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Will was tired. Exhausted even. He was tired of dealing with bullying, being ignored, getting left behind. Tired of being chased by otherworldly creatures and spending his childhood in life-threatening situations. At the moment, he was tired because he had been climbing a 200 foot tall radio tower for the past fifteen minutes.
He could see Mike a few feet ahead of him. God, he couldn’t afford to start thinking about Mike. Mike who he loved. Love was a forbidden thing for Will. Unrequited love was all he knew, and all he could ever have. He cursed himself for ever thinking otherwise.
Soon he reached the platform. Mike was there, waiting for him. He held out his bottle.
“You want some?”
“Yeah.”
Will sipped gratefully. The air was silent but thick with tension. Mike broke the silence.
“Hey, um, I’ve been thinking about what you said, back at the squawk and I- I’m sorry. For everything. I should have been there for you. I mean I didn’t see what was right in front of me. I was too in my own head to even realize it. And I treated you so horribly. I really am sorry. I just wish I could make it up to you.”
“Mike-“
“And what you said…it really spoke to me. At first I wasn’t sure why. But…but seeing you be so brave, it made me think maybe I don’t have to be so scared.”
He spoke quietly.
“Mike what are you saying?”
Will asked with a slight worried amusement.
A crash of thunder interrupted their conversation. Lucas yelled down at them,
“What’s taking so long down there, could you guys hurry up?”
Mike wiped away a tear.
“Yeah, yeah he’s right so um ready to keep going?”
He turned around stiffly and left will standing there, dumbfounded. He didn’t look back.
When Will made it to the top of the tower Mike was standing by the edge, not looking his direction. He had a solemn expression, staring out into the abyss. Will wondered whether he should try to continue the conversation Mike had just run away from when Robin appeared beside him.
“Hey there.” She smiled at him.
Then she pulled him into a quick hug. It was sort of awkward, but when she pulled away he saw her sappily sweet expression.
“You did it!” She exclaimed.
Will started to smile too.
“I’m so proud of you. I mean honestly Will, that was awesome.”
Robin was still beaming at him, and Will was overtaken by a sense of warmth and pride.
“Thanks.” He grinned shyly.
Then Robin glanced from Mike, back to Will.
“Are you two still good?” Her tone was filled with sincerity.
A beat of silence but Will responded,
“Yeah, I mean I think so. He sort of ran away just now but I think it’s fine.”
He tried to sound confident but honestly, he wasn’t sure what their conversation meant just yet.
“Okay, just know you can talk to me whenever.”
She smiled at him once more before walking over to Steve. Will didn’t get another chance to talk to Mike after that. He almost forgot about the whole conversation during the chaos of their fight with Vecna. It wasn’t until a week later when the party had been together again and all safe.
—————————
For the first time in years, everyone was together without the looming threat of the world possibly ending, and it felt amazing. Even if they were just cleaning up the aftermath of their town getting attacked by demon creatures from an alternate dimension.
The party(minus max because she was recovering from her coma) had volunteered to help clean up at the hospital. Soon they would leave to go meet Max, and also Lucas who had left early to check on her.
Mike sat on a waiting room chair, sipping a coffee. Will set down his broom and sat in the chair right next to him. Mike stiffened a little, but Will pretended not to notice.
“Hey Will.” He turned his head slightly to face him.
“Hey Mike.” He struggled to speak for a moment. “So, about our conversation from before…”
Mike stared at him with a blank expression. Will continued.
“About what you said on the tower, I appreciate it. What you said…it was nice. Thank you.”
He tried for a smile. A horrified expression dawned on Mike’s face but he instantly corrected it.
“Oh yeah. No problem.”
He stayed silent for a few more moments. Then, softer;
“Something like that could never make me hate you Will. You’re one of the most important people in my life.”
If Will wasn’t mistaken he could swear Mike’s expression was almost sheepish, but he looked away so quick Will didn’t have time to analyze it.
Will threw him an appreciative smile and got up to walk away. He felt a tug on his sleeve.
“Wait, Will.”
He turned and saw mike looking rather flushed. There was an urgency to his voice.
“Um there was something else though. When we were on the tower I was going to tell you something but…”
He trailed off. He was fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. Will sat next to him, brows knitting together in concern.
“What was it Mike?” His voice was gentle.
Mike struggled for a minute. His hands were shaking. Before he could think about it Will reached out to steady them. Mike’s head turned immediately. His eyebrows were creased together and his eyes were wet. He stared back down at his shoes.
“I’m sorry Will.”
He whispered it.
“Sorry for what?”
Will tried to be gentle and encouraging while also ignoring the way his own heart pounded in his ears.
“I think…I think I’m in love with you.”
Mike said that part even quieter. Will felt the air leave his lungs. He startled, and immediately regretted it because Mike was really crying now and Will didn’t know what to say.
“Oh”
Was all he managed to choke out. There were tears in his eyes now, too. He opened his mouth, closed it again. He tried to remind himself this was real. They killed Vecna, he saw it with his own eyes. There was no way he could be here toying with Will’s mind again and yet, there was no way he had heard that right.
Mike spoke again.
“Yeah. So I’m sorry for never telling you sooner. And sorry because I know this will probably ruin our friendship.”
He looked so sad it broke something in Will. He would do anything to make Mike feel better. He wanted to hold him, to tell him it was all okay.
Instead he said,
“Mike it’s okay, really.”
“It’s not though, Will. I mean I was so afraid, you know? And I acted like a total jerk. I pushed you away, I pushed El away, I pushed everyone away. But I just didn’t know what to do. And then you saved me and suddenly I remembered all the feelings I tried to make myself forget. When you told us how you…don’t like girls, I realized you had been going through the same thing all this time and then I just felt ten times worse.”
Hot tears streamed down his face but Mike didn’t look up from his shoes. Will tried to steady his breathing.
“I wanted to tell you. I used to write you letters you know?”
He laughed dryly.
“After you moved to California. I wrote you so many letters but I never sent them because somehow they always ended up being too honest.”
Will tried to digest that.
“Wow.” The word slipped out, a little breathless, from his lips.
The realization of what he had admitted seemed to hit Mike. His breathing was shallow but his eyes had mostly dried. Will had never seen him this bent out of sorts. He took a shaky breath and turned to Will.
“Yeah.”
Will shook his head in disbelief.
“Mike why are you telling me this now?”
Mike stared at him, his brows still raised in corncern. He blinked.
“Sorry-it’s just that I wasn’t expecting that.” Will took a moment to get his bearings.
“It’s sort of funny. It feels like I’ve waited my whole life to hear you say those words.”
Now it was Mike’s turn to feel shocked. A subtle flush creeped it’s way onto his face. Will noticed the subtle change in his expression, the way his eyes lit up.
“You- you have?”
Will almost felt like laughing.
“Duh Mike. I thought it was real obvious.”
He smiled quizzically. Then they were both laughing, softly and a little stilted.
“Oh wow.” Mike met Will’s eyes. “Now I feel like even more of an idiot.”
He grinned at Will anyways.
“You’re not an idiot, Mike. Thanks for telling me. This is gonna sound really cheesy but you can always talk to me. I wanna know how you’re feeling.”
Will’s cheeks felt warm but he wanted Mike to know he truly did care. Mike’s eyes shone with gratitude.
“Thanks.”
Will almost thought he was gonna start tearing up again.
“What do we do now?”
Mike asked. He looked around at their surroundings. The vending machine in the corner was broken, as well as the glowing red exit sign that usually hung above the door. At the moment it was propped against the wall with a large crack through it. Just then they heard their names being called. It was Joyce, wondering where they had gotten off to.
“Coming mom,” Will yelled to her in the other room.
“I guess we should finish this conversation later.”
He met Mike’s eyes apologetically.
“Yeah, wouldn’t want to leave your mom waiting.”
Then Will stood up, smiled, and held out his hand to Mike, who gladly took it.