Archive of Our Own

“Seriously, I can’t be the only one to have noticed, especially Mike yesterday,” Lucas’ voice rang through the crack in the ajar classroom door and Will paused outside at the mention of Mike, halting his raised hand in mid-air, stopping himself from pushing it open to let himself in. 

The group had made a habit of eating lunch in their physics teacher’s classroom during their senior year, preferring it to the bustling cafeteria full of bullies and jocks who were still yet to grow bored of hurling slurs in their direction or using them as punching bags. It seemed that Lucas, Max, Dustin, and El were already there, with Will waiting outside, definitely not eavesdropping, and Mike had yet to arrive. 

“It’s impossible not to notice,” Dustin agreed, “and the way Mike was looking at him yesterday and could barely even string two words together, I mean, Will’s an idiot not to see it.”

“It’s not like Mike’s any better,” Will could practically hear Max rolling her eyes as she spoke, “Will’s about as obvious as you can get, but nobody’s as oblivious as Mike.”

Eyebrows furrowed, Will considered what specifically they were referring to that had happened the day before, and he didn’t have to wrack his brain for long before he realised as clear as day the exact moment his friends were discussing. He felt a small smile creeping onto his face at the memory of the previous day, when he had come to school dressed in Mike’s shirt, purely because Mike had left it at his house and Will knew it would fluster him completely — there was nothing he loved more in life than a blushing Mike Wheeler, cheeks painted red as he stammered his way through a compliment that made no sense to anybody except them. Unfortunately for Mike, he had been running late, so rather than this being a moment between the two of them before school, this had happened in the corridor outside their lockers, with the audience of their entire friend group, all watching with utter bemusement as Mike slowly lost his mind whilst attempting to tell an equally as embarrassed Will that he looked nice. The idea of playing it cool was a foreign concept to both of them. 

So, yes. Will was not surprised that people had begun to catch on. 

However, there was one small detail that the group had yet to pick up on. 

As Will was listening, he heard familiar footsteps coming up behind him, and he turned to see his boyfriend grinning at him as he strolled over. Eyes widening, Will gestured to Mike to be quiet, pressing a finger to his lips before pointing at the classroom door, titling his head slightly, seeing a moment of understanding in Mike’s eyes as he stopped outside the door to join Will in his eavesdropping. He shot him a confused look, but played along anyway, listening to their friends’ conversation. 

“Do you think we should do something?” Dustin was asking, food packets rustling as they talked.

“We could try and set them up!” El suggested excitedly, as if the concept of setting up her ex-boyfriend with her brother was the most normal thing in the world. 

Mike turned to Will incredulously, clearly still unsure who El was referring to, and Will tried to hold back a laugh, with limited success, covering his mouth with the back of his hand in attempt to muffle any sound. 

“How would we actually do that, though?” Lucas pondered through a mouthful of chips. 

“Hit Mike over the head with something heavy and hope it fixes whatever the hell is wrong with him,” Max deadpanned, and Will wasn’t sure how much she was joking. 

At the mention of his own name, Mike’s head whipped around to Will, who watched him piece it together, Mike’s eyes widening in surprise. He gestured between the two of them, silently questioning if he was hearing what he thought he was hearing. Will nodded with a smirk, confirming his suspicions, a blush making its way onto his cheeks. 

There and then, they knew exactly what was going through each others’ minds. 

Their friends thought they were secretly in love with each other. They wanted to set them up. 

Why not let them try? Will thought. Mike was clearly thinking the same. If Mike and Will had a head start… well. That was their friends’ problem. 

At that, Will pushed the door open, and their conversation came to an immediate halt as they turned to Will and Mike walking into the room, greeting them as if nothing had happened, as if they hadn’t just been plotting to invade their love lives.

Once they were all sat down eating lunch, conversations about homework or classes or what they were doing at the weekend in full swing, Will turned to Mike with a mischievous gleam in his eye, which Mike returned with a raised eyebrow, suspicious about what Will had up his sleeve. Will said nothing, just looked away, nudging his foot with his own under the table, and glanced up at him shyly. It was the kind of expression that Mike had grown accustomed to in the years leading up to them finally getting together, but hadn’t seen on him for quite some time. It was the kind of hopelessly uncertain but helplessly loving look that had frequently painted Will’s face as he used to stare at Mike before he discovered that his feelings were reciprocated. His heart ached in his chest at the sight of Will looking so nervous about his own emotions, especially knowing exactly how that feels himself. Panic flashed across his face for a moment, before it dawned on him. 

Will was winding everyone up, looking at Mike how he used to, unsure and fearful, but with a pitiful amount of adoration for his best friend. Mike didn’t need any convincing at all to play along, so he looked away quickly, before cautiously risking another glance, tapping his fingers nervously on the table, looking down at his lap, still sensing Will’s eyes on him, his cheeks turning scarlet as he fidgeted. 

Both of them could feel all eyes on them, the tension thick in the air, and Will felt the familiar rush of adrenaline coursing through him, his heart pounding in his chest, as if he really was gazing at his supposedly unreciprocated crush with desperate longing, rather than his boyfriend who he didn’t need to long for, because he had him right here, right where he wanted him. He smiled slightly sadly before looking away, playing into it as much as he dared, though neither risked eye contact with the others, who were all staring at them and eying each other knowingly — but without really knowing anything at all. 

Just as Will reached out to close his lunchbox which sat on the table in front of him, Mike put out his hand to pick up a breakfast bar from his own lunchbox, which sat right next to Will’s. Their hands brushed gently in the middle of the table as they both reached in the same direction. Despite the familiarity of each others’ touch, both boys froze for a moment, still playing into the act as hard as they could. Mike yanked his hand away as if it burnt and stared at the table in front of him, whilst Will looked up at Mike dejectedly, sighing before putting his lunchbox in his bag, holding back a laugh with all his might as he saw the rest of the party sharing knowing glances in his peripheral, Max snickering to herself. He didn’t dare look at Mike, certain that their facade would crack and crumble beneath them, exposing them entirely too soon. 

With that, the bell rang, calling them to their classes, and the tension dissipated as quickly as it had built up. Once everyone else was distracted with throwing on their jackets and putting their empty lunchboxes in their bags, Will dared a glance at Mike, who was already looking at him softly, seemingly relieved to see the uncertainty gone from Will’s expression, replaced by a warm smile at his boyfriend. 

“Can I come to yours after school?” Mike asked quietly, though everybody could clearly hear, and Will was already nodding before he’d even finished the question. 

“Of course. I’ve got history homework to do, though.”

“Aw, can I come too, Byers?” Dustin asked, “Or is it just a study date for you two?” 

“It’s not- whatever,” Will shrugged, not really answering Dustin’s question as he headed out the door, ignoring whatever response the others had given, pretending not to hear Max saying something about Mike getting special treatment. She wasn’t wrong of course, but none of them minded. It had always been MikeandWill for as long as any of them could remember — apart from that brief period of time that it hadn’t been, but they’d found their way back to each other in the end — so they were used to this by now, but it certainly wasn’t helping them stay a secret. 

Walking to his art class, Will prayed to every god he didn’t believe in that he could get Mike alone that evening instead of having the entire party round — nothing against his friends, of course, it had just been several days since he and Mike had had more than five minutes alone together, which was frankly unacceptable in his opinion, especially considering the fact that their relationship was a secret, so the most he’d even touched him was when their hands brushed earlier, and occasionally playing footsie under the table, which was all they could risk in plain sight. 

It wasn’t that they didn’t think they could tell their friends; even before they’d overheard them discussing how they were definitely in love with each other and they absolutely had to do something about it, they’d known that their friends would be perfectly kind and accepting of them. But their speculation was one thing; them actually knowing that they were together was a whole new thing that Will knew he hadn’t been ready for when they first got together, and Mike had said the same. Confessing to each other had been terrifying enough, even when it had reached a point where it was completely crystal clear how they both felt, neither making a proper move until they were certain, but saying it out loud to other people, admitting their differences and not being able to take it back, had felt impossible. They had both agreed three months prior, when they first got together, that nobody needed to know yet. Besides, they quite liked having a little secret between them that only they knew about. They liked the thrill of it, the electricity in their shared glances that only they understood, or the spark whenever they accidentally — or not — brushed their hands against each other. Even so, they still both yearned to be able to be open, to be able to walk down the school corridor hand in hand, or kiss goodbye in broad daylight, in plain sight, without anyone batting an eyelid. But that wasn’t possible. Will felt sick at the thought that it probably never would be, that that door would remain closed for their whole lives. They would never just be normal. But, recently, they had begun to wonder if, despite their fear, perhaps they could be normal just around their friends, if telling them would crack the door open just a little, so they could get a glimpse of what it could be like, what it should be like. 

It had been a week since Mike had first brought it up. 

“Do you want to maybe tell them?” he had asked, sprawled out on his bed, one arm around Will, who was curled up against his side, head on his chest, Mike’s other hand in his hair, fiddling with it gently. 

“Hm?”

“About us, I mean. We don’t have to, I just thought I wouldn’t mind them knowing. It’s not so scary anymore. Also I want to just be able to, I don’t know, put my arm around you at movie nights or whatever.”

“Yeah, we could. I know none of them would be, like, weird about it or anything. They’re not like that. And it’d be nice to not have to hide around them anymore,” Will agreed, tilting his head up to look at Mike, who met his gaze with a smile. 

“Yeah?”

Will nodded, “yeah. When do you want to do it?”

“I don’t know, it doesn’t have to be right away. It was just something to think about.”

“I guess next time we’re all together outside of school we could just tell them. We don’t need to make a big deal out of it,” Will shrugged. 

“We won’t be the ones making a big deal out of it. Them, on the other hand…” Mike trailed off. 

Will hummed in agreement, before leaning up to place a kiss on Mike’s cheek, smiling against the side of his face. The hand that was on Will’s back moved to cup his jaw, tracing little patterns against it, before Mike pulled him in for a kiss, worries about telling their friends entirely forgotten. 

-

God was real, Will decided, as he lay on his back, history homework forgotten, with Mike above him, kissing him like a starved man. It had been days since he’d got to even hug his boyfriend, and now here they were, kissing on his bed as if they had all the time in the world. Realistically, they absolutely did not, they both had a mountain of homework to be getting on with, and Will could hear his mother prepping dinner, which he was sure would be ready imminently, but none of that mattered when he had Mike’s hands in his hair, tugging occasionally, as he ran his tongue over Will’s lip, eliciting an embarrassing little noise from Will’s throat, as Mike- 

“Will!” called a voice from outside the door, accompanied with a knock. 

They jumped apart immediately, Mike almost toppling off the bed with the force of his movement as he sprang up from where he had been laying atop Will, who hurriedly sat up against his headboard and tried to smooth down his hair, with little success, he was certain. 

“Come in,” he replied once Mike was comfortably situated at the other end of the bed, oblivious to his crumpled shirt and the blush that crept from his cheeks down his neck. Will cringed and hoped it wasn’t too noticeable. 

“Joyce says dinner is nearly ready,” El said as she pushed open the door and poked her head round. “How is your-” she paused, glancing at them, before looking around the room. “Have you even started your homework yet?”

“Um- no,” Will sighed, formulating some kind of excuse in his head, “we were just… procrastinating.”

Mike snorted. 

Well, he wasn’t exactly lying, was he?

“Hm. Well, they are your grades, not mine,” El shrugged, before skipping away towards the kitchen for dinner, leaving the door wide open behind her.

They turned to each other, holding eye contact for all of about a second before both bursting into laughter over the stupidity of the situation they’d found themselves in. Realistically, they both knew that if El had walked in on them, it wouldn’t have been the end of the world, but it would be certain to ruin one thing: their friends’ plans to set them up. They had yet to actually discuss this in private, having come home from school with El and immediately collapsed onto Will’s bed as soon as they had stepped through the door, leaving little room for conversation, let alone the homework they had to do. Will sighed, resigning himself to a late night of writing after Mike had gone home, deciding that talking after dinner about what to do was more worthwhile than any history grade, college applications be damned. 

After planting a quick kiss on Mike’s cheek, Will pulled himself up from his bed and they headed downstairs for dinner, settling easily into mundane conversations about the days they had all had, and the weather, and their upcoming plans for spring break. His foot nudged Mike’s under the table and their elbows knocked together as they ate, and his heart soared from the normality of it all, as he was surrounded by the warmth of his favourite people, knowing deep in his heart that, if they did know their big scary secret, nothing would change. Mike caught his eye with a soft smile, as if he knew what he was thinking, his face illuminated by the yellow light above him, and Will returned it, content. He didn’t think he could ask or want for much more. 

Later, full of laughter and good food, they headed back upstairs to Will’s room, shutting the door behind them. Mike immediately turned to him, wrapping his arms around him, pulling him close and kissing the top of his head, which was buried in the crook of his neck. Will never felt so safe, so warm, than he did when he was entirely surrounded in the boy he loved more deeply than anything, knowing with such unfailing confidence, such unyielding certainty, that he felt exactly the same, that the pounding in Will’s chest would always be met with an answer from Mike’s.

“Love you,” Mike whispered into Will’s hair, resting his cheek atop his head. 

“Love you, too,” Will replied, equally as quietly, but he didn’t have to say it. Not really. They’d never had to tell each other anything, really. They had always known each other better than they’d known themselves, and this had only deepened over the past few months. They didn’t often tell each other they loved each other, not because they didn’t feel it, but because they simply didn’t need to. They knew. They always did. But sometimes, in quiet moments like this, Will knew that Mike liked to tell him just to tell him, and Will always liked to hear it just to hear it. 

Eventually, Mike let go, and they migrated again to Will’s bed, sitting next to each other against the headboard, arms and legs pressed against each other, Will’s head on Mike’s shoulder, his fingers playing with Mike’s, touching just to touch. 

“Do you-” Will started, letting out a small giggle, “do you want to talk about earlier?”

“Earlier?”

“Everyone planning to set us up, I mean.”

“Oh,” Mike said with a breathy laugh, “you think we should let them?”

“Absolutely. Did you see them when I was looking at you? I thought El was about to combust. I know we were planning on telling them, but honestly I think we should see how this plays out first. Then when we do tell them, they actually won’t be expecting it at all.”

“You’re evil, you know that? Absolute menace,” Mike shook his head with all the love in the world in his smile, wrapping an arm around him. “What do you reckon they’ll plan to do?”

“Not a clue. They could be boring and just talk to us, but I hope it’s a bit more interesting than that. I want to have fun with it,” Will grinned, looking up with a mischievous glint in his eye, and Mike pulled him impossibly closer, laughing incredulously, at the ridiculousness of the situation and of his boyfriend, never having felt more lucky than in this moment.

-

“Will, who was it you were talking to earlier in algebra?” Max asked whilst they were sat in their usual classroom for lunch. Two days had passed since they had eavesdropped on their friends’ plans, and so far they had done nothing to indicate what they were plotting, and they were getting restless waiting for somebody to say something, anything, about it. 

“Hm?” Will looked up from where he was picking soggy lettuce out of his sandwich, grimacing at the mayonnaise he was getting on his fingers, which were already stained green with dry paint he hadn’t managed to scrub off yet. 

“Yeah, that girl who you sit next to. What’s her name, Charlotte, is it?” El joined in, an unreadable expression on her face.

“Charlotte? What about her?”

“Nothing, you just seemed close, is all,” Max said with a shrug, but her eyes gleamed as she glanced at Mike, who was sitting next to Will, reading the back of his cereal bar, paying no attention. Max rolled her eyes. “Do you know her, Mike?”

“Huh? Know who?” he finally looked up, upon hearing his name. 

“Charlotte,” Max repeated, exasperated, “in algebra. I was just saying that her and Will seemed close, is all. And since you’re Will’s best friend, I thought you might know if something was going on between them.”

“Charlotte?” he asked blankly, “do you even really know her?” he turned to Will, unbothered. 

“Not really,” Will replied, but he seemed to have pieced together what was going on much quicker than Mike, who had yet to catch on. “I mean, she’s pretty, I guess, but I wouldn’t say we’re close.”

“She’s- what?” Mike blinked at Will, before his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Pretty? Charlotte?”

Will shrugged, “just an observation.”

Mike eyed him, mind racing, but he seemed unable to find an explanation. “You think she’s pretty,” he stated, looking at Will as if he’d just grown an extra head. “Charlotte?” 

“Yeah, I suppose. Do you not?” Will’s lip twitched, threatening to break his act, but nobody caught it except for a confused Mike, who was getting increasingly redder, and increasingly more perplexed. 

“I’ve never really thought about it?” he replied slowly, getting the impression that everyone in the room was in on something except for him. 

“But she is, like, objectively, you know?”

All eyes were on Mike as he struggled to come up with a response, overwhelmed by both his own bewilderment and a strange twist in his gut. He knew that feeling entirely too well; it was a feeling he used to get whenever he saw someone look in Will’s direction for, what was in his opinion, entirely too long, because only he was allowed to do that. Or much worse, whenever Will used to look in somebody else’s direction when Mike wanted Will to look at him, which he had been certain was never going to happen. He hadn’t felt this in a while, even if someone had looked at Will, because he knew that Will was his. Not that he was possessive — well, if he was, that was nobody’s business — but just that he knew that Will wanted nothing more than Mike, and he was confident in that. Will had everything that he needed, just as Mike did, so there was no reason for him to feel insecure about it, and, generally, he didn’t. 

So why was he feeling this now, at the idea of Will talking to a random classmate that he didn’t even know? A girl, too. Will didn’t even like girls, this he was sure of.

Will had said she was pretty. 

Okay, objectively, yes, she was. She had lovely hazel eyes, and soft brown hair, cut into a neat fringe across her forehead, and a few moles dotted across her face and neck. But Mike knew someone else with those exact features, and he was sitting right next to him, and he got to kiss him, and hold his hand, and fall asleep beside him, so why on earth would he care about somebody else who just so happened to look similar to him? 

“Do you not think she’s pretty?” Will pushed again, his smirk growing slightly, though it was still subtle. 

“I guess,” Mike frowned, feeling utterly lost. 

He supposed it was jealousy that he felt, but it seemed misplaced. He knew, he knew, that Will didn’t mean it how it seemed he did, but the knot in his stomach didn’t know that, as he looked at Will again, helplessly. 

Sensing Mike’s mood, the confusing glint that Mike couldn’t make sense of left Will’s eyes, and his face became etched with concern. He subtly raised an eyebrow, a silent question of, you okay? to which Mike gave a small nod, and turned away, now even more flummoxed. 

Max sighed, muttering somewhat incoherently about somebody — Mike assumed him — being stupid and useless. Well. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

“What about Julia?” Dustin asked, and Mike wanted the ground to swallow him whole. Why were they suddenly asking them about girls?

“Which one’s Julia?” Will asked, as Mike recalled that she was fairly new to Hawkins — why anybody would choose to move there was a mystery to all of them — and was only in a couple of classes with them. 

“You know, in biology,” Lucas added, “sits in front of you two, opposite Dustin,” he explained, waiting for the penny to drop. 

Will realised then, who this mystery girl they referred to was, picturing her tall, thin frame, her pale skin, the long dark curls that swooped down her back, the light dusting of freckles that sat atop her sharp features. The ghost of a smirk began to tug at his lips as he spoke. “Oh, her? Nah, not my type,” Will said, eyes wandering over to Mike casually, who began choking on his drink, spluttering as he gasped for air. 

“You okay there, Mike?” Dustin asked through a poorly concealed laugh. Max didn’t bother to hide her cackle at Mike’s reaction. 

“Mhm,” Mike hummed with a frown, eyes glued to the table. 

He felt Will’s foot bump against his and he relaxed slightly, some of the tension leaving his body at the small gesture. 

Of course that girl wasn’t Will’s type, Mike thought. She’s a girl. It didn’t matter what the implication had been when they mentioned this specific girl over anybody else, and his heart swelled at the thought that of course she wasn’t Will’s type, because he was Will’s type. 

He turned to Will, who, sensing his internal conflict, was looking at him much more delicately, eyes kind and soft, that suspicious expression entirely absent. He let himself take a moment to simply sit and stare at the way the sun hit his face, and the remaining tension inside him dissipated. He marvelled at Will’s ability to have that effect on him, but it was no surprise, nor was it anything new. 

They were interrupted by the ringing of the bell, and the party reluctantly packed up their things and hurried off to their respective classes. 

On their way out, he heard Lucas sigh, before quietly muttering, “well, that was utterly pointless.”

“Pointless?” Max whispered loudly, incredulously looking at her boyfriend, “Were we looking at the same Mike? He was losing his mind. It was absolutely priceless.”

It was final period when Mike realised with a grimace what they had been up to, what he had completely missed throughout the entire duration of lunch. 

He decided he hated his friends and he hated Will. Especially Will, who was sat next to him, doodling absent-mindedly in his margins instead of writing. He bumped his elbow with his own, and they shared a loving glance in plain sight. It was all they could have. 

Yeah, hate, he thought to himself, and smiled. 

It didn’t take long for their friends to strike again, unfortunately for Mike, with irritatingly similar tactics. 

The party were sleeping over at the Wheeler’s house, setting up camp in the basement, the hard wooden floor barely visible beneath the mountain of airbeds, pillows and blankets. Given that it was still barely spring, the basement wasn’t exactly the best choice of places to sleep, being the coldest room in the house by at least a few degrees. Nevertheless, they huddled around the TV, some stupid action film on the screen that would usually have captured Will’s attention easily, but he was entirely too focused on the boy sat beside him, far too close, and far too noticeable. They were sat on the couch, having the advantage of higher ground, with the rest of the group on the floor in front of them. They weren’t sure how they’d managed to get away with that, given that their friends seemed transfixed on their every move whenever they were around each other, searching for signals between them, signs that their plans to get them closer together were working. If only they knew, Will thought to himself, as his he traced Mike’s palm with his index finger underneath the blanket they were sharing. Their arms and legs were pressed together and Will intertwined their fingers, giving his boyfriend’s hand a squeeze, which Mike returned. Will didn’t dare lean over to rest his head on Mike’s shoulder — though part of him almost considered it, just to get a reaction out of their friends. 

After discussing the situation at lunch a few days prior, Will making fun of Mike copiously for not picking up on it at all, and allowing them to get to him, they agreed that they had both reached a point where they didn’t mind their friends knowing at all. In fact, had it not been for their plot, they would have been telling them this very evening, whilst they were all gathered together. However, playing along with their friends’ plans, whilst having the upper hand, was something neither of them wanted to pass up. For Will, this was especially true if there was a flustered and possessive Mike involved. 

They kept hold of each others’ hands beneath the blanket for the duration of the film, ignoring the occasional look they received from Dustin, who kept glancing up at them with a raised eyebrow, cogs turning in his head. By the time it had finished, Will couldn’t have even begun to try explaining the storyline, could perhaps have just about managed to remember the main character’s name, having spent the entire time looking at Mike, or thinking about Mike, or both at once. The latter was his favourite. He assumed Mike didn’t pay any more attention to the film than he did, so, once it finished, they vaguely listened to Dustin rant about a plot hole he thought was so obvious, and ridiculously stupid to have missed, and Lucas defending it with his life, but neither of them contributed to the discussion, having nothing to say, nothing to go on but a name, if even that. 

“Josh kinda looked like Will, don’t you think, El?” Max said once the boys’ argument had come to an end, both agreeing to disagree, neither budging on their opinions. 

El sat up straight at that, “I thought the exact same thing,” she exclaimed, before turning behind her to look at Mike, who was still pressed right up against Will, somewhat hidden by a thin blanket. “Do you agree, Mike?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Mike shrugged. This was an understatement. He had, in fact, spent entirely too much of his time watching the film thinking about the fact that the boy on the screen in front of him and the boy holding his hand next to him were practically identical.

“I don’t see it,” Will said, sounding genuine, tilting his head towards Mike in question. “Do you really think so?”

“Yeah, I do. Similar hair and eyes, I s’pose,” Mike shrugged, keeping his composure quite well, he thought. 

“I mean, yeah, but they also have the exact same face,” Max said, somewhat agreeing with Mike for what may have been the first time in her entire life, but Mike could sense an ulterior motive in her tone, in the way she eyed him, then Will, looking between them, at where their shoulders were pressed together above the blanket covering them, as if she could tell something was going on, and wanted nothing more than to exploit it. And exploit it, she did. 

“Who do you think is better looking, Will or Josh?”

Will’s head snapped up to look at Max incredulously, before turning to look at Mike, both of their cheeks reddening as they briefly made eye contact, panic in Mike’s eyes, and a strange combination of embarrassment and excited uncertainty in Will’s, who, though he knew Mike like the back of his hand and could read him like a book, also knew all too well that he was unpredictable at the best of times, and he had no idea what he was about to say. 

For several moments, he said nothing. His eyes darted between Will and Max, even looking to Lucas for help, who shrugged with a slight smirk and a raised eyebrow, as if telling him to just answer the question. 

He stuttered for a moment, unsure of what to say, stumbling over his words before he even knew what they would be. His brain felt frozen, buffering, as he tried and failed to find the best response. 

“I- I mean- they’re not that similar-” he mumbled at last, trying to get out of answering at all. 

“Bullshit, just say who you prefer,” Dustin rolled his eyes, with everyone, including Will, clearly having entirely too much fun as Mike was, once again, the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons. At least he knew what they were up to this time — he didn’t feel as if he was missing anything, but still wished for the ground to swallow him whole. If it did, if his wish was granted, Will would be dragged down with him, judging by the grip Mike had on his hand, squeezing like his life depended on it. 

It wasn’t Will that was the issue, he’d told him enough times that he thought he was beautiful, and he was, but it was everyone else taunting him, putting him on the spot, that made his hands clam up and his brain malfunction. He wondered distantly if it ever did function at all. 

He tried to weigh up his options, but his mind was producing nothing but flashing lights and a faint buzzing sound. 

“Will,” he squeaked out at last, not elaborating further at all. 

In his peripheral, he saw El turn to Max with a huge grin plastered across her face, eyes widened in surprise. It was apparent that nobody was actually expecting him to give the answer he did, as they all exchanged looks of genuine shock, Dustin’s mouth agape as he and an equally as stunned Lucas shared a glance. 

“You think so?” Will asked him softly, attention only on Mike, ignoring the rest of the group’s staring, as he looked up at him through his eyelashes, a small smile painting his face, but there was an edge to the glimmer in his eyes, showing Mike that he was enjoying watching him grow increasingly flustered more than he’d care to admit. 

El let out a soft, barely audible “aw,” at Will’s response, and Mike, if he was perfectly honest, agreed, but she didn’t need to know that. 

“Fuck off,” Mike murmured, with no malice in his tone, looking away, before turning to the party. “Happy?”

“Very. I think Will is, too,” El giggled. 

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” Mike muttered almost under his breath, and Will let out a little laugh in agreement, ignoring Mike’s eyes rolling. He squeezed his hand. Mike returned it. Nobody else was any the wiser. 

-

Later that evening, once they were all tucked into bed, having said goodnight to each other and turned the lights off, Will turned to his boyfriend. 

The group seemed to have unintentionally partnered off into pairs, with El and Max next to each other on one side of the room, still chatting and laughing quietly between them, Dustin and Lucas a few feet away from them, and Mike and Will further still from the rest of them, on the other side of the room, their airbeds pushed together to make a double bed, their single duvets overlapping in the middle. If anybody noticed, they hadn’t commented on it, and Mike hoped, for the sake of the remainder of his dwindling sanity, that nobody did. He had endured enough embarrassment over the past few days to last a lifetime. 

“Hi,” Will whispered, barely audible. 

“Hi,” Mike replied with a soft smile, reaching out under the duvet to rest his hand on Will’s side, pushing his shirt up to touch his skin, warm beneath his palm as he traced the slight curve of Will’s hip. 

Will pulled his duvet up over his head, then grabbed Mike’s and did the same, so they were entirely hidden from sight, enveloped in complete darkness. They could barely make out the sight of before them, though their faces were mere inches away from each other. Will reached out a hand to cup Mike’s cheek, finding it easily despite the darkness. He dragged his thumb up and down, making little patterns on his face, before shuffling closer. They lay there for a few moments, Mike’s hand pulling Will towards him as he let it rest on his back, simply breathing in the safety and warmth each other offered. They needed nothing more, but they took it anyway; Will only had to press forward very slightly to connect their lips in what could barely be counted as a kiss, breaking apart after only a moment. The thrill of doing this in the presence of their friends, in the same room as them, made both their hearts pound in their chests, as Mike leaned in again, kissing him no less gently, but with less caution, this time. Will kissed back, both simultaneously enjoying the rush of it and terrified to be exposed, staying as quiet as they possibly could. One hand still on his back, Mike’s other hand moved up his body, cupping the back of his head, before tracing the nape of his neck carefully with his fingers, somewhere that if anybody other than he touched, Will would recoil in fear, but Mike brought comfort to him, always, everywhere, in his touch, his words, his presence. They broke apart delicately, noiselessly, still so close that they could feel each others’ matching smiles. Staying there, still, for a few more moments, they held each other close and basked in the warmth of each others’ touch. Will let out a content sigh, before burying his face in Mike’s neck and wrapping his arms around him. Mike pressed a kiss to the top of his head and squeezed him tightly. They both knew they ought to separate before morning, before anyone saw them curled up together this closely, entirely intertwined, but none of that mattered, not now, not when it felt like this. Will felt sleep drawing close, and he didn’t fight it, letting his dreams reel him in, knowing Mike would be there, both in his imagination and when he awoke. 

-

Will woke up to the soft tickle of breath against the back of his neck, an arm loosely wrapped around his side, and caught the sound of muttering from the other side of the room. He distantly registered what was being said, in his half sleeping state, but didn’t care to open his eyes, enjoying Mike’s embrace and the warmth radiating from his body. 

“Are they cuddling?” Will heard Dustin exclaim quietly, clearly trying not to wake them from what he assumed looked like a very peaceful slumber, which it had been. 

“Remember when they used to do that when we were kids?” Lucas asked, a hint of fondness in his tone. 

“What?” questioned Max from where Will guessed she was still in her bed next to El. 

“Yeah, whenever we had sleepovers as kids we’d often wake up to them huddled up to each other. They stopped once we were about nine, I’d say,” Lucas explained, and Will’s heart warmed at the memory. 

It was true, every word of it. When they had sleepovers with just the two of them, they’d always fall asleep holding each other, limbs entwined, Will finding that it stopped his nightmares about his dad and school bullies, and his fear of the dark, closeness to Mike always having been such a comfort. Whenever they slept over with Lucas and Dustin, they never intended to be that close, but, every time, like clockwork, their sleeping bodies would find their way to each other, limbs looping around each other, and when they awoke, nobody said a word about it. It wasn’t until kids at school started making snide comments about the closeness of their friendship that they realised that this was something they had to keep between the two of them, for nobody else to see, not even their friends. They never discussed it, but Mike had slept next to Lucas instead of Will one sleepover, and they’d never looked back. That memory used to come to Will with a stab in his chest, but he grew to understand exactly why he had done that, despite even Mike not fully knowing why, at the time. Mike had always tried to hide, even then, running away from it, from himself where Will couldn’t bring himself to, forever resigning himself to a life of solitude and pining from afar. In private, however, they kept up their late night cuddling for at least another couple of years after they stopped in front of their friends, and had never ceased to find security in one another’s touch.  But that, too, began to fade as their understanding of the world and its opinions on boys like them grew stronger, unravelling the threads woven between them, dragging them further and further away, until they were two ships passing at night, seeing one another only in tricks of the light. But eventually they had found each other again in amongst the darkness. They always would, Will was sure of it. 

“That’s very sweet,” El murmured quietly, “do you think it was on purpose?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Dustin replied, sounding deep in thought, “I almost feel bad for meddling. I think they’re doing just fine on their own.”

If only he knew how true that was, Will thought, holding back a smile. 

It was then when Will felt Mike’s breathing change, speeding up a little as he began to wake, before he suddenly sat bolt upright, pulling his body away from Will’s as if he was burning him. Will opened his eyes, turning to look at the boy behind him, and raised an eyebrow. 

“Morning,” he whispered as if telling him a secret. Everybody could hear him. 

“Morning,” Mike smiled warmly down at him, before mumbling a greeting to the rest of their friends, who offered their ‘good morning’s mockingly. 

“Sleep well?” Max asked, resting her chin on her palm. 

“This airbed has a puncture,” was all Mike said, ignoring the implications entirely, dodging the question immediately.

“Oh, so that’s why you were sleeping on Will’s airbed instead,” Lucas taunted, watching, amused, as both Mike and Will’s cheeks reddened. 

Mike just sighed, before muttering something about breakfast, motioning for them to follow him upstairs. They distracted themselves from The Mike And Will Situation with pancakes, waffles and entirely too much melted chocolate — if Mike burnt a slice of toast because he was too engrossed in watching Will animatedly explain the plot of a comic to El, eyes gleaming bright as he gesticulated wildly, that was nobody’s business but his own. 

-

Will was first to their usual lunchtime classroom the following Thursday, and took the opportunity to take out his sketchbook, continuing to work on his latest piece. He didn’t think much of it, so far it was merely a simple pencil sketch of his kindergarten playground. The class had been told to create a piece based on childhood memories, specifically reflecting both the good and the bad aspects of a particular place. He had considered drawing his childhood home, where, of course he had felt safe, with his mother and Jonathan, and Mike when he came round, but he also associated it with the fear of his dad getting home and shouting at him, taunting him for things he could and would never change about himself, hitting him merely for wanting his best friend in the wrong way, even before Will knew that about himself. Not to mention seeing the Upside Down version of his home would haunt him for the rest of his life. 

Castle Byers was also a strong contender for his piece, again, having been a sanctuary for him to escape all the things he was afraid of, symbolising to him safety and security, but it, too, had been tainted by both that fateful week in 1983 and Mike’s words, having been destroyed with a symbol of Will’s own moral failings, or so he had felt at the time. 

His favourite childhood memory, however, had been meeting Mike. He got to feel the joy of finally having a friend, having someone who understood him, someone who allowed him to be himself without him feeling the need to hide anything. A life without Mike in it didn’t bear thinking about, and he would forever remain grateful for that little blue and yellow swing set. 

Even memories of the place he had met his best friend and the love of his life, however, hadn’t been a safe place for him, for it was where, as time went on, he had to endure other children pushing him, hitting him, throwing all manner of words that Will hadn’t understood at him, making him frightened of a part of himself that he hadn’t even known existed. He used to dread break time, knowing that his fear was an inevitability, but also knowing that Mike would wipe his tears away and promise to always protect him, making a Paladin’s Oath to stand eternally by his side on one particularly bad day. 

That day was represented in the piece, Mike depicted as the knight in shining armour to the wizard in purple robes decorated with stars. The two also sat on the swings in the same clothes they wore on the day he and Mike met, amongst other joyous times shared playing between the two of them, but those other, not so nice memories made an appearance, darkening the once delightful scene. He wasn’t sure about it, as he stared at it critically, but he didn’t have it in him to start again, so he continued, and he knew Mike would tell him it was beautiful, regardless of what it was. Mike had always loved Will’s art, and now that they were together, he drew for him all the time, even more than he used to, which he didn’t think was possible; he usually made little sketches of things that reminded him of his boyfriend, often slipping through the gap in his locker door, or sneakily passing to him in class just to see him smile, and every time it warmed his heart to see him appreciate something so little, to find so much meaning in such a small gesture. 

When the others entered the classroom, he closed his sketchbook, leaving it out on the table as everyone chattered, Mike’s foot finding Will’s under the table, as usual, letting them enter their own little bubble in amongst the chaos of the day. 

“What are you working on at the moment?” El asked Will casually, pointing to his sketchbook that still sat on the table, its black cover offering no insight into what lay within. 

“Just a piece for class. It’s not exciting,” Will shrugged, but Mike’s interest piqued at the mention of his art, breaking him from the daydream he had found himself in. 

“Can I see?” 

“It’s not done yet,” Will said, but didn’t outright deny him, unable to really say no to him. 

“Please?” Mike asked, lowering his head to look up at him through his eyelashes, knowing it would get him his own way every time. Will was simply helpless to resist. 

He picked up his sketchbook, holding it close to his chest as he flicked through the pages to find his most recent project, trying to hide many of the rest of the pieces from view, keeping them out of sight to protect his own dignity, to save himself the embarrassment. It wasn’t that he hated the art covering several of the pages in his book, on the contrary, in fact. Instead it was the problem that far too many had a shared subject: Mike. Pages and pages were adorned with studies of Mike’s hands, or the way the light reflected in his eyes as it streamed in through the crack in the curtains in the morning, or the freckles that decorated his nose and cheeks in summer, the sharp features of his face that Will had spent years staring at and learning, his lips, slightly chapped from where he chewed on them relentlessly, a twitch in the corner as they were tugged into a smile, his collarbones littered with marks that Will had left behind, a reminder of the one person who got to see him writhing and gasping beneath his hands, beneath his mouth. Just Mike, in every way that Will saw him. Mike was aware, of course, of the contents of this sketchbook, always getting to see the finished product whenever Will was working on anything, and usually getting to see it in progress, too. Sometimes when they were together, Will would stop what he was doing to pick up his sketchbook, and Mike would be more than content to simply sit and watch Will draw, feeling his eyes on him, but not squirming under his gaze. He was always able to relax with the knowledge that Will was looking at him with such gentle reverence and Mike was yet to see a drawing of him by his boyfriend that he didn’t adore. He had worried that being so seen might be scary, but it never was when it was Will picking apart his every feature and weaving them back together with his pencil, seeing inside of him, his every move, his every thought, and not running, but leaning closer, drinking in as much of him as was possible. 

Of course, not every page was filled solely with Mike, there were many filled with art based on their DnD campaigns, and landscapes based on photographs or places around Hawkins, a few pieces from when he wanted to try more abstract art, but quickly decided it wasn’t for him — those were mostly about Mike, but nobody needed to know that, though he worried it might be easy to guess, as the love seemed to seep through the pages, bleeding into every corner, every crevice. 

It was, however, just Will’s luck, that whilst he was flicking through the book, he was startled suddenly by a bang, a strange foggy grey figure pelting towards the window all too quickly, before tumbling out of view. Max rolled her eyes at the pigeon that seemed to think that that very moment was an excellent time to come crashing into the window, whilst Will jumped out of his skin, letting out an embarrassingly high pitched squeal as his sketchbook slipped from his hands and landed on the table in front of him with a clatter. His momentary fright from the bird dissipated instantly, being replaced by absolute horror when he cast his eyes downwards upon the page that it had landed open on. He slammed it shut immediately, but it was too late. Everyone had seen it. He felt his face flush violently as he stared at the closed book before him, not daring to look up at anybody, not even Mike. Especially not Mike. 

All knowledge of their friends’ plans and Mike and Will’s ploy to stay one step ahead of them was almost entirely forgotten as he drowned in a pool of his own embarrassment, only a very small part of him recognising that his friends would absolutely add this to their mountain of evidence that had accumulated to suggest that they did, in fact, harbour ridiculously humiliating crushes on each other. 

“I reckon you’ll get an A with that,” Max grinned, knowing full well that it was not what Will had intended to show everybody. “Though if I were you, I’d get a better model. Maybe Dustin can help you out next time?” 

“What?” Will and Dustin both gaped at her incredulously, as Mike started spluttering something about being a great model thank you very much, I stay very still.

“That wasn’t-” Will murmured, trailing off, “that wasn’t for class.”

“Yeah, no shit, Byers,” Lucas said, not bothering to suppress his laughter. 

“What’s it for, then?” Dustin questioned, quirking an eyebrow. 

“Just practice,” Will answered, feigning a casual act, ignoring the pounding in his chest, the sensation of being caught, “you know, for proportions and stuff. The awkward positioning makes it tricky. And the- the low light, as well. It’s good practice.”

“Right, of course. And it was imperative for it to be Mike looking like that, was it?” 

Will shrugged, “like I said, it was just good practice. The opportunity was there, might as well take it.”

“When did you do that one?” Mike asked softly, a stark juxtaposition from the rest of the group’s cackling. 

“Sunday morning. I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep,” Will replied, tuning out the rest of the group as his mind buzzed with Mike Mike Mike.

“It’s lovely,” Mike told him, his tone laced with a gentleness that Will had begun to associate with a warm, fuzzy sensation in his chest that felt like home, “though I’d like to have a proper look later.” 

Will nodded, “of course you can.”

“Can I get a proper look?” El questioned, her gaze flicking between Will and Mike, an innocence in her tone that Will was certain was pretend. Having lived with her for several years now, he could tell when she was up to something.  

“No,” Mike frowned, crossing his arms. 

“I don’t think it’s up to you,” Max said, “it’s Will’s drawing.”

“Yeah, but it’s of me!” Mike argued petulantly, his face reddening. 

“Dude, we’ve seen you shirtless before, it’s not exactly a big deal,” Lucas rolled his eyes. 

“Well- okay, yeah, but- but not like that!” 

“Like what?” El tilted her head to one side in question. 

“Like- like that!” was all Mike could settle on, unable to find the words to describe himself in the drawing, “it’s just- I don’t know, like- personal?”

“Personal. So what makes Will so special? Why does Will get to draw you ‘personally’, but we don’t get to see it?” Dustin asked, smirking, knowing full well the answer, just waiting for Mike to make up some kind of ridiculous lie or excuse. 

Will was silently watching it all play out, slightly hoping the ground might swallow him whole, but he knew he had to stay purely to see Mike make a fool out of himself. Perhaps it was a tad cruel, but he couldn’t deny that it was entertaining. 

“Because- because we’re best friends!”

Will almost rolled his eyes at that. There was a collective groan amongst the group that Will nearly joined in with, narrowly suppressing the urge to bash his head against the table. 

Mike wasn’t wrong, of course. Above anything else, they were best friends, but it still brought butterflies to Will’s stomach whenever he was reminded that they weren’t just best friends anymore. They got to see each other in ways that their other friends didn’t get to, in ways that weren’t to be shared with anybody else, and Will blushed at the thought. 

“Right, right,” Dustin started, deadpan, “so that’s why he drew you naked in his bed. Because you’re best friends.” 

“Wait- I wasn’t- I had pants on!” Mike spluttered, his already scarlet cheeks blushing an even deeper shade of red. Will bit his lip as he tried not to laugh, hiding his mouth behind his hand, though he knew he was equally as rosy. 

The drawing had been fairly innocent, really, Will thought. It depicted Mike fast asleep in Will’s bed, the sun peaking through the curtains, bathing him in soft yellow light. He was sprawled out on his back, bare chest on display, the duvet resting just beneath his hips, the bones jutting out in a way that made Will’s mouth water. He had an arm thrown across his stomach and the other placed awkwardly on the pillow that Will had slept on, having had it wrapped around him all night as Will had curled up into his chest — though the others didn’t need to know that. His dishevelled curls fell onto the pillow, sticking up at odd angles, made messy from a night’s sleep and Will’s fingers that seemed to tangle their way into his hair whenever they could. It was, as all of his drawings of and for Mike were, signed ‘love, Will,’ in the bottom right corner, but it seemed that their friends either missed it, far too focused on the fact that Mike had been half naked in Will’s bed, or were taking mercy on Will and saving him this particular embarrassment, perhaps waiting for Mike to notice it himself when he got to look at it properly later. He prayed it was the former. 

“I mean, the duvet cuts it off, so how are we to know? The drawing is up to interpretation,” Lucas stated with a shrug. 

“Schrodinger’s pants,” Dustin mused. 

“Pervs,” Mike muttered. 

“Eh, you were the one naked in Will’s bed, I think that makes you the perv,” Lucas argued. 

“I’m not- Will, help me,” Mike pleaded, turning to his boyfriend who was trying not to let out a giggle. 

“Is Lucas wrong?” Will asked in response, grinning. 

“Will!”

“I’m not sure Will can help,” Dustin added, “since, you know, he was the one who drew you like that, while you were asleep, no less. He was clearly enjoying the view.”

Will didn’t think it was possible for Mike to get any redder, but it appeared that the insinuation that Will found him attractive rendered him both incapable of speaking and an impossible shade of crimson. This, he already knew, as he loved to watch Mike stumble over his words after Will complimented him, or, better still, when they were alone, reward him with a kiss to make up for his inability to string together a coherent sentence. 

“It’s surprising, but I suppose someone has to,” Max rolled her eyes, to which Mike flipped her off without saying anything.

“What do you mean, he’s-” Will jumped to Mike’s defence instinctively, before catching himself. 

“He’s what, Byers?” Max challenged, raising an eyebrow, a knowing look gleaming in her eyes, a smirk forming on her face. 

Will just shrugged. 

“Yeah, I’m what, Will?” Mike grinned as he joined in, seemingly remembering the plan, the game that they intended to win, deciding at last to have some fun with it. 

“Oh, don’t you start, Mike,” Will huffed, picking up his sketchbook and sliding it into his bag to avoid any more humiliation, fully expecting one of them to start flicking through it to find more incriminating drawings of Mike. 

“No, no, I want to hear. What am I?” Mike pushed, desperately enjoying watching his boyfriend become more and more flustered. 

“I don’t know,” Will mumbled helplessly. He usually loved to litter Mike with compliments, to tell him how beautiful he was, but never in front of other people, especially when they had a plan. A game to win. An act to pull off. He slipped effortlessly back into the mentality of having an awkward crush on his straight best friend who would never like him back, finding it worryingly easy to put on the facade like a mask and fake his way through a flustered compliment, knowing full well that Mike was enjoying watching him like this just as much as he had been enjoying seeing Mike’s floundering. 

“No, go on,” Mike encouraged teasingly, having entirely too much fun for Will’s liking, “tell me. What am I?” 

“You’re- you’re cute sometimes,” Will murmured, shrugging as if to brush it off as not being a big deal, and really, it wasn’t. He told him that all the time, and Mike knew how Will felt about him, they both did, but this revelation a few months ago held such weight, such significance, that pretending he was saying this, and that Mike was hearing this, for the first time, wasn’t a challenge. 

“Oh,” Mike breathed, holding back a smirk, hiding it with a shy smile as he blushed and looked away from Will nervously, before daring a glance back in his direction to find Will gazing at him softly, watching his every move with a gentle expression that Mike was sure would get them caught, that everyone would see it and immediately know what they were. As he peered around him at their friends observing the scene playing out before them, they exchanged knowing looks, except for Max, who was pretending to gag, making El fall into a fit of giggles, and he worried briefly that this was it. They knew. 

They have to sort their shit out, Dustin mouthed to Lucas, who nodded, as if they weren’t sat there right in front of them, as if neither of them could see them. 

Not quite there then, he realised, letting his shoulders fall as he relaxed, not because he was afraid of being caught, but because he intended on winning. How to win or lose this game was unclear — he supposed they just had to keep pretending for as long as they could hold on, but he was sure there must be a way to thrash their opponents, cause so much shock that they called off their own ploy. The only way to do that, he concluded, was to reveal their relationship, but he refused to just tell them outright or to let them figure it out for themselves. No, they had to do something, he just couldn’t decide what.

As their humiliation came to an end, allowing the two of them to relax on their way to their next classes, Mike let his hand brush against Will’s whilst he walked him to his art room, going only slightly out of his way to spend an extra couple of minutes in his company before trekking to his geography class. 

“You okay?” Mike checked, unwilling to let him go, standing outside his classroom. 

“Yeah,” Will nodded, “that was… stupid.”

“So stupid,” Mike agreed. “I would like to see that drawing again, though. Properly, this time.”

“Sure. My place after school? El’s going to Max’s for a sleepover and my mom and Hopper are going to Enzo’s and the cinema,” he grinned, a pink tint to his cheeks. “I was gonna invite you anyway.”

“Well in that case, it’s a date,” Mike smiled, aching to be able to kiss him goodbye before heading to his own class, sighing to himself as he saved it for later, in the privacy of Will’s bedroom, or even his living room, he thought, remembering that they had the whole cabin to themselves for the evening, giving them the opportunity to watch a movie together in a tangle on the couch, a frustratingly rare occasion, and he resigned himself to daydreaming about it in every remaining lesson until the end of the school day. 

-

The party were lounging around in Mike’s basement, a few drinks that Dustin had managed to convince Steve to get for them being passed around, though he’d refused to buy them enough to get them all properly drunk, much to their dismay. Dustin informed him he was being boring, insisting that, had Robin been there, she’d have been more than happy to buy them a little more, which Steve didn’t dispute, but unfortunately she was away visiting Nancy at college, abandoning them with a strangely responsible babysitter. Will never thought he would ever find himself thinking that Steve Harrington had a morsel of sense in his entire body, but was somewhat grateful, not trusting himself to not make a complete fool of himself with a more than a few drops of alcohol in his system. 

El had decided that they should all play truth or dare; Mike had argued that they all knew each other more than well enough, and surely nobody had that much to hide, but the others all contested this, deciding that there were definitely secrets hidden between them, some more obvious than others. Dustin had given Mike and Will a pointed look when he had said that, and the two had caught each other’s eyes in a silent agreement that today could be the day to win the game once and for all. The day before, at the Hopper-Byers cabin, they had both agreed that they would tell their friends at the next possible opportunity, if only to beat them in the contest that the rest of the group didn’t even know they were competing in. In the brief glance at one another, an understanding passed between them that now was the perfect timing, and they were certain that the rest of the group were going to take this game as a time to try and push them closer together. Just how close, they had no idea. 

“Fine,” Mike conceded, “who’s going first?”

“Dustin,” Max started, much to all of their surprise, “truth or dare?”

“Truth,” he said without hesitation, “I don’t trust you, Mayfield.”

“If you had to kiss any guy in Hawkins, who would it be?”

Dustin raised an eyebrow at her in question, pausing for a moment to think, perhaps confused at why this particular question had been directed at him, before it dawned on him, and he turned to face Will, who was sat next to him on the couch, with Mike on the floor at Will’s feet. “It’d have to be you, Byers,” he grinned, glancing down at Mike to watch his reaction, already knowing he had caused chaos in Mike’s head. 

Will’s cheeks had a light dusting of pink as he offered an awkward laugh, but Mike looked outraged at the thought, blushing a furious shade of crimson as he furrowed his eyebrows, pursing his lips, his eyes darting between the two boys. Max snorted into her drink, but he tuned her out, shooting a glare in Dustin’s direction. Will nudged his side slightly with his foot and he let his shoulders fall, but he couldn’t get the image out of his head of Will kissing anybody other than him and it clawed at his chest. Jealous was the wrong word, he thought, because realistically he knew that it was entirely hypothetical and was more than comfortable and confident in his relationship with Will, but there was a little voice inside of him that screamed, begging to be let out and show everyone that Will didn’t need anybody but him. 

Clearly, Will didn’t get that memo. 

“I’ll bear that in mind, then,” he said, not daring a glance in Mike’s direction, giving him another small kick, an acknowledgement of Mike’s distress and his own amusement of this. 

“Maybe it’s a good thing Steve isn’t letting us get drunk,” Dustin teased, “or I might be all over you by the end of the night.” His intention to wind Mike up couldn’t have been more obvious as he sent a smirk in his direction, who scowled and crossed his arms, momentarily not caring about winning the game, or about how on the nose his feelings clearly were — they all already knew anyway, he conceded. 

“Let’s move on,” he huffed. 

“Alright then,” Max turned to Mike, “your turn. Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Why did Dustin’s answer annoy you?” El asked innocently, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

“It didn’t!” he argued, but was met with five disbelieving faces, a betrayal from his own boyfriend. 

“We all saw that, Mike. So why?” Lucas questioned. 

“Because- because-” Mike floundered, looking to Will for an answer, but he just shrugged as if to say you’re on your own. Great, he thought. Just marvellous. “Because Will deserves better!”

“Hey! I’d make it good for you, Will,” Dustin shot a grin in Will’s direction, who returned it with a flutter of his eyelashes, just to really get a reaction from Mike. 

“I know you would, Dustin.”

“You’re saying that you’d treat him better?” Max asked boldly, saying the one thing none of them had dared to outright say yet, only having been implying it heavily for weeks now. 

“Wait- that’s not- that’s not what I said!” was Mike’s futile attempt to defend himself. 

“Are you sure?” Lucas deadpanned, before raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah! I just meant- like- Dustin said he’d kiss him if he got drunk, but Will deserves someone who actually wants him all the time!” 

“So you’re saying I can’t drunkenly make out with someone?” Will asked, looking down at him, eyes searching his face for a response. He wasn’t disappointed, as Mike was bright red and frowning, growing increasingly flustered. 

“No, you can if you want to, I’m just saying that you deserve someone who actually wants you.”

“You know this was totally hypothetical, right, Mike? I don’t actually like guys,” Dustin added, but Mike didn’t calm down in the slightest. 

“I know, and I’m saying that in a hypothetical situation, Will deserves better than a drunken make-out with someone who doesn’t actually want him.”

“So, do you know someone who wants that who you can set Will up with?” El inquired. 

“Well- no- I mean- oh, fuck off, all of you. El, I hate you.”

El patted his knee patronisingly and he scowled again, looking up at Will helplessly, watching him struggle to keep his composure as he threatened to fall into a fit of laughter. 

“Max, I think it’s your turn,” Mike said. 

“Dare,” she narrowed her eyes at him. “Do your worst.”

-

After several rounds, in which Lucas had revealed that seeing Will shirtless had briefly led him to question his sexuality the previous year, much to Mike’s dismay, then El had snuck upstairs and used her powers to drop a dessert on Ted’s head, before Max had stolen something from Mike’s room — he was yet to discover what had gone missing, but was dreading going upstairs to find out. 

“Will, truth or dare?” El asked, leaning back to rest her head on Max’s shoulder. 

“Dare,” he answered after a beat, a brief hesitation.

“Show us your sketchbook again,” she grinned, knowing full well that he took one almost everywhere he went, just in case the opportunity to draw arose, or inspiration took ahold of him. 

“I-” he started, regretting his decision immediately. “I don’t- my art’s private,” he mumbled. 

“Coward,” Max teased, “come on, show us. Just one page.”

“We’ve already done this,” Mike complained, “why do you need to pry again?”

“Because it was fun last time and it’ll be fun this time. Come on,” Dustin encouraged, as Will reluctantly stood up to get it from his bag on the other side of the room. It was a different one to the larger black sketchbook he had accidentally displayed to the party the previous day. This one had been a present from Mike, a smaller, emerald green coloured book with his name etched into the back. It mostly contained drawings of Mike, though there were some others with different subjects which he prayed he would get to show instead. 

“Do I get to choose the page?”

“Nope,” El answered, “I’ll open it on a random page.”

He sighed, before handing it to her and sitting back in his place on the couch, knowing it was a losing battle. She grabbed it excitedly and shut her eyes, staying true to her word as she flicked through the pages blindly and settled on a more recent one, opening her eyes to reveal the page. The right side was blank, but much to Will’s dismay, the left more than made up for it. It was a simple pencil sketch of a person, spanning from the collarbones up to the jaw, cutting off at the lips, and Will hoped that it wasn’t clear who the body belonged to without the full face, but he knew he was deluding himself. He would always recognise the sharp bones jutting out, casting shadows on the pale skin, and whilst he spent far more time thinking about Mike than the rest of his friends, he didn’t doubt that they would know instantly who this drawing depicted. 

If it had just been his neck, Will wouldn’t have minded too much, but the dark bruises on his collarbones couldn’t be hidden, were the main focus of the piece, the shading emphasising them beyond the point of disguise. Will could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks and he didn’t dare look at Mike, wishing he wasn’t experiencing a horrible deja vu. 

“Jesus Christ, Mike, what the hell happened to you?” Max stared at him, jaw agape. 

“Who did that to you?” Lucas gawped, wide-eyed in surprise. 

“I was uh- I was mauled! By a cat- Dustin’s cat. She’s dangerous, dude. Very dangerous. Sharp teeth and claws. Could’ve killed me. I’m lucky to still be here,” Mike spluttered stupidly, incapable of finding a better excuse. Will rolled his eyes, before nodding along, the only person in the room pretending to believe him. 

“You know what? Sure. My cat nearly killed you. Fine. That’s fine. I don’t care anymore,” Dustin admitted defeat, taking a large swig from his cup and pretending not to find it disgusting, failing to hide his wince, and silently cursing Steve for supplying them with the cheapest drinks he could possibly find. 

“Mike, you know we all know that’s bullshit, right?” Lucas clarified, glancing suspiciously over at Will, who looked away quickly. 

“It’s true! Will helped me hide it from Dustin because I didn’t want to upset him,” Mike said hurriedly, trying to cover his tracks, looking over at Will for help. 

“Yeah,” Will added, “it was a few months ago when we all slept at yours when your mom was out of town. You know that cat has a vengeance against him. There was blood everywhere. Mike was distraught.”

“I believe,” supplied El earnestly, before catching Max’s eye and collapsing into a fit of laughter, evidently not believing anything Mike said at all — this was something that she had learnt a while ago was probably for the best. 

“Why did you draw it, then? If Mike was so in pain?” Max countered with a smirk. 

“Yeah, Will, why did you draw it?” Mike asked. 

“Why did you let me?”

“I asked first.”

“I thought-” Will shrugged, sighing, “I thought it was hot,” he confessed as if it were a secret. They were getting good at pretending to be shy around each other again, he realised, and was almost sad that they were going to have to give up the act soon, finding it was actually quite fun. 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.”

The tension between them was thick as Mike glanced at his lips for a second, before looking back to his eyes, finding the familiar warmth in his gaze as they exchanged a small smile, and Mike swore Will was moments away from leaning down to kiss him there and then. He didn’t think he would’ve complained. 

Will cleared his throat, breaking the moment, pulling his eyes away from Mike who still sat at his feet, having turned in his place to face him rather than lean against the couch. His arm kept knocking into Will’s leg and he was beginning to think it wasn’t accidental. 

“Mike, truth or dare?” Max asked, and Mike knew his answer immediately. 

“Dare.”

“I dare you…” she paused, mischief painting her face as she shot him a knowing smile, “to kiss the prettiest person in the room.”

There was a sharp inhale of breath from the other side of the room, but Mike paid no attention as he stared at her incredulously, feeling his heart pound in his chest. It was now or never. Mind racing, he fiddled with a loose thread on his jumper, weighing up his options. He could kiss Will, brush it off, pretend it never happened, and laugh about it with Will later. He could refuse and ask for a different dare. He could kiss Will and let them taunt them until they revealed their secret. The thought that he could kiss someone else never even entered his mind. 

Palms sweating, he plucked up the courage to glance up at Will, who was already looking down at him expectantly, the ghost of a smile on his lips. 

“Will,” he rasped, “Will, can I kiss you?”

He heard Max whisper, oh my god, behind him but he paid her no mind, focusing on the ringing in his ears, the buzzing in his head, the pulse in his chest that was only getting faster. 

“You think I’m pretty?” Will asked, titling his head to one side, the colour in his cheeks rising, taking one last chance to keep up the act, though he couldn’t deny that the butterflies in his stomach were all too real. 

“Just come here,” Mike breathed, gesturing for him to come closer. Will planted his feet on the floor and leaned down, placing a hand on the side of Mike’s neck and the other in his hair, running his fingers through the tangle of curls atop his head soothingly. Mike cupped his cheeks with his palms, rubbing his thumbs up and down tenderly as he leaned up closer, fluttering his eyes shut as their lips met at last in a delicate, gentle kiss. Will tried to pull away, but Mike dragged a hand from his cheek to the back of his neck, holding him in place as he kissed him again, slightly deeper this time, nipping softly at Will’s lower lip, drawing out a little gasp, both of them smiling against each other’s lips before they pulled apart, but Mike didn’t let him go far, holding Will close to him, mapping out the flecks of light in his eyes like constellations. They were distantly aware of their friends surrounding them exchanging surprised looks, or murmuring words like holy shit, and finally, and at fucking last. 

After sitting for a moment and basking in each other’s light and the freedom that they felt at being able to commit such an act in the presence of others and face no consequences, Mike pulled slightly further away, though he didn’t let go of Will, who was still leaning forwards uncomfortably to meet him. 

“That was weird,” Mike said at last, and Will’s eyebrows furrowed, tilting his head in confusion. 

“What do you mean?” he asked quietly, his tone laced with anxiety, a frown still painted on his face. 

“For fucks sake, Wheeler,” he heard Max mutter behind him and he could feel her eyes boring into the back of his head, able to picture the glare she was sure to be shooting in his direction. 

“I just mean that- you know- I’m taller, so usually when we kiss, you’re the one leaning up to reach me. I’m not used to it this way around,” he said casually, watching the look in Will’s eyes as the realisation dawned on him, and he shook his head lightly with a grin plastered on his face. 

“Usually?” El asked, perplexed, glancing between the rest of the group. 

“What?” Max and Lucas chorused, eyes wide. 

“I knew that wasn’t my fucking cat,” was all Dustin said, before the party dissolved into a bemused laughter.

“So- what so you two are actually together, then, or-” Max asked once their laughter had died down, genuinely surprise taking its place. 

“Mhm,” Mike hummed, “since November,” he told them smugly, placing a hand on Will’s knee. Will rested his own hand atop it and intertwined their fingers. El let out a soft ‘aw’.

“Since November?” Dustin gawped. 

“We’ve been trying to set you two up for, like, a month!” Max confessed, her expression flickering between surprise, relief, and annoyance, in quick succession. 

“Yeah, we know,” Will grinned, squeezing Mike’s hand. 

“What do you mean, you know?” Lucas questioned, bewildered. 

“We were going to tell you, but then we heard you talking about it,” Will admitted, “so we thought we’d play along.”

“You actually might be evil, Byers,” Dustin said, a strangely proud tone to his voice. 

“You’re telling me we made Mike horrifically jealous for nothing?” Max frowned. 

“No, actually, I’m eternally indebted to you for that, it was hilarious,” Will smirked down at Mike, who huffed in protest. 

“What, just like the sketchbook was funny, hm?” Mike countered, raising an eyebrow. 

“That’s- that’s different,” Will mumbled, a blush painting his face scarlet. 

“Mhm, sure.”

“This might be worse than your incessant flirting before,” Max said, “can we go back to ten minutes ago. I feel like I’m about to learn way too much about both of you.”

“Ew,” Will scrunched up his face and Mike just about suppressed the urge to drag him back down to kiss him, before remembering that he didn’t have to stop himself anymore, and a simple glance at his lips and tug at his sleeve was enough for Will to lean down and meet him halfway in a slightly messier kiss than they perhaps meant, Mike managing to remind himself not to climb into Will’s lap. A shared look between them once they broke apart hiding the word ‘later’, a promise, an oath. 

“There’s a closet over there,” Max told them, pointing to the corner of the room, “fancy getting back in it? That was the worst minute of my life. I think I’m scarred beyond repair.”

Mike spluttered inarticulate protests, whilst Will just looked at her calmly in the eye before speaking, though the teasing tone in his voice was obvious, mocking, even. “Just because we’re gay? Max, I really thought you were better than that. Scared you’ll catch it?”

“No- I- you know what I meant,” she rolled her eyes with a sigh, the glance she cast in El’s direction at Will’s quip going entirely unnoticed. “I’m happy for you, though. Seriously. I was worried you’d never figure it out and we’d all be doomed to suffer watching you pine for the rest of your lives.”

“I was worried about that, too, don’t worry,” Will said with a slight smile, Mike nudging his leg in a silent apology that he knew was completely unnecessary, but did anyway, before resting his head on his knee, Will’s hands instinctively going to Mike’s hair, fiddling gently with the strands between his fingers. 

“Well, I am glad it worked out for you,” El said sincerely, watching as Mike sighed contentedly seeming to be off in his own little world, mind reeling with Will Will Will.

Lucas shuffled closer, embracing Will in a hug, gesturing to Mike to join them up on the couch. It wasn’t long before the others were joining them, piling on top of them, wrapping them in love and warmth, an acceptance that did not come as a surprise, but would never go unappreciated. If a tear slipped from Mike’s eyes as he rested his head on Will’s shoulder and felt the weight of his friends’ acceptance surrounding him, resting lightly on his back, well, that was nobody’s business but his. 

Later that night, once the excitement of the evening’s revelations had died down, and the group had relaxed into a new normal, in which nothing had changed, except for the arm wrapped around Will’s shoulders and the kiss placed delicately in his hair, Mike turned to his boyfriend, whispering in his ear, but allowing his eyes to shout aloud all the feelings that embraced him. “Do you think we can sneak off without them noticing?”

“Absolutely not,” Will chuckled, blushing, “they may not be analysing our every move anymore, but I think they’d notice if we just up and left.”

Mike pouted, “but they’re all pretty much asleep already,” he argued, casting his eyes across the room to where they were all sprawled across airbeds and mattresses, murmuring to one another, giggling between themselves or lazily throwing rogue pieces of popcorn in each other’s faces. 

“Later,” Will told him, reiterating the silent vow they had made earlier, before resting his hand on Mike’s cheek, tugging him towards him, pulling him down into a gentle kiss, pouring all the devotion inside his chest into it as Mike clung to his shirt, before his palm came to sit on the nape of Will’s neck. Distantly, they could hear chattering and muffled laughs coming from around them, echoing from the walls, reverberating around them, smiling against each others’ lips with the knowledge that they no longer had to hide in plain sight, his basement never losing the sanctity, the safety of the embrace in which it used to hold them in their childhood, watching them grow older and guiding them through it, every step of the way.