing his knapsack to the back seat.
They settle into a comfortable and easy silence.
Mixtape in hand, Will grins at Mike. He gets the music going for the both of them, low enough that it doesn't aggravate Mike’s head but loud enough that it’s enjoyable as he rolls down his window and to feel the cool air on his skin. He pulls the sunshades off of his shirt and slips them onto his face. With the wind blowing his hair back as he sings and bobs his head along to the music he looks so in his element. Handsome. Confident. And confidence looks so nice on him, Mike has come to find out.
He steals a glance every now and then, but tries his best to focus on driving.
After all, they’ve got about 10 hours to go till they get to Hawkins.