Chapter Text
The air is thick with heat and sweat. Music blasting, drowning out the sounds of any worries. Will can feel the alcohol buzzing through his fingertips and his eyelids get heavy. Bodies smashed together and moved in rhythm. Will was never much for clubbing, or drinking, but when he's 3 shots in and Carlton so close to him, breaths mingling, it's hard not to feel good.
Despite it being his first time at this club, and the DJ not playing any songs he likes, Will was loving every second of it. A bottle of beer in hand, Carlton's arms around his waist, holding him so close, not a single person paying them any mind, he felt free. Will leans up for a kiss. Free hand reaching up for Carlton’s neck, fingers wrapping around and curling around his hair. Carlton kisses him back. His lips were salty with sweat and the lingering taste of alcohol on his lips was intoxicating. The moment was almost perfect.
Will can't help but feel somewhere deep in his chest, that something wasn't right. A tug on his heart pulls him out of it, a sensation on the back of his neck like he used to get. A moment longer he pulls away from the kiss, hot and heavy, he feels sticky with sweat. He should've taken his jacket off earlier.
Suddenly, Will felt the urge to look over to his left, into the crowd of people on the dance floor. A magnetic pull forcing his gaze away from his perfect moment. He scans the room in a haze, unsure of what exactly he’s looking for. Then he spots it, or rather, spots him. His eyes lock with the other man when his breath catches in his throat, unsure how to breathe anymore. The buzz of the alcohol wears off instantly and his grip on the bottle loosens, dropping it. Glass shattering all over the floor, music too loud to even be able to hear it. He snaps back to reality, suddenly too aware of his own body. Carlton reacts first, letting go of him and grabbing some napkins on a nearby table. Will still didn't have it in him to tear his gaze away.
“Babe. Babe... Babe!” the words go into his ears but his brain doesn't process. He finally tears his gaze away, facing towards his lover. “I'm so sorry!” He takes the napkins from the other and bends down to clean up the mess. Carlton leans over him, yelling, “No need to apologize! Is everything okay? You seem a little flustered!” Will was barely able to register what the other man was saying, trying hard not to focus on the pulse in his eardrums.
Will slaps the napkins over the pile of broken glass, not thinking. He squishes them down and tries to soak up as much liquid as he can. “I'm fine! I just… got distracted!” Carlton hands him more napkins, still leaning over, “Do you want help?” He asks, concerned. Will shakes his head, taking the napkins from his hands shakily, "I'm okay, I just need more napkins!” Carlton grabs more from the table next to them. Will wasn't thinking clearly. He spreads the napkins around over the pile, pressing down too hard and accidentally cuts himself. A deep gash down the cent of his palm.
Blood drips from his hand, crimson mixing with the beer that hasn't been fully cleaned up yet on the floor. He trembles, standing up and looking for a bathroom. He looks around and notices he's gone. Carlton goes to hand him more napkins when he notices the blood, “Oh god, Will, are you okay?” He goes to reach for his hand, but Will flinches. “I'm fine. I just need to go clean up, can you clean this up the glass for me?” Carlton nods slowly, “Okay, but be right back! The bathroom is on the left!” Will nods and Carlton bends over to pick up the glass.
Will makes his way to the bathroom, holding his hand tightly as he weaves through the crowd of dancing bodies. He makes it to the men's room and surprisingly, he's all by himself. The muffled music can still be heard through the thick brick walls of the building. The bright fluorescent lighting hurts his eye for a moment as he adjusts from the dark club lighting. He breathes a sigh of relief and heads over to the sink, fumbling with the faucet to get the water going. He sticks his wound under the sink, it stings for a moment. His head is pounding as it replays the last 10 minutes of his life.
Was he really there? Was Mike really there? Or was Will just imagining things?
He closes his eyes, suddenly exhausted. He wants to go home. Not his dinky little dorm room with his shitty roommate, but home. He misses his mom, he misses his friends, he misses Mike. Maybe his homesickness made him imagine things in his almost drunk stupor. Or maybe he wasn't drunk enough. He sighs, he hates being drunk.
Suddenly the door to the bathroom creaks open slowly, the sound echoing off of the dingy tile walls. Will’s eyes shoot open, heart racing. He looks over to the door through the mirror, watching to see who comes in.
A familiar, lanky, man with a dark mess of curls walks in. Making eye contact immediately, his heart flutters. Mike looks starstuck, standing with his mouth hanging open like an idiot. Will turns towards him, eyeing him. He looks so different. Skinnier, paler, face more chiseled, and he’s wearing glasses… The frames are almost too big for his face, hiding his delicate bone structure and the soft freckles that dusted his cheeks.
Will must also look like an idiot too because Mike breaks eye contact to look at Will's hand, dripping blood all over the floor. “Will!” He steps forward quickly, reaching out and grabbing his bleeding hand. “Youre still bleeding, you need to put more pressure on the wound!” He reaches for the paper towels next to the sink, fumbling with one hand and wrapping them around Will’s. Mike holds Will’s hand firmly. The water was still running and the sting of the pressure made Will wince, but he couldn't keep his eyes off Mike.
“Mike…” he let out softly. The other man finally makes eye contact again, his face softens, “Will…”
“What are you doing here?” Will asks, he could see Mike do mental laps for a moment before speaking, “I-I'm here to see you.”
Will laughs a little, “Okay, but why are you here? At the club? And why didn't you call to let me know you were visiting? I would've made time for you.” Mike's breathing visibly speeds up, “I wanted to uh, surprise you. I asked and Jonathan told me you were going to be here tonight.” Will shakes his head. He's going to have to have a talk with his brother later.
“Okay.. but still, you could've told me… It's about to be the end of winter break.” Mike shrugs, trying to be casual despite his heart beating out of his ribcage. “I got the earliest flight and it got here earlier than expected and uh… I was hoping I could crash with you…?” Will furrows his brows, “Did you not get a hotel before coming here?” Mike feels bashful. Leave it to Will to hit him with logic when his brain clearly doesn't possess that skill.
“No, like you said, it's winter break, all the hotels were full… and I also might've spent all my money on the plane tickets.” Will’s eyes widened, “Mike.” The taller man is still looking down at their hands. “Mike, look at me.” Will says with a more serious edge to his voice. Reluctantly, Mike meets Will's gaze again.
“You can't just show up here unannounced, and ask to stay with me. You know I live in a dorm? With a roommate? And the campus has a no visitor rule after hours.” Will can feel himself raising his voice a little, Mike curls in on himself a little. “I did not know that.” He lets out quietly.
Will sighs, putting his other hand on top of Mike’s. “Look. I'm not mad, I'm just worried. You have to think these things through.” Will rubs Mike's hand with his thumb in small circles and Mike could feel the warmth burning his skin in the best way.
“Luckily we can crash at Jonathan’s, but what would you have done if, let's say, I wasn't available? Or your flight home got cancelled due to weather?” Mike looks down again, defeated. “I don't know… Beg you to let me stay with you?” Will laughs again, light and airy, tone shifting, “Yeah, I guess I couldn't say no to you.” Mike smiles wide and awkward, watching as Will matches his own expression, loving his little bunny teeth that poke out from the curve of his lips.
Suddenly, another man walks in, the sound of the heavy metal door creaking snapping Will out of the moment. Will looks over, another tall mess of curls makes direct eye contact with him. “Will!” Carlton rushes over, “you were taking so long, are you still okay?” Carlton goes to reach out before he looks over at Mike, then down at their hands holding each other. He gives Mike an inconspicuous once over before looking at Will.
“Who’s this?” He meets Will's eyes again. Will's ears go pink, “Oh this is Mike! My friend I always talk to you about.” Mike glares daggers at the other man, “Best friend. I'm Will's best friend.” You can tell Carlton holds something back and Will swallows thickly, watching as the two men interact with one another.
“Oh right… Nice to meet you. I'm Carlton,” he held out a hand to shake. Mike looks down at the other man's hand with an eyebrow raised slightly before he gestures to his and Will's intertwined hands. “Sorry, I can't. I'm putting pressure on his cut. Being helpful you know. Instead of standing and watching my friend pick up broken glass off the floor and cut himself…”
Carlton furrows his brows and almost scoffs, “He's not my friend, he's my Boyfriend. And he asked me not to help him.” Mike actually scoffs, “right.. and he didn't ask me either, but I did it anyways.” Will takes his free hand off of Mike’s and shoots him a glare. Feeling the heat rush up the back of his neck up to his cheeks with embarrassment he places his free hand on Carlton’s shoulder, "Hey, we’re going to crash at Jonathan’s tonight, so you don't have to worry about taking me to my dorm in the morning.” Carlton looks back at Will, “So you're not staying with me tonight?” he pouts. Mike rolls his eyes before Will sighs again. “No, Mike needs a place to stay, and we're going to hang out this weekend.” Carlton looks stunned, “What about our plans?” Will worries at his lip before replying, “We’ve had two weeks together, we can sacrifice two days.” Mike butts in, “Actually, I'm staying until New Years day.” Will looks over at him, “oh.” Is all he can say.
Carlton pinches the space between his thick eyebrows between his fore fingers, “You didn't know how long he was staying for? Did you even know he was coming?” Carlton asks, Will shakes his head, “No. He surprised me. Which is totally fine!” He looks over at Mike, “I don't mind at all. I'm happy he's here.” Mike smiles tentatively. Carlton sighs, taking his hand away from his face so he can make eye contact with Will again. He wraps his arms around himself and speaks again, “We still have plans. Why can't he just hang out with your brother?”
Will shakes his head, "I'm really sorry, you're right, but we have all year with each other. I don't get to see him as often, if ever. We can always plan something else. I can always make it up to you.” Will gives him a pleading look, and Carlton sighs and nods his head hesitantly, “Okay... But you still owe me a new year's kiss!” Will smiles and nods, "wouldn't miss it for the world.” Mike felt his stomach twist and he almost doubled over. Eugh…
“Is it alright if we head out now? I'm not feeling up to drinking anymore and Mike’s had a long flight, I’m sure he’s tired.” Carlton frowned, but nodded, “Okay, while you two finish cleaning up, I'll go warm up the car, I don't want you taking a cab to your brothers.” He leans over and places a kiss on Will’s cheek. Will goes pink and Mike looks at Carlton like he wants to explode him with his mind. Carlton shoots Mike a smug look before heading out.
Mike lets go of Will’s hand and rinses off the blood on his own hands before finally turning off the faucet. “Boyfriend, huh?” Will grabs his own hand again, applying firm pressure, “Yeah… We've been dating for a while now.” Mike nods in understanding, “He seems… Charming. To say the least. Why didn't you ever tell me?” Will shakes his head, “I always meant to, when we talked over the phone, but the timing never felt right.” He reaches over and grabs a few more paper towels to wrap around his hand.
“Does anyone else know?” They make eye contact through the mirror. Will looks away shyly, looking down at the checkered linoleum floors like it's the most interesting thing he's ever seen, “just my mom and my brother… I'm sure Hopper knows too.” Mike nods again and frowns a little.
“So like what, were you never going to tell me?” He asks, sounding accusatory. Mike could feel the hurt rise up his throat, suffocating his words. Will shakes his head again adamantly, “Of course I was going to! Like I said, I was waiting for the right time, Mike. It's not something I can just say casually… It's hard for me.” Will could feel that ugly anger blooming in his chest, “Why does it matter anyway? I'm happy, is that not what you want? Aren't you happy for me?”
Mike could tell Will was getting upset, he took a deep breath and leaned over the sink to steady himself for a moment. He turns towards Will, softening his voice, “of course I'm happy for you. It just hurts. Feels like you don't trust me enough to tell me these things. We're best friends, remember?” There was a sadness to Mike’s eyes that Will couldn't place. “Mike, I'm sorry. You're really important to me, I won't do it again.” Will searching Mike's eyes apologetically. Mike just nods, “let’s just go.” Will frowns, wanting to say more, but the words shrivel up and die in his throat. Quietly, he motions for Mike to follow him and leads the way out of the busy club.
The flashing lights and blaring music make it hard to make out where Mike was going, he felt completely disoriented and lost. He reaches out and grabs onto Will's sleeve, gripping the fabric like his life depended on it. Will didn't even flinch, just slowed slightly and cleared a better path for them to walk through.
Will pushed the heavy doors open in one quick motion, making sure Mike was still behind. The doors shut loudly behind them, the music being muffled instantly. Once outside the frigid air stings at their lungs and the quiet fills their ears. Mike shivers a little and looks over at Will. Will tilts his head to show which direction they need to go. Mike lets go of Will's sleeve and follows behind, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets.
They get to the car and climb in. “Hey.” Carlton smiles at Will. “Hey.” Will smiles back. The car was warm and Will could feel the blood rush back into his hands and feet as he warms up. Mike looks out the window and fidgets with the hems of his sleeves.
The drive was quiet, and awkward, music barely above a whisper. Carlton held Will’s good hand the whole way there. Will’s mind was racing, unsure of what to make of the situation. You survived the apocalypse, you can survive your best friend hating your boyfriend. He sighed to himself, leaning further back into his seat. He closes his eyes, the quiet hum of the motor calming his nerves ever so slightly.
Mike watches all the streetlamps pass by, stealing quick glances at Will through the side mirrors of the car.
-
They got to Jonathan’s place, finally. Mike was the first to step out, not saying a word. Will looked over at Carlton, “Thank you for the ride.” Carlton took Will's hand and kissed it, “Of course. I wanted to make sure you got here safe.” Will smiled warmly. “My savior.” They kissed goodbye before Will got out of the car. Mike finally slammed his door shut, jaw clenched. Will tilted his head, “everything okay?” Mike shook his head, “you used to say that about me.” he whispered. “What?” Will looked confused. “Nothing, let's just go.” Will frowned before leading the way.
They got to Jonathan’s studio apartment without saying a word, the awkward tension was so heavy, Will felt suffocated. He knocked on the door and waited. After a couple of moments his brother opened the door. He blinked hazily before recognizing who was at his door, “Will!! Mike!!” He pulled them both in for a hug. “I missed you guys! Come in!” He lets them go so they can step in.
The apartment was a little bare, to say the least. He had a bed, just the mattress, neatly made in the corner, some Christmas lights strung up along the wall corner to corner, a desk next to the bed, with a little lamp that flickered and lack of a chair to sit at said desk. He also had photo equipment and photos scattered across the room. “Sorry it’s a bit of a mess, I wasn't expecting you guys.” Will and Mike both shrugged, "Don't even worry about it.” Will said, smiling. Mike was still a little gloomy, but was in better spirits. “What can I do for you guys? Came by to say hi?” Will cleared his throat, “Yeah, uh actually was hoping we could crash here for tonight? Or for uh, the next couple of nights?” Jonathan's eyes widened, “Uh Yeah… Yeah of course! I'm- Uh, I just don't have a lot of- I don't have anything for you guys to sleep on.”
Mike was the first to break the silence by laughing, “Sorry, sorry, you don't really have a lot of anything at all really.” Will laughed next, followed by the older Byers brother, “It's hard living on a film maker's salary okay, you guys should try it!” Jonathan said through laughs as he walked over to a linen closet and pulled a couple of blankets out for them. “Sorry again, luckily I keep a couple of extra blankets, but I don't have any pillows.” Will shrugs, “It's okay, it's like sleeping in our backyard when we were kids.” Jonathan and Mike smiled fondly. “Yeah, but with a lot less leaves.” Mike adds.
They make their way to the living area to set up. Jonathan starts to clean up to make space, Will and Mike start to help too. As they clean, Jonathan notices the blood stained towels wrapped around Will's hand. “Hey what happened to your hand?” Jonathan asks and Will gasps, “Oh shit, I forgot, do you have any bandages?” Jonathan nods, “I have a first aid kit in the bathroom, under the sink. Use what you need.” Will gets up and Jonathan gives Mike a look, "It's a long story.” Mike says, picking up the last photos. “Oh okay. I’ll wait till he’s ready,” Jonathan says. Mike nods, “Sorry for crashing at your place. It wasn't part of my plan.” Jonathan just smiles at him, “Hey. We're like family, it's no big deal.” Mike smiles back before standing up with the last few photos in his hand, passing it to Jonathan, "I'm gonna go help him.”
Mike makes his way to the bathroom, he could hear Will shuffling around, “Hey it’s me. Do you want help?” He hears a thud, then an, “ow,” then watches the door creak open. “Yeah, come in.” Mike makes his way in, “Want the door closed again?” Will nods. Mike shuts it behind him before looking at Will and he wasn't looking good. He had unwrapped the bathroom towels from his cut and saw how deep it was. Luckily there wasn't much blood any more, but you could see a bit of the muscle. Will started to feel dizzy looking at it.
Mike reached over to grab ahold of his shoulders. “You okay? I can wrap it, I know you don't do well with this stuff.” Will nodded slowly, leaning into Mike’s touch, letting it ground him. Mike nodded, letting go of Will to grab the bandages from the first aid kit. “Sit on the toilet, you look like you're gonna fall over.” Will did as told, watching Mike intently. Mike bent down onto one knee, reaching out for Will’s hand. Will flinched for a second before letting Mike take it. “Sorry, I'll be gentle.” Will nodded. He thought about how he flinched when Carlton reached for his hand at the club. How he let Mike take it in the bathroom without a second thought.
Mike poured hydrogen peroxide on the wound, watching it bubble. Will inhales sharply, the sting hurting worse than when he cut it. “Sorry.” Mike whispers. Gently, Mike wipes the peroxide away and puts gauze on Will's palm before wrapping it with medical tape. Mike was so close and so gentle with him. Will took a moment to study Mike up close, he wanted to count each freckle on his face until he had them memorized again, and the glasses... He was still getting used to seeing Mike with them on. Mike's usual mess of curls we neatly brushed to the side and Will just wanted to reach out and ruffle them up again.
Will gripped the edge of the toilet seat, feeling his heart rate spike. “There. All done.” Mike smiled, meeting Will's gaze. Will smiles back small and unsure. The silence was comfortable for a moment, Will enjoying Mike's presence again, then Will remembered how awkward the car ride was.
“Do you.. not like my boyfriend?” Will asked, words spilling out before he could stop them. Mike thought for a moment, still holding Will’s hand, “I… I don't know. I can see he makes you happy. Which makes me happy... I'm happy for you, I really am. I just…” Mike looks away, sort of shy. “I guess I just miss when I would make you happy like that.” Will's heart stuttered as a surge of emotions came flooding back to him. Love, hurt, regret, anger. He thought he was over this.
“Mike.”
Mike looks back at Will, noticing an unreadable expression, and he backtracks, “You know I'm- I'm not good with words. I meant like, yes, of course your boyfriend makes you happy. Carlton makes you happy. I just mean I miss when it was just us- and- and Dustin and Lucas. When we were the source of your happiness. We’ve been through so much together and it hurts to see everyone move on without me I guess.” Will felt his anger subside, his soft heart bleeds easily. He wrapped his hand around Mike’s, who was still holding him. “You ,do, still make me happy. It might not be the same as before, like when we were kids, and we might live far away now, but.. but you're still my person. I'm sorry for not telling you about Carlton sooner. I just was scared I guess.”
Mike tilts his head, puzzled, squeezing Will's hand gently, careful not to hurt him. “Scared of what? You know I'll always be here for you to talk to. I've never been any good at talking, but I can listen. I really want to be a part of your life. Crazy together, remember?” Will felt the tears swell in his eyes. “I guess I was still scared you didn't accept me. Deep down I felt like everyone still didn't accept me, but you've only ever shown me support. I don’t know why my brain works the way it does. Vecna always put the thought in my head that everyone would leave me and it's hard to shake that feeling away after believing it for so long, but you're right. I shouldn't be scared to talk to you anymore. Crazy together. Always.” He felt the tears fall and Mike reached up to wipe the tears away before grabbing his other hand. He could see Mike tearing up as well and it made him want to cry more.
They sat in the bathroom awhile, in comfortable silence while holding each other's hands before hearing a tentative knock on the door. “You guys okay in there? It's been awhile…” Will looks up from staring at their hands then at Mike and smiles a little, “Yeah! We’ll be out in a minute!” Will says, Mike sniffled. Then they both looked at each other again and laughed, and it felt like they were 12 again.
Mike gets up first, wiping his face before reaching a hand out to Will to help him up. Will takes it, and Mike pulls him up before reaching and wiping Will's face too. Will's heart smiles, swelling. “Sorry… You don't want you to get your bandage wet…” Will just nods, “yeah, totally.” They put the first aid kit away and step out of the bathroom. Will goes first then Mike. Mike smiles to himself, finally feeling like he's getting his best friend back.
Jonathan is sitting on his mattress looking through his photos. “Oh hey. I wanted to ask, do you guys want to go to breakfast in the morning? I know a good spot around here.” Will looks and sees Jonathan had set up the blankets for them on the floor, right next to each other. Mike notices too before nodding in agreement.
“Yeah, sounds cool.”
“Yeah, sounds good to me.”
They both say in unison. Jonathan smiles. “Cool, so you don't mind if I wake you up in the morning?” They nod their heads again and sit down on their makeshift beds. Jonathan smiles again, “Cool.”
They both kick off their shoes and set them down by the front door. Mike takes off his jacket and crumples it up to make a pillow and watches as Will does the same. Will catches Mike staring and Mike takes off his glasses to lay down and look away. Will lays down as well, body facing toward Mike. Jonathan turns off the lamp on his desk and the Christmas lights on the walls, “Goodnight guys.” They both keep eye contact before the lights shut off. “Night.” They both say. Will closes his eyes, and after a while Mike whispers, “It really is just like a sleepover.” Will smiles in the dark, “Good night, Mike.”
“Night, Will.”
...
Mike wakes first, too cold, he’s shivering. He gets up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He tries to look at the watch on his wrist, but it's too dark to see and he doesn't have his glasses on. The singular window in Jonathan's apartment was covered with a curtain, but there was no light streaming in through the edges of the fabric. Must still be dark out. He shifts slightly, staring at nothing until his eyes adjust to the dark. He looked over at Will, who was curled up, shivering too. Mike sighs, putting on his glasses and getting up to head to the bathroom. Will stirs and Mike looks over again.
“What time is it? Where are you going?” Will asks, half asleep still. “I'm gonna use the bathroom.” Will sits up too, "It's freezing,” he whispers. Mike nods even though Will can’t see him.
“Yeah, I might put my jacket back on and have no pillow.” Will wraps the blanket around himself. “Me too, now hurry up I need to pee.” Mike laughs quietly and heads to the bathroom. When he gets back Will gets up to use the restroom too. Mike sits back down and waits in the dark, reaching out for his jacket. When he checked his watch in the bathroom light it was only 3 am. He swore they slept for longer. He shivers again and wraps his jacket then his blanket around himself. Mike hears the bathroom door creak open and the light switch off. Then the sound of the floorboards creaking as Will makes his way back over.
Will sits down with a small thud and Mike looks over. “What do you want to do tomorrow, after breakfast?” Will puts his jacket on too, “I’m not sure. I’ve lived here for a while, but I actually don’t go out very much, only when Carlton takes me.” Mike hums, "Maybe you can show me around your campus? It’d be cool to see how you’re spending your days.” Will nods, “Okay yeah, that could be nice. I need to grab some clothes anyways.” Mike scooches closer to Will. Will leans in closer to Mike.
“By the way, do you not have any like, luggage or anything? Did you even bring clothes?” Mike tugs at his sleeves sheepishly, “Oh right, yeah. Uh- My backpack got lost in the airport.” Will looks over at Mike, he’s able to make out his silhouette in the darkness, “Oh shit. Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
“Well we were kind of busy and I forgot as soon as I saw you at the club.”
“Oh.”
...
Mike walked in, music too loud to think. So many bodies were clashing against each other and it was so hot. Buzzing from the anxiety and excitement he had on the taxi ride here. He stepped over to a less crowded area to look for Will, standing up on a stool to get a good vantage point. He scans the crowd, hoping he wasn’t a total idiot coming here for nothing if Will wasn’t even here. Then he spots him, grabbing a beer at the bar. He smiles like an idiot, seeing how much taller Will has gotten. He jumps down and pushes his way through the crowd, trying to make his way to his best friend.
Will. Who he missed so dearly. Will, who he was so ready to just fall into his arms and talk like nothing else mattered. Will, who he was going to finally confess to.
He makes his way to a small clearing in the crowd, a good view of Will. Courage bubbles up in his chest before fizzling away just as fast when he spots Will, leaning over a table with his arms wrapped around another guy. Kissing another guy. His heart lurches.
He was so stupid.
Suddenly, Will looks around slowly. Scanning the crowd with an unreadable expression, eventually locking eyes with Mike. His head spins, suddenly he feels like the world is going to end again. He watched as Will dropped his drink on the ground. He watches as Will scrambles to clean it up, the other man, the man he was just kissing, just handing him napkins. He makes his way out of sight of Will before watching Will cut his hand on the glass. Worried, he follows Will to the bathroom and made his way in, not thinking ahead of how he's going to start this conversation. As he slowly walks in, his gaze locks with Will’s instantly through the mirror. The world seemed to stop. Will turns to look at him and they keep eye contact from the mirror to face to face.
Will Byers, in the flesh, standing six feet away, looking so good. Hair parted, drunk flush on his cheeks, dangly earring on his left lobe, and his body more fit and filled out. Mike’s heart skips a beat, taking all of him in before he notices the blood dripping onto the floor.
...
Mike snaps out of the memory from not too long ago and grimaces. He doesn't want to remember all his woes at the moment.
“Yeah, I got there and then everything just happened.” Will hummed in contemplation. “I'm sorry that happened, you can just borrow some of mine, I'm sure ill have something that fits you. And I'm sure Jonathan has a washer and dryer you can use.”
“Thank you.” is all Mike can say, his brain going a thousand miles a second.
Silence stretches for what feels like an eternity in the dark. Eventually Will lays back down, curling up, “I don’t know if I can fall asleep again, it's so cold.” Mike hums in agreement. “Yeah dude, how does Jonathan do this every night.” Will shrugs to himself, “I worry about him.” Mike laughs softly as he sets his glasses back down and lays down too, rubbing his cold hands together. They lie facing each other again.
“Hey.” Mike says.
“Hey.” Will replies.
“Do you wanna share a blanket? It’ll be warmer.” Mike can feel the blush on his face before the words even come out. Thank god it was dark in there.
Will laughs lightly, “We’re not 12 anymore.” Mike felt a punch to the gut and frowns.
“So what? We're not gonna live past twenty two if we don't warm up. We’re gonna to be icicles by the time we have to leave in the morning.” Will shrugs to himself again.
”Well, are you gonna come over here or not?”
Mike beams as he gets closer, laying next to Will, and throwing his blanket over both of them. Will does the same and they get settled under the blankets, warmth almost settling into their bones.
“Hey, Will?’ Mike asked, whispering even quieter than before. “Yeah, Mike?” Will says softly. “I’m glad I'm here.” Will smiles into the dark, bumping his hand against Mike’s under the blanket, “Me too.”