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Jonathan wonders how much longer he is going to have to suffer watching Michael Wheeler (a kid he has known as Will's best friend since Jonathan was ten) return none of Will's efforts. Not even in a romantic context; you would think the same thing after witnessing the horrible lackluster greeting Mike gave Will at the airport. That interaction alone makes Jonathan wish Steve stole Mike's ticket so he could take them all out for ice cream or some shit and make sure Will and El were having a fun Spring Break.
Life gives Jonathan and his family no such pleasures.
Out of all the places in the last couple of days, if someone told him that they were setting up base in a Surfer Boys Pizza Shop, Jonathan would have thought he had gotten too high. But, no. Since the disaster at Rink-o-Mania, El getting arrested, and being forced into a days long road trip across the country until they found the Byers' sister in the middle of the desert, Jonathan was almost glad to be in this shitty establishment.
Jonathan just wished that Will would stop looking at Mike like he was seconds away from a breakdown.
Not that Jonathan would have cared if Will had romantic feelings for another boy—if he did, he would be a big fat hypocrite with a boyfriend of four years as evidence—but… Mike? He wasn't going to pretend to understand that line of thought, and he didn't want to. What Jonathan really wanted was for Will to be happy. (Right under that request, was to stop running into Upside Down-related shit even when they were out of Hawkins. So much for moving to California if it was just going to keep begging them back to Indiana).
Under the florescent lights of the kitchen, Will and Jonathan have been stirring at the freezer-turned-sensory-deprivation-tank to make sure that the horrid amount of salt they poured in had been properly incorporated. For at least the last two minutes, Will had been mournfully looking into the main restaurant area where Mike, El, and Argyle were messing around.
Now or never, he supposes. "Do you remember the time you told me you had a Lego stuck up your nose?"
"What?" Will looks to him, the mention of the memory shocking him out of whatever spiral of self-pity he was going down.
"Yeah! It was like a, uh, like a construction guy. You'd call him Larry!" Will continues to look at him like he is doing a weird interpretive dance. "Oh come on, you don't remember? His high-viz jacket and the removable hat?"
"Yeah…? Vaguely."
"Well, I remember it like it was yesterday." Jonathan continues, mindlessly stirring the water. "Man, I was freaked. Do you know how scary it is for something to be lodged up there… I don't even know how you got him that far up! It was like I had to do surgery. I had to grab tweezers from Mom's things to pull him out."
Will scoffs, "Bull."
"No! No, I swear on my life." Jonathan allows himself a small laugh before meeting Will's eyes. They both inherited Joyce's wide eyes that easily broadcasted emotion, but Will always looked more like Joyce. "I don't know, I just… I feel like you used to come to me more for help. Or to just… talk, you know? Cause, it feels like you don't do that anymore. Not like before… and a lot of that is probably my fault. This last year, I know I've been distant."
"Or stoned." Comes Will's grumble, and Jonathan barely hides a wince.
"Yeah, or stoned. But that has nothing to do with you. God, that's me dealing with my own shit. Getting away from my own problems." The back pain and nightmares, that is. Jonathan isn't sure if he would've taken that first joint from Argyle if that wasn't the case; but the pain the difficulty sleeping had gotten to him. He knows that Steve had occasionally dabbled, but they never smoked together. Jonathan waves away that thought for now.
He continues, "The truth is, I miss talking to you. Not like the small check-ins we have, even though those are good and important to have, too. But the real stuff? I really miss it. And I think, right now, we need to talk more than ever. Because things are getting complicated. A lot more complicated than Legos up the nose, you know? I just… I don't want you to forget I'm here. And I'll always be here. You coming to me will never be a bother, no matter what. Because you're my brother, and I love you. And there is nothing in this world, absolutely nothing, that will ever change that. You got that?"
Jonathan hopes that Will understands that he means more than just the Upside Down; being a teenager, a gay teenager, in the 80s was difficult on principle. Jonathan only survived because of Steve, but he knows that Will couldn't have been managing that well by himself. Making sure that Will knew all of these went just past queerness, though, it meant that Jonathan was a safe space; one that Castle Byers couldn't offer, because that was just a hiding place. Jonathan was his brother and friend; even if Will turned out to not be queer at all, it didn't matter. Being there for him would be his #1 priority. (But, he knows, that look in Will's eyes… that teary realization that someone was taking you in for everything that you are… getting that unconditional acceptance? Jonathan knew he wasn't wrong.)
"Yeah." Will's voice cracks down the middle. He swallows, trying to compose himself as he works through Jonathan's words. "And I'm always here for you too, y'know?"
Jonathan grins, happy and fragile, "I know, I know you are." He puts down the stick he was using to stir the water without hesitation. "C'mere."
Will walks to him and Jonathan gathers his brother in his arms. The type of desperation that Will has to grab onto Jonathan and keep him there melts Jonathan's heart a little. They have never been liberal with affection, another thing Lonnie has ruined for them, but usually Jonathan was better at keeping up with it for Will. It was another thing he was going to have to remind himself of, but he is glad that he is doing it now, at least.
A small voice from where it is buried in his neck comes to light. "Jonathan?
"Yeah?" Jonathan rubs comforting lines across Will's shoulder blades, his goal to be a pillar to lean on.
"I'm gay."
Jonathan lets one long breath fall from him, pressing a kiss to the side of Will's head and in a shaky voice saying, "I am so proud of you."
A broken sob comes from Will's chest, something that Jonathan catches easily as he holds his brother close. In many ways, this was all that Jonathan had ever wanted. A bridge built between himself and his brother that he knows won't topple easily. Confirmation that Will is comfortable with himself, and with Jonathan, enough to admit all the things that the world says is wrong. Jonathan doesn't bother smothering a grin like he might have in any other situation.
Will pulls away, and wipes at his eyes. Jonathan rubs at Will's shoulders, a lingering offer of support. "If you need absolutely anything, Will. Don't hesitate to come to me, okay?"
A wet laugh is pulled from Will, "About being gay?" He hisses the last word, a whisper so that the others wouldn't overhear.
You can tell him. About me, you, us, everything. I'm okay with it.
"Will, um…" Jonathan's own laugh forces it's way out, a side effect of ever-present nerves. But Will is now looking at him with a confused, but expecting look, "Steve is not just my friend."
All at once, Will's face falls, but not in the way Jonathan has feared over the years. His eyes widen, but not in horror, his jaw drops, but not in disgust, and mere seconds later he looks like he has put all the pieces together. "Oh my god."
Jonathan laughs, not unkind, "Explains a lot?"
"Holy shit, yeah." Will is now smiling in what Jonathan can only describe as wonder, and Jonathan doesn't know if he has ever been happier. "I just wasn't expecting… I mean it's Steve."
Jonathan rolls his eyes, leaning in to whisper, "Mike?"
A blush colors Will's face so rapidly that Jonathan feared that he might faint for a minute. "No, he's with El." Jonathan frowns, but lets it slide for right now. Whatever emotional maze that Will is traversing because of Mike can be discussed later. Will bites his lip as Jonathan goes back to the tub. "Does anyone else know…?"
"About me?" Jonathan asks, looking at the others in the restaurant. "Nancy found out by accident, and Robin knows because she's Steve best friend. You're the first I've told."
Will nods, considering that for a long moment. "You are the only one I've told."
"I'm glad you did." Jonathan gives him a smile. "You don't need to tell anyone if you don't want to, Will. It's your life, and your safety, for that matter."
"Is that why you didn't…?"
Jonathan sighs. "Partly." He looks out to see that the three others are making their way inside. "We can talk more later, buddy. Okay? Lets help our sister save our friends. Again."
Will, who doesn't look quite so uneasy anymore, nods. "Okay. Later."
"Later." Jonathan affirms, unafraid to make that kind of promise.