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It was the 14th of February. Valentines day. Previously, Will hadn't had anyone to spend the day with, or do anything with. Especially when the world was basically ending, but now it was a year later and everything was over.
So he finally built up the courage to ask somebody out. Someone he had wanted to ask out for so long but was too scared to, especially since Will wasn't seen as 'normal' because of who he loved. He was scared this could backfire and he would end up more alone than ever.
He promised himself ages ago that after this all had ended, he would finally ask Mike. With Robin's advice, he finally did it.
Now, he was sitting on a bench down the streets from Enzo's. Wearing the nicest shirt and trousers he could find (and maybe stole from his older brother). He didn't really own any clothes fit for this occasion.
It was freezing, making him glad that he brought a coat with him. It was ten minutes passed the scheduled time and Will was getting worried. What if Mike actually wasn't going to arrive? What if Mike never wanted to speak to Will again because of this stupid confession? What if Mike had second thoughts and actually wasn't like Will?
He was losing his mind overthinking, until he heard his name from across the street. It was Mike. He had finally arrived.
"Sorry, I left a bit late." Mike greeted him as he got onto the pavement, a nervous smile on his face.
Will mirrored the other boy's expression, glancing over how nicely Mike had put together his outfit and how he had done his hair. He even smelled some nice perfume coming off of him and half wondered if he had stolen one from his sisters or mother because this was so bizarre. He did sort of like it though.
Will had to force himself to rip his eyes away from Mike momentarily. "It's fine, I was enjoying it out here anyway."
He didn't mention anything about how he slightly doubted that Mike was actually going to come.
"Yeah." Mike nodded awkwardly, then took a deep breath and nodded at Enzo's down the street. "We going in then?"
They walked side by side together to Enzo's. Will caught the way Mike's eyes darted around uneasily, as if he didn't really want to be seen. Will understood. He knew what Mike was scared of. He didn't comment on it though.
When they got inside, they got shown to their table. It was quiet inside, only a few couples due to how it was late afternoon. There were a couple of people playing some instruments, making the atmosphere more romantic, paired with flowers and petals littered around on tables and window sills. Will found it so sweet, but he knew this would look like a normal date, to anyone.
At least nobody seemed to be paying attention to them.
"Nice in here." Will mumbled, breaking the comfortable silence between them. He was going to say it was nice being here with him, but decided not to.
"Yeah, really nice." Mike paused, looking down at the menu. "You've been here before?" he asked.
Will shook his head, looking down towards the drinks on the menu. "Never had the occasion to come."
Mike just agreed, reading through the entire menu what seemed like twenty times now.
They placed their drink orders and sat back. He found it a bit embarrassing that Mike was offering to pay for most of it, even though Will had some money that he saved up, but at least they got to split it evenly.
"Wanna come to mine after? Or at least for a couple of minutes. I-i got you something." Will said after the waitress got them their drinks.
"Yeah, yeah of course." Mike smiled behind his glass, trying to hide it even though Will could see from his eyes that he was smiling.
Mike put his glass down and reached into his jacket inside pocket for a small box. It was blue with a yellow ribbon around it, forming a bow at the top. Will looked at it awkwardly, not knowing what to do at first but then took it and opened it.
Inside was a necklace with a pendant of Will's DND character, and on one side a yellow star bead and the other a blue star bead.
Will took it out, looking at it for a long moment, his heart bursting with joy.
"It's so sweet. Thank you, i-i love it." He placed it around his neck, the DND Character laying on his button up shirt nicely.
"Yeah, well- Holly showed me how to do it. Half of the credit probably goes to her and I know it looks weird and-"
"Mike, it's gorgeous, thank you." Will let out a breathy laugh, fiddling with the pendant in his fingers. They smiled at each other awkwardly until the waitress came to take their order. Will hadn't really looked at the menu at all so he just glanced down and picked the first thing on there, Mike looked like he did the same.
"I'll give you your gift when we go to mine."
Mike smiles. "You didn't have to, just being here, with you, is good. It's awesome."
Will rolls his eyes, looking down at his drink. "I had to. I mean, you got me something."
After a few minutes of half awkward half cute conversations, they finally got their food and they tucked in, using it as an excuse to keep quiet and think of what else to say.
They had been best friends for so many years but being here in Enzo's, just the two of them, romantically. It felt way more nerve racking than it should've been.
"I actually didn't think you'd agree to be my valentine." Will admits, halfway through his plate.
Mike looks up, swallowing before talking, looking slightly offended but in a joking way. "You know...i never expected you to ask me. Out of all people. And for the record, I was sort of debating on it too but I'm glad you asked first because I was way too - I dunno - scared."
"Scared?" Will knew exactly why Mike was scared. He wasn't exactly out to anyone. Except for partially Will because he had to like guys in some way to agree to come here. That was probably why they picked a more secluded spot and at a later time in the afternoon.
"Yeah, I've just been really great at pushing all my feelings down for a while. Including 'those' feelings. So...sorry."
"Nothing to say sorry for. I was scared too." Will wants to reach his hand out so badly and place it on Mike's, but he just leans closer and smiles. "I'm here anytime if you wanna talk. I know how scary it can be."
Mike nodded, looking as if a boulder had lifted off his shoulders. "Cool."
"Cool."
Their conversation revolved around DND again, like it usually did. Anything but talk about what this meant for them later on, when it wasn't Valentines day anymore. It was also starting to get quite busy, a lot of people apparently liked having date nights during the evening.
So they finished off their food and made it to the street, not too close in case anyone they knew popped up. They knew Lucas and Max had gone to the cinema and nobody else was really out. They weren't worried about their friends though.
A sunset was beginning to peek through the blue sky as they walked alongside each other to the new Byers home. It was also pretty much silent, with no car outside. Will guessed his mother and Hopper had probably left somewhere. He did tell them he was with his friends, he never specified how many or who. He was glad they never questioned him on it.
"I'm pretty sure I left it in my room, come on." He brushed a hand over Mike's wrist lightly, slightly pulling him along but letting go.
Will kicked his shoes off in his room, opening the draw to his desk and pulling out a rolled up piece of paper with pink string tied around it.
He turned back to Mike, greeted by a flash of a camera.
"Hey!" Will laughed, blinking to get the spots out of his eyes. "You know that's Jonathan's? He left it here since he has the one he uses for work and that one is for none-work stuff."
Mike shrugged. "Ehh, I'm sure he won't even notice an extra photo."
Will looked down, smiling. He then stepped closer to Mike and watched the boy place the camera on the bed before he got given the rolled up paper.
"It's a painting, right?" Mike asked, rolling it out in his hands and just taking it in with his eyes.
To say it was gorgeous was an understatement. Perhaps the best one Will had made yet. It had clearly taken a lot of time and effort. Trees and a clear, blue sky surrounded Will and Mike, but they were in their DND forms. The cleric and the paladin. There were so many tiny details that Mike could spot a new feature of it every few seconds.
He literally felt like his heart was going to melt just looking at it.
"Do you like it?" Will asked, searching Mike's face for a reaction.
The other boy glanced up. "Like it? I love it. Definitely going on my wall."
Will fiddled with the necklace again, smiling as he watched Mike looking at it. The sight made him feel so happy for some reason, that Mike was clearly enjoying something so much that Will had made for him.
He saw Mike sit down on the edge of the bed, holding the painting close to his chest, whilst Will sat down beside him, the DND figure right over his heart.
"Thanks for today, I loved it." Will mumbled, catching eye contact with the other boy.
"Hey, you made it happen, you were the one who asked. And, it was great. I wish I could spend more time with you."
"Nobody said you couldn't. You could always just stay, we can watch a movie or something. I would even let you stay forever if you could." Will replied as he grabbed the camera and pointed it at them, snapping a photo. They were side by side, thighs brushing against each other and faces a bit too close.
Anybody looking at them right now would guess they were a little more than just best friends.
"Thought you said that was Jonathan's camera."
"Oh, he won't mind, I'm sure. We'll just delete it after."
They in fact, completely forgot to delete it after.