Archive of Our Own ^beta

He wasn't allowed to feel like this. Mike Wheeler’s whole life was decided for him from the moment he was born. He had the perfect family, a house in the suburbs, parents who tolerated each other. What more could he ask for? He wasn’t allowed to want more. He was the boy who had it all.

He had a girlfriend who loved him, three best friends who he had known for most of his life, a whole support network of people that he could lean on because they were all trauma bonded together. So why did his stomach turn when he had to talk about his feelings?

When he sent letters to El when she was in Lenora, why couldn’t he write the one word that would have eased her worries? Why couldn’t he say it to her face? Why did he feel a sense of relief when she broke up with him the first time… and why was he always wishing she would do it again?

He envied Max and Lucas, They were always there for each other, he could see it in the way they melted into each other and how a comfort settled over them when they were near. It was easy for them. It came naturally and they didn’t struggle. Why couldn’t he be like them?

And then there was Will. Will who had always been his best friend. Will who sent his thoughts into spirals. Their friendship had always been different, it was earnest. It always meant more, they were more. But he could never admit that, Will was just his best friend. It was different because Will was his first friend, that's what he told himself.

When he and El broke up after the 15th crawl so that she could focus on her training, he went straight to Will. But he wasn’t sad. He had known that they were teetering on the edge of their relationship for a while, since before California if he was being honest with himself. It was a mutual decision, with the world ending and all.

But Will had been the first person on his mind. He could’ve gone to Lucas, to wallow in his self pity and play video games… yet, he found himself in his dimly lit basement sitting knee to knee from concerned hazel eyes and soft whispered words.

It was the first time that he had felt a kind of… shift, in their friendship. He felt it starting to go back to the way it was before everything, before California and the upside down and all of the supernatural shit that they have had to endure. Back when it was just them, soft smiles and giggles at midnight, sharing comic books and hiding under blankets. It felt normal. A world of their own where they could just be.

Though, it didn’t last long. With more crawls came chaos, conjoined worlds and missing kids. His sister, Holly. His mom and dad. Everyone he held close went slipping through his hands like sand, he couldn't save them, he was forced to watch helplessly– uninjured and without a scratch.

He clung to his friends as best as he could but Dustin was vacant, clearly struggling with something that he didn’t want anyone else to know about. Lucas was worried about Max, rightfully so and he felt like he had a duty to play her song so that she could find her way back. And Will… Will was starting to cling to Steve Harrington’s friend Robin like a lifeline.

She was always there. When Mike turned around to check that Will was still there, he was laughing with Robin, their heads bent together and their smiles wide. She was distracting Will from the plan at hand, always whispering and touching him. And Mike couldn't handle it.

His whole family had been ripped from him and now his best friends were scattered around Hawkins like missing pieces of a puzzle. And Will… Will was so far beyond his reach but never out of his sight, taunting him, a constant reminder that he was no longer needed. Will had outgrown him.

Will had saved him. But he had also saved Lucas and Robin. Because that’s the kind of person Will Byers was, he was selfless and kind and the type of person who would put anyone else's needs above his own. Mike couldn’t take it personally, Will was loyal to a fault. He used to take that for granted but now he knew, it was just the way he was.

So when Will called for him, he turned around instantly. His heart raced, he thought he was finally needed. One of the most important people in Will’s life. The look in his eyes, not just in his eyes but the way that he was looking at Mike– it was only there for a moment. Then Mike was gathering everyone.

Will had some kind of announcement that everyone needed to hear.

His mind raced. It had to be something to do with Vecna, or the upside down, because he wanted everyone there for it. But that didn’t make sense with the way that he was looking at Mike minutes prior. The conversation that he had interrupted seemed more deep than that. More personal.

And then Will was crying, not soft tears that silently rolled down his cheeks, hysterical and sobbing and hiccuping between words. He was looking at Mike, Lucas and Dustin, but it felt like he was talking to Mike’s soul, every single part of him that he hid away behind a locked door.

It was such a strange scene, one that filled Mike with confusion and an uncontrollable sense of anger. This was an important conversation, Will was voicing his deepest insecurities to a room full of people, some who he barely knew. And Mike, he resonated with the words that were coming out of Will’s mouth. And he wasn’t angry at Will.

He was angry at the world, at the situation that his best friend had been forced into, at all of the people who had hurled insults at him when they were growing up, at Lonnie for being the first and then, at himself, for not seeing it sooner. The thing that Will had been hiding from him for years now was finally out in the open and it wasn’t ugly. It was beautiful, Will was beautiful.

Mike joined the group hug, but his mind was still swirling. Obviously, their friends accepted Will with open arms, how could they not? But it didn’t settle the weight that had placed itself inside of Mike’s chest. He could’ve told me. It was an ugly thought, like he was taking it personally when he knew he had no right to. And who was Tammy?

The room cleared after many tearful moments but Mike couldn’t move. He was still standing, frozen to the spot as his ears rang out. He wanted to scream but he knew that wouldn’t solve anything. His inner monologue was interrupted by a soft sound from next to him, one that he knew better than anything else.

“Mike?”

It was Will’s voice and it broke Mike out of his trance. His eyes snapped to him, like it was the first time he had seen him, really seen him. Mike was overcome by so many different emotions, he was beyond proud of Will for having the courage to be who he was despite the way the world was– but he couldn’t help the ugly green eyed monster that was growing in the pit of his stomach.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

The words came out before he could stop himself. Mike knew he had no right to ask but he was hurt, hurt because he had always defended Will, he would always defend him. He used to know everything about him, they would always tell each other everything first.

Things had changed when Will was in California but the past 18 months while they were living together they had fixed things, they were a duo again… in Mike’s eyes they had. Together. Will had promised.

“What–? I mean… it's not really something that just comes up in conversation.”

Fuck. He was going about this the wrong way. He didn’t want Will to think this was about him being… not liking girls, it was far from that. Mike admired the fact that Will was finally being honest with himself and with their friends.

He hated that Will couldn’t come out on his own terms. It was yet another thing that Vecna and the upside down had taken from him, first his childhood and now this. Mike’s arm twitched, he wanted to reach out and pull him in tight. He wanted nothing more than to shield him from everything that was still going on around them but he didn’t know if Will would want that so he stayed put, toeing his shoes into the shaggy carpet in the squawk common room.

When did touch become a major point of contention for them? He was only realizing it now. When they were kids it didn't matter. They had spent hours in Mike’s basement huddled under a shared blanket watching scary movies, sides pressing against each other and hiding in their shared closeness when things got too much. When had they stopped hugging to say hello even if it had only been mere hours since they had been together?

When had their friendship taken the inexplicable turn into what it was now and why didn’t Mike realise in time to stop it?

“But I’m– I mean, we are best friends. You could have told me.”

There was something hidden in Will’s expression, like he wasn’t telling him everything. Will had always worn his heart on his sleeve but now, Mike couldn’t decipher whatever he was concealing behind his hazel eyes.

“Mike–”

Will seemed to be pleading with him, almost begging him to drop the subject but that had never been one of his strong suits. He couldn’t just forget about it, he was loyal to a fault and when he was on a quest for knowledge nothing could stop him.

“No, it’s fine. I get why you didn’t tell the others but we’ve always been us.”

“Mike, this isn’t really the time.”

“We talk about everything though, we’re supposed to be able to talk about everything-”

“Not this, Mike.” Will cut him off abruptly, his eyes shining in the bright lights as he seemingly willed away tears that were threatening to fall. “This was– something I got so used to lying about, to everyone, not just you, everyone. It was something I was ashamed of and I didn’t want to– no, I couldn’t talk to you about it. I thought, if I just kept it inside of me then I wouldn’t ever have to face it. This… it’s not something I was willing to lose you over.”

“You wouldn’t lose me over something like this, you're still you.” Mike admitted quickly, grabbing Will’s wrist to pull him back to face him from where he had started to turn away. “You’re my– my best friend. It’s like you said, nothing has changed. Just because you don’t– like girls…”

He stopped in his tracks. Those words echoed in his head, it wasn’t the first time he had said those words and he would lament that rainy day for the rest of his life. He was so stupid.

Will seems to realise where his thoughts have landed and it shows on his face, the same expression he had exhibited earlier when Mike was apologising. He opens his mouth to speak at the same time Mike does, always ready to squash his fears in that habitual Will Byers way. “You didn’t know–”

“No, Will you have to listen. I’m sorry. What I said that day- you’re right, I didn’t know, but it doesn’t make it right… I should never have said it.” Mike’s eyes were glassy, but his hold on Will’s wrist stayed unwavering as he spoke, gaze trained on his best friend's face. “I didn’t even really mean it in that way and the second those words came out I regretted it. I've felt so guilty for years, and I never apologised.”

Mike was shaking now, his demeanor that had been steady during his big apology was beginning to break and the words he had left to say felt heavy on his tongue. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he needed to say. A hundred confessions stuck in his throat.

“You’re my best friend, Will. I’m sorry for what I said. I’m sorry.”

Mike had never seen Will make that face before. He was dazed and attempting to put words to his thoughts which left him gaping, his mouth opening and closing over and over again. Mike willed him to speak, to say something, anything. He had never wanted to hug him more than he did right now.

Mike’s hand was still on Will’s wrist, he could do it. Just pull him in and hold him close–

It was Joyce who interrupted them, putting a stop to whatever mistake he could’ve made and Mike was… disappointed? It was a feeling he found himself encompassing more and more recently.

“Hopper’s here boys– we really have to go.” She looked between them, eyes hovering over where Mike was holding Will’s wrist and he went white. It was an innocent touch, he had been attempting to ground Will, to stop him from running so he could finally voice all of the thoughts that had plagued him over the years…

So why did it fill him with dread to know that Joyce was there? Why did it feel so wrong to be seen when the single point of contact sent electric currents up his arm and over his chest in the best way? Could Will feel it too? The intensity from where their skin touched… and why was Mike’s head screaming at him that it was wrong when it felt more right than anything he had felt before.

Will was the first to pull away, ripping his hand from Mike’s grasp like he had been burnt. He drew his attention away from where it had been locked on Mike, flicking to where Joyce had entered the room and nodded.

“Coming, Mom.”

His gaze flickered back to Mike for a moment, only a moment. Mike felt hopeful, like he was going to say something, anything, to ease the pounding in his chest or confirm that he wasn't the only one that was going crazy from a simple touch.

But, he ducked his head, walking past Mike and out the door without so much as a word, leaving him standing like a fish out of water staring at the spot where Will had stood only moments prior. What was he going to say? Mike was left wondering as he made his way out to the truck. And why does my chest hurt?

Everything seemed to blur together, the look on Will’s face bore into his mind as the truck barreled into the Mac-Z, the commotion around him no more than a haze as they made their way into the upside down. Mike tried his best to focus on everything that was happening but he kept replaying their conversation in his head, the way Will had looked at him and how his fingers yearned to reach out and make contact with Will once more.

He kept his distance. Will stood on the opposite side of the group, wedged in the back between Nancy and Lucas with his eyes trained on the ground as if he were deep in thought. It hurt Mike to know that, despite revealing his true self, Will was still plagued with the weight of knowing that Vecna would use all of his insecurities against him. All of his secrets.

When they finally reached the Squawk Mike’s fingers were twitching more than they were before. They were down people, El and Hopper among the ones who were left at the lab to play out the plan to use El’s powers to infiltrate Vecna’s mind. Of course, he was but he trusted her. He knew what she was capable of, Mike had seen it first hand.

The rest of the group unloaded from the truck.

Mike was helping transfer everything into the squawk, fiddling with the buttons on his army jacket and readjusting the beanie that had shifted down his head during the car chase.

“You know, I still think you could’ve chosen a better song.” Robin chuckled as she sat down next to him on the steps outside the front doors of the building. “But, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Mike Wheeler listens to ‘The Butthole Surfers’.”

He raised his eyebrows at her. This was one of the very few conversations that the two had ever had willingly and it was right before they were about to risk their lives in an alternate dimension. It was almost laughable if Mike was in the mood to laugh. He still had too many things on his mind.

“So, uh,” She started up again. It was clear that she didn’t understand his unwillingness to talk, she had something on her mind and she felt like he was the one that needed to hear it. “How are you holding up? You know, after everything.”

Mike sent her an incredulous look. Had Nancy put her up to this? It was the only way that he could make sense of why Robin would feel the need to talk to him in the first place. “I’m fine.” He forced out, his jaw set as he started to play with the clasps on the pockets of his cargo pants.

She cleared her throat looking out at their friends who were standing in the gravel in front of the radio tower. Lucas, Dustin and Steve were talking animatedly about something, clearly in a disagreement. Will and Joyce, Nancy and Jonathan, they’re all standing in a circle no doubt talking through the plan again and making adjustments.

His eyes flicked to Will, in the distance, saying words that he couldn’t hear to people that weren’t him. He looked content. As if he weren’t confessing his deepest secrets only hours ago. Will’s gaze flicked to him, it was hard to make out given the distance but he could feel heat rise to his cheeks.

Mike gave Will a small wave, just a miniscule flick of his hand, and Will whipped his head back to his mom, as if he had been caught. It made Mike’s heart skip a beat, which wasn’t the normal response a boy should have from simply looking at his best friend… but he didn’t really have time to unpack that– he didn’t want to unpack that.

“And what about with Will? Are you alright with that?”

Mike redirected his attention back to Robin in an instant.

“What?” He started, furrowing his brows as he searched her face for an answer, any answer, to why she would bring that up now. “Will is my best friend. He is one of the most important people in my life, nothing could change that.”

“So you don’t care?”

She said it so simply, like they were talking about the weather– and of course, he didn’t care. But, he also cared way too much. It was like the confession changed the entire dynamic of their friendship. Everything was now clear, it was out in the open and it felt good.

But it also hurt.

Will could be himself. Everyone had accepted who he was without so much as a second glance… Even Steve Harrington, who Mike would’ve assumed shared the same opinions as his father, had put his hand on Will’s shoulder and told him how brave he was. But Mike wasn’t brave.

Will had said that he was the heart, the one that kept the party together in the chaos, but that wasn’t him. He was terrified. Terrified of no longer being needed. Terrified of feeling anything that wasn’t considered normal. Terrified of the way that Will made him feel and what it would mean if he accepted that he felt the same.

“It’s not a big deal. Like he said, he’s still the same person only now he… you know.”

“Likes boys.”

“Yeah… that.”

There’s a tension between them and Mike’s thoughts start running wild. She knows. A voice in the back of his head, that sounds eerily like his father, taunts. She knows what you are, Michael. What you have always been.

He flinched. If Robin noticed she didn’t say anything, but she was looking at him now. Like, really looking at him, as if she was trying to decode his subconscious or worm her way into his mind so that she could hear his thoughts.

“It seems like there’s something about it that’s bothering you.”

“What? No.” Mike gritted his teeth, why did she care? What did she get out of any of this? Making him question things about himself and who he was. He hated it. He didn’t want her to bore into his mind, he didn’t even like being in there.

“It’s just– and hear me out here before you go cutting me off. You’re happy being in your little bubble, and that's great, you have your friends and your family and everyone you love all wrapped neatly in a little box. And it’s safe, warm… normal. Then, something comes and throws it all off balance.”

Mike stares at her, dumbfounded. She’s rambling and barely making sense but he’s listening nonetheless, it’s keeping his mind off the imminent danger they are in… but it’s taking him to a place that he isn’t ready to really explore yet.

“What I’m saying, little Wheeler, is that you like safe. But, have you ever actually taken the dive? You’ve got your toes dipped in the shallow end of the pool but what if the thing that you really want is at the bottom of the deep end and the only way to get to it is to, y’know, get your hair wet.”

“I’ve taken risks before.” He was here, after all, in a dystopian version of his home town about to fight to stop worlds from colliding. This wasn’t the time to do something reckless or whatever it was that she was suggesting. He had bigger problems to worry about.

“Yes, the whole supernatural, alternate dimension thing, I get that. I guess– I mean, more like… have you ever thought about what happens after all this?”

“After?”

“Yeah! Like, this whole ‘fighting to save the world from collapsing’ can’t last forever now, can it? What happens when this is all over? What do you want?”

No one had ever asked him that. He didn’t get to want things. His life was planned out for him, no matter what he thought he might like. He knew if he survived all of this, his dad would expect him to go to college and study something boring like business or finance. His parents would expect him to meet a pretty girl and settle down, get married… have kids.

When he was a kid he and Will used to talk about writing comics together, moving far away from their backwater town and inspiring a new generation of people that were just like them… but he knew it was all just a fantasy. People like him didn’t get to have happy endings.

Normal boys didn’t fantasize about growing up with their best friend, living together, working together… just them. He had never pictured anyone else. He didn’t want to picture anyone else.

“I’m not sure.” He was a liar. It was his default setting, hide. Push it down and ignore it. If he didn’t think about it, it wasn’t real. It couldn’t hurt him. That philosophy had been working for him pretty well so far, no need to change up his strategy.

Robin sighed next to him. He wasn’t sure what she wanted. Some damning revelation? For him to hug her and tell her how right she was? He didn’t know. “Just–” She looked at him, a soft smile on her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Think about it, okay? You deserve to be happy. And so does he.”

She put her hand on his shoulder, a show of some unspoken support. And then it was gone just as quickly as it came, she was off down the drive making her way to stand beside Steve to join in their argument. Mike was left to wallow in what she had said.

What did any of it mean? His head was reeling. Did he deserve to be happy? And why was she grouping him in with Will? At least, that’s who he assumed she was talking about. Lucas was happy, Max was awake, El was off saving the world, Dustin was finally letting his friends in… Will was finally himself.

Everyone was happy, for the most part. So why did he feel miserable? Why was everything falling apart? Holly was still missing, his mom and dad were still in the hospital. He had Nancy but… she is more occupied with Jonathan and finding Holly to be any sort of comfort for him.

He was surrounded by the people that he cared about most in the world and yet he still felt so undeniably alone.

Nancy had sent him downstairs to gather more supplies. Well- she had said “I’m so sick of you hovering!” and to “go see if there's anything useful in the basement.” So there he was, rummaging through drawers of old records and various telecommunications manuals that didn't mean anything to him or could be useful at all to their current situation.

He felt useless. Everyone had a purpose, a role. Protect the kids. He had failed the one thing that he had been trusted with, he couldn’t protect them. He couldn’t protect anyone, not his mom, not his sister, not even himself. He shouldn’t even be here.

“Oh, hey.”

Mike whipped his head around from the drawers he had been rifling through to find Will at the bottom of the stairs, eyes trained on him and rubbing his neck sheepishly. If Mike looked closely he would’ve sworn he could see the dusting of pink on Will’s cheeks but he brushed it off. His mind was showing him things that weren’t there.

“Hey, uh, what are you doing down here?” His voice came out softer than he had expected it to, the voice that he always used around Will.

“Robin said that I should go and rest so that I’m prepared, you know… in case they need me.”

Will was toeing the floor and it was awkward. Mike could feel it and he was sure that Will could too. God what had happened to them. He hated this feeling. Like he was going to say something wrong. Will was supposed to be the person he could come to for anything, without judgement, and here he was hiding like a coward because of a few stupid feelings that he didn’t even understand.

“Right. That makes sense… I’ll just go upstairs– so you can, um, rest.”

Mike turned to go, his feet feeling like lead on the linoleum floor. But he didn’t move. He couldn’t. Everything else in his life was falling apart; he couldn't let Will slip through his fingers like everyone else. Not after he had worked so hard to get him back. He was determined to keep him this time.

“I could stay… keep watch?” It was a lousy olive branch, but an olive branch all the same.

“Keep… watch?” Will sounded just as dumbfounded as he felt as he repeated the words back, sitting on the couch that was set in the middle of the room. Mike was already regretting his words. But there was no turning back now.

“Yeah… I mean, we are in the upside down after all. You never know what could be lurking in the shadows.” He didn’t mention that their friends were outside and would alert them if there was any danger present, he had made his bed and was determined to lay in it.

“You do know that I survived a week in here all by myself… when I was twelve.” His tone was teasing and although Will seemed to be dismissing him, he shifted closer to the arm of the couch, a silent invitation for Mike to stay.

He sat down quickly on the opposite side of the sofa before Will could change his mind. Placing his hands in his lap, he stared at the wall opposite them. “I never stopped looking for you.” His voice was soft, barely a whisper, and he couldn’t bring himself to look at Will.

“I know.”

Mike wouldn’t have heard Will's response if he weren’t waiting for it. “I would’ve done anything to bring you back.” He admitted, his voice wavering slightly as he tried his best to convey what he was feeling without saying it, he could never say it. “Anything.”

Will didn’t respond. Mike didn’t look over. They sat in a weighted silence, both too afraid to speak, to say more and finally cross that bridge… the one they had been teetering in between for years. Mike was about to give up, to make a joke about something to bring them away from whatever tension had settled over them… before things got too real.

“The painting wasn’t from El.”

“What?” Mike glanced over at Will whose eyes were still glued to the wall across from them, he had barely heard the words that came out of his mouth but he knew it was an invitation… something to keep the conversation open. A new tone to their friendship, if he could even call it that.

“The painting… the one I told you that El commissioned me to do? It- it wasn’t from her. It was all me. She didn’t even know about it.” He was looking down now, fidgeting with his hands, Mike could only assume that he was trying to keep his composure while confessing another one of his secrets.

“I know.”

Will’s head whipped around and all of a sudden the two were locking eyes from across the couch. His hazel eyes were wide, laced with fear and confusion and some third emotion that Mike couldn’t quite place. Mike tried to keep his cool, tried to make his body language portray that it wasn’t a big deal, that he was not freaking out on the inside.

He had wanted to ask about it for a while now but he didn’t want to ruin whatever he had just rebuilt. He remembered when El told him, she had seemed so confused “what painting?” her voice had been curious, in the way that it always was when she was learning something new.

In that moment he realised… he had retracted, playing it off as a joke as best as he could and moving the conversation to something else so she wouldn’t look too closely at his reaction.

He had cherished that painting, it had fixed his relationship and given him the courage and the strength to help El out when it mattered because she had needed him. He was the heart. Will’s words echoed in his head and it was like a switch was flicked.

Back then Will had needed him. Mike’s heart sent shocks down his arms. The wanting was back, the need to be closer, to touch when he knew he couldn’t.

“You.. what? How?”

“El told me. Well- I asked. Or, I guess I thanked her for it and she… she had no idea what I was talking about.” he said it simply, leaning back on the couch but interlacing his hands once again to attempt to subdue the ache, the itch that was ever present to reach over, to give in to the physical contact that he craved. The closeness of his best friend… of his Will.

“Oh god.” Will’s head was in his hands, palms pressing harshly into his eyes as he sighed. “How long have you known?”

“A few months.”

“Months?!” Will’s eyes flew back to him, wide and disbelieving, as if this was the worst information he had ever received. Mike didn’t see the big deal, he had already had the time to process and come to terms with everything.

“Yeah.”

“And you’re– you’re not mad?” The last word was said like a whisper and Mike couldn’t help but cock his head in interest at the shift in tone, he could feel his eyes soften as he gazed at his friend.

“Not anymore.”

“But I lied, Mike! Friends don’t lie!” Will was frantic now, eyes flying everywhere and hands unable to stay still. Mike understood, in some kind of roundabout way, that this secret had been eating him alive.

“Yeah, I know.” Mike was calm in his response, almost sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck with a hand that he was willing not to shake. “I was mad at first, I guess. I just couldn’t figure out why you would lie about it… I’ve always loved your art and– anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I was mad at first but then I realised. You were just trying to help me. You’re always looking out for me.”

“Oh.” Will said matter of factly and Mike, once again, couldn’t make out whatever was hiding behind his tone. What he was hiding from Mike… or why.

A silence settled over them again as Will relaxed back in his seat, clearly processing and taking his time to come to terms with all of the new information he had just received. It felt good to finally voice his knowledge, like a heavy weight had been lifted from Mike’s chest… relief, more than he had felt in a long time.

If it were any other day, Mike would’ve basked in the comfortable silence they were bathed in… but today could go either way and he would never forgive himself if something happened and he was still holding on to so many secrets. His own voice surprised him.

“I wrote you letters.”

Will was still silent as if digesting this information which led to Mike stewing for too long, forcing more words out before he could let the beating of his heart drown out his thoughts.

“I didn’t… send them. They’re all in a box– under my bed.”

“You kept them?”

“Of course I kept them…” Mike whispered, picking at a stray thread that was coming loose from the fraying furniture. “They helped make sense of what I was feeling at the time. I was so lonely. So lonely without you. Hawkins… it felt so different without you. I was different without you. But not in the letters.”

Will hesitated for a second, “What… what do you mean?”

Mike sighed in frustration.

He didn’t even know what he meant. He could hear Robin in the back of his head, ‘what do you want?’ He wanted this. Being honest with Will, being able to sit in the same room and just talk. Mike never knew that talking could feel this good… maybe it depended on who he was talking with.

“The letters became a place where I could just say whatever I wanted to because I knew you wouldn’t judge me. And well, I guess I didn’t send them because I ended up saying too much. I can’t hide things from you, Will. You- you know me too well.”

It felt like a confession. It was a confession… he just wasn’t quite sure what kind of confession it was.

And if Will had realised what he was saying, what he was admitting to… he didn’t give it away. He did shift over on the couch, slowly, as if he were subconsciously doing it without planning it. Their shoulders brushed, like a whisper in the space they were holding onto.

Mike’s upper body trembled, the sudden closeness setting off the fireworks in his chest once again. It was too much and not enough at the same time.

“Mike.”

Will’s voice was close, almost speaking directly into his ear. Mike was sure if he turned his head their faces would be mere inches away. “Yes?” he whispered back, matching pitch but too afraid to look over.

“I need to rest.” Will’s tone was finite, simple, there was no arguing with him.

“Oh yeah I’ll–”

“Mike.” He said again, this time with more exhaustion to it. He grabbed Mike’s hand quickly before looking up to where he had begun standing. “Stay, please?”

Mike faltered in his movements. Did Will really just ask him to stay? Was his mind playing tricks on him again?

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

His voice was soft, barely above a whisper as he sat back down next to will, their sides pressed firmly together. Will was still holding his hand and didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go. Mike let him.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He whispered, squeezing Will’s hand softly. His heart was racing.

“Good.” Will whispered back, resting his head on Mike’s shoulder and closing his eyes.

It felt good to have Will there with him, like this. It felt right. Mike couldn’t keep the smile from his face, his cheeks dusting with pink. He was content to hold Will and forget that the world was ending, if it was only for a moment.

…

“Who’s Tammy?”

It wasn’t the right time to ask but they had been aimlessly searching the abyss for well over an hour now and the thought had been plaguing him since Will had said the name in his speech earlier. He didn’t know anyone who even resembled that name… could it be someone from Lenora? Mike had so many questions that he needed answers to.

The two were towards the back of the group, Nancy and Steve leading the way with the rest of them following suit behind them in pairs or trios. It had been a comfortable silence. Something in their relationship had shifted towards complicity after their conversation in the Squawk earlier.

But Mike needed to know, so he asked.

“What?”

Will looked at him, brows set in a way that made him look older than he was. He was clearly taken aback by the question, not expecting Mike to ask… or to have paid enough attention during his monologue to remember.

“You said during your speech that the person you liked, he was just your Tammy.” Mike explained, stopping where he was so that he could turn to face Will. “I was just curious who he is.”

Will had stopped now too, staring up at Mike. His look was more quizzical now, intrigued.

“Tammy Thompson.”

“You had a crush on… Tammy Thompson?” Mike’s eyes went wide. Had he misinterpreted the point of Will’s confession? Tammy Thompson was a girl and Will didn’t like girls.

“No- god Mike, no. A friend of mine had a crush on Tammy Thompson. But then they realised that they were actually just projecting their own need for self acceptance onto one person. They didn’t actually like Tammy.”

“Oh.. so this guy that you thought you liked... it just went away when you accepted yourself?” It seemed too easy, like there was yet another thing that Will was keeping from him.

“When I accepted that he wasn’t like me.”

“And how did you know?” Mike pressed, leaning forward slightly so that he had a better view of Will’s face. “That he doesn’t feel the same.”

Will hadn’t told him the whole story. Why was he still keeping things from him? Had Will not felt the shift like he did? Mike was sure things were different now, they had to be. He was different now… could Will not see that? What was holding him back.

“I just know.”

“But how? Did you ask him?”

“No.”

Mike wasn’t satisfied with it. Will had never been the kind of person to just give up. He was like Mike in that way, fierce in the way he felt. He never admitted defeat. Not in any of their campaigns when they played dnd, not during their many arguments about their favourite pieces of media and definitely not when it came to the people he cared about.

Mike knew it was a different situation. A hard situation that could be near impossible, but he had so much support around him. His friends and his family would help him through it, encourage him. It just didn’t make sense.

“So you’re just assuming.”

“No, Mike, I just know, okay? Seriously, why do you care?”

Because Will was his friend, that was why he cared. He wanted Will to be happy, whether that was simply being himself or with the mystery man he was pretending not to like. Mike’s heart twinged in his chest. He ignored it again, pushing the feeling away and clenching his hands into fists to ground himself.

“I just do, okay?”

“But why?”

“Because you deserve to be happy.”

It wasn’t a lie. He did want Will to be happy. But he was also curious, and his curiosity often got the better of him… especially when it came to his friends, most often when it came to Will.

He didn’t understand why Will was comfortable telling everyone about his darkest secret but he wouldn’t tell them who he had a crush on. None of their friends would make fun of him, they would poke fun in a teasing way but it wouldn’t hold any malice.

There was no need for him to be embarrassed about any of it, they were all family. Trauma bonded and slightly codependent, but family by the very definition of the word.

“People like me don’t get to be happy. That’s just how it is.”

Will turned, content to leave the conversation there, but Mike wasn’t finished with him. He grabbed his shoulder, forcing the brunette to face him once again. Will looked pissed off, Mike could tell it from the way he set his jaw and the crease that had appeared on his forehead.

“You aren’t even trying to be.”

He could see the anger in Will’s eyes. It wasn’t Mike’s place to comment, he knew that. But he was trying to help out his best friend. He wanted Will to understand that he wasn’t alone, that they all accepted him and admired him no matter what.

He had his mom, his brother, El, Dustin, Lucas, Hopper, Robin, Steve… so many people were looking out for him and yet, he carried himself like it was his burden alone to bear. Mike wanted him to know that he could lean on him if he needed to. When he needed to. He wasn’t going anywhere, not unless Will told him to– and even then, it would break him.

“You don’t understand.” he pleaded, bringing both of his hands up to rub at his face. It hurt Mike to see him like this. He felt it in his chest, in his stomach and in his hands. He loathed the idea that Will felt alone.

“Then help me to…”

“Just forget it, Mike!”

He shoved Mike’s hand from his shoulder, huffing loudly as he stomped away. Mike couldn’t wrap his head around why Will had gotten so upset at the question. He was trying. Why didn't Will see that? He was trying so hard to be a good friend, more than he had ever tried before.

Sighing, he turned back to catch up to the group, his head swimming with questions. So many questions.

“Holy shit.” Mike breathed, burying his face deep into Holly’s shoulder and melting in the embrace he was sharing with his sisters. “Is it over?” His younger sister asked timidly, exhaustion evident in the way she held herself . “It’s over.” Nancy confirmed, pressing a kiss to the top of Holly’s head.

He couldn’t believe it was finally over. Vecna was dead and his sisters were safe. It felt like it happened too easily, like there should be some secret third boss waiting for them in the upside down… but for now, Mike was going to enjoy the feeling of winning.

Mike made the rounds, hugging his friends and asking if the kids were feeling okay. He knew it was going to be a feat to get everyone back into the right side up and that it would take time, he was allowing himself to bask in the glory of it all, if only for a moment.

“Hey…” Will was standing in front of him now, a small smile on his face. He looked tired, they all did, but him especially. Mike smiled back at him, his eyes softening the way that they always did when Will was near him. There was a feeling in his chest, somewhere between pride and adoration, he couldn’t believe that they had defeated Vecna… after all this time.

“Hey.” Mike moved closer to him, stopping just out of arms reach so that he wouldn’t be tempted to reach out and touch him when he knew he shouldn’t. Especially because he wasn’t sure if he was still mad at him from their prior conversation. God he hoped not.

“We did it.” He looked slightly disappointed as the words left his mouth, lips turned down as his eyes lost the shine that they had in them when they locked eyes. “You did it.” Mike offered, tilting his head to try and capture his gaze again from where it had drifted to the ground, unfocused.

“Why does it feel like it’s not over?”

“It is.” It was a promise that Mike wasn’t entirely sure that he could make. Vecna was dead, The Mindflayer along with him. They still had to blow up the upside down, make it back out of the Mac-Z and all the way to the squawk. They were still so far from home but there was no use in pointing out the obvious.

“It's just– what do we do now?” Will looked lost. Mike was sure that he looked the same.

They had been fighting this evil for as long as they could remember, having it loom over them like a shadow that was never really gone. What even was a normal life? How were they expected to simply adjust to the way the world was? To go off to college, have careers, start families, when they knew things that they could never tell anyone.

They were in this for life, this group. It may be over, but they could never escape it.

“We go home.”

“And then?” Will’s voice was laced with hope, like he hung on every single word that Mike said. It settled the knot that had formed in his chest, no matter how strong Will got, whether he had powers or not, he still needed him… and that was enough to give Mike the strength to keep going.

“Then we figure the rest out, together.”

“Together?”

Mike’s thoughts echoed back to when they were kids, when this had all started. They had promised that they would stay together. Crazy together. It felt like life times ago and when you were constantly fighting for your life against an evil that was hell bent on destroying the world, it probably was.

“Of course, you’re not getting rid of me that easily, Byers.”

Will moved first, arms outstretched, reaching for Mike to pull him in for a hug. And Mike melts into it instantly, any fear he had about Will being mad at him leaving his body entirely as he wraps his arms securely around Will’s back, ducking his head down to press his nose into Will’s messy mop of hair.

He felt his breathing even out, felt Will relax against him and bury his face in the crook of his neck.

They stayed there for as long as the group would allow, holding each other and decompressing from the stress that they had been through. When they pulled away, Will reached up to tenderly cup Mike’s jaw in the palm of his hand, looking up at him from under his dark lashes.

“Thank you.”

…

Mike watched from the bottom of the tower as Will helped guide the kids carefully down to the ground.

They were smiling at each other, he could tell even with the distance. Mike’s heart was pounding in his ears again, but this time it was because he knew. He allowed himself to bask in the feeling that he got when Will’s smile was directed at him. It wasn’t a cause for concern, not anymore. It was just them, and that was okay.

He was most of the way down the ladder now and Mike was subconsciously moving closer, intending to embrace Will when his feet touched the ground. Will had stopped for a moment, Mike assumed he was catching his breath as he was facing away from the group. His head tipped back, like he was looking up at something above him.

Mike’s eyes travelled up, he was squinting to try and see what had caught Will’s attention. There was nothing there. When he looked back at Will, the boy was gone.

It took him a moment to realise that he was falling, it was all happening so fast. Will’s body moved in slow motion, barrelling down the last 25 feet from the ladder to the floor.

And then, Will’s body hit the ground… hard.

“Will?” Mike was in shock.

He closed the short distance between them, dropping to his knees and gathering Will’s body in his arms. That’s when he saw it, the single trail of blood coming from his nose.

“Will?” Mike tried again, giving his body a light jostle in hopes to rouse him or shake him from whatever trance he was in… but he didn’t wake, continuing to lay there motionless in Mike’s arms.

He was filled with a sense of dread. “No.” Mike started, pressing his fingers to the side of his neck in an attempt to find a pulse. It was weak, barely there, and Mike’s heart stuttered along with it. “No, Will.” he repeated while shaking him again.

Mike could feel the tears welling up in his cheeks as he stared down at Will who stayed unmoving.

“Will, please. Come back to me!” He was sobbing now, clutching Will’s body close as his whole body shook uncontrollably. It couldn’t end like this, he couldn’t lose Will before he knew how he felt. That he felt the same. Mike had finally pieced it all together. Tammy. The heart. All of it.

“I don’t want to be your Tammy!” He yelled, suddenly not caring about everyone that was within earshot, that his friends and his family were listening to him. He had to get through to Will. Mike knew that he was still in there, there was no way that he was– no. He didn’t want to finish that thought.

His cheeks were wet, tears streaming down them like waterfalls as they rolled down his face. Amongst all the commotion around him, Mike clung helplessly to Will’s unconscious form. People were shouting indiscernible things at him that he couldn’t hear over the pounding of his heart in his ears.

He thought back to the squawk, when Will had fallen asleep with his head on Mike’s shoulder. It was the happiest he had been in forever. He had never felt for anyone the way he felt for Will, he knew that now, but he had been blind to it for so long.

Michael Wheeler wasn’t allowed to want things. But at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to see Will’s soft hazel eyes staring up at him with that look, the one he always had when Mike was around, the one that Mike had only just begun to decipher the meaning of.

He wanted to hold Will tightly to his chest, to tell him that he knew and that it was okay. That some part of him had always known and that he had been scared of that part of himself for longer than he would care to admit. That it wasn’t until Will had broken through the barbed wire surrounding his heart that he had realised that it was possible. That Mike Wheeler could choose.

And he would choose Will every time. Every. Single. Time.

“I love you.”

Mike wasn’t sure how long he had been waiting to say those words, but the feeling of relief that washed over his body was more intense than anything else that he had ever felt before… and he was crying more now if it was possible.

It was true. It was more than true. He felt it resonate with every single fiber of his being, like it encompassed him so wholly that he didn’t know how he had only just realised. Maybe he had known for his whole life, he wasn’t surprised by the realization. It felt as natural as coming home.

He stared down at Will’s lifeless body in his arms, trying to convince himself that he was just sleeping, like he had been back at the squawk. He gently brushed a few strands of his fringe from his eyes, his fingers lingering on his slack face. His skin was cold, the way that he had grown accustomed to over the past few years.

Mike bent down, ghosting his lips over his forehead in a tender moment. It wasn’t so much of a kiss as it was a promise. He was promising that Will would be okay. He willed a blush to form on the apples of Will’s cheeks, for him to open his hazel eyes wide in surprise, for his lips to part gently as he laughed and called him an idiot. Anything.

But nothing happened. Will’s eyes remained closed and his body was limp in Mike’s constricting hold.

“I love you!” He was screaming now, his head buried in the crook of Will’s neck. He had to tell him. Will had to hear him, he had to know.

Mike could feel eyes on him as he continued to blubber on the ground, but he didn’t care. He cared about Will who seemed to get more cold as the seconds passed. He could hear a mixture of their names being called, his sister, Will’s mom, but nothing got through. Nothing mattered to him if Will wasn’t okay. He had been too late. If only he had realised earlier then maybe Will would be okay.

It was all his fault.

…

Mike had always hated hospitals. They were too clean with white walls and tiled floors, they always smelt like something that he couldn't quite place but it burnt his nose nonetheless. Hospital waiting rooms were even worse. He felt numb, the way he had when he and Nancy were waiting for news on his parents. Except this time, it wasn’t just him and Nance.

The Byers were here too. Lucas, Dustin, Steve and Robin had gone to the cafeteria to gather supplies. Max was there too, in her wheelchair. She had tried to talk to him, distract him with some of their usual banter, but it didn’t work. He hadn’t felt anything since the doctors had taken Will’s limp body away from him, through doors where he couldn’t follow, they were yelling strings of medical terms that he didn’t understand.

Mike had pleaded with them, “Save him, please.” over and over again, like a broken record. The nurses had assured him that he was in good hands and that they would do everything in their power to help but it did little to ease Mike’s busy head.

He hadn’t spoken for hours.

Nancy was sitting next to him at one point, rubbing gentle circles into his back as he hugged his knees to his chest. He wanted to thank her but the words wouldn’t leave his throat. He felt drugged. His mind could barely form coherent thoughts, replaying the image of Will falling from the tower over and over again. His limp body, feeling Will’s cold skin as he pressed his lips to his head. There was nothing he could do.

Dustin was sitting next to him now, talking in a hushed voice to Steve who was trying to convince Robin to drink the hospital coffee. Mike couldn’t understand how they could be so normal about this. Will could be dead and they were joking around.

He sighed. Mike couldn’t sit around waiting any longer, someone had to know something and he was determined to find out. He pushed up off his chair, standing on feet that were numb from the lack of blood flow. A few heads turned in his direction, Jonathan giving him a quizzical look. Mike didn’t stay to answer their questions.

He stalked up to the nurses desk, determined in his strides. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer, he needed to see Will and it was going to happen now. He was stopped dead in his tracks by the sound of doors opening to his right. Behind him, Mrs Byers stood with a concerned look on her face. It was Will’s doctor.

“Mrs Byers,” The man in the white coat said, “He’s stable.”

“Can I see him?” There was a desperation in her voice that made Mike’s knees weak, he couldn’t imagine how she must be feeling. Of course he was concerned but Will was her son. She had already lost him once, they all had… but it was different for her. And this time, it was different for him too.

“He isn’t awake yet but you’re welcome to wait in his room.”

Everyone stood, moving as if they were gathering their things when the doctor spoke again. “We have a two visitors at a time policy.” The group froze.

Joyce and Jonathan disappeared through the doors a few minutes later, much to Mike’s dismay. Of course, he knew it was only logical that Will’s family were the ones to be there when he woke up but… he hated feeling useless. Mike wanted to hear Will’s voice. To see his eyes flutter open. To hear his heartbeat so that he could finally quell the crushing guilt that was building up in his chest.

Mike didn’t sit like the rest of them did. Instead he started to pace back and forth in the waiting room.

“Mike.” Nancy sighed at him, watching him intently as he continued moving. “Mike!”

“What, Nancy?” He snapped, turning his head to look in her direction with bloodshot eyes. “Don’t tell me to sit down, I’m not sitting down.”

“Well pacing isn’t helping anyone. Will is okay. Just calm down-”

“No. You don’t get to tell me to calm down. He got hurt, there was nothing that I could do and he was hurt. So forgive me for being concerned for my-” He stumbled on his words, tears beginning to well in his eyes again as images of Will’s limp face flashed through his mind. “Will… I’m concerned for Will.”

It was an hour before Jonathan and Will’s mom came back into the waiting room. And another thirty minutes before Mike was standing outside of the room that Will was in… alone. He knocked and then immediately felt stupid. They were in a hospital, Will wouldn’t be able to hear him. He took a deep breath, calming his nerves and willing his hands to stop shaking before he pushed inside.

Will was awake, staring out through the crack in the blinds as the setting sun bathed the room in a warm orange glow. He looked peaceful and Mike would’ve been content to stare at him for hours like this, blissfully unaware and innocent.

But his head had other plans.

“Hey…”

His voice was soft, mirroring the way that Will had approached him after the final battle had ended. He looked startled at first, eyes slightly wide as he whipped his head around to see the new person that had entered his room. The fear faded instantly, his eyes softening immensely as he took in the image of Mike, alive and well.

“Mike…”

Will’s voice was filled with relief.

“How are you feeling?” Mike toed the floor with his shoe, his arms crossed over his chest like he was shielding himself from something. He was trying to contain his heart. To keep it in his chest as he was scared that Will could decipher the beat from it, like morse code spelling out his every inner feeling.

“I’m okay.”

“Good…”

A silence settled over the room. Mike was still standing by the door, afraid that if he went any further into the room that he would do something that he would regret. But his heart was pounding. Had Will heard him confess his love? The thought was enough to make him panic.

“Are you okay?”

It was a strange question. Will was the one sitting in the hospital, the one who had been moments away from dying, and he was asking if Mike was okay… of course he was. Will Byers kindness knew no bounds, especially when it came to Mike.

He could feel the tears beginning to well up in his eyes before he had the chance to speak.

“Will… you scared me. I thought you died.”

“Oh, Mike…” Will held out his arms and that was all the invitation that he needed to move into the room, wrapping his arms around Will, dropping his head to his shoulder.

“I’m here. I’m okay. Shh, Mike. I’m right here.”

Mike continued to sob into Will’s chest. He wasn’t really sure what had come over him. An intense mixture of hours of worry and sleep deprivation. But Will was here. He was here and he was alive and that was all that mattered.

…

Will was discharged three days later.

The Byers had moved into Hopper's cabin to take the burden of feeding three extra mouths off of the Wheeler family. So there Mike was, in his basement with Will gathering up the last few bits of his belongings that were strewn across the room.

“That’s it.” Will was standing in the middle of the basement, two bags at his feet filled with the remainder of his and Jonathan’s things that were left over from the time that they had been residents of the Wheeler household.

“That’s it.” Mike echoed. Looking around the room now it felt empty, devoid of the character that it had held when the Byers boys had been occupying the space. It was back to normal, the small table that they used for DnD now back in its original setting instead of being pressed against the wall to make room for Will's mattress on the floor.

“I’m going to miss being your housemate.” His voice was soft, reminiscent. It felt oddly like the time that the Party helped the Byers pack all of their belongings before their move to California. Mike had hated that day. He lost his best friend and his second family all in one day. But, they weren’t gone for long.

Mike and Will always had a habit of finding their way back to each other.

Mike let out a soft laugh, looking over at Will with a shit eating grin spread out across his face. “I know my parents won’t miss having you here, but I will.”

“I still can’t believe that all of this is finally over. I-” Will cut himself off, swaying slightly on his feet. Mike noticed immediately.

“Shit,” He grabbed his waist, guiding him over to the fraying yellow couch that lived in his basement, sitting Will down and taking the space next to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just lightheaded, I’m sorry.” He looked slightly sheepish as he leant forward, holding his face in his hands and focusing on his breathing. Mike was worried, probably unnecessarily so, but worried all the same.

“Should I call your mom?”

“No.” He said finitely, no room for Mike to argue there. “No, I’m fine.”

“Okay.” He didn’t take his eyes off Will, one arm was still holding gently onto Will’s waist but he didn’t feel the need to move it. He was supporting Will after all.

He was quiet for a moment, allowing him to catch his breath before he suggested continuing their packing or anything else on their list of chores for the day. He was comfortable, touching Will like this and basking in the silence. He wasn’t expecting Will to speak. And he definitely was not prepared for what he had to say.

“You know I heard you. That day.”

Mike sputtered, his throat going dry as he stared incredulously at Will who still had his head in his hands, not even glancing at Mike. “What?”

“When I was unconscious. I heard you, your voice broke through.”

“Oh…” This was it. The moment that he had been dreading for days now, finally came to ruin the serendipitous relationship that he and Will had formed. He and his big mouth.

“Did you mean it?”

“What?” Playing dumb was never one of Mike’s strong suits and he knew that Will could see through his feeble attempt at deflection with little effort. Being best friends of over ten years and knowing his mannerisms better than he knew himself.

“Did you mean what you said?” And then, without missing a beat, he asked the question that had the power to ruin everything. “Do you love me?”

“Of course I did, I feel that way about all my friends.” Mike tried to play it off, his tone blasé in an attempt to throw Will off the scent.

But Will was looking at him now, really looking at him, in a way that he never had before. It was like this was the first time that someone had looked at mine and really seen him. He could see into his mind, read his every thought and feel all of the emotions that were rippling through his chest. If it had to be anyone, Mike was glad that it was Will.

“Mike.”

His eyes dropped, unable to hold such intense eye contact in fear of being set alight or revealing too much before he was ready to. “...Yes.”

“How long?”

Mike silently begged him not to ask that question, to ask anything but the one thing that he couldn’t give him a straight answer about. He didn’t know himself. How was he supposed to explain that his realisation occurred somewhere between last week and the day they met.

“Excuse me?”

“How long have you felt that way?” Will pressed again, his tone despondent yet filled to the brim with longing.

And there it was. What was he supposed to say? What words could he possibly use to portray the desperation that he felt every time that Will Byers glanced in his direction.

“Jesus thats- a loaded question.” Mike started, his gaze flickering between his shoes and the low-hanging ceiling light. Anything to avoid looking at Will as he poured his heart out with words that didn’t mean enough.

“I guess in some roundabout way I’ve always known. But I never admitted it to myself. I just kept pushing it down, hiding it because– well, I didn’t know that I was allowed to feel that way. Not until you came out.”

He paused. Finally glancing at Will whose eyes begged him to continue, to finally cross that line. He thought back to what Robin had said to him the day that the world had almost ended and silently asked himself, is this deep enough for you, Buckley?

“I was confused about why I was so upset that you didn’t tell me first. And I know that I was wrong. You didn’t owe it to me, you don’t owe it to anyone. But it got me thinking. And then Robin… she asked me what I wanted. It was the first time anyone told me that I could make my own decisions.”

His heart was racing but he couldn’t stop the words from falling out of his mouth, like an avalanche. “I thought about it, what I wanted. And the only thing I could come up with was you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. So, for the first time ever, I let myself wonder. I stopped running from it.”

There was only one thing left to say, the one thing that he had always struggled to say but, with Will looking at him, it didn’t seem to scare him anymore. He wanted to say it. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t worried about the repercussions of his feelings.

“I love you, Will Byers.”

There was more silence. But this time instead of it being comfortable, it was heavy and thick. Mike felt like he could choke on it. He wanted Will to say something, anything. Reject him, tell him that he had gotten it all wrong. That the signs he had been following had led him down the wrong path. Mike knew that Will would never be that harsh, but even that would have felt better than nothing.

“Will,” He begged, his heart in his throat as he continued to stare at Will’s blank face that was now devoid of any emotion. “Say something, please.”

“Can I kiss you?”

Mike’s brain short circuited.

“Please.” He breathed.

And Will closed the gap.

It was soft, the light press of lips. His eyes fluttered shut as he allowed his body to move on its own. Mike wondered distantly if this was Will’s first kiss but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind. Will’s hand was wrapped up in the front of Mike’s shirt and Mike’s were on his waist.

It was over as quickly as it began, but Mike didn’t get a moment to breathe before it was replaced with something more. This kiss was completely different.

Mike took charge, clearly the more experienced of the two. He parted his lips, guiding Will who was kissing him fervently, like he was worried that Mike was going to disappear. Mike slowed them down. He untangled one of his hands from Will’s waist, using it to cup the side of his jaw so that he could tip his head back slightly.

Mike enjoyed the new angle much better. He had better access to Will’s mouth like this pressing forward to change the pressure of lips. Will sighed into the kiss, tilting his head and letting himself fall to putty in Mike’s grasp. He was soft, malleable, completely at his mercy.

And Mike fell harder, if it was possible.

When Will pulled away for air, Mike kept him close by resting their foreheads together. He opened his eyes slowly only to be met with Will’s still being pressed shut. Mike admired him from this new angle, thanking whatever god watching over them that he had the opportunity to do this.

“I love you too, Mike Wheeler.”

Dark eyes met hazel as Will’s lids fluttered open. He couldn’t help but smile, his signature toothy grin plastering itself on his face again. Will let out a low chuckle. Mike kissed him again.

…

They were sitting side by side, Will’s head resting on Mike’s shoulder, listening to the sound of his heartbeat, his steady breathing and feeling for the rise and fall of his chest. Mike had one hand resting on Will’s knee that was resting over the top of his own, the other was tracing lazy circles onto his back.

It was quiet and they were happy. Finally at last they were allowed to be happy.

“So… where do we go from here?” Will asked, his tone shy as he tilted his head back to catch a glimpse of Mike’s face.

“How about the movies on Friday?" Mike asked, gently lacing his fingers between Will’s. Squeezing once as an end to his question, and because he could do this now. He didn’t have to hide it anymore, this was allowed.

“Okay.” Will smiled, squeezing Mike’s hand back as a light flush settled on his cheeks.

“Great, it’s a date.”