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“You weren’t talking to him…Michael”
Mikes mouth starts to open like he’s about to say something but looks in awe. This is one of the moments he regrets so much…he never meant to hurt Will, he was always meant to protect him. He prepared his body to run away but then alongside the sound of the heavily pouring rain he hears…
“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”
“You were talking to yourself. Michael”
Regret fills up his mind, all he can see is the despair in Wills eyes…the lighting slowly revealing his tears that are building up. He cannot build up the courage to look. He hates this part of himself, he wants to keep Will safe, always, but manages to do way worse, hurting him. He can’t look so he sets his eyes on the ground in shame, he notices his feet slowly start to float off the ground. Alas, he tries to stand his ground, as the brave person that he is.
“WHERE ARE YOU!? YOU SON OF A BITCH!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!”
Mike grunts because he cannot move... he’s stuck in place. He tries so desperately to break off Vecnas force but not even an atom moves. His body and mind tries to run away and turn away. No, he’s forced to witness the scene.
“You hide your true self Michael…why?
His tone starts to tense up, like he is going to yell at him
Why do you always hide yourself Michael? Are you afraid of change?”
The scene stops. Mike starts to breathe faster, he hates change, he knows why he hides himself, does Vecna know? So many questions and feelings wash over him, he can’t stop it, the bottle that he bottles up his feelings into is cracking and he can’t stop the flood. He tries his best as he can to maintain composure and remain calm, all the words he could spit out in a fit of rage building up inside him were
“Fuck you”
His breathing abruptly stopped when Vecna reveals himself in the rain. Mike feels his presence raising his stress to an all time high. His eyes are fixated on him and all he could think is how he can be saved..El! El can save me… but El is injured and he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to make it, able to see Wills face again, to play D&D with the party again, to go to high school and complain about the amount of math homework they have to do, to see the world heal and be released from Vecnas grasp and spending it with... to live his life with…Will… forever if possible…but he’s not sure if he ever even will… so selfish.
“I mean what did you think really that we're never gonna get girlfriends?
Mikes brows furrowed as knowing how much this moment hurt him, his face starts to twich knowing what’s next…
That we were just going to sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?”
His eyes start to tear up, he can’t hold them in anymore.
“Isn’t that what you also dreamed of Michael?”
Mikes face turns into shock, as tears slowly stream down his face, his brows shoots up as his mouth shakily opens… he wasn’t supposed to…how does he know that.
“Do you know how many times you’ve hurt William?”
The scene starts to change around them. Mike can’t do anything and so he shuts his eyes shut intensely as he tries to suck his tears back.
“Do you know how much you’ve hurt him Michael?”
Those words sting and force him to open his eyes. He’s now in the Van where Will showed him the painting. Mikes stress remains still as tears still stream down his face. He doesn’t understand how this could’ve possibly hurt Will, unless his “crazy” theory he never got to the bottom to be true. His breath starts to quicken in panic.
“William wasn’t talking about Eleven…she never asked for William to paint it.”
Those words strike deep, but not deep enough, Mike doesn’t believe Vecnas words. The scene fast-forwards. Mike thought Will was daydreaming when he dug his head into his hand, he never thought he was…crying...feeling like a mistake...all these times when Mike too felt like a mistake. Oh how much he understood Will but was forced to suppress his true feelings, because they were…wrong...how could a boy love another boy... He was right there, next to him, he was even looking at him, and he wanted to appreciate his work but didn’t want to bother him. How can he be so stupid..? So so stupid…Mike starts to sob uncontrollably and his eyes start to get puffy. Through his weak shaky voice he spits out
“No…no he isn’t a mistake..I...you will...never..lose me Will…I … you…I-”
He whispers so quietly not even himself can hear
“I…love…I- hmm“ His tears make it hard for him to even mutter a word.
He remembers all the times he wronged Will…he closes his eyes as tears build up quicker and quicker and remembers The Quarry…when they pulled Wills fake body from the lake, when he was pressured into killing himself, when…
“William doesn’t love you.
Vecnas tone turns angrier
Who would love a weak, selfish, small, stupid person like you?”
Vecna tries to move his left arm to capture Mike. He realizes that every move he took was slower and slower, like interrupting every step he takes. Mike drifts his head quickly away from him…wait…Mike could move…but El was injured she couldn’t possibly..-
Mike opens his eyes…he remembers feeling like this. Like dying and closing your eyes but then opening them again and being alive…could it be?
Vecna is staying still in place, his mouth twitching. Mike stares in awe as his tears suddently stop and forgets the situation he currently is in. Will communicates through Vecna, his voice slightly distorting through
“Mike!! The car door, RUN OUTSIDE NOW!!
Will starts to gutterly scream
RUUUUUNNN!!”
Mike was so scared he couldn’t notice the faint playing of “Smalltown Boy” in the backround. He notices a portal outside the van opened. He is insanely afraid but as he remembers his brows get drawn together in concentration …he is the heart. He opens up the door while the van is still moving and runs as fast as he can towards the portal, he doesn’t care that he tripped while getting out the door. All he can think of is getting back…getting back home…getting back to Will.
As Mike is running as fast as he can Will is struggling and using all his power to contain Vecna. He is afraid of Vecna controlling him instead but. No, he refuses, all the rage he has felt, the day he went missing, the people he held dear dying, the fear, the paranoia, so much shit he has been through all his life and Vecna is to blame, all the boiling rage he has been keeping has been unleashed like an aggressive volcano. He starts to slowly float, and so does Vecna. Will is blinded by his rage and attempts to end him once and for all, not realizing that will kill him too. Will breaks Vecnas left arm.
Will wails in extreme pain and collapses to the ground. Joyce manages to break the fall by catching Will. Mike hears his scream awakening a force and fills him up with adrenaline that makes him successfully leap towards the portal.
Robin notices that Mike is back from the vision, Mike grasps Robins shirt in a state of panic and searches for Will hearing his cries of help as Joyce immediately attempts to mend Will with first aid and supports his arm trying to stay still applying a cloth keeping it in place and Robin puts ice on his broken arm, he screams and yields in pain crying tilting his head back.
Mike immediately goes to comfort Will even if he’s immensely traumatized, completely exhausted, can barely move and processing what happened, but all those worries fade away when he can be able to hold Will in his arms...
“Joyce, give me your keys, we need to get Will to the hospital asap!”
“You don’t even know how to drive!”
“My mom let me drive her van once when I was 13 when she was high once!! Trust me, please just..give me the keys!!”
Joyce looks at her concerned but she quickly switches back to mending Will, she quickly finds the keys in her pocket and throws them at Robin.
Robin starts sprinting towards Joyces car
“I won’t wreck your car I promise!!”
Robin gets into her car
“Okay, key goes in, turn car like…
Robins feet is on the clutch all the way to the floor, the key is turned, she turns the gear the handbrake is off and starts pushing the gas pedal
okay okay okay, I got this”
She drives fast and careful to get near them, meanwhile Mike is staring at Will trying his best to calm him down, caressing his forehead and moving his wet bangs away from his face that were drenched in his sweat. Weirdly enough, Mikes heart starts to sting…his eyes start to tear up, again? Oh..the bottle is cracked, he can no longer bottle any emotion up. He desperately tries to wipe them away with his sleeve. Wills pain goes numb and slowly opens his eyes to see that Mike is alive, his brows frowned and his mouth smiled, time starts to slow down and all they can think about is each other. Joyce notices but she can’t enjoy this moment, not while Will is still in pain. Robin arrives and Joyce and Mike carry Will in the backseat, Robin gets out and opens the door so they can put Will inside, Mike and Will stay in the backseat while Joyce gets in the drivers seat and Robin next to her.
Mike tried to remember how Joyce was mending Will and replicating that. Joyce pushes the gas pedal and uses the full potential of the car to get to the hospital as fast as possible. Will shrieked and Mike quickly pushes the ice and the cloth together, keeping the broken bones in place.
“Mike..” Will barely speaks.
“I’m okay Will, you’re going to be fine, we’re going to be fine, the hospital is nearby” Mike says in the softest tone.
Will stares into Mikes eyes knowing the truth…Will has been there since the start but never got to fully pull the strings.
“Mike you don’t understand, you could’ve died there I can’t-“
Mike turns behind to notice Will, everything falls into slow-mo, he craves the flesh and wants to shut Will up by touching his lips gently. A million thoughts appear but only one seems right, kiss him. As he looks at Will gesturing and scolding him he quickly grabs Wills wrists and pushes him closer to his face. Mike doesn’t bother, it’s the end of the world…fuck it.
As both of their lips meet Will gets startled, he flinches away from the kiss. Was that…real? Did that really happen..? Did Mike just… He looks at Mike astonished; his eyes search into Mikes eyes and Mikes eyes turn into concern and worry...he quickly takes his hands off Will and before Will could say anything…
“I’m so sorry…I-…I didn’t mean to if you didn’t..I-…can expla-“
Wills hand quickly grips Mike from the back of his neck and pulls him into a kiss. His touch gives Mike goosebumps. They both forget everything that’s happening with the world, they want this moment to last forever even if it’s shameful…they want to stay like this, forever but Will gets paranoid and pushes away from the kiss, even though it hurts, he craved for this since as long as he’s known himself…oh the shame.
Will pulls Mike to a more private place, where no one can see them and…they both stare at each other. Their eyes start to sparkle, Mikes brows start to furrow with a bright smile, Wills eyes begin to tear up…he feels happy…he can’t explain, both their brains are filled with so many thoughts and..
“I love you” Mike whispers.
…Love? Mike?
“I love you Will.” Mike says in the most softest tone ever…
Will doesn’t know how to process all this, everything happened so fast, his best friend he always loved just kissed him!! And now he’s telling that he loves him?! Ackkk!! It makes him scream so loudly internally! He’s so happy he starts smiling so much he grabs Mike by his vest and kisses him. Then he kisses his nose and holds his face…he calms himself down so no one hears them.
“I love you so much Mike.” Will whispers with tears starting to stream down his face.
Mike holds Wills face and his thumb wipes away his tear, Will slightly chuckles as they both stare at each other…they’re so close, they’ve never been this close, foreheads touching…So much relief washed over them but they couldn’t indulge in it yet. They still had problems to solve, but now they have each other, and they’re never breaking apart, not anymore. They now share the same shame, but isn’t that what love means?