Work Text:
Mike's plan for Valentine's Day was simple, easy, and sweet. Once Will had gone to bed, he would sneak away, grab the various gifts he got for Will out of his pantry (A small bouquet of sunflowers, a new sketchbook, a box of Reese's in a heart-shaped box, and a card.) He's also try and make breakfast for him, but he knew he'd screw it up somehow. He figured he couldn't mess up a coffee too badly though. Problem was with his plan, Will needed to go to sleep.
“Will, please…I’m exhausted.” Mike groaned, Will snickered as he continued to paint. “Then sleep, hon. I’ll go to bed once I’m done.”
Mike tried to stop his eyes from rolling, tried. “But I know you, Will. You won’t be done til’ the middle of the night and then I’ll have to clean my apartment first thing tomorrow on Valentine’s Day.” It was Will’s turn to roll his eyes. “You were going to do that anyway, remember? Your Valentine’s Day present to me? Cleaning your goddamn apartment.” His eyes met Mike’s from across the canvas. Mike was sitting on his couch flipping through a book as Will painted a still life for art school. There was a grin in his words, his eyes reflecting it. Mike couldn’t help but breathe out a laugh.
“Okay, fine. Mess up my apartment. I’ll clean up your messes anyway, but you really need to go to bed.” Mike pressed. “Do you just want me out of the living room?” Will asked, no malice in his tone. Genuine curiosity.
Mike scoffed, hoping it sounded genuine. “What? No, you stay here as long as you want. I just..I know you had stuff planned for Valentine’s Day and you also need to work, so I thought…as a loving, caring, guy. That I tell you to go to bed.” Will nodded, but sighed all the same. “I’d love to, but I really do just need to start the dust and then I’ll join you in bed, okay?”
“But..” Mike said, putting his book down and coming to stand behind Will, looking over the painting. It was beautiful, plain, and so very Will. It was a still life of a cassette tape, The Clash, Combat Rock. There was the beginnings of a sheen of dust Will had begun to paint, as pain-staking as it had been described to paint, it looked too real to not be a picture. “But what about your sleep schedule? You should get good sleep, because then you won’t get tired in the middle of the day like you always do-”
Will rolled his eyes as he rambled and cut him off by grabbing his wrist and yanking him downwards, so their eyes were level. “Mike…Sweetheart..." He drawled.
Mike took a deep breath, trying to steel himself and stand firm. Will stroked his wrist with his thumb, looking into his eyes with an expectant look. Mike could feel his resolve crumbling and fast. He groaned and nodded, prying himself away from Will.
"I win." He had said, self-satisfied as he picked back up his paintbrush. Mike rolled his eyes and grumbled. "I swear, you use that shit against me."Will simply grinned as he refocused on his painting. "Goodnight, my love.." "Goodnight, Will." Mike replied with his face turning pink. He had to reconfigure his plan now. God, what happened to the stubborn Mike Wheeler who did anything to get his way?
Will Byers, that's what happened to him.
As Mike grumbled and moped while getting ready for bed, he reconfigured his plan. Will usually woke up at around 9AM, he stuck around for around an hour or two before leaving for his own apartment to get ready for work. If Mike woke up around 8AM he could get it all out and ready for Will, and even have time to clean his apartment. Double win! So he set his alarm for 8AM, on the dot. Hoping beyond hope that his plan would work.
But, Mike never learned his lesson. Whole lot of good hope's done for him in the past. Not.
Mike blinked the morning light out of his eyes. Smiling softly at the warmth of the sun on his face. That just got him thinking of Will. His sunlight, his oxygen. He loved the way the sun would shine on his sleeping face, especially the early morning sun. His hair would turn a beautiful golden brown and his slightly parted lips would have a warm glow, leaving Mike with the urge to kiss him awake. He was internally grateful for whatever possessed him to go to the club that one night. Now he lived in New York, in a terrible, no good apartment. He worked a passable job at the local bookstore, with just enough money to splurge at a gas station. Most importantly however, he was dating Will Byers. Will the Wise, a real Sorcerer, his Cleric. He went out to eat with him, and read him stories while he painted, and slept in the same bed as him. Maybe he died back in Hawkins, maybe this was heaven, maybe this was Hell. But no matter where he was, he was happy.
Well, he would've been. Mike turned to look at Will, hope swelling in his chest as the sun's golden rays cast a glow on him. But he wasn't there. Mike rubbed his eyes and begrudgingly sat up, looking around for any sign of him. In his search, he looked at the clock. At 10AM, he was supposed to be up at 8AM.
"Shit!"
He stumbled out of bed and flew out of his room to see if Will had stuck around. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" He mumbled, looking around his apartment. He found Will in the kitchen, half asleep and making pancakes, homemade. If only Mike hadn't slept in, maybe he'd be able to enjoy the sight. God, why was he such a piece of shit? And why was Will so perfect?
Mike tried to sneak to the pantry behind him, try to retrieve it all without him noticing. But of course, in his worry, he forgot about the one creaky floorboard.
Will's head shot up at the sound and smiled that perfect, adorable tired smile. "Good morning, Mike...Sorry if I woke you up." Mike tried to return the smile, but ended up just standing there, staring. Will's brow knit together in confusion but shrugged it off. "Happy Valentine's day...I meant to wake up earlier and do this but I was up too late painting.." He continued. Mike kept shifting his eyes from Will to the pantry, trying to figure out his next move without Will noticing. "Um..yeah, Happy..Happy Valentine's Day." He said, stupidly.
"Are you okay, you're acting totally weird." Will asked, turning his back to Mike as he kept an eye on the pancakes. Mike took this as his opportunity to move closer to the pantry, it was just on the left of Will, a little bit behind his line of sight. If Mike managed to play the most important game of 'Red Light, Green Light' of his life, maybe his plan could still work.
"I'm alright, I just overslept. It's like I got hit with some spell, I'm all out of it." He said, taking slow steps towards the pantry. Will scoffed, "When are you not out of it?" "Hey! I'm pretty coherent.." Another step. Will started to turn around, act casual. As he turned around, Mike leaned against the countertop right next to the pantry. So close, yet so far. Will smiled, "Depends on the weather.." He said, pulling Mike closer by his wrist. He rested his head on Mike's chest as he watched the pancakes cook further.
Okay, maybe it would be more stealthy than Mike originally planned. That's okay. He's done far more with much higher stakes. He looked at the pantry and then to Will, slowly moving his free arm to the door handle. He was so close, maybe he couldn't get it set up, but he could reach it. He could do this. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and-
"What are you doing?" Will asked, watching Mike's hand try to reach for the door handle, failing miserably. Mike's eyes snapped open and he tried to laugh it off. Shit. How many times would things go wrong this morning?
"Um..." Think Wheeler, think. Why would you be trying to sneakily open a pantry? Why do people open pantries in the first place? What the hell is a pantry and why is it called that? You put food in there, not pants. The English language would forever be a mystery.
"Um..did you forget anything in the pantry?" He asked, his voice a little high for what he was going for. Will furrowed his brow in confusion and looked up at Mike. Until, "Oh shit, I totally did. How do you know Johnathan's recipe better than I do?" Mike would've sighed the biggest sigh of relief, if he wasn't trying to play it cool. "I forgot the chocolate chips, I forget where I put them, but they're in there."
Will moved himself to the rest of the pancake batter and Mike practically skipped to the pantry. Rifling around he grabbed everything he needed. Chocolate chips. Sunflowers, Reese's, sketchbook. He sighed deeply and thanked whoever was looking out for him. "Close your eyes." He grinned, he could feel Will's confusion from where he was. "Mike, it's just chocolate chips, I know what they are." Mike huffed, "Still." Will sighed deeply and closed his eyes, against his better judgement. As soon as Mike looked to make sure his eyes were closed, he put the chocolate chips on the counter by Will, and all the rest of his gifts on the coffee table where they ate breakfast in front of the TV.
"Okay, you can open them." Will opened them and only saw the chocolate chips. "Oh wow.." He mumbled, unenthusiastic. "Chocolate chips, what I asked for." He smiled softly and tore open the bag to toss them in the batter. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw bright yellow sunflowers.
"Mike?" He mumbled, moving to stand in front of the coffee table, his pancakes abandoned. Mike grabbed a few chocolate chips for himself before following behind. Will smiled wide and covered it with his hands, his face heating up. "Happy Valentine's Day," he heard Mike say behind him. Will knelt down to grab the card and rip it open. "I would've had it all set up before you were awake, and make you some coffee too, but I overslept and my original plan didn't work out and-"
"Mike?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up." Will said with a smile as he read the card.
"Okay. Yeah, cool."
Okay. Yeah, cool. He moved to hug Will from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder as he watched Will read the card.
'Will,
Good Morning and Happy Valentine’s Day!
I hope you liked your surprise, I’m sure your smile is beautiful right about now, even if you’re covering it. I just want to tell you that you are so important to me. You are my sunlight, my oxygen, my warmth. You are my Cleric, of whom I am bound by oath to admire and protect. You are my Sorcerer, your innate powers have entangled themselves within my very soul. We are bound by fate itself, and evidently, I am lost without you.
Thank you, especially this past year, for being so supportive of me. I know I’ve been really stupid in the past about love and about you. So, thank you for helping me be the best person I can be for you. Thank you for coming up to me in that club that night, I often go back to that night in my mind, and wonder where I would be if you hadn’t been there. I think I’d be alone, in a terrible apartment, with no valentine, and that terrible side part still. So, thank you so much. For being the best boyfriend I could ever ask for. Thank you for helping me accept myself. Thank you for being you. I love you.
Love, Mike.'