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Overlapping voices filled the bar as Will asked for another cocktail on the rocks, as he drank more than he should've, he kept remembering the fight he had with his boyfriend, Carlton, earlier.
They were at a nearby restaurant where they had their first date when Carlton proposed to him by surprise, Will couldn't make out any words as he made it very clear that he wasn't ready for marriage at the time.
But when he said no, Carlton began to scream at him, encouraging more explanations as to why he couldn't marry him, why he was so afraid of the idea of them being together. As Will grew furious, the words just slipped out of his mouth, but he regretted them so much.
-”You want to know why I can't marry you? Really? Because no matter how perfect you could be, you will never, EVER, be him.”- Will said, quickly putting his hand over his mouth to try to stop the words that had already been said.
Will snapped out of it as the bartender in front of him gave him another drink.
-”This ones on the house, you look like you need it.”-
Will smiled at him awkwardly in gratitude and continued his moment, he felt like he needed fresh air so he decided to go outside to the back of the bar, but on his way out, his eyes fixed onto a familiar face with black curly hair, no, it couldn't be him, right? He was in Hawkins, writing novels, not here in a lame bar.
He couldn't really see anything because of the dark lighting filled with different colors, blue and yellow filled the dark room as the man opened his laptop and light reflected onto his face, making what he thought he was making up, a reality.
Mike looked up from his laptop only to see Will staring at him. It felt like it was only them in the crowded bar as they both waited to see who would start the conversation.
-“Hey”- Mike said, while looking at him with a small smile stamped onto his face.
-“Hi”-
-“Sit down, if you want I mean, it's been a while.”
Will sits in the booth as they continue speaking.
-"What brings you here Mike?”-
-”Not much, I just needed some air from Hawkins, even after all these years I guess even though you can try to forget everything that happened, you just can't.”- Mike said, taking another sip of his beer afterwards. - “Plus, I need to finish my novel and I just need a new environment for inspiration.”
-“Yeah, I get that.” - Will said, sighing.
- “And what brings you here, Sorcerer, at 3:41am to a bar?”
-”I've been having issues with Carlton, that's all.”- Will stuttered.- “I don't really want to talk about it, if that's okay.”
-”Yeah no, that's fine, don't worry about it, want to go get some fresh air? This place is suffocating me.”-
They stepped outside the back door, the sound of the music and chatter drowning out with each step. It smelled like cigarettes and rain. Both in silence but in a way that wasn't awkward, comfortable even.
Will and Mike both leaned against the wall and sat down together, hands almost touching. They both stay in silence for a while.
"You know, you don't have to run away when something goes wrong, I'm sure you can figure things out with him.” - Mike told Will, a soft look on his face that he couldn't quite distinguish.
“ You don't even know what happened. It's too complicated, I already said I didn't want to talk about it.” -
Mike stared at Will for a second, his back separating from the brick wall, head turning towards him, just to look at him clearly for a second.
“What did Carlton do that made you drink so much?”-
“Mike, he didn't do anything wrong, if anything it was my fault, not his.”
“Look, you don't need to talk about it if you don't want to, I just–” He stopped talking for a second, jaw tightening. “I don't like the thought of someone hurting you.”
Suddenly everything came rushing back, the reasons why Will loved Michael Wheeler, why he never stopped thinking about it no matter how much he tried to get over him.
“He asked me to marry him.” - Will blurted out.
He froze. Was he too late? Did he already say yes? Was he too late to confess his love towards Will?
A long silence stretched, heavy and fragile.
“But I said no.” - Will continued, voice shaking. - “ And then I said something worse.”
“Worse how?” Mike said, softly.
Will had to pause for a while, his own voice echoing in his head.
“I told him… - Will whispered - “That he'd never be like him, no matter how perfect he could be.”
“Like who?”-
Will gazed into Mike's eyes, filled with the night sky.
“Like you.”-
Mike stayed still.
For a moment, Will thought he might’ve imagined it—might’ve said it too quietly, or maybe the night swallowed the words whole. But Mike’s reaction was clearly there. His shoulders went rigid, thoughts spiraling through his head like a mess.
“Will,” - he said, barely audible.
Will’s heart started racing. “I shouldn’t have said that,” he rushed. “I was angry for such dumb reasons and drunk and it just— it slipped out, I didn’t mean to put that on you, I’m sorry, I—”
“Hey.” Mike reached out his warm hand onto Will's face, his thumb caressing him, “Stop.”
Will froze, body went rigid and still.
Mike let go just as quickly, like he’d burned himself, dragging his hand back into his lap. He stared at the ground, avoiding eye contact with him.
“I don’t understand,” he admitted. “You’re telling me you were about to get married, and the reason you couldn’t… is me?”
“That makes it sound dumb.”
“It doesn’t,” Mike said.
Once more, there was a long silence, but this time it was full of tension and desire.
Mike ran a hand through his hair awkwardly like he was trying to physically rearrange his thoughts.
“I spent so much time. - Mike said. - “Thinking I lost the only thing that made my life make sense because I was too afraid… I thought I lost you.”
“You could never lose me.” -
“I loved you, Will.”- He said. - “And I think I still do.”
The words felt unreal to Will, he spent more than half his life waiting for this moment to become real and now it was here.
Mike leaned closer towards Will, their hands intertwined with each other, faces inches apart. Mike observed him, looking for signals that he didn't want this.
“Tell me to stop.” - MIke whispered.
Will didn't say anything.
Their kiss felt hesitant at first, like it was something they weren't supposed to do, like they could only dream with it, but it was never meant to become real. But when Will felt Mike's hand clutching his jacket, Will melted into the kiss. Decades of waiting for this moment, all poured into one kiss.
When they pulled apart from each other, foreheads touching, they both laughed shakingly.
“So this is what I was so afraid of, huh?- Mike said. - “I just wish I'd done this sooner.”
“Same”-
“I love you, Will Byers.”-
“And I love you more, Michael Wheeler”-
“Not possible.”-