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Tomorrow is the biggest day of Mike’s life.
That’s crazy, right? He’s twenty-one years old, so his life has really just begun. It’s not like he has many accomplishments to brag about at this young of an age, but if he’s lucky, he’ll still have several more decades of life to live. That’s plenty of time to have other “biggest days” and other special moments to look back on.
But right now, in this present moment, tomorrow is the biggest day of Mike’s life, and it’s all because of one thing.
He’s getting married tomorrow.
Holy shit, Mike is getting married tomorrow. It felt crazy, six months ago, when he officially asked for his betrothed’s hand in marriage—as if the two of them haven’t been betrothed to marry since they were thirteen years old. Six months ago, he assumed he’d feel ready by the time he reached this day, and yet, here he is.
Here he is, sitting on the foot of his bed and trying his damnedest to hold back his tears.
It’s a good thing that there’s nobody here to see him cry; after all, there’s only one person in the world who could possibly understand the emotions he’s feeling right now. Everyone else only sees what they want to see—the Crown Prince, happily engaged to a beautiful princess whom he has loved since they were children. A perfect, fairytale ending for a happy couple. It’s what everyone wants. It’s what Mike thought he wanted, for years and years.
But now? Now, he knows better. Now, he’s learned the difference between what he wants and what everyone expects out of him as Crown Prince. The kingdom may need him to do this and the kingdom may be better off because Mike is doing this, but he’d be lying to himself if he said this is what he actually wants.
And while Jane is beautiful and kind and considerate and truly the perfect bride, she isn’t who Mike wants. She isn’t who Mike loves.
It’s not Jane that he thinks about when his mind wanders away in the midst of a long, boring meeting. It’s not Jane who is ever present in his dreams, laughing and smiling and shining brighter than the sun itself. It’s not Jane that Mike imagines running away and growing old with.
It’s not Jane. It has never been Jane.
It’s—
A quiet tap interrupts Mike’s thoughts, and he flinches, glancing over at the door leading to his balcony. There’s someone standing outside, and though the frost on the glass makes it difficult to tell exactly who he’s looking at, there’s only one person who could have possibly climbed this far up to see him.
Mike can’t help but smile as he stands up, walking over to the door and opening it up. Sure enough, none other than Will himself is standing outside. He’s dressed in simple clothes tonight and has donned his signature purple cloak, and somehow, despite what’s happening tomorrow, despite the fact that Mike is getting married tomorrow, despite the fact that tomorrow means the end of this—of them—he’s still smiling.
Will is still smiling, and he’s looking at Mike almost like Mike is his entire world.
“Hey, you,” Will says gently. He takes a step towards Mike, so there’s no room left between them, and he reaches for Mike’s hands. His touch feels like a jolt of electricity, and Mike’s breath catches. “Are you going to make me stand out here, or can I come in?”
A laugh escapes Mike’s lips, and he squeezes Will’s hands. “Yeah,” he says, before taking a step back and pulling Will into the room with him. “You know you’re always welcome here.”
The look on Will’s face softens. With the slight flick of his hand, the door shuts behind him, and Mike can’t help but smile. Even after all these years, he still finds himself fascinated by Will’s magic.
“Big day tomorrow,” Will murmurs, looking up and meeting Mike’s eyes. There’s a sadness in his gaze that he’s clearly trying to hide, and it makes Mike’s heart twist painfully inside his chest. “How are you feeling?”
Miserable is the first word that comes to Mike’s mind, but all that comes out is a quiet, bitter laugh. Mike supposes that’s better than tears—though those probably aren’t too far behind.
“Like I want to run away from this place and never look back,” Mike confesses.
This time, it’s Will who laughs, and he lifts his hand, brushing some of Mike’s hair away from his face. “Well, don’t do that,” he chides gently. “If you ran away, then I’d never see you again.”
“Bold of you to assume I wouldn’t bring you with me,” Mike teases. A fluttery feeling forms in his stomach as Will’s cheeks turn red, and Mike smiles, tilting his head and kissing the palm of Will’s hand. “I’d never leave without you.”
“Well, that’s good to know,” Will murmurs. “But… you probably still shouldn’t run away. No matter how tempting it sounds.”
It does sound tempting—tempting enough that Mike has spent the better part of the evening plotting just how he and Will could manage to make their great escape. It’d be difficult getting past the palace guards and even more difficult making it out of the city without being seen, but between Mike’s planning and Will’s magic on their side, they could do it.
They could do it.
So, why don’t they?
You know why, that nagging voice in the back of Mike’s mind scolds. It’s because you can’t. You can’t just leave your people. You can’t do this.
A lump forms in the back of Mike’s throat, and god damn it, there are the tears again, burning his eyes with saltwater. Mike takes a shuddered breath, lowering his head and resting it against Will’s shoulder.
This isn’t fair, he thinks miserably. Will’s arms wrap around him, holding him close and steadying him, and Mike bites back the sob bubbling up inside his throat. This isn’t fair.
“It’s okay,” Will whispers. He hugs Mike even tighter, and his arms are warm and full of comfort and security. Mike feels safe here, like there’s nowhere else in the world that he belongs. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you, Mike.”
It’s those words that finally cause the dam to break. A choked sob slips out of Mike’s mouth, and before he knows it, he’s crying right into Will’s shoulder, drenching his cloak and shirt with tears. All the fear and pain and guilt come tumbling out of Mike in the form of horrible, wretched sobs. It’s pathetic, honestly, but Will doesn’t seem to care. He doesn’t shy away from Mike and this entire mess; if anything, he just holds Mike even closer, making sure to whisper gentle reassurances in Mike’s ear the entire time.
Mike has never loved anyone else more.
And God, it isn’t fair—it’s not fair that they’re in this place. It’s not fair that the two of them never even had a chance to be together. It’s not fair that they’d never be able to love each other publicly without being seen as criminals, and it’s not fair that all they will ever be are best friends.
Will is so much more than that. He’s Mike’s best friend, and he has been since the two of them were just children. But he’s so much more than that, and Mike loves him—God, Mike loves him more than words can even express. Will is the one whom Mike loves, and Will is the one Mike dreams about spending his life with, and Will is the one Mike wishes he could be marrying tomorrow.
It’s just not fair.
Eventually, the tears stop falling. The pain still remains, leaving Mike with a hollowed out feeling in his chest. Will doesn’t let go of him, and Mike doesn’t pull away. Deep down, he knows they’re probably thinking the same thing—that this may be the last secret, hidden moment that they’ll get to share together.
After tomorrow, everything will change. After tomorrow, Mike will be wed to someone else—to Will’s sister, nonetheless—and he will have to spend the rest of his life playing the role of the faithful husband. After tomorrow, this little fantasy that they have escaped to for the last five years will fade away.
Mike doesn’t want to let go, and he sure as hell doesn’t want tomorrow to come.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, lifting his head and looking at Will. Unsurprisingly, there are tears in Will’s eyes too, and Mike reaches his hand up, brushing a tear away from his cheek. “I wish things were different.”
A sad smile forms on Will’s face. He rests his head against Mike’s hand and sighs heavily. “I do too,” he whispers back. “I just… I wish we could be together.”
The words feel like a knife in Mike’s heart, and he glances away, blinking back the fresh tears in his eyes. “We could do it,” he murmurs. The outside world is calling to him—begging him to just run, to take this last chance that he and Will have, and to never look back. They could do it. Mike knows they could.
Will’s breath catches. “Mike…”
“We could run away,” Mike whispers, looking back at Will again. “We could just go off on our own and just… and just live. We could be us. We could do it, Will. I really think we could.”
There’s a sadness and longing in Will’s eyes that makes Mike’s heart twist inside chest. Will wants this; there’s no doubt in Mike’s mind about it. Knowing Will, he’s probably thought about this too—of the life they could build together if they chose to run away and never look. Will has always had an incredible imagination. Together, Mike thinks they could create something beautiful for themselves.
“You know I want that, Mike,” Will says, and his voice is soft and hesitant. “More than anything, I want that. I want to be with you.”
The but lingers at the end of his sentence, and Mike takes a shuddered breath. “So, why don’t we just try?” he pleads. “It doesn’t – it doesn’t have to be like this! We could just — I don’t know! We could run away to the country together, and – and we could buy a home a-and be farmers or something—”
A laugh escapes Will’s lips, and he looks at Mike incredulously. “Farmers,” he echoes. “You want to become a farmer?”
“Oh, shut up,” Mike huffs, but even he can’t hold his laughter back when Will smiles at him. “You know what I mean. We could do it, Will. We could run away, and we could be together. Just say the word, and I’ll do it. I’ll run away with you.”
For a moment, Will goes quiet. He bites down on his lip and looks away, staring out at the balcony door as if he’s actually contemplating it. Mike’s heart pounds inside his chest as he waits for Will’s response.
Please say yes, he thinks, and instinctively, he squeezes Will’s hand even tighter. Please just say yes.
“Our families,” Will whispers, glancing back at Mike. There’s guilt written all over his face. “We can’t just leave them.”
A lump forms in the back of Mike’s throat. Truthfully, he’d thought about that, and while part of him thinks he’d regret leaving behind all his loved ones, he knows it would be worth it for Will. Maybe their loved ones would forgive them eventually. Maybe they wouldn’t have to live in exile forever.
But Will has always been closer with his family than Mike has. Leaving behind his mom and Jonathan and Jane… it’d be a lot harder on him than it would be for Mike.
Mike takes a shuddered breath, and he squeezes Will’s hand again, forcing a smile onto his face. “You’re right,” he admits, though the words taste like poison on his lips. “You – you’re right. We can’t.”
Something unreadable flashes across Will’s expression, and he glances at the balcony again, then back at Mike. He bites down harder on his bottom lip and shuts his eyes tightly. Another tear slips down his cheek, but before Mike can do anything about it, Will opens his eyes, leans forward, and kisses him.
Oh, Mike thinks, and he melts into the kiss, pulling Will closer, closer, closer until Will’s body is flush against his own. The kiss is needy and desperate, and Will wraps his arms around Mike’s neck, kissing him even harder. His kiss says a million different things all at once—but nothing more prominent than I love you.
Finally, Will pulls away, gasping for air, and he looks at Mike with wide eyes. His lips are swollen from their kiss; his cheeks are bright red. “Midnight,” he whispers, reaching up and cupping Mike’s face. “I’ll meet you here at midnight. Be ready to run.”
A smile forms on Mike’s own face as relief settles into his heart. “Midnight,” he agrees, and he leans forward and kisses Will once more—softer and sweeter this time. “We can do this, Will,” he murmurs into their kiss. “I know we can.”
Once Mike pulls away, Will smiles back at him. There’s nervousness in his gaze but determination too, and he takes a deep breath. “I’ll see you soon,” he says, before moving towards the balcony.
“See you soon,” Mike echoes.
Will opens the door to the balcony, and he pauses, looking back at Mike one more time. “I love you,” he says softly.
Warmth rises to Mike’s face. He’s never going to get tired of hearing those words. “I love you too,” he whispers, and with one last smile, Will turns to go.
As the door closes behind Will, Mike exhales the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. His heart is still pounding inside his chest, and God, he has so much to do in such little time… But they’re doing it. They’re actually doing it.
He and Will are going to run away together. They’ll finally get to be together—just the two of them, without the fear of anyone finding out or punishing them for it. Finally, their lives can belong to themselves and to each other. They’ll get to create a life for themselves together.
Mike can’t help but smile.
Come midnight, the first day of the rest of his life will finally begin.