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Mike was not a party person. He’d much rather be sitting at home with his friends playing DnD than be standing in Stacey’s house drinking cheap beer. Mike didn’t even want this beer, Dustin had just handed it to him and told him to “have fun tonight.” These past months he’d been off. Mike knew that. He and El had broken up almost a year ago, on good terms, but everything still felt wrong. Mike thought ending the relationship (that should never have happened) would solve all his complicated feelings but they were still there. In fact, they felt more present than ever. He couldn’t even pinpoint what feeling it was exactly, it just felt like it was pulling on him.
“Are you okay?” A soft voice pulls him from his thoughts. El was sitting next to him on a couch, she didn’t have a drink in her hand but her face was pink (at least Mike thought it was, the blue lights were swallowing anything that came into its path). The rest of the party didn’t know about their separation yet, Mike thinks that Hopper noticed but he hasn’t said anything.
“Yeah, I’m . . . here,” he responded, the words slurring from the alcohol. His answer didn’t seem satisfactory for her because she looked at him worryingly.
El gave him one last look of concern before being whisked away by Max, the two had gotten even closer after all that had happened with the Upside Down. Max was helping her figure herself out (Mike thinks she caught onto the split but again, hasn’t said anything), being that El didn’t have powers anymore. El had told him all about the sleepovers they had been having and how much fun she had at them. Mike was happy for her, she had finally found a sense of peace in a world set out to trap her.
Mike’s head was spinning, the beer was really catching onto him. He tried to take count of where his friends were at the moment, Steve and Dustin were in a corner (probably plotting to catch themselves some girls), Lucas was grabbing some food from the kitchen, Max and El were dancing their hearts out on the floor, Nancy and Jonathan were cuddling on another coach across the room (gross), and Robin and Will were swaying to the music while talking on the dance floor. Mike’s heart leapt at that thought. There is that feeling again. That same confusing feeling that had been plaguing him for almost over a year. He tried not to linger on it, but the feeling just kept making his stomach flutter.
Suddenly, a guy walked up to Will, interrupting the conversation he was having with Robin. Mike sat up, alert. They were talking, of course, he couldn’t hear what they were saying but he assumed that there was some flirting happening because the guy was very close to Will. Anger flooded through his veins, which was weird because that’s just his best friend. He should be happy that someone is noticing Will.
But that’s MY Will, Mike flinched at this thought. Will didn’t belong to him, he didn’t belong to anyone. But, that feeling was dragging again. He took a long sip of the beer and finished it. Maybe the more he drank the less he would feel.
Mike got up from his spot on the couch and walked to get another beer. Just as he was grabbing the can, a hand tossed his arm away. He looked to where they had come from to realize that Lucas was standing next to him, with a very stern look on his face.
”What number are you on?” He asked loudly.
Mike had to really think on this one, “Four? I don’t know man, just leave me alone. Go dance with Max or something.” Words were just trailing off his tongue at this point, leaving Lucas with a disappointed look.
”That’s enough for you, that headache in the morning is gonna hurt like a bitch already, don’t make it worse.” Lucas started to walk away before adding, “Oh, and if I catch you here again I will tell your mother!”
”Okay! Geez,” Mike backed away from the table, there was no way he would survive his mom if she knew how much he had already drank.
He glanced back at where Will was, they were dancing now. The thoughts in Mike’s head were speeding up now, every single one was about Will. It didn’t make any sense, why was his best friend consuming his thoughts? Eventually after watching the two for a while, Mike felt sick. He ran to the bathroom and locked the door. He hates getting sick, he is nearly afraid of it. He slid down the back of the door, his breath was picking up its pace and getting quicker. The world seemed to be tightening around Mike as the music was blaring in the background. The song Just Like Heaven by The Cure was playing and it only made his thoughts worse. He thought of every time that he and Will were together, from the swings, to the first DnD session, to Will saving his life from the demogorgon, to just how goddamn beautiful he was.
The room felt like it was shaking, it was blurring, he grabbed onto the counter and heaved himself up to the sink, turning on the faucet full blast but it didn’t help. Eventually, everything became too much and he sat down next to the toilet and let everything out.
A knock on the door sounded, but Mike couldn’t get himself to answer it. The door knob rattled and another knock followed. Whoever was on the other side must have decided they really had to go to the bathroom because the door somehow flew open.
”Mike?” Nancy’s voice echoed in his head. She closed the door quickly and locked it. He was still on the floor, heavily breathing and looking like death incarnated.
”Shit,” she whispered. She held his hand and took it to her stomach, “Mike? I need you to try to breathe with me. In and out, okay?”
Mike was struggling to hear her over the sound of his heart beating out of his chest. He focused on the feeling of her breathing, trying to match it.
“That’s good, just like that,” Nancy said calmly. His breathing was slowing down, once it matched her own she released his hand.
He felt something wet on his cheek and wiped it off of him, only to realize that those were his tears. Nancy got up and shut off the faucet and flushed the toilet, “Mike you scared the shit out of me, what the hell happened?”
Mike looked down, rather than being relieved that he finally got some control over himself he said, “This is all such bullshit.”
”What?” She asked, sitting back down with him.
“This whole thing is bullshit,” he knew he was slurring everything together so much that it was hard to understand but he was filled with so much rage that he didn’t bother to stop it.
”You all get happy endings and life filled with love and I get to watch it all happen from a bench? It’s bullshit,” Nancy seemed to be catching onto what was going on with him.
She was watching him drunkenly cry and ramble now, “Lucas and Max are probably gonna get married, Dustin is going to the same university as Suzie so they’ll get back together, El’s packing up for that stupid trip to Scottland, and Will-.”
He stopped himself, the tears were falling faster now, “And Will.” Mike couldn’t think about him and some random guy telling each other secrets, going out together, coming over for holidays, hugging, flirting, or kissing.
Nancy hugged him. She didn’t say anything, just stayed and listened. After all the party had gone through, Mike had always been one of the most closed off about his feelings and mental health. Everyone else had someone to talk to, and felt comfortable doing so. Mike had the people to talk to, but he never reached out. Nancy never figured out just how much he might have been suffering through these past few years.
He was quiet for long enough that she decided to speak up, “What about him?”
”Everything,” he whispered. Mike looked at her, “It’s everything about him.”
He shifted further away from her, holding his knees to his chest, “I can’t stand losing him. I need him right now, more than ever. I feel like we’ve been drifting apart ever since El came back and it’s like I haven’t been able to breathe without him. It’s so stupid, I can handle everyone else finding someone to love and be loved by, but the moment my brain even suggests the idea of Will being with someone I get so mad and I want to ask that someone ‘Who do you think you are for believing for even a second that you deserve his perfect self? Who do you think you are for believing that you could understand him, care for him, be with him during those horrible flashbacks, appreciate his selflessness, his loyalty, his mind, his eyes, his stupidly perfect hair, his-.”
Nancy put her hand on his, “Mike, is it possible that you don’t really want to be Will’s best friend?”
Mike was appalled, “How dare y-.”
”I don’t mean that, I mean do you think that you might want something more with him?”
His brain stopped working once that sentence came out of his sister’s mouth,”What?”
”Michael Wheeler,” she started smiling. “Are you in love with William Byers?”
Mike’s heart dropped to his ass. There was absolutely no way he was in love with his best friend, “I-I but, what?!”
”Don’t even try to say that it isn’t true, I just listened to you run on and on about his features and how much you can’t stand him being with anyone. Have you ever thought about how it would make you feel if you were with him?”
He thought about it, he and Will going on dates to the movies, sharing a drink, Will wearing his clothes, cuddling together, flirting, kissing. Heat flooded his face as the images came clear, and so did his feelings. Mike felt overwhelmingly excited and happy about this scenario, it was perfect for Will. Perfect for Mike.
“Oh,” he sighed. The tears are gone, the only evidence of their presence are his red eyes and the stains on his cheeks.
Nancy looked at him softly, “‘Oh’ what?”
”I think that,” Mike gulped, “That I like Will.” He wasn’t afraid to admit it anymore. Will was more to him than a best friend, he knew that now. Mike started to get up from the ground, using the toilet to help.
“What are you doing?” Nancy asked as he walked over to the door of the bathroom.
“I’m going to find Will and tell him how I feel!” A sudden rush of excitement had taken over him and made him giddy. Although, the beers he had earlier certainly played an effect on this newfound confidence.
”Now?! You just figured this out, don’t you want to let it settle for a second before diving in?”
“I’ve known it all along, I just never let myself accept it. It’s been settling for way too long now,” he unlocked the door and started to turn the door knob just as Will Byers himself was opening the door.
”Oh! Sorry,” Will started to walk away, but Mike stopped him.
”Actually, I-I was just going to uh, find you,” all the confidence he just had flew away in an instant once he saw Will out of his imagination. Words were stumbling out of his mouth weirdly when they were just coming out fine a minute ago.
Nancy realized she wasn’t needed anymore and walked past them, eyeing Mike as she said, “I’ll be with Jonathan if you need anything.”
Will shut the door behind her, “Is something wrong?” Confusion was filling his beautiful face. A small hint of blush pigmented his cheeks from the heat of all the dancing he’d been doing. It killed Mike and made him want to kiss him with no explanation.
Before he could stop himself, Mike looked at his best friend, crush, and love of his life (his heart thumped loudly at that thought) and said, “I love you.”
Silence.
The blush on Will’s cheeks seemed to grow as he looked at him, “Mike, you’re drunk.”
There was no going back now, “I know, but I mean it. I love you Will, and I’m sorry I didn’t realize it sooner. You’re the exact person I’ve been chasing after my whole life but I’ve been tripping over my feet the entire time, never letting myself fully catch up to you. Even if you don’t feel the same way back, I still will. Because there hasn’t been a moment in our friendship that I haven’t loved you with every bone in my body. There aren’t enough words-“
”Mike,” Will said breathlessly, walking towards him.
”-to tell you everything I feel for you. That year when you were in California was one of the worst years of my life, next to the week that you were in the Upside Down. I felt like I-“
“Mike-“
“couldn’t breathe without you. I need you, I need you like I need food to survive. All I’m asking is that you don’t hate me for this, please don’t hate me. Please don’t hate me, please-“
He gets cut off by lips kissing his. Mike’s constantly turning and overthinking brain goes mute as his eyes close and he leans into the kiss. It wasn’t a kiss filled with lust, it was a kiss that had told both of them everything they couldn’t say.
Will pulls away first, looking into Mike’s eyes, “If you couldn't tell, I love you too.”
A smile lightens up his entire face, “Really?!”
Will chuckles, “You need to sleep this alcohol off.” He pulls him into a hug that warms both of their hearts.
A knock at the door makes both the boys jump. They laugh and look at each other, realizing they have everything either of them had ever wanted right in their arms.
The rest of the night goes like this: quiet, lingering looks of love, secret kisses shared in dark corners, and whispers of sweet nothings followed by giggles and smiles. Mike and Will are never apart for the rest of the night, even when the party is heading back to the Wheeler household for a sleepover.
Nancy watched the two in the rear view mirror as she drove the group home. Will’s head was on Mike’s shoulder and Mike’s head rested on top of Will’s. Both were soundly asleep. Peaceful. She smiled at them, and went back to focusing on getting everyone home safely.
Two souls found each other long ago, and neither left the other alone after. Whether you think of it as a red string, two hearts intertwined, fate, or a pure coincidence, there was never a doubt that Michael Wheeler and Will Byers were meant for each other. The only doubts that existed have since vanished and in turn, created a budding romance and friendship that will last a lifetime.