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The summer before senior year was mostly spent either in the Wheeler's basement or at the quarry. It was weird not having somewhere to be, something that needed to be planned, or some interdimensional demon that needed to be taken down. At first, they struggled to just sit still and do nothing, but eventually, they were able to fully relax. The days blurred into endless movie marathons, sleepovers, dips in the quarry, and a few drunken nights in the junkyard.
Down in the basement, the movie Twins was playing on the TV, but no one really seemed to be paying attention to it. True, they had seen it in theatres together, but somehow they still had agreed at the video store that it was worth renting for the weekend.
For the most part, Max's attention was held by the movie, trading comments with Lucas every so often. Lucas was reclining in the blue chair with Max draped across his lap, her back supported by the arm of the chair and her legs hanging over the other.
Whenever she glanced over at Jane and Dustin, they were hunched over the random bits of a taken apart electronic device he had found in the parking lot of the video store. God only knew what they were trying to do with it. The pieces were strewn about on the coffee table as Dustin picked at certain pieces with a pair of tweezers from Nancy's room and a chopstick he had whittled down into a sharp point. He was whispering things to Jane; words like 'processor' and 'serial port' could be heard every so often, and Jane, for the most part, looked completely absorbed in whatever he was explaining.
it was only when she heard Will's soft giggle that Max craned her head back to look behind her at where Mike and Will were. Mike was spread out on the couch and Will was sitting on the floor with his back against the couch, his knees drawn up with his arms draped over them. As she watched, Mike murmured something and Will laughed and tipped his head back until it rested against Mike's shoulder where it laid on the couch.
Max watched them for a moment longer, narrowing her eyes when she spotted Mike's fingers fiddling with the collar of Will's shirt, he didn't even seem to realize what he was doing. Now, she may be the newest member of the Party, and she'd seen those two in positions that straddled the line between platonic and something more. But this? The blush on Will's cheeks and the smile on Mike's face told her it was leaning far away from platonic.
Turning back to the TV, Max angled her head down a little closer to Lucas's. "Look over at Mike and Will," she murmured. She felt him shift against the chair as he leaned back to see around her.
Shrugging as he settled back into his seat, he asked, "What about them?"
Max shot him a disbelieving look. "Seriously?" she huff before sneaking another glance over her shoulder and she felt Lucas arching his back to do the same. This time, Mike's head was laying closer to Will, who was staring at the TV screen so that Mike could whisper into his ear. Smiles spread across both of their faces, and then Will turned his head to whisper something back but Mike was smiling before Will even finished his sentence.
Turning back around, Max whispered, "What do you mean, 'what about them'? You can't seriously tell me it's not a little weird how they act towards one another."
Lucas shrugged, "They've always been like that." He looked up at her then and moved a strand of hair back behind her ear.
"Yeah, I know. I thought it was weird when I first joined the group, too. But don't you think they've been- I don't know..." she hesitates, looking for the right word, "different since Will came out? Closer?"
"I don't think so. But, like, trauma does that to people, you know? brings them closer together." He wrapped his arms around her middle and squeezed her closer.
From the coffee table, Dustin muttered, "if this is a 68000 processor, I'm going to lose my mind."
Jane tilted her head. "Lose... your mind?"
Dustin smiled at her, "In a good way."
Glancing once more at them, at the easy smile on both Mike and Will's faces, Max decided to not push it this time. She focused on the movie again, every so often hearing either Mike or Will laugh at something the other said as well as little mutters from Dustin and Jane. On the TV, Danny DeVito started shouting at Arnold Schwarzenegger again. Max snorted quietly, and resettled into Lucas's lap.
Weaving through the crowd, her parents somewhere behind her, Nancy finally spotted Mike's tall lanky figure among the sea of orange. He's surrounded by his friends, and she was about to call out to him but stopped short when she saw the way his arm was draped over Will's shoulders. She slowed, tilting her head slightly as she studied them.
No one else was giving them a second look, which is fair. Mike and Will had always been very affectionate, always a little touchy. But something about this felt different. Mike had Will pulled close into his side so that Will was turned just slightly towards him.
None of their friends seemed to notice or comment on the way they were standing, but maybe they were too excited about graduating to notice. Nancy glanced around at the other graduating students, half expecting to see someone else watching them the way she was. But no one seemed to pay them any mind.
Mike said something to Dustin before ducking his head closer to Will and whispered something his ear. Will looked up at him, a soft smile played on his lips as he nodded at whatever Mike had said. A moment later, their attention shifted to Lucas, who had started saying something animatedly. Even then, Nancy noticed how Mike's arm tightened slightly when Will shifted beside him.
Nancy's eyes lingered a moment longer. Lucas was still talking, his hands waving around so fast, he nearly his someone walking past him. Mike just laughed at whatever he was saying and his gaze shifted over his shoulder, making eye contact with Nancy and a large grin broke across his face.
"Nance!" he yells over the crowd, lifting his hand in greeting and waved her over. His arm slipped from Will's shoulders as he pushed through the Party to reach her, Will followed close behind him. Nancy's gaze flickered between the two of them once more before she smiled and stepped forward to greet them.
"I'm so proud of you!" She pulled him into a hug as soon as he was close enough. Will came to stand at his side, their shoulders brushed. "And Will!" she reached for him next, tucking him into a one-arm hug. When she pulled away, Will easily drifted back to Mike's side without seeming to think about it, their hands brushing just barely. Nancy raised her eyebrows at the easy way they fell back together before she felt a quiet flicker of understanding.
The drive to NYU's campus was about twelve hours, not including the pit stops for snacks and roadside attractions that both Will and Mike had insisted on. Since Jonathan already lived in New York and was close to graduating himself, he had driven back to Hawkins to help the boys move into an apartment the Wheeler's had so kindly insisted on paying for. They weren't planning on stopping overnight, instead choosing to drive straight through and switch out whenever someone got tired.
The drive started off chaotic enough with Will in the front seat and Mike in the back, both excitedly talking over one another about campus life- what they want their apartment to look like, the things they would need to get once they arrive, and a dozen other random details. Around the two hour mark, though, they both started to calm down as the stretch of road still ahead of them started to sink in.
Mike sat in the middle of the back seat with a comic open on his lap while Will shuffled through the cassette tapes he had found in the glove compartment. When he finally found one that seemed to please him, he popped it into the radio, Close to Me by the Cure bursts through the speakers.
"Hey, look at this," Mike shouts over the music. He leaned forward, his arms appearing on either side of Will's seat, draped across the back like a loose hug, his chin resting on the passenger seat and peered over Will's shoulder, setting the comic book down in front of him on his lap.
Jonathan does a double take at the two of them, at the way Mike's arms were practically around Will, the only thing separating them was the back of the seat. Mike was pointing out one of the panels and how it had related to a previous comic they both had apparently read together, but honestly, Jonathan wasn't really listening.
He was too distracted by the way they looked like they were practically cuddling right in front of him. His mind started flipping through past conversations with Will, searching for any hint that something between them had changed. But even reading too deeply into old talked, he couldn't remember Will ever saying anything that came close to this.
He remembered the scared, defeated look on Will's face when he had come out at the WSQK, the way his voiced had trembled. Jonathan had seen the way Will's eyes kept flickering to Mike when he talked about his 'Tammy'. He hadn't been entirely sure of the analogy, but he could understand what Will had been saying- and who it was about- even if him and Will had never actually had the conversation that would have confirmed Jonathan's suspicions.
Mike, at the time, had looked shocked and then heartbroken, before he quickly schooled his expression into something more like a supportive best friend face. It was quick, but Jonathan had seen it.
At the time, he had written it off as Mike being heartbroken for his best friend. Now, though, he found himself questioning that conclusion. Jonathan likes to think that Will would feel comfortable enough to tell him if he was dating someone. But maybe it wasn't even about Will not wanting to say anything. Maybe it was Mike; maybe he wasn't out yet. Or maybe they didn't want anyone to know.
It wasn't surprising, necessarily. The two of them had always been particularly close, a little touchy with each other. If it had been between a guy and a girl, everyone would have assumed they were dating based on how they treat one another.
The fact that it was Mike though, is what gives him pause. Jonathan had never personally seen him be slightly interested in another boy, and Nancy had never hinted that she thought he might be gay.
He glanced at them again, at the easy smiles on both of their faces, at how Mike hadn't moved an inch away from Will despite them not talking about the comic anymore. For now, he decided he'd wait for Will to say something first. Jonathan didn't want to put pressure on him before he was ready.
Christmas eve of '89 found Karen Wheeler sitting at her kitchen table with Joyce chatting about some family gossip.
"-and I said to Ted that his comment was incredibly rude and he really needed to apologize to his own mother," Karen was saying, recounting the previous night's dinner festivities with Ted's side of the family. She was just about to continue when she glanced over Joyce's shoulder toward the far end of the kitchen.
Mike and Will were standing at the corner of the counter, their heads tilted so close that their hair was brushing as they whispered about something, smiles playing on both of their faces. The hot chocolates they held in their hands seemed to be completely forgotten as Mike snorted at whatever Will had said.
Suddenly, the drama from the previous night's dinner didn't seem the slightest bit important. "Joyce," Karen said, her eyes never leaving the boys. "Have you noticed anything different about them?"
Joyce looked up from the catalog she was browsing and glanced at Karen before turning to see what had caught her attention. Joyce took note of how Mike and Will were standing close together. Their heads bent toward one another like they were sharing a secret the rest of the room wasn't meant to hear.
Turning back around, Joyce shook her head, "Not really. I mean, I noticed that Mike got a haircut that doesn't entirely look even, but..." she trailed off and flipped to the next page of the catalog.
Karen didn't say anything for a moment, simply watching as her son leaned even closer to Will and murmured something else.
"I know that Will is..." she hesitated, glancing over her shoulder toward the living room to make sure her husband wasn't within earshot, "...gay." She whispered the last word. When she looked back, Joyce's eyebrows were drawn together in confusion. She casted another look at Mike, how he was laughing quietly at something Will had said, his shoulder bumping against his.
"I'm just wondering if you think that maybe he and Mike are-" she paused again, searching for the right word, "-if they are together." She leaned back slightly in her chair to catch a glimpse of her husband. Seeing that he was snoring in his recliner eased the weight on her chest a little bit.
When Karen turned back around, Joyce had already twisted in her in her seat to get a better look at the boys. They were still standing close together at the counter, so absorbed in their quiet conversation that neither of them noticed their mothers watching.
After a moment, Joyce turned back around. "I mean, there is a possibility," she said with a small shrug. "But Will hasn't said anything to me about it." Her gaze shifted to Karen, who was biting at her lip and twisting her wedding ring nervously around her finger. "Would it be a problem if they were?" Joyce's tone was still conversational but the look in her eyes was pure steel, as if daring Karen to say the wrong thing.
"No! No, of course no. I only care that Mike is safe and happy. I just worry about-" she stopped herself, unable to bring herself to say her husband's name, but instead gestured towards the living room where the TV could be heard. Ted had always been vocal about how he felt about certain things, no matter who might be listening. Joyce nodded in understanding and the steel in her eyes melted.
Karen look back at the boys. Their hot chocolate mugs were gone from their hands now, and there was a faint blush on Will's face as he stared down at the floor. Mike was saying something to him, a wide grin on his face and a certain light in his eyes that Karen could see even from where she sat. The happiness she could see radiating from Mike warmed her heart. Whatever Mike decided, she knew she would stand by him.
After Christmas, it was decided that Dustin would ride back with Mike and Will, crashing at their apartment for the night before continuing on towards MIT in Massachusetts the next day. Jane tagged along to stay close to Dustin and because it was on the way back to Montauk.
The drive up from Indiana went about as expected: bickering over music, endless conversations about the most recent movie releases, taking turns on Dustin's Game Boy, and plenty of naps. Somehow, Mike managed to drive almost the entire way, only letting Will take the wheel for about three hours before insisting he take back over.
At one point, Jane convinced everyone in the car to let her paint their nails. Dustin ended up with sparkly purple, Will had a random assortment of colors, and mike insisted the only color he would allow near his nails was black, though he did let Jane add sparkles.
When they finally made it to Mike and Will's apartment, the four of them piled blankets in the living room directly in front of the TV. Dustin fell asleep before the first Ghostbusters movie was even half-way through, and Jane wasn't far behind.
Dustin wasn't sure what woke him up. He laid there staring up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to gain his bearings, when he heard quiet sniffling somewhere behind him. He rolled onto his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows, lifting just enough to see over the back of the couch and into the kitchen.
He saw Mike first, his shoulders slumped and his head ducked low. Only then did Dustin notice Will was huddled against the counter, his head buried in his hands as his shoulders shook with what had to be muffled sobs. Mike hesitated a moment before he tentatively reached out and rested a hand on Will's shoulder who filched hard at the touch. Mike murmured something Dustin couldn't make out and gently took hold of Will's wrists, pulling his hands away from his face.
Dustin felt movement beside him and he glanced over to see Jane mimicking his position, propped up on her elbows as she looked toward the kitchen. She didn't say anything for a moment, just stared at them.
"He told me that his nightmares were getting better," Jane whispered so quietly Dustin almost didn't hear her. He didn't need to ask who she meant. it was obvious to see who had been suffering from a nightmare. The two of them watched as Mike managed to coax Will into lowering his hands and look at him as he murmured something else. Mike took one of Will's hands and pressed it gently against his chest, letting him feel the steady beat of Mike's heart.
After a moment, Will seemed to come back to himself. He looked up at Mike and then all but collapsed into his arms. Mike wrapped his arms around him, rubbing slow circles along Will's back as he whispered into his ear. Then he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Will's hairline. Will didn't pull away, if anything, he leaned a little closer.
Dustin's eyebrows furrowed as he laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. Jane followed a moment later, settling beside him.
"You saw that, right?" Jane whispered.
"The kiss?" Dustin whispered back. Jane didn't answer, only nodded. "Yeah, I saw it." His mind started racing, pulling up memory after memory- little moments between Mike and Will that suddenly looked very different in this new light.
"How long do you think that has been going on?" Jane asked.
"I didn't even think Mike was-" Dustin cut himself off, not wanting to assume anything. Of course it would be okay if Mike was gay, but he didn't want to just say it out loud and have it turn out not to be true. For all he knew, he and Jane could be completely wrong. Maybe it had just been a platonic comforting gesture; Mike and Will had always been closer than the rest of the Party.
Still, something about it screamed that it wasn't platonic.
They heard the sink run for a moment before it shut off and then one of the bedroom doors down the hall closed. It had been quiet before, but now the air seemed to be missing something it held earlier- like the room had finally let out a long breath now that Mike and Will were gone.
Jane wiggled closer and wrapped her arms around Dustin's, snuggling into him. "I hate that he still has nightmares that bad," she whispered even though they were alone.
Dustin didn't say anything to this. They all had nightmares, of course. You don't just fight interdimensional monsters without carrying a few tons of trauma afterwards. But none of them had gone through the kind of hell that Will had. Even now, years later, it still showed in the slight hunch of his shoulders.
Sighing softly, Dustin shifted the arm that Jane was cuddling against so he could wrap it around her shoulders, pulling her closer. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head not unlike the one he had just seen Mike give to Will.
It was the first time the Party had all been together in what felt like years, even though it had really only been a couple of months. Jonathan and Nancy had even made a special trip down from New York to be there during Spring Break.
They were all gathered around the island in Karen Wheeler's kitchen as Mrs. Byers placed a two tiered chocolate cake in front of Will, all nineteen candles brightly lit.
As if on cue, the moment the cake touched the counter, everyone began singing happy birthday to him. A wide grin had spread across Will's face as he looked around at all the people he loved the most in the world.
Mike was standing next to him, his elbow bumping against his every so often, neither of them bothering to move away.
Max leaned against the counter with her elbows resting on the surface while Lucas stood beside her, one hand resting gently on her back, both of their smiles bright.
Jane stood with her back pressed lightly against Dustin's chest. The ring on Jane's finger caught the light and glinted at him. The two of them seemed to be on the second leg of the honeymoon phase after getting engaged. Dustin smiled over her shoulder as he sang louder than anyone else.
Jonathan was buy snapping pictures of him and everyone else.
Nancy, his mom, and Mrs. Wheeler all sang with bright smiles on their faces.
Will used to hate sitting through everyone singing happy birthday, feeling incredibly awkward and never quite knowing what to do with his face while he looked around at everyone. But now, he was just happy they were all together for the first time in what felt like forever.
Once the singing ended and Will had blown out the candles, he felt Mike's hand settle against his lower back. Smiling, he turned and tipped his head up as Mike leaned down to press a quick peck to his lips. When they broke apart, Mike grinned at him before turning to pick up the knife and started cutting the cake while Will plucked off the used candles and set them on a nearby plate.
"How big of a piece do you want?" Mike murmured to him.
"Nothing too big. I'm still full from dinner," he replied. When neither of them heard the usual bickering about who got which slice, they both looked up at the same time to see everyone staring at them. A mix of emotions played across their faces- shock, disbelief, giddiness, and a fair amount of side-eyeing.
"What?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow at them.
Mike's mom sputtered as she tried to form a sentence, "When did- How- Am I- What?" Dustin muttered a holy shit before burying his face in Jane's shoulder, and the confusion on Max's face slowly morphed into a shit eating grin.
"Did you guys forget to tell us something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at them.
Will and Mike share a look before glancing back at everyone staring at them.
"No," Mike said. "I made sure mom didn't use that low fat sweetener."
"No, you dumbass!" Max laughed, her eyebrows climbing even higher on her forehead. "I mean, how did you not tell us about you guys?"
Will looked again at Mike in confusion, hoping that he knew what they were talking about, but Mike looked just as baffled, his brows drawn together. "What about us?" he asked.
"Maybe this is how they're telling us," Joyce said, clapping her hands together under her chin as she shoots them a hopeful smile.
Lucas shook his head. "I owe Steve ten dollars. I really thought they would wait until they were out of college."
Nancy groaned, "I lost that bet several months ago." Jonathan nodded his agreement.
Mrs. Wheeler stepped closer to Mike and pulled him into a hug, which he returned a little reluctantly, confusion written all over his face.
"Mike, honey," she said softly, "I love you so, so much, and I'm so proud of you."
"What are you guys talking about?" Will said, his voice raised to be heard over all the confusion swirling around the room. "What didn't we tell you and why are you placing bets?
Mike pulled away from his mother and looked at her, trying to read her expression like it might clue him in on what the hell is going on with everyone.
"We're confused as to why you guys never told anyone you were together," Jane finally said plainly. The rest of the Party nodded in agreement, and all eyes were back on them.
Mike glanced at Will, surprise and lingering confusion evident on his face before he looked back at everyone else, "But... we did?"
"We literally danced together at the bar last night in Indianapolis," Will reasons.
"Lucas and Dustin also danced together, so," Max shot back immediately.
Dustin lifted his head from Jane's shoulder, "Yeah, and I didn't kiss Lucas afterward."
Will shrugged helplessly. "We've been affectionate several times around you guys for two years. I'm pretty sure we've actually kissed in front of you several times."
For a moment, the room was completely silent. Then Lucas groaned and dragged a hand down his face. "You're telling me we've been running a betting pool for two years and you idiots were already together and thought we knew?"
Mike frowned, "Well... yeah."
Will glanced around the kitchen at everyone still staring at them before looking back at Mike, "... Should we have clarified? I mean-" Will gestured towards Lucas and Max, "-You guys never came out right and said you two were dating."
"Yeah, but we thought Mike was straight," Dustin said.
"Are you not straight?" Jane's question immediately followed.
Mike rubbed a hand through the back of his hair, "Uh, I haven't really put a label on it. I just like Will, that's all I know."
Will scoffed in disbelief and placed a hand over his heart, "Just like?"
Mike looked at him and rolled his eyes before wrapping his arm around his waist and pulling him closer, "Oh, whatever. You know I love you." He pressed a kiss on top of Will's head. Around them, the kitchen erupted into groans, laughter, and several people talking at once.