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one: marianne
There are a lot of things that Will hates about being a waiter.
Honestly, if he really sat down and thought about it long enough, he could write a solid three to four page essay on just why he hates being a waiter. Will’s never been much of a writer (and unfortunately, his professors are apt to agree), but this essay? Yeah, it’s one that would come very easily to him.
Just to name a few things:
- Dealing with the worst people on the planet – you know, the ones who think all customer service employees are emotionless robots who don’t mind getting yelled at on a daily basis. Yeah. Those people.
- Ending up with food on his clothes practically every single day. Will’s not even that clumsy of a person, but somehow, some way, he always ends up with food on his shirt or his pants and sometimes even on his shoes. He doesn’t get it, and he never will.
- Watching couples being so incredibly obnoxious while they stare lovingly into one another’s eyes. Yes, yes, Will knows that makes him seem bitter, and here’s the thing: he really isn’t. Sure, it’s been a solid few months since he was in a relationship, and it’s been even longer since he was in a healthy relationship, but he doesn’t mind it when people are in relationships.
He does, however, mind it when couples are incredibly obnoxious.
Take Table 13, for example. There’s a couple sitting at Table 13, and for the entirety of the time that they’ve been here, they have not stopped giving each other heart eyes and kissy faces. Er – well… the woman hasn’t stopped giving her boyfriend heart eyes and kissy faces. Her boyfriend doesn’t seem to mind though, and he’s going along with it, even if he does seem less enthusiastic about it than she does.
It’s fine, and it’s only a little awkward when Will has to come and take their orders, because the woman literally makes her boyfriend order her meal for her so that she can keep making those stupid heart eyes at him. The poor guy stumbles through his girlfriend’s order, face growing increasingly more and more red as Will writes down notes, and it’s a complete miracle that Will doesn’t end up bursting into laughter right then and there.
(He does, however, laugh about it in the kitchen with Max.
Multiple times throughout the night.
Nobody needs to know that though.)
In what feels like no time at all, the heart-eyed girl and her boyfriend finish their dinners, and Will brings out their check, setting it on the table and going to check on his other customers. It’s been fairly busy throughout the night but nothing unmanageable, and in just another hour, Will can finally go home, mindlessly scroll through TikTok for a couple hours, and then probably pass out on his couch.
Not a very exciting life for a twenty-one year old to live.
As Will finishes clearing off one of the tables, he glances back at Table 13, where he finds the heart-eyed girl’s boyfriend but not the heart-eyed girl herself. Said boyfriend is looking around the restaurant, his dark eyes a bit curious and a bit concerned, and finally, he meets Will’s gaze, a relieved look forming on his face.
“Hi,” the guy calls, and Will can’t help but wince. It’s never a good thing when customers call him over like this, especially when they’re settling the bill, and Will swears if this stupid, lovestruck guy is about to yell at him for something…
“Can I help you with something?” Will asks politely as he approaches the table.
Heart-eyed girl’s boyfriend looks up at Will, and not for the first time tonight, Will kind of wants to punch himself in the face.
Oh yeah, that’s another thing he hates about working as a waiter: seeing stupidly gorgeous men come into the restaurant on dates.
This guy, unfortunately, falls right into the category of stupidly gorgeous men whom Will has to wait on, and honestly, he might even fall into a category of his own – something like, stupidly gorgeous men who are God’s favorite, because how the hell are your cheekbones that nice?
Seriously. This guy might be the most gorgeous man Will has ever seen before in his life, what with his sharp cheekbones, his dark eyes, his wavy black hair, and well… literally everything else about him. Sure, Will has spent most of the night snickering behind this poor guy and his girlfriend’s backs, but he also has spent a decent amount of the night admiring this guy from afar.
Heart-eyed girlfriend may be a little too much, but if this guy were Will’s boyfriend, he’d probably stare at him and giggle the entire time too.
“Can you do this quickly?” the (stupidly gorgeous) guy says, and he all but shoves the check and his card into Will’s hands. “Please. I want to get out of here before she gets back.”
Wait, what?
Will blinks, staring down at the little black check holder in his hands for a solid few moments. Okay, okay, so apparently, he has grossly misread this situation, and as it turns out, heart-eyed girlfriend and her boyfriend are not madly in love. It is, actually, quite possible that Will has been witnessing a terrible first date and that this (stupidly gorgeous) guy (with very nice cheekbones) has been suffering the whole night… all while Will had been laughing at him in the back.
Well, shit.
Will winces, and he finally manages to look back up, meeting the man’s eyes. “Rough first date?” he guesses.
The stupidly gorgeous guy groans, burying his head in his hands. “Was it that obvious?” he asks pitifully. “I’ve been trying to escape all night. Marianne is insane. I’m actually scared.”
“Jesus.” Will winces again, glancing in the direction of the bathroom. “How long has she been gone?”
Stupidly gorgeous guy looks down at his watch, and this time, he winces. “Shit,” he mutters under his breath. “Close to four or five minutes? She should be coming back soon, so can you please, please ring me up before she comes back?”
This stupidly gorgeous man, with his stupid cheekbones and his stupidly pretty face, looks up at Will with his stupidly pretty eyes, and quite frankly, he looks a bit like a kicked puppy right now. A desperate, stupidly gorgeous kicked puppy who is about to cost Will a whopping $82.54. The things Will does for gorgeous men.
“Just go,” Will sighs, and he motions to the front door, watching as confusion forms on the man’s face. “Here. I’ll cover it for you, but only because I really, really feel sorry for you and definitely thought you two had been dating for years.”
“God no,” the man says with a shudder, and he quickly picks up his credit card, putting it back into his wallet. “Are – are you sure about this? I hate to do this to you—”
“It’s fine,” Will promises, even though it’s really not. That $82.54 could definitely be used to buy important things like groceries or art supplies or that book he promised El he’d read when they were home on Christmas break. “Um… have a good night? Sorry your date went badly.”
A rosy blush forms on the (stupidly gorgeous) guy’s face, and he offers Will a smile that definitely makes Will’s heart rate pick up. “Thank you so, so much,” he says and pauses, looking at Will’s name tag.
“Will,” Will introduces and offers a shy smile in return. “My name’s Will.”
“Will,” the man echoes as he stands to his feet, quickly putting on his coat. “Thank you, Will. I, um, I’ll—” He stops short, eyes widening, and swears, “Shit, okay, I’ve gotta go. Thank you again!”
Without wasting another moment, the stupidly gorgeous man runs out of the restaurant, leaving Will behind to clean up his mess.
Great.
For a moment, Will stands there and considers his options. He could, theoretically, run into the kitchen right now and avoid any sort of confrontation with the heart-eyed not-girlfriend of this stupidly gorgeous man. That’s well within his right, and he can always come back and clean off the table whenever she’s left.
Alternatively, he could stick around and do this stranger a solid by making sure that this heart-eyed, scary, not-girlfriend will never want anything to do with the stupidly gorgeous man with nice cheekbones.
For some reason completely unrelated to the fact that Will thinks that man is quite honestly the most beautiful person he’s ever met, Will sticks around the table for another couple moments. Finally, the heart-eyed girl—Marianne, Will thinks to himself—approaches, and she asks, “Excuse me?”
Now or never, Will thinks, and he turns around, plastering a smile onto his face.
“Oh, hi,” he greets and feels only a little guilty when he sees the dejected look on the girl’s face. Oh well. Will’s already committed to this, so he might as well go all the way and channel his inner Max Mayfield. “I’m sorry. That guy you were on a date with just ran out of the restaurant. I think someone recognized him and called the cops. I have no idea why, but it looks like you dodged a bullet there.”
Heart-eyed girl’s eyes widen in surprise, and she looks around the restaurant. “The cops?” she whispers, voice full of horror.
“The cops,” confirms Will. “I’d stay away from him if I was you. Probably better that way.”
Then, because he’s probably too nice of a person and feels a little bit bad for lying his ass off to a complete stranger, Will gestures to the table and offers the no-longer-heart-eyed girl a sympathetic smile. “Here,” he suggests, “let me go get you dessert or something. I bet that’ll cheer you up. And don’t worry about the check; I’ve got it covered.”
(Chocolate cake costs $9.99 plus tax, by the way. So that means Will’s check just went up from $82.54 to well over $90.00.
God. Why can’t he just be a mean person? Max would probably laugh her ass off at him.)
The heart-eyed girl’s eyes widen, and before Will can even process what’s happening, she throws her arms around him. “Oh, thank you, thank you!” she gushes. “That’s so sweet!”
“Yeah, no problem.” Will awkwardly pats her back, doing his best to pull away. “I, um… I’ll be right back.”
Then, faster than the girl can respond, Will turns around and speedwalks back to the kitchen, mentally cursing himself and regretting every single life decision that led him to this point. Studying graphic design in New York City? Terrible decision. Getting a job as a waiter? An even worse decision.
Covering for the most gorgeous guy in the city and wracking up a nearly $100.00 bill just because Will has no self-control when it comes to pretty guys?
Worst. Decision Ever.
Max is never going to let him live this down.
two: alyssa
Will has never hated Valentine’s Day.
Honestly, he hasn’t. Growing up, his family didn’t have much, but his mom always tried to make holidays special regardless. For Valentine’s Day, this usually consisted of her buying both Will and his older brother, Jonathan, their favorite chocolates (Reese’s Pieces for Will and Kit Kats for Jonathan) and a corny little card about how much she loved them. In return, he and Jonathan would usually try to get their mom something – normally a box of chocolates, a stuffed animal, and a handmade card Will would make, signed from the two of them.
Even now, with both Will and Jonathan living out in New York City and their mom still living back in Indiana, they still try to send each other things for Valentine’s Day. It’s fun still having that tradition, and it’s even more fun now that they can involve El and Hopper too – both of whom had never really celebrated Valentine’s Day before the five of them all became a family.
So yeah, Will has never hated Valentine’s Day.
That is – until he became a waiter.
There are a few times of the year when it’s awful to work at a restaurant. Christmastime happens to be one of them. Graduation season is another terrible one. But Valentine’s Day? Yeah, Valentine’s Day takes the cake for the worst day of the year to work at a classy, moderately priced New York City restaurant, and Will thinks he could go the rest of his life without ever having to work another Valentine’s Day.
He just keeps telling himself that next year should be his last year doing this. Come next May, he’ll graduate from NYU and hopefully be able to get a job as a graphic designer and leave the life of a waiter behind.
But that, unfortunately, is still over a year away, which means that Will gets to spend his evening waiting tables, dealing with irate couples left and right, and trying not to regret every single life decision that has brought him to this moment. It works… fairly well.
Until the stupidly gorgeous guy with the nice cheekbones walks into the restaurant and is seated at Table 14.
“Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me,” Will mutters under his breath, and he lingers for a moment by the kitchen, watching as Riley, the hostess, walks the stupidly gorgeous man and his date—not crazy heart-eyed Marianne—to one of Will’s tables.
Stupidly gorgeous man, to no surprise, looks stupidly gorgeous. He’s wearing glasses today, and his hair is a little bit longer than when Will last saw him. And on top of that, he’s wearing a nice polo shirt and pants that really look good, and Jesus Christ, Will absolutely cannot promise this night won’t end with him paying for this man’s meal again, if only because all rational thought has left Will’s head.
It’s fine. This is fine. Everything is going to be fine. Stupidly gorgeous man probably won’t even recognize him, so there’s no need for this to be awkward or anything. No need to bring up Marianne and that terrible first date, or the ninety something odd dollars that Will ended up shelling out the night this man last visited this restaurant. After all, tonight is too busy to be thinking about anything but getting this (so. stupidly. gorgeous.) man and his date out of here within the estimated hour to hour and fifteen minutes in between reservations.
So, Will takes a deep breath, and he grabs his notebook, walking over to Table 14. “Hi,” he greets, and as he does, the stupidly gorgeous man looks up, his eyes going wide. “My name’s Will. I’ll be your server tonight. Could I start you off with something to drink or any appetizers?”
For a moment, the man just stares at him, his eyes wide and his lips parted. His date is still staring at the menu, barely paying attention to Will, but the (stupidly gorgeous) man’s entire focus is on Will.
(Cue butterflies in the stomach. Jesus, this night is going to kill Will before it’s over.)
“Um,” the guy says, clearing his throat and finally breaking eye contact with Will to look back down at the specials menu, “we – we’ll just get the Valentine’s Day special, please. With the red wine and the, uh… the variety of appetizers.”
“Got it.” Will nods and scribbles down the order, before looking back up at the (stupidly gorgeous) guy and his date. “I’ll get that order placed and be right back with your wine.”
Without saying another word, Will turns and walks away, and he tries to ignore the butterflies that come to life inside his stomach as the man calls, “Thank you, Will!”
Shit.
Okay, okay, so he does apparently recognize Will. That’s not a bad thing, unless this guy somehow thinks Will is going to cover his meal again. What’s the likelihood that Will is totally getting scammed by a guy with the prettiest face known to humanity? That would suck, and he knows Max would never let him live this down.
New plan: no matter what happens, no matter how many times the stupidly gorgeous man with incredible cheekbones smiles at him, no matter if this date is as bad as Marianne the heart-eyed date, Will is not going to pay for this guy’s meal. Nope. Not happening. He will not fall victim to a cute boy with brown eyes. Never again.
With a sigh, Will walks back to the computer and enters Table 14’s order in; then, he grabs a couple wine glasses and a bottle of wine from the back. Everything is going to be fine. There’s nothing special about this guy, and there’s no reason Will needs to get in his head over a guy on a literal date. Jesus, that would be a new low. All he has to do is treat this table like every other customer interaction he’s had, and before Will knows it, the (stupidly gorgeous) man (with the incredible cheekbones) will leave with his date, all while Will sticks around and tends to a dozen other (less gorgeous) customers (with far inferior cheekbones).
He’s got this. He’s totally got this.
The universe, though, just loves to prove Will wrong, because when he returns from the kitchen, he finds the man sitting at Table 14 alone, with his date nowhere in sight. Immediately, warning alarms go off in Will’s mind, and he can’t help but wince as he approaches the table and sets the wine glasses down.
Stupidly gorgeous man looks up, and Will’s unfortunate lack of a poker face is made known to him once more when the man laughs. “Alyssa didn’t leave,” he reassures, raising an eyebrow. “She just went to the bathroom.”
“Ah,” Will says, and he carefully begins to pour wine into both glasses. “That’s… good?”
“I guess we’ll see,” the man replies with a shrug; then, after a brief moment, he adds, “I’m not trying to run away either, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Will can’t help the amused little huff of laughter that escapes his mouth. “Glad we addressed the elephant in the room,” he says dryly, and he watches as the man’s face turns bright red. “I wasn’t sure you recognized me.”
An affronted look forms on the man’s face. Somehow, he still looks stupidly gorgeous. “Of course, I do,” he huffs without any real heat to it. “You literally saved me last time.”
Here, he pauses, and the offended look on his face morphs into something softer – gratitude, maybe. “Thank you, by the way,” he adds. “You didn’t have to do that, but I – I really appreciate it. Though, I didn’t appreciate you telling Marianne someone called the cops on me? Seriously?”
“It was the best I could come up with on a short notice,” Will jokes, and the man just gives him a look that again seems to say, Seriously? “It was! Come on, next time, you’ve gotta give me more time to think of something better!”
“Next time?” the guy echoes. A playful grin tugs at his lips. “Ouch. Thanks for that boost of confidence.”
“Anytime,” Will replies easily. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s payback for what happened last time.”
The man’s eyes widen, as if for the first time he’s remembering that Will literally paid for his meal, and he quickly says, “I – I can pay you back. Like… actually pay you back. Seriously, you didn’t have to do that, so I don’t want to put you out or anything—”
“It’s fine,” Will promises, and damn it, the butterflies in his stomach are relentless. They’re maybe a little too excited at how friendly this man is, and they, too, seem to have forgotten the fact that Will paid for this guy’s date just last month. No wonder he’s being friendly. “Just don’t give me a shitty tip tonight, and we’ll call it even.”
For a moment, the (stupidly gorgeous) guy studies Will, like he’s trying to figure out what Will’s angle is here or maybe whether or not he should keep arguing with a waiter he’s only met twice. It’s hard not to look away from this guy – in part because he is, unfortunately, stupidly gorgeous, but also because his gaze is incredibly intense and curious. There’s something almost magnetic about this man, and no matter what every reasonable part of Will’s mind is yelling at him right now, he can’t bring himself to look away.
“Fine,” the man finally says, his voice softer than before. “Thank you, Will.”
“Of course,” Will says, his voice just as soft. His heart, the annoying little organ that it is, skips a beat when the man’s gaze lingers on Will for another moment. “I, um… I should check on my other tables. I’ll come back and check on you in a little bit.”
“Sounds good,” the man replies, and Will turns to go, before he makes an even bigger fool out of himself than he already has. Before he can get very far though, the man calls, “My – my name’s Mike, by the way!”
Will freezes. The butterflies in his stomach flutter around, nervous as ever, and his heart skips another beat. And while the rational part of his mind yells at him to stop it, don’t get too attached to him; he’s literally on a date, Will has always been more inclined to listen to emotions over logic.
So, he turns around. Offers the stupidly gorgeous man—Mike—a smile. Probably makes a fool out of himself again, since his face is definitely on fire and is most certainly bright red. “Mike,” Will echoes, and he watches as a smile grows on Mike’s stupidly gorgeous face. “It – it’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Mike says, his voice soft. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
three: carlton
The month of April brings Will’s favorite customer back around, and this time, he brings a guy with him.
And not just any guy. Oh no, Will’s not that lucky, and he never has been.
Mike, aka Will’s favorite customer, aka the most stupidly gorgeous person he’s ever seen, aka the one person blessed with the greatest cheekbones God has ever given humanity? Yeah, he walks into Will’s restaurant.
…
With Will’s ex-boyfriend.
This kind of stupid stuff that only happens in movies and TV shows, and seriously, Will is beginning to think that his life is just some TV show that everyone else in some alternate universe is watching. He hopes they feel sorry for him, because the universe sure does love to put him in some traumatizing situations. If he could, for once in his life, catch a break, then life would be great.
Today, however, the universe does not seem interested in offering Will Byers a break, and it, in fact, has actively decided to make Will’s life even more miserable. Since his job has a strict no trading tables policy unless it’s a matter of safety, Will is stuck—stuck waiting on Mike the stupidly gorgeous man with wonderful cheekbones and Carlton the almost-fiancé turned ex-boyfriend whom he has not spoken to since they broke up late last year. Honestly, the two of them look like quite the pair, and the longer Will hides back near the kitchen, staring at these two men, the more grateful he is that Max took the night off.
See, if Max were here, she would never, ever let him live this down. Because seeing Carlton and Mike sitting across from each other? Yeah, it’s almost like seeing double. They’re both roughly the same build; both of them have dark, wavy hair cut in a similar style and dark eyes to match. It’s almost comical just how much they look alike—like the universe decided to gift Will with not one but two stupidly gorgeous men who may or may not be ruining his life at this very moment.
(For the record, Mike is more stupidly gorgeous than Carlton. Not that Will would ever tell him that.
…
He does, however, consider telling Carlton that, but ultimately decides to be the bigger man instead.)
It takes a few more moments of psyching himself up for Will to walk over to Table 12, where Mike and Carlton have been seated, and he does his best not to cringe when both Mike and Carlton’s eyes widen in recognition.
“Hi,” Will says awkwardly, glancing back and forth between the two men. He doesn’t bother introducing himself – after all, Carlton definitely knows him, and by the time Mike had left with his previous date, he’d been on a first name basis with Will. “Um, can I get you anything to drink? Any appetizers?”
Mike glances over at Carlton, as if trying to read his expression, and much to Will’s dismay, Carlton has not stopped looking at him this entire time. Christ, he’s definitely checking Will out right now, which just makes this even more uncomfortable.
Apparently, six months is not long enough for some people to get over a nearly two year relationship. Who would’ve thought?
“Uh, we’ll just,” Mike starts to say, and he keeps glancing over at Carlton, the look on his face growing more and more annoyed, “we’ll… we’ll get a bottle of red wine or something. Just whatever you think is best.”
Will can’t help but wince because Mike definitely sounds angry now, like he’s maybe thirty seconds away from snapping at Will or making some big scene. Even when Carlton nods in agreement to Mike’s previous statement, Mike still looks angry, and Will can’t even blame him. Christ. Imagine taking a guy on a date, only for him to spend the entire time checking out the waiter. Oh – and imagine learning that the waiter is your date’s ex-boyfriend.
This is going to be a fun night.
“Got it,” Will says, just as awkward as before. “I’ll, um… I’ll be right back then.”
“Thank you, Will,” Carlton says, his tone far too sweet and flirty. He smiles again at Will and adds, “It’s really good to see you, by the way. You – you look good.”
Not for long, Will thinks, because Mike looks like he actually is going to kill someone. Will’s time here on Planet Earth is most certainly coming to an unfortunate end, and history will remember him as the pathetic, broke waiter who was murdered by Earth’s prettiest human being for accidentally being the object of his date’s affection.
What a shitty way to die.
“Thanks,” Will says and tries his best not to cringe. “I – I’ll be right back.”
As quickly as he can, Will turns, and he tries not to think about the way Carlton is almost definitely checking him out as he walks away. This whole situation is one from hell, but it’s fine. Will’s been through worse experiences as a waiter (he has not), and it’s not like Carlton or Mike mean anything to him (well… Carlton doesn’t, at least). All he has to do is plaster a fake smile on his face, do his damn job, and ignore the fact that his ex-boyfriend is openly flirting with him in front of the guy he’s on a date with.
Easy peasy.
(Said no one ever.)
Yeah, as it turns out, waiting on your ex-boyfriend who is on a date with the most stupidly gorgeous man alive is not a fun experience, especially when said ex-boyfriend is stupid enough to flirt with you the entire night. It’s even less fun when said stupidly gorgeous man gets an attitude and ends up pouting the entire night (not that Will can blame him). All around, it’s a mortifying experience, and by the time Will drops the check off at Table 12, he has resigned himself to either receiving nothing in tips (if Mike is planning on paying) or receiving way too much in tips, in addition to a reminder of his ex’s phone number (if Carlton is planning on paying).
Either way, Will has never been more anxious for a couple to leave. If he’s lucky, he’ll never have to see Carlton again (something he’d been hoping for since the two of them ended things last year). And if he’s unlucky, he’ll also never see Mike again, since this whole first date with Carlton situation has surely left a bad impression on his favorite customer.
It’s fine – totally, completely fine. It’s not like Will is disappointed by the fact that this stupidly gorgeous man that has been on his mind since the beginning of this year is, in fact, interested in men but definitely not interested in Will. It’s not like there was ever a sliver of hope that maybe all of Mike’s failed dates would somehow turn into the perfect opportunity for him to get to know Will in the midst of all this.
Yeah, that kind of stuff is for movies and TV shows. In real life, the story apparently ends with the most stupidly gorgeous man Will has ever laid his eyes on wanting nothing to do with Will.
Cool.
Will takes a deep breath, and he walks out of the kitchen, dropping off the appetizer for Table 15 on his way to Table 12. Much to his surprise, Carlton is no longer sitting at the table, but Mike still is. And even more surprisingly, Mike looks far less angry than he did just a few minutes ago.
He keeps looking around the room, as if waiting for someone, and when he finally catches sight of Will, his eyes go wide.
Mike waves him over to the table, and Will winces slightly, weaving through the maze of other waiters and customers before finally stopping in front of Table 12. “Hi,” Will greets, offering an awkward smile. “Did you need something?”
“Only if you have a minute,” Mike says with a shrug, and he gestures to the seat across from him. There’s a glimmer of amusement in his eyes when he adds, “Don’t worry. Carlton left already.”
Oh thank God, Will thinks but doesn’t say out loud. Instead, he just takes a seat, leaning his head on his hand and looking curiously at Mike. “Bad date?”
“Bad date,” Mike agrees. Much to Will’s relief, there’s a smile tugging at his lips. “He wouldn’t stop flirting with the damn waiter.”
Warmth rushes to Will’s cheeks, and he groans, hiding his face in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he mutters, trying to ignore the way his entire face is on fire right now. “Christ, this is so embarrassing.”
“No, no, don’t apologize!” Mike says quickly, and before Will can process what’s happening, Mike has reached across the table to pull his hands away from his face. Maybe it’s corny and stupid to say, but his touch feels a bit like electricity, causing Will’s face to get even warmer. “Seriously, Will. I – I’m not mad at you. I swear.”
“You seemed pretty pissed off,” Will points out. “Kind of figured it was because of me.”
At this, Mike rolls his eyes, leaning his head on one of his hands. “I mean, sort of,” he says with a shrug. “I was annoyed because he was flirting with you, even though he asked me out. And I… I guess I was annoyed because I could tell you were really uncomfortable too.”
Oh.
Oh.
“That’s actually why I asked you to sit down for a minute with me,” Mike adds, before Will can form a coherent sentence out of the many incoherent, giddy thoughts running rampant in his brain right now. “I just… I wanted to say I’m sorry for all that. Carlton, he – uh. He told me you guys dated. Any interactions with an ex suck, but having to put up with him flirting with you for the last hour? Yikes. So… I’m sorry for putting you in that situation.”
For a moment, Will just sits there, once again trying to piece together what to say. There’s something so genuine about the look on Mike’s face and something a little nervous too, almost like he’s unsure of whether Will is going to accept his apology.
“It’s not your fault,” Will finally decides on saying, and he offers Mike a shy smile, gladly watching as the anxiety dissipates from the other man’s face. “You just came here on a date. It’s not like you knew I was going to be working tonight or that you were going on a date with my ex.”
Mike laughs softly, and God, it’s a pretty sound. There’s something about the way Mike’s entire face lights up that makes Will want nothing more than to see him keep smiling like that forever.
“I probably should’ve guessed you’d be working,” Mike muses. “Seriously, you’re like always here when I go on dates with people. I promise I’m not like… a serial dater or anything.”
“Sounds like something a serial dater would say,” Will says dryly, and Mike just gives him an offended look.
“I’m not a serial dater,” he grumbles, an adorable little pout on his face. Then, in a softer voice, he adds, “I just… I have bad luck when it comes to dating.”
Will’s heart, the stupid, lovesick organ that it is, pounds inside his chest, and he swallows the lump in his throat. There’s a part of him—the reckless, illogical part of him—that wants to throw all caution to the wind and just ask Mike on a date right here, right now. That wouldn’t be too weird, would it? They’ve only interacted a handful of times, but one date couldn’t hurt, right?
“Well, maybe—” Will starts to say, but he never gets the chance to finish his sentence.
“Byers!” a familiar voice calls, and Will flinches, looking up to see Hannah, one of his other co-workers, standing at the kitchen entrance, an exasperated look on her face. She’s somehow balancing two platters of food in her hands, and oh shit, that’s right. Will had promised he would help with her bigger party. Shit.
“I’ve gotta go,” Will says apologetically, and he stands to his feet, offering Mike another smile. Maybe he’s just making it up in his mind, but for a brief moment, the smile on Mike’s face falls, disappointment clear in his eyes as Will goes to leave. “Um… see you around, Mike.”
Then, without another word, Will turns and leaves Mike—and whatever fleeting, silly thoughts he’d had about asking the other man out—behind.
four: jaxon
So, here’s the thing.
Will has a theory.
It’s honestly a pretty simple theory, supported by now four separate instances that Will has witnessed over the past six months. And though he’s not quite sure that Mike would appreciate his theory, Will is pretty convinced that his theory is the cold, hard truth.
He’s also about… one snide comment away from telling Mike this theory.
Would it cause him to lose his job? Maybe.
Would it be worth it? Most definitely.
Anyways, the theory is this:
Mike has awful taste in romantic partners.
Seriously. First, there was Marianne, the crazy heart-eyed woman who was obsessed with him from the very first date. Then, there was Alyssa, whom Will doesn’t really remember that much about, but it obviously didn’t work out with her either. After that, there was Carlton, and yeah, yeah, yeah, Will dated him for nearly two years. Doesn’t matter. Mike still had bad taste for going on a date with Carlton, as evidenced by the fact that Carlton flirted with Will the entire time.
And now, here they are in the middle of June, and Mike, the stupidly gorgeous man that he is, has returned with another new date.
This one’s name is Jaxon, and Jesus Christ, he might be the worst one of them all. He’s actually one of the most awful people Will has ever had the displeasure of interacting with, and honest to God, Will has no idea how someone as nice as Mike ended up with someone as shitty as this Jaxon guy. Everything about this man screams, I’m a privileged, snooty, rich asshole, and because of that, I can treat you however I damn well please.
Will meets a lot of people like that, working as a waiter, and honestly, he’s used to it. His family never really had much growing up, so being looked down on by rich, snobby kids at school happened far too when he was a kid. Over the years, Will has learned to let snide comments roll off his back – mostly out of sheer necessity. If he’d let the words of every single bully get to him, God knows where he’d be.
There’s really no reason for Will to be this upset about stupidly gorgeous Mike’s date.
And yet, here he is, fully considering how difficult it would be to poison someone’s food. Not that he’d actually do it, but it can’t be that difficult, right? Will’s pretty certain some of the other waiters have spit into customers’ food before (gross) without anyone noticing, so poison can’t be that much more difficult, right?
(Right.)
It’s just that it’s not fair. It’s not fair that someone like this asshole gets to go on a date with Mike, who is actually one of the kindest people Will’s ever met. Sure, he doesn’t know Mike that well, and sure, they’ve only interacted a total of four times in the context of Will waiting on him. But Mike has been nothing but kind to him in each of those interactions, whereas this Jaxon guy is just a prick who needs to be knocked down several pegs.
Will would love to be the person to knock him down several pegs. Unfortunately though, he sort of, kind of needs this job to pay rent and to make his tuition payments and to buy groceries and all that shit. So, as much as Will would love to tell this guy off, he can’t.
That’s alright though.
Because Mike beats him to it.
Naturally, it all starts when Will brings out both Mike and his date’s food, carefully setting the plates down in front of them. Mike, as usual, smiles and thanks Will, but he also has a look in his eye that seems to say, Please save me. As if Will would actually be able to do anything to help him.
His date, on the other hand, looks less than pleased at his meal, and moments before it happens, Will can see the situation that’s about to occur. He is, without a doubt, about to get verbally attacked by this man, and he’s not going to be able to do a damn thing about it other than nod and smile politely.
“This isn’t what I ordered,” stupid fucking Jaxon snaps.
Will thinks to himself, Here we fucking go, right as Mike’s date launches into his very predictable tirade about how Will intentionally messed up his order and how Will has been a shitty waiter the entire night and how this entire restaurant is a shit-hole and how he hopes that Will never finds another job in the service industry. It’s all very melodramatic for a man who can’t be older than twenty-five but already has a receding hairline.
Seriously. Someone needs to tell Mike to get better standards.
Will forces a smile. “Sir, I understand,” he tries to say, but to no surprise, Jaxon isn’t finished.
“I’m still talking,” he sneers, and it’s really, truly a damn miracle that Will doesn’t roll his eyes. “You are the most incompetent, useless, good-for-nothing—”
“Oh my God, will you shut up?”
Will freezes. Jaxon does as well, and so does every other person in the nearby vicinity who is most definitely listening to the bitchy tirade.
“Seriously, dude, just shut the fuck up,” Mike snaps. If looks could kill, Jaxon would be dead by now, and Will makes a mental note to never get on Mike’s bad side. “What kind of an asshole are you? Will didn’t do anything wrong, and you have no right to talk to him like that! If you’re going to fucking act like this, then you might as well just leave, ‘cause there’s no way in hell you’re getting a second date.”
Warmth rises to Will’s cheeks, and he watches as Jaxon’s face turns a bright shade of scarlet. For a few moments, he sits there, frozen in place. His eyes dart back and forth between Mike and Will, like he’s trying to decipher how the hell his own date would take the side of the—oh, what was it he’d called Will?—most incompetent, useless, good-for-nothing waiter.
Will smiles politely at the couple. Across the table, Mike is still scowling, his arms crossed over his chest and his gaze still on Jaxon. Well? his expression seems to say. Are you just going to sit there?
Finally, Jaxon snaps out of his humiliated reverie, and he huffs, grabbing his things and throwing both Will and Mike a nasty glare. He mutters something under his breath that Will doesn’t quite catch, but it makes Mike’s face turn even redder as his date storms off.
A beat passes.
“Well, that was something,” Will remarks. “Dinner and a show.”
Mike groans, covering his face with his hands. “That’s it, I give up,” he says, rather melodramatically. “I’m going to die alone. New York City is hell. How are there over eight million people in this godforsaken city and I end up going on dates with all the worst ones? I’m cursed, Will. Cursed.”
Will tries his best to stifle his laughter. “You’re not cursed,” he reassures, and fuck it, his other tables can wait a few minutes. As he slides into the booth across from Mike, the other man looks up, a pitiful expression on his face. “You’ll find the right person someday. Sometimes, it just takes time, and sometimes, you go on really, really shitty dates. We’ve all been there before. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
The look on Mike’s face softens, and a ghost of a smile tugs at his lips. “Thanks, Will,” he says softly. “That means a lot. I, um… I really needed to hear that.”
He hesitates, glancing away from Will, then back in his direction once again. For a brief moment, it looks like Mike might say more, and for an even briefer moment, Will swears that Mike’s gaze flickers to his lips.
Do something! Max’s voice shouts in the back of Will’s mind. Just ask him out, you idiot!
A lump forms in the back of Will’s throat. “Mike,” he says quickly.
“Yeah?” Mike tilts his head.
“Um…” Will clears his throat, trying to ignore the way his cheeks are burning right now. He can still hear Max in the back of his mind, urging him to make a move, and for a brief moment, Will considers it. He really, really does.
But then he thinks about his sister.
His sister, who has been in Mike’s exact shoes—going on date after failed date and quickly losing hope in the prospect of ever being in a happy, committed relationship. Of all of Will’s closest friends, El is the only person who has never been in a long-term relationship, and he knows that what she wants, more than anything else, is to find her person and settle down.
Maybe… maybe that person could be Mike.
“My sister’s single,” Will blurts out.
A surprised look forms on Mike’s face. “What?”
“My sister,” Will says, the warmth growing on his cheeks, “um, her name is Jane, but she – she goes by El. It’s a long story. But she’s single, and she’s had the worst luck with dating too, but she’s the best person I know. And I – I mean, if you want me to give you her number, I would.”
A beat passes.
Mike stares at Will like he’s grown a second head or something, and distantly, Will thinks that he’d very much like the ground to open up and swallow him whole. At this rate, it’d probably be better than Mike’s inevitable rejection.
After all, who does Will even think he is? He doesn’t even really know Mike, and it’s not like they’re friends or anything. Will is just some random waiter who happens to be working every time Mike brings in a new date. They haven’t had a conversation for longer than five minutes, and now, Will has gone and just made everything so fucking weird and—
“You’d really do that for me?”
Will blinks. The surprise on Mike’s face has shifted to something softer. More tender. It makes the butterflies in Will’s stomach come back to life.
“Of course,” he says gently. “I mean, you seem like a pretty nice guy, and El doesn’t mind going on blind dates. So, if you’re interested…”
A smile tugs at Mike’s lips. Without saying another word, he takes his phone out of his pocket, unlocks it, and slides it across the table to Will. “Sure,” he says with a small shrug. “What else do I have to lose?”
“If you hurt my sister though, I’ll poison your food,” Will threatens, and Mike just laughs. “I’m serious, Mike. You come in here enough that I could find a way to do it.”
“I won’t, I won’t,” Mike reassures. “And you promise your sister isn’t crazy?”
Will shakes his head. “Oh no, she’s definitely crazy. But in a good way. Most of the time.”
The comment earns Will another laugh, which the butterflies in his stomach just love. “I’ll take it,” Mike chuckles. “Who knows. Maybe your sister will be the one.”
five: el
Contrary to popular belief, Will is not jealous.
No, seriously. He’s not. No matter how much Max wants to insist that Will is jealous (and also a self-sacrificial idiot, which is only a little bit rude), Will really, truly is not jealous. If anything, Max is just projecting her own jealousy onto Will. After all, Will isn’t the one who has been glaring daggers at Table 11 for the past hour or so. Will has actually been smiling quite politely and doing everything in his power to make this as Totally Not Weird As Possible.
…
Yeah, okay, it’s a little weird.
See, when Will had first suggested to Mike that he go out with Will’s sister, he really, really hadn’t been expecting Mike to take her to this restaurant. Seriously, Will gets that people have their favorite places and stuff, but taking every single date to this one restaurant? It’s a little bit much, and it’s definitely earned Mike a certain sort of reputation with Will and his coworkers.
Never mind the fact that all of Will’s coworkers also happen to know about Will’s teeny tiny crush on Mike, thanks to Max and her big mouth. It’s fine.
Everything’s fine, Will reminds himself, stealing a glance at Table 11 as he walks back to the kitchen. Much to his relief, both Mike and El seem to be enjoying themselves, and they’re both laughing and talking to each other like old friends. It’s the happiest Will has seen Mike on any of these dates, and it fills him with a certain sort of satisfaction. Maybe finally, Mike’s disastrous string of first dates has come to an end.
And sure… there’s a part of Will that wishes it were him, sitting across the table from Mike and sharing the overly priced appetizers and red wine and flirting like two teenagers in love. But never once has Mike shown any interest in Will. He had so many opportunities to ask for Will’s number, but he never did.
It’s pretty clear that Mike isn’t interested in him, so… it’s fine. At least if El and Mike end up together, his sister will be happy, like she deserves to be. If anyone deserves happiness—especially with a guy as incredible as Mike—it’s El.
“Please tell me they’ve left already,” Max groans as soon as Will is within an earshot. “I need to go check on my tables, but if I have to see them making heart eyes at each other one more time, I’m going to walk out of here and never come back.”
Will rolls his eyes. “You threaten to do that every shift.”
“And one day, I will,” promises Max. “It may very well be tonight. Is he still there?”
“They’re still there,” Will answers, and Max groans again, making a disgusted face at the kitchen door. “You know, if you’re that jealous of him, you could’ve just asked her out. She would’ve said yes in a heartbeat.”
A rosy blush spreads across Max’s cheeks. “Shut up, Byers,” she mutters. “It’s complicated. Also, you’re one to talk! You set up your dream guy with your sister. Who even does that?”
Warmth rushes to Will’s face. “Shut up,” he groans, echoing Max’s own words. “We talked about this already. Mike’s not interested in me, and El’s had the worst luck with dating. They make a good pair.”
“They’ve been on one date,” Max reminds.
“One date that seems to be going very well,” Will says petulantly.
“So, what? That’s your big plan? Set your sister up with the guy you’ve been pining over for months now?” Max shakes her head. “I will never understand you, Will.”
Again, Will just rolls his eyes at her. “Don’t you have tables to check on?”
“I’m considering whether it’d be worth it to lose out on my tips tonight,” Max sniffs haughtily, but she’s walking towards the kitchen door regardless. “If I see her laugh at another one of his stupid jokes, it might be. You’ve got rent under control this month, don’t you?”
“Definitely not,” Will calls, but Max is already gone.
He fights the urge to roll his eyes again, and instead, he takes his phone out, checking the text messages he’d missed during the dinnertime rush. There are a couple long, sprawling texts from Jonathan that Will doesn’t open yet; most likely, they’re pitches for the new screenplay his brother has been working on. Will makes a mental note to read those when he gets home. Robin has sent him some texts too—just a few links to some Tiktoks that are almost certainly cute kitten videos and a couple of insane theories about the eighties sci-fi show she’s been trying to get him to watch. He’ll have to catch up on those later too. The last texts are just in the Byers-Hopper family group chat with Hop telling El not to do anything stupid on her date tonight and also threatening to drive over from Hawkins if her date tries anything stupid.
(Hop's kidding. Or at least Will hopes he is.)
Will isn’t sure how much time passes he scrolls aimlessly through Twitter, vaguely aware of his co-workers shuffling in and out of the kitchen with their tables’ orders. Technically, he’s not supposed to be on his phone, but there’s nobody around to tell him otherwise and all of his tables have been taken care of. He’ll probably give it a few more minutes until—
“Byers!”
Will glances up, his brow furrowing as Max saunters back into the kitchen with a grin on her face. “You look happier,” he remarks.
Max just waves her hand absently. “Table 11 needs you,” she says with no further explanation. “I told them you’d be out in a second.”
“Shit.” Will winces. “Was something wrong? Or do they want to order something else? Did they say what they needed?”
“Will.” Max gives him a look, gesturing to the door. “Stop asking questions, and just go check on them, okay?”
“Okay, okay, geez,” Will grumbles, before walking past his best friend and back out into the dining room. He makes his way through the chaos, carefully dodging his coworkers with their hands full of plates and offering cordial smiles to lost customers on their way to the bathroom. In no time, Table 11 comes into Will’s view, and—
Oh.
Oh, shit.
As if on perfect cue, Mike looks up, and as his eyes meet Will’s own, a wry sort of smile forms on his face.
Shit, Will thinks, dumbfounded as he takes in the now empty side of the table across from Mike. There’s no sign of El, which can only mean one thing:
The date didn’t go well.
“Hey,” Will says, awkwardly approaching Mike and El’s table. He offers a tentative smile, doing his best to tread lightly on the conversation. “Max said you needed something?”
“Nothing in particular,” Mike says with a weak shrug.
Like Will, he seems a bit awkward, which is completely fair, seeing as how Will set him up on yet another failed date. And truthfully, Will doesn’t know what to think anymore, because he was so sure that things were going well on Mike and El’s date. In the few brief interactions he’d had throughout the night, both of them had seemed comfortable with each other and like they were having a good time, so Will just… he’s not quite sure where it all went wrong.
Might as well rip the bandaid off, Will thinks.
“I take it the date didn’t go well?” he asks softly.
A quiet laugh escapes Mike’s lips. “The date was fine,” he reassures. “So don’t like… you know, poison my food or steal my credit card information or anything. Your sister’s great, really, I just…
His voice trails off, and Will can’t help but wince as Mike sighs. “God, this is going to sound so stupid,” he mutters, his cheeks quickly turning a bright shade of pink. “If this is weird or anything, then please just ignore this, but I just… the-entire-date-I-just-kept-wishing-she-was-you.”
The words come out in a rush, quick enough that Will’s brain doesn’t fully process them at first.
What he does process is the way that Mike’s face has grown increasingly redder with each moment that passes and how there’s a shy sort of softness and longing in Mike’s eyes as he looks at Will, and… huh.
Soooo… maybe Max was right. Will is kind of an idiot.
Warmth spreads to Will’s face, and he slides into the booth across from Mike, hesitantly offering him a smile. “You…” Will shakes his head, still trying to wrap his mind around Mike's words. “I’m sorry, did I hear that right? You wanted to be on a date with me?”
Another breathless laugh escapes Mike’s lips, and he gives Will a disbelieving look. “Why is that so hard to believe?” he asks, his voice full of a fondness that makes Will’s heart skip a beat. “I mean – I know we don’t know each other very well, but honestly… I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since that very first night we met and you helped me get out of that awful date.”
Mike pauses, absently fiddling with the napkin on the table. He’s nervous—holy shit, he’s nervous to be around Will… because he likes Will. He wants to date Will, and he’s wanted to date Will for months now, and—
“Why didn’t you say something?” Will demands. The exasperation in his voice must catch Mike off guard, because he looks back up, a stunned expression on his face. “You – you could’ve asked me out! I would’ve said yes!”
“Wait, seriously?” Mike’s eyes widen. “You would have?”
“Of course, I would have!” Will exclaims. “Mike, every single time you came in here with a different date and ended up sitting at one of my tables, I would think to myself, ‘I wish that was me on a date with him.'”
“Well, why didn’t you say something?” Mike groans.
Warmth spreads to Will’s cheeks. “In my defense, every interaction we’ve had has been in the context of you going on dates with other people.”
“And then ending the night completely miserable because those dates didn’t work out!" Mike reminds. “And then… wait – you set me up on a date with El! Why would you do that if you were interested in me?”
“Well, I – I mean,” Will stammers. Mike raises a brow, and Will groans, burying his head in his hands. “I don’t know. She’s had the worst luck with dating, and so have you, and I just… I didn’t really think I had a chance with you! You never seemed interested in me, so I figured I’d just rip the bandaid off and see if this would help make you two happy.”
For a moment, Mike says nothing. Silence settles over the two of them, and distantly, Will reconsiders every terrible life decision that led him to this moment of strained, uncomfortable silence.
But then, Will feels Mike’s hands curl around his wrist, his touch sending a jolt of electricity through Will’s entire body. Warmth rushes to Will’s cheeks as Mike pulls his hands away from his face and holds them in his own hands instead.
“I think we’ve maybe made this harder for ourselves than it needed to be,” Mike admits sheepishly.
Will manages a smile. “Maybe just a little bit. My best friend always said I’m a bit of an idiot when it comes to relationships.”
“Mine too,” Mike chuckles, and he squeezes Will’s hands gently, that soft smile returning to his face. “What do you say… do you want to go on a date with me, Will?”
Distantly, Will can’t help but hear Max’s voice in the back of his mind — “I told you so, dummy!” — but he pays no attention to it. In fact, all he can think about is how fucking giddy he feels right now. He still can’t believe it.
Mike just asked him out.
Mike wants to go on a date with him.
Holy shit.
“You’re smiling,” Mike points out, his voice full of relief. He’s smiling even wider now, and God, all Will wants to do is pull him into the back of the restaurant and kiss him stupid. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” Will laughs, breathless and excited and giddy all at once. “I thought you’d never ask.”
+ one: will
As far as first dates go, this is the best one that Will has had by far.
He’s fairly certain that Mike shares the same sentiments—though, that’s not much of an indicator for how well their date is going, if Will’s being honest here. Mike Wheeler has had his fair share of shitty first dates, and Will has (unfortunately) been there to witness many of them in person.
On the plus side, if Will doesn’t get a second date, at least he can rest easily knowing that he is far from the worst date Mike has ever had.
It’s not like Mike tried to escape tonight while Will was in the bathroom, like he did with that one girl… and Will hasn’t spent the entire night flirting with their waiter, like Carlton did a few months ago. He certainly hasn’t been a complete asshole to their waiter, like stupid fucking Jaxon, and unlike El, Will did not, in fact, have a mid-date revelation that he is in love with his best friend. So, all things considered, this first date could be a lot worse.
…
All things considered, this first date is easily the best one Will has ever been on, and he doesn’t even want to think about what he’ll do if this turns out to be another dead-end street for the both of them.
It’s just… things with Mike are so easy. Even though this is the first time they’ve really interacted with each other, Will feels like he’s known Mike for his entire life. Conversation flows easily between the two of them, and though they’re different people, so much of their interests overlap that their lives feel like two puzzle pieces slotting together. Mike is kind and funny and intelligent, and he makes Will feel so incredibly seen in a way that no romantic partner has ever been able to do before. It’s terrifying, when Will stops to think about it, because this is their first date, and yet…
And yet, there’s a part of Will that just knows.
“What’re you thinking about?” Mike asks softly.
As he turns away from the water to look at Will again, Will feels his own heart skip a beat. Mike is beautiful here, haloed in the warm light of the street lamp above them. Everything about him takes Will’s breath away—from his sharp cheek bones to the warmth and intensity in his gaze to the shy smile that he keeps giving Will, like he can’t quite believe the two of them are actually here. The freckles on Mike’s cheeks look like little constellations, and it takes everything in Will not to reach out and gently trace his fingers across them, taking in every little detail of Mike’s face until he has it memorized—until he has Mike memorized.
Warmth rushes to Will’s cheeks. He offers Mike a shy smile of his own and squeezes Mike’s hand. “Just about how happy I am right now,” he answers honestly. “I’ve really, really enjoyed this, Mike.”
Relief washes over Mike’s face, and he squeezes Will’s hand back, before intertwining their fingers. “Me too,” he says. “God, Will, I… I don’t even know what to say. This was amazing. You’re amazing.”
“I think we might’ve broken your curse,” Will jokes. “No more bad first dates, huh?”
“No more bad first dates,” Mike chuckles, his cheeks turning a rosy shade of pink.
“We could still have a bad second date,” Will muses, and Mike just laughs again, bumping his shoulder against Will’s own. “That is… if you want to go on a second date?”
A twinkle of amusement forms in Mike’s eyes. “I normally don’t get this far,” he admits. “Our date’s not even over yet, and you’re asking me on a second one?”
“Guess you made a good impression on me,” Will teases softly. The smile on Mike’s face grows, and Will shifts closer, smiling up at him. “You don’t have to say y—”
“Yes,” Mike interrupts. “God, Will, of course, I want to go on a second date with you. And a third date and – and a fourth and fifth, and I – I know this sounds crazy, but I just… I don’t know. Being with you just – it just feels so… so—”
“Right?” Will whispers.
Mike stops, his eyes going wide. Will’s heart pounds inside his chest, a nervous thump thump thump loud enough to be heard over the city traffic behind them. The rational part of his brain is screaming at him and reminding Will just how insane this is—to go on one date with a guy and yet somehow know, deep in the very fabric of who Will is, that this guy is special. A year ago, if someone had told Will he would go on a first date with someone and walk away convinced he could spend his entire life with that guy, he probably would’ve called them crazy.
Maybe he is crazy. Maybe they both are.
“Yeah,” Mike whispers back. He sounds as breathless as Will feels. “Being with you just feels right.”
Warmth rushes to Will’s cheeks. “It does sound a little crazy,” he admits softly, unable to stop himself from smiling, “but… I feel the same way, Mike. I don’t know why, but I just… I have a feeling this is supposed to work out.”
A smile stretches across Mike’s face, and he leans in closer, his lips only a few inches from Will’s face. It’s dizzying to have him this close, and it takes everything within Will not to kiss him, right then and there.
“Well, I guess if we’re both on the same page, then we can just be crazy together,” whispers Mike.
“Crazy together,” Will echoes softly, and the smile on Mike’s face grows.
His gaze flickers to Will’s lips, lingering there for what feels like an eternity, before finally, Mike looks back up and meets Will’s eyes. “Will, can I—”
Will doesn’t give him the chance to finish the sentence.
His lips are on Mike’s barely a breath later, and it takes even less time for Mike to react. He’s quick to arm his arms around Will, greedily pulling him close and kissing him with so much fervor that the butterflies in Will’s stomach flutter come back to life with a newfound vigor. Will tangles his hands through Mike’s dark waves, and Mike folds under his touch, just the way Will hoped he would. They fit together well, Will thinks, and warmth rushes to every part of him as Mike pulls him even closer, hands gripping the back of Will’s dress shirt. Desire floods his heart, just as every last bit of rational thought leaves Will’s mind.
“Mike,” he gasps. “Mike—”
Mike pulls away, just enough for Will to see the dazed look in his eyes and the flush of his cheeks. “Yeah?”
“We should…” Will swallows thickly. “We should go.”
Mike’s eyes widen. For a moment, he looks surprised, but then he breaks into a smile, nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah,” he breathes. “Yeah, we should.”
“My apartment’s a few blocks from here,” Will says, and he pulls Mike to his feet, holding his hand tightly and leading him towards the park’s entrance. “And my roommate, Max, is out of town this weekend.”
“Convenient,” Mike remarks.
Will grins crookedly. “You planned the date,” he reminds.
“And you suggested we go to this park after dinner,” Mike points out, but he’s smiling too. “Was this your plan all along?”
“You caught me red-handed,” Will says dryly. “I needed a way to guarantee I’d get a second date.”
“A guarantee,” Mike echoes. He stops, tugging Will towards him again, and Will laughs, stumbling back into Mike’s arms. “And is that how you get second dates with other guys?”
Will bites his lip coyly. “Maybe,” he teases. “Maybe not.”
Mike groans. “Will.”
“Mike,” Will parrots back in the same tone. Mike makes a face, and Will shakes his head, before standing on his tiptoes and kissing him again—soft and slow this time.
“You’re cute when you’re jealous,” he murmurs.
“I’m not jealous,” Mike protests.
Again, Will just laughs. “I’m just teasing you,” he reassures, pressing another kiss against Mike’s lips. “I’m not into one-night stands. They’re just not for me.”
The expression on Mike’s face softens, and he reaches up, brushing Will’s hair away from his face. “Neither am I,” he admits softly. “So…”
“So, we better make sure this doesn’t end after tonight,” Will whispers. He offers Mike a small smile. “Crazy together, yeah?”
A shy smile tugs at Mike’s lips. “Crazy together,” he murmurs, and then he closes the space between them once more.
(Needless to say, Mike doesn’t go on any more first dates after that night.
And neither does Will.)