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The city seems darker up here, Mike thinks absently, standing at the edge of a skyscraper.
No railings, nothing to catch him if the wind decides to push at his swaying body. He bends his knees ever so slightly, tilts his head up to brush against the gusts of wind.
He shuffles an inch closer, then another, until the tips of his shoes stand atop a bustling city. A city that feels so much quieter, so much farther away, all the way up here.
His face burns in the frosty air as a tear escapes an eyelid. He imagines reaching out, in all that darkness over his eyes. He imagines El, and how she would travel through her mind.
He, well, he didn't want to think about it anymore. Didn't want to feel anything. He supposes that's why he's up here.
This isn't it, is it? The ending of his story he tried so hard to survive. His best friend was supposed to be here, calling him from the edge.
Mike swallows, thick and forced, a lump stuck in his throat.
He's to graduate tomorrow. Except, he's not in Hawkins. He ran away and left no note. He knows he scares his family, but he can't bring himself to care, no, he almost craves it. Like a cry for help. He cries.
Tired, and worn-down, screaming, but nowhere to put all this noise. It goes silent amidst an already screaming city. Maybe it's why he traveled so far out here.
Raising your voice in Hawkins meant so many things. Here, he can get lost, all the way up here, on the top of a tall building he's not even allowed to be on.
He cracks a smile, wavering and wet. A chuckle bursts from his lips. Then a cry, loud and broken. Cheeks frozen, like frozen waterfalls. He cries louder.
He opens his eyes, and up at the clouds above him, he watches as they contort and move through the sky. He can just about see him. In the mess of the fuzz, he's reminded of Will. Messy hair, a sharp nose, he can practically make out eyes.
It almost confuses him to think of Will right now, but it doesn't. His mind sorts through memories like a filing cabinet. It pulls out the time Will shoved at his arm playfully, and that time he stared so deeply into his eyes up on that radio tower.
Oh, how he nearly longs to be back there right now. To look up at the Hawkins sky, instead of this starless one. He's right on the edge, so close to falling into those feelings, but he holds himself back.
He inches farther away from the edge. The tips of his feet root themselves back to concrete.
Mike's chest burns, his heart pounds, and he finds himself longing.
He's pulled back.
The wind decides, he thinks.
He can hardly believe it decided to keep him.
Mike takes a late-night bus back home. He doesn't utter a word. Just nods and goes through the motions. His eyes are open but they're blank. He thinks about Will for too many hours, he just wants to sleep.
Instead, he finds himself in front of the Byers' house. And he's knocking on their door.
He's swaying, moving with the wind, testing himself but there's nowhere to fall to. He breathes in shakily and waits.
Will answers the door rubbing at his eye, his hair a mess.
Mike watches as he immediately straightens, watches as that tired face forms into a concerned one.
And then he's falling into Will's embrace, and Will catches him and holds on like he's dangling off the side of a skyscraper.
He weeps in his arms; he's so caught up he doesn't even notice how his shoulder begins to feel wet.
Arms scrabble up his body; hands grasp at his clothing. They both hold on tight for so long, no one knows how much time passes.
By the time Mike's done crying, he begins to listen to the sound of Will's slowing heartbeat, and the rises and falls of his chest pressed up against his own.
He wishes he could stay here forever, even as his feet start to grow numb.
Will eventually pulls away and Mike about begs for him to come back. Will watches as Mike's eyes do the talking, instead.
Will grabs at Mike's shoulder and leads him inside. It's quiet and dark, Mike thinks in passing.
When Will shuts his bedroom door and walks over to Mike sitting at the edge of his bed, Mike swears he almost lost it again.
He swallows back tears. He stares up at Will's ceiling. Sometime in those last couple years, he must've put those glow in the dark stars all over his ceiling, and Mike finds himself breathing easier looking up at a sky full of stars.
Will silently sits beside him. He doesn't say a word, just watches Mike's face intently. His heart beats out of his chest, his cheeks grow red. He hasn't had Mike in his room in a long while. He hasn't talked to Mike in, well any time is too long, he thinks.
He just wants to reach out and take Mike's cold, shaking hand. He wants to hug him, kiss him, lay with him and tell him it will be alright. He balls his hand into a fist. And he watches.
Mike's eyes begin to grow tired, and he's fighting a losing battle trying to keep them from falling shut.
Will slowly opens his mouth, and whispers into this dark, quiet room. His voice cracks as he ushers Mike to lay down and sleep.
Mike slowly looks away from the stars to stare into Will's eyes. Will's chest flutters as Mike slides his hand into Will's.
He can't believe it. Mike's holding his hand and suddenly he's on that radio tower again, about to risk it all for those eyes, the ones that Will would do anything for.
Anything, Mike, ask, just ask, he thinks.
Mike opens his mouth, forces out a whisper.
Lay with me.
Mike wants Will to lay with him.
Will's mind is going a million miles per minute.
Mike's mind is quiet, however, and slow, and he can barely bring himself to think.
But he knows what he wants, and its Will. Will is the one that will hold his hand and drag him back down from the edge.
One of his best friend's is gone, but one never left.
His eyes dart back and forth between Will's. Say yes.
Will slowly shakes his head up and down, a small smile growing on his face.
They shuffle under the covers quietly, like there's no room to speak but there's nothing to speak about. It's comfortable, it's peaceful.
Mike wraps his arms around Will. He's so warm compared to him, and he chases that warmth as he digs his face into Will's back. Their legs tangle together.
They lay like that all night. Mike falls asleep quickly. Will falls asleep eventually.
And they both find the air to breathe a little easier.