Work Text:
Murray throws open the big door to his truck, “Alright, lab rats, let's scurry up. An entire dimension’s about to come crashing down on our heads!”
“Hey,” Mike says to El, just as she’s about to get up. “Is everything okay?” He asks sincerely. El nods, trying to keep it short and brief; she doesn’t want to deal with Mike as of right now. Mike sighs deeply, “Listen, I know this plan is totally mad and a million things have to go right, and a million things could and probably will go wrong. But we can do this. I know it. One last fight, and this whole nightmare, it’ll be over. It’ll finally be over.” El doesn’t know what to say. She can’t speak either; it’s as if her throat is burning. She hugs him instead of saying anything. It’s easier this way.
El gets out of the truck with the assistance of Hopper and sees deep into Mike and Will’s eyes. Mike nods at El with a smile on his face. He knows El is strong, just like Will; although El’s a mage and Will’s a sorcerer… That doesn’t matter right now, does it?
The rest of the party arrive at the Squawk in the Upside-Down, peering at the giant tower. “No sign of an evil moving planet,” Lucas states while peering through his binoculars. “Well, that’s good. ‘Cause this is gonna take time.” Jonathan says, taking a deep breath, “Alright, we should split up. Use both ladders,” He points between the two, “Don't rush. Pace yourselves. There are platforms along the way, so use them to rest… Alright… Let’s do this.”
Everyone splits up between the two ladders. Mike makes sure he stays close to Will.
Will finally makes it to the next platform, where he’s met with Mike leaning over the ledge, chugging his water. Mike is already looking at him, “You want some?” He says, noticing Will is extremely out of breath. “Yeah,” Will says as if it’s the obvious. Their fingers brush a small amount on the bottle; it’s only a split second, but Will is so dehydrated he doesn’t give it much mind.
Mike looks over the ledge and back to Will. He’s not sure what he wants to say, but he’s sure he wants to say it. Will hands the bottle back to him, still out of breath. Mike wants to break the silence, so he does, “Hey, um…” He looks at Will, Will looks back, “What you said earlier, at the Squawk… I’m sorry.” The apology is true, and it’s clear he means it. He feels horrible and doesn’t want Will to think he’s like Troy or any of the mouth breathers from middle school. Suddenly, their old fight in the rain flashes through his mind. “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” He had yelled at Will in a fit of rage. It wasn’t Will who felt like that; it was Mike.
“I mean, not sorry about what you said. That came out wrong… Or not came out wrong! Jesus Christ.” Mike fumbles over his words while Will laughs slightly at how nervous everyone has been around him lately. “It’s okay, Mike,” Will says, still laughing. “No, it's… It’s not. I should’ve been there for you, and I wasn’t.’ Mike lets out this deep sigh as if he’s been holding it in for ages.
“And I guess I was just so self-absorbed that I couldn’t see it. I just… I feel like an idiot, and I…” He lets a big breath out again. I guess it’s hard to breathe in the Upside-Down. “I’m sorry.” Mike attempts to look anywhere but at Will. “You don’t have to be sorry, Mike. And you are NOT an idiot. You’re not. It’s just… I didn’t even understand it myself for the longest time. I just… I think it needed to happen the way it happened. I needed to find my own way. But what matters is that you’re still here,” Mike smiles at this, “and you still think we can be friends…” Will finally spews out all his words, just to be met with Mike's undeciphering look. He could never tell what exactly Mike was thinking. It’s like after he moved to California, all his knowledge of Mike disappeared.
“Um… listen, Will.” Mike now starts with this unwavering look, either confidence or fear, Will can’t tell. “We could all die right now, and I want you to know… I want you to know that… Shit!” Mike can’t get his words out without tearing up and turns away from Will. With a hand on Mike’s shoulder, seemingly guiding him back to the real world, he says, “Mike… You listen. I don’t know if you understood what I was saying earlier because I didn’t fully understand it either. I did. I did have this stupid, massive crush on you, and I don’t want you to think of me differently because of that. I know you’re not like me in that way, and I don’t want to hold you back. Besides, you have El, and I couldn’t ruin that. I’m over it, I just needed to tell you so Henry can’t use it against me.“ Will says getting ready to leave and finish scaling the massive tower.
“El broke up with me,” Mike finally says, still not looking in Will’s direction. “What?” Will echoes, every thought he’s had since he was 12, coming back to the surface. “A year and a half ago, actually.” Mike turns around, looking at Will with the most sincere look Will didn’t even know was possible. “We’ve just been playing this part for ages… We didn’t want anyone to worry or… try to put us back together,” Mike looks at Will with that knowing look, the look that means he’s known.
'THE PAINTING,' The words flash across Will’s mind. He’s known about it? How long?
“I don’t want to be your Tammy anymore, Will,” Mike says. He’s scared. Everyone is. “I want to be your Mike.”
The tower is jolted slightly, and then, without warning, jolted a LOT. Screams of Mike and Will’s names can be heard from the top of the tower. The Abyss must have started colliding with the Upside-Down.
“Survive this, Will! Please? I kind of want to finish this conversation.” Mike’s words echo through Will’s head as he climbs the tower, reaching the top where Joyce and Nancy stand angrily. They must've been waiting for a bit…
Dustin, Lucas, Nancy, and Mike all stand before the huge belly of the beast where Vecna is. “Holy shit.” Dustin lets out. “Does this officially make us space travelers?” Nancy asked, it was meant to be a rhetorical question… but Mike corrects her, “Interdimensional space travelers.” “Suck it, Armstrong,” Lucas says, still scared but confident that he's cooler than Armstrong of all people.
Will and Robin join the group, with Will going to stand beside Mike. They bump arms just a bit as Will sways. Getting close to Vecna’s real body is taking a slight toll on his mind.
Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will, the original party, walk side by side. “Don’t know about you guys, but I was expecting more like-” Lucas starts before: “Deadly vines?” Will interjects, “Or monsters?” Mike also interjects. “I assume the hive mind works here, too. So if Henry died, so did all his nasty little minions.” Dustin states with a matter-of-fact attitude. “If?” Will asks. He was sure that Henry was already dead. El is strong; the only way to stop the moving planet was to kill him, right?
“We don’t know what’s going on in the mind. Look, I know El broke the spell and stopped the Abyss, but she could still be fighting him.” Dustin explains.
Will looks to Mike, and he can see the worry, “Hey. You know she’s been training for this. And, she’s not alone! She’s got Kali and Max. And I’m sure Henry’s dead. And if he’s not, he will be soon.” Mike nods. They both have this sense of calm wash over them; they know they can stop this beast and kill Vecna. “Yeah,” Mike says.
“Great job keeping the morale up!” Lucas says, patting Dustin’s back sarcastically.
They are met with the huge Mind Flayer den, “That’s it, that’s what I saw in my vision. The kids are in there.” Will says, filling everyone with hope that they can finally save the kids that were just out of their grasp. “Then what are we waiting for?” Nancy says, stomping ahead of the rest.
Mike is very obviously staring at Nancy; he’s just a bit jealous. Why can’t he get a gun too? “Why are you staring at me?” Nancy asks, suddenly very annoyed with her brother. “I’m not!” Mike defends. Nancy gives him this knowing look. He wants a gun, or at least some sort of weapon, but she knows he’s not the best aim. To continue his defense, Mike states, “We’re just getting really close, okay? And we don’t know what’s in there, so I really think you should be sharing some of that firepower.” “You have firepower!” Nancy says, still marching forward, not looking at him this time. “Three Molotovs? Come on! Unless you’re okay living with the guilt of my death, I’m gonna need one of those goddamn guns!” The truth is, Mike doesn’t want to see Will fight and watch himself be useless; he wants to help, and his bomb wasn’t the best invention of all time. Nancy quickly takes out a small gun with a sash-like holster that holds the ammo and hands it to him. “Holy shit! Thanks!”
In truth, Mike is just astonished that his sister actually gave him something, but Lucas decides it’s his time to shine. “Those are flares.” “What?” Mike asks, confused. “Flares. She gave you a flare gun, dude.” Lucas says, almost laughing at how stupid he is.
Will is suddenly very tired; he stops in his tracks, struggling to see straight. Distantly, Mike is still raving about the flare gun, and it’s all Will can hear besides the sound of Henry's panic and the cave blinking in and out of view.
Mike is suddenly very aware that Will is no longer right next to him. He turns around just to check. “Hey! Will!” Mike shouts, running to Will.
The sound of Mike’s voice brings him back; he takes in a large gasp of air as everyone runs back toward him, “Will!” Mike yells again, significantly farther ahead than the others. “Will!” He can distantly hear his mom shout as well. “Hey! What is it? What’s wrong?” Will can really only keep his eyes on Mike, but he can feel the rest of the group surrounding him. “It’s Henry. He’s alive.” Will says, fear evident. He can also see the fear that’s now evident in Mike’s face
“He’s found them. He’s found Holly and the kids.” Will says, suddenly lurching downward. Mike and Joyce are the two right next to him, making sure he’s okay. “Okay, what about El and the others? “Do you see Max? Or Kali?” Mike asks, Holly is obviously brave, but without El, Kali, or Max, Mike is a bit scared.
“They’re alone… They’re all alone.” Will says struggling to stay in reality. “Could you stop him? With your powers?” Robin asks, she might hate Dipshit Derek, but Delightful Derek is definitely in her books. “I can try. Just keep going.” Will says, closing his eyes and letting the vision take control more. “Go! Go!” Joyce says, swatting everyone.
Mike stays by Will’s side, watching everyone leave. “Mike, go!” Joyce says, suddenly very aware of the space Mike is taking up near her son. “No, no, it’s fine, Mom. We have bigger things to worry about,” Will says, still struggling to stay in reality even the slightest. Mike, filled with confidence, adds on, “Plus, if Vecna sends any of his minions at us, you’ll need someone to fight them off!” Joyce fights back, "With what? Your flare gun?" They argue back and forth for a moment.
Without even realizing it, Will can feel himself gaining more control over Vecna. He realizes in a moment that it must be Mike’s voice. He’s able to stay grounded in reality and keep control while hearing it.
“Mike, keep talking,” Joyce says, noticing this in Will. “What?” Mike says, confused that Joyce didn’t yell at him to leave again. “Like before, when we were trying to get that thing out of Will. Your voice helped him to communicate with us, and I think it’s helping him fight that thing now.” Joyce explains. “Right, right…” Mike says, looking at Will. “If this is pointless and I’m just talking to talk, let me know…” He says, pausing to see if Will was gonna tell him to shut up or not. “Henry is going into a tunnel that he’s really scared of…” Will says instead of responding. Mike nods slightly; he understands. This is Will’s way of telling him that he needs to keep talking.
Bringing up their conversation from earlier in front of Ms. Byers would be pretty awkward, but it’s powerful. Powerful is all Mike really has.
“Earlier, on the tower, I didn’t tell you everything-” Mike pauses as he notices Will is getting up to stand. Will suddenly lurches his head to the side. “Holly attacked Henry,” Wil says with pain in his voice. It’s almost as if Henry’s pain is transferring to Will. “I wanted to tell you, I needed to tell you-” Will’s hand moves as if it’s choking something and then threw it, “Henry threw Holly,” Will states. “When I met you on that stupid swingset in kindergarten…” Fear suddenly enters Will’s face as it enters Vecna, “He’s overhearing a memory… He’s really scared to face this.” “Asking you to be my friend was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Will-” Will’s hand jerks back, and he looks at his hand with more fear from Henry than ever. “My life started that day I met you on that swingset, not that day you went missing, and we found El. ‘Friends don’t lie,’ but… I lie, a lot-” Mike is cut off again, by the screams of Will. He collapses to the ground. “Henry gained his powers from here…” Will said. “It wasn’t you.” He now speaks softly, as if to a child. “It was never you. That’s why the Mind Flayer didn’t want you in the cave. It didn’t want you to remember.” He pauses as if waiting for someone else to talk before continuing, “You were just a kid, a kid like me. And it used you. It used you to bring it here. You’re just like me, Henry. A vessel.” He pauses again, “Don’t let it win, Henry, please. Don’t let it win.” Will pauses, this time with shock instead and anger. ”Don’t listen to it, Henry. It is controlling you right now!” Mike looks to the side to see the giant mind flayer den crumbling, slowly moving. “It's moving! Will don’t stop, you’re a sorcerer! If anyone can do it, it has to be you.”
“The thing… It’s hurting.” Joyce says fear in her eyes, instead of looking at Will, she looks at Mike, “El, she must be fighting him, the...” “Hivemind.” Will finishes Mike’s sentence for him, “El’s here, in the Abyss, she’s fighting him, his real body.” Will says, the fear is no longer as evident; he’s confident now, confident in El, but also because of Henry’s confidence.
“Come on, Mike, what are you waiting for?” Joyce shouts towards Mike, who, instead of talking. is watching Will intently. “Oh, right! Right.” He says, snapping out of the sort of trance Will seemingly had on him. “El… she broke up with me that day in Hopper’s cabin after I sort of barged into her room. I know, you told me not to, but I did.” Mike continues, “We both agreed to do this stupid thing where we didn’t tell anyone we weren’t dating anymore, but we didn’t do anything to show that we were. I mean, it was never gonna work anyway. El could see past my whole charade. I was a shitty boyfriend to her… but that’s because I didn’t want to be her boyfriend, Will... I wanted to be yours.”
Joyce had a look of shock on her face that was unmatchable.
Will had a small smile.
“I love you, Will, and I know this is not the time for big confessions, but I was sort of, kind of, hoping you felt the same?” Will suddenly outstretches a hand, his eyes turn white, his nose starts bleeding, “I’m not afraid of you anymore,” Will says with the confidence of a beast. “We’re not afraid of you.” Will states with a slight smile.
Will jerks his hand straight up, bends and yanks down to his side, seemingly breaking Vecna’s arm. His eyes are still blank, but in the distance, Mike and Joyce could see the Mind Flayer collapse. As it collapses, so does Will, into Mike, “I love you too, Mike,” Will says with a smile, “You’re right, though this isn’t the time for confessions.” Will hugs onto Mike's arm as he falls slightly more, and Mike hugs him back.
As they all run towards the Mind Flayer, Mike supports Will’s weight, and Joyce kind of runs awkwardly with them. She wasn’t expecting that kind of confession out of both her son and his best friend of over 10 years.
“Holly!” Mike shouts, passing Will to El as he’s walking by, “Hey! Hey..” Mike says, hugging both her and Nancy.
Joyce’s rough hacks leave Vecna’s head on the floor. Severed and signifying the end. Will walks over to Mike and hugs him, silent, but endearing. Everyone lets out this deep, relieved sigh they didn’t know they had been carrying for years.
Mike and Will help assist the kids into the giant truck. It’s over. It’s finally over. That doesn’t make the future any less scary, though. “I’m sorry.” Will says, “About lying, about the painting… El didn’t commission it.” Mike nods, “I’m sorry about pretending I didn’t know… I didn’t see you before... but I see you, now.” Mike smiles. Will smiles, too. “Our future is gonna be…” Will starts, “Scary.” Mike finishes as they get into the truck as well. “Yeah…” Will says back.
Will sits with Joyce, and she holds his hand and lets him lean his head on her shoulder. After all this, who wouldn't be tired? “It’s gonna be alright, Will. It’s all over,” She says, kissing him on the forehead. Will nods, leaning in closer.
Mike sits with El and lets her hug him. She’s obviously tired too if Will is, but why does it feel wrong? Through all this madness, Derek is smiling at Mike and waving. Mike looks around, confused. Why is Dipshit Derek smiling at me? He wonders. He waves back though, after all this, it’s hard not to be happy that it’s over.
Suddenly, as they are going back into Hawkins, the truck jolts and everyone is thrown about inside, the tires are all popped, and the truck comes to a quick stop. “Everyone okay?” Mike asks. He’s mostly asking this towards Will, but the others count too.
The military men open the truck immediately, screaming with guns, “Everyone put your hands up!” Mike jumps down with his hands up, “Get off of me!” as they try to grab him. It’s hard to decipher who is talking and where everyone is. Everyone is yelling. “Will!” Mike shouts as he pushes against the truck by one of the strong military men. Will is pinned on the other side of the truck with his mom as they search everyone. Over all the noise he can faintly hear Mike yelling his name. It’s pointless to yell back, though, the Upside-Down is about to explode, literally.
Mike looks around. If he can’t find Will, he needs to find El. The El, who was right next to him in the truck. Everyone who was near him in the truck is also near him now... So where is El? “El? Do you see El?” He asks Dustin next to him, wildly turning his head in all directions.
In the distance, Doctor Kay yells, “Sergeant! Where’s the girl?”
“She must have escaped,” Dustin says, relieved that that could mean they would all be saved by her. He and Mike share a relieved sigh, but then… All heads turn to El. Standing at the gate, just inside enough to where she’s in the Upside-Down. The Upside-Down that’s actively about to explode…“Oh god,” Dustin exclaims.
Mike shares a meaningful look with El. It’s her way of telling him not to come further. Not to try and save her. Instead, he runs toward her, being grabbed by a military man who was keeping him there. “Mike!” Dustin yells, trying to help. “Get off me!” Mike yells. The yell fades into silence, and Mike is thrown on the floor into a pile of water. He looks up. Time seemingly stops, and El walks toward him. Mike runs.
“You have to get out of there!” Mike yells, grabbing her shoulders, “You have to get out!” El speaks calmly, softly, “None of this will ever end, not if I’m still here.” “No, no, no. We’ll figure something out. We’ll fight back. We always do!” Mike exclaims. “I need you to talk to the others.” Each word El says is cut off by Mike whispering no. “I need you to thank them for being so kind to me. And teaching me what it means to be a friend.” “No! Please don’t do this. Please don’t do this!” Mike continues, trying to fight this invisible battle that will never be won. “Mike, I need you to help them understand my choice,” El says softly, not crying, not fighting back, just defeated. “But I don't. I don't understand!” Mike fights back with each word. “I know. But you will. One day you will. You understand me. Better than anyone. You always have. That’s why… why I want you to be happy with Will. You won’t be happy if you have to keep fighting to keep me safe. I don’t want that for you... You or Will.” El says. She sees the old memories of her meeting Mike; she misses these times, the times before she knew the truth. He had to have her, or everyone would assume things about him.
She hugs Mike as a goodbye. “Please don’t leave me, El. Please don’t do this.” Mike whispers. “I love you, Mike. I know you don’t feel it back, but I have to do this; you’re the only one who will understand…Goodbye, Mike.” Suddenly, Mike is jolted upwards, back into the real world, into Hawkins. The military men grabbing him as he tries to run forward, “El! El! El!” He screams. Everyone around screams for El as well. It has to end this way. She can’t be stuck in Hawkins, constantly hunted. There’s no other way. “El!” Will yells, trying to pull away from the soldiers.
The Upside-Down explodes. It happens slowly, as if it’s in slow motion. Everything is sucked everywhere, and all the buildings and debris fly. A bright light is expelled through the portal, and for a second, the soldiers falter. “EL!” Hopper screams.
Suddenly, another bright light and loud sound are emitted. Silence falls. It’s as if the world stopped moving. The portal is gone, and now just ruins of a building remain; the soldiers faltering.
“Alright, rolling,” Jonathan says, messing with his camera. “Happy graduation!” Will says cheesing for the camera with Joyce and Hopper, “Happy graduation.” Hopper says holding a thumbs up. “Class of '89!” Will says even happier. Suddenly, the sheet that makes the room dark falls, and Jonathan struggles to put it back up so that the camera will focus. “Shit! Hold on.” He says. “Oh god. No.” Hopper says sick of Jonathan and his camera. “Let him hang it back up.” Joyce calms. “No. No. No. Leave the bedsheet!” He says again. “There’s too much light. It needs diffusion.” Jonathan explained for the millionth time. “It’s not the Godfather,” Hopper said, increasingly more annoyed. “I know it’s not!” “Let him hang it up. “You get one more take!” The voices overlap, and Jonathan finally gets the sheet hung back up.
The phone rings, interrupting yet again, and Will looks over to the phone, letting his mom answer. “Hello?” Joyce speaks. “No, I haven't seen him…. It’s Karen.” She says, turning around to look at Will. “She can’t find Mike.”
Mike is sitting in his basement. He’s heard his mom’s yells all day; he’s even heard her come down into the basement to look for him, but he hid. He doesn’t want to graduate, not after all this. It’s overwhelming and stupid.
“Mike? Hey, are you down here?” Will’s voice fills the room. Mike wipes his tears, stifling a sniffle. “Yeah, yeah… I’m right here, Will.” Mike says, looking up the stairs to see Will in his oversized graduation cap and gown. “You look crazy,” Mike smiles upon seeing him. “Your mom has been looking for you,” Will says, handing him his cap and gown Karen gave him upstairs. “Crazy together?” Will gestures for him to put it on. Mike wasn’t dressed for the event, in a faded Ghostbuster t-shirt and sweatpants. “Where’s your suit?” Will asks, looking around before spotting it and also shoving it into Mike’s hands. “Come on, there’s no time, we’re gonna be late,” Wil says, seeing that Mike still hasn’t moved yet.
Mike wants to move, to put on his stupid cap and gown and stupid tie. He wants to leave with Will and not be late to his own graduation. But he feels grounded. He can’t speak, he can’t move, the only thing he can do is cry. So he does.
Will follows Mike down as he sits on the couch, falling into tears. “Mike! Hey, it’s okay, what’s wrong?” Will worries. “Nothing… nothing's wrong. I- I’m just…” “Scared.” Will finishes his sentence for him. “Yeah.”
“I mean… I’m scared of us… If we are gonna manage to make it through life together. I mean, what if the hivemind comes back and tries to hurt you again, Will?” Mike brings more tears. “Hey, it’s okay that won’t happen.” Will hugs Mike from the side, and Mike leans into him. “I’m sorry… we’re gonna be late because I’m too scared of the future without El,” Mike whispers into Will. “No, no. It’s alright. It’s alright, Mike… I know you miss El too… We all do. But the future has to come first, and we can’t just drop everything to wallow.” Will says, wishing that he could. “I wish we could,” Mike says, hugging Will tighter. The tears begin in Will’s eyes as well, “Me too.”
The front door slams shut, and they both look up. “I think your mom just left without you for your own graduation,” Will says, laughing even with the tears. “Shit, we’re gonna be late.” Mike laughs too. The tears are long forgotten, and Mike hurries to put the crazy graduation outfit on. Will ties his tie for him, and Mike looks into his eyes. “We really are gonna look crazy together,” Mike laughs.
Will pulls his tie tight and looks back. They stare into each other’s eyes for a long moment. “We should tell the others tonight,” Mike says, breaking the silence. “What? No, Mike. Don’t force yourself.” Will says, confused, dropping Mike’s tie. “No, I want to, I don't want them to think I’ve been in love with El this whole time when it’s been you. It always has.” Mike states matter-of-factly.
“Mom! Mom!” Holly yells, spotting Mike.
“Mom.” Jonathan pokes while pointing at Will.
Karen and Joyce race towards them.
“Mike,” Karen said, hugging him. “I’m sorry, Mom. I panicked.” Mike said into her shoulder. “You don’t have to explain. God, look at you. You’re all grown up. I’m so proud of you. I'm so, so proud,” She hugs him again with tears in her eyes. “I love you, Mom,” Mike says, closing his eyes. “I love you, baby,” Karen says, rubbing his back.
“Will! What took so long? You had me worried sick.” Joyce says, pulling Will into a small hug. “I’m fine, Mom, I’m fine. Plus, I brought Mike.” Will says, smiling. They both look towards Karen and Mike hugging beside them, and Joyce walks over slightly to put a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “Come on, you’re already late for your own graduation." Joyce laughs. “Right!” Mike says as he sees Dustin already giving his speech, as he and Will race for their seats.
“The end!” Mike exclaims, shutting his loaded D&D binder. “Great campaign!” Lucas says, grabbing Max’s shoulder. “Great campaign!” Will claps, smiling and looking at Mike. “Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Hold on. That’s it? Comfort and happiness? Could you be more trite?” Max exclaims, and everyone looks at her like she had killed Vecna with her own two hands. “I thought you were some kind of master storyteller or something.” She continued. “OH!” Dustin laughs. Lucas sits there in shock. And Will laughs as he tries to decipher what Mike is going to say next. “Well, it is true, the comfort and happiness part. But happiness can be found in many places. The knight and the zoomer; they retire from battle, and they settle down in a small village. With each passing day, their love grows stronger.” Max and Lucas look and each other and smile. Mike continues, “The bard; craving knowledge, makes his way to the Mage’s Guild of Enclave, where he spends his days in their vast library. Though deeply devoted to his studies… he still makes time for the occasional adventure.” Dustin smiles, seemingly happy with his future.
Mike, still not over with his endings, continues, “As for Will the Wise, he finds deep happiness and acceptance with another character. Similar to the knight and zoomer… just different. The storyteller follows his every step to the bustling city of Vallaki.” Mike reaches across the table to grab Will’s hand. The gasps from around them are clear through everyone’s tears. “It’s overwhelming at first, but they find their place in this world. Together. Their love grows stronger with each passing day, just as the knight and the zoomer.” “No way… Lucas, you owe me 5 bucks!” Max laughs. Will looks at Max and Lucas, who are laughing, then at Dustin, who is stunned with shock. It’s then that he remembers. “And the mage?” Will looks into Mike’s eyes. The room goes silent, no longer having the sound of Max and Lucas’ bickering. “The real story… of the mage,” Mike says, the tears growing bigger in his eyes. “When she cast sunbeam, she expended the last of her energy, and she vanished. But has anyone asked themselves how she cast that spell?” Will looks around, confused. He hadn’t expected Mike to have this in store. “The suppression stone.” Dustin gasps… “She couldn’t have used her magic,” Will says, suddenly confused about the true ending of the mage. “In the excitement, no one even noticed. But you see, the mage is very clever. A cleverness only matched by her sister, who, upon hearing the pleads of the paladin, had a change of heart. Together, the sisters devised a plan, a plan to protect the mage from the Order of the Black Hand, who remained hell-bent on stealing her powers. So to trick them, she had to make everyone, including her friends, believe that she was dead. And so the sister cast a spell from far away. Safe from the power of the suppression stone. A spell of invisibility.” Mike continues. He’s sure of it, repeating the events in his head… This must’ve been what happened. “Once the mage escaped, the sister cast one final spell. The mage you saw die was not real. She was an illusion.” Mike finished. Everyone smiles, the tears staining faces evident. “Where did she go?” Max asked, very confused. “No one knows. No one will ever know. But I’d… I’d like to imagine that she’s in a beautiful land, somewhere far away.” Will holds onto Mike’s hand stronger. “She finds a small town to call home. Safe from the danger of the Black Hand. And it is here, at last, that she finds peace. That she finally finds happiness.” “But… this is just a theory?” Max asks, “How do we know it’s true?” Will asks as well. “We don't, not for sure. But I choose to believe that it is.” Mike says, looking only Will in the eyes this time. “I believe.” He looks at everyone in the party this time, not just Will.
“I believe,” Dustin smiles. “I believe,” Lucas says through tears, “I believe,” Max says, nodding her head, blinking back tears. “I believe,” Will says, smiling at Mike as tears run down his face.
The door slams open, Mike and Will quickly remove their hands, “Guys! What's going on? The lasagna’s getting cold!” Karen yells down the stairs. “Yeah, we… we just finished. We’ll be right up.”
Karen, seemingly satisfied, nods and walks away, shutting the door.
“Can I ask how long the storyteller and Will the Wise were planning on keeping this a secret?” Dustin says as he shoves his binder into Mike’s old shelves. Mike and Will look to each other and laugh. “It doesn’t matter, Dustin, they didn’t kiss when they did it, so I win,” Max says, shoving her binder beside Dustin’s. At this, Mike, Will, and Lucas also get up. “I still don’t think I should be losing the bet, I was right about when they were gonna say something.” Lucas follows Max to the shelf to shove his book there as well. Mike and Will are already looking at each other. Their thoughts combining into one. It would be REALLY funny if we kissed right now and all their bets fell out.
And they did. As if no one was surrounding them. Mike cupped Will’s jaw with his hand, and Will brought both hands to Mike’s waist. Through the protests of all their friends losing on their bets, they kissed.
When they separated, they first looked at each other and smiled. Then they looked to their friends, bickering as the three of them raced upstairs.
Will was the first to break their close proximity and grab his binder and place it on Mike’s shelf. He could see it in Mike’s eyes; he wasn’t ready to stop playing D&D for the rest of their lives. Will looked back at Mike’s binder and handed it to him.
Will looked deeply into Mike’s eyes, and he watched as his tears silently flew. Will stepped a teensy bit closer and swiped at his tears with his thumb, “We could always… join another party?” Will turns his head with a questioning look, as if seeing if Mike would remember. “Not possible,” Mike says with a laugh. “Come on, the food is getting cold.” Will says, heading towards the stairs. Mike gently places his binder beside Will’s and-
Before he can even think, Holly and her friends (plus Dipshit Derek) are racing down the stairs to come play D&D. “They’re gonna be the new us!” Will laughs, grabbing Mike’s hand to go up the stairs. “There is no new us, there’s only us.” Mike smiles at Will.