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Mike was curled up tight next to his mother. Her legs were folded, one over the other, stretched out on the ottoman. She ran her fingernails through his hair, scratching his scalp. The TV in front of them played Karen’s favorite soap opera, one she’d liked since she was a teenager.
The entire Wheeler house was quiet, as it usually was this late into the night. Ted was upstairs asleep, Nancy in her room doing her homework. Mike’s head rested on Karen’s pregnant belly. He could faintly feel his little brother (or sister, but he’s hoping for a brother) kick. It landed on his cheek.
“Why’s he doing that?” Mike asked. The man, Richard or whatever his name was, held open the door for a woman. The woman covered her mouth and giggled, batting her eyelashes at him before walking through the open doorway. “She could’ve just opened the door herself.”
“He knows that! He just wants to be a gentleman,” Karen explained. Mike lifted his head from his mother’s lap.
“A what?”
“A man who takes care of the woman he loves. He’s polite, takes her feelings into account, and does all the stuff to make her feel special.” Mike looked back at the screen. The man on screen was sitting down with the woman, dabbing away something from under her mouth. When he was done, he put his lips to her hand.
“Oh.” His head fell back down on her lap. Soon, he felt the soothing sensation of her fingers light carding through his hair. Her fingernails soothed his scalp.
Anyways, the woman did seem happy. She’d kissed the guy, which Mike knows is only saved for people you really love. Her face was split into a wide grin. “Your father was a gentleman,” she commented. “That’s what made me love him.”
Love.
Loving someone (romantically, that is) was a very vague concept for little Mike. He only knew two things about love from watching his parents. It makes you feel good, and that you want to spend the rest of your life with them.
There was only one person in the whole wide world that Mike knew he loved. Sure, they’d only known each other for a year, but Mike adored his best friend, Will, from the moment they met. Will was like an angel sent down to earth to make Mike’s life better. He’d sworn to be his knight in shining armor. To protect Will from the monsters that lived inside and outside of D&D. He couldn’t imagine what life would be like if they had never met. He quite frankly didn’t want to, because there’s no way a universe where that happens could exist.
He hadn’t noticed his mom carrying him up to his room. His thoughts were too preoccupied with the concept of love to register the change in position until he was laid on the mattress. “Can you be a gentleman for anyone?” Mike had asked when she finished tucking him in. She brushed his bangs out the way then kissed his forehead.
“Of course. It’s the best way to get someone to love you,” Karen murmured. She stroked his cheek twice before standing back up. “Goodnight, Michael. Sweet dreams.”
The problem with Mike was that he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not when he had begun to drift off or when his mother woke him up in the morning. He brushed his teeth absentmindedly, despite Nancy’s demands for him to hurry up. He had someone he loved. It certainly felt like love, even if it was in a different way that he loved his family.
The ride to Hawkins Elementary was unusually quiet. Usually, it would’ve been filled with Mike and Nancy bickering about whatever non-issue had come up, and Karen would be scolding them to be nice to each other. Instead it was Nancy idly talking to Karen about what was planned for her class that day. The car came to a full stop and Nancy hopped out almost immediately. She ran up to her friend, Barbara, and they walked further and further from the Wheeler car until they were completely out of sight. “So what that guy did was gentleman-like last night?” Mike asked after unbuckling his seatbelt.
“What are you-“ Karen cut herself off with a small chuckle. “Oh. Yes, yes it was. Very much so.”
“Cool,” Mike hummed before opening the car door. Karen blew him a kiss, even though he told her it was embarrassing. He furrowed his eyebrows, stomping a little. “Mom, not in front of everyone!”
“I can’t help myself!” She called out to his back. Instead of taking a right to go to the crowded playground, he went left, where the parent drop-off line had been stretched across. He weaved through older kids leaving their parents cars, mothers and fathers coaxing their younger kids out from their booster seats. There he saw it. The unmistakable ‘Byers Mobile’, as Mike had named it.
Will was in the backseat, Jonathan in the passengers and Joyce in the drivers. Mike felt a bit silly, standing there like a guard dog waiting for instruction, but he tried not to think about it too much. This was for the greater good, after all. Along with air, water, and food, Mike needed Will Byers for the rest of his life. The car door clicked loudly. Will began to reach for the door handle, but Mike was faster.
He dragged the door open with all the strength he could. Which was a lot, because his classmates said he had scrawny arms. Will stayed where he was, hand still outstretched, staring at Mike like he’d lost his mind. Jonathan and Joyce also looked back, mimicking Will’s terrified expression. Mike's cheeks went hot, he clearly hadn’t thought this all the way through. Maybe he should’ve told Joyce what he was going to do. Would a gentleman do that? He’d have to ask his mom later.
Instead of explaining, like he probably should’ve done, he reached for Will's hand and took it gently. Luckily, Will wasn’t very heavy, so he got out of the car without a struggle. The little yellow backpack was still on the ground in the back of the car, so Mike put that on his other shoulder after letting Will's hand go. “Bye, Mrs. Byers.”
“Mike? What are you-“ She was cut off by the door closing. He turned, face burning because he saw the small smile on her own. “Love you, Will!”
Will shyly waved goodbye to his mother before allowing himself to be dragged away by Mike. His thumb brushed against Will’s tiny knuckles. Will just looked up at him expectantly. “I’m supposed to do that,” Mike explained. “Not a big deal.”
Will nodded, still smiling up at Mike.
Oh, that’s why the guy did that. The girl smiling at him must’ve made him feel good. Mike had no time to explore this thought though, because they were coming up on another door. Will, once again, reached out to open it but Mike was too quick. “This one too. I have to do it for all doors.”
Will pulled his eyebrows together. “Why?” He asked with a small tilt of his head.
“Cause you’re special. That’s what you do for special people,” Mike answered with a shrug. Will's grin widened. Good. This seemed to work.
He pulled out Will’s chair for him when they got into the classroom. He ventured around the room, collecting blank pieces of paper and Will’s favorite crayons, and set them down in front of him. It felt nice. Taking care of Will like this, that is.
Oh! He nearly forgot something. How could he forget?
He wasn’t exactly sure how to initiate it. One of his hands was already busy. People do have two hands, though. Mike took the one he wasn’t using, lifted it to his mouth, and kissed it. When he opened his eyes, Will was staring at him, face as red as a strawberry. “Oh- I’m sorry,” Mike dropped it. Will looked back down at it, eyes as wide as saucers. “Did you not want me to do that?”
“You can do it again, if you want,” Will quietly suggested, lifting his hand back up to Mike.
At the end of the school day, as usual, Joyce and Karen were conversing when their kids got out of school. It was a bit of a struggle between navigating the crowd, opening the door for Will, all while holding both of their backpacks. He managed.
The day was better than usual. Of course most days with Will were labeled as the ‘best day ever’, but something about today made him feel extra good. Maybe it was the shy smile Will would give him after opening doors for him, or maybe when laughed when Mike wiped the corners of his mouth for him at lunch. Something about it felt good and Mike knew this would have to be a regular occurrence. It would benefit them both, anyway.
He felt something warm settle deep in his tummy. Everything just felt right. This was the way it was supposed to be. “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry it?” Jonathan asked. Mike shook his head stubbornly, pulling Will's backpack closer to his body. He was older, wasn’t he supposed to know what Mike was trying to do? He shouldn’t have to explain himself.
“How was school today, hon- oh,” Karen laughed when Mike walked right past her and Joyce. He followed Jonathan and Will to the car, not bothering to give Jonathan a proper goodbye when he opened the back door for Will.
“You don’t have to if you don’t wanna,” Will mumbled. The very thought agitated Mike. Why wouldn’t he?
“What if I do?” He asked, not expecting an answer. “I want to do it, please.”
“Oh,” Will paused for a second, taking his backpack from Mike’s hands. He thought until finally deciding, “Then I guess it’s fine if you’re okay with it. Bye-bye,” he leaned in to hug Mike. Mike, obviously, hugged back. “S’ya tomorrow.”
“Bye,” Mike called back. He shut the door for Will. When he turned, Karen, Joyce, and Nancy were staring at him from the Wheeler car. Mike decided that he also owed none of them an explanation. He knew what he was doing. He hopped into his seat, fastening the seatbelt, and waited for his mom and sister to get in.
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The soaps didn’t prepare him for this.
He knew to put his coat over a puddle, check. He knew to pull and push Will’s chairs for him, check. He knew he had to spend money on him. 3 dollars, to be exact. Check.
He was utterly humiliated. While running to open the door for Will, he scraped his knee against the pavement. It looked really bad, blood was smeared all over his knee. For the final blow, Mike felt tears spring to his eyes. He couldn’t do this. Not in front of Will. His lower lip jutted out while their teacher cleaned him up.
Will wasn’t saying much. Probably to save Mike's feelings, which he both expected and appreciated. A single tear managed to squeeze its way out of his eye when a disinfectant wipe was brushed over the wound. Mike could feel more coming, the sting hurt too much, but he just couldn’t. She applied a yellow bandaid, ruffled his hair, then went to assist some other students. Mike suddenly felt Will’s warm hand on top of his. “It didn’t hurt,” he blurted out. Friends don’t lie, but Mike had to, lest he fail his duties as being a gentleman. Probably.
“Really?” Will looked amazed. His eyes glistened, lips pulling into an amazed grin.
“Mhm. Didn’t even feel it.” Lies. He felt every bit of it.
Big hazel eyes widened at him, pupils dilated, and Mike began to feel a bit mushy. This was a normal occurrence when Will looked at him like that, all the more reason to be the perfect gentleman. Mike turned his head to wipe the tear streak under his left eye. “Wow,” Will gasped. “You’re so brave, Mike.” Mike grinned. “Even if it did hurt, my mom says it’s okay to cry,” Will whispered. He shyly pressed a soft kiss to Mike’s cheek. “You’ll always be brave to me, no matter what.”
Mike's hand went up to cup the area where Will kissed. As if that part of his skin, and that part only, was suddenly precious and needed protecting. It was now, in Mike's mind.
Years later, if you asked Will about this, he would tell you that Mike froze. He froze and stared at Will for what seemed like forever until the bell rang. If you asked Mike, he’d say he took his first kiss from Will with grace. He would be wrong.
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“Michael, wash your face,” Karen repeated. Mike shook his head stubbornly, pouting. They’d already been arguing about this for over 20 minutes, and no matter what, Mike was still refusing to wash his face. She physically had to hold back an eye roll, she just knew Mike would pick it up because he got Nancy’s temper.
The strange part was that this is entirely new. Mike was fine with washing his face before tonight. He’d even let Will wipe the crumbs from around his mouth, which Karen is amazed by because her son is not a touchy person.
“Michael-“ Karen cut herself off, sighed. “Why not?”
“Because I can’t,” Mike responded. He pointed to his cheekbone, finger hovering about a centimeter above it. “Will kissed me here. Can’t wash it off.” To Mike, this was more than enough of a reason to never shower again. To Karen? This was evidence.
She knew him and the Byers boy were close. For gods sake, he’d been dragging Will around ever since the day they met. She knew they were affectionate and she loved it. Something just clicked in her mind when he said that.
Mike was crushing on Will. No wonder he asked about being a gentleman. He was trying to court him in his own little way.
Her heart practically melted. She fought back a smile. “He did?”
Mike nodded, looking quite proud of himself. He probably was. She couldn’t wait to tell Ted. “Mhm!“
“Do you know why?”
“‘Cause I was brave.”
They were so damn cute she was going to explode. She wiped her hands along her face as if she could wipe her smile away. “And you don’t want to wash your face because he kissed it?” Mike nodded again. “Honey, maybe you can ask him to just kiss it again. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“He wouldn’t?”
“He did it once, right?”
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Mike was trying to convince Will to not leave (despite him being over for 12 hours straight). “Please? You can just wear my clothes! It’ll be like a sleepover.”
Today was a success. Mike had given Will a bouquet of dandelions he picked himself. He didn’t have the time to pick from the rose bush in the front lawn (also, he had a feeling Karen would not appreciate that). It was what you were supposed to do when you were a gentleman, after all.
“And we could play more, I could-“ Will got on his tippy toes in the middle of Mike’s sentence and kissed him on the lips. It was much softer, barely even there, but Mike could feel it. He could feel the way his entire face went hot, and couldn't stop his words from trailing off.
That was the first time that had ever happened.
Mike saw it in the shows, of course. He hadn’t expected it from Will, though. Kisses were for after you finished being a gentleman. Meaning he had to stop, which he was upset about. He wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to stop. That also meant there would be more to come, though. Just like his mother said.
“G’bye, Mike,” Will whispered with a shy smile. He turned and walked out of the foyer into the outside, being swallowed by the darkness. All thoughts of a potential sleepover had disappeared. All he could think about were the lips that were against him for a single moment in time.
Wow.
Oh, wow.
He couldn’t stop staring at where his best friend once stood, even as headlights from a reversing car nearly blinded him. He couldn’t stop staring even when his mothers footsteps approached him from behind. “I never thought I’d see you speechless,” Karen giggled.
Mike snapped out of whatever trance he was in. He instantly got defensive. “Well- I’m gonna have to listen to him if we’re gonna spend the rest of our lives together!” Karen laughed. It was a genuine laugh, and Mike felt mocked. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down.
She never told him, not even after they grew up and Mike was suspiciously excited about Will coming out, how that was the moment she knew he was a goner for Will Byers. She definitely told Joyce and Ted, though.