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Mike presenting as an alpha was definitely no surprise to the Wheeler family. Karen had always had a hunch, closely watching over his son’s traits growing up. Ted didn’t really watch over him as closely as Karen did, but he wished for an alpha son nonetheless.
Even within their friend group, ‘the party’ as they often liked to call it, it was also always evident that Mike had the tendency to take the lead. He was outspoken, protective, and very head strong even as a kid. Teachers often looked to him with concerns about their group, he always lead their group assignments, and he didn’t cower from speaking back at bullies. Most times, anyway.
Just a few weeks after his 12th birthday, Karen had been surprised that Mike apparently slept through his presentation, it happening overnight and him just waking up as an alpha.
Ted had offered a strong hand at his son’s shoulder, muttering about how he’s proud and that he should become a better man now that he was an alpha. Whatever that was about. Mike was only half listening.
He’d been excited, what after being jealous of Nancy being an alpha for a while now. He was also quick to share the news with his friends, also being the first to present. Everyone was proud, kind of not surprised, but also readied themselves for the coming onslaught that was Mike Wheeler being confident about something.
Lucas gives it two weeks before the high goes down. Dustin bets on at least a month.
Will reacts in his own silent way. Of course he was very happy for his best friend. With almost seven years of friendship and memories shared between them, Will certainly knew that Mike very much hoped to present as an alpha. In his own youthful way, he’d since tried to instill in himself the traits he thought an alpha should have—being brave, protective, assertive, being a ‘provider,’ and all that. Sometimes, it was all he would talk about. How he would be a good alpha, and not like those ill-mannered bullies at school who used their secondary gender to force themselves as superior to others.
In a deeper perspective, Will would say that he never doubted his best friend even one bit. That said, the change wasn’t all that different. If anything, his presentation only heightened those traits. He used being an alpha to win over games sometimes, sure, but he was growing into the type of alpha that was nice and caring. Protective. Safe.
Regarding his own presentation, Will was almost equally as sure about what he’d turn out to be as well. From a very young age, his mom and Jonathan had since told him that he was likely to become an omega, what with his gentle and delicate manners, and also the strength of Joyce's own genes. This only proved to be true when both him and Jonathan ended up inheriting their mother’s bunny genetics, completely missing that of their absent father’s.
When Jonathan went and followed to present as an omega as well, around half a year after his 12th birthday, it basically assured him that he was on the path of the same fate. Despite the disturbing words that their dad used to say about him possibly being an omega too, Mom and Jon had reassured him that there was absolutely nothing wrong with being an omega, nor being a prey species, or anything about him at all for that matter.
That being said, Will felt no apprehension regarding his own secondary gender. It was only a matter of waiting now, and that was the only uncertainty he was faced with.
With how little he thought of his own presentation after Mike's, it’s no surprise that he misses it when it happens.
In the middle of summer 1983, Will Byers presents as an omega overnight and he is none the wiser to that fact.
“Okay, but you have to promise me that you’re giving it to me right after you finish, alright?” Mike practically begs, hands firmly gripped on a piece of paper. His ears are pointed up, up, up, as if trying to radiate dominance. At least, that was the most he’d ever done with Will. Despite the ‘power imbalance’ they kind of had now since Mike had presented almost two months ago, the wolf had only ever used his secondary gender to ‘dominate’ (or more like win in games and in making decisions for the party) on Lucas and Dustin. More so with Lucas, as the tiger hybrid had also recently presented as an alpha, leaving him and Dustin (the otter hybrid presented as a beta) to always try and calm the atmosphere and stop a fight from further escalating between the two.
With Will, he’d always kept his calm, always talked in that soft voice of his, like he’d done before. The alpha liked using his status in situations like making Will give his stuff from him to carry, protecting him from the mean kids, paying for his games at the arcade, and things like that. Sometimes, he’d let Will win even more in games and get his opinion on things that concerned the party, which would then become the final say (because Mike says so).
“Yes, Mike, I promise.” Will just answers back defeatedly. Alpha or not, when has Will ever been able to say a clear no to Mike, anyway?
Mike hands it over with his eyebrows raised at their highest, both trusting and nervous.
Will half understands his best friend’s predicament. While Mike thinks that this was a rare occurrence, he was very oblivious to the fact that Will had other sketchbooks full of his portraits, never before seen by anyone other than the artist. He wasn’t about to go reveal his kind of slight obsession with drawing his best friend, was he?
When the piece of paper is handed back to Will, he gazes over his own art, wondering whatever it was that Mike seemed to adore about it. He supposes that Mike probably just wasn’t used to seeing drawings of himself. Will thinks that he probably would react the same way about drawings of himself.
Will safely tucks it away back in between the pages of his other drawings and hopes Mike lets it go for now. Curse himself for letting Mike see it in the first place! Mike had been so focused on the TV show that they were watching and Will thought he was being discreet enough that the alpha didn’t notice, but he guessed nothing could go past those soft and stupidly attentive wolf ears.
Mike leans back on the couch, careful not to jostle around the blankets and pillows that Will had carefully placed earlier. His tail softly pats against Will’s left side, and Will deems the conversation over, returning to watching their show again.
Other than the sounds of the TV, the Byers’ living room stands in peaceful silence.
The peace doesn’t last though, when all of a sudden there is a pounding in Will’s stomach, and he’s unable to hold back the pained groan he quite loudly lets out. His right hand whips out to clutch over his belly, body hurtling down in half.
“Will! Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Mike’s hands were on his shoulders, rubbing in slow, soft circles. A faint but growing scent steadily invades his senses and he thinks that the pain subsides for a little bit.
The throb eases enough that he’s able to reply. “Yeah, just- I don’t know. Stomachache. Kind of. I’m fine. I think.”
Mike’s eyebrows furrow in worry, but he acquiesces. “If you’re sure. But tell me if it gets any worse, okay?”
Will manages to nod back, feeling himself get manoeuvred onto Mike’s side—a hand securely over his shoulder and pulling him closer. His head finds its way onto Mike's shoulder and he feels his sensitive ears softly brushing under the other’s jaw.
The scent grows stronger and he can’t help the sigh he heaves out, finding comfort in his alpha’s- huh? What?
They spend the next few minutes huddled together, the throbbing in his middle easing just a slight. A pounding in his head follows, but he doesn’t tell Mike that. Will’s not sure, maybe it was just the headache making him imagine it, but it was almost as if the scent—the pheromones—were helping.
Alas, the comfort only lasted so long because the throbbing intensified. In both places. He yelps and stumbles up, burying his head in his arms. He feels his ears twitch almost uncontrollably.
Slowly, he feels a warmth burning in his stomach, as if heating him up from the inside. “M-mike..” He almost whimpers out.
“Wh- Bunny!” Mike couldn’t decide where to put his hands on Will, frantically moving around and checking everywhere: his arms, his back, his knees–
Will lets out another pained cry, hands clutching harder over his middle.
“Let-let’s get you to bed, okay? Come on–” Mike gently raises Will’s left arm over his shoulders, leading them both to the smaller’s room.
Will’s room’s nest is the biggest and most lived in of them all. Mike notes to himself that Will’s scent was most potent here. He considers asking in the future if they could hang in here more often. His ears perk up at the idea, but he files it away for later and figures that the pain Will was in right now was more important than anything else in that moment.
Mike carefully places him in the middle, doing his best to avoid messing it up. Will curls up in his blankets almost immediately, burrowing deeper. Will’s scent only grows stronger in the room. Mike has to stop the urge to chase the source and bury his nose in it, but he can’t help the way his tail was shaking in exhilaration.
He hears a faint whine from the sheets and he offers a whine back, not knowing what to do. Maybe Will was going down with a fever? Maybe he ate something bad and this was food poisoning? Did he have to give Will medicine? Will’s mom and brother were at work, maybe he should call his mom–
“Mike..” A whisper.
The wolf hurries to Will's bedside, carefully sitting by him and reaching for his arm. “Will? Do you need anything? Is it hurting a lot?”
It takes a few seconds before the bunny answers with a pained grunt.
Mike stills for a moment, an idea entering his mind. His mom had once told him that scenting could help calming someone and making them feel safe. Maybe it could work with whatever Will was feeling then?
“I– I’m going to scent you, Will, okay? Mom says that can help.” With shaky hands, he reaches for Will’s, bringing their wrists together. He rubs dutifully, and it’s as if he himself feels Will’s pain ease even just a bit. His own scent lightens at this.
The bunny sighs, reaching over to grasp Mike’s hand in his. Mike doesn’t register what was happening until it was done. A second later, he’s already pulled into Will’s nest, arms full of one bunny named Will Byers. The strength of the scent almost makes him dizzy, but the warmth is a comfortable feeling on his body. He feels will snuggle closer under his chin, and he senses a sniffling on his neck. Slowly, he wraps his arms around Will, gently tugging him closer and tangling their legs together.
A soft purring rumbles on his chest and he can’t help the smile that takes place on his face. If this is what the bunny wants, then this is what the bunny gets. These days, it wasn’t that often that Will would initiate physical closeness like this, unlike Mike, so the wolf was definitely not complaining at being ‘stuck’ under the smaller.
When he feels Will’s breath even out, and he braves a question. “Will? You feeling better there?”
A grumble comes first. “Mhm. ‘S nice. Feels warm. Mm. Comfy.” He answers, voice muffled. And then buries into Mike’s chest again. Mike swears he can almost feel Will’s heartbeat against him.
Mike chuckles. “Are you still in any pain? I can go get you some medicine–”
“No!” Will shrieks. Mike feels arms tug around him tighter, as if not letting him get up. Briefly, he thanks the position they’re in, barring Will from seeing the bright flush on his face.
“Oh- okay, okay. I’m not going.”
“Mm. Good. Stay. Alpha.” Will’s head rubs on his chest and Mike drowns in that growing sweet scent.
Seconds turn into minutes, and the two enjoy the silence of Will's room in each other’s arms. Every now and then, Will flinches and grunts from the flashes in his stomach, but with Mike and his scent enveloped around him, he thinks less of the pain and more of the feeling of being in the wolf’s arms. Feeling safe and protected.
The evening eventually turns into night and the two only come closer as they sleep. Mike thinks he only ever sleeps (and feels) this peacefully whenever he’s with Will. He could spend the rest of his life in Will's arms and he’d be exactly where he wants to be. He’d like to think Will feels the same too.
The two are none the wiser to the fact that Will was already in heat. He was the last member of the party to finally present, and he had become an omega.
Joyce Byers had arrived at their home late into the night after a shift gone too long. Only a couple hours before her came Jonathan, who’d briefly only checked the shoes at the entryway to verify that Will and Mike were home. When Joyce had arrived, the weight of the day’s work overtook everything else and she went straight to bed, confident that Jonathan had taken care of the boys for the night.
The morning comes and Joyce wakes bright and early to make breakfast for everyone, or so she would have if Jonathan wasn’t already there getting the table ready.
“Morning, Mom. You can just go wake up the boys.” He smiles, turning back to the table.
Joyce thanks the heavens that she was blessed with two amazing boys as his children. She goes over to quickly kiss his head and makes her way over to Will's bedroom. A furrow makes its way on her eyebrows at the unfamiliar scent that she registers wafting around the hall. Her ears perk up in unease and she picks up the pace.
“Will, honey, are you awake?” As she opens the door to her son’s bedroom, the scent intensifies, flooding her sense of smell.
She quickly rounds her eyes in the area. Her shoulders lose their tension as she sees no immediate threat, but the question of that slight unfamiliar scent is still at the forefront of her mind. Even if no one else was in the room at that moment, what if someone had been there before her? What if someone broke in and clumsily or purposefully left their scent everywhere? What if they were in Will’s room while the children were asleep? What were they planning?
When her eyes take in the two on Will’s bed, her heart softens—they were cuddling in their sleep. It wasn’t as if they’ve never done it before, obviously, but it’s been a while, she thinks.
She walks closer and notices that the scent only grows stronger. Bringing her nose down to the nest, she startles. Omega.
Moving closer to Will's neck, she finds her confirmation. Her son had presented.
“Will, baby, can you wake up for me?” She gently shakes her son’s shoulder, careful to not jostle Mike around too much. He could be a little grump when accidentally woken up.
The younger bunny groans first, but he wakes up quick enough. Bleary eyes meet his mother’s and he smiles.
“G’morning, Mom.” He murmurs, eyes slowly fluttering and voice hoarse from unuse.
Joyce’s heart warms at her son. “Honey, why didn’t you tell me you presented?”
Will’s face scrunches and he sits up confused. “What?”
“Your scent, it’s different now, honey. It’s the scent of an omega. I think you presented overnight.” She says, bringing her hand over to his hair and stroking softly.
The two don’t notice that by Will's side, Mike appears to have felt the movement. His arm fishes around, seemingly looking for Will. With his search coming unsuccessful, he opens his eyes and sees Will up, and then Joyce, so he quickly rises, remembering the events of last night.
Unaware of their conversation, the wolf cub cuts right in. “Will! Are you feeling better now? Are you still in pain from last night?” His small hand finds itself on Will's right shoulder.
Will, unable to answer and still in shock, keeps quiet, eyes dazed. Joyce notices her son’s predicament and cuts in. “Mike, sweetie, can you tell me what happened last night?”
The small alpha turns to Joyce. With one last glance at Will, he starts. “We were just watching a movie last night when suddenly Will had a tummy ache. After a while he said it got better so we just sat and watched again, but then he also got a headache, so I put him in bed. From then I thought the pain was only getting worse, but I wasn’t sure how else to help so I started scenting him, because mom said that can ease the pain sometimes. Just when I thought of calling you, he pulled me in the nest with him and didn’t let me go, so we just lay there until we fell asleep.” Mike’s hands were all over the place as he explained.
Will was still stuck in his stupor.
Joyce nods, understanding the situation. Really, it was her fault for not telling Will about how presentation heats usually went. With how often they talked about omega things and trying to reassure his youngest son that being an omega was okay, it seemed to have slipped her mind to talk about the actual start of the process. Well, no use crying about spilt milk.
“I’m sure you helped him plenty, honey. But do you know what actually happened?”
The alpha offers a confused shake of the head. “Wasn’t it just, I don’t know, food poisoning? A fever?”
The older omega chuckles at that. Both she and Karen fell short in that department, then.
“Will had a presentation heat, it seems. That’s what happens when someone is becoming an omega. Like me, and Jonathan, and your mom.”
Mike’s eyes widened at that, looking over to Will. Both children seemed to be surprised at the fact. They had absolutely no idea what was happening last night.
The wolf cub breaks from the stillness first, realizing something. Slowly, he noses against Will’s neck, looking for a scent. There.
Mixed with what used to be Will’s scent, or rather what was now the entirety of Will’s scent, was that distinct omega smell. Tones of something warm, kind of like a sunlit garden, a lingering sweetness like honey, and omega. He smelled so nice. So familiar. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to bury himself in that scent forever–
Realizing that Will’s mom was literally right there, Mike stops and moves away, embarrassed at his antics. He coughs, “Sorry.”
Joyce only smiles at him.
Will seems to still be taken aback by the news. Gently, Mike takes Will's hand in his, and this seems to wake the little bunny from his daze.
He gulps, “I– I’m an omega now?”
Joyce nods. “It must’ve hurt a lot, baby. Do you want to spend the day in bed today? I could give you some painkillers too, if you’re still hurting.”
Will thinks for a while, feeling out his body for any pain or substantial changes that he apparently mostly slept through experiencing. He shakes his head. “At first it hurt a lot, but Mike… helped.”
A flush blooms on the little omega’s face.
Joyce thinks about her next words carefully. “Well, I guess I never talked to you about it properly. Omegas’ presentation heats usually happen after you turn 12. And when they do happen, they start as, like, uhmm, a pain in your abdomen, and then you’ll feel warm all over. That’s kind of like your, uh, reproductive system is maturing. It’s not like an actual heat, of course, because you’re only presenting, but it lasts a few hours with flashes of pain and sometimes headaches.”
She gives a glance over at Mike. “In your case, I think the pain eased a lot because you had alpha pheromones close by. Usually you’d seek out familiar scents to help calm your nerves and kind of distract you from the pain. I guess that’s why you easily slept during the presentation, because Mike’s pheromones were doing their job at diverting your thoughts from the pain of the changes that you were experiencing.”
Will is astounded at each new fact that he’s hearing. A presentation heat. He’d officially become an omega and he didn’t even know what was happening. It hurt a lot, for one, unlike any pain he’d ever felt before. It was happening inside him, his body getting ready for… the future. And God, what did he do last night? He moaned and whined and clung onto Mike, for God’s sake. He pulled him in to cuddle and bathed in his scent and buried Mike in his own scent and– oh God. He was basically begging for Mike’s pheromones. What if he did something else that he didn’t remember under all that pain?
“Will? You okay?” He hears. It was Mike. Still asking if he was okay, after all that he did last night.
At the edge of his vision, he registers Joyce leaving the room, probably leaving them to talk.
He ducks his head down to his chest, ashamed. “I– I’m sorry, Mike. Thanks for helping me last night, but– you didn’t need to do all that. I practically forced myself onto you and you probably felt uncomfortable. You can leave now, if you want–”
“Hey, I’ll have none of that, now.”
Will feels two arms manoeuvring him to face the other. Still embarrassed, he keeps his eyes down. Mike was probably gonna say good bye now and leave him and not want to be best friends anymore because he was too embarrassing and they’ll never see each other again–
“You know I can smell your distress from here. Little bunny still hasn’t learned to control their scent.” There was a teasing tone in his voice.
At that, he looks up and immediately meets Mike's eyes, which are twinkling in… happiness?
“There’s the cute little bunny.” A wolfish grin forms on Mike’s face.
The blush does not want to leave Will's cheeks, it seemed. It was the Mike Wheeler Effect, as he liked to call it. Mentally, he notes that he was gonna have to get used to grin and not blush at every moment he sees it.
“Stop it, Mike.” He says, but he can’t stop the smile forming on his lips.
Sometimes the universe really liked to play with him. If the universe’s name was Michael Wheeler.
“I’m sure you’re thinking all kinds of thoughts in that little bunny brain of yours but let me get one thing straight. You weren’t at all a burden last night. Of course I want to take care of you. I’m your– I’m an alpha. It’s kind of in our genetics to be helpful like that. And also, we’re best friends. I’ll always be here for you, no matter what. Always remember that, yeah?”
If anyone asked, it was Mike’s own fault that the little bunny in question had so easily garnered feelings for him. What with that soft voice, his sweet demeanor towards Will, always being nice and protective and making him feel safe and seen and understood. He could list a thousand reasons to justify the not so little crush he had on this boy. May the universe help him.
To Mike's relief, the tension in Will's shoulders seems to finally ease. The bunny nods. “Thank you, again.”
“Anything for you, bunny.” Unable to stop himself, Mike’s right hand takes its place over one of Will's ears, gently stroking as Joyce had earlier.
Will almost purrs at the feeling, leaning more into the other’s hand. He fights the purring from rumbling out of his chest.
“Now, let me ask you again. Are you still feeling any pain? Mrs. Byers said she could give you some painkillers if you’re still hurting anywhere.”
Both his hands were on Will’s cheeks now. The scent was so heavy on his wrists. He could almost taste it in his mouth. He could smell the familiarity of the Wheeler’s basement, something comforting like the smell of the rain, and something heavier, woody, that he couldn’t name.
Will shakes his head. “I think I’m okay now. My, uh, lower stomach just feels a little tender, but otherwise everything’s fine.”
The alpha nods, satisfied. “That’s great then. As pack alpha, I’m officially declaring that you’re pack omega.”
“What?!” Will removes himself from the comfort that was Mike's hands on his face. He couldn’t believe his big floppy ears.
“What do you mean, ‘what?’ Of course you’re pack omega! It only makes sense! It’s like– a universal truth! Even before you presented you were always concerned for us in that kind of motherly way, and you mediate whenever there’s a fight, so duh!”
“It– it doesn’t always work like that, Mike! And what do you mean you’re pack alpha? I don’t remember talking to the others about this. Shouldn’t everyone be present in this sort of conversation?”
“Hey! Of course I’m pack alpha. I’ve always been our leader, then I also presented first, so that’s also kind of a universal truth. And as pack alpha, I’m declaring that Dustin and Lucas don’t have to be here for this conversation. I’m pack alpha, you’re pack omega, period.”
The implication of Mike's words do not fail to send a shiver up Will's spine. Mike should really think before he speaks most of the time. He’s always like this, saying things that might mean something else between the two of them. It definitely didn’t help that Will still had that tiny, miniscule, itsy-bitsy little crush on his best friend, skewing all thoughts concerning said boy.
Will shakes his head. “Well, as pack omega, I’m declaring that we need to talk this with Dustin and Lucas first before we make anything official, okay?”
Mike flushes at this. Huh.
Over in Mike’s little wolf brain, there’s a howling, happy little wolf cub, exhilarated at his omega calling himself their pack’s omega. Oh, how happy he was. It was taking all his willpower to not let his tail wag and physically show all that happiness right at that moment.
Jonathan chooses that moment to peer into the room, eyes immediately looking for will’s. “Hey buddy. Heard you’ve presented? Are you feeling alright?”
Will offers a shy nod, smiling at his brother.
“Well, I've got breakfast cooking in the kitchen. Come eat when you’re ready, okay?” The younger bunny nods.
Jon then peers over to Mike, offering a small smile. “You too, Mike.”
The wolf nods as well. Thank you, Jonathan, otherwise his thoughts would’ve wandered somewhere they shouldn’t have.
Three days later, Mike calls the party over at his house to give the announcement.
Mike and Will are already there, sitting next to each other on one side of the couch.
The wolf was practically pushing Will onto the armrest, determined to be close in his space as much as possible.
When the other two arrive, they startle at the slightly unfamiliar smell, eyes immediately locking onto will and realizing the implications.
Lucas reacts first. “Byers! You’ve presented!” The tiger alpha moves over to them, arms outstretched and reaching for a hug.
Just as Will was about to stand up and meet with the other, a hand settles atop his waist and stops him from rising. He gives Mike a confused look, but Mike's eyes were dead set on Lucas.
A slightly heady smell emits from Will’s side, hitting his senses.
“Okay, back it up, that’s close enough.” He says. This shocks the other three, having never seen Mike be like this before.
“Mike, what?” He asks, concerned and confused.
The wolf turns to him, stumbling over his words. “N-no hugging. It’s inappropriate.”
Dustin makes a face. “Dude, what the hell are you talking about? You’re literally breathing Will's air right now. Atoms can barely breathe between two of you and you’re saying hugging is ‘inappropriate’?” Air quotes emphasized his last word.
“That’s different! Will and I always do this! Anyway, we’re getting off topic. I called everyone here today because, as pack alpha, I’m making an announcement that Will is officially our pack omega. Personally, I've already decided, but he says that we should talk it over with you two, so.” He shrugs and crosses his arms, almost as if saying ‘try to disagree with me, and you’ll suffer the consequences.’ As much as a 12-year-old body can emit that energy, at least.
Dustin and Lucas share a look.
It was Lucas that spoke first. “Hold up, when did we decide that you’re pack alpha? I’m an alpha too! Shouldn’t we vote on it or something?”
The beta quips in, “Maybe you two should duel for it or something. I’d like to see that.”
Mike rolls his eyes at that. “I’m the leader of the group, have always been, I’m the paladin in our party, and I’m the dungeon master, so obviously I’m pack alpha too! Will and I are literally the founders of the party. C’mon guys.” He turns back to Will. “Will, you’re pack omega, they’ll listen to you. Tell them I’m pack alpha!”
Will flushes at that. He’s not sure what to say, but he settles on his next words. “I guess, you are kind of always the leader.”
The brightness of Mike's smile could rival that of the sun.
“It’s settled! The pack omega has spoken. I’m the leader and pack alpha!”
Lucas complains for the next two weeks, but if you ask him it’s only to rile Mike up. It was always fun to see Mike all irritated like that. Dustin does his best to keep their verbal fights at a minimum, and Will does his job of keeping Mike at bay whenever he looks like he’s about to hit Lucas square in the face.
And Mike? Well, let’s just say that there’s something of his that he’s very keen on protecting even more from now on.