Work Text:
"Hey."
Will opened his eyes. He was sitting next to Mike Wheeler, the love of his life, on Mike's roof. Mike was smiling at him, his brown eyes sparkling in the late afternoon light. God, he's cute, Will thought, and leaned over to rest his head on Mike's shoulder. Mike wrapped an arm around Will's shoulder and ran his fingers through his hair. Will hummed softly at the touch.
"I wish we could stay like this forever," Will said after a moment.
"Yeah?" Mike murmured, and pressed a kiss into Will's hair.
"Yeah."
The two stayed that way for a while, Will leaning against Mike and Mike gently combing his fingers through Will's hair. It was raining a little now, and starting to get dark. Will knew he should go home or Joyce would worry, but he just wanted to stay there for the rest of his life.
Mike read Will's mind. "It's gonna get dark soon. . . I'll drive you home, okay?"
Will sighed, nodded his head reluctantly and stood up, following Mike back through his bedroom window. They quietly made their way downstairs and past Ted, who was passed out on his recliner, TV still on. Mike switched it off as they passed him and slipped out of the house, back into the rain. The two boys climbed into Mike's car which groaned unappreciatively at its passengers and stuttered to life. They talked as the houses and trees sped past, arguing playfully about comic book characters and devolving into fits of laughter.
"Thanks for driving me," Will said with a smile as they pulled into Will's driveway.
"Anything for my cleric," Mike said, grinning.
"You're such an idiot," Will chuckled and rolled his eyes.
Mike dramatically fell backwards onto his car seat and covered his eyes with the back of his hand. "You have wounded me with your cruel words!" The car agreed with a low creak. "You had better cast a healing spell on me before it's too late!"
Will rolled his eyes again. "All right," he said, and placed his hand on Mike's chest, right above his heart. He then closed his eyes and moved his lips as if he were casting a spell without making any sound. He abruptly stopped and opened his eyes in surprise as he felt Mike's hand land on top of his, warm and calloused against the back of Will's hand. Will stared at Mike, his mouth hanging open slightly.
". . . Your heart is beating really fast," he said after a moment.
"I think it worked," Mike replied softly, dark eyes locked on Will's.
"What?"
Will's gaze slipped down to Mike's lips and flicked back up again, in time to catch Mike doing the same. It would be so easy, Will thought, so easy to just lean over the console and kiss him. Mike seemed to have the same thought, shifting forwards so that their eyes were level.
"The spell," Mike murmured. "I think it worked."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Will licked his lips and Mike's eyes followed the movement, leaning forward unconsciously. Will mirrored him, closing the distance inch by inch. Mike met his lips, eyes fluttering shut. The kiss was soft and sweet and pure bliss, everything Will had ever wanted condensed into a single moment. Mike's hands came up to cup Will's face, caressing his cheekbones with his thumbs, and Will responded with a low hum. All Will could think about was the feeling of Mike's lips against his. They broke away after a moment and took in each other's faces, lips slick and red. Mike smiled, and Will did the same, and then everything faded to black.
. . .
Will opened his eyes again.
He was lying in bed with his boyfriend, Mike, hugging him from behind. Will looked around their shared college and basked in the warmth and light of the morning sun. Behind him, Mike shifted and pulled him closer.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Will said to him with a smile.
"Hrmmghh bfrgh," Mike replied.
Will giggled and rolled over to bury his head in Mike's chest.
"We have to get up soon or we'll be late to class," Will reminded him, voice muffled by Mike's shirt.
"Ughhh," Mike groaned and smushed his face into Will's hair. "I don' wanna. Whatime's it?"
"It's almost seven in the morning and we have class at eight."
"Nooo, ten more minutes."
Will sighed and attempted to sit up, but Mike, surprisingly strong for having just woken up, grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.
"I said ten more minutes," Mike said, and promptly fell back asleep. Will chuckled and decided that getting ready could wait. He looked up at Mike and brushed a stray strand of dark hair out of his face. He hugged Mike close to his chest and felt incredibly lucky that he got to experience this every day. Ten minutes came and went, and then another ten because Will was feeling generous. Maybe he also just liked snuggling his boyfriend, but that was beside the point. He gently poked Mike's cheek, then again slightly harder which finally seemed to wake him up.
"Hi again, silly. I gave you twenty minutes, so you can't complain."
"G'morning. I'm hungry," Mike replied, rubbing his eyes.
"Okay, well if we hurry we can stop by your favorite coffee shop and grab something to eat there," Will grinned and sat up. "I'll pay, obviously, because I'm a nice boyfriend."
"Ooh, maybe I'll thank you with a kiss." Mike sat up too.
"Maybe you should kiss me now so I know what I'm in for," Will said, only half-joking.
"Alright," said Mike, completely serious.
"Really?" Will asked, surprised.
"Are you doubting the fact that I want to kiss my perfect boyfriend?" Mike said, feigning hurt.
"No, I was just-" Mike cut him off by crashing his lips into Will's. Will responded immediately, melting into the kiss and tangling his fingers in Mike's hair. Mike replied with a low hum, and Will fell onto his back and pulled Mike with him so that he was on top of Will without breaking the kiss. They had kissed many times, but Will was never tired of it. If anything, he just enjoyed it more. After several minutes, they broke away, breathing heavily, and Will gazed up at Mike with so much love he thought he was likely to explode. Mike smiled down at Will, and Will smiled back, and for the second time, everything faded to black.
. . .
Will opened his eyes once more.
The first thing he registered was that he was freezing. He had fallen asleep at his desk wearing nothing but shorts and a thin sweatshirt. It had been warm when he had fallen asleep, sunlight streaming through his window, but now it was dark and the only things lighting his room were his feeble desk lamp and the glow of the moon hanging low in the sky. There was something stuck to his face. He peeled it off. It was a piece of paper. He had fallen asleep drawing and as he stared at it, he remembered. He had been sketching Mike; his curly raven hair that Will longed to run his fingers through, his dark brown eyes that Will could get lost in, his soft lips that Will longed to kiss and kiss until everything else fell away around them, and it was only Will and Mike, and Mike and Will for the rest of time.
And just like that, Will recalled his dreams. Mike with his arms wrapped around him, Mike holding his hands, Mike hugging him close while they slept, looking at him like he hung the moon, kissing him like there was no one else.
And suddenly, Will felt very alone. Joyce and Hopper were both working, El was sleeping over at Max's place, and Jonathan was out doing who knows what, and Will was by himself in the house, alone with his thoughts.
He had given up hope long ago that Mike would love him back, but try as he might he just couldn't stop thinking about him. Will stared at Mike's face on the paper, perfected after years of practice, and watched as a teardrop landed on the thin lines of graphite, and another, and another, and soon enough, tears were blurring his vision and streaming down his cheeks and ruining the sketch and he didn't care and he tucked his knees up to his chest and put his head in his hands and sobbed quietly into the silent house as the sky started to turn grey outside.
Because Mike would never
ever
love Will.