Chapter Text
Mike kept his head down as he made his way to the cabin. He had already spent the day avoiding his friends, he even slept through school to avoid their stares. He knew the second Lucas or Dustin spotted him, the jig was up. Still, he couldn’t just sit still.
He’d been banned from going on crawls after he ‘ran off with no plan’ and ‘almost got himself killed’, but that couldn’t stop him from coming. He knew Will was out there, alone and afraid, and nobody else seemed to care. Of course, they did care, Mike knew that. They had just given up hope. That’s why Mike needed to keep going. Joyce wasn’t going to be able to save him alone.
So Mike made his journey, traveling through the forest, taking abnormal twists and turns. Eyes down, he kept himself from stepping on any branches, or crinkling any leaves.
Sadly, stealth was not on Mike’s side. He’d always been tall and awkward, and that does no favors. Also, with all of his attention on the ground, none was left for his surroundings.
“Mike, over here!” Lucas called out, waving at him, while Dustin put his hand up in a small wave. Busted. Dejectedly, he made his way over to the party.
Mike loved his friends with all his heart, he really did. But sometimes, they just couldn’t understand him. In their minds, Will was dead and gone a long time ago. They knew that the body in the quarry wasn’t his, but emotionally that’s exactly what he was. A boy who was their friend for a bit, gone too soon. A motivation to stop this from happening ever again.
But Mike knew better than that. He had always suspected Will was still alive. El knew he was alive when Hopper and Mrs. Byers went to the upside-down. Even if he was attacked in that short period of time, he wouldn’t have died. Will was strong, in a quiet way; he wouldn’t have let himself die just like that.
Sadly, after saying this for years after his disappearance, got Mike stares of pity. So he had to keep that thought deep inside. Only revealed to Mrs. Byers on the 2nd anniversary of his disappearance. Even then, he was met with a forceful talking to from Nancy about how badly this was hurting Mrs. Byers.
They would never in a million years let him in the crawl, but maybe they could give him an opportunity. Mike opened his mouth, not quite pleading, but getting dangerously close, “Please hide me. Guys, if you help me in there, I will owe you one million times over!”
Dustin’s expression had been hardened into a resting frown after Eddie was gone. That’s what happened to a person after they had lost another important person. Still, his face shifted to a weak smile, “Hopper’s not gonna kill you.”
“He’ll be pretty close.”
Lucas laughed at that, “Just come on! I’ll distract, Dustin, you bring him to El’s room.”
Lucas walked in the front door, and Dustin rolled his eyes and led Mike to the window. Why were they so chill about this? Mike had no clue, but questioning it might threaten their help. Dustin knocked on the window three times and it slid open. Climbing into a window was a lot more awkward than it looked, despite how easy Dustin made it look.
Crap, his left foot was still hooked on the windowsill, and Mike felt his face get closer to the floor. His eyes slammed shut. Just before floor met face, his body felt far lighter than before. He felt himself float. Shit, this was worse than the black eye the floor threatened.
Mike opened his eyes, and felt himself rise, then he was lightly set down on his two feet. El. El was nice and all, he was glad she was no longer in the lab, but they weren’t too close. When he was younger, and dumber, he’d taken out a lot of his anger on her. Logically, this was not El’s fault, but that couldn’t stop his deep feeling of resentment toward her.
So, as Mike was returned to his feet, he let out a little “thanks”. Really nothing more than a sigh. It would be pathetic from anyone else, but this was a big step for Mike.
Dustin rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, while El seemed mildly concerned. Mike still couldn’t meet her eyes. He never could when she was wearing the Byer’s hand-me-downs.
“You are acting…” she squinted her eyes, “different.”
Mike looked up and shrugged, the gig was up anyways, “Maybe I’m just a little pissed off no one seems to care about him other than me.”
Both El and Dustin looked caught off guard at that. Dustin, the smartest person Mike knew, seemed entirely baffled, while El’s expression of concern changed to one of frustration. Her fists clenched, “You do not care more than I do. I have not rested because there is a chance he is out there. You know this.”
“Then why won’t you let me help! I’m not this useless, pitiful person you need to take care of!”
Dustin leaned forward and put his hands out, “Nobody thinks that about you Mike. How about we all just calm-”
“You can’t help. I need to be alone and deal with this on my own. That is the only way I can find him.” El’s words were harsh and emotional, but it was clear she was trying her best to not yell. A controlled anger.
“Bullshit! If that was true, you would have found him a long time ago.”
Mike took a step closer, his eyes starting to tear up, the way they always did when he was brought up, “Please El, I’m just asking to help with one. Then I won’t bother you ever again.”
Clearly their shouting had brought the attention of everyone else. God damn it, even if Mike could convince El, there was no shot in the upside-down he could convince Nancy and Hopper. The door swung open.
Lucas walked in, “Jesus, what is it now?” He rolled his eyes, “Mike can you just hurry up and apologize so we can all get on with our days?”
But Mike’s attention wasn’t on Lucas, it was on the strange teen behind him. He looked to be the same age as the party, and stood a couple of inches shorter than Mike. Despite that he looked better built than him. Not in a buff way, just a broad shoulder way. His hair was a familiar brown, styled in a layered bowlcut, and his face sported the same moles. What really sealed the deal were his eyes. A shade of hazel he’d feared he’d never see again.
Mike had spent years wondering what Will would look like after so long, but none of his visions could hold a candle to the real thing. His nightmares showed a malnourished boy, a couple of inches shorter than this one, with countless scars Mike would never have the honor of learning. Still, in his heart and soul Mike understood but one thing. This was Will Byers.
Mike frozen in place could only stare as he spoke, “Are you guys okay we could hear-”
Will’s eyes locked on Mike’s as the world froze. Will’s expression scrunched up, the same way it had all the times they’d seen a sad movie or lost someone important in a campaign. His voice was low, and full of worry, “Mike…”
Mike couldn’t tell his legs were moving until he was already across the room. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms around Will and tucked his head down resting it next to Will’s. The tears in his eyes fell, collapsing into a sob.
Mike’s voice didn’t seem to work, so all he let out was a wobbly, “Will…”
Will’s face flickered with confusion, but easily he melted into the embrace, wrapping his arms around Mike, trying his best to hold him. His left hand brushed against his back, rubbing in comforting circles, while his right curled up into Mike’s hair.
The second the first tear hit Will’s shoulder, he left his confusion behind. Converting it all to comfort, “Shhh… shhh… You’re alright… You’re okay… We’re all okay…”
Allowing himself a moment of peace after what felt like a lifetime without him, Mike let himself fall apart. Only one conscious thought remained. Will.
—
Today has not been a great day for Mike. He slept through his alarm, “The Morning Squawk”, and half the day. His house had been out of the good cereal, and Will had left for school without him. He couldn’t even spend the rest of his day relaxing in his room, he could hear his mom’s footsteps walking across the home. So instead he spent his day making as little noise as possible, hoping she wouldn’t notice he was home.
By the time his mom was distracted enough for him to sneak off, school had already been let out for a couple of hours. To top that off, no one was answering their walkies.
There could only be one reason for that, everyone else was already together. Great. The one day he oversleeps there’s also a crawl! A crawl he was about to be late for.
Mike made his way through the forest, trying his best not to set off any traps. He could only imagine the look on Hopper’s face if he was not only late for the crawl, but he had to come save him. He’d never been on great terms with the man, not since he and El started dating, but post-breakup he was worse than ever. Apparently, the only thing he could do worse than dating El, was not dating her.
Mike could understand his apprehension if he had broken her heart, but he clearly hadn’t. El was the one to break up with him, and it was a pretty mutual thing. At least if you ask Dustin or Lucas. El was the only one allowed to know how he cried and begged to be given a second chance, as soon as he found out this was a forever thing and not just a break. Apparently she ‘didn’t love him like that anymore’, and she ‘wasn’t sure he ever did’. And ‘they would be better off as friends’. He agreed with that last point. Still, it’s not like he was jumping for joy about it. Like Lucas had said all those years ago, El was the only girl who doesn't think he’s gross. Sometimes he worried about never having another girlfriend ever again.
Mike opened the cabin door and snuck in, trying his best not to interrupt the meeting, but utterly failing. He felt 11 sets of eyes staring right at him. Great.
“Sorry I’m late, I overslept.”
Hopper audibly groaned, “Damn it Wheeler. What are you doing here?”
“I’m just a little late. Lucas will fill me in.”
“Seriously? Mike…” Hopper’s voice drifted off.
Jesus, he was a couple of minutes late, to one meeting out of the 20 something crawls they’d done. And here he was acting like he hadn’t been to one. He looked around the room, giving Lucas and Dustin an ‘is this guy serious’ look, but he couldn’t find Will.
Hopper, getting more frustrated by the second, put his head in his hands, “Can one of you guys just bring him home?”
“What? You're kicking me out? Over this? You're literally just doing this because of the breakup.”
Robin had her way over to him, and put a hand on his shoulder, clearly trying to lead Mike out of the cabin, “Come on little Wheeler, you know why.”
“Bullshit! I’m not even the only late one. Will’s still not here. You wouldn’t treat him like this!”
As soon as Will’s name left his lips, the room became darker, gloomier. Neither Mrs. Byers, nor Jonathon could meet his eyes.
He didn’t resist Robin pulling him out, but he still needed to get the last word in. Mike turned back to the extended party, “Well, me and Will are gonna go find Vecna on our own.”
The room froze. Weird. Mike hadn’t actually planned on him and Will going out and finding Vecna on their own. That was a suicide mission. He was just petty; everyone had to know that, right?
Mrs. Byers was the first to unfreeze. She walked up to Mike and put a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Honey, Will wouldn’t want you to go off and get killed for him.”
“We’re going to make Vecna pay,” she said Vecna’s name with such poison. Mike had never heard her say anything with that level of malice. He didn’t even know she was capable of it. “But if you’re putting yourself in unnecessary danger, you’re doing exactly what he wants.”
“You’re acting like Will’s gone.”
With that comment, Mike felt the room’s looks of pity. But Mrs. Byers didn’t look with pity, she had a look of determination, “I know he’s not. So long as there is a chance that my boy’s still out there, we’re not going to stop. We will to find him.”
Then it changed to a look of concern, “It’s going to be a lot easier to find him, if we’re not worried about your safety.”
“Find him?”
Mrs. Byers pulled him in for a hug and whispered quietly enough the rest of the room couldn’t hear, “I believe you. If you saw my boy, you saw him. He’s still alive, and I’m going to bring him home. Please don’t let me tell him his best friend died, while he was gone.”
A look of confusion and concern crossed his face, “Is he missing? When was the last time anyone saw him?”
Now everyone was confused.
“Is he back in the upside-down?”
The room was quiet. Shit.
“El, did you figure out where he is? We have to send in a team to get him.”
Will, despite the crazy amount of help he put in, had never been on one of the crawls. His true sight was an insane advantage, and while El knew the most about Henry, Will was the only one to understand the upside-down. They would have been done with crawls months ago, if he had gone in.
Mrs. Byers had been the one to stop him, she didn’t want him ever going back to that hellhole. Will had respected that decision, even if he wanted to help. Mike had thought Will could make his own decisions, but if he had somehow gotten stuck in the upside-down again, she was clearly right.
Pulling him from his planning spiral, Nancy put a hand on his shoulder, “Mike, Will’s been missing since 1983.” Her tone was serious, strict, leaving no room for argument, but not cruel.
“No, we found him.”
Mike stated it like it was obvious, how could Nancy have forgotten, “Hopper and Mrs. Byers went to the upside-down and found him. They brought him home.”
Nancy flinched, “No, they didn’t. He spent too much time in the upside-down. The demogorgon got him before they got there.”
“Mike, you’ve seen his bloody vest.”
He pushed away from her, and the rest of the party. No, they found Will. They brought him home, and he got his best friend back. This couldn’t be real
Suddenly, realization hit him. A fake reality, where he had let his best friend die. This couldn’t be real. Because it wasn’t real.
Mike crossed his arms, and scowled at the ‘extended party’. “You can come out now Vecna, I know this isn’t real.”
He really didn’t want Vecna to come out, but he would be better than this creepy vision of a world without Will. Also if he was the one doing the talking, his friends would think he was awesome when they saved him. Maybe that would shake off the awkward questions that would arise when they found out Will being gone is his greatest fear.
‘Nancy’ shook his shoulders again, “Mike did you see him again? Have you been having nightmares? Nosebleeds? Shit!”
‘El’ stepped forward resting her hand on his shoulder, and he felt a familiar hand brush against his mind. It ghosted over his brain, before landing somewhere between his deepest thoughts and daydreams.
Thank God, this wasn’t the real El. He really did not want her, or anyone, looking at those.
—
After somewhere between a few fleeting seconds and not enough time, Mike felt his head pull back. Somewhere in the midst of their reunion the rest of the extended party had made their way to El’s room or the hallway adjacent. Their expressions ranged from Lucas’s amused smirk to Hopper’s concerned glance. But Mike didn’t care for them, as far as he was concerned he and Will were the only two surviving creatures.
As Mike’s head leaned back, his hands, ghosting over Will as they traveled to cup his face. With his right he covered Will’s mole and caressed it, staring deep into Will’s eyes.
“Will, are you okay? Are you safe? How are you here?”
Will’s face carried an expression somewhere between confusion and worry. His voice still had the same cadence, “Me? I’m fine. Are you okay?”
Then something close to recognition flickered on his face. His hands made their way up to Mike’s shoulders, holding him up. After a breath, clearly planning out his next words, Will said, “Was it him?”
His voice turned softer, as if he was scared that if the world could hear it would make his question a possibility, “Was it Vecna?”
Tears still pouring down his cheeks, Mike knew there was only one answer, “I don’t care.”
And he was right. Even if this was some messed up Vecna vision, and he was just waiting to pop up, Mike couldn’t find himself giving a shit. A wide grin encased his face, “You’re here.”
Mike pushed their foreheads together, “You’re here. You’re really here.”
With the whole apocalypse and Vecna, and Will’s return to the real world, Mike knew he couldn’t stay like this forever. He’d have to let go eventually. Still, with the time he had, he planned to spend it wisely. He gazed over every inch of his face, trying his best to memorize the new moles and grown features.
Once enough time had passed that Mike was confident that he would still see Will Byers if he dared to close his eyes, Mike pulled away. Thankfully, Will left his arm locked on his, so Mike could hold it guilt-free. He was terrified the second he pulled away, Will would be pulled right back to the upside-down.
Now their hands sat, their fingers intertwined, Mike leaned into Will’s ear, “I never lost hope.” Then Mike pulled away and sat down on the couch, pulling Will next to him. Mike squeezed his hand, “What happened?”
Then Mike turned his attention toward the rest of the group, “Was it on the last crawl?”
Hopper seemed like he was thinking, really wracking his brain, “No. There wasn’t any sign of him.”
Nancy looked concerned, but she put on her brave detective persona, “Mike, have you seen any clocks? Had any nightmares? Nosebleeds?”
Mike turned his head as if he was thinking hard. Hmmm. Could this all be some Vecna vision? He shook his head, “No, if this was one of his visions, he would have popped out by now.”
Mike squeezed Will’s hand reassuringly, “If Will wasn’t real, then Vecna would have said something manipulative and fucked up by now. He can’t resist that.”
Nancy looked bewildered, while Will stilled, “Were you worried about me being a spy again?”
Uh oh! He had just gotten Will back and somehow he had already reminded him of some awful thing from the past couple years. Mike squeezed his hand, and covered it with his other hand. His voice turned soft, the same way he had vague memories of speaking to Will in, “No, of course not. This just all seems…” Mike gestured to Will, now addressing the rest of the extended party, “too good to be true.”
This time Will squeezed his hand, “It’s not too good to be true. I’m-We’re all right here. And none of us are going anywhere.”
Mike turned back toward Will, smiling, when he came to a realization. His clothes were clean, his body was clean, and he seemed relatively fine. Also no one else seemed to be reacting to Will being here. How long had he been here? He could understand why the extended party didn’t let him come with on the crawls. He had been a little stupid on the last one. But Will had been back for at least a day or two. He looked good. Well rested, and at least a couple of meals in him. When were they planning on telling him?
Mike could feel his brow furrowing, his friends who he trusted with everything couldn’t even be bothered to tell him his best friend was back? Lucas patted him on the back, “You all good, man?”
Mike glared at him, and Lucas put his arms up in a mock mugging victim stance. “I’m fine,” Mike over emphasized the last word, “So when did you guys bring him back?”
Lucas looked confused, “Uhhh, I think he was hanging out with El before this?”
Really Lucas? How many times had Mike had an extra dice set for him? How many of his stupid games had Mike sat through? How many times had the two of them bonded on both of their most important people being MIA? And still one of his closest friends couldn’t be bothered to tell him that Will was back?
“What’s your damage? Answer the question Lucas.”
Will tilted his head in concern, “I got here a couple of hours ago.”
Mike looked at him in bewilderment, Will had never lied to him before. Why would he just randomly start now? Sure, things were different, last time they had seen each other it was 1983! Still, he wouldn’t just randomly lie like this.
Mike’s tone changed from argumentative to soft, “Only a few hours? That can’t be true, Mrs. Byers is all the way across the room. And Jonathon has been sulking back in the corner.”
Jonathan straightened up from his slouch at that comment, and Joyce walked up to Mike, concern written on her face.
Mike continued, “Even if it had been a couple of months, you still wouldn't have let him out of your sight.”
Mike looked down to his hand, covered by both of Will’s.
“This can’t be real. This isn’t real.”
It was a statement, not a question, because he knew the answer. Of course, this wasn’t real. Will couldn’t just-
“Ouch!”
Mike flinched back at the pinch, still holding Will’s hand. Lucas had just pinched him!
“Sorry. But hey, this is real.”
Mike rolled his eyes, “You can still feel pain in Vecna visions.”
His tone left no room for question, still everyone in the room seemed to jump at that.
“How do you know that?” Hopper asked accusedingly.
Mike rolled his eyes, but he kept his hold on Will, “How do you think?”
Nancy jumped forward, stood at attention, “Mike, when did you have a Vecna vision?”
From the crowd of his so-called ‘friends’, Mike heard whispers and questions about Vecna’s return.
Mike turned his glare to Nancy, “Back before he got Patrick. You know this. The real Nancy knows this. That’s how I knew- How I know Will is still alive.”
“Of course I’m still alive. I’m right here.”
Mike loosened his grip on Will’s hand, but he couldn’t bring himself to fully let go. He gave him a weak smile, “As much as I want you to be, I saw him. The real you. Maybe you could have been like this, if we had found you, but…”
“Found me? Mike, I don’t-” recognition flickered in Will’s eyes, “You guys found me on November 12th, 1983. You saved me.”
Mike’s world still. Will kept talking, he was throwing out dates and events that Mike knew to be true. Will was clearly trying to ground him, but that mention of 1983 had thrown him into orbit.
November 12th, 1983. That had been after the ‘bad men’ had come for El. For the week before, El had been saying over, and over again that Will was alive. The party had heard his song, his cries for help, and even his breathing. Mrs. Byers had physically seen him, and seen him messing with the radio and the lights. But that night, in the bath they made in the school gym, El had seen him in danger. Mrs. Byers and Hopper ran as fast as they could, made their way into the upside-down, and at the first sign of resistance headed back.
That wasn’t fair. After they had found a bloody vest and demogorgons came back, Hopper had to pull Mrs. Byers from the scene. To this day she still had the lights up in her home.
If they had just been a little faster, if Mike had just been a little quicker to trust Nancy’s voice, if they were just a little quicker making the salt bath, could he have been saved? Were those few crucial moments all that stood between the Will in front of him and the echo that snuck his way into Vecna’s vision?
Mike felt Will’s hand on his cheek, pulling him from his spiral, “Hey, Mike you're not making any sense. El’s gonna take a look in your mind, okay.”
Will’s words were phrased as a sentence, but Mike could tell there was a question hidden in there. Will would never make him do anything he didn’t want to, he trusted him with his full heart and soul. Mike weakly nodded, before he felt a familiar hand brush his mind. Not harsh enough to sting, just enough to be felt.