Chapter Text
July 17th, 2002
The sun was settling into a relaxed golden yellow color against the blue sky, mixing together with beautiful blushy pinks and hazy purples, ending yet another summer day, ready for the moon to take its shift in the sky. The view was no doubt breathtaking for all the citizens in Chicago who embarked outside on their decks, porches, and steps to see it; but no other citizen on their balcony had the indelible urge to paint the scene other than Will Byers.
It had been about 9 years since Will had moved to this bustling city, making the decision after finishing college in New York City. He never imagined that he would be such a city lover, and there was something so fascinating about the slightly unknown life he had. In some ways he would say that this future he built was nearly perfect, in other ways he really wishes he could be a kid again, with no worries other than what color crayon he should use next.
Who knew where life would take him after this? Maybe he would move to Phoenix, or San Diego, or Portland. In any case, it didn't change the fact that he was here, in Chicago, content for the moment and breathing in the humid air.
He was attempting to soak up as much of the summer as he could before he went back to work at Western Middle School, teaching art to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. It wasn't that he wasn't excited to get back to teaching; he actually thoroughly missed the joy of seeing a student light up as he complimented their artwork, the rush of fulfillment he got after teaching kids how to use their creativity, it was just that with the new school year obviously meant some new challenges and new parents.
What Will had discovered over the past few years of teaching is that: students' parents are a complete pain sometimes. There was the fact that most adults just didn't take art seriously, especially middle school art, but it was also the fact that most parents didn't take Will seriously. In multiple previous "Meet the Teacher Nights", meeting parents was nerve wracking because they were around his age, only with a child, which always made Will feel a little embarrassed to show his extremely colorful and cluttered classroom around practically screaming "I never grew up!".
This year was going to be different though, Will was determined to make it so. Who cares if parents judge him? They don't need to like him, plus, it was their kid who decided to take art anyways. The only thing to be expected from Will was to teach art, which he was fantastic at, and not to punch any idiots who only took art because it was an "easy elective". Easy enough.
There was also the additive that he already knew two of the parents he'd be meeting in a few weeks, and he knew that they were some of the best people to show off his chaotically perfect classroom to. Those parents being his closest friends: Lucas and Max Sinclair. He felt extremely grateful that the two decided to follow him to Chicago about a year ago, and was so excited to share the city with all of the Sinclair family.
Every time Will thought about the fact that their daughter, Kate, was old enough to be starting sixth grade this year, he felt like he was about to pass out. Time just felt like it was able to pass way too suddenly, and also not at all at the same time. Max and Lucas were still the same iconic duo he knew since he was 13, and yet now they were responsible for a mini-version of themselves.
The thought alone was enough to send Will into another spiral that he was nearly 30 and not tied to any kind of future with a family of his own. Obviously, he couldn't get married to a man since it wasn't legal, but he saw for other queer people that it was possible to have the same kind of idea- someone who would be there for you, no matter what, someone you could rely on wholeheartedly, and you knew would be there for you for years to come.
It wasn't like Will didn't date men, he had his fair share of boyfriends. He had his fun for sure, got to experience romantic moments he never thought he would, but it didn't hide the fact that he experienced a certain kind of loneliness with any man he dated. It wasn't like he could just tell them every traumatic experience he'd been through, and most of them wouldn't know what Will needed if he did.
Deep down Will figured that, that kind of love just wasn't meant for him. After all, the only man he ever truly fell in love with was his best-
"Wow. That's beautiful." Will turned around with a slight flinch, suddenly breaking out of his crashing train of thoughts to see his current boyfriend of 4 months, Carlton. He's looking at the fading sunset, and Will's heart dips a little, wishing he was looking at him.
"Oh. Hey, Carl, you scared me." he said with a breathy laugh.
"Sorry babe, just wanted to say bye before I head back home,"
"You're not spending the night?" Will wants to turn back to the sunset before the beauty of it is gone, but he also doesn't want to show his disappointment with the fact that Carl is leaving him to his anxious thoughts, as per usual.
"Nah, I've got a super early sale in the morning and I wanna sleep in as much as I can. Sorry. But we're still good for tomorrow?" Carlton steps closer to Will, closing the balcony door behind him.
"Yeah, definitely, no worries." Will scoots a little closer to Carlton, figuring he wants to finish out the routine they always do. Come over, talk a bit, have some fun, Will is alone with his thoughts while Carlton sleeps in his bed, and then Carlton leaves, but not without a kiss goodbye. It's sweet, easy, and that feels like all Will can ask for from him.
Right on cue, Carlton dips down and scoops up Will's chin, leaving him a sweet but short lived peck on his lips, murmuring a quick goodbye. Will is with his own company once again, but he doesn't feel as alone when he turns back to the view and sees the sky's hue has been altered. This time the color palate has changed to a subtle orange, and endless deep blue with a plane's contrail streaking the otherwise pristine sky.
He smiles softly at the thought of the plane landing at the airport, full of passengers ready to say hello to their missed friends or family, joining back into their comfortable lives, or the complete opposite; starting a new adventure, a brand new chance, in a city where no one expects them.
July 10, 2002
Stars twinkle dreamily outside of the 1st floor apartment as the faint smell of smoke mixes with the calm wind blowing across the balcony attached. Max Sinclair is smoking her nightly joint, attempting to relax after an intense day. She kind of always figured her smoking habit would prevail into her adult life, but never figured it would be a daily pattern. After her injures and chronic pain manufactured by Vecna, weed seems to be the only medicine that actually did the trick. It's prescribed anyways, or at least, it would be if medical marijuana were legal.
Max giggles at the memory of Lucas justifying her daily intake on the basis that he's a medical student and he says it's a genuine medicine. She wonders if he'll be joining her out on the balcony and smoke with her. He doesn't usually despite the assurance that it's not a bad habit, she figures he just feels guilty for using her supply because he isn't the one in a wheelchair. Max thinks that if anyone deserves to toke up, it's Lucas.
He's been extremely busy this summer, studying to take the MCAT exam while simultaneously working multiple shifts at the hospital as a nurse, and on top of that he's been helping take care of their daughter, Kate. He's been a stupendous parent to her over the years, and has seriously stepped it up this summer, taking Kate to all the adventures she wants to go on. From the zoo to book stores, he's never failed to make everyday full of excitement for the both of them. Max considers herself to be a good parent too, but would be lying if she said that there weren't some definite challenges in having a kid. Most days, she still feels like a kid herself.
Motherhood was like a rollercoaster, some days ending up with symptoms like nauseating headaches after the whiplash from the ups and contrasting downs, and others where it was just a fun, incredibly fast adventure.
Today definitely proved to be one of those rides where Max felt like she shouldn't have boarded at all, or at least should have put her hair up beforehand to be more prepared and get less knots in her curls.
Having to explain to her 12-year-old daughter that in the sixth grade she may not see her new friends in her new classes in a relatively new city broke Max's heart, and sent Kate into a tiny tantrum that it was all her parents fault for moving them from L.A. to Chicago.
Max understood the basis of the exaggeration, all the changes in life were overwhelming, and Max figured that she probably shouldn't have laid out all of the changes at once. Before Max could continue to overwhelm the tween with explanations that "that's just how life is", Lucas saved the day.
He cheered Kate up with a stupid saying, "Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold!" using his best sing-songy voice. A little bit of bribery was implored, too: ice cream for dinner, Kate's favorite.
Max genuinely thinks she couldn't exist on the planet with out Lucas, she would just implode from the thought of having to take care of a constantly growing girl who had so much of her own temper, all by herself. But of course, with all the traits Kate shared with her mother, she also shared just as many, if not more, with her father.
One of them being her unwavering loyalty; Kate apologized to her mom after licking up her chocolate ice cream, even after Max assured her that the reaction was understandable. When Kate just said sorry again and gave Max a tooth-achingly sweet hug, Max swore she was seeing double.
There was no other way Max could imagine her life to be like. Sure, getting married at 18 and having an accidental kid a year later wasn't exactly the timeline she plotted out, but it was perfect nonetheless.
That timeline never seemed to follow her plans anyways, and Max was just grateful to hold onto Lucas. While the addition of a mini-version of him was extremely scary to grasp at first, it was also the light of her life. She loves being the "cool mom", and couldn't wait to see how Kate will continue to make her proud.
However, Max couldn't help but worry about what will happen as her daughter enters the sixth grade this year. Will kids bully her for her curly hair or her freckles or her mixed skin? Make fun of the fact that she loves videogames? Or poke fun at her habit to name inanimate objects? There were about a million things that could go wrong in Max's mind. Her worst fear was that Kate would change the way she thought about herself, lose her confidence, or, even worse, change herself to fit in.
There is the comforting thought that if Kate were to experience any kind of bullying, not only would she stick up for herself, but she'll also have a familiar face to turn to; her art teacher this year, Will Byers.
He's essentially become Kate's uncle at this point, growing into the role after the Sinclairs moved to Chicago. He was extremely helpful with babysitting Kate while they hassled moving in, he also made sure they didn't get utterly lost navigating the city, and that they knew where to really get the best deep-dish pizza.
Lucas and Max have barely seen him this summer, which sucks. Will has been busy with his new boyfriend, Carlton. He's nice enough, but Max believes that Will deserves a man who would throw themselves off a cliff for him if he had to, and Max has yet to be convinced that Carlton has that kind of dedication to Will.
She takes an inhale of smoke, continuing to gaze at the night sky before hearing the door gently open behind her, and spins to face her husband with a bright smile.
He returns the smile and says, "Hey Shaggy, enjoying the view?" The pet name is only ever used when Max is partaking in her illegal activities, sometimes interchanged with Towelie. Max replaces her smile with a cringe, even though she finds the nickname hilarious.
"I like this one better," she pulls Lucas down to sit next to her and gives him a soft kiss on the lips. "Kate seem okay now? I've been stressing about stressing her out all day,"
Lucas takes Max's hand in his and squeezes it to comfort her. "Don't worry about it anymore, she's good. Though, it took forever for her to fall asleep. I think one night I'm gonna run out of bedtime stories."
"You could always read her some of Mike's dumbass fantasy novels he sends us," they both chuckle and Max offers her joint to Lucas.
"Yeah, and give her nightmares about his way-too detailed bloody monsters and shit? I'm good." Lucas scoffs and shakes his head. For a second Max can't tell if he's declining the joint or the idea of explaining to Kate what discombobulation of a thessalhydra means.
She figures it's probably a rejection of both and laughs softly at the horrified face Mike would make if she told him that Kate read one of his stories. Max actually finds his work pretty phenomenal and is glad that he continues to share his stories with her and Lucas. She wishes that he thought they were good enough to share with the rest of the world too.
"Maybe when she's older. I wanna hold onto our sweet girl long as I can," Lucas adds on.
"You say that as if she isn't going around killing all those little alien things in that stupid game every night," Max chuckles fondly.
"Hey! Put some respect on Halo's name, and she always says sorry to the grunts before shooting them anyways. She's sweet,"
"Grunts? What the hell kind of name is that?"
"Well, the humans call them grunts, their species name is actually called unggoy-"
"You know, after all this time, I thought that some of the nerdiness would get out of your system, but I guess some things just never change." Max physically pokes Lucas' cheek with her finger while she pokes fun at his knowledge. Truth is that she is infatuated with all of his nerdy explanations, always has been, always will be.
"Yeah, yeah. You love it," Lucas gently touches Max's face, pulling her in for another kiss before being cut off by own giant yawn.
Max laughs and stubs out her joint, seeing as Lucas is clearly exhausted, "Ready for bed?" her mocking tone is gone, replaced with knowing that today took Lucas out too.
"I think I've been ready since I got outta it,"
"Poor baby," and the tone is back with Max pouting her lips downward. "Maybe you should've gone to bed at a reasonable time instead of learning all about the unggay."
He almost doubles over laughing in respone, "It's unggoy!"
This time when he pulls Max in for a kiss there are no interruptions, and the two of them get a warm, familiar feeling in their chests.
Max is grateful she can have these precious moments with Lucas, and that she will continue to for the rest of her life.
Max and Lucas make their way back inside, being careful to not wake Kate up while passing her bedroom. The caution is futile however, because Kate is currently playing on her Gameboy underneath the covers, attempting to not alert them that she too is awake.
She's grown to become quite the night owl over the summer. Without the worry of falling asleep during class, she's developed the habit of staying up until 1 in the morning playing various videogames. Tonight she's training her Pokemon for the next Gym Leader battle, but has temporarily stopped mashing the buttons in case her parents decide to listen closely.
She's lucked out tonight it seems, her parents have slipped by her door and headed to their bedroom down the hall. Kate is about to get back to her nearly dead Togepi before she stops her thumbs mid-air.
This time it's not because she doesn't want to be caught, but rather because she has caught her parents talking. Talking about Kate.
At least, she's pretty sure that's what her mom just said. Either that or mate, skate, plate, it's not important to her now because she's already gently lifting the covers off and sneaking over to lurk outside her parents' bedroom door. She's deadset on hearing whatever conversation they're having about her.
"-just stressed about her starting school. I mean, I know she loves it, and she's super smart, and, like, could totally kick someone's ass if she needed to..." Well, duh. Kate thinks, unsure of what point her mom is trying to make.
"I just... really don't want anyone to pick on her. Have kids gotten meaner or nicer since we've been in school you think?" the anxiety is clear in Max's voice, and it reminds Kate that Maxx isn't always the tough, imperturbable woman she portrays herself to be.
"Max, seriously, relax. She's fine, she's going to be fine, everything's gonna be fine. Don't stress it. The kids'll be nice and if they aren't Kate won't take any bullshit. Plus, she's got Will." Lucas reassures Max and Kate's heart melts at the fact that her dad puts so much trust into Kate that she'll be okay going into the new year. She also has to attempt to not shake in excitement at the reminder that her pseudo uncle is going to be her art teacher this year.
"Yeah, that's like, the only thing I'm okay with right now." Max exhales and the bed creaks as she's lowered into it by Lucas. "I just can't help it, I guess. Worrying, I mean."
"Believe me, I get it. But Kate's strong as hell, just like her mom," Kates face scrunches up in happiness at her dad's kind words, then a little in disgust as she hears the two kiss.
"It is kind of crazy that Will's gonna be her teacher though, like, who would've guessed we'd all end up here?" Lucas asks after they pull apart, much to Kate's approval.
"I know! I'm excited for Kate to fling paint and annoy him, and learn how to shade shapes or whatever." Max giggles, clearly amused at the tomfoolery Kate will eventually get up to, even though she's serious about art- she's gonna have some fun. "Will is such a good teacher too, I'm so jealous Kate gets to see him wrangle a bunch of middle schoolers snapping pencils in half while he tries not to lose it,"
Her parents erupt into laughter, and if Kate wasn't already wide awake that would've done it.
"Shit, we gotta go to bed." Max is whispering now, trying to wind down her fit of giggles.
"No, yeah." Lucas' laughter seems to falter as he remembers something, "But, uh, you know Will isn't gonna be the only teacher we know there, right?" Who else is there? , Kate wonders.
"Hm? Who else?" Seems like Max is also lost, judging by the confusion in her voice.
"I meant to tell you a while ago but..." Lucas pauses for a moment, like he's gearing up to get punched, "..remember how Mike's been struggling to find a job?" Kate can almost see her mom nodding her head, growing frustrated at how little the two topics seem to connect to each other. "Well, I've been helping him out and I saw that there's an English Lit teaching position at Western..."
"No way." Max snaps.
"So... I kind of managed to convince him to, uh, move here... and teach?"
There's silence for a second before Max's roaring laughter can be heard.
"Lucas! Stop joking around, no way Mike just up and left New York after you were like 'Hey, I know you aren't making any money selling your stories, but how would you wanna barely make any money still and work with rude tweens all day?'. You're hilarious, babe." She sighs and settles into the pillow slightly.
"I'm serious, Max. He's gonna be here in a week." Max can tell by Lucas’ tone that he’s really not joking, and she shoots out of her comfy spot on the pillow, resting on her elbow.
"No fucking way! How on earth did you-?! Oh. Ohhh." Kate is eager to be filled in on the realization, "You told him Will is teaching at the same school, didn't you?"
"Swear to god, I didn't. He must have just been really excited about getting out of New York, cause it didn't take much after I mentioned Chicago."
"No, yeah, that makes sense. I mean," Max sighs, "he knows that Will is at least living in Chicago, so if he moved here maybe he has another chance." Chance with what? Kate's starting to get annoyed with how little she understands. "This is gonna be so much fun,"
"We can't meddle anymore into their- whatever they have going on. Seriously, one of them just needs to admit that they have feelings for each other and make up, make out, whatever," Lucas takes a deep, frustrated sigh, "I'm tired of their whole bullshit avoiding each other while also constantly asking about each other thing." Feelings? Make out? Bullshit?, Kate's learning a lot and not enough at the same time.
"Should've thought of that before you befriended them, I guess." Max sighs once again, "Holy shit, Mike is gonna lose it when he sees that Will has gotten like, even hotter and grew out his hair, and- holy shit," Max laughs breathily, "-he's totally gonna flip over Carlton."
"Mike would lose it if Will was wearing literal garbage," the two giggle at the joke and Kate clasps her hand over her mouth to stop herself from chuckling, "And Mike's always gone insane over any guy just being in close proximity to Will. It's honestly amazing how he hasn't gone on a killing spree yet."
"You think they'll actually work it out this time? I mean, Mike is kind of out there about it now," Max has a hint of pride as she speaks, "I think everyone kind of knows he's gay at this point, except for Will." Ah. So that's what they meant by feelings and making out. Gross. Kate doesn't think it's gross because of the fact that they're two men. She's been taught well on supporting the gay community, thanks to her parents, but honestly any kind of romance is icky to her.
"I hope so." Lucas sounds a little despondent in his reply, "They both deserve to stop lying to themselves and to each other. It seriously sucks that they aren't close anymore." The sadness in Lucas' voice makes Kate's attitude towards the subject loosen up. It must be serious if it has Dad this upset.
"At least now they're kind of forced to be, physically at least." Max's voice seems to cheer up Lucas a bit and she adds on, "They'll come back, they always do."
"Yeah, you're right. They're both too stubborn to lose each other," he chuckles softly and the click of a lamp can be heard.
A moment later he speaks out a quiet, sweet "Goodnight, beautiful. I love you."
Max yawns and replies, "I love you too, grunt."
Kate successfully sneaks back to her room but all desire to level up her Pokemon has vanished. Her attention has been stolen by two names: Mike and Will.
She's met the two before, already having a having a bond with Will, but barely has any with Mike. She met him when she was about 5-years-old and doesn't remember much of their meeting, just that he was kind to her, funny too, but did try to warn her not to become too much like her mother.
She's heard hundreds of stories of the duo's childhood dynamic from her parents, one of the ones that never fails to make her laugh being how Mike forced Lucas to bike what felt like 100 miles in the pouring rain just cause he screwed up and said something stupid. Is that what love makes you do?
Kate can imagine it, boombox in Mike's hand, maybe even some sappy poem written just for Will about how sorry he was that he's such a jerk, begging for forgiveness; and her father standing in the background, soaking wet, scoffing at how absurd the two are.
There was also the much bigger story Kate hasn't fully been told yet but knows has something to do with Will going missing and Mike stopping to no ends to find him. He is dedicated, at least.
She wonders just how much their relationship could've changed. If you were willing to go that far before, how different could it be now?
But Kate also knows that adults are constantly in their own heads, and don't necessarily have the same kind vulnerability or bravery in comparison to their younger selves. She hopes she never gets like that and will always stay honest to who she is and what she loves.
She wishes there was some way for her to just repair Mike and Will's relationship, go back in time and shake their shoulders, screaming "You love each other, idiots!". But unfortunately, time travel hasn't been added to the innovations of Kate's lifetime so she needs to brainstorm some other idea to make sure she never hears that dejected voice of her dad ever again.
If he's taught her anything, it's that staying loyal to the people in your life is important. So- for the sake of her mom and dad, and Will, too -she's determined to take both Will and Mike's classes, figure out some kind of way to reconnect the two, and snap some sense into them.
By the end of the sixth grade, Will and Mike will be together again, Kate has decided. It can't be that hard, right?
July 17th, 2002
The airplane shakes roughly as it lands on the tarmac, but for Mike Wheeler the entire flight has already been tremulous. His leg couldn't seem to stop bouncing up and down frantically and he kept having to resist the urge to walk up and down the aisle or walk to the cockpit and tell the pilot to turn the plane around.
It wasn't that he wasn't excited to finally land in Chicago. In fact, the image of him starting his life over in the city had pretty much been constantly rotating in Mike's head ever since Lucas had mentioned it to him over the phone. The image was vivid in his mind: walking downtown with his friends- finally back together- eating pizza, going to jazz shows, and having fun.
But every exciting aspect of Chicago came with the scary realization that he'd impulsively moved to a brand new city, which was entirely unlike him. In any other scenario he would have thought extensively about how much could and would go wrong if he moved. Writing down the pros and cons, over and over in his head.
He knew the reason why he had been able to make the decision so decisively though, of course he did.
He didn't want to suffocate in the deep loneliness he felt in New York City any more than he already had been. His life was easy there, he had a cheap apartment, a stable job that wasn't exactly what he wanted, but paid well enough. He had connections with people, even making some new close friends who helped him come into himself a bit, but none of it was enough to keep him away from the prospect of being back with his best friends.
There were only so many short stories he could write based on his memories with them, not that he ever was able to get them published, but he wanted to see them again and get inspired regardless. Inspiration from the people who knew him better than himself: Max, Lucas, and Will.
Will.
He knew that thinking about seeing him again was the main source of his anxieties. Mike hadn't seen Will in nearly 10 years now, splitting ways after they graduated together from NYU in 1993. So Mike couldn't help but think; Wouldn't it be obvious to Will? Now that Mike had left behind his sturdy life in New York just at the thought of seeing him again? Wouldn't it be obvious that Mike was so desperately in love with him?
It was sad, honestly, Mike would follow Will around like a lost puppy if he didn't know any better. Maybe it hadn't been obvious to Will throughout their high school years when Mike's only answer for where he was going to college was "Wherever Will goes!", but Mike doubted that Will was as oblivious as he had been then.
He didn't blame Will for not visiting him in New York, or for rarely calling. He knew that Will has a busy life outside of Mike, probably wanting to grow up into adulthood, get serious about life, start a family.
Eugh. Mike prays that Will doesn't have a boyfriend currently since his track record for the past ones were... not particularly amazing. He really hopes Will doesn't think Mike is just a bigoted asshole, constantly panicking over the fact that he could lose his greatest friend over something so avoidable if he were to just tell Will the truth.
But with the truth came questions and questions led to confessions, and confessions led to certain abandonment.
There was no way Mike could just come out as gay to Will without any follow up questions. How did you know? , that one could only be answered with a, "I dated the first girl that ever talked to me, and she could be identical twins with the guy who's drawings I keep in an organized-by-date binder".
Why didn't you tell me?, that one haunted Mike the most over answering because there was literally no way he could hide his feelings behind some excuse.
If he said he was afraid to come out, he just sounded stupid- Will was literally a gay man and was extremely supportive of other queer people.
If he said he didn't want to, it would just hurt Will even more than Mike already had.
For the longest time Mike just prayed that his feelings for Will would just vanish, it would make everything so much simpler. He wouldn't feel guilty for every time he thought of Will, wouldn't want to throw up thinking about Will with someone else. He could finally be in Will's life without hurting either of them.
But as Mike has grown he's learned to understand that loving Will was just ingrained into his very being, etched onto his bones, and was impossible to dwindle, impossible to ignore.
Even though he so emphatically wanted to see Will, he figured he needed to come up with some kind of plan to keep the distance that Will had established with their time apart. The lack of contact would be painful for Mike, like it had been for the past decade, but if it was what Will wanted, Mike would respect it.
That's why when he walks off the plane he's only planning on seeing Lucas, Max, and Kate. When they ask when he's going to see Will, he'll tell him that they have plans in the morning to catch up, just like old times.
They don't, of course, because Mike hasn't even called Will to let him know that he's coming. The thought of Will asking disappointedly why he decided to visit after all these years, and then finding out that Mike is actually moving here to teach makes him nauseous. The whole cycle repeating itself; truth, questions, confessions, abandonment.
Mike hated lying, especially to his friends, but the whole story would be detrimental for him to tell. That seemed to be the overarching theme of his life. Pushing aside his wants, his needs, his own moral compass to keep up something that was easy for everyone else to swallow.
All he had to do was see Max and Lucas, live in their apartment for a bit until his own lease began in September, teach at Western Middle, keep up the charade with Lucas that he's rekindling his relationship with Will, and the facade that he's still living in New York City with Will.
It's just multitasking, you do that all the time.
Even though that's the phrase Mike had been repeating to himself since he came up with the plan, it never seemed to actually soothe the worries floating around in his head.
The plane came to a full stop and Mike lifted the overhead storage carefully to pull out some of his luggage after the pilot announces they're able to.
He'd left most of his belongings back in New York with Jonathan, hoping he could make good use out of his massive collection of books and other nerdy paraphernalia- use them as props for a movie or something. The rest he had donated, not really ever getting attached to the items in his apartment. Decoration always felt like just trying to force himself into calling New York home, even though he knew it didn't feel like it.
He thanks the pilot and flight attendants as he steps off the plane and begins rolling his luggage down the jetbridge.
His body feels like it's strength was left behind in the JFK Airport, moving sluggishly alongside several other passengers who are ready to move on to the next step in airport travel; the terminal.
After spending the entire flight stressing about the repercussions of actually coming to Chicago, he's allowing himself to feel some of the initial thrill that lead him here and is getting excited to finally see Lucas again.
Just on cue, he sees the comforting and familiar stature of his childhood friend, alongside a massive board saying "Welcome to Chicago, Asshole" and a giant printout of Mike's face.
Mike is going to hug him like he's going to disappear, then maybe punch him square in the jaw for picking the worst possible picture.
He had missed him so badly.