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The only thing Will has ever dreamed of is happiness. Is it too much to ask?
He just wants to be himself, happy, loved, wanted. That’s what everybody wants, he couldn’t be worse than anybody else.
A lot of people will say that he is worse than most other people. He is worse because he is in love with a guy while also being a guy. A lot of people will tell him that he is disgusting, sick, dangerous, insane. He would’ve believed a couple of years ago. He would’ve said that they were right. Now he doesn’t think that anymore. He is just some guy who wants love and happiness. Maybe, the society was the one who was insane, not him? Maybe they don’t know what are they talking about, they don’t want to understand new, unfamiliar things?
Honestly speaking, Will is tired of pretending to be someone else he isn’t. It hurts him to lie for somebody else’s sake. He wants to be himself, to be free, to do something for himself once in a while. It’s not a bad thing to be selfish at least once and to start thinking about yourself.
His wish is just like anybody else’s: he wants to be near his beloved. He wants to be with someone who makes him feel as if he’s on cloud nine, who never made him feel as if he was a mistake or a freak of nature. With someone who lets him be himself, who makes him feel loved and free. This person was by his side his entire life, supported him, took a great care of him, made him cry, loved him.
Will Byers loves Mike Wheeler with all of his heart. And he wants to be with him for the rest of his life. A bit too sappy? Yeah, and so what? That’s how he feels, this thought fills him up with tenderness in his heart, and that’s all that matters.
The most important thing is that he is in love, he is happy. It doesn’t matter what others think. That is their problems, not Will’s. Why should he be ashamed of his happiness?
“Let’s run away. Together. Somewhere where nobody knows our names. Somewhere where would be only you, me and our love”.
Mike whispers in his ear. It is dark outside, they are sitting on a couch in his old basement, snuggling. It seems like the world outside the basement door does not exist.
Will isn’t sure if Mike is joking or not, but he still considers his proposal. Run away? To where? With what? They have just graduated, they don’t have any money, where is that place where they be would be safe and free? Could they make it happen? What about their relatives? Wouldn’t it break their hearts? What if it would be so much worse in other places than in Hawkins?
On the other hand, the proposal sounds tempting. Will wants to be away from Hawkins. Almost nobody accepts them here, always pointing at them and calling them weirdos and freaks. In this very city the most traumatic thing of his life happened to him. He doesn’t want to stay here. Will wants to start anew, as a completely different person, who has accepted himself and his feelings a long time ago.
Mike also wants to be anywhere else. He is tired of living in constant fear of what other people would think of him, tired of lying and hurting himself and others. How dare a coward like him call himself the party’s leader, the heart of a group, Mike the Brave, their paladin? Does a person who hides himself and is ashamed of his own feelings deserve such titles? No, and he understands it. He understands that he doesn’t want to live in fear anymore and that he wants to be happy and needed.
He hurt himself and Will so many times because of his complexes. And Mike wants to fix that. Because him and Will deserve only the best. They deserve the right to be together, to love each other and be happy.
They managed to defeat the Upside Down, the demomonsters, Vecna and the Mindflayer. Nothing should ever scare them, especially the disgusted looks of some strangers. Those same freaks and weirdos are the ones who saved not only their hometown but the entire world as well. And in exchange they just want to be themselves, to be left alone, not to be ashamed for their existence. Are they asking for too much? I think not.
What about their relatives and friends? If the boys really want that, they will support them no matter what. If the boys just want to be happy, who are they to stop them?
Will has always dreamed of Mike suggesting this. He has always dreamed that someday they would run away somewhere very far, where it would just both of them, where nobody would bother or judge them. He has always thought that those dreams would forever remain just dreams, never accomplished dreams. That he would remain alone, living in constant fear of himself and his feelings and pushing away all of his loved ones. That his biggest fear would come true.
And Will has grown tired of living in dreams anymore. He wants to live now, in the present moment. He wants to risk it all for the sake of their relationship and his own well-being. He doesn’t want to be afraid anymore. He doesn’t want to prove to all these people who belittled and insulted him all these years that they are right. He is stronger than all of them. Him and Mike both.
They can finally leave their previous lives in Hawkins behind them and let themselves to get lost in the warmness and safety of each other’s arms. One cannot build their own happiness without taking a risk.
“You know that I’m ready to go anywhere with you by my side”.
Will whispers into his ear gently and sincere. He can feel Mike smiling at his words. They cement this promise with a soft, deep and loving kiss. Everything feels warm inside, their hearts are beating as one and threatening to jump out of their ribcages. Nothing except them two and their deep love exists in this world.
One day they will hold each other’s hands after deciding to leave tonight and not to look back. They will only tell their family and friends and nobody else so the latter couldn’t stop them or hold them down. And by the morning’s light they will be halfway to anywhere from here. They will explore all these distant lands together. It will be like one of their D&D campaigns. But for real this time. This thought both scares and excites them. It will be the most important quest of their lives. In the search of long-waited happiness and freedom. Mike will take a lead and Will will follow him. As always.
They once promised they both would go crazy together. And they both are committed to fulfill this promise.
They are both done with the masks, with fears, with the rest of this world. If they are both happy, how can this be a terrible thing?
It doesn’t matter where they will end up: in a nice two-storey house, in a small apartment or at the back seat of a small car. What matters is that it will be just the two of them and it is enough. As long as they are with each other, they will always be happy, loved and safe.
As the recent years have showed them, life is too short to be afraid of everything. It can end in any moment. So that’s why one should risk it all to start living fully. And as long as Mike and Will are together, as long as they love each other, as long as they remain faithful to one other, they can do absolutely anything. As always.