Work Text:
I got weird when we made out
Clearly I've got shit to figure out
The party was loud. He could hear it from outside the door that he'd been standing by and staring at for the better part of ten minutes. He wasn't not ready. Not yet. It was summer in New York. The humid city air was suffocating, but that's not the only reason he was sweating through his clothes. Maybe he could wait for Dustin to get here. Or Lucas. Or Max. Or all of them. Yes. They could build a wall around him; create a barrier between him and all the things that terrified him about being here tonight. Including the host. They were probably all already there. The party started two hours ago, and in that time Mike had left his apartment and retreated back ten times, talked himself up in the mirror maybe five, and changed his entire outfit about six times. He should just go home, he thought. He's not ready for this, he doesn't think he ever will be.
"Mike! You're here!" The dreaded door swung open and there he was.
"Will, hi," Mike stuttered, taken aback by the radiance that emitted from the boy - the man - in front of him. A drink in his strong hand. A beaming smile stretching across his soft face. His hair in a wavy mess atop his head with sweat lining his brow, somehow making him glow even brighter. This isn't fair. "How did you know I was out here?"
"I saw you through the peephole, silly! You're late," Will laughed, pulling Mike through the door by his wrist, making him stumble into a stranger, eliciting a sharp head turn and a dirty look from them. "The others are all here already, they thought you wouldn't show," Will says all this with a smile on his face and a slur to his word. He's drunk. Will Byers. Drunk. Now that is a sight to see.
"Sorry, I got lost on the subway," Mike lied. He had never invited Will to his own apartment in the city since he moved here so he would never have known that their complexes were two blocks away from each other.
"It's okay, my love, you can make up for it later."
"What?" Mike asked, heart thumping in his throat, Will's word's echoing with every beat. My love. My love. My love. Will's hand was still on Mike's wrist, pulling him through the crowd of eccentric strangers, and he wanted to rip it off and fuse it to his skin all at once.
"By doing shots with me! It's fun, don't worry," Will lead him to where the rest of he Party were sitting. They had taken up the two couches in the living area and were having a heated discussion updating Dustin about the last session of their new campaign.
"Fellow Hawkians," Will announced like a town crier, before hiccupping. "He has arrived."
They all looked up and beamed at the sight of Mike who couldn't help but smile back, feeling instant comfort in the presence of his childhood best friends.
"Hey Wheeler," Max started, getting up with Lucas and Dustin to give him a hug. "Finally decided to show?"
"I got lost on the subway," he lied again to Max, regretting it instantly. She and Lucas had been to his apartment before to help him move in, she knew it was walking distance.
"Right," she nodded, eyes narrow. She also knew this night - seeing Will again - was bigger than just a reunion. She looked between Mike and Will, giving Mike a look of understanding before being shoved aside by Dustin who hadn't seen Mike in what felt like an eternity.
"Mike Wheeler, as I live and breathe!" he exclaimed. Mike couldn't help being excited. He missed this kid.
"Dustin," he said, voice muffled by his face being buried in his friend's broad shoulder as they hugged tightly, "I missed you, man." As they pulled apart they smiled at each other and lightly shook the other's shoulders. College had served Dustin well. He was glowing. Seeing his friend this happy, after everything they all went through, was all he needed to survive this night.
"Wow, wish I got that reception," Lucas teased, jokingly upset that he, who had literally been at Mike's apartment earlier that day, hadn't gotten the first hug.
"Leave me alone for a year and maybe you will," Mike joked, taking Lucas' hand and pulling him in for a quick hug. They both laughed.
When Lucas got close enough he whispered, "You okay, man?" He patted Mike's back.
Mike patted Lucas' back too and exited the hug, nodding and smiling. When Lucas and Max were helping Mike move in to his apartment two months ago, they had a big talk. About everything that went down in Hawkins, about El, about Will...
"Are you gonna let me sit or what?" They were all swarmed around Mike, looking at him like he was about to break. Even Dustin who, though he lived in another state and hadn't seen them all since he started college, could always sense when something was really off.
"Yeah, yeah," they all awkwardly mumbled, moving back to the couches, Dustin leaving a space next to him to sit.
"Well, I'm gonna go host," Will breathed out, "Don't get into too much trouble, okay? These New Yorkers aren't ready for another gate to the upside-down to open up." He pointed his finger at all of them, backing away before turning to leave.
Mike watched him walk away for much too long to go unnoticed.
"He's really in his element here, isn't he?" Dustin said, just to Mike who was still watching as Will was talking and laughing with a girl with short curly hair. Without seeing much of her face, she looked like...
My love. My love. My love.
"Mike," Lucas leaned forward, patting Mike's knee. Mike whipped his head around to meet Lucas' worried eyes.
"Sorry," Mike mumbled, looking down at his hands. "I'm gonna go get a drink, where are they?"
"Uh, just in the fridge," Dustin pointed to the mini fridge in the far corner of the room, "I'll come with you, I need a refill anyway," he said, gesturing to his cup which was nearly full to the brim.
"Oh it's fine-"
"Come on, let's go," Dustin heaved as he grabbed Mike by the arm and lifted him off the couch with him.
"Ow! Dude!" Mike complained, Dustin's grip shockingly strong.
Dustin led him through the crowd to the mini fridge, opening it to reveal a messy pile of bottles that Mike was shocked had not all toppled out and smashed on the floor.
"Voila," Dustin presented, "Pick your poison."
"Which is the strongest?" Mike asked, eyes glazing over. He hadn't been to a party like this, he hadn't felt this out of place, out of himself, for a long time. But somehow being around the Party and seeing Will, that girl... he was being sucked back into a part of himself that he wasn't ready to face again. He needed to escape. He needed to forget.
Dustin looked at him with concern all over his face. "Mike..."
"Dustin," Mike snapped, looking at him with wide eyes, "Just help me out here, okay?"
Dustin was shocked. He kept his gaze on him for a couple more seconds, eyes darting around his face trying to read him, trying to find a way to help him before giving in. "Uh... I guess this." He pulled out a huge bottle with a clear liquid in it that looked like it could have been water. "But you'll probably want to mix it with something-"
"Perfect," Mike snatches the bottle, takes a red cup off the top of the fridge and begins to pour. And pour. And pour. "About that much?" The cup was over half full of the clear liquid. He put the bottle down on the floor.
"Uh..." Dustin couldn't find the words.
"You said to mix it with something, yeah? Is there Coke?"
Dustin reached to the bottom of the fridge and pulled out a small glass bottle of Coke, Mike took it and poured until the cup was now full, a substantial amount of the brown liquid still left in its bottle. He lifted his cup in a 'cheers' motion to Dustin who was still looking at him mouth agape and eyes wide, then took a much too big mouthful of the concoction. He nearly spat it all out, the stuff tasted like it came from a car tank that just so happens to be a used Coke bottle. It burned as he pushed it down his throat, but it sure helped him start to forget about all of the other painful feelings running through him that night.
Mike made his way back over to the others, continuing to make progress on his drink. After they made it to the couch, surprisingly unscathed, Mike finished his drink within minutes. The others exchanged worried looks as he stuck out his tongue to catch the last drops from the red cup and slumped back into the couch. His vision turned hazy and his head felt fuzzy. He looked over at Max and Lucas who were still looking at him, worried. "What?"
They both looked at each other, then down to the floor, around the room. Mike didn't like who he became when he drank but he sure as hell didn't want to face who he was sober. Not tonight.
"Michael," a voice sang from across the room, Mike looked towards the voice and it was Will stumbling over.
Now, with his unusually low levels of inhibition, Mike beamed as he saw Will getting closer and closer. Maybe the alcohol was having the opposite effect to what he intended but he wasn't in the state of mind to care.
"How about those shots you promised?" Will yelled over the noise, holding out his hand for Mike to take.
Mike didn't say anything but took his hand, looking around at the others. His heart skipped a beat when his skin touched Will's and it took him far too much willpower not to just get up and kiss him right there. The drink was supposed to make this feeling easier to avoid, not harder.
"Will, that's probably not the best idea," Dustin said.
"It's fine," Mike turned to flash Dustin an annoyed look, like a teenager embarrassed by his dad.
Dustin put his hands up in surrender and slumped back into the couch, exchanging looks with Lucas and Max.
"Come on! Before they stop us," Will teased the others, pulling Mike from the couch and over to the drinks fridge.
Will took the same bottle Mike poured from earlier out of the fridge, then grabbed two miniature red cups from the stack next to the normal cups.
When the shots were poured, Will looked into Mike's eyes, a crooked smile across his face. God he's perfect. Mike needed a slap to the face, this was not good. It was not how he needed the night to go. But he couldn't help relishing in the joy of being in such close proximity to Will again.
"Ready?" Will yelled, snapping Mike out of his daze, passing one of the little cups to him and placing his hand on Mike's shoulder. My love. My love. My love.
"Ready!"
They brought the cups to their lips, tilted their heads back and let the liquid run into their mouths and down their throats. Jesus, Mike thought, it tasted so much worse without the Coke.
"One more," Will requested, already pouring them before Mike could decline. He couldn't let it go to waste.
Once they'd finished the second shot, Will laughed as Mike coughed and scrunched up his face. The way Will looked at him, Mike couldn't look away. Will's eyes had softened with a fondness that Mike didn't realise truly how much he missed. It looked like home. My love. My love. My love.
"Come with me," Will said, "Let's catch up." He took Mike's hand and led him to one of the rooms, shutting the door.
My love. My love. My love.
This was a terrible idea. Terrible. But Mike couldn't resist. Will was just so... persuasive. Yeah, persuasive. That's the excuse he was going with. It was a little bit quieter in here, the door muffling the sound of the party but not enough for it to be peaceful. Mike watched as Will plonked himself on the carpet, regardless of the bed being right there. Mike joined him on the floor sitting next to him so that he didn't have to look him directly in the eyes. But Will swiveled around anyway, and with Will's face so close, so accessible to his, Mike could hardly breathe.
"So," Will smiled, "What finally brings you to New York?"
"I uh..." Mike mumbled, trying to keep his eyes down at his hands, trying to survive this normal conversation. "The New Yorker... they read my stuff in the Hawkins Post and they offered me a permanent position writing short stories."
Will gasped, "Mike! That's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" Mike tensed as Will wrapped his arms around his shoulders. He could feel Will's breath on his neck and it gave him goosebumps.
"Thanks," Mike said sheepishly, patting Will's arm. He was both relieved and sad when he let go. "Means I could afford a shoebox apartment in the city and it's great being so close to everyone again."
"I'd love to come and see your place some day! And I'll actually subscribe to the New Yorker now that there's a real storyteller in their midst," Will said proudly.
Mike smiled and looked over at Will. Big mistake. His eyes were just as radiant as they always have been but his face had changed, some of the soft edges had gotten sharper around his cheeks and jaw, he now had a subtle wave in his hair which he clearly had paid to get styled rather than just using a bowl and scissors like Joyce used to. He looked grown up. He struggled to find the old Will in there. His Will. But he was still so goddamn beautiful. It was infuriating.
"Mike," Will said, smiling. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
The alcohol really had stopped him from controlling himself. He didn't realise he had been staring for so long. "Sorry, you just... You look-" he cleared his throat. "You seem really happy."
Will smiled, looking down at the bottle of cheap wine in his hand, which Mike hadn't known was even there until now. Will took a swig of it and moved it towards Mike as an offering.
Mike took it and had a sip, scrunching his face again, "Jesus."
Will laughed again. There's something that has stayed the same. That laugh. It hadn't lost its childish lilt, its character. "It's just the cheap stuff, gets the job done." He took another sip then put it down on the floor. Mike picks it up and skulls more than he thought he could stomach. He thought maybe the wine would help him silence the nerves and butterflies running around his body. Clearly, not only did inhibitions fly out the window this night, so did logic.
Mike bobbed around, feeling more dizzy so he laid down on his back, his feet planted on the floor and knees bent up towards the ceiling.
"So, uh... where's Carlton?" He slurred. This part was going to be painful to say, "I'd love to finally meet him."
There was a pause. A thick silence. Mike felt Will move to lay down next to him. Mike swiveled his head and Will was looking up at the ceiling, his eyes looked wet. "We broke up."
My love. My love. My love.
"Oh," Mike said, looking back up at the ceiling, the effect of the alcohol making it extra difficult to suppress a smile, "Oh, I'm sorry. What happened?"
Will sighed. "He just knew I wasn't fully in it, you know?"
"Right."
Another pause, the noise of the party outside finally starting to fade into the background.
My love. My love. My love.
"So Mike, are you seeing anyone?" Will turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow, looking down at Mike.
"Um..." Mike looked over at Will. Nope, too much. Looking at Will just made the dizziness worse at this point so he quickly drew his gaze back towards the ceiling. His hands nervously fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "No, I guess I uh... I was never really interested in anyone after..."
"El?" Will said gently.
Mike paused, looking back towards Will who met his eyes. "Yeah."
From the way Mike was looking at him, Will could tell that wasn't the whole story. But he wasn't going to pry. He wasn't going to assume.
"That girl you were talking to earlier, with the curly hair..." Mike said turning his head back towards the ceiling, suddenly feeling like a teenager again.
"She looks like her, doesn't she," Will said with a solemn smile to his voice. "I think that's what drew me to her. She's so much like her too. She reminds me of what El would have been like if..."
Mike heard Will's breath hitch. He looked over and there was a single tear running down Will's face.
Mike felt his own eyes fill with water. He forgot how powerful and therapeutic it was to just be in the same room as someone who deeply understood his pain. Who remembered El for who she was, not just what she did, what she was being used for. "I've really missed you," Mike said just above a whisper, his words slurred and broken but Will knew they were coming from his heart.
"I've missed you too, Mike." Will used his free hand to hold Mike's face and wipe the tear that had just fallen. "I've missed my best friend."
Best friend.
My love. My love. My love.
Mike stilled at the feeling of Will's soft hand on his cheek. He had always wondered if this was what other best friends did. Whether other best friends held each other this way. Regardless, it's not like this was something Mike wasn't familiar with coming from Will but it was something about this time... this time it made his heart flutter and the contact felt like there were a thousand bees buzzing between Will's hand and his face. Maybe it was the drink, it was making all of his senses more heightened. Maybe... but Mike knew it wasn't just that. When Will began to pull his hand away, Mike couldn't stop himself from reaching up to grab Will's wrist, to keep it there. It was like a reflex. Like his nervous system knew that this was how he would be protected from the dangers of the outside world.
Mike looked up at Will through his eyelashes, his eyes roaming Will's face, lingering a little too long on his lips. It should have felt wrong to have been talking about El mere minutes ago to now behaving like this with his best friend. If he was sober, maybe he would have recognised that, but now...
"You're so pretty," Mike muttered out, eyes widening as he realised he had said that out loud.
Mike saw a slight frown cross Will's face, he was just as confused as Mike, maybe more. He felt the oddness of the circumstance too, but he was also drunk, his inhibitions weren't there to tell him he shouldn't do what he was going to do next.
Both breathing shallow and fast, hearts beating out of both their chests, Will began to lean down towards Mike. He stopped just as their noses brushed, moving his hand up slightly to lace his fingers through Mike's soft curls. "Mike?"
Mike hummed jaggedly in response, it was all he could muster as his stomach was doing backflips from Will being this close.
"Mike, is this...?"
Mike could feel Will's breath on his lips as he spoke, the bitter scent of liquor intoxicating him further. He moved his hand from around Will's wrist to the back of Will's head, pulling Will's lips to meet his in response.
My love. My love. My love.
Now, it was as if there was no one in the room outside that door. The feeling of Will's lips on his was something Mike had not let himself imagine for so long. But he could not have conjured up how perfect this was in his imagination, even if he tried. The writer, the storyteller, had no words for how beautiful this felt. What he did know is that they were softer than anything he had felt before, and Will was so gentle with him. Even when the kiss got messier and hotter, Mike felt so held, so safe. It wasn't two strangers making out, it was Mike and Will, best friends. Best friend. My love. My love. My love.
I was never really interested in anyone after...
El?
...
He was just my Tammy.
...
She reminds me of what El would have been like if...
Panic washed over Mike. This was Will. This was the first time he had kissed anyone since El. He was kissing a man. Shit.
Suddenly, Mike pushed Will's shoulders up to break the kiss abruptly. Will was in a daze, and it took him a couple of seconds to come down from what they had just done, to realise Mike was white as a ghost and had tears streaming down the sides of his face.
"Mike, what's wrong?" Will asked, worry laced through his voice, sitting up to give Mike some space.
Mike sat up abruptly, his shoulders shaking as he was quietly sobbing. "I'm sorry," he rasped out through tears.
"Did I do something?" Will asked gently, placing his hand on Mike's shoulder, feeling guilty already even though he was confused.
"No! No, you were... perfect, I just..." Mike was struggling to get the words out, "I'm just... I'm so confused."
"It's okay, we can talk about it-"
"No, I just," Mike started getting up off the floor, "I need to go."
"Mike!" Will called but before he could get up to catch him, Mike had opened the door to the still ridiculously loud party and weaving through the crowd, getting mixed looks of judgement and sympathy as he had tears streaming down his face.
He raced out the front door into the hallway and leant against the wall and collapsed to the floor, sobbing.
"El, I'm sorry," he whispered. He often talked to her when he didn't know how else to cope. He didn't know whether she was ever listening but he hoped this time, if any, she could. "I'm so sorry, I just... I don't know what to do. Just please... please I need to know you're there, just help me. Please. Please."
"Hey," a quiet, gentle voice came from his left, "Hey, are you okay?"
Mike looked over and standing there was the girl with the curly hair. Mike's heart stopped. The bewilderment he felt from her presence stopped the tears immediately. As the girl stepped closer and began to sit down next to him, Mike started leaning away from her, mostly out of shock but also a little because he had never spoken to this girl and now she was right there.
"You're friends with Will, right?" she said softly, smiling the gentlest smile he had seen since...
And then he burst into tears again.
The girl didn't leave, she didn't fidget awkwardly, waiting for him to calm down. She just sat there quietly, with her hand on his knee, rubbing circles on the fabric of his jeans, letting him cry.
He thinks back to his talk with Lucas and Max, sitting on the floor surrounded by his Hawkins life in boxes.
---
"Where do you think she is?" Max asked with tears welling in her eyes.
"I hope she's found somewhere with three waterfalls," Mike said, looking down at his fidgeting hands. "It was the one thing I promised her so I hope she at least got to follow through with it. After I failed her."
"Mike," Lucas said, placing his hand on Mike's to still them, to calm them. "Don't say that. You didn't fail her."
Mike sighed, his breath hitching, unable to stop the tears from flowing so he held his breath so he wouldn't sob out loud.
"She did what she thought was right," Max said, also through painful tears.
Mike let out a small sob, looking away from the two of them, so afraid of what he was about to say. "I don't mean then."
Lucas and Max stayed quiet, confused, waiting for Mike to elaborate.
"I wasn't... I didn't... I couldn't tell her... I loved her," Mike tried to spit out, feeling like his throat was closing up.
Lucas drew in a deep breath, reaching out to hold Max's hand, sensing what was coming.
"I couldn't because... I don't... I don't think I ever did... not in the way... she did... in the way she... she wanted me to."
The silence was thick, but it needed to be there. They needed to give Mike the space to just get it all out. It had been pent up for so many years. It needed to be just him.
"Of course, I loved her," he said, taking a sharp breath in, composing himself, and wiping his tears, uncomfortable with how much he was crying in front of his friends. "Just... not like the way I loved..."
Lucas and Max looked at him with wide eyes, holding their breaths in suspense, waiting for him to say it.
"Will," Mike sobbed out, covering his mouth. It felt like shooting a ball out of a cannon whose fuse had been burning for fifteen years.
Mike sat there sobbing for a few seconds before he felt the arms of Lucas and Max wrap around him, making him cry even harder.
When they pulled away after Mike had settled enough that he was no longer hyperventilating, he looked at Max's shoulder that he was leaning most on, and felt under his nose.
"Oh, sorry Max, I got a bit of snot on your shoulder."
"It's alright, Wheeler, I know you're gross, I was prepared for that," Max joked, smiling in spite of the tears streaming down her face and her bloodshot eyes.
Mike laughed a little, slowly alleviating the tension he felt in his chest. "I talk to her about it," he said softly, defeated, empty of any tears that could have flowed from saying this. "I know she probably can't hear me, even if she is somewhere out there."
Lucas and Max both smiled solemnly, each still holding one of Mike's shoulders.
"I'm just... so confused," Mike breathed out, frustrated, "And now that I'm here, now I'm back in the same city as him..."
"Mike," Lucas said, and Mike looked over at his friend who's eyes were the softest and kindest he's ever seen them, "We've got you."
---
"How you doing there?"
Mike jumped at the sound of the voice again, though it was soft, it pulled him out of his daze. He hadn't even realised that he'd stopped crying and that he was just staring at the fire hydrant across the hall.
He looked into the eyes of the curly-haired girl who was looking at him kindly with a hint of concern laced in her brow.
"I'm fine," Mike looked away and tried to deepen his voice to seem stronger but it cracked and he sounded like a pubescent teen instead. He sighed, "Thanks for... sitting with me."
"What's your name?" the girl asked.
"Mike."
The girl beamed, "Mike? The famous Mike Wheeler? I thought it might be you. God, Will adores you."
Mike looked at her, stunned. Will talked about him enough for her to think that. Will adores you.
My love. My love. My love.
"Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Jane." She held out her hand for Mike to shake, as if this conversation couldn't get any more insane.
Jane.
Mike shook her hand but couldn't speak, he was still stunned now not just because of what she said about Will but... her name. Everything about her.
"So what happened in there, Mike?" she asked, not in a gossipy way, not in a judgemental way. She wanted to help him, to understand him. She had a curiosity that he has really only ever found in one person. She reminds me of what El would have been like if...
"Um... okay," Mike looked away from Jane, nervous to tell this to someone he had only just met but somehow he feels instantly comfortable with her, like she will take whatever he needs to say and hold it safely in her chest. "Will and I... we sort of... kissed."
Jane raised her eyebrows, not saying anything, waiting patiently for him to elaborate on why that made him cry.
"Made out, really..." he blushed, a tiny smile pulling at his lips, remembering back to how they felt with Will's pressed to them. "But... Jesus where do I start?"
"Just take your time," Jane said softly.
"I don't know how much Will told you, but we've been friends for... forever," Mike smiled. Then he told her everything. About the day on the swings, about El, about his realisation about his feelings for Will, the whole lot. It just flowed out of him so easily for this complete stranger. "And so, when we kissed, it just... I realised how much it meant, for me, for him; how much it changed things. How much time I wasted, of Will's, of mine, of El's. And now I have no idea who I am. I thought I did, I was so certain for so long. But everything has flipped on its head all of a sudden and now there's just years and years that all feel like are being rewritten. Like my memories and my life wasn't real."
Mike reached up to his cheek and realised he was crying again, but this wasn't painful. This was cathartic. He needed this.
"I don't even know you, how are you this easy to talk to?" Mike laughed, and she laughed softly with him.
"Well, I am a therapy major," she said in jest. "And this is going to sound strange and a bit wanky but I felt a real connection with you. Like someone was telling me that I needed to follow you out that door."
Mike let out a sharp breath, smiling, his breath hitching as he looked up to the sky quickly then back down to Jane again, "Trust me. It's not strange at all."
Jane smiled back at him, took his hand and gave it a light squeeze before he began to hear Dustin's voice getting closer and closer.
"Yeah alright, you wanted to give him more time, but I just don't feel right just not knowing where-" he stopped abruptly when he saw a puffy-eyed Mike, sitting next to this girl who had an uncanny resemblance to their shared missing friend.
"Dustin, why did you-" Max snapped, bumping into Dustin, stopping as well as she followed Dustin's stare. "We found him," she said through the doorway, and soon Lucas appeared, then... Will.
"Mike," Will pushed through the others, rushing to kneel in front of Mike. Taking a second to register who was sitting with him.
Will and Jane shared a knowing smile, "I see you two have met."
Will looked back into Mike's eyes where he could see tears pooling but regardless had a peaceful, hopeful smile stretched across his lips. "Could you guys give us a minute?" Will asked, followed by the rest of the party, and Jane, smiling at them, nodding and heading back into the apartment, closing the door behind them.
Will's gaze had not left Mike's. "Hello, my love."
My love. My love. My love.
Mike let something out between a sob and a laugh. He was so unbelievably happy to hear that come out of Will's mouth again.
"I'm sorry I freaked out," Mike breathed, letting his head fall to his chest, shaking it, tired and embarrassed, "I just-"
"You don't have to explain, I understand." Of course. Of anyone, of course Will would understand. "She's so much like El, isn't she?"
"Will, I-" Mike tried to choke out, "That girl... she's a sign."
Will started crying too and nodded, knowing exactly what he meant.
"She's okay," Mike said through tears, "I know she is. And... she just... she wants me to be happy."
Will embraced Mike in a tight hug, the both of them shaking as they sobbed.
"Oh god," Mike laugh-cried again, as they pulled away, wiping tears from his eyes and snot from his nose, "I'm such a mess."
Will laughed and took Mike's cheek in his hand to which Mike kissed his palm, then leant in to the tender touch.
"But you still look hot," Will said cheekily.
Mike giggled, shoving Will's chest lightly, pausing for a little while to contain his excitement for Will just saying he's hot. "I'm a hot mess," Mike played along, biting his lip.
Will laughed, "Come here." He pulled Mike in for a soft kiss, wiping Mike's tears with his thumb as he did.
When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together, beaming.
"Guess 'hot mess' is my type then," Will smiled.
"Good news for me," Mike said, leaning back in for a longer kiss before they both stood up and headed back into the party, hand-in-hand.