Archive of Our Own

“We can’t tell the Party,” Will said, leaning back against Mike’s headboard as he watched his boyfriend pacing across the bedroom floor. At his current rate, he was going to wear a hole through the carpet, but Will had tried to get him to stop enough times unsuccessfully that he didn’t really care about the outcome anymore. Whatever. It was Mike’s carpet, which made it Mike’s problem.

Mike, speaking frankly, seemed more stressed about the situation than Will himself was.

Not that Will wasn’t stressed. He was, really. It wasn’t every day you discovered what basically amounted to a new superpower. But for Will, it wasn’t the first time it had happened, and this time was a lot less traumatic than the first. No one was kidnapping him or trying to kill him at all. He would take the wins he could get.

Honestly? Now that Will had had a chance to sit and stew on it, to share his concerns with Mike… He wasn’t entirely sure this was a problem. Maybe it could be. It could. That was where the real concern lay. If Will lost his control over this, he would be in deep shit, and he had no way of knowing if he’d have any way of getting out of it. If there was anything he’d learned through his little (ha!) adventure a few weeks ago, it was how dangerous it could be to be small. But for the moment… he didn’t feel a lack of control. He felt… he felt powerful.

He had superpowers. Real superpowers. Not anything borrowed or inherited from El, or (god forbid) Henry, but his own. Something he had earned. Had he earned it? Will brushed the thought away. Maybe he hadn’t built the machine, but he had survived almost a week under it’s effects. That had to count for something. Didn’t it?

Mike froze in his pacing, staring at Will like he’d grown a second head. “Wh - what do you mean we can’t tell the Party? We have to tell them!”

Will pressed his lips together, realizing that Mike had yet to come to the same realization that he had. For the first few days after Will had been fixed, Dustin had been inconsolable. He had shown up at Will’s house with candy like four times, and it wasn’t until he told Will to take home a stack of his favorite comics that Will had realized the issue. It was guilt. Dustin had felt unbelievably guilty, and he was only now, a couple of weeks later, starting to accept that it hadn’t been his fault, and that Will wasn’t angry with him.

“If we tell Dustin that his machine is still affecting me, he’ll freak out.”

Will had come to terms with the ability. He had… honestly he had kind of liked being small when he didn’t have to be scared. There was certain thrill to it, to being around Mike. To feeling so small but so safe. But Dustin would absolutely not share his feelings on the matter. He would feel awful. He would blame himself, and he would waste hours upon hours trying to fix something that Will didn’t really care to fix. He liked having a new power. Wouldn’t anyone? Regardless of what the power was, it was cool to be able to do something that no one else could.  And he could not deal with another month of Dustin’s overwhelming guilt.

“But - Will, this is so dangerous,” Mike said, shaking his head frantically. Will could visibly see him spiraling, imagining all the worst case scenarios that would (probably) never be. Then again, it wasn’t like they had the greatest track record when it came to luck. “What if you stop being able to control it? If you get - get trapped somewhere?” His flailing limbs looked ridiculous, like one of those balloon things outside a gas station, but Will understood where he was coming from.

“Then I’ll use my powers to get out,” Will shrugged, raising his hand as though he was going to use his telekinesis, before settling it back at his side, shooting Mike an amused look. “I can handle myself.”

Mike’s shoulders slumped, and he came over to sit at the edge of the bed, beside Will, slotting their hands together. Will loved holding Mike’s hand. They fit together so effortlessly. Maybe it was corny, but Will always thought that it meant that somehow they were meant to be. “I know that,” he said fondly, which sent a spark through Will’s entire body. He said it like it was so obvious. So easy to believe that Will was capable. He was so used to people underestimating him. Or maybe that wasn’t the right word. It was worry that caused them to treat him like he was made of glass. It wasn’t like they thought he wasn’t good enough. They just wanted him safe. It didn’t make it any less frustrating. But not Mike. Mike had always believed in him. Even when he had the most reason to worry. “Of course you can. But that doesn’t mean you should have to. I just… I just want to keep you safe.”

“Mike,” Will sighed, pulling their joined hands up to his face to press a kiss to the back of Mike’s hand. Just because he could. He had spent years dreaming of being with Mike, but this was by far his favorite part. The casual touches, the little intimate moments that reminded him that Mike wasn’t just his best friend anymore. He was so, so much more. “I am safe. I feel fine. Dustin has enough to worry about without adding me to the list.”

Mike narrowed his eyes at him, which made his nose scrunch up cutely. “Just because you feel fine doesn’t mean you are fine. Dustin can check you out. Make sure you’re actually doing okay.”

Will groaned, rolling his eyes. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?” He had brought this upon himself, really. If he hadn’t told Mike, he would be able to get away with it, but even the idea made him want to wrinkle his nose in disgust. He wanted to tell Mike. He wanted to tell Mike everything that ever happened to him.

“Nope,” Mike said, seeming far too pleased with himself.

“Are you going to be a problem when we go to hang out with them later?”

“Probably,” Mike admitted with a shrug. Hmm. Well, Will appreciated the honesty at least.

“Is there no way I convince you to keep your mouth shut?”

Mike paused, thinking about it, and his eyes darted down to Will’s lips (Typical. He had such a one track mind.) and then back to his face. “Nope.”

Will stared at him. Then he stared up at him, as Mike yelped, jerking back as their hands were separated, before his eyes landed on Will buried in the pillow.

“Very funny,” he said dryly, moving to take the space Will had vacated, leaning over the pillow so his face was pretty much the only thing Will could see. He didn’t mind it. Mike had a nice face. Big brown eyes and cheeks dotted with freckles, sharp cheekbones that were perfect for drawing. Soft, kissable lips. Okay, he was getting distracted. (Maybe Mike wasn’t the only one with a one track mind.)

“I just don’t want him to feel guilty,” Will admitted, stretching out on the soft surface. It was so nice. And a very clear reminder of just how little he had slept the night before. “He doesn’t need to. I’m fine. It’s just…”

“Another badass sorcerer power?” Mike said, tilting his head like a puppy. Ugh. Will loved him so much it made him sick, even if it was too soon to utter thoughts like that out loud.

“Yeah,” Will said. “Or like a superhero.”

Mike brightened. “Oh my god, you’re literally Ant-Man.”

“Not exactly,” Will argued, suddenly defensive. He was way cooler than Ant-Man. Not to toot his own horn or anything. Of any superhero, Ant-Man was not his first choice to be compared to, no matter how similar their abilities may be. “I was thinking like Spider-Man.”

“Spider-Man isn’t spider sized,” Mike reminded him, as though that was the point. Spider-Man was an actually badass superhero. Ant-Man was just some guy. “Ant-Man is.”

“Ant-Man is ant sized, which is smaller than me. So that doesn’t count either.”

“Oh, now we’re complaining about size accuracy. I’m pretty sure Peter Parker is taller than you.” Mike pointed at Will, wagging his finger from Will’s head to his toes. A very short distance at the moment.

“I don’t remember his height ever being mentioned.”

“I think the perspectives of the comics would be different if he was four inches tall.”

“Maybe not,” Will said, just to argue.

Mike rolled his eyes. “We’re getting off track. We’re supposed to be talking about Dustin.”

“You cannot tell me he wouldn’t feel like this was his fault.”

“I cannot and I will not,” Mike agreed. “But that doesn’t mean we should hide it. That’ll just make him feel more awful when he inevitably does find out.”

“It’s not inevitable,” Will grumbled. “We could hide it.”

Mike raised an eyebrow. “It took them ten minutes to figure out we were dating.”

“That’s because you couldn’t keep your hands off of me. Or your mouth.” Not that Will had been complaining. Mike was a good kisser.

“Can you blame me?” Mike grinned, leaning down to press a kiss to Will’s stomach. “You’re cute.”

Will batted at his nose with his hands as he pulled away, unable to hold in his grin at the crinkle of his eyes.

“Let’s put a pin in that for now,” Will said.

“Pin it, yeah,” Mike agreed, nodding seriously.

“And we can circle back.”

“Circle back,” Mike repeated, with all the wrong intonations, like he was talking about the back of a circle. Will rolled his eyes again.

“You’re being annoying on purpose,” he told him. Mike smirked, opening his mouth to repeat it in some sort of dumb fashion, Will was certain, so Will shifted up and tackled him, greatly enjoying the shriek he released when he was knocked onto the floor and crushed under the weight of Will’s body.

Mike tried to stop him, jabbing his fingers in his waist where he knew he was ticklish, but Will didn’t falter as he caught Mike’s wrists and held them above his head, giving him a stern look that hopefully portrayed his disapproval.

“Annoying on purpose,” Mike chirped. Okay, that was it.

Five minutes later, Karen Wheeler materialized in the doorway to tell them to knock it off.

“You’re late,” Lucas complained loudly as Mike slowed his bike to a stop, in sync with Will beside him. Will shot him an amused glance, knowing full well that it was Mike’s fault they hadn’t made it to the lake in time.

In his defense, how was he meant to do anything when Will was standing there looking so kissable? He looked kissable now too, with his windswept hair and clearly-just-been-kissed lips. Maybe they could cut this Party hangout session short. Mike could pretend to have the flu or something. He would need Will’s help getting home, obviously.

“You’re one to talk,” Dustin griped, pointing an accusing finger at Lucas from beside him on the checkered picnic blanket. “You and Max are always late. El’s the only one I can trust here.”

“I blame Will,” El said, crossing her legs on her camping chair (that was definitely Dustin’s camping chair, actually, but Mike wasn’t surprised El was the one sitting in it), eyebrows raised under her ginormous sunglasses, and Will squawked in offense. “He was supposed to bike over from our house but he left before I woke up. Blatant favoritism.”

“It is not,” Will argued, which—for once—was true. He had been panicking over his new superpowers, not looking for an excuse to make out. The making out had just been a pleasant side effect. “Besides, just consider it payback for when you and Mike were dating.”

“You can’t use that excuse forever,” El argued, and Mike would think she was actually irritated if he didn’t recognize the smirk on her lips. She just liked riling up her brother. “Especially not when it’s clear Mike is the problem.”
“He is the common denominator,” Max said from the ground beside El, leaning over a cooler to grab a can of soda. The ice inside sloshed around, already half melted, as she tossed a can of Coke over to Will. Mike raised a hand to catch it as she lifted up another, but she just cracked it open and took a sip, looking far too pleased with herself. Mike glared at her, but Will just slipped his can into Mike’s hand before he could start a fight.

“We got distracted, sorry,” he apologized.

“I can see that,” Lucas snickered, making a kissy face. Mike flipped him off and Will jerked his chin so Lucas’s shirt flew up and over his head.

Dustin cackled as Lucas swore, trying to free his face, and Will wiped the blood from his nose.

“We’re not here to talk about me and Mike,” he said, holding his arm out for another can of Coke to fly into it, like Thor with his hammer. God, he was so cool. Mike had the coolest boyfriend of all time. “We’re here to hang out.”
“Hang out and make fun of you and Mike,” El responded.

“That’s homophobic,” Mike said, plopping down on the picnic blanket Lucas and Dustin were sprawled out across, making sure to leave enough space for Will to sit beside him.

“I’d argue it would be more homophobic if we didn’t make fun of you,” Dustin said. “We’re providing equal treatment for all the people. It’s called equality, Michael.”

“You guys suck and we’re leaving,” Mike said with no bite.

“Are we going to the movies later?” Will asked, brushing right over Mike’s irritation. He was good at that. Sometimes. Sometimes he riled Mike up more just because he knew how to.

“Are you actually going to watch the movie or are you going to sneak out to make out?” Max asked.

Mike and Will groaned. “That was one time!” Mike argued.

“It’s been two weeks,” Dustin pointed out. “One time is a lot of times in only two weeks.”

“Depends on what you’re talking about,” El responded. “One meal in only two weeks isn’t a lot at all.”

Dustin looked at her like she had completely betrayed him. “Are you defending them?”

“No, of course not. Just saying.”

“She’s not wrong,” Mike said, to stoke the flames. “One meal in two weeks isn’t a lot at all.”

“I’m gonna kill all of you.”

“How?” Lucas asked. “You already took apart your shrinky machine. I could take you in a fight.”

“I’ll put it back together just to get you,” Dustin said, as Mike shared a worried look with Will.

We should tell them, he said, with a jerk of his chin towards Dustin.

Will shook his head. We’re putting a pin in it.

Mike gave him an exasperated look. A pin isn’t going to solve anything, Will. It’ll just make him feel more awful when he finds out.

He won’t find out if you keep your mouth shut, Will conveyed with a raise of his eyebrows.

A potato chip hit Mike’s shirt, cascading down to land in his lap. He stared at it like it had personally offended him.

“What the fuck?” He hadn’t noticed anyone carrying chips, but he could now see a bag in Lucas’s hands.

“No silent conversations when we’re all together.”

Mike shot one last look at Will. Tell them.

“Movies,” Will said loudly. “What do we want to see?”

No one answered him, instead choosing to look between the two of them. Perfect. They weren’t going to let this slide.

“What are you hiding?” El asked, lifting her sunglasses up to rest on her head so she could better shoot them a suspicious look.

“I’m not hiding anything!” Will said, too high-pitched to be convincing. “I just want to go to the movies.”

“Mike, what is he hiding?” El tried.

“I’m not telling you anything Will has expressly forbidden me from telling you.”

“Mike,” Will groaned. “Don’t tell them I told you not to tell them!”

“You didn’t tell me not to tell them you told me not to tell them!” He paused, thinking over the sentence. Yeah, no, he was pretty sure he had said that right. The others didn’t look as convinced.

“Will,” Max said. “You know you can tell us anything, right? We’re on your team.”

Will groaned, throwing his head back and squinting up at the sun. Mike raised his hand so it blocked it from Will’s eyes. It wouldn’t do to have him go blind because he was complaining.

“You’re impossible,” he told Mike.

“That’s why you like me.”

“Shut up.” His cheeks were red, which meant Mike had hit it right on the money, and he batted Mike’s hand out of his face as he faced their friends. “Okay, fine. I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to make a big deal out of it, okay?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Lucas assured him.

“When have we ever made a big deal out of anything?” Dustin asked, and El kicked at his arm from her place in her chair. Fair. They made a big deal out of pretty much anything.

“I’m talking about you specifically,” Will said, narrowing his eyes at Dustin. “Everything is fine, this is all fine, and you’re not allowed to feel bad about anything.”

Dustin looked concerned as he stared at the finger Will was pointing at him. “Okay, now I’m worried.”

“It’s nothing,” Will tried. “Just… the whole… machine thing… debacle. It had a few… side effects,” he finished the sentence in a rush, like if he said it faster it would make it easier to process, and Mike took his hand in his. The nearest group of people were halfway across the lake, which meant they didn’t have to worry about getting in trouble, even if they were technically in public.

Dustin went pale as he processed Will’s words. “Side effects?” he spluttered. “Wha - what kind of side effects? Are you okay? Are you injured or - or something? Are you—?”
“Dustin,” Will cut him off. “I’m fine, really. I swear. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I knew you guys would make a big deal out of it when there’s not a deal to be made. Everything is fine.”

“When you say side effects,” Max said slowly. “What… exactly… do you mean?”

Will grimaced, shooting a look at Mike, who gestured for him to go ahead and demonstrate. Even if someone on the other side of the lake happened to look over, they wouldn’t be able to see them clearly enough to notice one of their group members vanishing.

“Ugh,” Will groaned. “Fine.” He let go of Mike’s hand and proceeded to vanish, though it took only a moment for Mike to find him buried in the picnic blanket, from which he quickly scooped him up into his hand.

Call him crazy, but he liked carrying Will like this. He was so cute. So small and adorable and soft. Mike loved it. He didn’t love that this situation was happening, not when they had no answer to why or how or if it could be dangerous, but he loved holding Will.

His glanced up to see four pale faces staring back.

“Is that… controlled?” El asked.

“Yeah,” Mike said. “He can control it. At least for now. I figured we should run some tests to make sure everything is okay before it goes to shit.”

“This is all my fault,” Dustin groaned, burying his face in his hands.

“Oh for the love of—” Will huffed, and then Mike yelped as his arm was practically ripped out of his socket as it was forced to the ground under the weight of his now human-sized boyfriend.

“Ow,” he groaned, and Will gave him a sheepish look as he removed his knee from where it was crushing his palm.

“My bad,” he said, before turning to Dustin. “I already told you, it’s fine. It’s under control. We’re all good. It’s fine!”

“I’m gonna be honest, this does not seem fine,” Lucas said, unconvinced.

“It’s fine,” Will repeated.

Mike shared an exasperated look with El.

“It’s fine.”

“That was completely pointless,” Will complained as he and Mike biked home. “Home” as in back to the Byers home, where Mike was going to spend the night. He hadn’t asked or spoken to his parents about it, but, well, Will had invited him over, and he was always happier if he was with Will.

“It wasn’t pointless,” Mike argued.

Their movie plans that Will had tried so hard to make had been postponed in order to make room for some testing. Not that there was much for them to do. Despite Mike’s concerns, Dustin wasn’t a doctor. And he didn’t know what he was looking for. He couldn’t look at Will’s blood under a microscope and tell them exactly what caused this and how to fix it. Their testing had shifted to a more technical form. They’d tested Will’s strength, and Dustin had done the math to determine how much Will should be able to lift relative to his size, versus how much he was actually able to lift. Will was a hell of a lot stronger in his smaller form, which was kind of cool. They’d made sure that his telekinesis worked the same (it did), and Dustin had timed exactly how long it took Will to shift down and up. Mike was pretty sure the math on that wasn’t entirely accurate, since it was so fast (the average, after about a dozen tests, was under half a second). 

While all this happened, the rest of the Party acted as Will’s personal cheer squad, which he had pretended to be annoyed about. Mike might have believed the irritation if it weren’t for how clearly he could see the amusement in his eyes.

“I feel a lot better about it all,” Mike continued.

“Of course you do,” Will answered, biking faster so Mike had to hurry to catch up. “You’re a little shit and this was your plan all along.”

“Uh huh,” Mike said, fighting back a smile. “That’s me. Hey, what are we telling your parents?”

Will whipped his head towards Mike so fast his bike wobbled on the street. “We’re telling them jack shit. Are you crazy? I’d be wrapped up in bubble wrap faster than you could blink.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Mike said. “You’d be much harder to kiss through bubble wrap.” Will giggled. “But I don’t think they would be that bad. They handled it pretty well last time, right?”

“That was a one time thing with a clear solution in a short time frame,” Will reminded him. “This is a permanent change. Mom would be worried and Hopper would probably want to kill Dustin.”

“I think Hopper probably wants to kill Dustin for other reasons,” Mike said, waggling his eyebrows.

Will took a beat to comprehend his words and then made a disgusted face. “Mike, ew.”

“What? Come on,” Mike squawked. “Are you telling me you haven’t seen that shit? They’re together all the time.”

Will had invited El to bike home with them (considering they were going to the same house, it was only polite), and El had refused, stating that she wanted to stay a bit longer. Considering that Max and Lucas had already left, and Will and Mike were leaving, that meant she was staying alone with Dustin for who knew how long.

“That’s not our business,” Will said suspiciously.

Mike narrowed his eyes, biking a little closer. “You know something.”

“I know nothing,” Will retorted, unconvincingly.

“Will.”

“Mike.”

“Will.”

“Mike.”

Will biked a little faster.

“Wiiiiill,” he whined.

“I’m not telling you anything!” Will squawked. “You have to ask El yourself.”

Yeah. There was definitely something going on between them.

They pulled up to the Byers house, casually tossing their bikes aside as Mike took Will’s hand in his. He made an effort to wave to Hopper on his way in, in an effort to get the man to hate him a little less. Will said Hopper doesn’t hate him, but it didn’t hurt to try. Hopper didn’t tell him to leave the door open, so he counted it a success. 

Then again, that might just be because Will’s room shared a wall with Jonathan’s, but Mike preferred to think of it as Hopper deciding he trusted Mike.

...It was definitely the wall thing.

“Ugh, what a long day,” Will groaned, flopping down face first on his bed as Mike kicked the door shut.

“It wasn’t that long.”

“Says the guy who was sitting there while I was weightlifting,” Will said with raised eyebrows as Mike hopped on the bed beside him. “Get your shoes off my bed.”

Mike rolled his eyes and kicked his shoes off. “Happy now? And you looked hot doing it.”

Will’s cheeks went bright red. “Mike,” he warned, scandalized.

Mike laughed. “What? I can’t call my boyfriend hot? You should’ve taken your shirt off, too. That would’ve been hot.”

Will threw a pillow at him. “I hate you. Get out of my house.”

“No,” Mike said, grabbing his waist and climbing on top of him. “You’re mine now.”

Will disappeared and Mike shot up and off the bed as fast as he possibly could, heart racing for an entirely different reason.

“Will,” he hissed at his tiny boyfriend. “I could’ve squished you.”

Will raised his eyebrows, seeming unconvinced. “You wouldn’t have squished me.”

“I could’ve,” Mike argued. “I was on top of you. What if you got squished?”

“I wouldn’t. The bed is soft.”

“I don’t want a squished boyfriend! I prefer it when you’re unsquished!”

Will made a pouty face as Mike kneeled at the side of the bed, looking at him. “Are you saying you wouldn’t love me if I was squished?”

Mike’s heart rate picked up at the wording, and Will stared at him, equally wide-eyed, like he hadn’t realized what he was saying.

It wasn’t like… Okay, it’s not like Mike hadn’t thought it. Will was his boyfriend. Not only that, but he was his best friend of over a decade. Mike had always loved him. It just… had shifted meaning recently. A different kind of love.

“I didn’t say that,” he murmured, before Will could get too caught up in his own head.

Will’s expression softened as he looked at Mike, about a foot or two away.

“Get over here,” Mike snorted, reaching his hand out towards him. Will smiled, but didn’t move as Mike gently caught his legs between two fingers and pulled him down the length of the bed, closer to him, before brushing a thumb over his cheek. “Hi you.”

“Hi you,” Will giggled in return. Mike swooped down and kissed his stomach, just like he had that same morning. He loved the way it made Will cackle, the way he swatted at him carelessly. So much trust. It was a rush, truly. 

“I like this,” Mike admitted, cupping his hands around Will. Will’s feet brushed the heel of his palm, his fingertips arching over Will’s head. So small. Smaller than his hands. He couldn’t explain why he liked that so much. “Pocket-sized boyfriend.”

Will’s expression fell. “You are not putting me back in your pocket.”

Mike giggled, shaking his head lightly. “No, I’m not. I’m just saying you’d fit. It’s cute. You’re cute.”

“You’re cute,” Will retorted. “You can’t hide anything like this.”

“Who said I’m trying to hide anything?” Mike shrugged. “I think you’re cute. I just admitted it.”

“Uh huh,” Will nodded. “You like that I’m smaller than your hands.”

Mike blinked. “How do you know that? Are you reading my mind? Is mind-reading a power we have to worry about too now?”

“I don’t need to read your mind,” Will said, gesturing to Mike’s hands around him. “It’s written all over your face. And I know you.”

“Right,” Mike said, shifting uncomfortably, his cheeks going red. Ugh. This was so embarrassing. He couldn’t even explain why if Will asked. He just… he just liked it.

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Will said sheepishly, reading Mike’s expression easily. He reached out, brushing a hand over Mike’s thumb, and Mike twitched, settling the finger over his chest. Will’s hand rested over the nail. Stretched out, it didn’t even cover it. Wow. “I like it too.”

“I like being able to protect you,” Mike admitted, both to Will and himself. “And I know you can handle yourself, even like this, but I just… I don’t know. I feel safer, having you here with me. Like I can keep you safe.”

“You do keep me safe,” Will said quietly, like it was true, and Mike couldn’t hold back the urge to dip his hands under Will and scoop him up in his palms anymore. He was so adorable. Mike loved him. He really did. It was probably way too early to say such a thing, but it was true. He loved Will Byers. He was in love with Will Byers.

“Mike,” Will said quietly, eyes soft like he knew exactly what Mike was thinking, and Mike blushed, stammering incoherently.

“We should get ready for bed,” Will admitted, not calling him out on it yet. “It’s getting late.”

Mike lowered his hands back to the bed so Will could hop off before he shifted this time (He wasn’t looking for a repeat of earlier. His hand still hurt.) “I can fill up the air mattress while you get dressed and brush your teeth.”

“Why?” Will asked as he shifted up, now sitting on the edge of the bed. Mike looked up at him from where he was on his knees, and Will leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth, sitting back up before Mike could drag him down for longer. “Let’s just share the bed.”

Mike gave Will’s twin-sized mattress a suspicious look. “We’re not seven anymore,” he reminded his boyfriend.

Will hooked his fingers in the front pocket of Mike’s polo shirt, pulling him in closer to the edge of the bed. “So? I can be pocket-sized, remember?”

Mike’s heart was racing. Oh god, he was going to die of cuteness overload, wasn’t he?

“Uh huh,” he said stupidly.

“Anyway, you sleep like a corpse. I’ll just sleep on your chest. It’ll be nice. Warm, too.”

“Uh huh.”

Will tilted his head at Mike. “Are you going to get up or just sit there?”

“Will, you’re driving me crazy,” Mike huffed breathlessly. Tiny Will sleeping on his chest. Was he dreaming? This had to be a dream, seriously. No way could he be that lucky.

Will’s amused smile went soft. “Hey, crazy together, right?”

Mike’s throat tightened with emotion. He was in love with Will Byers. He was in love with Will Byers. It was the easiest thing he had ever done.

“Yeah,” he croaked, climbing to his feet and leaning down to kiss Will once more. “Crazy together.”

Will hummed against his mouth. “Go brush your teeth. Your breath stinks.”

“Fuck you,” Mike said without any heat. He had a designated tooth brush at the Byers house, of course, but he knew Will was messing with him. “Come with me?”

“Always.”

“Mike,” Will giggled against his mouth, in the darkness of the room. Mike hummed a complaint against his lips. Words were coming out of his mouth, which meant he clearly wasn’t kissing him well enough. They barely fit on the bed, even pressed against each other as they were, but Mike was having a grand old time, really. “Mike, we need to go to bed.”

“‘m not tired,” Mike said, as fast as he could. The faster the better, because then he could go back to the important stuff (also known as: kissing Will). 

“Mike,” Will said, as Mike pressed kisses down the line of his throat. “I’m tired. Besides, if we’re late again tomorrow our friends will kill us.”

“I won’t let them kill you,” Mike assured him. “You’re too cute to die.”

“Too cute to die again,” Will corrected him. Mike pulled away simply so he could give Will a flat look to convey how unimpressed he was with that joke. “What? I can’t be too cute to die when I already did.”

“You’re the worst,” Mike informed him, before returning to his very important job at Will’s neck. Will’s fingers tightened in his hair.

“If you leave a mark I can guarantee you Hopper will never let you sleep over again.”

Mike paused, releasing the skin in his teeth slowly. “Fine,” he said with a pout. How was he supposed to brag about his super hot boyfriend to his friends if he wasn’t allowed to mark up his super hot boyfriend?

Will wriggled out from where he was half under Mike, unfortunately, but then he was climbing on top of Mike, which was very fortunate. Mike tilted his chin up, prepared for more kissing, when Will vanished.

His face fell. “I wasn’t done.”

“You are a menace,” Will said, stomping up his stomach until he was balanced above Mike’s heart, standing with his arms crossed like he was reprimanding him. “And I’m tired.”

“Hmm,” Mike hummed. “I can’t blame you for that. You did do a lot of weightlifting today.”

Will rolled his eyes. “Are you going to shut up and let me sleep or am I going to have to kick you to the floor?”

“No!” Mike squawked. “No, I’m a very good bed, I promise.”

“You’re a very loud bed,” Will argued. “A good bed would keep their mouth shut.”

Mike’s mouth shut with an audible click. The silence only lasted a second, until Will laid down and burrowed his fingers in Mike’s shirt.

“Aww,” he cooed.

“Shut up,” Will reminded him grumpily. “Where’s the blanket?”

Screw a blanket. Mike settled his hand over Will’s body, and Will hummed happily. “I like that,” he said. “You’re warm.”

“You’re cute,” Mike returned. He could see Will’s little tuft of hair under his hand, not much else. But he could feel him. Little arms and legs splayed out casually. Comfortably. Mike was going to die. 

“Go to sleep.”

“I am.”

“You’re not. You’re being loud.”

“I’m responding to your questions.”

“They’re not questions. They’re statements. You don’t have to respond to statements.”

“What if I want the last word?”

“Then you’re an idiot.”

“I’m your idiot.”

Will kicked his ring finger and Mike chuckled, fighting to contain it so he wasn’t shaking so much. That would definitely piss Will off.

“Goodnight, Will,” he whispered.

Will may try all he might to bitch and moan, but Mike could hear the smile in his voice when he returned a “Goodnight, Mike.”