Work Text:
Mike Wheeler was curled on the floor under his desk, sobbing.
“I failed. Just like I always do,” he thought.
Someone walked through the door, holding a stack of papers.
“Hey Mike, I-”
The person who had just arrived stopped in shock when he saw the state Mike was in.
“Mike? Mike, what’s wrong?” said the person before kneeling down beside him, placing the papers on Mike’s desk. Mike looked up, tears still streaming down his face, at none other than Will Byers.
“I-It’s Charlie” he sobbed. “He’s dead. Some psycho shot him.”
Will, not used to being the caretaker, didn’t know what to say. He’d never liked Charlie, in fact he hated the bastard, but the fact that he was Mike’s son made him tolerable. But now Charlie was gone, leaving the mess that was Will’s best friend in his wake.
“Oh Mike,” breathed Will. “I’m so sorry.”
Before he could consider what he was about to do too much, he wrapped his arms around Mike and let him sob into his shoulder.
The position he was in was uncomfortable, and his back was aching from bending down, but Will didn’t care. After all these years, Will Byers would still happily do anything for Mike Wheeler.
Eventually the sobbing died down, and Mike untangled himself.
“Th-thanks Will,” he sniveled. “I needed that”
Will smiled, sitting down on the floor next to Mike.
“Just know that I’m always here for you, and… you can always come to me,” he said.
The two exchanged a shy glance. Mike opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the door Will had let shut behind him swinging open dramatically, making them both jump.
“Okay, what the hell?!” said Max sternly, her hands on her hips. Her face was so exasperated that Will wanted to laugh.
“Um… hi Max,” said Will.
“What are you two doing under Mike’s desk? We need to get going!”
Will and Mike exchanged a look. “We were just chatting,” he shrugged.
Max sighed again. Will stood up, brushing himself off. “Let’s go?” He asked Max, beginning to move towards the door. That’s when he realised that Mike was still on the floor. Max was having none of it.
“Wheeler, get your ass up off the floor! Dinner is at 5, we need to get going!” When Mike began to slowly shift position, Max yelled again.
“Oh my lord Mike, you are not making me late. GET UP!”
That knocked some sense into him. Mike straightened up, running a hand through his hair. He smiled at Max sarcastically. “Okay Mom,” he smirked, before walking through the door, nothing but the slightly red-rimmed eyes hinting to the fact that he had just been sobbing.
“Piece of shit.” Max muttered under her breath before following him out.
—
Dinner was an ordeal. Will didn’t want to go; he was never one for social gatherings. Mike wanted to go even less. However, the CEO missing his own company dinner would for sure stain the reputation of Wheeler Enterprises. Sat around the table were Will, Mike, Max and some of the most promising employees. After an excruciating hour, Mike excused himself to go to the bathroom. Will waited patiently for him to return. He started worrying when 15 minutes passed with no sign of Mike. He decided to look for him, discreetly letting his coworker Jane know that he was going to the bathroom. He stood up, and left on his search for Mike.
Will found him in the bathroom. At first, it looked empty. He called out Mike’s name tentatively, with no reply. Sighing, he started to leave. Until he heard Mike sigh too. “I’m in here.”
Will inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. “Can you come out? Everyone’s going to notice that you’re gone,” Slowly, Mike opened the stall door. Will began speaking, his voice shaking slightly. “I know you’re struggling right now, but you have to be there for the company. We both do. I know it sucks, but we can deal with it… together.”
Mike stepped out of the stall. “Sorry I keep hiding away. It’s just… I can’t stop thinking about Charlie. And how… it’s all my fault.”
“What?! Mike, how is that your fault? You never could have known that was going to happen!”
Mike sighed again. “I know… it’s just, maybe if i’d raised him better, he wouldn’t have had people wanting to kill him,”
Will didn’t know what to say. Secretly, he thought Mike was right. Charlie Kirk really was a dick. Before he could formulate a proper reply, the bathroom door swung open.
“Oh hey lovebirds,” said the man standing in the doorway. “Having fun in here?”
Heat rushed to Will’s face. “Um… I was just looking for Mike,” he stuttered “He was taking a while,”
Murray Bauman raised an eyebrow.
“Sure,” he said sarcastically. “Now get your asses back to dinner. You can flirt all you want afterwards!”
Murray’s parting words left both Mike and Will standing agape. After a few seconds, they followed Murray out the door without another word.
—
They sat back down surreptitiously, with only Murray and Jane noticing their return. When Will made eye contact with Murray, he winked and smiled cunningly. Will glanced at Mike, only to find him already looking. He pulled his gaze away quickly and stared down at his hands. He tried to make himself invisible, his mind flicking through thoughts about Mike, about Charlie and about his embarrassing interruptions from Max and Murray. Will didn’t realise that during his zoning out, he had ended up staring at Mike… and that a certain someone had stood up and approached him.
Will jumped when Murray began to speak right next to his ear.
“Get a room.”