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Gareth isn't the most perceptive person, which is why it takes him almost a full two months since he started hanging out with Will Byers to realize he's only ever seen the boy wearing some type of long sleeve, be it a button up, a jacket, or a sweater.
Of course, he doesn't question it much in the beginning, seeing as the weather hasn't really called for summer clothes, but as the days eventually start to grow warmer and warmer, Will's sleeves stay long, and Gareth's curiosity grows.
He's proud to say he's been more than welcoming to Will ever since the Byers moved back to Hawkins, and can even consider him a friend — even more so than he can Mike Wheeler, but he doesn't like Mike, not really, not like he does Will.
Which might be a problem, seeing as he might be starting to like him too much. Seeing as this. . . fondness of Will is what made him start to notice the little details about him, like how he scrunches his nose when he laughs, how he always touches the nape of his neck when he's nervous, how he's very shy around new people but actually talks quite a lot when you get to now him, and of course, how he's always wearing long sleeves.
(Also, how he gets shy around Gareth, can't hold eye contact with him for more than a few seconds without blushing, and is usually looking at him when they're in the same room, but those things he tries not to think about, for fear of getting his hopes up.)
This newfound curiosity is what currently has him staying for a bit longer after Hellfire is over, watching Will in a way he hopes is subtle while packing his things much slower than usual.
Will is always the last to leave, sitting back and going over his notes while he waits for his brother, and usually Eddie leaves second to last, which is why he shoots Gareth an odd look as he goes, leaving him and Will in the dimly lit room — Will reading from his little notebook, and Gareth packing the last of his things into his school backpack.
Apparently noticing everyone else left, Will glances up from his notebook and makes eye contact with him, a rosiness creeping up his cheeks. "Well played, Byers. You always save our asses from Eddie's traps." He tries, going for casual, but landing a bit awkward.
It seems to do what he wants, though, as the notebook is closed and left on the table. "I mean, you guys figure them out too, I just help, but thanks. And your rolls are always good, which is probably more useful than my perception." He replies, fidgeting with his shirt sleeves.
Shrugging, Gareth finishes putting his stuff away and closing his backpack. "Don't sell yourself short, man. You're way smarter than me. Mostly I'm just lucky."
Blushing even more, Will looks up to him. "Well, still. You're a great player." Just take the compliment, he thinks, but keeps it to himself. He has a plan, he remembers, and he isn't following it yet.
"Listen, Will, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. Me and you." Seeing Will's hesitation, he backtracked. "I mean, we don't have to, it's just, I like hanging out with you, and we don't ever do it alone, so it was just an idea, but it's obviously fine if you don't want to, or whatever. Just forget it."
Feeling like he made a mistake, Gareth grabs his backpack and starts to head to the exit. "Wait!" Will says, making him turn around. "Just, uh, I mean, really? You want to hang out with me? Alone?"
Now the one blushing, Gareth takes a few steps closer to Will. "Well, duh, that's what I'm saying. Is there another Will in here?" That gets him a laugh out of the younger boy, bringing a smile to his face.
"Um, if you really mean it, then I'd love to! I'm usually always free." He said, scratching the back of his neck like he always does.
Gareth nodded quickly. "How about tomorrow night? I could rent a movie, make some popcorn. Here, write down my number and we'll talk about it on the phone." Will quickly copied Gareth's number on his notebook. "Cool. Awesome. Um, I should go, mom's waiting on me for dinner, but I'll definitely see you tomorrow! Wait, do you need a ride? Does your brother usually take a while?"
Shaking his head with a smile, Will grabbed his belongings. "He's probably waiting for me, actually. Thank you, anyways."
They wind up walking out together, saying goodbye to each other before going their separate ways — Will to Jonathan's car, and Gareth to his own, both sporting blushes and a goofy grin.
If Gareth smiled all the drive to his house, it was no one's business but his own.
(And if Will did so too, well, no one would have to know.)
Now, Gareth might have been distracted from his original purpose by Will's cuteness, but he did want to figure out if the boy's constant wear of long sleeves was intentional or just a coincidence, and getting him alone seemed like a reasonable way to test this.
(He also felt his heart beating faster, and his face heating up at the idea of being alone with a boy he might be developing feelings for, but that was a problem for later; for now, he had a house to clean, a movie to rent, and an outfit to pick.
And a shower to take, he thought, feeling how his hair stuck to his forehead.)
Getting out of bed, Gareth stumbled to the bathroom, jumping into the shower. He made quick work of cleaning himself, and brushed his teeth when he got out. He's nervous, he realizes, in a way that he hadn't been since he'd started dating his first (and only) girlfriend in sophomore year.
So, maybe he has a huge crush on Will. And totally wants to kiss him. And date him. But that's totally unimportant and not at all the reason why he invited Will over today. Today was about investigation.
(And maybe a little bit about getting to know Will outside of Hellfire and their party, but he wasn't going to admit that just yet.)
After spending a solid twenty minutes picking and outfit, and another forty-five cleaning his room and the living room, Gareth recieved the call he had been waiting for all day.
Bolting down the hall, he picked up the phone and put it to his ear. "Emerson's, this is Gareth." He grimaced at his awkward greeting, hoping he hadn't scared Will off—if it was him who was calling, which he really hoped it was.
"Um, hi, it's Will? I was calling about. . . tonight. If you still want to hang out?" At least I'm not the only awkward one, he thought, smiling at Will's voice.
He leaned against the wall. "Yeah, totally. I can pick you up? Or give you my address if that makes you more comfortable. I do need to know what movie to rent, actually, so do you have any preferences?"
He felt Will hum through the phone. "I think my mom's probably gonna tell Jon to drive me, she's a bit. . . protective, I guess, so she always prefers to have someone drop me off and pick me up. Um, the movie. I like, uh, sci-fi and horror. Stuff like that. But I'm fine with whatever! If you don't like that then it's fine! Um, you pick, honestly." He could practically feel Will's nervousness, which made him feel a bit less dumb about his own.
"Actually, I watch pretty much the same stuff. How does Friday the 13th sound?"
After agreeing on the movie, giving Will his address, and agreeing on a time to meet, Gareth went to the kitchen to check if he had any snacks for later.
"You look nice, Gare. And you cleaned the living room! Having a girl over?" His mom asked, coming into the kitchen dressed in scrubs — she was a nurse at the hospital in town.
Avoiding her gaze, he rummaged through the cabinets. "Just, uh, a friend from school. Will Byers, his mom's name is Joyce? We're watching a movie." She hummed in recognition, moving to fill her thermos with coffee.
"Well, I'll be back tomorrow morning. Call if anything happens! Have fun!" Kissing his head, she grabbed her keys and left.
He sighed, leaning against the counter after finding no snacks. He still had a movie to rent, and popcorn to buy.
Seven in the evening found Gareth pacing around his living room, a bowl of popcorn on the table, and Friday the 13th ready on the TV. Any minute now, Will would be arriving.
He still didn't have a clue how he was going to get him to show his arms, but a plan would surely come to him while they watched the movie.
Earlier's nerves had increased in tenfold, but before he made himself crazy with anxiety, the doorbell rang.
Running a hand through his hair, he quickly opened the front door. There, in all his bowl-cut glory, stood Will, grinning at him shyly and holding what looked like an apple pie in his hands.
"Hey! Um, my mom made me bring this, said it's impolite to show up to a house for the first time empty-handed. It's really good, though. Well, it's no pumpkin pie, but still pretty good, and, I mean, my mom's only really good at making pies, you know, not so much other food. . ." He trailed off awkwardly, a blush starting to creep up his cheeks. "Ugh, I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry, I tend to do that when I get nervous."
Laughing, Gareth shook his head. "It's fine, Will." It's cute, is what he really thought. "Looks great, here, I'll leave it in the kitchen. You can come in, the living room's through here. Um, do you mind taking off your shoes? My mom doesn't like inside dirt in the house, sorry." He took the pie from Will's hands and pointed at a rack full of shoes by the front door. "You can just put your shoes there. Come on."
After Will placed his converse in the rack (right next to Gareth's beat up boots, which did not make his stomach flutter, thank you very much.), they made their way inside, Gareth guiding Will to the couch and going to the kitchen to drop off the pie and grab sodas for them.
"I've got Dr. Pepper and Coke, I don't know which you prefer. Pick one and I'll drink the other one." He said, walking into the living room with a can in each hand.
Will, who had made himself comfortable on the couch, shrugged as he turned to Gareth. "Uh, Dr. Pepper is good, unless you wanted it?"
Sitting down at a totally reasonable distance, Gareth shook his head. "Nah, man, all yours. Here." He handed him the soda and set his own on a coaster in the coffee table, starting the movie before settling down more comfortably on the couch.
Will, Gareth noticed, inched slightly closer to him every time a tense scene played out, and by the time half of the movie had passed, they were thigh to thigh. Which didn't make Gareth nervous at all. So what if he was blushing? It was hot in the room.
At some point, Gareth's arm found itself on the back of the couch behind Will, the boy's hair brushing against it every so often. By this time, Gareth had completely forgot about any plans, all his thought a variation of I want to kiss him so bad and He's so cute.
And at the big jumpscare in the end, Will startled so much he tucked himself into Gareth's side and held onto him, only pulling away as the credits rolled, his face flushed a dark pink.
He moved back slightly, but Gareth's arm behind his back kept him from going very far. "Shit, sorry, I've watched that movie so many times, I don't know why that still gets me. Um, I can leave if I made you uncomfortable. Sorry."
Shaking his head softly, Gareth's arm trailed lower to Will's arm. "I'm not uncomfortable. I'm super comfortable, actually." His eyes roamed the other boy's face, from his wide eyes, to his flushed cheeks, to his soft looking lips, and back. Subconsciously, he moved closer. "Um, to be honest, I really like you. I have since you moved back and started playing with us. . ."
Will looks up at him, mouth slightly agape, and appears to look for something in his eyes. "Do you mean it? If this is a joke, my brother and Steve are gonna beat you up. I'll beat you up. Please say this isn't a joke, 'cause I really like you, Gareth. A lot." That, finally, gets him blushing as well.
He brushes his hand against Will's. "Not a joke. Please don't make anyone beat me up." Will laughs, taking hold of his hand.
"No one's gonna beat you up, promise." His gaze drops to Gareth's lips. "So, is this the part where you kiss me?" His voice comes out breathy.
Wasting no time, Gareth seals the distance, all hesitance thrown out the window as Will's hands tangle up in his hair. Will's lack of experience is made up with enthusiasm, kissing back hungrily.
As far as first kisses go, Will thinks, this is pretty great.
After a lot of convincing from Will, they make his way to Gareth's room. Its walls are full of metal posters, bands like Dio and Metallica adorning every inch. A desk sits agains a wall, with a big corkboard atop of it, concert tickets, pictures and character sheets decorating it. On the desk lays sheet music and some of his D&D stuff. At the far corner is his bed, pushed against the wall. It has red sheets, a black comforter, and currently, Will sat on top of it, looking around as if saving every detail.
Gareth stands by the door, a small smile on his face as he watches Will. "It's my safe space, besides behind the drums. This is basically a glimpse into my soul." He says, half joking.
Smiling, Will finally looks at him. "I really like it. It's definitely very you."
He puts on a tape, something softer than what he usually listens to, and makes his way to the bed, sitting beside Will. He grabs his hand and puts them in his lap, Will resting his head on his shoulder. Gareth's pretty much given up on the long sleeve situation for tonight, but he can still spend some more time with the boy he likes.
They stay holding hands for a while, but eventually Will lifts his head. He turns to look at him, but before he can get a word out, Will's mouth is on him again, this time a bit less messy but just as enthusiastic. Gareth responds quickly, moving one hand to the boy's waist and another to his neck. Will's hands, once again, tangle themselves in his hair.
It doesn't take long for them to lay down, Will's head against the pillows, and Gareth holding himself up on top of him. One of Will's hands starts to wander from his hair, feeling up his arm and trailing lower. It eventually settles inside his shirt, making him sigh into the kiss as he scrapes his nails softly against his back.
Moving away from his mouth, he starts kissing down Will's neck, while he continues his exploration of his chest. His last girlfriend hadn't cared much for his chest, seeing as he wasn't the most muscular there, and instead focused on his arms, which were strong and toned from drumming. Will, however, seemed to be enjoying feeling him up and getting his hands all over him. If the soft noises coming from his mouth are any signal, he seems to be enjoying Gareth's kisses as well.
Going back up to his mouth, one of Gareth's hands makes it's way to Will's waist, stroking softly over his shirt. He all but melts, pulling slightly at his hair and dragging a soft sound out of him.
Logically, he knows they can't go on for much longer before he starts enjoying it too much, but right now he can't seem to stop himself.
Will's shirt had become untucked at some point, and as Gareth tries to put his hand under it, another quickly stops him. "Could you. . . Sorry, I just, I've never done this before. If you could keep it over the shirt for now? Sorry." He whispers, pulling away from Gareth slightly.
He quickly placed his hand on Will's waist. "Shit, sorry, of course." Smiling up at him, Will pulled him back into a kiss.
At some point, Gareth's shirt is discarded, and he's pushed onto his back, Will moving to straddle him as he detaches himself from his lips to slowly kiss down his neck, groping at his biceps. Gareth sighs, one hand scratching at Will's scalp and the other on his lower back.
Just as Will started sucking a mark onto his neck and his hand start to wonder lower and lower, they're interrupted by the ring of the doorbell. Will quickly moved away from him, slightly breathless, and Gareth scrambled to put his shirt back on.
The doorbell rings a second time as Gareth gets up, going to the front door while Will stays in his room and fixes his hair and clothes.
Opening the door, he's face to face with Jonathan Byers, who takes a look at his disheveled appearence and raised a curious eyebrow. "Hey, I honked a few times but Will didn't come out, so I thought, might as well, y'know. You're Gareth, then? Nice to meet you dude, Will was smiling all day before coming."
Having heard his brother's voice, Will appeared around the corner, cheeks red and trying to act casual. "Hey Jon, um, sorry, we got carried away with D&D stuff, I didn't realize it was ten already." Turning his attention to him now, Jonathan gave him a suspicious look.
"Right." He said, disbelief clear in his voice. He pointed towards the car with his thumb. "I'll be waiting in the car. Try to hurry up, mom's waiting to eat dinner. Bye, Gareth."
Once the door was closed again, Will pounced on him, pushing him against it and kissing him fiercely. He reacted quickly, placing a hand on his waist and another on his neck, and kissed back with equal want. After a few minutes, Will pulled back, and Gareth started peppering kisses al over his face.
Blushing profusely, Will smiled at him, giving him one last peck before separating to put his shoes on. He leaned against the door, watching him with a grin of his own. "I had a really nice time. Think we can do this again, say, monday after school? My mom's not home in the evening usually, she works nights at the hospital."
While tying his shoes, Will responded to him. "Definitely. Hopefully no interruptions next time." He turned to face him again after finishing up. "Um, maybe we can, you know, go out sometime. Dinner and a movie? I mean, if you want, It's totally fine if you don't and want this be like, a one time thing, or casual, or whatever—" His brows furrow more and more as he speaks, and he looks away from him and starts looking at his feet, confidence faltering. Gareth's quick to stop his rambling with a kiss.
"Will, of course I'll go out with you. I like you, like, way too much. Calm down." He said, holding Will's face in his hands and stroking his cheek tenderly. "You should probably go, your brother's gonna be pissed."
Laughing, Will nodded, finally pulling away. "Yeah, probably. See you monday, Gare."
He gave him a quick peck before opening the door for him. "See ya', babe."
And as he watched this boy he was so obsessed with walk to his brother's car, all he could think was I'm so gone.
As soon as he closed the car door, Jonathan turned to him with a smirk. "So, Gareth." He said, raising his eyebrow suggestively. "Hope you weren't doing anything I would do."
Will glared at him, but he could feel the way his cheeks were heating up. "Shut up, Jon, Jesus. We're friends. We were talking about Eddie's campaign and lost track of time, that's all, seriously."
Jonathan started driving, giving him a quick glance. "Mhm. That definitely explains the fact that his shirt was inside out and your hair's a mess. Not to mention the hickey." His cheeks felt like they were on fire, but he kept looking out the window.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, trying to sound as normal as possible, even though he was definitely caught.
Laughing, his brother shook his head softly. "Whatever you say, Will. As long as you're being safe, and he's treating you right." He smacked him on the shoulder, making him laugh. "Alright, alright. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I might not understand so much, but you know I love you and I'm here for you."
He turned to smile at his brother. "Yeah, I know, I love you too. Thanks, Jonny." Jonathan gave his shoulder a squeeze.
"Of course, little brother, that's what I'm here for. Honestly, I'm just really glad you're over Mike." Will groaned, smacking him once again and bringing another laugh out of Jonathan.
Maybe everything would be alright, Will thought.
A few weeks later, more than a couple of dates, a lot of makeout sessions and a few times with Will's hand down his pants, and Gareth still hadn't figured out how to get Will to ditch the long-sleeve. And, alright, maybe he'd been distracted, but he had a boyfriend now, even if it was a secret, so sue him for wanting to spend his time kissing him instead of plotting. It wasn't as if it was easy to get Will to show his arms.
It was less than a month until summer break, and Will still wore his flannels everyday, only switching to a layer long-sleeved tee under a short-sleeved one on very few occasions. And even when they got hot and heavy, Will liked to keep his shirt on, though he let Gareth's hands wander now.
So, when he realized he was getting nowhere, he decided on a more direct approach — just asking him about it.
The opportunity presented itself when they were laying in Gareth's bed, listening to Unknown Pleasures (Will's pick).
"Hey, babe, I've been meaning to ask you something." Will hummed in response, turning to lay his chin on his chest to be face-to-face. "It's just, y'know, something I noticed, and maybe it's nothing, and I'm being stupid, but I thought I'd ask just in case it wasn't nothing."
Will furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What is it?"
He sighed. "It's just, why are you always wearing long sleeves? Like, somedays it'll be, like, a thousand degrees, and we're all in shorts and short sleeves, but you're always wearing your flannels, and even when you don't, you just layer shirts, so I just thought it was kinda odd, y'know?"
Looking away from him, Will sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um. . ." He said, clearly struggling with what to say. Gareth realized quickly that his eyes had become glossy with unshed tears, and moved to hold his hand. This seemed to help, as he started talking again. "I'm going to tell you something that no one else knows, okay? And I need you to promise you won't tell anyone."
He nodded quickly. "Of course, Will, I promise."
Will sighed as a tear slid down his face. "I used to. . . hurt myself. And my arms are full of scars. So, I cover them up so no one sees and knows, because they're horrible, and disgusting, and embarrassing. I hated myself so much, and I just felt so dirty, and the only way to stop myself from going crazy was to cut myself. I understand if you don't want to be with a freak like me."
Alright, so maybe Gareth wasn't the sharpest, but it all made sense when he looked back at Will's behavior. And maybe a small part of him already suspected this was the cause, but this didn't change how he felt about Will at all.
Cupping his face and wiping the stray tear with his thumb, he gave his hand what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. "God, Will, I'm so obsessed with you. You're so beautiful. Nothing could ever change that. I like you so much it drives me crazy. And so what if you are a freak? So am I. So is every one of our friends. Your freakiness makes me want you even more." He said, kissing his forehead softly. "You're the best thing in this whole town. In the whole world, even."
Will leaned into his hand, the tears now falling freely down his face. "What if you change your mind when you see them?"
He shook his head quickly. "No, Will. Nothing would ever make me change my mind about you. You're the prettiest thing I've ever seen. You could have a third arm and I'd still like you. Every single part of you, I want it, alright?" Will laughed softly and nodded, though tears still fell from his eyes. "Thank you for trusting me, babe." He kissed him softly and held him to his chest as he cried.
(And if the next time they made out Will took his shirt off and Gareth kissed his scars for what was probably way too long, well, that's nobody's business but theirs.)