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5 months ago, Will realized his powers hadn’t truly gone away. In fact, they were a little…different.
Two months ago, Will accidentally changed himself into a little bunny rabbit. It wasn’t his finest moment, but it ended up with him snuggling the love of his life, who confessed his love in turn.
Which brings Will to today, doing his usual 30 minutes a day of power training, with his boyfriend(!!!) Mike.
They’re in the Wheeler’s basement, as usual. Mike is at one end of the room, a metal cage of tennis balls by his side. Will is at the other end. The couches and tables have been pushed against the wall, leaving a blank space in the middle to practice.
Mike quirks an eyebrow, grinning. “Ready, bunny?”
Will smiles in return. “Bring it, babe.”
Mike starts throwing tennis balls. Will inhales and sticks his hand out, focusing his brain. As the tennis balls hurl towards Will’s head, Will bends a finger, sticks out his lip, and they reform themselves. One ball becomes a frisbee. Another, a rubber chicken.
“Any reason they’re turning into dog toys?” Mike asks, as he tosses another ball Will’s way.
“Chester loved tennis balls, they made me think of him?” Will says.
“Ok, um, try to have them turn into something not a dog toy?” Mike pauses, catching his breath. Will snorts at this. He loves his boyfriend, but Mike doesn’t have the most…stamina. “Like, something completely different. You said you wanted to work on changing objects into unrelated things.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Will says, wiping a drop of blood from his nostril. It’s easiest if he turns something into something similar—an apple for a carrot, a toy car into a toy truck. But Mike’s right, Will wants to see just how far these powers can stretch. Even with five months experience, and two months of extensive training, he’s only worked his way up to medium objects. One day, he wants to see if he can morph a house into a train. A lizard into a dinosaur. Stuff like that.
Mike resumes the exercise. “Turn this into…a CD,” Mike says, as he tosses the ball.
Will blanks out his brain, curling his hand upwards. In his head, he imagines the molecules dissolving and reforming. He’s found picturing the object as made of clay, getting flattened and then reshaped, works best for him.
He imagines the green fuzz of the tennis ball, the hollow core melting away into a metallic disk, rainbows glinting off the sheen.
He can picture it so clearly in his head.
But then, he has another memory of Chester, his childhood dog, all white and shaggy. Chester was bought as a puppy at a gas station, the one good thing his father ever brought home. Of course, Lonnie immediately neglected him, leaving his mom and Jonathan and Will to care for him. Will was always Chester’s favorite, Chester sleeping outside his door or moping around the house when Will was away at school. As horrible as getting kidnapped to the Upside Down or possessed by the Mind Flayer, the worst day of Will’s life was when they had to put Chester to sleep.
Will’s always been a dog person. Even though the Byers haven’t had any pets since, he hopes one day, he’ll adopt another one. A lab, or a beagle. Something dumb and loyal. Maybe in a shared apartment with Mike.
And then, he sneezes. The image he’s been holding in his head of a tennis ball morphing into a CD shatters, with the glimpse of Chester’s mop-like visage.
The tennis ball lands at his feet with a thump, very clearly not a CD.
“Damn,” he mutters. “I must have lost my focus. Throw another one, Mike.”
Mike doesn’t say anything. No green blurs fly in his vision.
He looks up. “Mike, come on, throw it! I’ll get it this time.”
Mike is nowhere to be found. Will’s tall, gangly, raven-haired and star-freckled boyfriend isn’t standing in the middle of the basement.
Will’s heart races. “Mike?” he says, eyes darting around the basement. Mike’s form doesn’t greet him.
I opened a portal or something. Or I erased him from existence. Mike’s gone, holy shit, Mike’s gone—
A small woof echoes throughout the room.
Will looks down. A border collie is sitting on the floor of the basement. The dog looks older than a puppy, but not full grown. Its paws are too big for its body, limbs too long and furred. The collie has silky black fur, large brown eyes, chocolate dots on its snout, a white fuzzy heart on its chest.
Black fur. Brown eyes. Freckles…
Oh fuck.
“Mike?” Will grimaces.
The dog—Mike—whines in response.
—-
Here’s a secret about when Will accidentally bunny-fied himself.
Yes, he was trying to make himself look cooler. And yes, he didn’t mean to turn himself into a bunny. But he could switch back at any time. He was never stuck. A morbid part of himself wanted to see how his friends and family reacted to it. When El investigated his mind to confirm the small brown rabbit was, in fact, Will, he had to fight so she wouldn’t find his secret.
And you know what? It worked out well. Because Will got to spend the night wrapped up in the arms of the boy he’d loved since he was 12, getting soft pets and kisses and a nice little love confession. He woke up as a bunny, and he went to sleep with a boyfriend.
But Mike doesn’t have Will’s powers. He can’t switch back at any time. Will has to change him back.
“Mike, fuck, i’m sorry, I got distracted—”
Mike gets up from his spot on the rug and walks over to where Will stands, hands in his face. “It’s ok, I can change you back.”
Will outstretches his hand, takes a few deep breaths, and completely blanks his mind. He pictures this little puppy in front of him collapsing and reforming into a 5’10 teenage boy. He focuses so hard he feels he’s about to pop a vein.
Mike doesn’t reform into a boy. He stays on the carpet, looking up at Will with sad brown eyes.
I know we all make jokes about Mike having “puppy dog eyes”, but come on.
“I’m trying my best, babe,” he says. He clears his brain and attempts again. Gritting his teeth, he concentrates even harder. Come on.
Nothing happens. Mike remains a border collie, tilting his head in inquisition.
Will gasps, stumbling backwards. He can feel copper blood painting his lips. “I…I can’t, Mike. I’m not sure if I overdid myself, or—” He slumps to the ground. “I can’t change you back. I don’t know why, I'm sorry, I’m—”
His head spins. What if he never changes Mike back? He can’t tell Mike’s family hey your son is a dog now, sorry! As cute as puppy Mike is, he likes human Mike way more. The Mike who picks him up and swings him around the room, the Mike who squeezes his hand tightly in a dark movie theater, the Mike who breaks out into a massive smile every time he sees Will.
“I’m sorry, this is my fault, Mike—” his spiral is interrupted by Mike coming over, resting his head on Will’s lap, moving his eyes upward. He whines, again. Somehow, Will can completely understand what Mike is trying to say. It’s alright. Stop crying. We’ll figure it out.
He reaches a hand out to Mike’s soft head, placing it down on the fur. Wow. He's fluffy. He begins to scratch at Mike’s ears, gently rubbing his snout. Mike’s tail thumps on the floor in response.
Will laughs at that. “You’re a cute dog, honestly. Yeah, you’re right. We’ll figure it out. Let's go talk to the Party. They might have some ideas on changing you back.”
He brings himself up, walking over to the spare walkie. He fiddles with the button until he finds the right channel, letting his voice ring out over the airwaves.
“Hey, guys, um, we have a code…yellow?” That’s what they came up with for not a matter of life or death, but still kind of weird.
“What now?” Dustin calls out. “Everything ok?”
“Kind of?” Will says. Mike barks in response.
“Since when do you have a dog?” Lucas asks.
“Well, um, i’m at the Wheelers—”
“Since when do the Wheelers have a dog?” Lucas asks, Max interrupting him.
“Will, don’t tell us you changed Mike into a—”
“Yeah, it was an accident, i’m sorry, okay!” Will rushes. “Look, um, can we meet at my house? I don’t want Mike’s parents finding him like this.”
The rest of the Party agrees. Will turns off the walkie and looks at Mike, sitting patiently on the floor, head tilting again.
“Well, Mike,” he says. “Wanna go for a walk?”
—
“Oh my gosh,” El squeals. “You are so cute!”
She makes a beeline for Mike, falling to her knees as she wraps her hands around the soft fur. Max follows suit. Mike’s tail wags at the attention, a rush of jealousy filling Will. He's MY boyfriend. His tail should only wag for me.
“Ok, so what happened?” Dustin asks. Will walks him through it—they were working with Will’s powers, he got distracted and sneezed, and he’s having trouble turning Mike back.
Mike has rolled over now, exposing the white heart of his chest to Max and El as the girls rub his belly. “Gotta say, you’re a lot more tolerable like this, Wheeler,” Max says. “Border collie suits you. They’re protective.”
Will narrows his eyes. “Where was this acceptance when I was a bunny?”
“Well I like you, and Mike was in a rush to get you all to himself so none of us got to actually spend time with bunny-you.”
Will sits down on his sofa. Thankfully, his parents are at work, and Jonathan’s gone to Indianapolis for the day to get some fancy film, so it’s just his friends.
“Just remember, he’s my boyfriend—”
Lucas rubs his eyes. “We are not fighting. Lets focus on figuring out what happened with your powers and getting Mike back onto two legs.”
“I told you,” Will says, slumping back onto the cushions. “I tried to change him back, but I can’t.”
He can’t look at his sister and one of his best friends continuing to rub Mike’s belly, Mike’s tail swishing in response. This is betrayal.
Because that’s his Mike. Even before they got together, that was his Mike. They've always been closer than the rest of the Party, Mike clingy and protective of Will, doing anything for him. Mike never liked being touched by anyone except for Will, never smiled in photos without Will by his side.
So now, seeing Mike get his belly rubbed by his ex-girlfriend and his frenemy, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, yeah. It makes Will feel jealous. I want him all to myself. In any form.
“Maybe the sneeze was what caused it?” Dustin asks. “So, like, if you try to change Mike back, but sneeze again, it’ll work?”
That is a stupid fucking idea.
Somehow, Dustin convinces the rest of the Party, because Max bolts up. “Ill grab some pepper,” she says. Mike whines at the loss of her hand on his stomach.
“No!” Will yelps, before he can stop himself. “You are not making me sneeze. And you two,” he points at Max and El. “Stop petting my boyfriend!”
“He’s our friend too, Will,” El says, but Will doesn’t want it. He turns and heads out the front door, sitting himself down on the porch.
He doesn’t belong to you, his rational, kind part of him says. He’s cute like this. You can’t be mad.
But the Mike’s Boyfriend part of him disagrees. He had to suffer for so long, seeing all of Mike and El’s PDA, knowing he’d never get to be on the receiving end of Mike’s affection. And then he did. So sue him if he wants Mike all to himself.
He’s not even mad at Mike for this. He lost the ability to be mad at Mike since Mike kissed him in his bed and admitted he thought Will was the cutest boy he’s ever seen. He’s not sure who he’s mad at. All he knows is this is an ugly emotion, and he doesn’t like it.
Still. They shouldn’t rub his belly like that. Aren’t you supposed to let dogs sniff your hand before you pet them?
The door opens behind him, El following with Mike at her heels. Mike sits next to Will, with a soft whine.
“After you stormed off, he kind of went nuts,” El says. “Running around, barking. I think he is worried you’re mad at him.”
Will scratches his ear. “I’m not mad at you, babe,” he says. “Just jealous, I think? I just like having you to myself. I like when you’re all mine.”
Mike licks at Will’s cheek, planting a slobbery kiss. Will laughs. “You forgive me?” Mike licks again.
He turns to face El. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blown up at you and Max like that.”
El shrugs. “It is fine.”
He still feels bad, but he figures he will give El and Max a proper apology when Mike is fully human. They head back into the Byers’ living room.
“What if you just took a break?” Dustin says. “Maybe you can’t change Mike back because you overdid it. You did say you had been practicing for a while. Maybe you just need to give it a night and try again?”
It does make sense. Will had started to feel tired around the same time the dog incident happened. “Yeah, is that okay with you, Mike?” Mike barks in response. Yes.
So the Party, still shaken by Will’s outburst, leaves. Will blushes as he apologizes again to Max and El as they leave for a sleepover at Max’s, (El tells him it’s alright, Max just rolls her eyes and says i’m just glad you stood up for yourself for once) and Will heads into his bedroom, Mike following behind.
Will sits on his bed, Mike falling onto the carpet. “It’s weird being the protective one,” he says. “I don’t know how you do it.” Mike sniffs.
“I think we’re both old enough though that we don’t have to protect each other, anymore. I think we can take care of ourselves.”
Mike butts Will’s head, pawing at him. “Ironic i’m saying this to a border collie, of all breeds.”
With nothing else to do but wait until the morning, Will tries to hang out. He flips through a comic, tries to sketch Mike’s canine form.
Mike gets antsy quickly, though. He paces around Will’s room, clawing at his door. He looks up at Will with a whine that breaks his heart. “You wanna go outside?” he asks. Mike nods vigorously.
The boys sneak outside. Will trusts Mike enough to not have him on a leash, and they make their way to the woods behind Will’s house. Tail wagging, Mike breaks out into a run, dashing through the fallen leaves. He buries his snout in a pile, returning with a stick in his mouth. He drops it at Will’s feet, panting with a smile.
“Do you seriously want me to throw this?” Will asks. Mike bends down into a playful pose.
Will does, hurtling the stick as far as it will go. Mike chases after it, and they settle into a rhythm. I can’t believe i’m playing fetch with my boyfriend.
It’s not as weird as Will thinks, though. Mike has always been dog-like. Protective, for one. Awkward limbs, like a puppy in its in-between states. Loud. floppy hair, large eyes, cute.
Will makes a mental note to test drive the nickname puppy when Mike is human again.
The sun sets as Will keeps throwing sticks. At one point, Mike dashes off to chase a squirrel, and Will falls over with laughter. Mike trots back to him, looking very sad at the fact he was unable to catch the squirrel. “Mike, I love you, but I am never letting you live that down.”
Will’s just glad Mike’s not trying to herd anything.
When Joyce and Hopper get home, Will hides Mike in his closet, apologizing. He scarfs down his dinner, bringing back some spare chicken wings in a napkin for Mike. He frees Mike from the closet and hands him the food. Mike quickly strips the meat off the bones, then proceeds to clutch the bones between his paws and gnaw away.
Will changes, falling back into his bed. He pats the side. “Come on, Mike,” he says. “You can share the bed with me.”
Mike looks up, as if he’s asking for permission. “I don’t care if you shed or whatever. I always sleep better with you beside me. You know that.”
Mike bounds up, pacing around on the sheets before collapsing onto Will’s pillows with a huff. Will frowns. “Mike, you need to move. I need some pillows too, you know.”
Mike thumps his tail. “Fine. Then I'm just going to use you as a pillow.”
He collapses onto Mike, burying his face in the soft fur. Mike turns, peppering WIll’s forehead and nose with a few more licks. Will kisses the soft spot between his ears, gently rubbing the heart on his chest.
“Love you too,” he whispers. “Let’s fix you in the morning, ok? I miss not-slobbery kisses.”
They fall into a peaceful sleep, and Will has never been so well rested.
—
“Ok,” Will says in the morning. He’s fueled up on a protein bar and some Gatorade, did some meditation, had a full night's sleep. He feels 100%. Hopefully enough to turn Mike back, because as cute and fluffy as puppy Mike is, he misses hearing Mike’s voice. The soft voice Mike only uses for Will, the sarcastic quips with the rest of the party, his deep laugh, his warm smile. Ok, maybe he misses everything about Mike.
He gives Mike hopefully one last pet, scratching his ears and kissing each freckle on his snout. “Let’s turn you back.”
He closes his eyes, blanking out his brain. He pictures the reform, the change, the dissolvement. He’s never focused so hard in his life.
He imagines puppy Mike dissolving into the clay pile, reforming into human Mike. his Mike. he feels a rush of energy leave his body, feels the wetness on his upper lip. But he doesn’t dare open his eyes, scared he’ll still see a little dog instead of his human boyfriend. Or worse, nothing at all.
It’s only when he hears a deep groan, followed by a soft whispered “ow,” that he opens his eyes.
Mike is there. Regular old Mike Wheeler, hair a little messier than usual, rubbing at his lanky arms.
Will breaks into a grin. “You’re back!” he yelps, before smearing the blood off his face with his sleeve, then running straight into his boyfriend, knocking him to the ground, and immediately capturing his lips with a kiss. Mike’s lips still taste a little meaty, and he still has a bit of dog breath, but Will doesn’t mind. Because he’s kissing his best friend, his boyfriend,the love of his life, his Mike.
He rolls off Mike to face him. “Hi,” he said. “I missed you.”
Mike smiles in return. “I was right here, bunny.”
“I missed the real you.”
Mike sits up. “Yeah, never do that again, okay? It was kind of embarrassing. I can’t believe I chased squirrels.”
“Or let Max rub your belly. She’s never going to let you forget that.”
He groans. “Apparently dog-me is an attention whore.”
“I got jealous.”
“I remember.” He presses his lips to Will’s cheek. “It was kind of hot, honestly.”
Will blushes at that. Mike continues talking. “You’re wrong, though. We both still need to protect each other.”
“We’re almost eighteen, we’re not kids anymore—”
“The world’s not nice to people like us, Will.” Mike frowns. “We will always need to protect each other. Maybe that's why you still have your powers. So you can keep us both safe.”
“You’ve kept me safe too. You kept me safe as a kid.”
“Fine,” Mike concedes. “We will both keep each other safe. Forever.”
He wraps his arms around Will, kissing the top of his head. “I love you,” he says.
“I love you too.”
Mike kisses Will’s nose. Will wrinkles his. “I love you, but can you brush your teeth? You still smell like dog.”
“Gee, I wonder why.”
“Again, I am sorry! I didn't mean to!”
“I’m messing with you.”
“By the way, how would you feel about the nickname ‘puppy’?”
“Uh, I don’t hate that, honestly.”