Work Text:
Will deserved a vacation. Will needed a vacation. So when he rang his sister El, who was currently sitting in her sunny Italian home, it was obvious he was invited.
Will had always lived in Hawkins with his family, until his brother moved for college and his twin sister wanted to travel around Europe. She started by becoming roommates with this girl in Italy- and well, “travelling” was a lie. They continued to live with each other, occasionally exploring the rest of Europe.
For Will, Hawkins was getting boring. He always had relied on his twin sister his whole life, so at 19 years old, pretty friendless and mindlessly bored, he wanted a vacation. He worked at the local Radio Station with this girl and boy, who were a dream duo, Robin and Steve. While they were pretty cool, it’s not fun to say your only friends are the same age as your older brother and also your bosses. Work in itself was also boring.
With all that added together, Will wanted a vacation. He rang his sister, who happily agreed to let him visit, and he booked his next flight.
He arrived at the airport, dropped off by his mom and step-dad. He had a heavy suitcase and a well-packed carry on. He scanned through the endless detectors and ect and ect until he could finally sit down, early enough to have 3 hours before his flight. Maybe a little eager, but he really could not be bothered to wait.
He found a small table near a Starbucks and settled, pulling out his phone and sending a few quick messages to his very small number of contacts. How was he 19 with only five contacts? Jesus.
Will stood up abruptly, deciding to save his phone battery and wanting a drink when-
A warm liquid splashed against his chest.
Will stood speechless, his shirt coffee-stained. The culprit stared, his head bowed down. His shirt, too, was dripping coffee.
“I- shit. Fuckfuckfuck, I am SO sorry!” The man looked up and down at Will, who was extremely pissed at the current situation.
“The fuck?”
“Oh my god- it was an accident. I’ll buy you a new shirt or some shit ohhh my god.”
“Uh?” Will stepped past him and grabbed a few napkins, dabbing them at his shirt. He passed one to the man.
This was when Will admired him; floppy, unruly black hair and pasty skin, full of speckled freckles. His lips were a soft pink. His eyes were the colour of coffee.
Fucking coffee.
“I’m so sorry,” he apologised again, taking a napkin and soaking it with the liquid that fell to the floor. Wow, he really made a mess.
“Uh, guess it’s cool?” Will stood awkwardly beside him as a cleaner walked over. She ushered them out the way and the two collected their bags and left the Starbucks.
“Come, I’ll buy you a new shirt.” He said, heading off in a random direction. Will followed, for unknown reasons.
“I mean, it’s fine. I don’t really-“
“You are not walking around all day and sitting on a plane with a coffee covered shirt. I will fucking undress you if it means you won’t wear it.”
“Oh.” Will blushed, but the man couldn’t see it, standing in front. “If you insist?”
“I do, thanks.”
This guy was very strange. Will watched him flick through a bunch of tourist shirts. “What’s uh, your name?” Will cleared his throat. The man stopped, peering over his shoulder.
“What’s YOUR name?”
“You just spilled coffee over me! Why are you-“ Will squeaked, closing his mouth as the man chuckled. It was an oddly nice sound.
“I’m Mike. Michael. Wheeler.” He said it all rather strangely, but this whole interaction was also quite strange.
“I’m Will, William Byers. Unfortunate to meet you, Mike Michael Wheeler." Will said, mimicking the man- who also now had a name.
He laughed. “What’s your size?”
“My- what?”
“Shirt size! Jesus, Byers.” His eyes crinkled as he smiled.
Will couldn’t help but giggle in response. “Are you actually buying me a shirt?”
“Uh, yeah. Duh. And I'm buying myself one. I didn’t leave unscathed.” He gestures to his own, brown shirt.
Will took a step and looked through the shirts until he spotted one in his size, not caring much for the design. Mike did care about the design, picking the exact same one but a size bigger.
“We will match in solidarity.”
“You’re so weird?” Will grinned.
Mike bought him the shirt and they changed in the bathrooms. Will changed first, the white ‘I <3 NYC’ shirt loose around his chest. Mike came out after, his shirt clinging around his flat stomach- he was really thin. Not in an unhealthy way, in a really fucking attractive- no. Will told himself to shut up.
“So, Will William Byers, am I forgiven?”
Will tapped his chin jokingly. “Maybe.”
“Okay, well, I am really sorry.”
“I know, it’s cool.”
“Cool.”
“Well… uh- I guess I’ll see you around? Or not. Maybe never again.” Mike shrugged.
“Yeah, you too?” Will says as Mike slings his carry-on over his shoulder and walks away, waving goodbye. Will groans and finds a new place to sit.
Eventually, his gate opened and he made his way. He managed to be one of the first on the plane, sitting at his wonderful window seat. He got comfortable, untangling his headphone wires and set himself up for the flight while everyone else filed in.
Obviously, the curly, black-haired mop appeared, sitting right next to Will.
“Hi.” Mike breathed.
“Hi again. Please don’t spill coffee on me this time,” they laughed.
“No promises.”
Okay- Will thought he wasn’t that bad. Sure, their first meeting wasn’t ideal but during their flight, they spoke quite a lot. They had a lot in common, too. The person sitting on the other side of Mike seemed to stare at them weirdly, but Mike didn’t mind so neither did Will.
“So, you actually play DND?” Mike asks, biting into his chocolate fingers. He hands Will one.
Will takes a chocolate finger, dipping it into his tea. “Yeah, I joined a club in high school but uh, never really had any friends to play outside of it.”
“Why wouldn’t anyone be friends with you?” Mike asks, not intending to be so forward.
Will changes the subject, “What do you play as? I’m usually a cleric but sometimes my party would act as if I was a sorcerer. Kinda weird but... nevermind.”
“Proud paladin at your service.” Mike grins goofily. He doesn’t seem to have a single serious bone in his body, but Will should’ve guessed that by their matching ‘i <3 nyc’ shirts.
“Oh, yeah I see that.”
“So- topic change, why you heading to Italy?”
“To see my sister. She moved about a year ago and I haven’t visited her there before. And I need a vacation.” Will shrugs.
Mike beams, “Wait, that’s cool. I’m visiting one of my best friends. She moved like 3 years ago ‘cause her brother died and well- uh, sorry- and similarly to you, I haven’t visited her place yet.”
“Oh. Yeah, my sister kinda used Italy as her escape.”
Mike nods aggressively. “Honestly, I think I should run away there at this point.”
“I want to but I’d miss my people, y’know?”
“I - yeah.”
“As we established earlier, I don’t have actual friends but I don’t think I could cope without my mom. Or her copper fiance. My boss is pretty cool too, I don’t think she’d cope without me.” Will laughs.
“Hm?”
“This super cool, love-sick lesbian. She never shuts up about her failed flirting attempts to me ‘cause my other boss- her best friend- is some ex-highschool-heartthrob who gives her the shitty flirting ideas in the first place.” Will states, Mike chuckles.
“Reminds me of Max- the girl I’m visiting- she’s bisexual and is happily dating our guy best friend and has been since like 13, but all she does is text me about the cute italian girls she sees. It’s a bit weird at this point. She really does not like me single.”
“My sister does not like me to be single either.” Will shakes his head while they both laugh. “She said I need to try a relationship at some point but like… I swear I’m trying!”
“Oh my god! You are literally me.”
“Cannot believe I am bonding over my lack of relationship.”
“Mhm. Fair enough. I had a girlfriend once, she was really sweet but we were 12 and completely lost so I was a shitty boyfriend and after a really weird year, we broke up.”
“That describes my sister’s love life. Yet she brags she has a better one than me…” Will drones on. Mike looks at him puzzled.
“Is your sister’s name Eleanor? El?”
Will looks at him, bewildered. “Holy fuck-”
“Oh my god. Shit, dude!” Mike groans, putting his head in his hands. A random passenger hisses at them for swearing.
Will laughs hard and puts a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “For the record, she didn’t think you were a shitty boyfriend. She was equally as lost in that relationship.”
“Oh I don’t know what’s more embarrassing, spilling coffee all over my first-girlfriend’s-brother or not knowing you are my first girlfriend's brother!”
“Mike, it’s okay-” Will giggles before being cut off by Mike.
“Wait, what’s your sister’s roommate's name?”
“...I didn’t say she had a roommate, but uh, it starts with an ‘M’ I think? …Oh.” Will realises.
“Oh.” Mike uncovers his face from his hands to stare at Will.
“I think it’s fate?”
“No, it’s Max-fucking-Mayfield.” Mike groans again.
“Wait, the full story is- You date my sister then we all kinda forget about that ‘cause it’s an embarrassing first relationship, you cover me in coffee like 6ish years later then buy us matching shirts, we get sat next to each other on the plane then once we get there turns out we are actually staying with the same people? Oh my God.”
“I think I need to rethink my life. You were probably at my birth and all.” Mike nudges his elbow into Will who snorts.
“This is definitely weird.”
“Oh for sure. We kinda gotta own it, though.”
“Noo we don’t.” Will teases.
Mike pouts, picking back up his discarded chocolate fingers and eating more. “So, can we officially be best friends? Cause- these situations are… interesting.”
“May as well.”
“Fuck yeah!”
“If you two don’t stop swearing I’m going to get you kicked off!” A woman sat in front of them turns around, peering over the seat.
“Yes ma’am.” Mike says quickly.
“Sorry.” Will apologises to the lady, who’s giving them a death stare as she slowly turns back into her seat. The pair try not to laugh.
The rest of the flight contains sleeping, eating and more random conversations. Eventually, they land. They get off together and head to baggage claim, still talking.
“So,” Mike starts. Will noticed he starts a lot of sentences like that. He always has a new topic to talk about. “You are single?”
Will’s ears flush a bright red. “I mean- we established that God knows how long ago, right before we found out we actually briefly met previously.”
“Hm. Yeah. How?”
“How- what? How am I single?”
“Yeah.” Mike crosses his arms and leans against a pillar, waiting for the suitcases to file out.
“I don’t talk to many people I guess. And not many people around me are my… type.”
“Oh.”
“What about you?”
Mike shrugs. “Guess not many people are my type either.”
“You seem like you’d-” Will begins before covering his mouth. “No, I am so sorry. Forget I was saying anything.”
“What’s up?” Mike tilts his head like a puppy.
“Dunno. You seem like the type of person to have a relationship.”
“Attracted to all but nought are attracted to thy,” he announces dramatically.
“Oh.” Will says blankly.
“You aren’t homophobic, right? I didn’t just come out to you randomly- I assumed since you said your boss was lesbian and I-” he rushes, fumbling over his words. “-I’m completely rambling. Sorry.”
“Hey, no, it’s chill. I’m- uh, gay. Anyways.” Will admits, for only the second time in his life. The first was to his family. Robin somehow always knew he was gay, even before he himself.
“Oh.” Mike stares, accidentally mimicking Will’s reaction to his own coming out.
Will spots his suitcase and walks away to collect it. Mike follows behind. “Will?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m meeting up with Max’s boyfriend first so uh, I’m not going straight to their place. Is that- cool?” Will nods. “Okay. Okay.”
Will pulls his suitcase off the conveyor and Mike does the same with his own. There’s something weird in the air. They hull their suitcases out the airport and Will spots a taxi for him (El not being able to pass her driving test).
“So- I guess I’ll see you tonight?” Will asks.
“Yeah. You will.”
“Alright… Goodbye, Mike.” Will turns to walk away before feeling a tug on his wrist. He faces Mike.
“I know we are spending like a week or something in the same house and I technically only really got to know you like fucking hours ago but I want to do something incredibly stupid, okay?” He speaks fast in one big breath.
“Just kiss me, idiot.” Will smiles, placing a hand on Mike’s neck. They pull each other closer until their lips faintly brush. Nothing big, but it felt right. “The universe has been begging for that, I think.”
“Well, I don’t mind. I get to meet you and now apparently we’ve kissed so I think… Actually, I don’t know what I think right now my mind is like full of oxytocin.”
Will laughs, letting go of Mike. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“You sure will.” Mike says, watching Will head to the taxi.
Will really loved vacations.