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Eleven brushes past Mike on her way to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her with her mind. He knew she was frustrated at the world right now, at herself, for not saving Max in time. Mike just feels like he played some part in her anger too.
He thought things were going to be great when he landed in Lenora, at least he was really hoping they would. The past few months back in Hawkins had been less than ideal. With Lucas hanging out with a different crowd and Max basically ghosting all of them, it was safe to say that the party was falling apart. The only change this year was Will.
Nothing had been the same since he left. Mike felt so alone. But then he feels bad because technically he wasn’t. He still had Dustin, the only party member who still hung around and made an effort to talk to Mike. They were still hanging out, for the most part. They had both joined the school's DnD club; Hellfire. But It was a lot harder for Mike to enjoy, he was missing a huge part of why DnD was so fun in the first place. Will.
He honestly should have expected things to be a little awkward between the two of them. Mike hadn’t actually sent any of the letters he wrote. And he wrote so many letters. He didn’t make a big enough effort to keep in contact, at least after a while, but if Will wanted to talk so badly, he could have tried on his end.
He only heard anything about Will through El. She would give him short updates on things going on in their lives, but it was never enough to only hear it from her. He wanted to hear it from Will. And Mike had tried. He really tried. To write, to call. But the line was always busy and what he wrote never came as easily as it did with El. With her he could just spew some cheesy nonsense about how much it hurt being apart and how much he missed her, but with Will it always felt wrong to not be genuine.
But when he was genuine, it felt weird. Because more often than not he would be signing his letter for El with;
From Mike
But for Will it was different, it was everything it needed to be for El.
Love Mike
And it just came naturally, he didn’t need to think about it because it felt real. For some reason he just couldn’t bring himself to do the same for El. And Mike thinks that's why it was so weird landing in Lenora. He was almost saying things to his best friend that he should have been saying to his girlfriend. And it was so much easier for the former.
So now that he's said it, and he did say it, everything should be fine. Right? El should have been happy with him and they should’ve been happy together. But that's not what happened at all. The Cali group; as they had been named by Dustin, had stayed in a motel after everything went down in the pizza dough freezer. El pulled Mike into one of the two rooms they got to talk. And talk they did.
El faced him directly and stated, not questioned, stated.
“You don’t love me anymore” He had been taken aback. Hadn’t he just proclaimed his love for her? Could she tell how wrong it felt inside of him? To claim he did even when he didn’t mean it in the way she needed?
“I-I don’t understand” He said as she sat down, he was on one bed she was on the other facing him a short 2 foot gap separating them.
“I think you do, Mike. I could hear it in your voice, it did not sound real when you said it to me, I also heard Will. You only said it because he prompted it. I do not think you would have said it otherwise.” She responded, a sad look on her face, melancholic.
“But it made me realize, I do not love you”
That took him by surprise, he was also a bit relieved. As if the thought of her not loving him was a weight lifted off his chest.
“I do not think I have loved you like that in a long time, Mike. I felt almost nothing when you told me you loved me, I started to question if I ever really felt anything special at all, I don’t think you did either”
“I-I um,” He sighed “I think you're right, El. I’m sorry, I really am. But I honestly don’t think I ever loved you like that. But I swear I do still love you, but more like how I love Lucus and Dustin”
“Not Will?” She asked innocently. She didn’t know, she couldn’t know the truth. Nobody did, nobody would, if Mike could help it. He mentally kicks himself for subconsciously putting Will in a different category than his other friends.
“Yeah. Yeah Will too” He rushed trying to save the situation from going somewhere he really couldn’t have it going.
“Are you sure?” She looked at him with sympathetic eyes, like she already knew. She took his hand “Mike, it will not matter to me, I will not be mad. Like I said, I have not been in love with you for a while now. And I see how you look at him, and I think it is how I wished you would look at me, before.”
He just stares at her dumbfounded. Has he really been that obvious? He’s usually good at hiding his real feelings by putting on a mask and pretending to feel differently. If El noticed, has anyone else? Has Will? He thinks his life would end if Will ever figured it out.
Somehow reading his mind she said, “Do not worry, Will doesn’t know”
His mind goes back to Will again, but then it goes to the painting currently sitting in the van. According to Will, El had commissioned it. But she just told Mike that she hasn’t loved him in a while. Why would she ask for the painting if she didn’t really love him?
“What about the painting?” he blurts.
She just looked at him confused, and that confused him in turn.
“What painting?”
“Will, he said that you commissioned a painting for me, this beautiful painting with all of our DnD characters, H-he had this whole speech about how I- how I made you feel like you were better for being different”
“I did not tell him to paint anything, I thought he was painting for a girl he liked”
“Then he lied to me” Mike said slowly and quietly, feeling betrayed that the Will of all people would lie to Mike, directly to his face even.
“But what you claim he said sounds real, I don’t think he would lie to you about that, just who it's coming from.”
“You're saying you think that speech was about himself?” She nods just as Argyle bursts into the room.
“Woah, sorry to interrupt guys but I’ve got extra pizza in the van if you want some.”
After Argyle's interruption the mood had shifted and Mike no longer felt like talking, he never really did in the first place.
- - - – - - – – – - - - – - – - - - – - – – - – - - - - – - -
That conversation had felt so long ago when in actuality it was only three days ago. They had driven all the way back to Hawkins and were now cleaning out Hopper's cabin to use as a kind of home base.
“Did she talk to you at all?”
Will’s question snapped Mike out of his head. He switched the broom from one hand to the other while answering.
“Not much,” He sighed “I mean a little bit.” He moved and sat on the tipped-over couch. The whole cabin had been pretty much destroyed when the mind flayer came looking for El last summer. A lot had happened since then, he thinks it’s funny he used to think that was the worst it could get. He was so wrong. Three people are dead, Highschoolers. Fred, Patrick, and Chrissy, all people he knew. Maybe not well, especially Patrick, with him being on the basketball team and all, but he still knew them, and met them all at least once. And Max. Max was a different story, ever since One had got her she’d been in a coma, Lucas by her side the whole time. El blamed herself for the whole thing. Everything felt so impossible, the stakes were higher than they had ever been
“Dr. Brenner,” he continued, “He said that she wasn’t ready, and now she’s starting to believe him”
“That’s crap,” Will said, “If it wasn’t for her Max wouldn’t even be alive right now.” Mike had always admired Will’s faith in his friends, whether it was in Mike’s basement at the table rolling dice or in the middle of a supernatural war. He always believed in them.
You could tell the sun was setting, dipping low enough to peak through the open window, casting sunbeams into the room. Right onto Will. And Mike couldn’t help but stare, stare at how his beautiful hazel eyes caught the light, how it illuminated his chestnut hair, he then grew flustered as he realized what he was doing.
“I know, She’s-um she never lost before, not like this”
“She’ll have another chance”
“Lets hope not, lets hope One is dead and rotting”
Will lifted his hand up to his neck shuddering, Mike could see his hair stand on end. It just reminds Mike of how much Wills has been through, and the worst part was none of this was over.
“He’s not, Mike” Will turned to face him. He looked so scared. “I can still feel him, he’s hurting, yes, but not dead. He’s just going to heal and come back and he’s gonna target us all and-”
“Hey,” Mike put his hand on Will's shoulder trying to reassure him. “Will, we’re going to fix this, and win this fight. I know we can and we will, I promise”
They sat like that for a moment. Both looking into each other's eyes. Mike was the first to pull away, taking his hand off Will’s shoulder and setting it in his own lap. That when he decided to ask something, something he hadn’t really stopped thinking about.
“Will, why did you lie to me?” He could hear Will take a sharp breath, he shifted his body more towards Mike.
“I don’t- a-about what?” slightly shaking his head.
“The painting,” Mike said slowly looking up at Will, eyebrows furrowed. “After everything, she and I talked, I-I mentioned the painting and she had no idea what I was talking about” Mike started wringing his hands in his lap.
“She said that maybe you didn’t really lie about what you were saying and that maybe you meant it about yourself, that I make you feel better for being different, that you need me” He hated how hopeful he sounded. Because Will needing him is all Mike needs. “But I don’t really know. I just–,” He faltered, taking a long breath.
“I need to know why you lied”
Will’s face had changed. Moments before when Mike was talking, he had been nervous, like Mike had discovered something he shouldn’t have, and he supposed he did. But now Will was smiling. But the smile wasn’t the one Mike had grown to love, it was teasing, making fun of him. Like Will couldn’t believe Mike would really think that.
“You think I actually meant any of that?” He said it with a faint chuckle. “You think I care about you? That I like you? Mike, you’ve been a jerk ever since you landed. You think I can even stand to be around you? I only said those things because El was in danger and I care about her. Not you Mike, never you.”
The air had changed. From the crisp and cool morning to something hot and suffocating. Nothing Mike took in was enough, he still felt breathless. Will was right, Mike had been a jerk. He was basically ignoring him at the roller rink, and he started a fight there too. After Will had given Mike the painting he had turned and looked out the window and started crying. Mike noticed, he just did nothing about it because he didn’t know how, he couldn't bring himself to.
And worst of all, while Mike was rambling to El trying to say the right thing, he had said something he couldn't take back. He told her that his life started the day he found her. But in reality that was the day he thought his life had ended. Because that was the first time he thought he lost Will. Mike can't believe how dumb that was. Will didn’t know he didn’t mean it. All Mike was thinking about was how to save El, he wasn’t really thinking about anything he was saying.
“You don’t mean that, do you?” he could feel tears prick at the corners of his eyes, he fought to keep them from falling “I wasn’t trying to be a jerk, I swear, I was– I just–”
“Oh shut it Mike. Just because you weren’t trying to, doesn't mean you weren’t. And yeah, I do mean it, every last word. Because why should I care? It’s not like you care about me, it's clear that you don’t.”
That’s when Mike looked at Will, really looked at him. The sun from the window was long gone by now, it was so cold it felt like the sun was never even there to begin with. But even without the sun wills eyes were never this brown. His eyes now were hard and dark and soulless. And that's when it hit him.
This isn’t Will. This can’t be Will. Mike knew Will would never say these things. He knew how much Mike cared about him. How could he ever think Mike didn’t care?
“You’re not him.” He said slowly, testing it out. “You’re not Will, Will wouldn’t– he’s never. No!”
“How observant Micheal” The voice didn’t come from the imposter before him. It was low and unnatural, inhuman. It seemed to have come from the air itself, from all sides, encompassing, suffocating Mike.
Then the world went away.
The cabin was replaced by a black void, the Will imposter disappeared with it. Mike fell, his back no longer supported by a couch. But when he landed the world had materialized again. He fell on gravel, the small rocks digging into his hands as he caught himself.
He looked around him, his eyes taking in the scenery. He knew this place, he was at the quarry.
The edge of the clif a mere 10 feet away, the place they dragged Will’s body from a longer way down.
“Admiring the view?” The voice had come back, somehow louder than before.
“Do you remember the last time you were here, Micheal?” The voice was calling him by his full name, something he hated. Only his father called him that.
“Did you even realize it then? The reason you were so willing to jump. I don’t believe it was only because they were threatening your friend”
Some thing appeared a little ways away from Mike, A young version of Dustin a knife only a few inches away from his face. Held by a young Troy, that boy was staring at something behind Mike. He turned to face the ledge.
And there he was. A little Mike, looking down at his feet, at the water far below him. Troy was shouting about how he was gonna cut out Dustin's teeth, and the latter was shouting at Mike to not do it, to not worry. Little Mike wasn’t listening, and older Mike knew it. The only thing he was thinking about then was Will.
How within the past few days he thought he lost Will, then gained a way to get him back only to lose him again, in a way that felt like it was for good. They had found his body just below him. The body that was in a coffin 6 feet under ground. Mike had thought he’d never see Will again.
“I believe it was because you knew something” The voice started again, Mike had pieced it together at this point that this was One, Vecna, Henry. The one who killed the 3 other kids and almost killed both Max and El.
“You were so willing to jump because you knew that you had no purpose anymore, William was gone. You don’t have a purpose without him, if you weren’t protecting him, making him happy, did you even have a reason to be here anymore? You were so willing to jump because Will was your reason to live. You knew that nobody else would need you. And want to know something? Nobody needs you now so you might as well do what you intended to do that day.”
Just then little Mike stepped off the ledge, and nobody came, no El, nothing. Dustin didn’t even yell, he just stood there. Troy and his friend were nowhere to be seen. Dustin slowly walked over to the ledge and looked over, all he did was shrug and walk away. Like it didn’t matter that Mike just fell.
“See? You’re unneeded, unnecessary, they wouldn’t even be upset if you died”
“N-No! You’re lying that's not true, this didn’t happen! El saved me and then w-we all hugged, they care!” Mike said. He felt like a little kid trying to justify his reasoning.
“Do you really believe that Michael? Why would I lie about something as serious as this” The voice said it with fake hurt, like it was appalled Mike would suggest it wasn’t telling the truth.
“Because you’re a terrible person, o-or monster? Whatever you are!” He shouted out to nowhere in particular, he couldn’t pinpoint where the voice was actually coming from.
Then the ground was swept from under him.
He landed in his backyard, a little Mike and a little Will chasing each other around in circles shouting and laughing. But his focus wasn’t on the boys, it was on the adults sitting in chairs nearby. Ted Wheeler and Lonnie Byers.
“I don’t like how much these boys hang out, it isn’t right” Mike's dad said, eyeing the happy kids with a faint face of disgust. Lonnie, sitting next to him, took a long sip of his beer.
“Yeah, Joyce has gone to soft on the boy, I swear he’s slowly turning into a fag with all that drawing crap he’s doing, how Joyce treats him so soft, and how much he’s hanging around your boy.”
“Are you suggesting my boy’s a queer?” Ted said, giving Lonnie a look.
“Nah, but he could get it from Will if I don't beat it outta the kid.”
Mike just stood there angry. He knew his dad wasn’t the best, but he didn’t flinch, didn't question anything, didn't draw any attention to the fact Lonnie said he was going to beat it out of Will. Beat it.
“Those people are unnatural and wrong. I don’t think I could have one of them living under my roof.” Ted said. Mike just noticed that the happy laughter that was behind him stopped. Lonnie had disappeared too. It was just him and his dad in the backyard now.
“But it seems I do,” Ted said it with such anger, such disgust. And he was looking straight at Mike.
“I’ve seen how you interact with that boy, I thought we would have to worry about him, not you Micheal, you’re a Wheeler, you can’t act like that. We have a reputation to uphold. And you’re ruining it.”
Ted Wheeler was now talking directly to Mike, standing up.
“I just can’t believe it's my own son, if you even deserve to be that anymore”
He was standing right in front of Mike now, his angry spiteful words throwing spit in Mike's face.
“Gosh, Micheal. I can’t believe you’re one of them!” That voice came from behind him. Nancy.
She said it with so much anger, so much hate. Somehow even more than their dad.
“I can’t believe my little brothers a queer, what are people going to think when I share this with the school, your friends? They’ll probably leave you and they should, your disgusting and wrong no one deserves the punishment that comes with being friends with someone like you”
Mike just stood there, fists clenching, his finger nails digging into the palms of his hands, fighting back tears, trying so hard to ignore them. He knew it was fake, he knew it couldn’t be real. He knew, he knew, he knew!
Yet it still felt real. Everything they’re saying, he’s thought before. He knows it's wrong. He knows he needs to fix it. He needs to tell his friends so they can leave him behind, Nancy is right, gosh she always is, nobody should have to be his friend. He started shaking.
“Whats going on out here?” his mother walked out of the house Holly trailing close behind, like she always did.
“I heard shouting. Is everything okay?”
“There's something wrong with our son, Karen, something terrible” Ted said, eyes never leaving Mike's face, hate plastered on his features.
“What?” Karen said, concern evident on her face as she walked closer to Mike. But before she got too close, Nancy yelled.
“Don’t get closer mom, he’s a fag!”
That stopped Karen dead in her tracks. And then she took a few steps back. Holly walked closer to Mike clearly not understanding the hesitance in her mothers feet. So Karen grabbed her arm and pulled Holly behind her before she could get any closer, like she was scared of Mike. And that hurt. It really hurt. He could take anger, it was understandable but the fear in his mothers eyes is what got to him.
And he broke.
“Mom wait I-I can fix it, I can stop I swear I-” His voice cracked when he called to his mother his breath hitched at the end of his sentence. “I know it's wrong and I know it's bad, I know. But I swear I can fix it, jus-just please don’t leave me and please don’t kick me out I’ll do better I will fix it I swear I-” He was cut off by a sob. The tears escaped him and he couldn’t stop.
His Dad walked forward and pushed Mike to the ground.
“This isn’t something you can fix Micheal, there's something wrong with you and it's something that can’t change, you will always be wrong, disgusting, filthy, a fag.”
That last word seemed to echo around the landscape, digging into his brain unrelenting. Nancy started yelling, His dad started yelling, he swears there's other voices because it was just too loud. He tried to stand back up, tried to run away but when he did Nancy pushed him back down and he landed on his knees. The voices only grew louder and louder, he covered his ears trying to silence it but it was like the sound was in his mind. Nothing he did ever made it better.
They were repeating how disgusting, wrong, filthy, revolting, sickening, and awful he was. He looked up and through his teary vision made out Holly standing behind his mother. She was looking at Mike horrified.
“Stop! Stop, please, please just stop!” He shouted and shouted and shouted, but he never seemed to be louder than them.
“See Micheal?” That one voice was so much louder than the rest. Its entrance was sudden and painful, because to be louder than the voices was to be ear splittingly loud. “How could anyone want you? Need you? Your useless, and disgusting, and useless things get thrown out”
Mike started falling. Falling and falling and falling. The voices got quieter and quieter as he fell. It was a relief, such a huge relief. But it didn’t last long. He landed hard. And pain split through his whole body, he cried out.
His hand landed in something thick and cold as he tried to sit up, he could feel it run though his hands when he lifted them up. The substance was red. He scrambled to stand, his clothes soaked through; stained dark.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, a red haze filled his vision stopping him from seeing too far away. Before him stood stalagmites ranging in sizes from shorter than him to twice his height. He refused to look down even though he already knew what he was standing in, it littered the ground, large puddles of the stuff were everywhere, they went as far as he was able to see. Mike was wary, taking slow steps as he weaved around the pillars of rock, looking behind him. He was scared of what was next, his eyes were still red and irritated from the moments before, he hugged his arms to his chest trying not to cry yet again.
He stopped, his feet landing in a puddle as he heard a noise. It sounded like something was being dragged. Or something was inching closer.
In an instant something had swiped Mike's feet out from under him and latched onto his wrist. It was dragging him across the ground weaving through the stalagmites, but not before knocking him into a few, hitting his back on the hard rocks. He was grabbing at his wrist with his free hand trying to pry this vine-like thing off of it, but it wasn’t working. All he was doing was tearing into his own flesh in his attempts. He could hear the fabric of his shirt tearing on the ground, small bits of gravel digging into his back. His clothes soaked from the puddles he’s been dragged through.
The dragging suddenly stopped and Mike, now pulling his wrist out from the vines grasp, quickly stood up. He then regrets ever letting his eyes move away from the ground. Because he sees them. The three teenagers that were attacked. Crissy, Patrick, and Fred. Their bodies attached to pillars, like they were on display for the world to see. It was a grotesque sight, all of their limbs were bent at odd angles, ther jaws unhinged in a never ceasing scream, and worst of all, their eyes. Blood was trailing down all of their faces, it was dried and old now but there was still so much of it. It was like their eyes had been popped in their sockets and pulled through their skulls. Now leaving empty crevices that should have been filled. Black forever staring voids. But Max wasn’t here, he was so glad Max wasn’t here. He doesn’t think he could bear to see her like that.
Mike was going to throw up, but before he could something grabbed him by the ankle and through him against the only empty pillar. He cried out in pain, rolling on the ground for a moment trying to collect his bearings. But he couldn’t before, yet again, he was pulled by the vines. This time wrapping around his whole body, his wrists, his ankles, his torso, and his neck. Pinning him against the pillar mirroring the morbid trophies.
Mike struggled in the vines' grasp but quickly stopped when they tightened around his throat, strangling him. He doesn’t know when he showed up but standing before him was Vecna. The unnerving man of flesh was slowly inching closer.
“Now Micheal, have you seen it, truly seen it? You are unneeded, unwanted by your friends, by the person you need the most in life, you are disgusting and you know you don’t deserve, don’t need to be here anymore. You don’t even want to. So let me help, I can give you what you want, and exit, an escape. Death.”
Vecna was mere feet away from Mike, now close enough for him to see every vein, every vine that made up this monster. Mike was sobbing. Uncontrollably. Because deep down he knew. Vecna may not be completely right, but he wasn’t far off. What has Mike done recently to help anyone? The only thing he did this time around was give El a half-assed speech he didn’t really mean. He hadn’t really done anything. Honestly if he wasn’t there, things might have gone better.
“See Micheal, you agree with me” Vecna was close enough Mike could smell his rancid breath. See the milky blue of his eyes. Mike's blood ran cold as he saw Vecna raise his left hand. A hand that looked more like a claw.
“Just let me help you”
Mike closed his eyes, ready for the worst to come, ready to accept his fate. Until he heard something.
“--ike! Please – need you Mi– come back– please”
It was faint, far away. But he could recognise that voice from any distance. It was Will, calling to him from back in the real world. Somewhere out there, Will was keeping him tethered to life. Vecna had stopped and turned his head towards the noise. Mike could feel the vines loosening, somehow Will had finally reached Mike, and that was weakening Vecna.
Mike pried his left hand free and used it to free his legs. Vecna turned just as Mike freed his other hand, he then received a punch square in the face. And Mike sprinted towards the sound of Will's voice. It still felt so far away.
“Please!” it sounded so desperate, Will's voice was scratched and heavy. Mike could tell it wasn’t the only noise. There were others in the background but the only one that poked through the red haze was Will’s. It was the only one that mattered.
“Mike, I need you to hear me! Listen! There are things I need to tell you so you can’t go! I need you to be here! I-I don’t think I could go on without you! Lenora was hell, I needed you there, I needed my friend–my best friend. Mike, I don’t care that you didn’t send enough letters, or call, I’ll let that go if you just come back to me now please!”
Mike could see it in the distance, a white portal of sorts. Through it he could see himself, floating in the air, high enough Will had moved a chair so he could grasp Mike's hand as he yelled. He could see Nancy clinging to Johnathan sobbing and crying. El was on Mike's other side holding on to his leg, eyes closed and brow furrowed as she was concentrating, Mike could see blood from her nose. Mike could see his own blood. Poking through spots on his pants and dripping slightly from his hand from his attempts to escape and a little from his head from when he had been dragged and thrown.
But Mike was paying more attention to Will. His face was stricken with a sadness Mike couldn’t explain. It was jarring to really see him so sad, especially because it was Mike being targeted by Vecna, not someone more important like El.
He could see the vines nearby shrinking away from the portal, slinking back to the ruins of the Creel house. Mike was so close to the portal when he heard Vecna yell.
“I’m not done with you yet Micheal Wheeler. He calls you his heart and so does she, your connection to them is very convenient for me. Doing anything to you will hurt both of them. So that's exactly what I intend to do.”
And then Mike jumped through.
– - - – - - - - – - – – – - - - - – - – – - - – – -
Mike feels a hand leave his own as he falls to the ground. As soon as he landed he was pulled into a tight hug. He started crying again. He was clutching onto the person holding him. Will.
He heard Nancy telling Jonathan and El to wait outside, to give Mike some space. She followed and shut the door behind her.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry I-” He was trying to say as he was racked with sobs.
“Hey, what? No, you don’t have anything to be sorry for Mike” Will said his name so softly.
“ I do, Will. I’m so sorry I never sent the letters or tried calling more, I just– I felt like anything I was willing to send you wasn’t enough. But I missed you, Will. I missed you so much, and I didn’t realize it then but I need you Will, I need you” Mike whispered, holding on tighter.
“Mike, I need you too, I always have, and I always will. Whatever Vecna told you, about us, the people who care about you, was wrong, okay? He was wrong.” Will said it with so much certainty that it made Mike want to cry again. What he saw had felt so real, but the reason he knew it wasn’t was because he knew Will cared, he showed that he did everyday. And that was one of the many reasons Mike loved him.
After a moment Will pulled back, his hands placed on Mike's shoulders, looking him dead in the eyes. Mike was too, for a moment. But his eyes slipped downwards from the hazel, landing on something a little farther down Will’s concerned face.
Ashamed he looked down. He knew in the back of his mind that he shouldn’t be looking at Will like that. But Will moved his head back into Mike’s line of sight, placing his hand on Mike's face, looking him in the eyes before Will's gaze slips down Mike’s face. Hesitantly they moved closer, eyes closed, meeting in the middle.
It took Mike a second to truly realize what was happening. He was kissing Will. Will was kissing back. And it was incredible. It was everything it should have been with El. Sweet and loving, sparking a warmth that spread throughout his whole being. He can’t believe he waited this long.
Slowly they pulled apart, foreheads resting against each other. Will's thumb was softly rubbing Mike’s cheek. Mike placed his hand over Will’s, leaning into it.
“I love you, Will. I always have and I always will”
Will let out a soft chuckle, light and airy, when he realized Mike was quoting him. Mike laughed too, equally as light.
“I love you too, Mike”
They met in the middle once more.
- - - - – – – - – – - - – - – – – – – - - – - – - - - - – - – - – - - - - –
Three days later, Mike and Will are sitting in the Wheelers basement. They’re both on the couch, sitting so close Mike’s knees are brushing against Will’s. Mike’s hands are fidgeting in his lap, he asked Will to come down here because he needed to tell someone about what he saw. He had to confirm it wouldn’t ever be real.
“ It started with us talking,” Mike started “But over time something changed, the air just shifted, and you were mad at me.”
Mike had already talked about the painting, with the real Will. It was one of the first things he asked after a good night's sleep. Will confirmed El had nothing to do with it, and with a lot of blushing (from the both of them), Will had told him that he still meant everything he said in that van. Every last word.
“Mike, remember, anything I said wasn’t true. It wasn’t me.” Will placed his hand on Mike’s shoulder, gripping it firmly.
“I-I know, after a minute or two I came to the realization that it was an imposter, then the whole scene shifted. I was at the quarry. Troy was holding Dustin with a knife to his mouth, your body had been found, and the thought of dying didn’t seem that bad. I watched myself walk over the edge. I watched Dustin walk away like nothing happened. The scene changed again and I was in my own backyard. We were playing, running around and we looked so happy. But my dad and Lonnie were talking about us. Calling us disgusting. A-and then Nancy showed up” Mike breathed a shaky breath. “She started saying I didn’t deserve my friends and that they would leave me if they knew what I was. Then mom showed up, and Holly” His voice cracked when he mentioned his little sister, he doesn’t think he’ll ever forget her terrified face. “They both looked scared of me, like- like something was wrong with me. And it was so loud, so so loud. The voices were all overlapping. It was painful. Then He pulled me into his lair, and I saw them. His old victims, it was horrific. Vines grabbed me and I was pulled against this pillar. And He started talking to me. Telling me how useless I was, how I wasn’t needed anymore, how I should just die.” He could hear Will’s breath hitch a little, his grip on Mike’s shoulder tensed. “B-but then I heard you, Will. I heard your voice. It distracted him and I was able to escape. I was able to get out because of you.”
Will's other hand came up and wiped tears off Mike's face. Tears he didn't realize had started to fall. Will looked horrified, but it slowly shifted into something softer.
“But he said something. He said that he wasn’t done with me yet, I’m close to both you and El. He’s going to use me. Use me to hurt you.” Mike said it quietly, staring into Will’s concerned face. Will lowered his hands and held onto Mike’s, his hold was strong, unwavering.
“I promise, Mike. I promise he won’t get to you, he won't hurt you. You have protected me, us, the whole party for so long. It’s my turn to protect you, you don’t need to be strong this time, I’m here for you. The whole party is. We won’t let that son-of-a-bitch do anything. Anything. I swear.”
Mike was crying again. Will’s hand found the back of Mike’s head as he was pulled into a hug. His tears dampened Will’s shirt. Will kissed the top of his head as he sobbed. It was a mix of terrified tears and tears of relief. Terrified because Vecna was alive and was coming back to kill them all. Relieved because he knew no one would be facing him alone. They were going to make sure they didn’t lose another party member. They were going to kill Him.
“Thanks Will. I love you.”
“I love you so, so much Mike Wheeler. Don’t ever forget that.”