Work Text:
It was now March 1986.
The Byers have finally moved back into Hawkins which is good-it's amazing actually!
Or it's supposed to be so. But for Mike it is thought of as.. Different.
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Just a couple of months ago, Will and Eleven have moved away in Lenora Hills, California.
It should have been devastating that his girlfriend was away. He should have been grieving and making plans on how to meet up with her, talk with her more often and for a longer period of time, send her letters and gifts.
And he did.
He did have a whole box, full of letters, all of them starting with 'Dear, Will' and ending with 'love, Mike"
A few were towards El too! Just.. Not as many and not as sweet as the ones for his so called "best friend" were.
There was no reason behind this either. It was normal to write hundreds of epistles to your childhood friend, expressing how much you have missed him and how much you had wished for him to be next to you, to be talking with you, playing with you, hugging you..
Kissing you
It's completely normal, though!
Or at least that's what Mike has been telling himself, because apparently writing hundreds of notes to your pal instead of your girlfriend is not your usual comrade thing.
What's unusual about wishing to spend time with your friend, huh? It's normal to miss having him close to you. It's fine to just be staring at him and thinking how soft his lips look and how soft they would be pressed against Mike's, fitting perfectly like a missing puzzle piece and the taste Will would leave behind on his lips and-
Well you get it
It's a common thing that friends do all the time and there's nothing wrong with it
Apparently there is
According to El, Mike has barely even given her any attention which is so not true because he has.
Apparently he hasn't even been expressing his love towards his girlfriend because he hasn't been saying it enough? He has though! What is El even on about?
What follows next is a pretty big fight between them two. Mike is sitting on the bed and El on the floor, shuffling through letters sent by him.
In the heat of the moment, she stumbles upon a specific box. There should be no issue, if it wasn't for the huge deal she was making out of it, comparing the letters sent to her and those composed for Will:
'Hey, El! '
'Dear Will'
'How are you? '
'I miss you'
'You've missed so many things'
'I wish you were here'
'From Mike'
'Love, Mike'
"You see, Mike? " El sniffles, flipping through more pages
"You act as if Will is your lover, not me"
The rest of the sentence is tuned out as Mike feels his face growing red and hot at the mention 'Will.. My lover? '
"You love him. You've said it so many times and-"
"Of course I do, El, he's my friend! I care about him and I care about you! " Mike defends himself, raising his voice slightly, but quickly lowering it upon seeing El's smaller frame
"But you don't love me. " another sniffle breaks through the room, as a nervous smile and head shake follow.
"That's not what I said, El! I-" he tries, his eyes darting around the room as if the walls had answers written on them.
"Then say it"
"What? " he quizzes with a raised eyebrow
"If you really love me. S-say it. You clearly have no problem mentioning that in your letters towards Will so why not say it now, too? "
"Listen El.. " Mike takes a deep breath before sighing "I do l-" a pause. "Appreciate you and everything you do" a sob comes from her "And I'm sorry for making you feel that way, I didn't realise it was that big of a de-"
"Of course it is, Mike! You should have just told me instead of playing mind games. You should have said you didn't love me anymore, not.." El pauses, wiping a tear away from her cheek "Add fuel to the fire"
Silence stretches between the 2, and, before Mike gets a chance to speak up, El takes the initiative:
"It won't work, Mike. I'm not sure if it ever even had, but it surely isn't now"
"What are you.. Saying? " he looks at her, bewildered
"I think.. We were never meant to be more than just friends-"
"Are you breaking up with me? " Mike inquires of, sitting up in a hurry
"No, I'm.. " she pauses, zoning out before locking eyes with Mike "Yes.. Yes I am, okay? I'm sorry it's just.. We don't work and.. It's better if.. I-if" another sniffle. "if we just stay friends.. If you still want to" El implies, getting up slowly
"I'm sorry, El, I.. I never meant to make you feel that way, I just-" the boy tucks a hand through his hair, slightly pulling at a few strands "hell, I don't even know.. "
"It's okay-"
"No, it's not!" He locks eyes with her "I never realised those stupid letters mattered so much to you and-" but before Mike could continue, El wraps him in a tight hug, resting her head on his shoulder, while muttering a soft 'it's okay'.
*
After some more talking, things have ended up just as planned: they've broken up. Or just taken a break or something similar, because, according to El 'we probably never even were anything more than friends'
Things ended up on a pretty good note, though: they ended up embracing one each other, though El initiated it and Mike has pretty much just acted like a statue of wax, barely even touching her, as if she was a hot stove ready to burn him down.
Why?
It's easy.
She's just jealous.
Yeah, that's it. Jealousy. She's jealous because she doesn't have a friend as amazing as Will. El's just jealous she's not the one all those mails were addressed to.
Okay, maybe those epistles were sweeter and longer and just so much more than the 'plain ones' she's claimed to have received, but that's because he has known Will for a longer period of time and they're closer. They've known each other for over a decade, of course they're close.
'But not close enough'
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Some time after El has left, Mike decided to rearrange the letters she has so rudely unorganised and thrown everywhere.
In the middle of it, he decides to read one of those, to see what was so 'wrong' with it:
"Dear Will,
I miss you.
How are things in the big California? I hope things are working out just the way you wanted them to and that people are treating you just like the amazing person you are!
Hawkins hasn't been the same without you. I haven't been the same without you .If I'm being honest, I've just been so lost without you. I miss our campaigns and I miss Will the Wise. I'm really sorry for the jerk I was to you when we last played and for all the other times I've treated you horribly.
I remember that day in the rain. The look on your face after all the horrible things I had told you. You looked so.. hurt. And so what if you didn't get along with El? It doesn't matter and it hadn't then either I don't even know why I said those things to you. And what if you don't like girls? That's totally fine! I know we've supposedly talked things out but I still feel so bad about it all and just so you know I'm sorry
I can't wait to see you and tell you how much I've missed you. To hug you, play with you again and even if we have to fight against the Upside Down again, I would be glad to be by your side. No matter what happens, I love you.
Love, Mike the Brave "
"I really don't get what El means. What's so wrong about this? Will's my friend, my best friend-- so why can't I express that? " Mike questions himself, as if the air could give him an answer.
"Is it that wrong to say I love him? - "
Knock Knock
'Damn it'
"A minute! " he yells out, quickly pushing the box underneath his bed and tucking the letter inside the pocket of his jacket, before the door slightly opens.
"May I come in? " a soft voice speaks up. It's none other than-
"Yeah.. Come on in, Will"
Will steps in, wearing his usual yellow plaid shirt that just fits him so well, making his eyes shine even brighter, especially when he's bathed in the sunlight. He looks perfect and-
"Hey, Mike" he speaks up
"Hi, Will" Mike says, rubbing his hands on his pants, before standing back up
"Am I.. Interrupting anything? " Will asks with a nervous laughter
"No.. No, It's fine" he responds, sitting on the bed and tapping slightly on it, signalling Will to join him.
Will follows, sitting to look at his best friend with a bit of worry in his eyes "Is.. Everything okay? I saw El leaving earlier"
"Yea.. Yea! Everything's fine, don't worry"
"Mike.. " Will shifts, positioning himself on such a manner to fully face Mike "you know you don't have to lie, right? You can just tell me-"
"I'm not lying, alright?" He speaks up, defensive. Mike looks away, burrying his face into his palms with a long and deep sigh "we broke up"
"Oh.. Mike I'm sorry-"
"Don't be"
"-I'm sure you guys are just taking a break and things will go back to the way they were before. So don't worry-"
"We're not. It's over"
"You can surely talk it out, though! "
"No, Will. It's over. " Mike turns to look at him "I don't even feel bad about it, you know? Like yeah, I did hurt her and I'm sorry but I don't feel bad about us breaking up"
Will raises an eyebrow, somehow furrowing them in confusion as he asks "What.. Happened? "
"Apparently we weren't supposed to be more than friends" he looks around, gesturing with his hands "which is fine by me, you know? But she made such a big deal out of a few letters I wrote, because apparently they weren't as sweet as-"
'Damn it'
Mike can feel his face growing red as he turns away, cutting himself mid sentence.
Silence cuts through the room.
"As..? " Will asks, genuinely confused
"N-nothing.. Nothing. " He adds, looking at the floor.
'What the hell am I doing?
Why the hell is it that it's suddenly gotten so hot and so hard to breathe? '
"Mike? "
'Why am I stuttering? Gosh, Wheeler take hold of yourself.
You're only embarrassing yourself even more and-'
"Mike! " Will tries a bit louder, placing a hand on Mike's left shoulder
Mike turns quickly upon Will's call. He makes eye contact with Will, which only seems to make the room close in even more around himself
"Mike.. " Will starts, his eyes scanning the other one's expression and Mike could swear Will's gaze dropped onto his lips for a split second. 'Takes one to know one'
"You can tell me. You know that right? " He quizzes, raising his eyebrows just slightly
"Yeah! Yeah" Mike copies his movements " I know, thanks. It's just- th-that's all" he adds, shaking his head as if his own body is trying to deny it. To snitch on him for this obvious lie.
It couldn't have been that obvious.. Could it have?
Will sighs, his head dropping down, same as his hand, leaving a warm, yet soon-to-be cold touch still lingering on Mike's shoulder. Feeling kinda.. empty
"I know you're lying, but fine. Have it your way if that's what you want " and with that, Will stands up
"Will, wait! " Mike grabs his right wrist, pulling himself up, as well. "It's not about that, okay? It's not about that at all-"
"Oh yeah, Mike? Then what is it about? " he yanks his arm outta the boy's grip "What happened to 'friends don't lie', huh? What happened to always telling each other what happened, hm?" He stops, gesturing with a hand towards the boy, his brows furrowed "See? You don't know and you don't care"
"That's not true! " Mike protects, dramatically throwing his hands through the
'How could I not care about you? It's just that I don't even understand it myself and for some reason it's hard to explain it'
"Really, Mike? Because this whole time's been only about El. You haven't even reached out-"
"I have! I've called-"
'I've written you a bunch of letters'
"You only called maybe a couple of times. It's been a year, Mike. Meanwhile El has a bunch of letters from you"
"Yeah, well you do too! "
'Oh fuck. Oh shit.. Shit shit shit shit'
Mike quickly shoots a hand up his mouth, as if that could erase the words spoken just now
" What..? "Will's eyes widen, as his jaw and hand drops " What.. Did you say? "
"Fuck, oh my god.. " He can feel his face burning up. His heart is racing and he can feel his heartbeat up to his face and hear it all the way to his ears if that was even possible. "No, no I uh-.. I- I have to go"
"Mike, wait!" Will calls out, but Mike's already headed towards the door
"Sorry, I.. I can't do this. Not.. Right now" he says, shading his face away
'Or ever.. Why is it so hard to just say it out loud? '
"Mike! " Will shouts out again, following Mike out in the hallway "please, just wait a minute! "
'Good fucking job, Mike. You did such an amazing job'
"I'm going out" he says, already reaching for the entrance door and pulling it close to his chest "we can.. We can talk when I'm back"
"Mike! " but before he could say anything else, Mike's already out the door, shutting it tight behind him.
"What the hell even was that? "
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Once out, he rests his back on the door as if Will couldn't just pry it open right now and cause him to fall down.
But he doesn't.
Will respects his privacy and personal space when needed
Maybe not 'personal space' because he's all up in it
But he allows Mike to have some time for himself.
It's amazing how much Will does for him.
'He is amazing'
*
After a few staggering moments and deep breaths, Mike allows himself to sit down on the doorstep, resting his head on the hatch, looking up in the sky
"Why is this so fucking hard? We're friends so why can't I just tell him? Why the fuck did I even argue? "
''I'm only messing things up'
A minute or two passes and it seems enough for Mike to have regained a regular pulse and a steady breathing.
As steady as someone can have after an argument with their 'best friend'.
For a second he just sits there: head still resting on the door.
A second in which anything could happen.
A second in which anyone could come and interrupt this staggering moment.
"Mike..? " a voice calls out.
'Just my luck. Of course someone just had to see me, hadn't they? '
Mike brings his gaze slightly down just to see his ex-girlfriend or friend-that-he-never-was-meant-to-be-anything-more-than-that-with appear out of nowhere.
It wasn't exactly out of nowhere.
He knew he had left. He just didn't know where or for how long she would be gone, but certainly didn't expect her to come at a time like this:
"El? What are you doing here? " Mike asks, scrunching his face and raising his eyebrows in confusion.
"I should ask you the same thing" El replied, maintaining eye contact. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah! I mean no-" he shakes his head "I mean- I don't know, okay?" His eyes scan the surroundings as if that could get his butt out of this situation "Will and I kinda had an argument-- I mean it wasn't really one, you know? Fuck, I don't even know what that was.. "
"Mike.. "
"I'm not lying, okay? I really don't understand what happened" Mike finishes, looking lost for words.
"I never said you were, Mike. You can tell me what happened" she adds, kneeling down in front of him.
"That's the problem, El: I don't know what the fuck happened"
"Well, you could start with what you guys talked about after I had left? " she quizzes, demonstrating something with her hand.
Mike sighs.
He doesn't know what they even talked about or what the even argued about.
All he knows is-
"I told him about our break up or what the fuck that was and" he explains, El nodding as he does so "I don't know.. I guess I-- trailed off? And he thought I wasn't telling him the truth which I was, by the way and- he was mad about the fact that I barely reached out-"
"But you've written him a bunch of letters, doesn't he know about that? "
"Yeah, exactly!" Mike stops for a second, as if thinking "And no, no he doesn't know about the letters. Oh my God.. " he massages his temple in a weak attempt "I guess that's what it was.. I told him he's got some too and he seemed.. Dumbfounded? How did that even surprise him? He's amazing, of course he'd get a bunch of letters and- " he stops, once again, his cheeks gaining a reddish-pink tone "and I panicked and ran off.. I shut the door right in his face and..oh my God..I'm so fucking stupid! " he sighs
"Mike, you're not-"
"But I am, El. That's the problem. I burst out for no fricking reason then I ran off like the coward that I am." He says, finally stopping, at last.
"Why not go back in and talk with him, hm? If nothing happened it should be fine, right? " El advices Mike, trying to make sense of the conversation.
"I can't.. Not right now, at least. I don't wanna burst out again and hurt him even more than I already have.. "
"Mike.. He's your friend, I'm sure he would understand. "
"I guess.. " sigh "But I can't go in there, not now.. "
"And that's okay! We all need a bit of time to ourselves sometimes, right? "
"Right.. Thank you" Mike whispera "Thank you for talking and I'm sorry for dumping it all out on you"
"That's what friends are for, afterall! " she says, smiling. "Now take the time that you need, but make sure to tell Will all that you think of. And I mean all. Include the letters too. He's probably been lonely, being so far away and the whole situation just upset him. But if you guys talk it out, it's gonna be alright" El leans in closer, whispering "and tell him about your feelings, too. " she finishes with a smirk
Now, Mike's the ine dumbfounded and utterly shocked. His face goes red and his jaw drops, making him stutter
"F-feelings? I-I don't-- I don't know what you're talking about" he lets out with a nervous laughter.
"Sure you can figure that out until you talk with Will" and with that, she gets up. Mike following soon after as he leaves in a rush and El just giggles to herself, before entering.
*
Ok dupa vine will si he's head over heels and explains oh we broke up but im not bothered blah blah dupa time skip si vine comic i guess