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Will doesn’t sleep. Well, he does, but never peacefully. Thoughts and memories plague him night after night. It doesn’t help that he has to sleep in a cold basement, alone, in the dead of winter. December is colder than usual due to the Upside Down leaking into the ‘real’ world. And, Will really hates being cold.
He likes it cold.
Every chill in his body reminds him of times he would rather forget. The cold brings back awful memories of vines, monsters, and him. He doesn’t even like to think of the name. The name is cursed and awful, and it hurts.
He likes it cold.
He also likes Will unwilling, small, and scared. He likes to be in control and take and take and take from Will until he has nothing left to offer. Not that he was willing to give anything in the first place.
This happens almost every night. These memories bubble up to the surface the second he falls asleep. He dreams of vines wrapped around him and inside him. He dreams of a deep voice telling him that he’s special and weak. That he is sick and twisted, and his mind is not for this world. His hands all over him. Violating him in every way.
Most nights, he's able to stifle his screams into his pillow or his fist. However, tonight is particularly cold, and he cannot get warm no matter how hard he tries. There is already piles of blankets on him. He feels himself tossing and turning, somewhere between sleep and wake. He can feel his head slamming against his thin pillow and his nails digging into his palms. He must be screaming because he feels hands on his shoulders, shaking him, hard, trying to wake him up.
“Will!”
“Will wake up!”
“Please, Will, you’re hurting yourself.”
Will shoots awake, gasping for breath. He tries to slow his breathing, but he is so cold. Shivering hard and shaking violently. He moves his head frantically, searching for who or what was able to wake him up.
He likes it cold.
As he opens his eyes, he sees brown ones staring back at him. Wild and panicked. Mike’s eyes.
“Will, are you okay?” he asks, “Oh my God, you’re freezing.” He's touching Will all over. His hands. His face. His shoulders. Every part is covered in goosebumps.
If Will were less panicked, he would question why Mike is even here. In the basement. With him. They don’t do this anymore. Speak or comfort or show concern. Not since he's moved into the Wheeler house after coming back from California. He thought things would get better and they would be close again.
He was wrong. The awkwardness is as palpable as ever. He wishes he knew why, so he could fix it, but that is a problem for another time.
Will tries to form words, but he can’t. He's shivering too hard and trying to catch his breath. He feels Mike rubbing his arms, trying to warm him up. He also tries to wrap blankets around Will, but nothing is working. He cannot get warm enough to make it stop.
He likes it cold.
He can vaguely hear Mike panicking as well, but Will is so out of it he can’t bring himself to care or move.
“Will, we need to get you warmed up,” Mike starts, “You’re going to get hypothermia. Come on, let’s go to the bathroom.’
Will feels himself being pulled up and half-carried towards the basement bathroom. Mike sits him on the toilet, and he hears him turn on the bathtub faucet. Will can feel the heat from the water start to fill the small bathroom and begins to slowly relax. He feels like a child again.
He likes it cold.
He feels Mike undressing him. He should be embarrassed. They have seen each other partially undressed before, but never completely. And not like this. Mike doesn’t seem to care about that right now. He just keeps repeating that they need to get Will warmed up and removes more layers. He starts with his shirt, then his pants, his socks, and finally his underwear.
When Will is stripped down, Mike guides him to the bathtub filled with hot water, but not too hot so as not to burn him. Mike would never. He sits down in the water and feels his panic start to subside further. His breathing starts to even out, and he can make out more of what Mike is saying.
“I’m so sorry, Will,” he starts, “I should have known this would happen when they reported the cold front coming in. I should have made you sleep in my room. I don’t care how weird things are between us. I hate seeing you like that. Please let me help you.”
Will nods. Still not having said a word throughout this entire interaction. He can’t. He can’t form a sentence just yet. The warm water is helping, but he's still shivering. Still so cold, He wants to be warm and calm down, but he can’t break free this time. This nightmare felt too real, the cold felt too familiar.
He likes it cold.
“I’m sorry,” Will begins shakily. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. It’s usually not this bad. You can go back to bed. I’m fine now.”
“No,” Mike says, “I’m not leaving you like this. I should never have left you alone down here to begin with. It’s too cold. You are coming back upstairs with me. No arguments.”
“Please just go away,” Will whispers, “I don’t want you to see me like this. It’s not your job to take care of me anymore. You’ve made that clear.”
Despite the lingering panic, Will feels warmer now, almost too warm. It feels almost uncomfortable, but at least he isn’t shaking anymore. At least he's no longer as cold. He wants to be alone, but he knows that’s not going to happen. Mike is stubborn, and Will is too tired to fight.
He likes it cold.
“No,” Mike says again, “You’re mostly warmed up now, so let’s go up to my room. I’m sorry for how things have been between us, but you are coming with me, end of story.”
Mike pulls him up out of the water, and Will still can’t bring himself to feel embarrassed. Mike dries him off and wrings out his hair. He wraps a towel around Will’s waist and guides him back to the basement, up the stairs, and into Mike’s room.
Mike closes his door as softly as he can to avoid waking anyone else up. Will looks around, still dazed and in disbelief that he's allowed in here again.
Mike sits Will down on the bed and begins to dress him in a pair of his own sweats and a t-shirt. He adds socks as well to keep Will warm. Mike pulls down the covers on his bed and places Will inside, tucking him in after. Will feels Mike touch his hair and cup his face. It feels nice. Too nice.
He likes it cold.
Will manages to look up, and Mike quickly pulls his hand away.
“Goodnight,” Mike whispers as he begins to make a bed on the floor with some leftover pillows and blankets.
“No,” Will hears himself say. “Please.”
“Please, what?”
“Please.”
Mike seems to understand as he crawls into bed beside Will, though he lies as far away as possible in the queen-sized bed.
“Please,” Will says again.
Mike once again seems to understand and moves closer to Will. He lays a hand on his shoulder, testing his response. Will tenses up and then relaxes into the touch. He feels tears threatening to slip down his face. Mike is being too good, too nice.
“I’m sorry,” Will says again. “I can usually handle the nightmares myself, but this one was particularly bad. It was just so cold. I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t get out of it, and I feel so embarrassed. You shouldn’t have to see me like that. You shouldn’t have to bathe me. I'm too old to be taken care of like that”
He likes it cold.
He knows he’s rambling, and he can feel the tears starting to leak out. He wants so badly to stop them, but it has been so long since he’s talked to anyone about this.
He feels Mike wipe away some of the tears, and Will freezes.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Mike asks softly. His tone makes Will cry more, and he can’t stop the sobs bubbling up in his chest.
“I could feel him. Everywhere.” Will manages to get out. “He was in me, on me, around me, suffocating me. Clawing at my insides. Freezing me. I couldn’t breathe, move, or speak. I can usually wake myself up, but this time was different. It was too cold. Just the way he likes it.”
He likes it cold.
“I know,” Mike says in that soft way again.
“Know what?”
“That you can usually wake yourself up. I check on you every night. To make sure you're okay. I should’ve done something sooner, but we weren’t really talking, so I didn’t want to overstep. But I could tell tonight was especially bad. I had to do something. I couldn’t leave you there to suffer alone like that. I’m so sorry, Will. For everything. I don’t even know why we were fighting. If you could call it that.”
“I’m sorry, too. Thank you for helping me.” Will shivers again, still not quite warm enough. “I just can’t get warm enough. It won’t stop. Please make it stop.”
“Can I touch you?” Mike asks hesitantly, “To warm you up?”
Will nods and turns with his back facing towards Mike. He feels Mike’s arms wrap around him, pulling him close. Will can feel his breath on the back of his neck. He freezes up, not used to being this close to anyone, let alone Mike.
He feels the soft press of lips to the back of his neck and goes completely rigid.
“Sorry,” Mike whispers, “I just wanted to check if you were still cold.”
Will allows his body to relax into Mike’s warm embrace. He feels him everywhere, all throughout his body, but that doesn’t scare him. Not when it's Mike. Will isn't sure what this means for them and what will happen when he wakes up in the morning, but he doesn’t care right now.
He likes it cold.
But Will is the warmest he has ever been.