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So much time. Too much time. Two years since Mike figured out that he's gay. But three years. Three long years. Since Mike saw Will for the last time. He's been so stupid. So goddamn stupid. The painting, the lingering touches, the times during sleepovers when Will slipped into Mike's bed and Mike felt warmer just as if Will belonged there, next to him, and those weird things in his stomach when he saw Will in California when he visited him and El there. Why didn't he say anything? Why didn't Will say anything? Those thoughts have been fogging up his mind for the past three years, it's not easy trying to live when you're still yearning for someone you lost by being a coward. But maybe he shouldn't blame himself? He's been scared of his own feelings for Will, but maybe, just maybe, if he'd been brave, it would have turned out to be different. Mike tends to reflect on that time and on what he could’ve done to not let Will fade from his life. Maybe he should’ve communicated more. Maybe after they graduated he could’ve worked to reach out more. He can't stand those thoughts anymore, he just can't. He needs an escape. Alcohol is not the healthiest way to do so, but at least he doesn't think about it that much when he's drunk. That's why he's been going to some random gay clubs around the city.
Mike has been zoning out ever since he got to the club and ordered his drink. A few guys tried to talk to him, but he blew them off without even bothering to look up at them. Just as Mike was taking a sip, someone bumped his elbow, which made him spill some of his drink and curse under his breath. “Oh, sorry… I didn’t—" Mike finally looks up at the man. Fuck. Fuck. “-mean to,” the guy Will finishes his sentence looking just as shocked as Mike.
For a few seconds that feel like an eternity for which both of them are silent, it feels like they’re stuck in a universe in which they’re the only two people. Suddenly both of them start talking at the same time: “Mike?” “Will?” Michael can’t even remember the last time when he was this happy. It’s him. It’s Will, he’s still his best friend, the one he realized he loves more than anyone.
“You look—“ Mike clears his throat because he’s still stunned. “-different”
Will blushed a little as if not realizing how much he had changed since they saw each other for the last time. “What is that supposed to mean?” “I—I mean different in a good way! I mean, you look—" Will cracked a smile after noticing how flushed Mike actually is. “Good, you look good. Really good….”
Will blushes a deeper shade of red as he hears the compliment, which he definitely didn’t expect from his friend, his straight- Mike is straight, he wasn’t interested in him when they were younger. What is he doing at a gay bar? He chooses to ignore that part for now even if it will bother him until he finally asks about that but continues the conversation. “Yeah, you think so?” Mike’s face feels like it’s burning hot, and just as Will was about to finish his sentence, he cut him off “Y-YEAH! I mean—yes, you look good.” Will chuckles and says, “You’re pathetic, Mike.” Even he can feel that Will’s confidence isn’t real, but fake it till you make it, right? Mike knows he needs to be brave to make sure he won’t lose Will again. He can’t lose, not when he finally has a chance to turn their whole relationship by 180 degrees. Will is just as nervous as he is but covers it up by ordering a drink, but deep down he’s terrified by possibly getting heartbroken again, mostly because he thinks he finally moved on. But he didn’t, and he never will.
“Did you move here, or are you just visiting someone?” Mike is praying that it’s the first option, it will give him a chance, a last chance to fix everything. “I actually moved here like a few months ago and got a job as an illustrator, and I also had a few of my paintings put up in an exposition, and I’m living nearby in an apartment.” He still has a chance to get him back, but what if Will has already found someone else, someone better, someone who wasn’t a coward? “What about you?” This snapped Mike out of his whirlwind of thoughts. “I moved here and started working as a librarian and recently signed a contract to get my book published, so I guess I’m not going to work in the library anymore.”
Will decided to ask the sensitive question. “Mike, why are you here?” The other man knew it would come up sooner or later; he needs to tell him, he can’t be a coward. “I—I’m here to get drinks.” Why is he lying? Why can’t he tell Will the truth? It’s not like he won’t accept him, I mean, they’re both like that. Will isn’t convinced by that reasoning. “Mike, this is a gay club, why are you here?” “Will, I—I’m gay. I didn’t know until, like, two years ago and I knew I had to tell you, but you just weren’t there and we lost contact, and—” “Mike, calm down, it’s okay. I’m glad you told me, but what happened? How did you figure it out?”
”I was thinking a lot about what you said before we graduated when we were still fighting Vecna when you came out, about your Tammy and that whole thing when I said that we should be best friends. I don’t know who that Tammy guy is for you, but you made me realize that I like guys, that I like you.” Will is stunned, he doesn't know what to say, and Mike starts to panic. What if he has found himself a boyfriend already? "Will, I'm so sorry for that whole situation worse and that we lost contact because of me. I was really struggling with what I felt towards you. And that painting. El didn't commission it, you made it for me. But why, what does it mean?" "Mike, you're my Tammy, you've always been my Tammy. There's no guy named Tammy, but you made me realize that there's more to love than just guys who love girls. And the painting, I wanted to show you that my happiest memories were with you, all of the nights we played D&D with Dustin and Lucas, all of our sleepovers and hang outs evening going to school together.” "Will, what do you mean there's no Tammy? And I kept that painting I hung it in my apartment here, it’s…. Thank you so much and Will I you’ve always been my best friend but I don’t want that anymore." "Tammy is just a metaphor Robin used to help me understand my emotions and feelings better, but you've always been Tammy, my Tammy. Then what do you want Mike do you want to be friends best friends strangers?"
Will's eyes well up with tears as he finishes that sentence, he doesn't know why. He thought he moved on a long time ago. But meeting Mike here and having the talk they should've had when they were teens changed everything .
Mike immediately notices that Will's expression changed, he's crying now, not a full-on hysterical cry but more like an emotional one, like something you carried inside for so long finally snapped when you let go of the negative thoughts and started being honest with yourself and others. Mike feels like that too, he's glad he finally told Will about his feelings, even if he's a few years late. He decided to reach out and put his hand on Will's shoulder, but that gesture quickly escalated into an emotional embrace. Both of them are tearing up, but the tears are not caused by negative feelings but rather by something warm and familiar regrowing between them, the same thing they lost before, but the feeling is stronger now.
“I don’t know if I want to put a label on it yet, I don’t want to ruin it before it even began but Will I know I’ve always loved you even when I didn’t know why or how to express that I always did, always.”
“Please just don’t make the same mistake again.” Will stammers out between tears as he’s leaning his head against Mike’s shoulder.
“I won’t, I promise.” Mike smiles through tears that are falling from his eyes down his cheeks and then to Will’s back.
After few minutes of straying in a comfortable embrace both of them pull away and Mike speaks first. “Do you want to get out of here?” Will nods his head immediately after hearing Mike’s words. They both pay for their drinks and head out. The cold winter air hits them like a refreshing wave.
“Where do you want to go? We can head towards my apartment if you want it’s like a 10 minute walk away from here.” Mike was overthinking the whole situation again but thankfully Will’s question snapped him out of that whirlwind of thoughts immediately.
“Yeah we can go there.” After saying that Mike decides to be brave, he needs to show Will he really means what he says so he intertwines their hands and surprisingly the other man’s hand is really warm compared to his cooler one. In the corner of his eye he can see Will blush and turn his head away from him.
After a quick walk in comfortable silence that settles between them they reach Will’s apartment and start to climb up the stairs, the subtle glow of moonlight makes Will look even more beautiful in Mikes eyes/p>
As Mike catches a glimpse of Will’s apartment it hits him how much of w his life he actually missed. There are paintings on all of the walls and some paints and brushes scattered around the tables but the canvas on an easel in the middle of the living room catch Mike’s attention. It’s a sorcerer and a knight, similar to their characters when they used to play D&D together. Will the wise. He always adored how many details Will’s character had.
Will decides to break the silence. “Have you been with anyone since El?” He knows it’s probably still a bit painful topic for Mike to talk about.
“I haven’t but not because I still mourn her, I mean I think about her a lot, she deserved better, she deserved a better life. Especially after what she’s been through. This might sound weird or dorky but I didn’t want to be with anyone else than you will.”
“Don’t say things you don’t actually mean to make me feel better.”
“But I mean it. I mean it with my whole heart.”
“Prove it.” This was enough for Mike to tak a few steps to be face to face with Will and to cup his cheek with his palm. Both of them shudder at the sudden contact. But it doesn’t stop Mike from leaning in and capturing Will’s lips with his. This is what they both yearned for since they were young teens. It finally happened.
Will’s arms come up to drop loosely around mikes neck and shoulders as he deepens the kiss. When they both need to pull away to get a breath they just lean their foreheads against each other.