Chapter Text
‘WILL! HAVE YOU SEEN MY BRIEFCASE?!’
Mike felt himself unraveling. He was late. Incredibly, unbelievably late.
‘It’s on the table by the stairs!’ Will shouted from the upstairs bathroom.
Mike felt his socks pushing him towards a fall as he ran and slid towards the staircase, trying desperately to maintain what little sanity he had left. It was the day of his first book signing, and he was looking at the most humiliating scenario he could possibly have faced in his adult life. Who was late for their own book signing?
He flung the bag over his shoulder, beads of sweat already forming on his forehead, as if doing his hair had meant anything at this point. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Will coming down the stairs, a rather amused look on his face. ‘Forgetting something?’ He held out a pair of loafers.
‘Shit.’ Mike peered down at his feet. Obviously showing up in socks wasn’t going to be received well. ‘Will I’m literally going to be so late, they’ll never let me do another signing.’
Will’s amusement fell into a soft, almost sympathetic smile. He put a hand on Mike’s shoulder. ‘Mike, you still have thirty minutes, the bookstore is three blocks away.’ He let out a tiny laugh. ‘You’re gonna be fine, relax. I just have to finish up a few things and then I’ll come over.’
‘Why can’t you just come with me?’ Mike whined.
Will laughed and rolled his eyes. ‘This painting is going to basically pay our mortgage for the month so if you DO want me coming right now, prepare to shower me in about……. two-thousand dollars worth of gifts.’
Mike reluctantly smiled. ‘Alright fair point. But that doesn’t mean I’m not shitting myself with nervousness.’
Will kissed his cheek, letting his lips linger ever so slightly. ‘I love you Mike Wheeler. And I’m so, so proud of you. Now go, before you are ACTUALLY late.’
Mike quickly slipped the loafers on his feet and in an instant, was out the door. Will shook his head smiling as he turned back towards the staircase.
Mike had struggled for the first year post-graduation to establish himself at the publishing company. He started out refilling coffees, arranging stacks of newspapers and resumes, cleaning tabletops and sweeping front mats. He would conveniently slip bits of his novels to those of great importance, specifically his boss Tony. After being shot down more than a handful of times, he found himself in a situation that all-too strangely mimicked Nancy’s at the Hawkins Post.
He had called her on multiple occasions, hoping she could plant some wisdom in his brain, give him some confidence. She had said, ‘Just keep giving it to them. Just keep handing them samples, keep being persistent. They will see.’
And then one day, out of the blue, Tony called Mike into his office. Mike had anticipated he was going to be scolded for delivering the wrong breakfast order, or leaving some type of important document out in the open instead of filing it properly. But he was shaken to his core when Tony placed a copy of his ENTIRE book on his desk, and said the words ‘congratulations.’
It was all a snowball after that. Before Mike could blink, his first Novel was published and front and center in Holland’s Bookstore down the block. Of course, not before his friends had the chance to get their hands on their first hard copies. Max and Lucas had taken the day off to shower their friend with love, a dinner had and much alcohol toasted. Dustin had received his copy in the mail and then a few days later sent a VERY detailed email on his thoughts (all good, mostly). El had flown in from California to visit Joyce and Hop, making a special 'side flight' to Mike and Will to grab her beloved copy. And then there was Jonathan, who still lived with them, who had merely just stolen Will’s.
Mike also distinctly remembers Ted Wheeler calling him on the phone to congratulate him. Aside from his graduation and wedding day, those words were tough ones to get out of Ted. Mike hadn’t really even known what to do with them. Until Karen stole the phone and saved the awkwardness. ‘We love you honey! So proud!’
After the book had been out for about six months, Mike missed the high. He missed constantly bombarding his boss with copies of his work, he missed crumpling up papers to then reprint them with only a few word changes. And so he started another one. Only this time, it was….. sort of a biography. Sort of.
Mike finally had the guts to tell the story of what he and his friends had lived through in their childhood. With just a few names changes, he worked day and night to give the story the beauty and pain it deserved. Will had even staged an intervention of sorts at one point to try and get him to eat, or even pee.
Mike presented the book to Tony, who usually had to read things three or four times before handing it back and saying ‘get back to work.’ But this time, he didn’t hand the book back. He kept it.
‘Wheeler, I don’t think you need this job anymore.’ He had handed Mike a business card with the name of a much larger publishing company based on the other side of the city. ‘Publish this and you’ll never have to work again.’
Mike had talked to Will about it- it was a huge step. Putting the story of their lives out into the open, it was something that he needed ALL of them to be on board with. It was something so close to their hearts- he didn’t want their pain or their emotions being just another source of income. But they had all pushed him to follow through. And so he did.
And now here he was, racing down the avenue towards Hollands to try and arrive to his very own book signing on time. ‘Stranger Things’ had sold more copies in just several months than some of his favorite novels had in a plethora of years. Checks kept coming, Mike and Will in shock each time. It was quite thrilling, but also emotional. People were buying a story of THEIR LIVES. They wanted to get to know them, their personalities, their quirks. And to Mike, that meant more than any paycheck.
***
As Mike stepped into the bookstore, the smell of old paper permeated the air. There was never a place where he felt like he belonged quite like here.
He stepped further towards the back where a table had been erected, a brown table cloth placed on top. There were at least sixty copies of his book stacked, along with a rather large poster board with a photo of the front cover. He smiled, unsure of where to put himself.
It wasn’t long before he heard a voice behind him.
‘Michael! So glad to see you!’
The store owner, Mr. Neilson, was a gentleman of about seventy years old that was simply infatuated with Mike. He had spent years cultivating his store, loving books, and was more than eager to do whatever he could to get involved. Usually Mike was just a loyal customer, daily sometimes. But today he was bringing in more business than Mr. Neilson knew what to do with.
‘George! Hey! Thank you so much for allowing me to do this here. I can’t wait for people to see this place.’
The old man snuffed. ‘Oh son, they aren’t here for this old place. They’re here to see you! And might I say, that’s well deserved. That book right there is a masterpiece if I ever saw one.’ He patted Mike on the shoulder and handed him another hard copy of something Mike hadn’t seen before. ‘Here, take this as a token of congratulations. It’s the only copy I have.’
Mike stared at the cover, examining it closely. It was a deep olive green with gold lettering. ‘What Makes A Man’, it read. He looked at George with questioning eyes. ‘What um… what is this?’
‘It is something I think will come of great importance to you one day. My great grandfather read it, passed it down to my father, who then passed it down to me. And I do believe you are next in line to receive it. Great book full of life lessons.’
Mike’s eyes widened. ‘Mr. Neilson, I can’t. Shouldn’t this go to…. one of your children?’
George shook his head and held a hand out in protest. ‘No no. That belongs to you. I only had girls. And I’m not so sure they’d want to read a book on how to be a good husband and father.’ He winked, turning towards the door as a group of college students entered the store, making a b-line towards Mike’s table.
Mike swallowed heavily. ‘But George I-‘
George gestured towards the young adults. ‘Don’t want to keep your guests waiting!’
Before Mike could think, four or five students approached the table. One of the young women held out a copy of his book towards him and smiled. ‘Hi, Mike. My name is Anna. Huge fan of your work.’
He returned the smile and scribbled his name in cursive on the front. ‘Wow uh, thanks. That’s really incredible to hear I’m glad you liked the book.’
She leaned in closer while her friends appeared to be milling around the fantasy section. ‘Is it true? Do Will and you and up together? Even after everything that happened?’
Mike looked startled. He then smiled warmly and handed her back the book. Before he could respond, a hand was on his shoulder.
‘Yes, they do.’ Will whispered.
He smiled at Anna, offering to shake her hand. She grinned from ear to ear. ‘Oh my gosh! Are you Will?’
Will laughed. ‘I am! You must be….’
‘Anna. I’m a huge fan of Mike’s work. I read this, and his first novel ‘The Cleric’.
Mike gasped. ‘You read that too?! I thought that book was a total flop.’
Anna smirked. ‘No, actually my whole building read it. A lot of us are super into D&D and we passed it around for a while.’ She stood silently for a moment and then fidgeted with the edges of her book. ‘You should um….. you should come visit the campus again some time, maybe do your next signing there.’
Will shot him a wink, and he suddenly felt his stomach flip with excitement. ‘Yeah I uh… yeah I’d love to. I’ll definitely see what I can do.’
Anna smiled and waved to both of them, joining the rest of her friends. Mike couldn’t believe it. A group of teenagers was actually passing around his book like they were in a book club. Was this real life?
Will smiled and rubbed his back. ‘Wow, looks like you have a fan club.’
Mike rolled his eyes. ‘Oh please. They only use me to get to you.’ He winked.
By the time the signing was over, Mike’s hand felt like it was going to fall off. He had signed all sixty copies, plus the remaining twenty that George had stashed away behind the counter. His new publishing company had assigned him an editor named Sam, who had briefly made an appearance to oversee the event. Max and Lucas even stopped by.
Max had extended an invitation to both Mike and Will for a movie night at their new apartment. ‘You losers better come this time. And please don’t bring Jonathan. He’s…. old and boring.’
Will laughed. ‘He’s just lonely, Max.’
‘Ok well that’s none of our business. He should be dating, or…. I don’t know, maybe looking for a job?’
Will looked down at his feet. Mike and him had been having a few ‘disagreements’ lately in regards to Jonathan’s living arrangements. He had been living with them now for a grand total of a year, and Mike was slowly watching their early years of married life drown at the hands of Jonathan Byers and his uncanny ability to be everywhere, all the time.
He had tried desperately to kickstart his career as a director, but the climate wasn't particularly ideal. His 'fill-in' job at the bank was income, but it made him miserable. That, and his skills when it came to organization, counting and filing, weren't exactly note-worthy.
Will felt bad, as Will often did. ‘He’s my brother’, he’d say. But Mike saw the situation for what it was.
‘Will, he has to figure his shit out. We can’t have him here forever.’
And then an argument would ensue and Mike would end up caving, telling Will he was sorry and that Jon could stay as long as he needed to.
Eventually the event concluded, Mike and Will packing
up the table and saying their goodbyes to George.
Back at the house, Jonathan had managed to actually find a productive activity- he was reorganizing the TV cabinet as a cigarette fell out of his mouth. Mike approached him and flicked the cigarette from him, tossing it in a nearby garbage bin. ‘Jonathan, please don’t smoke in the house. That shit smells nasty.’
He nervously tucked a box of remaining cigarettes in his pocket and stood up. ‘Uh, sorry. I forgot, I’ll definitely stop.’
Mike rolled his eyes, following Will up the staircase towards their bedroom. He flopped onto the bed, Will removing his jacket and flopping beside him. ‘He doesn’t mean to, you know.’
‘I know’, Mike sighed. ‘He never does.’
Will shot him a face. ‘Come on. Don’t be a grump. You had an amazing day. That signing was absolutely incredible, you have to be proud of yourself.’
Mike smiled. ‘Yeah. Yeah sorry, you’re right. It was pretty amazing.’
Will was suddenly sat up, reaching over towards Mike’s table on his side of the bed. He grabbed the green book that George had gifted him. ‘What’s this? New?’
Mike grabbed it out of Will’s hands and laughed. ‘I love how you now keep track of the books I own.’ He playfully shoved him. ‘But yes, it is in fact new. George actually gave it to me, as a gift.’
‘Well what’s it about?’
‘I’m not sure, honestly. He said that it’s been passed down to all the men in his family, supposedly some kind of motivational read on being a good husband and a good father-‘
Will grabbed it back. ‘Oh then you better get to it immediately.’ He laughed.
‘Hey! Give me that! Also are you implying I’m a bad husband Will Byers?’
Will still held the book in his grasp. ‘I didn’t say it.’
‘Didn’t have to, jerk.’
Mike was now on top of Will, squirming around playfully to try and get the book. They both laughed hysterically as Will finally gave in. ‘Here, fine. Take your stupid book.’
Then suddenly his expression changed. He untangled himself from Mike and cleared his throat. ‘So a good father, huh.’
‘I mean-‘ Mike reoriented himself, removing his loafers and tossing them to the ground. ‘That is one of the many…..helpful topics in here, apparently.’
‘You gonna read it?’
Mike’s brows furrowed. ‘Well yeah, obviously.’
Will sat still for a moment, pondering. Mike could sense that he was somewhere else in his mind. ‘What’s up? Whatcha thinkin?’
Will smiled crookedly, reaching out for Mike’s hand as he stood up and stretched. ‘I don’t know. Just…. sort of gets me thinking a little.’
‘Oh?’ Mike smirked.
‘Yeah. You know, about….kids?’ Will braced for impact. He and Mike had never had an actual conversation about the concept of starting a family. Well, they had, but it was always more of a dream rather than a reality, especially with them currently housing Jonathan. He placed his head in his hands and blushed. ‘Actually, sorry I said that. I’m sorry, I know we’re in no place to-‘
‘No place to what?’
‘To… you know…’
Mike was now seated again, placing a hand on Will’s thigh. ‘Have kids?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Well why not?’
Will’s stomach did a flip. He had not been expecting a response such as that. it was Mike they were talking about. He wasn’t exactly the world’s best babysitter. He was awkward with kids- their niece Lucy was great, she had really opened both of their eyes to how cute kids could be. But he saw Mike still struggle from time to time with connection. It was as if there was a wall that just wouldn’t quite break all the way.
Will cleared his throat again. ‘Well, I mean, there’s Jonathan….’
‘Who could literally get his own place.’ Mike said flatly.
Will rolled his eyes. ‘…and both of us have a lot going on career-wise I mean your book-‘
‘Will. These all sound like horrible excuses.’ He laughed and pressed a soft kiss on his cheek. ‘Do you like….. actually wanna talk about this?’
The thing was, Will had been yearning for this for quite a while, unknown by his husband. Six months of watching tiny little humans peer at him from strollers, waving with their stubby little fingers. He never really saw himself being such clay at the hands of a child, but it was like as soon as he and Mike got into a routine, it felt like there was a missing piece.
The dog was great, sure. But playing with Lucy, letting her tiny little hands wrap around his fingers….. he wanted that. He wanted that so badly. And he wanted it with Mike. He just wasn’t sure how. There were so many factors, so many hurdles, it was enough to make his head spin off his body.
‘I mean, I think so? I don’t know Mike, I feel like lately I’ve been thinking about it A LOT.’
And then, Mike said something completely out of the ordinary:
‘Yeah, me too.’
Will stilled, his eyes widening. ‘You- you have?’
‘Yeah. I have. Will, I love you and everything we have built so much. But you didn’t really think that buying this condo and living here just you, me and the dog was really the end goal, right?’
‘Well, I didn’t-‘
‘Will why do you think I suggested we buy this place? Just for us to have more leg room?’ He laughed loudly.
‘I don’t know, I just thought since we could afford it…’
Mike scoffed. ‘You’re delusional, you know that? I bought this place, so we’d have room to grow.’
Will’s eyes welled up, a familiar burning. He pulled Mike in to a warm embrace. ‘You’re…. amazing, you know that?’
‘I know.’ He pressed his mouth against Will’s, his hand finding his waist. ‘But I wouldn’t be half of what I am without you.’
They both held the embrace for a while, and then Mike broke away and stood up. ‘Well, let’s get ready to go to movie night and we can talk about this later. Also gives us time to decide how we are going to tell Jonathan he needs to get the hell out.’