Work Text:
July, 1985
Will has always hated other people looking at his art. All of it, even the stupid doodles, felt so personal, so private, that anything unfinished was off-limits for nearly everyone else. The only exceptions to this rule were Mike and El.
With Mike, it was nearly instant. They were still new friends and colouring together when Mike peeked over at Will’s drawing and softly gasped. He then showered little Will with praise, and for a long time, Mike was the only one allowed to look at his sketchbooks and binders of art (though he would still ask permission every single time).
With El, it was much later. Will had always cared about El, even before they met, because she was friends with his friends, and not to mention saved his life. They didn’t get much closer until after Hopper had “died” and she came to live with the Byers.
The first time she had asked him if she could look at his art, it was the summer before they moved to California. She had been quieter than usual, with them all under the impression that Hop was dead, and sometimes she would knock on Will’s door and ask if she could borrow a book to read, or a pen to write with, or ask if he had a shirt that might fit her. The fourth day in a row that she had knocked on his door, Will remembers her hesitating and looking around the room, as if trying to come up with a reason for her to be there. He remembers feeling stupid for taking so long to realize that El hadn’t needed any of that stuff, but was reaching out in the only way she could think to (looking back, it wasn’t actually that long, but that entire summer felt like it was passing so slowly after the encounter at the mall). That fourth time, Will spoke up before El could say anything.
“Do you want to come read with me while I paint? I’m working on a painting for Mom for her birthday but I like having company while I work.” Will lied. He usually hated having other people in his space while he did any art, especially painting, because it was a newer medium for him. But it was El, and her dad had just died, and she had saved his life so many times that he figured the least he could do was be a bit uncomfortable for an afternoon.
“Yes. If that is okay.” El responded, hesitantly. Will nodded, and she took two steps into the room before stopping again and looking around awkwardly.
“Feel free to borrow any of the books on my shelf, anytime. I’ve got a lot of fantasy and some comic books too if you like.” Will prompted.
"Do you have - I think it is called Wonder Woman? Max showed me those and I really liked them.”
“Oh yeah, just over here! I don’t have a ton but if you get through these we can get some of the new ones next.” Will replied, getting up and walking towards his bookshelf.
“I am glad. Mike does not have any Wonder Woman. Max says it is because he is a stupid boy. But you have them!”
“Well, duh, I’m not stupid.” Will joked. El looked up at him at that and gave a small smile when she realized he was kidding around.
He started pulling out Wonder Woman and some Justice League comics and handing them to El. As he did, she visibly relaxed and started browsing his shelves alongside him.
“What are these?” She asked, running a finger along the spines of his many, many, old sketchbooks.
“Oh, those are just my old drawings and stuff. I’ve got some binders there from when I was really little, like 4 or 5, and some more recent sketchbooks. I tend to fill them up pretty quickly so I’ve ended up with a lot.” Will explained.
“Can I see?” El asked, her eyes lighting up in a way Will hadn’t seen in weeks. It was that soft excitement that encouraged him to shake off any normal hesitation he had about showing his work.
“Sure. Which one do you wanna start with? This is my most recent one, you can tell ‘cause it’s only half filled, but you can look at any one you want - except for this one.” Will replied, carefully grabbing the small, spiral-bound blue book off the shelf and tucking it under his bed.
El looked at him curiously, but if she was bothered by his strange behaviour, she didn’t say anything. She looked back at the shelf and grabbed one of the newer books, and then sat down next to his bed and began to look through it. She looked at each page carefully, like she was studying it, with a neutral expression on her face. Not knowing what to do or if he should say anything, Will went back to the painting he was working on, needing to distract himself from trying to analyze her reactions.
After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, El looked up at Will with a small smile. “These are really good, Will. You are very good.”
Will could feel his cheeks turning pink as he warmed at the compliment. “Thanks, uh, I like to draw or sketch when I’m bored or need to take my mind off things. It’s not really much.”
Furrowing her brow at his humility, El glanced back down at the page she was on, this one a quick sketch he had done of Max and Lucas while the three of them were hanging out at the park earlier this summer. “Well, I think it is very good. It is very pretty.”
Will felt himself blush even darker, but at the same time felt himself growing more comfortable. “Yeah, well, thank you. Do you wanna see what I’m working on now? I'm kinda stuck - I can’t figure out what colour I want these flowers to be. What do you think? Purple or yellow?” Will asked, surprising himself with the question - he usually hated input on works in progress, even moreso than people looking at his art. He was also somewhat lying. While he hadn’t decided which colour to use, it was only because he hadn’t gotten there yet - he wasn’t “stuck,” but he felt the white lie was worth it if it made El feel more comfortable with him.
El shuffled over from her spot on the floor to sit next to Will, where he was painting. Weirdly, he didn’t feel any of the normal discomfort he was so used to when people, even his friends, were in his space. She looked at the painting for a while, her eyes seeming to scan every detail, before she turned her attention to the two colour options Will had presented to her. “I think… both. Purple and yellow together would be pretty with the background you have.” El suggested.
Will took her recommendation, peppering the landscape with small purple and yellow flowers as El watched intently. Will assumed she eventually got bored, literally watching paint dry, because she went back to the stack of sketchbooks and comics and grabbed one. They sat on his carpet, just existing together in the same space, until his mom called them out for dinner.
When she knocked on his door the next day, there was no hesitation when he told her to come in.