Chapter Text
It didn’t take a genius to figure out when Mike Wheeler was in a bad mood. He truly couldn’t control his facial expressions: anything that annoyed Mike made itself visible on his face. Will had been living with the Wheelers for about three months now, so he had a lot more time to learn small details about Mike. Nancy’s loud radio, Holly’s kicking legs, and Mrs. Wheeler’s green bean casserole all received the same exact Mike Wheeler face: nose scrunched up, eyes narrowed in frustration.
This was the very face Mike was sporting two seconds after getting off the phone with Jane. Will always knew when Mike was talking to Jane because whenever he did, his voice dropped three octaves. Will guessed Mike wanted to feel macho. He hated that he found it kind of cute.
Mike groaned loudly, slamming the phone into the wall. “Ugh!”
Will looked up from his comic. “Everything…okay?”
“No! Not at all! El broke up with me again!”
Will rolled his eyes. Knew it. “Don’t worry, Mike. You’ll probably be back together by next week.”
“No, Will, it sounded pretty final. I bet Hopper is brainwashing her, planting seeds in her head about how evil I am. She called me a liar. A liar, Will!” Mike was pacing.
The house was empty, which allowed Mike to bitch and moan at whatever sound level he pleased. “Argh, women are literally impossible!”
Will was trying really hard not to laugh. He failed.
“Stop laughing at me!”
“Sorry, sorry, it’s just-this always happens, you know? You don’t need to worry.”
“But why does this always happen? I’m a good boyfriend, aren’t I? I mean, I compliment her, I buy her stuff, I tell her she’s awesome, I kiss her all the time. What else could she want?”
“Maybe you’re just a lousy kisser,” Will said offhandedly, turning his attention back to his comic. A few seconds later, he realized Mike had stopped pacing and was standing in place, staring at Will.
“Holy shit, maybe that’s it.”
“No, Mike, I was joking-”
Mike plopped down on the couch and turned to face Will. “No, this is perfect! If that’s the issue, I can fix it.”
“And how are you gonna do that?”
Mike gave Will a look. “I mean, I was thinking…maybe you could help me.”
Will’s heart stopped in his chest. He dropped his comic. “Wh-what?”
Mike bent down to pick up the comic and began babbling: “Well, I mean, it doesn’t have to be weird, right? It’s just kissing, so I can be better for El. And I don’t really know any other girls, and kissing other girls would basically be cheating anyway, you know? This is just…practice. Just…a guy helping his best friend out.”
“Practice.” Will said slowly.
“Yeah,” Mike said, handing the comic back to Will.
“Mike, I haven’t even kissed anyone before.” Will turned the other way to toss the comic on the Lay-Z-Boy so Mike couldn't see his burning cheeks.
“So what? That’s even better. You’ll be able to tell based on instinct if I’m good or bad.”
Will turned back around and was greeted with the patented Mike Wheeler sad puppy dog face. “Please?”
Will exhaled shakily. “Okay. Fine.” He leaned towards Mike and pressed his lips very briefly to his.
“Okay, you were great! Let’s watch a movie now or something-” He quickly got up, his cheeks on fire, and started to make his way over to the Wheelers' collection of VHS tapes.
“Wait, Will, I didn’t even get to kiss you!” Mike reached out and grabbed Will’s arm. “Please just do this for me, man!”
Will was embarrassed by how easily he leaned into Mike’s touch. He knew he was giving up a lot of self respect for this. But God, did Mike look pathetic, begging for a kiss…
“Alright.”
And so Mike stood up, a strange look on his face – one Will had never seen before. He looked almost…desperate?
“Okay, and…um…I’m gonna, like…kiss you with, um…tongue.” Mike stammered. Will couldn't believe how flustered he seemed. He so badly wanted to believe it was because of him, but he knew better; Mike was probably just picturing him as Jane.
“Okay,” Will nodded, his voice barely above a whisper.
This time, Will didn't move. He let Mike come to him, let Mike tilt his head to the side with his hand, let Mike lean in first. Mike kissed him gently, sweetly, his lips warm against Will’s. Then he prodded Will’s lips open with his tongue, and now he was open mouthed kissing Will, his tongue sliding over Will’s, and Will couldn't believe how good it felt. It was better than anything he had ever imagined. It was one thing to exist in the same space as Mike, to share looks, brush knees, and bump elbows, but it was an entirely different thing to be kissing Mike, to have his mouth on his, his tongue in his mouth, his scent in all his senses.
Suddenly, the kiss changed, and now Mike was kissing Will urgently, desperately, like he was his oxygen. His right hand cupped Will’s face while his left hand gently traced the slope of Will’s back. Will was kissing Mike back with just as much passion. He realized he could finally give into an urge he had been ignoring for a long time and greedily dug his fingers into Mike’s curls. He wound a curl around his finger and gently pulled, and Mike let out an honest-to-god whimper, and Will knew they had to stop, or else he would need a new pair of pants.
When they broke apart, Will’s eyes zeroed in on a string of saliva that connected their lips. He stood, mesmerized, staring at it, willing it to stay and never break.
Of course, it broke. Mike reached up a finger to wipe his lip nervously, and then it was gone. Will was pretty sure Mike hadn't even noticed he broke it. He probably didn't even notice it was there in the first place.
The two didn't even speak. They just stared at each other, breathing heavily. After what felt like forever, Mike opened his mouth, only to be immediately cut off by the sound of keys opening the front door.
“Mike! Will!” Mrs. Wheeler called out. “I’m home! Can you boys please help me unload these groceries?”
“Y-yeah!” Mike called back, glancing at Will one last time before going outside to grab a bag.