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The door swings open, the familiar voice of Karen shouting downstairs.
“Guys! What’s going on? The lasagne’s getting cold!”
Mike lets out a shuddering sigh, fighting tears as he responds.
“Yeah, we… we just finished. We’ll be right up.”
This is it. The end of an era, a full circle moment. Max is the first to stand, then Lucas, Dustin and Will, putting their D&D binders in their place, on Mike’s shelf. Mike’s the last to do so, and he can’t help but tear up, his lips quivering. ‘This is how it should be,’ He thinks to himself. ‘It’s for the best.’
Mike Wheeler is a man who knows his flaws, he just doesn’t do anything to improve them. One flaw he’s aware of is that he can’t write proper endings. Sure, the adventurers get their happy ending and the hard work pays off, but it’s always rushed and corny. He can’t help but mentally curse himself as his eyes land on Will’s binder. Maybe his theory that he’d find someone for him once he moves is a sweet one, but not to him. Truth is, he’ll miss Will like crazy. He remembers the six months they spent apart, when he moved to Lenora. Mike couldn’t even write him a letter. He kept overthinking it, scribbling lines over again and again in his notebook until he gave up. ‘Maybe he’ll write,’ He thought, but he never did. ‘Maybe he’s having the same problem.’ But deep down, Mike felt like a coward. He always did. Maybe that’s why his D&D character is a paladin, so he can at least feel like he’s brave. And now, he couldn’t even be there for him when he came out almost two years ago, and to this day, he’s not sure who this ‘Tammy’ was. But it’s between him, and Lucas. He’s contemplating if he should address it to Will or not, before he leaves Hawkins again.
He turns away from the shelf, walking up the stairs. The door swings open again, and instead of Mike’s mom, this time, it’s his sister, Holly, and her friends who barge in. Mike watches as they sit at the table, Holly searching for a starter campaign to play. Suddenly, it’s not just the end of an era, but the start of a new one. He can technically see themselves, the four 11 year old boys playing for 10 hours straight. He smiles, fighting his tears again as he walks up the rest of the stairs, closing the basement door behind him.
The others are already at the table, and Mike pouts as he sees they didn’t wait for him to start eating, but there’s no real offense taken. He sits in his usual place next to Will, taking a bite. They’re mostly silent, like they’re already mourning these times. Lucas is the first to speak up.
“Actually, Mike,” He starts, the usual, dumb grin on his face. Mike knows exactly what’s coming. “How come you didn’t mention my irresistible charisma in my closure? How else could I keep my love with Max growing?” He wiggles his eyebrows at Max, and they all start laughing.
“Oh my God, Lucas! Is this all you can think about?” Dustin challenges. Lucas immediately retorts.
“So what? I just want to know why he left so many plot-holes open!”
“The lack of your charisma is not a plot-hole, Lucas,” Will chuckles, and the others follow, except for Lucas, who crosses his arms and dramatically pouts, making them laugh harder.
The evening goes by pretty fast, and it’s time to say goodbye. Lucas and Max are the first to leave, then Dustin, the whole process filled with watery eyes and tight hugs. Will is still in the doorway with Mike, waiting for Jonathan to come pick him up. The silence grows awkward eventually, and Mike knows this is his chance. Just as he’s about to open that big mouth of his, Will strikes him a question, soft spoken, and Mike swears his tone hides something more, but he can’t quite tell what emotion that is.
“Mike, when you said Will the Wise would find someone that would make him happy…”
“Oh God, I knew it was sloppy and I shouldn’t add that, I’m sorry,”
“No, Mike, I was just curious. Curious why you felt like I need to have a partner.”
Mike swallows. ‘Well this is awkward,’ He thought. Even he doesn’t quite know why, he just knows he wants Will to be happy.
“I guess… I just want you to find your happy ending. You know… since that… Tammy guy didn’t work out.” Studying Will’s face for a reaction, Mike doesn’t miss how he averts his eyes, face slightly turning pink.
“Right… the Tammy guy,” He repeats, seemingly deep in thought, like he’s contemplating something.
“You know, I’ve always wondered who he was, but I don’t want to pressure it, since you said you moved on,” Mike interrupts Will’s train of thought, and he gets a nod in response. Speaking of trains and thoughts…
“Another puzzle I can’t put together about you is why you lied about the painting.” Mike can technically see Will’s heart skip a beat.
“Is that really such a big deal?” Will asks, a slight hint of annoyance in his tone.
“Yes, Will it is a big deal! You said it was from El, and that she said all those things, but El told me in a letter before we reunited at the airport that you’re painting for someone you like, perhaps a girl. So, yes, Will, it is a big deal to me.”
Will sighs, defeated, like he can’t believe Mike actually used his brain for once.
“Fine, yes, I did the painting myself, for you. I just thought if I said that El commissioned it, you might like it more.”
“What are you talking about, Will?” Mike asks the question, a genuinely confused look on his face. He continues after a short pause. “Will, you know I love your art! And… and what about the things she said? Was that a lie, too?”
Will looks pissed, like he is just now realizing that he wasn’t so slick with it afterall. He sighs again.
“Yes, they were. But I didn’t say them to mess around with you, Mike. I just… I thought that’s what you needed to hear at the moment, and that it’s what someone in love with you would say.”
Mike thinks about it for a moment.
It finally clicks. The last puzzle piece.
The painting, what El (has not) said, Tammy guy, all those shared moments that has caused the countless nights Mike spent laid awake at night, wondering if it’s normal to be this confused about his best friend.
“It’s me,” Mike says eventually, eyes wide.
“What?”
“I’m… I’m Tammy, aren’t I?”
The question hangs heavy in the air between them. Will stares at him, eyebrows quirked up, a glint of anxiety in his eyes. His features scream ‘He knows’.
Will nods, slowly, like he’s scared this is the last time they’ll ever talk.
“So, then… I was your crush. And… the things you told me, in the van… was it you all along?”
Will looks to the ground, defeated, and he seems to be very interested in his shoes right now. Mike doesn’t pursue it, he lets him take his time. Soon enough, Will glances up at him, nodding.
“Yes,” He says, barely audible, but Mike doesn’t miss it. “I’m actually surprised you put it together,” He adds, followed by a breathless chuckle.
And like that, Mike Wheeler’s mind is blown.
He’s thought about this a lot, if he were to tell the truth, because he also has some things that he never told Will. The way he pedaled home crying he day they found his dead body at Lovers Lake, or the fact that he was going to jump for real when Troy threatened him and Dustin, or the way Will was always more special than his other friends…
Or the way he often thought he’d have a crush on Will if he were a girl when they were kids.
“So… you moved on?” Mike asks eventually, still not satisfied with his knowledge.
Will thinks about it for a while.
“No… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully let you go.”
Mike sighs in relief for reasons he didn’t come to terms with yet.
“I mean, I’ve liked you since we were what? Twelve?” Will continues, seeming to have built up the courage to talk about this. Mike nods, understanding.
“Will, actually, I also have something to say.
” “Well, what is it?”
Mike’s sure both of them are equally nervous by now. He takes a deep breath, trying his best to form his words properly.
“I’ve always felt different… about you. In a good way. But then you moved to Lenora, and those six months felt… suffocating. Truth is, I missed you. And I tried writing, countless times, but… the words never felt right when I wrote them down, you know? But I still feel like an idiot for not reaching out. And now, you’re moving again and I’m… scared. Scared that I might lose you,” Mike explains, and he can see Will suck in a breath at the last part. “And I guess that’s why I gave Will the Wise a future partner, because… I want you to be happy even if it’s not with me by your side.”
Will’s face turns red.
“Do you mean you’d… date me?” He asks, a hint of hope in his tone.
Mike has to think about it, really think. But… he’s not gay, is he?
“I… I know I want to make you happy,” He says, shrugging. “And that when I thought that ‘Tammy guy’ could also be Lucas, I felt… jealous, for some reason.”
Will tilts his head to the side slightly as he leans against the doorframe, a knowing look on his face.
“Oh no,” Mike breathes. “Am I into…?”
“Maybe? I’m not one to know. I think you should take your time to figure this out… A good friend of mine said, that when she realized she likes girls, she also realized it was always about herself. And that she felt free. But for me… it’s not just about me. It’s about you, Mike. It’s always been you.”
“Well, in that case,” Mike says, looking up to the sky, hands in his pockets. “I think I don’t want to be your Tammy. I want to be your Mike,” He states, looking Will in the eyes.
Will’s eyes narrow for a moment, then his features soften, a gentle smile portrayed across his face.
“And I want to be your Will,” He whispers, like if he says it too loud, Mike might change his mind.
Mike smiles back, nodding.
“Well, for starters, I think we shouldn’t do whatever happened when you were in Lenora,” Mike states, chuckling. “I’ll write, I promise. And perhaps, we could meet every once in a while.”
“That sounds nice,” Will responds, his smile growing brighter. “And I’ll write back. I promise.”
A shared look and a few brief moments later, Jonathan’s car comes to a stop in front of the Wheelers’ driveway. The window rolls down. Will gives Mike one last look, soft and filled with hope.
“Goodbye, Mike,” He says, and before he could step towards the car, Mike reaches out, pulling him in a tight hug. Will’s startled at first, but he hugs back, taking a deep breath as he embraces this moment. They break the hug, and after a final wave, Will sits in the car, and Jonathan drives off. Mike stands at the side of the road until the car takes a turn. He lets out a deep sigh, filled with mixed emotions of happiness and worry. If that wasn’t possible until now, yours truly made it so.
Later that evening, once he’s ready for bed, he sits at his desk, chewing the end of a pen as he’s trying to make plotlines for his novel, but he keeps interrupting his own thoughts with the events of today, their conversation with Will. He looks at the supercomm, laying on his bed. He reaches for it, pulling out the antenna and pressing the button.
“Lucas, do you copy?”
Nothing.
Mike usually calls Lucas on evenings, since he lives closest so the radio wave is best there.
“Lucas, do you copy?”
“I copy, over.”
“I won the bet, over.” Mike says, the smugness in his voice palpable.
“What?! Which one? Over.”
“Tammy, over.”
“It was you??? How do you know? You’re lying and just want my 5 bucks, over!”
Mike laughs.
“No, I swear! I talked to Will while we waited for Jonathan to pick him up, over.”
“And? How did you get it out of him? Over.”
“I won’t tell the whole thing, but… I think we’re off to a great start.”
There’s a long pause. Too long to be comfortable.
“Lucas?”
“You didn’t say over, over.”
“Oh my god, Lucas! Over.”
“What? It’s you who keeps pursuing radio ethics! Over.”
That’s undeniably true.
“Whatever, Over.”
“So… what do you mean you’re off to a great start? Over.”
“Well… I don’t exactly know yet, but I want to be there for Will. Over.”
Another pause.
“So you finally realized you’re into him? Over?”
“What?! Over???”
“Mike don’t be an idiot, it started getting kind of really obvious, over.”
Mike’s the one to pause this time.
“Well, shit… Over.”
Mike can hear Lucas’ distorted voice laughing. Not just at anything, but him. Mike grumbles, flustered.
“Whatever… Don’t tell the others yet, over,” Mike asks quietly, a hint of seriousness in his tone.
“I won’t, dude. I’d never. This is up to you two. Over.”
“Thank you, Lucas. Goodnight. Over and out.”
“No worries, Mike. Goodnight, over and out.”
Mike pushes the antenna back down, laying down in bed, on his back as he stares at the ceiling.
“This is the start of something unusual,” He says out loud. “Unusual, but great.”
He turns his head to the side, staring at the picture of El he keeps on his desk, picking it up.
“I wish I could tell you about this,” He says, sighing. “I miss you, we all do. I just… I hope my theory’s correct, and you’re alive and happy.”
He keeps looking at her picture, like if he stares for long enough, she’ll respond.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be the boyfriend you needed, that I couldn’t even say I love you. But I promise you this, El… I’ll be a better boyfriend for your brother, Will.”