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Micah watched the crowd filling the room little by little, chatters bouncing on the walls, unaware of the nerves taking over her body. On the stage, four red armchairs were aligned, one of them being slightly apart from the others. A small wooden table in the middle was decorated with books. Her books. She glanced at the five thick tomes that were on display, covers showing two different characters on each of them; a Wizard and a Dark Druid, a Ranger and a Zoomer, an Artificer and a Barbarian, a Bard and a Fighter, and finally a Paladin and a Sorcerer. She smiled softly at them, feeling her body relaxing as if they had the power to ease her worries and stress. As she turned her head to the other side to look at the public, she locked eyes with the same people - and more - that inspired her series. Especially one pair of hazel eyes she couldn’t get enough despite thirty years of looking at them.
Will smiled widely at her as he took a seat at the front, next to their friends. Two thumbs jumped in the air, making her giggle as she sat down too on her way more comfortable chair.
Ten minutes later, the echo of the voice of the leading lady through the microphone shut everyone up, turning their attention to the stage. Micah was in the middle surrounded by a fantasy genre expert and a LGBTQ+ in media expert, all ready to interact with her and the topics explored inside her book series. The lady next to them was there to guide them through the whole talk, ask questions and make the public interact when needed.
Micah felt her own microphone sliding in her clammy hands, desperately trying to wipe them on her trousers. She had spent the last ten years writing this story, her story, through battles, friendships and lovers; and now she was there, in front of hundreds of strangers and relatives to talk about the end of this journey. To ask her about her personal life and how it blended into her writing. To point at the few illustrations her husband had drawn through the years next to her, holding her hands through hardships and revelations.
She glanced at Will once more, taking a deep breath in synchronization with him before turning her body toward the lady and welcoming all her curiosity.
“Good afternoon, everyone. The room is bursting with fans today, I can even see some of them in costumes inspired from the series. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It’s an honour to have you here with us, Michaela Byers, in this new edition of Comic Con, to talk about the wonderful universe of Rightside Up you built for us for almost ten years now,” the lady started with a warm smile on her face. Micah chuckled, feeling her cheeks getting warmer at all the attention and love she could perceive from her and the people in front of them. Never in a million years she would’ve guessed her love for Dungeon & Dragon, her traumatic childhood and her love for the Party would’ve gotten her here today. Little Micah from small town Hawkins would’ve died from excitement.
“I still can’t believe all of this is real. I think I haven’t woken up and my husband forgot to set up an alarm this morning.” The room rumbled with laughs among the other people on the stage with her. If she concentrated enough, she could hear Will’s angel’s laughter blending with the others. “Seeing cosplays of the whole Party, even the side characters, is the best gift I could’ve received from all of you. Especially here, when I’ve been dreaming about it as a little girl.”
“Talking about your childhood, you’ve mentioned in other interviews that you’re a big fan of DnD, and that the storyline is inspired by your campaigns as a teenager.”
“That’s right,” Micah nodded seriously, all traces of jokes fading away. In the back of her head, she could almost hear her friends teasing her.
“Could you break a mystery your fandom has and tell us which character represents you? Some say that it is the Ranger, calling him the real heart of the party, while others think you’re the Paladin who had a long journey to accept himself and his true love for the Sorcerer. Another theory is that you’re only the storyteller, but I personally don’t like this one.” Her back hit the back of the chair as she laughed, and Micah had to stop herself from imitating her.
“Oh God. I was aware that some people didn’t like the Paladin being called The Heart, when the Ranger was all he never was - kind, funny, full of empathy and beautiful. I even read some posts being mad that the Sorcerer didn’t fall in love with him instead of the Paladin, because the latter was a jerk in book three. I have to agree to an extent.” She shook her head, fighting back the want to look at her husband and Lucas sitting next to one another. At thirty-five, it was easier to joke about their behaviour at the early age of thirteen, even if she had hurt Will deeply at that time. Just to snog with her ex girlfriend and pretend they both wanted it.
“With my own Party, I am mostly the DM. Always been. I guess it makes sense since I’m a writer now, but sometimes another person would write their own campaign, and I would be a player. I am a Paladin through and through. Linked with my own Sorcerer by an oath. But the commoners call it marriage.” She smiled, finally turning her head to lock eyes with Will. He was close enough for her to see his shining eyes humid, mouth pressed to a smile. She chuckled at the view, heart aching to reach for his hand.
The lady looked in the same direction, her smile widening even more. “Is that the husband?” Micah nodded, looking back at her with rosy cheekbones.
“Actually, everyone close to me in my life has a character. I have never been able to fully separate fiction from reality. I had to show all of them how much I love them, and I had to tell the world our adventures.”
“And what adventures! I don’t remember how much I cried while reading the whole series, but the final one left me sobbing for hours on the floor of my bathroom. How dare you kill the Wizard! She was my favourite character.”
“She isn’t truly dead! It was an illusion from the Dark Druid.”
“You still made us believe it for multiple chapters! Killing her in front of the King, her father. I thought I was going insane. And when things got better, the Sorcerer lost his eye!”
The interview went on for another hour, while the fiction expert participated in the talk while the other one sat quietly, joining in laughter and innocent observations. Micah’s body relaxed more and more as the hour passed. She was in her element, explaining some details of her books, how the characters were related to her family, reassuring everyone that her real friends and family were all okay - dismissing that despite writing fiction, some events happened for real. She felt good, animated, loved.
After an hour, the moment Micah apprehended the most arrived. She knew about it, she agreed for an LGBTQ+ expert to be there while the public was allowed to ask questions. Hell, she wrote a love story about two men as the center of the romance. Of course, now that the Paladin and Sorcerer kissed, questions on this topic would arrive. Before, it was only about shipping. Would the Paladin finally open his heart to the Sorcerer? Would he return to the Wizard, when she obviously moved on from him? Would he leave on his own in hope to find someone else? But now, after the Sorcerer pulled the Paladin into a kiss to save him from the Druid’s possession, and that when the Paladin woke up his first instinct was to kiss him back, everything was real. She had written a gay love story. Her story. She knew the people had questions, now that they knew she was the Paladin and her husband was her beloved Sorcerer.
Someone from the public dressed as the redhair Zoomer rose up, a microphone in their hand, red in the face from anxiety to speak out loud. Micah felt for them, her own cheeks never returned to their natural pale colour ever since they started.
“You said that you were the Paladin. But he’s a man in the book, while you are a woman. Why? Did you want to have gay representation? Was it not possible to do the same between the Paladin and the Wizard but as two women?”
Micah sat up straighter in her chair as the question went on.
Will and her had talked about it.
They were both ready to tell the public.
——
“Are you sure you’re okay with it?” She asked, taking Will’s hands in hers. Will nodded with a soft smile, pressing his knee against her. The cushion of the couch shifts between them, narrowing the gap between them even more.
“I’ve been ready for years, baby.”
“They’re going to ask why a gay man is dating a woman.”
“And I’ll answer them that she’s the love of my life and that I love her beyond gender.” Will approached his face to hers to leave a peck on her lips, proving his point. He didn’t need to, not anymore. She stopped believing he would leave her a long time ago. She still smiled against his lips, kissing him back with more vigor.
——
“In book five, the Party is sixteen, a few months away from being seventeen for some of them. It’s at the same time my husband and I got together. He was my best friend for ten years before that. And at that time I became his… boyfriend. I looked a lot different back then. An awkward, repressed, lanky teenage boy, deeply in love with his best friend - who barely just came out to everyone as gay.” She pinched a wrinkle on her trousers, trying to keep herself on the surface of the water. She hadn’t come out a lot without Will beside her to hold her hand. She wished he wasn’t so far away. The expert next to her must have sensed her increasing discomfort and anxiety for her to speak up.
“What Michaela is trying to say here, is that since a lot of the relationships in her books are based on her relatives, she wrote a love story about two teenage boys as a mirror to her own story. She could’ve written a lesbian story, but the Paladin would have always ended up with the Sorcerer anyway. It would’ve made a straight endgame, and even if she is currently married to a man as a woman, her marriage is still queer.” She turned to Micah, checking if her intervention was correct and at the right time. Micah nodded at her, thanking her silently with eyebrows quirked and a pressed smile.
“Exactly. I am a bisexual trans woman, and my husband is gay. If you ask him about his sexuality, he will probably answer you ‘I’m gay but only bisexual for my wife’. I know not a lot of people understand, but it makes sense for us.”
——
Will found Mike folded over himself on the cold floor of the kitchen, barely able to breathe in between thick sobs. He dropped the bag on his shoulder without care, rushing to his boyfriend, shoes and coat still on. He reached him, putting a hand on his back and the other one searching where to grab to make Mike look up to him. Mike was weeping as if someone he loved had died. His face was red, snot dripping down his chin, eyelashes glued to each other from all the tears shed. His whole body was shaking and weak. Will’s anxiety rose up at the whole view, fearing anything that would come out of Mike’s mouth in the next minute.
“What’s happening, baby? Tell me, please tell me.” He could feel his own eyes burning from the threatening tears. “I’ve got you, I am here. Talk to me. What happened?”
Mike shook his head, trying to get away from Will’s soft hands as if they were burning him, but Will was having none of that. He was used to Mike withdrawing when he was feeling too much, letting him get all quiet inside his head, patiently waiting for him to open up when he was ready. But in this state, Will just couldn’t ignore. So he tightened his grip on his boyfriend, tucking his damped head under his chin, caressing his hair softly.
“I’ve got you, baby. Take your time.” The tears escaped his eyes to roll on his own cheeks, now unable to stop them, witnessing the distress of his lover. It was too much, he had barely seen Mike breaking down in fifteen years, not even when they were all on the verge of death while affronting Henry. Not even when his dad died in the hospital a few days after the war was over. Not even when Will got possessed at twelve. Mike wasn’t a crier, at best a single tear would make an appearance to remind everyone he was a human like the rest of them. Will was the sensitive one, he was the one crying at least once a day for any good or bad emotions. Seeing Mike like this made him want to crawl under Mike’s skin to bring him the most comfort possible. He wanted for the world to stop so he could figure out how to help him, heal him.
“I- I-” Mike tried between two loud sobs, breath scattering even more.
“Breathe for me. Come on, one, two, release.” Mike tried to match the rhythm of Will’s chest expanding with air. “That’s good, love. You’re doing great. Keep going.”
“I can’t-”
“Yes you can. Look, you’re doing great.”
Mike shook his head again, looking up so they could look at each other’s red eyes. When Mike saw Will’s tears, more shed from him. Will put both hands on his wet cheeks, not even trying to wipe them as it was impossible.
“Shh. It’s okay. You’re okay. I am here.” He pressed his lips to his in a simple but warm kiss. Mike pulled apart first with a wet chuckle. Will even saw a spit bubble forming behind his teeth from the action.
“I’m covered in snot, don’t do that.”
“I don’t care.” Will smiled, wiping both their mouth and under Mike’s nose with his hand, that he wiped again on his leg. “You need more than that to gross me out.” He smiled more, hoping to cheer him up, but his words only resulted in Mike dropping his head and crying even more.
“Hey hey hey, I’m sorry. What’s wrong, tell me what’s wrong.”
“I can’t tell you,” Mike insisted again. What could have possibly happened to leave him in this state and for him to not be able to tell Will, when they’ve been telling each other everything?
“Did someone die? Is it Nancy? Holly? Your mom?” Mike shook his head at every mention of a name. His shoulder was shaking, and Will tried desperately to hold him close to him.
“Was it college? Something happened there?” He felt Mike tensing for a second, before dropping his shoulder again. “Someone told you something bad?” A shake of a head. Will wasn’t surprised, it has been years since Mike took into consideration bullies’ words. He was beyond that since high school. “You got hurt? Someone touched you?” Will gasped at the image suddenly filling his head. Of someone taking advantage of Mike in between classes in the bathroom. But Mike shook his head again, to his grand relief.
“Mike, please. I need to know to help you.”
“You can’t. You will leave me.” Mike’s already quiet voice broke even more along with Will’s heart. How could he possibly even think that?
“I will never leave you. Never. No matter what. Unless you cheated. But that’s it.”
Silence filled the room in a heavy atmosphere that left chills all over Will’s body. He didn’t mean to, but his grip on Mike’s hips got weaker. His hands were trembling despite his effort on not showing it.
“Did you-”
“- No,” Mike paused to take a shaky breath, “it would’ve been better.”
“I can’t think of anything better, Mike. Please, you’re scaring me.”
“You will leave.”
“How about you let me be the judge of that, hm?” He released Mike’s hips to enveloped his arms around him, pressing their chest together. Mike dropped his forehead against Will’s, keeping his eyes closed. His whole face showed the worst version of shame, and it reminded him of when they were teenagers and Mike pretended his feelings for him were wrong and unwanted.
“Baby…” he pressed, still trying to be gentle. Mike took multiple deep breaths, visibly in war inside his head whether to tell him or not what was going on. More tears rolled down his cheeks, but they were significantly less than a few minutes before. Improvement, it was. Will released a shaky breath at that too. He waited, impatience starting to grow in his chest, but he knew that if he pressed further, Mike would definitely retract into his own head and they would never speak about it ever again. Or until the next breakdown, if Mike doesn’t make an effort to hide it. God knew how many he had before and Will walking into it was just an accident.
“I am- I feel- It’s-” he choked on his words, gulping loudly in between tries. Will shushed him again, reminding him that he could take his time, all the times he needed.
“You know how I’ve always been… jealous? Of Nancy and sometimes Holly?” Will nodded, making Mike’s head follow the movement too. “How I hated that they were the perfect girls to mom, how much she loved and cherished them more and louder than me? That even dad paid more attention to them than me, unless it concerned you. All because I was a boy, clearly queer and it bothered him enough to comment about it?”
Will nodded again. He knew that, he always had. Mike had always been a more troubled kid than his sisters because he craved his parents’ attention. Karen was a good mother, but she was an even greater mom to Nancy and Holly. She could relate to them while Mike was a boyish boy, but not boyish enough for his father to bond with him. He liked robots and dragons better than baseball and guns. But he didn’t like dolls and pink enough. He liked girls like he was supposed to, but he was in love with a boy. Mike was a contradiction ending with none of his parents able to fully understand him.
“For years my mom insisted that I could come up to her to talk about anything. I knew she meant telling her I liked boys, so it didn't come as a surprise when I finally admitted I loved you. But it wasn't what I've always wanted to tell her. To anyone.” Mike’s voice ended up as a barely audible whisper. Sure, when Will came out some were surprised but most had to fake not already knowing. He knew how he looked and acted. He wasn't the perfect definition of masculinity. But when Mike embraced his sexuality, most of them assumed it was Will who made him that way. Because they were so close since forever, of course they fell in love. Only the whole party took it seriously. They had been through way too much together to belittle someone of their own self acceptance.
But despite loving Mike for years and living with him for two years now, Will had never sensed that there was more. “What did you want to tell her?”
Mike trembled, shaking his head again. He opened his mouth a few times, unable to speak but still trying. Will caressed his back with one hand while the other pressed him even closer so that next time he would do it they would fuse as one individual.
“That- I can't.”
“Take your time. I am not leaving, I am not going anywhere.”
“I wished- I always wanted to be like… Nancy. And Holly.”
“Close to her?”
“Her daughter.”
——
“If you had to write a sixth book, would you write the Party in the future? Would the Paladin become a girl, too?” A man asked, trying to find the right words without offending her. Micah smiled at him, enjoying the questions as they came more than she expected.
“That would be great. The Paladin took years to accept who he loved, maybe it should take a few more to accept herself too.”
“In the book, no character’s sexuality is explicitly stated. Is it on purpose? So we can make our own headcanons?” Another girl asked, overly excited to talk directly to her.
“For some of them, it is heavily implied. But any headcanon is okay and accepted as long as no one puts the straight label to the cannonly queer characters. I have my own opinions on their sexuality, and you have yours. I'm good with that.”
“Did your husband accept your transition easily?”
——
“Her daughter?” Will repeated, making sure he heard him right. Mike nodded once, keeping his eyes closed. “As in, you wanted your mom to treat you the same as her daughter or-”
“I feel like a girl, Will. I always have. But I kept it all deep inside of me, deeper than my queerness. Even more ever since I knew I could have you if I stayed as a boy.”
“Oh, Mike…”
“I can’t- I can't do this to you. I can't make you go back to the closet because I want to be selfish and live as a woman when what we have is perfect. You're happy with your life, I'm happy with you. I'd rather hide it forever than lose you. But it's too late now.” Mike sobbed again, dropping her head to Will’s shoulder and gripping tightly his coat as if Will planned to leave her like this.
“Baby. My happiness comes with yours too. If you need to live as a woman, then I'll make everything possible for it to become real. I can't be happy knowing you're suffering.”
“But-”
“Look at me.” It took a moment for Mike to obey, but it didn't matter. What mattered was to drown Mike with all his unconditional love. “I love you. I love you more than anything. More than you could ever imagine. I've loved you since I was thirteen. Sure, I'm gay. But I'm more defined by my love for you than my taste in men. I will keep loving you, forever.”
“I cease to live if you leave me.”
“And I won't. As a man, as a woman, you're mine. I am yours.” Mike stopped breathing for a second before crashing their lips together, smearing more tears and snot between them. Neither of them cared. He loved her. She loved him.
——
“He has always been the most supportive person.” She bit her lip lightly to suppress a too wide smile. “I am very lucky to feel his love every day of my life.”
“Doesn't he miss being with a man, as a gay man himself?”
“I don't!” Everyone turned their heads toward the loud voice that broke through the room. Will was standing, looking at the man who asked the question. “I love my wife. She's the only one I've ever loved. As long as I'm with her, then my life is perfectly complete.”
“You've got yourself a handsome knight in shining armor, Michaela!” The fantasy expert interrupted with a giggle. Micah arched an eyebrow, smirking at her.
“Please, don't mistake our dynamic just because I'm a woman and he's a man. I'm his knight in shining armour, and he's my pretty princess.”
——
“Do you have a name?” Will asked later, when they were in bed cuddling.
“I never minded my name, actually. So I've always thought of the feminine version of Michael.”
“Michelle?”
“Michaela.”
Will pecked her forehead with a smile. “I like it. Should I keep calling you Mike or Micah, then?”
She took a few seconds before answering, tasting the nicknames inside her brain before deciding. “Micah.”
“I love you, Micah Wheeler.”
“I love you too, Will Byers.”
——
Micah shook the three women’s hand, thanking them for the two hours spent together and the invitation, before going down the stage to meet her Party. The moment her feet stood on the ground, multiple pairs of arms embraced her, bodies colliding together to form a ball of hug. She laughed, pushing her head in between Will and Dustin’s, straining her neck in the process but not caring about the pain.
“You did so well!” Jane exclaimed, jumping from where she stood on the last layer of the hug with Max and Lucas.
“You looked like a majesty on her throne, telling the tales of her brave people,” added Holly, running towards them followed by Nancy and Jonathan. Micah giggled at that, not able to suppress a smile and the return of her red cheeks. Will pecked her cheekbones, squeezing her tightly.
“Confidence looks so good on you.” He smiled at her with a glimmer in his eye. Micah shivered, biting her lips. “My sexy Paladin.”
A few groans were heard between their friends, taking their arms off the couple. Micah swore she heard Max calling them gross while Lucas pulled her back close to him and kissed the crown of her head. As she tangled her fingers with Will’s, Micah took a look at her family, a smile never leaving her lips.
Sometimes, she couldn’t believe how lucky she got to have them all. After so many years and battleships, how they never took different paths. How no matter what, they will always be there for each other.
It wasn’t that surprising that her love for the Party became a best-seller. After all, people craved for Love, and Micah was full of it.