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The party is loud—too many people packed into too small a space. Music thumps through the walls The air smells like alcohol and cheap cologne.
Will spots him across the room.
He’s laughing—but it’s wrong. Not his real laugh. Not the soft, surprised, kind of crooked one Will knows by heart. This one is louder. Looser. Like it doesn’t belong to him at all. His arm is slung around someone’s shoulders, drink spilling from the red cup in his hand.
He moves before he can think too hard about it.
“Mike.”
Mike turns slowly, like the world has to catch up to him first. Then his face lights
“Will!” he says, like it’s the best thing he’s seen all night. “Heyyyy.”
Will exhales. “Yeah. I—”
Mike hops off his seat and immediately trips, stumbling straight into him.
Will catches him without thinking. Up close, the smell hits—alcohol, sharp and heavy.
“Whoa—okay. Hey,” Will says, steadying him. “How much have you had?”
Mike grins, unfocused. “Not that much.”
Will just looks at him. “Mike.”
Mike huffs a laugh, softer this time. “Okay, maybe… a little.”
Will glances around. No one’s watching. No one’s helping.
“Are you here by yourself?”
“No, you’re here!” Mike says, laughing like it’s obvious.
Will swallows something down. “Right. Okay. Come on.”
He shifts Mike’s arm over his shoulders. Mike leans into him
“You’re going home.”
Mike groans. “Nooo, I’m fine—”
“You’re not fine.”
“I am—”
“Mike, you just tripped over your own shoes.”
"That was the floor’s fault,” Mike mumbles.
Will smiles
...
The walk is slow.
Mike leans heavily into him, his head occasionally tipping against Will’s shoulder. He keeps talking about their friends, about how, in his words, the new book is “kicking his ass.” He talks about everything.Most of it doesn’t quite land. Sentences trail off halfway through, thoughts slipping away before they can finish.
But Will listens anyway.
By the time they reach Mike’s house, things have quieted down. The world feels smaller, Just the sound of their footsteps and the occasional rustle of leaves.
Will finds the spare key under the mat, fumbles a little, then gets the door open and guides Mike inside.
Will carefully sits mike down on his couch
“Okay,” Will mutters. “Shoes off. Come on.”
Mike kicks one off. The other stays half-on.
Will sighs and crouches, tugging it the rest of the way off. “You’re impossible.”
Mike watches him like it’s the most fascinating thing in the world.
Will glances up, and freezes.
Mike’s eyes are on him. Dark, focused. Too intense.
“…What?” Will asks quietly.
“You’re pretty,” Mike says.
Will stops“And you’re drunk,” he replies,
“I know,” Mike says easily. “That’s why I’m saying it.”
Will exhales, pushing himself to stand. “Alright. Let’s just get you some water—”
Mike grabs his hand.
“Will.”
Something about the way he says it makes Will stop.
He crouches back down slowly.
Mike’s sitting on the edge of the couch now, looking up at him. His expression is different—still softened by alcohol, but there’s something else there too.
Will’s heart stutters.
“Mike,” he says carefully, “you should lie down.”
Mike doesn’t move.
Instead, his grip tightens around Will’s hand—warm, a little unsteady, but insistent.
“I mean it,” Mike says, quieter now. “You’re pretty, and you’re nice,and your voice is nice.”
Before Will can react, Mike clumsy lifts wills hand, pressing it against his cheek. He leans into it, eyes fluttering shut for a second as he inhales softly.
“I like your hands,” he murmurs. “They smell nice.”
Will’s chest tightens, He hates how much he listens, how he desperatly wants to believe it.
Mike opens his eyes again, looking straight at him now.
“I like you.”
Will’s breath catches.
Then pulls his hand away.
Mike’s hand drops to his lap,
He blinks slowly at Will, trying to catch up. His expression doesn’t change
“I like you,” Mike repeats, softer this time.
His hands lift again, unsteady but certain, He gently cups Will’s face
“Will…” Mike breathes, thumb brushing his cheek. “I lo-"
Will stands quickly stands up cutting him off
“No,” he says immediately “No, Mike—don’t.”
Mike frowns, confused. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t say stuff like that,” Will says, voice tightening as he steps back.
Mike lets out a small, uncertain laugh. “What do you mean?”
“You’re drunk,” Will says quickly. “You’re just...confused. It’s late. You’re tired. You’ve been drinking.”
“I’m not confused about you.”
Wills heart hurts
Will forces a shaky laugh and shakes his head.
“Okay. We’re not doing this right now. You need to sleep it off.”
His eyes flick over Mike again, his glassy stare, the uneven way he’s sitting, the way his words are coming out.
“I’m gonna get you some water,” Will says, voice tight. “Then you’re going to bed. Okay?”
Mike doesn’t answer.
Will takes the silence as a yes .
When he comes back, Mike is barely holding himself upright on the couch.
He manages a few slow sips of water before his head dips again, eyelids heavy. Whatever he tries to say dissolves into something unintelligible as he lies down.
Will pulls a blanket over him.
Then he just stands there.Watching him breathe.
“Idiot,” Will whispers, but there’s no real bite behind it.
Mike shifts slightly under the blanket, barely awake. “…Will,” he murmurs.
Will freezes.
“…stay.”
Will’s throat tightens.
“…Yeah,” he says quietly, even though Mike’s already gone back to sleep. “I’m here.”
He sinks down onto the floor beside the couch, back resting against it, knees pulled close.A long silence stretches out.
It's so soft, will almost misses it
"I love you,” Mike slurs.
Will turns his head so fast it almost hurts, eyes widening, mike is still slumped across the couch, eyes closed, snoring
Will stares at him.For a second, he can’t speak. Can’t even think clearly
“Mike?"
Mike doesn’t answer, Will’s chest tightens.
"Mike… are you asleep?” His voice cracks slightly on the last word,
Mike shifts faintly, but doesn’t wake.Will looks away, jaw tightening as he tries to steady himself.
“I wish you were sober,” he says under his breath,
Only Mikes breathing answers him.Will exhales slowly, staring down at his hands.The words sit there
“I love you too,” Will says quietly.
He doesn’t move after that.
Just stays there in the dark, listening to Mike breathe.