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“I'm just saying, Will, if Superman and Spider-Man fought, then Superman would destroy him,” Mike said as they were walking to their lockers.
Will rolled his eyes.
They've been having this debate since breakfast.
“And I'm saying, Michael, that it doesn't matter because they would never meet. They aren't in the same universe.”
“Yeah, but if they were-” Mike gets cut off by Lucas walking up to them.
“Talking about the crawl tonight?” he asked.
Will's chest got tight; his mom was still insisting that he stay behind while everyone else helped look for Vecna. Hell, even Erica was helping, even if it was from afar.
“I wish,” Will said. He knew that if he brought up wanting to go on crawls, Mike would just side with his mom and say it was too dangerous.
He'd been acting extra protective lately, not that Will minded that much; Mike's always been like that. But it did annoy him that Mike had no problem when El participated while they were still together.
“Who would win in a fight? Spiderman or Superman?” Mike said, interrupting Will's train of thought.
“It doesn't matter because they never would fight”
Mike looked downright offended by that. “Why are you siding with Will!?”
“You side with Will all the time!!!”
“Guys!” Will cut in; there was a crowd forming in front of the lockers.
They moved closer to get a closer look, only to see Andy had Dustin pinned against one of the lockers.
Despite the nonchalant expression on Dustin's face, Will could see the glimmer of fear in his eyes.
When he saw the bruise starting to form under Dustin's eye, it felt like he was seeing Jonathan and Lonnie all those years ago. But now instead of just hiding and wishing it all away, he could actually do something.
All the pent-up resentment from being treated as if he might break by his mom and sometimes even his friends just took over. He was tired of sitting around. And if he couldn't do anything to help fight Vecna or go back in time and stand up to Lonnie, then at least he could do something about this.
He went up to Andy and, before anyone could do or say anything, took a swing.
Will made contact with his jaw, strong enough that Andy almost fell over.
He looked at Will in shock before he tried to play it off.
“Damn, who knew Zombie Boy could actually throw a punch”
Will hit him again harder this time, and then Andy started to fight back.
At first, it felt good to finally let go, not have to hold back. He was thankful he had started working out more in California.
Having no friends besides his siblings and Argyle, Will spent more time running. The burn that he would get from the exercises helped distract himself from the lack of calls or letters. Which eventually led him to use some of the heavy moving boxes as weights.
But as the blood started to trickle from Andy’s nose, he was brought back to over 10 years ago, watching as Lonnie taught Jonathan another ‘lesson’. He pulled back abruptly, and it was as if everything sharpened into focus.
He could hear the people in the hallway make hushed comments, Andy groaning in pain, but most of all he could hear Mike right at his side.
“Are you okay?” Mike asked softly as if not to startle him, “I… I don’t know”
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
Will was sitting on a chair outside the nurse's office with Mike. Andy wasn't able to get many hits in, but Mike insisted that he go anyway after he saw that Will’s knuckles were starting to bruise.
They sat in silence, and for once in his life, Will couldn't seem to decipher the look on Mike's face. He hadn't said anything since the nurse came out and told them to sit down.
Will didn't understand why Mike would be mad at him. Andy's the one who started it by picking on Dustin; at least that's what he's been telling himself.
Deep down, he knew that wasn't the entire reason; he was sick of feeling powerless, of everyone else protecting him.
But when he looked at Andy, all bloody and bruised, he didn't feel powerful. He felt sick to his stomach.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
Finally, the nurse gave Will an ice pack and sent them on their way.
Once they were outside, they saw Lucas and Dustin.
Lucas slung his arm around Will. “You gave Andy a black eye and a split lip; I didn’t know you had it in you, man”
“And you walked away with barely a scratch,” Dustin added, “Eddie would have been proud.”
“He could have been hurt,” Mike grumbled; he had been sulking since the nurse.
Lucas and Dustin brushed the comment off and started talking about the look on Andy's face, but it stuck with Will.
Did Mike think he was just a helpless kid? That he would have just rushed into a fight he didn't think he had any chance of winning?
“I don’t know what came over me”
“It doesn’t matter,” Dustin said, “Andy's a dick, and he totally had it coming”
“Max would have loved to see that,” Lucas said sadly,
“We can just tell her when she wakes up.” Will said, giving Lucas a small smile, “I just hope this doesn’t get to my mom; she would freak out”
They got on their bikes, and eventually the conversation shifted over to the crawl they were planning for tonight.
Soon it was just Mike and Will. Dustin and Lucas had broken off; Dustin was going home, and Lucas was on his way to visit Max at the hospital.
They rode their bikes in silence until they finally got to the Wheeler house. Will was about to head down to the basement before Mike grabbed his hand.
He turned around to look at Mike, who was staring at his arm as if it moved without his permission.
“Can we talk?”
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
They ended up in the basement, sitting on the couch. Usually, they sit with their shoulders pressed together, but this time it was different. This time they were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, staring at each other.
There was an uncomfortable tension in the room. So Will thought it would be best to keep his distance.
“What's up with you?”Mike finally asked.
“What's up with me? You're the one who's been ignoring me all day, Mike”
“I know, I know. It's just…”
“Just what, Mike?”
Mike closed his eyes, trying to process things for a bit. “I'm the one who’s always protected you; I’m the heart. I know it's silly, and I know that you can take care of yourself. You spent a week alone in the upside down, for fucks sake. But seeing you fight Andy made me realize that you don't need me anymore; maybe you never have. And if you don't need me, then why would you want me around?”
Will looked at him in shock; he had no idea that Mike felt this way.
“I'll always need you; you're my best friend. You've been there for me almost my entire life, and I don't need someone to stand in front of me and take all the hits; I just need someone who will walk beside me to catch me if I fall. And that someone is you, Mike, because you're my best friend.”
That's all we'll ever be, Will thought bitterly, but he accepted that truth a long time ago. He knew that Mike would never look at him the way that he looked at El.
Even though they had broken up, Will knew that eventually Mike would fall in love with someone else, someone who wasn't him.
But that was okay; he would rather have to live with a constant pain in his chest than the hollow feeling he got when Mike wasn't around.
Mike's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “That's the thing, Will, I… I'm not sure I want to be friends, or just friends anyway”
Will blinked at him. “What?”
“This isn't how this was supposed to happen. I had a whole plan. But I guess that's out the window now.” Mike chuckles. “I love you, Will.” The world seemed to stop spinning. Will is frozen to the spot, unsure what to say.
After his long internal debate, Will manages to choke out, “What?”
“I- I mean like, not like that. Well, yes! Yes, like that! B-but if you don’t feel the same, then-”
Something in Will seems to click. His heart races as he grabs Mike’s collar, pulling him in until they’re inches apart, noses brushing.
“I love you too, Mike.”
The last thing Will sees is Mike’s shocked, flustered face before he closes his eyes and presses his lips against Mike’s.
The kiss is awkward and clumsy at first, but soon Will has his hands in Mike's hair, and Mike's has a death grip on his t-shirt. It's better than anything that Will could have imagined; it's messy and perfect and real.
It was all Will needed.