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It’s graduation day. There's a lingering uncertainty in the air. Who knows where they'll end up a year, hell, even a week from now. For now, all Mike can do is revel in the moment. Despite everything, they made it.
Before Mike has a chance to drown in his thoughts,
“Hey, I just wanted to say what you did up there was pretty badass.”
It was Stacey. Since when did she want anything to do with them?
Dustin fumbles over his words, but it seems she doesn’t mind.
“Hey, so I’m having a party later tonight… You guys should come,” Stacey adds before walking off with her friends.
“Should we go?” Will asks, caught off guard by the invite.
“Fuck it.” Is all Mike has to say in response. A party sounds like the perfect end to their hellish school years.
When they arrive at Stacey’s house, it becomes abundantly clear they are so far out of their element. Except it might just be Mike feeling ostracized, Will and Lucas seem to “know” every other person here. Dustin doesn’t seem to mind the atmosphere either.
I need a drink.
When Mike enters the kitchen, it seems every inch of counter space is covered in discarded cups and cans. He bumps into someone he vaguely knows, though he can’t recall his name (which he does feel a little bad about). He’s grabbing himself a drink.
“Hey man, you want one?” He offers, maybe he knows this is so far out of his comfort zone. He hopes it isn’t too obvious.
“Oh, sure… uh- thanks.”
He hands Mike a beer, but before he could make any awkward small talk (is that what you do at parties?), he’s pulled away by his friends. Mike takes a reluctant sip of his drink. It tastes awful, but he knows it’s exactly what he needs to handle tonight. To hush the overwhelming feelings that come with the future, and to tolerate this hectic environment.
Maybe he shouldn’t have come. A night of DnD in his basement would have been a much more pathetic way to spend their graduation day, but at least he would've been comfortable.
Mike makes his way back to the main room, as drunk bodies swarm both outside and inside the house. It makes him nervous that he barely recognizes anyone in the sea of people.
Then he spots Will.
He’s in the opposite corner of the room, talking to some guy. They seem to be very... friendly with each other. Mike has never seen this guy in his life. He feels protective, but maybe that's not his place. Before he can get too caught up in his head about things, the exact opposite of what he wanted for tonight, he heads back to the kitchen for another drink. Something stronger, hopefully.
It burns as it goes down; it’s exactly what he needs.
After returning once more from the kitchen, he's just in time to catch a glimpse of Will whispering something in the mystery guy's ear. Are they flirting?
Even in the darkened room, Mike can recognize the flush of his cheeks and the bashful smile he’s seen so many times before. He doesn’t know what feeling overtakes him, just that it's hot and angry.
Before he can get too upset, the boy walks away, maybe to get another drink himself. Will has a look in his eye, one Mike hadn’t seen in a while. One that used to be directed at him. He feels a little sick.
Mike decides to check in with Will.
“What the hell are you doing?” It comes out angrier than intended and more of a rhetorical question. Will looks annoyed.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” he spits defensively, like he already knows where Mike's line of questioning will lead.
“It looked like you were practically throwing yourself at that guy.”
“We were just talking, Mike.”
“That was not 'just talking, ' and you know it.”
“Fine. What if I was? Why does it matter?”
“Because! I’m your best friend. I don't want you throwing yourself at some random guy!”
“Look, I get you're worried about me, but it was just flirting. I’m just trying to have fun tonight, alright?"
Mike grunts, still a little displeased. “...Alright.”
He chooses to walk away just as the guy returns. Instead, he opts for sitting in the corner to keep an eye on Will.
Everything seems fine, and they continue with their song and dance of teasing. Until it isn’t fine, and the guy starts getting a bit too handsy. Immediately, Mike shoots up speed-walking over, no regard for the people in his path. Definitely spilling a few people's drinks on the way.
“What the fuck do you think you're doing?” He hopes the words come off as intimidating as he intends, even if he is a little scrawny.
“Mike- He was just-” Will tries explaining, but Mike's already dragging Will away. He glares at the boy as he leads Will elsewhere.
Mike’s brain is on autopilot; he doesn’t think about where they're going till they enter a room. Will’s still trying to explain himself, though he does seem grateful for the interruption.
Without thinking, and maybe (definitely) influenced by the alcohol rushing through his system, he kisses Will.
Once a peck, then he pulls back and pushes him against the door. It’s like he unlocked something within himself, suddenly starving for it. Will, surprised at first, doesn't seem to mind. Like the same frenzied feeling had been unlocked within him, too.
They continue kissing, getting a feel for each other's lips against their own. Will seems more experienced than Mike expected, which would make him jealous if he weren’t so damn good. It’s like he knew exactly what he needed, exactly how to draw out sounds of pleasure from him.
Mike’s not drunk enough that all his insecurity had melted away, that would probably take a lot more alcohol than he’s willing to drink. He can almost hear his father's voice in the back of his mind. Warning him against getting too close to Will, like he was gonna catch his vulnerability. Maybe if he were sober, it would bother him more, disappointing his father in such a way.
He couldn’t find it in him to care right now. Not when he could feel the warm press of Will’s body against his own. His tongue prodding at Mike’s lips, seeking entrance to his mouth. He’s really good at this. Mike doesn’t know why they hadn’t done this sooner. Will tastes like cheap beer and smoke (did he smoke now?).
Mike knows he is being kind of loud, but he can’t help it. He prays the music is loud enough to drown it out. At least they can feel the vibrations of each other's sounds.
Suddenly, the novelty of this party has worn off. Mike is no longer interested in staying here, not when his best friend is in front of him sneaking a hand up his shirt.
Mike pulls from the kiss, holding Will’s face tenderly as he catches his breath.
“Let's go back to mine?” He hopes to God he says yes.
“Sure.” Will’s kind of breathless.
They really should've done this sooner.
They exit the room– in their own little world. Their hands are interlocked, the people around them too preoccupied with other things or too drunk to take notice.
Stacey's house is close enough to Mike’s that they can walk, though it takes them a little longer than usual. A few interruptions of laughter and chaste kisses later, they arrive.
“Won’t your parents care?” Will sounds concerned, like he’d been too caught up to think about it till now.
“I doubt they’ll even notice. We can just go straight to the basement, say we wanted to leave the party early.”
“If you say so,” Will then giggles at seemingly nothing.
“And maybe no giggling.”
“Got it. Sorry… I'll try my best,” He raises a mock salute.
He's so cute.
Mike unlocks the door, rushing toward the basement immediately. He got lucky, his parents had both already gone to sleep. His Father snoring in his recliner, TV still playing. His Mother must be upstairs in their room.
Though they both wanted to continue making up for lost time, a sudden sleepiness overtakes them. Maybe it's the comfort of finally being home after a stressful day. In the arms of the boy he loved most. It had a soothing effect on Mike.
Even if they couldn’t make out, they at least got to lie together. Still lazily swapping kisses till the interruptions of yawns got too frequent. Will laid his head on Mike's shoulder. His arm draped over his middle as Mike held him close. Mike breathed it all in. It was a lot to take in.
For once, Mike was unafraid. They had the rest of time to figure this all out. For now, he gets to feel the warmth of Will Byers.
They drift off to sleep still wrapped around each other.
The next morning, Mike awakens to the distant sounds of his family preparing breakfast. He quickly realizes that this was all real. Kissing Will, getting to fall asleep beside him. It was all real. Unlike before, Mike is scared.
He knows this is going to be hard. That he would have to spend the rest of his life fighting for their love. If that's even what Will wanted, they hadn't really done much talking last night. It definitely wouldn’t be easy in Hawkins.
Not to mention Mike hadn’t even thought about what this means for him. Was he Gay? Bisexual? (he thinks he heard someone talk about that once.) He feels overwhelmed.
Just before Mike's anxieties can overtake his mind, Will wakes up. He seems a lot less stressed than Mike. Relaxed, even. Will looks up and smiles softly at him.
Mike's worries melt away. They would be able to do this. Together.
Whatever Will wanted from him, he would try his best to give him.
The obnoxious phone ringing snaps them out of their soft morning.
Mike drags himself off the couch, bones popping. He’s too big to sleep on the couch down here, next time, he’d have to sneak Will into his room. The thought gives him goosebumps.
He picks up the phone,
“Hello?”
“Where the hell did you go last night, Wheeler?” It’s Max, and she sounds amused with just a hint of worry.
“Me and Will,” Mike looks over at him, and smiles. “Decided to leave early, we were kind of fed up with the party.”
“Oh, Will’s with you? Next time warn us, we spent forever looking for you two!”
Mike laughs nervously. “Sorry… we were a little preoccupied.”
“Oh,” Max says, the gears turning in her head, maybe Mike shouldn’t have said that.
He stays silent.
“Oh.” She repeats, this time with a different understanding,
He didn’t like the sound of that “Oh” at all.
He quickly hangs up the phone before Max could unintentionally get more info out of him. Not that he would have many answers for her, but still. He slips back onto the couch, where Will was now sitting up, listening in on his conversation with Max. He looks entertained, at least
“Don’t ask.”
Will laughs. His laugh is great.
Mike almost worries the kissing was a one-time occurrence, that nothing had changed between them. Or worse, that it would go unacknowledged.
It was almost like Will could sense his worry because he took Mike's face into his hands, guiding him so they could see eye to eye, before delivering a kiss. It was different from the ones they had shared last night, this was soft and slow. Like they had time to savour it now.
Mike didn’t mind the morning breath if it meant kissing Will like this. They both know this wasn’t going to be easy, an unspoken certainty between them. But for now, they could bask in the simplicity of soft morning kisses.