Archive of Our Own

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Will Byers is absolutely terrified of not being in control. In control of his mind, his body, his feelings.

He’s going to be eighteen soon and hasn’t tried more than a sip of alcohol – beer Dustin stole from Steve that tasted like moldy bread anyway, he doubts he’s missing much. He's smoked weed exactly once with Max, snagged it from Jonathan's room and only had the courage to invite her. The boys and El would be pissed if they ever found out, especially Mike. 

But for some reason he knew she wouldn’t become all overbearing and worried if his thoughts suddenly went dark. Slimy tendrils creeping, writhing and twisting in his head, in his gut. He knew she’d totally one hundred percent without a doubt judge him if he went all sappy and accidentally blurted out his feelings for Mike, but then she’d let him gush some more and guard his secret with her life. 

So they smoked and it wasn’t bad at first. He kind of liked how it made his brain feel floaty, not like he was quite out of control but like his entire existence was a dial that just got turned down a tick. He got giggly, warm, and she laughed right back, though clearly less affected. She’d done it before to help with the chronic pain, a side effect of her near-death at the hands of Vecna.

At some point, He started raving about Mike’s eyes. How deep they are, how when he looks at you it's like he's looking into you. To be completely fair, Mike had been looking more often, recently. Will couldn’t figure out why, but it played on his mind. She scoffed, asked him if he knew a different Mike because she refused to believe he was speaking of Mike Wheeler. But then she smiled at him, nudged his shoulder and said so, not just a crush huh? A resigned, dreamy sigh was all she got in a response. 

But then, he took another puff, and it was suddenly too much. The heavy feeling of smoke in his lungs, which had been manageable up to this point, became unbearable. It sent him back to a time where his body was not his own. When the mind flayer took him over. When felt his whole body burning, inside and out. 

It was bad, but Max was good about it like he predicted. Smoking weed was firmly added to the list of Things William Byers Just Cannot Do. (It’s just under ride his bike home after dark which isn’t a self inflicted rule but it's on there all the same.) Maybe to be revisited someday, when those memories aren’t as close. Maybe in college, when he’s out of Hawkins.

He has had control of his body and mind taken from him too many times to ever want to experience that willingly. He managed to get through the possession-mind flayer connection shit with only one less deeply held secret to his name, and he’s perfectly happy letting this last one stay mostly buried.

Well, he’s happy enough. He’s got his family and his friends. He has Mike. As his best friend and that’s everything. He’s seen what his life could be, he’s seen the alternative. So he’s grateful, and he isn’t willing to do anything that could jeopardize that.

Which means he just can’t lose control, he can’t slip up. The first thing on the list of Things William Byers Just Cannot Do is admit his unyielding love for Mike Wheeler.

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The voices in the cafeteria tangle into one fluid, droning frequency. Stepping through the doorway behind Mike – whose holding it open, sending him a soft smile – is like walking into a headache. 

They have to weave around two jocks tossing a basketball across the lane between tables. Mike’s hand lurches out and Will collides into it, hitting his stomach. Saving him from a freshman who darts out of the way at the last second, chocolate milk streaming out of his nose. They lock eyes, faces screwed up with humorous disgust. Will is acutely aware of Mike's arm still held out in front of his stomach, he feels his shirt brush it as when he breathes. He hopes Mike can’t feel the butterflies that have made a home there, always waking up in little moments like this.

 Determining the coast is clear, Mike nods, brows furrowed, mouth turned down. Serious. Like he’s leading them through a battlefield and not their high school cafeteria – Will would know the difference, he’s seen both. Mike pulls his arm away but the reprieve Will gets from lack of contact is short lived. He quickly takes hold of Will’s wrist, long fingers wrapping firmly around it and tugging him along.

 Protector. It’s an embarrassing, blush inducing word, but it pops into Will’s brain regardless. It’s a word Will has come to associate with Mike in this simple, everyday way.

 Mike doesn’t do these things because he thinks Will needs it. They both know Will can handle himself within the jungle that is a high school cafeteria. He doesn’t make Will feel weak. It’s just something Mike does, it's innate. When Mike does this, it doesn’t feel like he’s just checking a chore off a list - take care of Will ✓ - it doesn’t feel as though its a burden. More like a privilege.

And often, Will protects him too. 

“Whoa!” He shouts, tugging Mike back as a rouge apple goes flying. Mike ducks just in time, locking pairs of wide eyes.

“Shit! Thanks,” Mike says, shaking his head. They navigate the next few steps then they’re in line to order lunch. “I think the cafeteria has gotten even more insane.”

Will nods, huffing in agreement.

 “What we put up with for mediocre pizza,” He responds with a shrug. Mike nearly snorts, sending him a wide, squinty grin. Mike’s hand flexes involuntarily against Will’s pulse point on his wrist, they both notice he’s still holding on. 

Mike stares at it, blinking, mouth agape, for a moment. Like he’s stuck. Will is stuck, waiting for Mike to pull away and praying he can’t feel his heart rate spiking against his fingers.

“Um,” Will starts, and it's all it takes for Mike to finally wrench his hand away like the contact was causing him physical pain. Despite knowing better, Will’s stomach drops all the same.

“Shit,” Mike says again, mostly under his breath. “Sorry.”

Will shakes his, lets his nervous laugh pass for light hearted.

“S'okay,” he tells him, letting any thoughts of something more slip away. Will knows there's no use. He turns back to the menu, he had been planning on getting chocolate milk but that kid from earlier kind of spoiled that idea. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out the change he grabbed from the jar they keep on the window sill and sifts though it. He’s got enough for a slice of pizza and a 7-up.

“Mediocre or not, I’m getting two slices,” Mike says, flipping his debit card between his fingers. Will knows it’s supposed to be for emergencies only, but Mike uses it to buy lunch almost everyday. That and the popcorn they share at the movie theater, Mike claims it's only fair since Will always sneaks in the reeses pieces and drinks. “I can’t believe I won’t be able to eat for a whole eight hours,” Mike groans.

“Isn’t your appointment really early in the morning? You’ll be asleep most of that time,” Mike sulks, clearly he isn’t looking for a voice of reason to guide him out of his misery. 

“Yeah,” He starts, stretching out the word with a sigh. “But then, after I’m gonna be all loopy and numb and eventually in pain. I probably won’t even wanna eat.”

A faint chill runs over Will at the thought of dealing with the after effects of anesthesia. He knows it can effect everyone differently, some people wake up a little sleepy but normal, others forget who their family members are, and sometimes they reveal their deepest secrets. 

Will is incredibly grateful he has lucked into decently good teeth. His front two are a little longer than the rest, but he doesn’t need surgery. A blessing for both his sake, and his mothers wallet.

 Things are a little better financially with Hopper in the picture. But his mom was determined to send Jonathan a little cash each month while he is at school in New York, so things are still a bit tight. It’s all Will’s ever known, so he doesn’t mind.

They step up to place their orders, Mike gets his two slices, a chocolate milk – apparently the nose kid didn’t throw him off - and one of those cookies that’s nearly the size of your head. He offers to get Will one too but he shakes his head. He doesn’t like people buying him things if he doesn’t have even a semblance of a fair trade. The popcorn at the movies is okay, he does bring the candy and drinks. Plus sharing a bag means occasionally their hands will brush and Will lets himself pretend for a second that it's a date. 

He feels a little guilty about it, but not as much now that El and Mike are broken up. He assumed it wouldn’t last, they broke up and got back together before. But it's been nearly three years now, so Will is cautiously optimistic that it's really over. 

Not that it changes anything, but he feels better about his day dreams now that they aren’t about his sister's boyfriend. 

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Juggling pizza, a carton of milk, and one large cookie, Mike leads them back out of the Cafeteria and outside. They veer off into the tree line, spotting the others already waiting at the picnic table in the small clearing. 

Max and El are sitting on one side, pouring over a book and sharing their lunches. Lucas is sitting across from them, face twisted in what could be confusion or annoyance at whatever Dustin is raving about — knowing Dustin, it's probably both.

“I’m telling you! Ten years time, we will have made contact with aliens! And I will be on the team that gets to meet them,” He’s grinning, looks to Will and Mike for support as they approach. Will nods encouragingly, Mike arches a brow, unconvinced. 

“Dustin. We’ve technically already met aliens. I don’t really think you should want to get involved with any more,” Mike says, flopping down hard on one side of the table causing it to shift. Max and El look up with matching scowls, El’s softens to a smile when she realizes it’s just Mike and Max’s only deepens. He sticks his tongue out at her, then grins proudly at Will who is gently tucking in next to him. Will rolls his eyes, and blushes into his pizza. 

“Yeah, and chances are they’ve already made contact with other aliens that we just don’t know about,” Lucas tells him, Will nods along chewing his slice carefully. “We all know too well how the government likes to keep secrets.”

“Sure, but we also know that they’re pretty shit at that!” Dustin exclaims, sending a quick glance at the walking, talking government secret currently eating a candy bar before their very eyes. El looks up with a smirk, only half paying attention, and waves as if there is an audience before her. 

She’s been watching too many game shows with Hop, Will thinks fondly. 

“Plus! Those were monsters not aliens! They were from another universe, not space!” Dustin continues, his cheeks are pink. Mike and Will share a knowing look, both sighing in resignation. It’s impossible for Dustin to let something go once he gets started. 

“That’s still a different planet though, right? So that would make them aliens!” Lucas shoots back, too easily sucked into an argument that will never reach its conclusion.

“No! No, it’s different. We're talking supernatural, not sci-fi,” Dustin exclaims. Lucas sputters, indignant. 

“We aren’t talking about genres of fiction! This is real life!” He shouts. Dustin moves to speak again, but Mike beats him to it. 

“It’s kind of both though isn’t it? You can mix the genres, it’s done all the time. Like – like in Frankenstein!” He points to the book being shared between Max and El, they both perk up again. “It’s about an undead creature, it's supernatural, but it’s also sci-fi. Doctor Frankenstein built the Creature. El’s powers were developed in a lab, that’s sci-fi, super-hero 101. Like Captain America!” Will winces at El’s visible displeasure at this comparison. Mike falters at her expression, as though he can’t understand it. “Uh, I didn’t mean to compare you to the Monster. Although, technically speaking, Dr. Frankenstein is the real — actually, you haven’t finished it yet so I won't say anymore!”

El finally rolls her eyes then, shrugging off the bizarre almost-compliment.

“I understand, Mike,” She says while Max mutters idiot under her breath next to her. Mike’s lips press into a thin, tight smile as the two girls laugh at him.

But then he shrugs, and continues on anyway.

“But like, a portal between worlds? Will communicating through the lights? The way Vecna attacked? All supernatural,” He takes a bite of his pizza, chewing thoughtfully and for a moment Will thinks he’s made his point. “Plus, Will’s a sorcerer, so it’s fantasy too.” 

Will jerks away from Mike quickly, eyes scanning briefly over a smug looking Max before dropping to his can of soda. He picks it up, studying the can like it holds the secrets of the universe, then cracks the tab open with a hiss and takes a long drink. 

Will’s insides turn to jelly whenever Mike brings up the whole sorcerer thing. Three whole days with those powers and it clearly made an impact because Mike still mentions it over a year later. 

Why must Mike’s words have this effect on him when El looks so displeased at being called a super-hero? He can understand the comparison to Frankenstein's Monster not being the most desirable. But if he’s being honest, Will is certain Mike could find a way to make that feel like a positive too.

“Except, I’m not Vecna.”

“You sort of are.”

The memory rings clearly in Will’s head like it was yesterday. It felt so good to be on the receiving end of that kind of attention from Mike, to be so believed in. He’d even let himself think, for a moment, that it could be a signal. 

Now he knows that Mike just says shit without thinking about the consequences, without thinking about the impact he has on people. On Will specifically. Which has lead to Will getting hurt in the past, but most of the time the things Mike says are just heart-achingly sweet.

He’s going to be hilarious with even less of a filter after surgery tomorrow. The thought might terrify Will, but he’s sure it will be silly to see Mike like that. He'll probably just be really grumpy, Will has always found his sad little pout cute.

“So, what is your point? Are they aliens or monsters?” Lucas asks eventually. An unimpressed, tired look across his face. Dustin nods too, wide eyed and eager to know if Mike agrees with him or not. 

Mike looks to Will, sending a quick private smile before turning to the others. His grin grows to shit-eating levels when he says. “Have you been paying attention? They’re both.”

The two boys across from them groan. Dustin's shoulders deflate and Lucas buries his face into his hands.

Mike chuckles softly next to him, his arm brushes Will’s sleeve as he picks up his second slice of pizza. 

The conversation shifts. Max and El complain about their boring math teacher. Dustin frets about upcoming exams entirely unnecessarily, the guy is a genius with a full ride to MIT already confirmed for the coming fall.

Will finishes his pizza and is nursing his 7-up when the topic of Mike’s wisdom teeth removal comes up. 

“So, are you ready for tomorrow?” Dustin asks. He doesn’t even need to say the words and Will feels Mike go jittery at his side. His expression falls into something controlled and reserved.

“Yeah, I mean. I guess. Not much to prepare for,” Mike shrugs but it's stilted. He’s going for casual but falls slightly short of it into the realm of anxious-awkward he so often exists in. He turns to Will. “You’re still coming right? Your mom said it was okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” Will responds, Mike shoulders relax and his expression softens at this.

No one else knows this except Will, but Mike has had an insane fear of the dentist since they were little. It’s the real reason why Will is going with his family for the appointment. As kids their mothers once accidentally scheduled their teeth cleanings on the same day and suddenly, Karen no longer had to wrestle her seven year old son into the dentist's office. Will had spotted Mike, sitting outside the building, crying and clinging to his mother and he approached his best friend with an uncharacteristic level of confidence, smiled and they walked into the building hand in hand.

A relieved Karen expressed her gratitude to Joyce for making that trip so easy, and it turned into a regular thing. Mike doesn’t cry and cling to his mother anymore, and neither of them will be holding his hand. But if Will can provide him a little bit of comfort, he’ll skip school to do it.

“I can’t believe only you get to see Mike make a fool of himself,” Max says, crossing her arms. “You better film it, I would.”

Will laughs, shaking his head. “Sorry, you’ll just have to hear about it afterwards.”

Max scowls, squinting her eyes in a way that says of course you’d be so loyal to him.

“We expect a full play by play then, Byers,” Lucas says, gesturing to the rest of the group. Max beams at his support. 

“Yeah, it’s unfair that I’m missing out on prime material to make fun of Mike with,” She adds.

Typically, this type of ribbing from Max would set Mike off, the two always know how to get under each other's skin. Currently, however, Mike is exceptionally quiet. Will takes the chance to glance at him as the others shift topic once more. Mike’s entire posture - which is always bad, the boy sits like a question mark -  has gotten worse, curled further in on himself. He’s staring down at his half eaten cookie, brows curved, jaw flexing, he takes stilted shaky breaths and his hands fiddle on the table.

If the others notice Mike's change in demeanor they don’t mention it. Will takes the moment, while they are lost in another conversation to lean into Mike's space, gently nudging him with his elbow. 

“Hey,” he says softly. Mike nearly jumps off the picnic bench at the contact, doing a double take from Will to the cookie then back again. His raised brows eventually settle as he catches his breath. Will searches his face with concern “Are you okay?”

Mike shrugs, “I think just bringing it up made me really think about it. Got nervous,”

Will feels a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry, they shouldn’t be joking about it, I know the whole thing really scares you,” The others didn’t know how scared Mike really was, but Will did, why’d he let himself laugh about it? Let himself think it was so funny when he himself would be horrified?

“No! No, that parts fine,” Mike reaches out to grip Will’s arm briefly. Just a reassuring gesture that sends a shiver down Will’s spine. “I’m not scared about the drugs making me like loopy or whatever, I’m sure that will be funny. Plus, it's you. I’ve said enough stupid shit to you completely sober that you’ve never once held over my head. It’s just the before.”

“Oh, right. But, it will be over before you know it and I’ll be there — well, not in the actual room like when where getting teeth cleanings as kids, so maybe that doesn’t really help but –”

“It helps, you being there always helps, Will.”

They stare at each other for a moment. Mike's gaze is so soft, so warm. When it’s directed at Will like this he feels his heart grows desperate to escape his chest. He breathes in deep, trying to quell the flustered, fluttering butterflies in his stomach. Mike mirrors it, likely attempting to rid himself of any remnants of this latest burst of anxiety. 

They both jump when the bell rings, hearts racing for a very different reasons. The others are already packing up to head inside. Will scrambles to gather his trash. Mike takes one more look at the half eaten cookie and nudges it towards him. 

“Do you want it? I don’t think I can eat it now,” His lips form a half smile, half frown. 

Will wishes he could do more to help Mike shake these nerves. But he’s glad that Mike finds comfort in his presence, the same way Will did during the scariest moments of being under the Mind Flayers control and being connected to the hive mind.

He has other people he can go to when the nightmares get too dark, Jonathan is off at college but El is there, just down the hall. They grew so close during their time in Lenora and now that they live in the same house once more she’s often the first person he turns to. She does the same with him. It's easy with her, she just gets it.

But whenever Mike is around to offer comfort in those moments, he will always accept it and whenever he is able, he’ll offer it in return.

“Yeah, sure,” he says, snatching the cookie and taking a quick bite. Then, he nods his head back towards the school where the others are already heading inside and Mike falls in step beside him as they head to English class.

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The sun is barely cresting over the distant hills when Will breaks on his bike, skidding to a stop in front of the Wheeler house. 

Joyce almost forced him to accept a drive, since it was still dark. But the town's shadows don’t hide monsters anymore, and the light on his bike is enough to guide his way. He’s nearly eighteen. He’ll be off to college come September. Is she going to offer him drives when he’s stumbling home from bars all the way in New York?

Okay, stumbling home is a little overzealous for a guy who has only tried one sip of alcohol in his whole life. But he wants college to be different. He wants to not feel afraid all the time, and for that to happen, he needs people to stop being so scared for him too.

He leaves the bike abandoned on the dewy grass out front and walks through the open garage door to knock gently at the entrance. 

“Hey Will,” Karen opens the door. Her make up and hair is as always, immaculate, even so early in the morning. Her eyes and smile are sleepy though, she yawns into her coffee mug as she steps back, nodding her head. “Come on in, there’s coffee in the pot.”

“Thanks,” He says, stepping past her. He kicks his shoes off in the foyer, letting his back pack slump off his shoulders onto the floor next to them. Then heads straight for the kitchen. Passing Mike where he sits at the table. Head slumped into both hands, elbows perched on the table. His hair is an even curlier mess than usual, and if he didn’t mumble a hello when Will entered he would have believed he was asleep. 

“Morning Mike,” Will snickers when Mike only responds with a mumbled groan. He nods to Holly who sits beside her brother, eating a large bowl of cereal like it's her life's mission to taunt Mike with the food. “Hey Holly.”

She beams at him and sends him a cheery wave. He turns his back to them to grab the coffee, pouring it into the yellow mug he always uses at the Wheeler house, finding the cream and sugar in the exact spots they always are. While he prepares the coffee, he hears Holly slurp the milk from her bowl in Mike’s direction, snacking her lips and ending it all with a vocal ahh. Will can practically hear the look Mike is giving her right now. 

He joins them at the table, sitting across from Mike who pouts at the steaming mug he hold between his hands.

“S’not fair,” He mumbles, rubs the sleep from his eyes. “I can’t eat anything and I’m not even aloud to drink coffee.”

“Even if you could, the caffeine would just make you more anxious,” Will reminds him softly. He kicks his foot out under the table to tap against Mikes, Mike kicks back. 

Still pouting, Mike sighs and lets his arms fall to the table, crouching down to tuck his chin over his forearms. He looks up at Will, blinking his wide, dark eyes. 

Puppy dog eyes. He’d heard Nancy call them that once, much to Mike’s dismay and he’d never been able to shake the connotation. 

“If you think I’m going to give you any then you are sorely mistaken,” Will tells him with a smirk, taking a long sip of his coffee. Mike scowls halfheartedly and shrugs. 

“It never works on you anyway. Besides, you always make your coffee too sweet,” He tucks his head down against his arms, as though he plans to take the time for a few more minutes of sleep. 

Doesn’t work on me for things like coffee, Will thinks.

 Once his coffee is gone, and Mike is sent upstairs to actually get dressed – Karen refusing to let him wear his pajamas in public – Ted appears in the doorway from the living room, squinting at Will with a thin pressed grimace.

“He’s still making you come along to these things?” Ted asks, voice drones out the sentence like his personal mission is to make every conversation he is a part of a miserable, grating experience for the other person involved.

Will clears his throat, falters. “Uh, he doesn’t make me. I offered, like always,”

Ted sniffs, tuts his tongue and turns down the hall towards the foyer, shaking his head. 

“Kid’s these days,” he mumbles as he disappears from sight.

The five of them pile into the Wheelers station wagon. Will is sandwiched in the middle seat between Mike and Holly – the latter immediately has her nose stuck in a book. 

Karen glances back at them from the passenger seat, ensuring seat belts are secured like they’re still little kids. Will watches as she sends Mike an encouraging grin, reaching back to give his knee a squeeze. He yanks it away almost instantly, but then forces something that almost passes for a smile to appear on his lips. 

Upside Down by Diana Ross plays on the radio as they start down the road. Whenever Ted is driving, he always keeps the volume of the radio so low that it might as well be off completely. The faintest hint of the song catches in Will’s ear, straining involuntarily to hear it better. It’s not even a song he likes, only growing to dislike it more when it became their calling card to signal another crawl, but hearing it at full volume would be more tolerable than this. 

He shifts his backpack at the space between his feet, hands itching to pull out his Walkman to drown out the radio. Considers offering it to Mike, since he can only imagine it's doing nothing to calm his nerves. 

Mike stares out the window, head resting against the glass. He’s holding a book in his hands — a library copy of The Phantom of the Opera — but makes no effort to read it, fingers flicking at the worn paper edges. In a moment of confidence, Will reaches out, hand finding Mike’s with intentions to just give a quick, gentle squeeze then retreat back to safety. Will’s fingers barely have the chance to graze Mike’s knuckles when he jumps at the contact, face whipping around. 

Will flinches. "Sorry!" He mutters, tearing his eyes away, not daring to read what Mike’s expression might say. 

Stupid, so stupid! Why did I think – he didn’t even let his own mother – 

Will’s thoughts die when Mike links their hands together before he has the chance to fully retreat. Will’s breath hitches and he glances around the car to ensure no one else is watching before he turns back to Mike. 

Mike doesn’t say anything, just looks at Will with a sort of lost expression in his eyes. He squeezes once, Mike squeezes back. Neither make any move to untangle their hands, letting them rest between them. At some point, Mike moves his book with his spare hand to block the view if either of his parents were to glance back. So he must know how this looks. Does he really just not care?

Since Will came out, Mike’s been pretty good about it all things considered. He’s even attempted to broach the topic of who Will’s crush had been in some incredibly awkward, ‘I used to come to you with all my El problems, so you can totally come to me about boys!’ kind of way. Will always changed the subject pretty fast for obvious reasons.

But there's a difference between being supportive of your gay friend and holding his hand in front of your parents, risking it being perceived as something more. Maybe Mike just didn’t think about it like that, figuring so long as they knew it was strictly platonic then no one else's opinions mattered. 

Because on Mike’s end it is strictly platonic, Will reminds himself.

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Sitting in the waiting room has to be the worst part of almost every appointment. Hospitals always somehow smell too clean, and too dusty. The ambient noises of drills and scans from other rooms blend with the phone ringing and typing at the reception desk. It typically casts an irritable haze over everyone.

Holly is still holding her book but Will hasn’t seen her turn a page in the twenty minutes they’ve been here. Karen has picked up and put down three different old magazines that line the side tables and Ted is entirely content with the newspaper he brought from home, thriving in the boring environment. 

Mike and Will are side by side, passing a Rubik's cube from the toy bin back and forth. One of them will scramble it, then the other has to solve it, testing to see who can get it done the fastest. Will is pretty sure he’s winning but they don’t actually have a stopwatch to be accurate. They both learned the pattern to solving one back in grade four, so it's more of a way to fidget than a puzzle.

Still, when Will solves in roughly ten seconds, beating Mike’s fifteen, he leans into Mike's side triumphantly. 

“Hah! See if you can beat that!” He exclaims, flashing his wide eyes. It’s the first thing that breaks Mike’s stormy demeanor. He cracks a smile and chuckles, shoulders shaking as he nudges Will away.

“You’re so competitive,” Mike mumbles, taking the re-scrambled cube and getting to work. Will does his best to count the seconds, he gets a bit distracted from the way the tip of Mike’s tongue sticks out when he’s focused. 

“--and done!” Mike holds it out. Will shakes his head. 

“Sixteen that time,” Mike pouts, and chucks the toy on the table beside him.

“Cheater,” he mutters. Before Will can speak to defend his honor, he speaks up again. “Hey so, uh. Thanks by the way. For coming with.”

Will shrugs. “Of course, anytime.”

“Let’s hope not anytime. I doubt you wanna be sitting in a waiting room with me when were both super old and gray and I need like false teeth or something,” He says with a smirk.

For a moment, Will lets that image sit in his mind. The two of them, old and wrinkled but still together in whatever sense of the word it may be. Still best friends. In Will’s version, the older him lifts Mike's left hand, kissing the gold band he wears on his ring finger, one that matches Will’s own.

It’s so mundane, so infuriatingly normal but it encompasses exactly what Will has really always wanted.

“I would though,” He says, swallowing thickly. “I’d do anything for you.”

The smirk falls off Mike's face, mouth agape. His deep eyes widen, brows jut up, scanning across Will’s face, over his eyes, nose, lips. Hovering there. 

“Will – “

“Micheal Wheeler.” A woman with a tight bun and curt look appears in the archway, looking between them.

They spring apart. When did they get so close? Mike is blinking, shaking his head as though he forgot where they were sitting. Karen stands and ushers Mike to follow. Will gathers his bearings enough to grip Mike's shoulder firmly and give him a reassuring nod. He longs to grasp his hand, kiss his knuckles. 

Before Will can do something so crazy Mike is turning away to be led down the hall by the dental technician.

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He ropes Holly into a game of chess to pass the time, which becomes two games, then three. They both lean over a low table meant for children, forgoing to short children's stools to sit on the floor as even Holly is too old for them now.

He hadn't been made aware that Holly recently became captain of the chess team. He's exceptionally shocked to have not known this, Mike normally would have teased her mercilessly about it but then proudly boast about her when she isn't around and attend every match. Regardless, he's been getting his ass kicked.

"Check mate," She says, failing to bite back her smug expression. Will huffs, tossing his hands up in the air. "Play again?"

"I know when I've been beat," He shakes his head, gathering up the pieces to put them back in the box until her hand shoots out to stop him.

"I'll just play against myself then, it will be more challenging," she winces, "Sorry."

Will chuckles at her honesty and quickly resets the board for her. He stands, stretching and dusting off his jeans before falling into a near by seat. Reaches for his bag to finally fetch his Walkman.

"So Will! Mike tells me you're off to New York in the fall!" Karen speaks as his hand hovers over the zipper of his bag. He sighs and lets it fall back to the floor.

"Uh, yeah! I wasn't sure if I wanted to go that far, but also I thought it might be nice to get away because of, well, you know," she nods, face contorting into something painful. He pushes on. "But I've gone to visit Jonathan there a few times and I think I'll really like it."

"That's great," she smiles pleasantly, but its one of those moments where the person who started the conversation then makes no effort to continue it on. Like now that her social duty, as an adult in his vicinity, of asking him about college has been fulfilled, she realized she actually doesn't care that much.

Thankfully for everyone in the room, Ted — ever the conversationalist — pipes up.

"What will you be majoring in then? Hope it's something more solid then English like Micheal has planned," He flicks his newspaper, its been over an hour since they arrived, how is he still reading that?

"Oh well, I'm studying art, Mr. Wheeler. I'd like to become an illustrator. Comic books and stuff. But I can also get my teaching certification there and do that too."

Ted tuts his tongue, shifts slightly and looks back down at his newspaper.

"Well, the world does need more teachers!" Karen adds, she runs her hands over her thighs, smoothing non-existing wrinkles in her skirt.

Will nods curtly, eyes wide and lips pressed thin. Then he snatches up his bag and pulls out his Walkman, not waiting a second longer for anyone else to dare speak.

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"Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler?" Will catches the dental technicians voice over the sound of Just like Heaven by The Cure playing in his headphones. He pulls them down around his neck to listen, the music still echoing faint and tinny. He'd been fiddling with the Rubik's cube again, but lets it fall to the table. They're the only ones in the waiting room and her eyes fall on Will with a smirk. "You must be Will?"

"Uh, yes?" He asks, expecting her to say something about only family being allowed in but she just smirks, nodding her head.

"He was asking for you."

She leads them down the hall and through wide double doors, briefly waving hello to a coworker, then she stops outside a room.

"He's going to be a little out of it from the anesthesia, groggy. Some patients act confused or emotional, really sad or really happy. But everything went fine. I'll be back with some paperwork to get you signed out soon," she tells them, Karen thanks her but the rest of the conversation is lost on Will as she pulls open the door.

"Willlll!" Mike calls with gasp the second Will's steps an inch through the doorway. He's sitting up against the pillows on the bed in the middle of the room, legs covered with a stiff bed sheet. Wearing a blue dotted hospital gown and grin as wide as he can make it, lips pulling funny from the numbing medication. "Come here!" He reaches out, making grabby hands in Will's direction.

Will snorts, and catches Holly's already delighted face as she slips past him into the room. He steps closer, hovering by the edge of the bed. Mike pouts when he doesn't move any further.

"Will, come closer!" He whispers loudly, waving him in. His voice is muffled. Karen has pulled one of the chairs from the corner to Mike's other side of the bed, but he hasn't even given her so much as a glance. Ted sits in the corner, newspaper still in hand. "I have a secret to tell you!"

Will shakes his head, and steps forward. Mike still isn't satisfied.

"Closer!"

He obliges, pulling a chair right up to the top of the bed where Mike sits. He leans forward a little at Mikes beaconing, brow raised and waiting. Mike looks him over, eyes lidded, grin watery. Up close Will notices that his teeth are tinted pink from traces of blood and he seems to be biting down on gauze in the back of his mouth.

"Hi," Mike says, in a fit of giggles. It must be infectious, because Holly is laughing at her brother too, even Karen chuckles awkwardly.

"Hi, Mike. What was the secret you wanted to tell me?" he thinks for a moment that maybe he shouldn't bring it up. If this is a real secret then Mike might not actually want it shared.

Mike's face lights up in recognition.

"Oh yeah! Look!" He pulls on the front of his hospital gown, showing it off. Will nods along, though he isn't following. "I think they gave me super powers!"

Will blinks. He didn't really know what he was expecting, but that definitely wasn't it. Furrowing his brow he turns to Holly whose sharing his expression.

"Really? What makes you think that?" Will asks, unable to keep a smile off his face. Mike just looks so endearing like this.

"Well, you know! When El got her powers in the lab, she wore a hospital gown. And then you had to wear one too and you became a sorcerer! You where all — " He reaches out his left hand, curling his fingers and tries to make his eyes roll up. He holds the pose for a moment, before pulling his arm in triumphantly. "It was so cool! You're so cool!"

Will's face heats up, he glances at Karen whose hesitation suggests she doesn't really know exactly what Mike is talking about. She was somewhat filled in on the events, but he doesn't know how much. Holly is snickering into her hand, holding back her giggles like they will break the moment.

"Thanks, Mike. But I don't actually think hospital gowns were the cause in those two cases." Mike appears puzzled by this idea, looks down to roll it around in his head for a moment.

"Wow, yeah! You're probably right. You're so smart!" Mike's grinning again, he sways slightly in the bed. "I love you."

Those last three words are tacked on like an after thought that Will almost doesn't register it at first. Just nodding along, amused. It seems to hit him the same time as it does Karen, her breath hitching.

"Um. What?" He asks, voice shaky. He's skin is crawling, prickly with heat. Doesn't dare too glance at Karen though he can feel her eyes on him.

"I love you!!" Mike says once more, louder, like he's proud. He shakes his head at Will. "I love you so much!"

Karen coughs, then and Will is desperate to quell his racing heart beat.

He doesn't mean it. There's no way he means it.

"Oh. Yeah, right. Of course, I mean we're best friends," Will tries to shrug, pushing down the heavy weight within his chest. He's longed to hear those words from Mike, longed to say them back but he can't. He can't entertain the thought that this could be real.

It's for Karens benefit too, the reminder that people can love some one platonically has her looking a little more at ease. Mike however, looks momentarily perturbed by this, scowling down at the bed sheet. In a flash his cheery demeanor is back though and Will actually thinks for a moment that Mike forgotten the whole ordeal.

"Yeah! Best friends. You're my best friend. Best boy. Best boy-friend!" He closes his eyes and sways, humming to himself. Will feels the blush on his face return, stares down at his hands twisting in his lap. He wishes he could disappear.

"Do you love me?" Holly pipes up, her wicked grin suggests she's been enjoying the show immensely. But Will is grateful for her to fill the space and hopefully divert the topic away from himself.

Mike blinks his eyes open, looking around stunned. It seems he only just discovered there where three other people in the room. When his eyes settle on Holly his face twists into a scowl.

"No." Mike states. Voice firm and annoyed. She scoffs, in mock offense.

"Micheal, that's rude!" Karen finally speaks. Will thinks if he's lucky everyone will just ignore what Mike said before.

"I'm just being honest," He says, sticking his tongue out at her. He can't actually open his mouth very well, so it isn't very effective. She sticks hers out in return.

Will chuckles at them. He leans back in his chair, letting out a relieved sigh. Then Mike turns to face him again, silly grin returning.

"Willl," he's voice slurs as he speaks. "Will you're so cool! I'm so lucky to be your best friend. You're so smart and funny and pretty! Your eyes are so pretty, and your nose, and your smile!" he sighs dreamily. He doesn't give Will time to stutter out a response. "Your smile is the best! Your lips — I want to kiss you so badly, why wont you kiss me, Will?"

Will falters, chest rising and falling in rapid succession. He feels tears prickle in his eyes, but he forces them back, he can't cry right now. Not over this, not in front of Mike's family.

"I — what?" He chokes on the words. Karen is red faced on the other side of the bed, speechless. Ted's newspaper has slipped from his hands, pages scattering as it hits the floor. Holly collapses in the corner in a fit of laughter.

Mike lets his head fall back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.

"I just — I think about it all the time. I want to kiss you and feel your cute little bunny teeth against my lips," he lifts his hand to pull gently at his own lip, jutting it out awkwardly when he likely can't feel it. "I really want to kiss the mole above your lip, and the ones on your cheek and jaw —"

"Micheal," Karen utters, voice barely there. Will thinks he might only be in the room physically at this point, everything feels distant. Like he's floating away. Holly has the audacity to keep giggling.

"— and god Will! I bet you have so many more moles that I've never even seen!" Mike continues, maybe he didn't hear his mother but Will thinks it is more likely he just doesn't have it in him to care. He twists his head towards Will, slowly tracing his eyes over him. Will squirms in his chair at the attention. "I wanna memorize them all."

Literally, what the fuck is happening.

Ted shoots up from his chair, stuttering. Nearly unintelligible. “ I - uh - Micheal! That’s - that's not —” It’s as if he can’t quite decide which facet of his very limited personality will win out in this moment — the fact that he’s a homophobic, Reagan voting asshole or his sheer lack of willingness to actually invest one ounce of attention into the lives of the people around him, especially his own children.

In the end, Ted comes to the decision to not decide — shocking — he mumbles something about getting Mike signed out and nearly runs out the door. Karen blinks at the space Ted stood, then she gets up to join him.

"He might need my help," she begins, attempting an awkward laugh at her husbands incompetence. She glances between Will and Mike, then Holly. "Uh, Holly you come with me."

"What? And miss all of this?" She shrieks, gesturing at her brother. Karen jerks her head, expression taut.

"Yes, Holly. Come with me, now," Holly sighs and falls in beside her mother. "Will, you can… well stay here. I guess," she hesitates, reconsidering her decisions. Then she shakes her head. "Yes, you can stay here if you want just don't — well, we will be right back okay!"

Was she really going to tell him not to kiss her son while she was gone? She doesn't give him time to ask and he really couldn't bring himself to if he tried.

The second the door closes he slumps back in his chair. Panting, he closes his eyes and wills his heart rate to slow down. Takes deep, slow breaths.

"Wow, I thought they'd never leave!" Mike announces. Will's eyes pop open to catch sight of Mike throwing back the sheet, and swinging his legs over one side of the bed. He sways as he makes it on to his feet. Will lurches forward, jumping out of his seat to catch him.

"Hey!" he shouts, bracing Mikes arms. He tightens his grip when Mike, eyes sleepy and giggly, leans forward to close the distant between them. "Mike! What are you doing?"

In Will's panicked state, Mike pushes out of his grasp easily. Pulling Will in he tucks his face into the side of Will's neck and wraps his arms around his waist — just as Mike does anytime they hug, but Will still tenses at the physical touch. His body rigid, arms out and hovering, unsure if he can simply hug Mike back. Mike doesn't seem entirely bothered by this, however, he hums against Will's neck and breaths deeply there. His exhale hits Will's racing pulse point, sending shivers down his spine. Hesitantly, Will lets himself relax, settling his arms over Mike's shoulders.

"You smell so good, Will," Mike murmurs, face pressed so close Will can feel the brush of his lips as he speaks.

It's something that would have had his heart tightening with resigned desire on a normal day. But today, with all the evidence to suggest Mike might just desire the same, Will's heart can't help but flutter with that pleasant hopeful feeling it once had.

First, in the hospital with Robin, learning about signals like all tiny, confounding interactions between him and Mike where pieces of a puzzle finally coming together to form a clear picture. Then again in the field behind The Squawk, daring to test the theory and send a signal back and after he'd unlocked his powers, Mike tackling him in a similar hug.

It occurs to Will now, for a moment, that maybe he'd given up on that idea too soon.

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Mike rests his head on Will's shoulder the whole drive home. He actually falls a sleep there and Will is pretty certain his own overwhelmed expression is the only thing keeping Mike's parents from making further comment. Karen keeps sending him sympathetic looks, like she's embarrassed that her son would be acting this way, making Will so clearly uncomfortable.

Originally, the plan had been to let Mike crash in the basement. The two of them where going to waist the day watching movies, fully anticipating Mike would be dozing off for most of it. But when Will approaches the house to follow Mike inside, Karen actually blocks the doorway.

"Will, Mike isn't himself right now — clearly," she chuckles, smiling too sweetly. She expects him to do the same, laugh off the possibility that her son could possibly be gay. He can't, feeling dread pool in his stomach. "He should just rest, sleep it off. Alone."

Right. He's being kicked out of his best friends house. A house his family used to live in, when they had nowhere else to go. A house he used to escape to when things with his father got bad. Got worse, really. His throat tightens, face burning with a fury he has felt all his life. His eyes drop down at his feet to hide the prickling tears.

"Sure," he chokes out, voice barely above a whisper. "Tell him I will see him tomorrow? The others, they were going to come over too — if that's still okay?"

She hesitates, and it kind of feels like she holds the key to his fate. This isn't going to become a thing is it? She isn't going to keep them from seeing each other over something Mike might not have even meant? Something he probably wont even remember tomorrow?

Mike maybe actually did mean it though, Will isn't sure. Is anesthesia known for making you temporarily gay? Will's certainly never heard of that before.

"Yes, of course that's okay Will," she says finally. "You're always welcome in our home."

Except right now, he thinks. But he accepts her answer with a nod, adjusting the strap of his back pack more firmly he steps away from the door to fetch his bike from where he left it earlier. The second his back is turned, she lets the door click shut.

He picks up his bike, wiping the seat clean of dew from the grass. He doesn't make any move to get on, just stands there. Stuck.

The staticky sound of a voice coming through his walkie-talkie catches his attention. He slides his bag around to pull it free from the side pocket just in time for the voice to come through again.

"Will?" Mike's voice is small coming through the walkie, he keeps the button pressed for a beat longer and Will is pretty sure Mike is crying, hears the faint sound of sniffling.

Will responds the second the line goes clear. "Yeah, Mike? It's me. What's wrong? Over."

The line stays silent for a moment, and Will wonders if Mike might have fallen asleep.

"Mom said you had to go home?" Will rolls his eyes, a wave of annoyance at Karen. Of course she would tell him it was Will's decision like she hadn't physically blocked him from entering the house. He bites his lip, grimaces.

"Um, yeah. I had to leave, sorry Mike," he says, forgetting all walkie-talkie decorum. Mike clearly has too, the line sputters to life again just for Will to hear Mike crying softly. Will aches with a need to hug him, hold him.

"You didn't kiss me," Mike's voice comes through, and its so devastated but Will still lets out a soft shocked laugh.

"Tell you what, Mike. I will see you tomorrow and if you still want kiss me then, I'll do it." Mike probably won't even remember to ask tomorrow, but he feels warm at the thought.

"Okay, deal" Mike sighs into the walkie. "I love you, Will."

Will's breath catches, he hadn't really expected to hear that again. His heart pounds as he comes to a decision. Mike won't remember this tomorrow, and Will isn't sure he'll have it in him to bring it up. But today he can be brave and finally speak the words he's been longing to say for years.

"I love you too, Mike," he lets the words fall out, like a long, relieving exhale after holding your breath for too long.

Mike hums softly into the walkie, happy and satisfied to hear it back. Will turns it off with a click, shoving back into his bag which he throws over his shoulder.

He hops onto his bike as the last few minutes begin to catch up to him. He said it. He told Mike how he feels. Its like levitating and crashing to the ground all at once. Because even though in the moment he felt so free, as he bikes away from the Wheeler house the only thing on his mind is this:

I want to tell him again. I want him to say it again. I want this to be real.

Because even when he had hope before, he'd always reminded himself that Mike being his best friend was more then enough. It still is, if that's all Mike could offer him. But he really has a chance now. A chance to kiss Mike, to date him, to love him and be loved by him back.

Will has to take that chance.

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It's only just just after lunch hour by the time he leaves the Wheelers drive way. He could head to school and catch his last few classes. But he's already been excused for the day, and his mother would never know he's not at Mike's.

He bikes without a destination in mind, just letting the breeze sooth the nerves stirring below the surface as a result of his decision.

It won't be easy, and he might not get the answer he wants. Either way, this time tomorrow he will know for sure, and whatever the case may be he has to believe that his friendship with Mike can survive anything. They've certainly put it to the test and it's always pulled through before.

He comes to the base of Weathertop, ditching his bike at there he begins the steep climb.

Half way up he notices El sitting on a blanket, wildflowers braided into her hair. Max lies with her head in his sister lap. A small pile of flowers sit in front of them. El's finger card through Max's hair, braiding it with flowers to match her own. He smiles fondly at the sight, only El could convince Max to let her do this.

He half worries if he's intruding on something, considers slipping away to allow them their time alone. But Max blinks open her eyes squinting in his direction as he approaches and she waves him over. El joins in when she notices him, just as eager.

"Are you two skipping class?" He asks, voice over dramatically shocked. He tuts, shaking his head at El. "What will Mom and Hop think?"

El rolls her eyes, "You are also skipping your class."

He lets his bag fall to the ground, quickly joining it, sitting criss-cross on one corner of the blanket.

"Yes, but I got permission. They think I'm at Mike's house."

Max settles back into El's lap, relaxing as El's hands continue to work on the fine braid.

"Why aren't you at Mike's house then?" Max inquires, her eyes are closed again but he can still see the mischievous smirk forming on her lips. "Did he do something really embarrassing after surgery? Did he make a fool of himself?"

El looks to him expectantly, narrowing her stare when he hesitates. She really does understand him so well, catching even the subtlest tell that he might not be telling them the whole truth.

"He did not say something bad did he? Something to upset you?" She asks, her resolve strengthening like when she is preparing to take on an enemy. Its almost humorous to think that Mike could be on the other side of that.

"No! No, nothing like that he was very kind," he says pressing his lips thin to keep from smiling.

He picks at the grass below him, watches an ant crawl away and considers telling them what happened. It would be a relief to actually have someone he could properly freak out over it with. But this isn't the same as all the times he's come to them to vent about how Mike doesn't realize how crazy he gets when he leans in close, or when he nudges his shoulder. This isn't just something that's happening to him, this is about Mike.

If Mike really did mean those things, then that would mean Mike is gay. Something he likely hasn't told anyone about, definitely not El or Max and Will can't be the one to take that away from him. He won't let Mike's potential experience with that be forced like his own was.

El pouts when he doesn't elaborate. "Mike can be… stupid. Sometimes —"

"— Try all the time!" Max adds helpfully, throwing a pointed finger up in the air to emphasis her words, she lets it fall back onto her stomach.

"But, when he is rude he almost never means it," El continues on, tapping Max lightly on the shoulder to tell her the braid is finished. Max makes no move to leave her comfortable spot on El's lap, but runs a gentle hand over the braid to feel her hard work sharing a grin of approval with her.

"Really, I promise he wasn't rude or anything. Just a little groggy, he needed to rest so I left early." Will says firmly, desperate to let this topic of conversation die.

The two girls share an unconvinced look, but seem to agree they wont get anything more out him. El picks up a few more flowers, bending and weaving them together. Weaving and braiding isn't an art form Will has ever really attempted, but he his amazed at how well El has picked it up across many forms. He drags his thumb across the bracelet she'd made him last summer, a matching one adorning all her friends wrists.

"Whatever, I'll just ask Holly about it when we all go over tomorrow," Max says with a shrug. "I'm her favorite, she'll tell me anything."

Will has no doubt that Holly would tell Max anything she wanted to know. The two have a unique bond from their time spent in Henry's mind. Something that Max uses to piss Mike off with all the time. He makes a mental note to get to Holly first and make her promise she won't say a word.

El finishes weaving the flowers together, joining them together to form a ring.

"There!" she announces proudly, holding it up towards Will. He moves forward, leaning down so she can place the crown of blue and yellow flowers on his head. "I thought your hair would be too short for me to easily braid, but you deserve to match us too."

He thanks her, smiling warmly and adjusts the crown to sit properly on his head. Then he lets the two of them rant about their math teacher once more and pushes away the thoughts of Mike as best he can until tomorrow.

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Will arrives at the Wheeler house at 9:30 the net morning. Sneaking out of the house to not raise El's suspicions. The others aren't due to arrive until 11:00 so he has over an hour to talk to Mike and muster up the courage to ask him about the things he said.

He just needs to get past Karen first.

"Will!" she exclaims voice cheery and welcoming. Like she didn't block him from this very entrance just yesterday.

"Hi, Mrs. Wheeler. I'm here to see Mike. I'm early, the others are coming later — I hope that's okay," he holds his breath in wait of her answer. Yesterday had been weird and even though she'd said it was fine for the whole Party to come over he was a little worried she would still be against him visiting alone.

"Of course! Come in, Will!" she grins, nodding her head back and stepping out of the way. "Mike's upstairs in his room, still resting but he's much more himself now. I don't think he even remembers getting home after the surgery."

Her expression never falters but he can still read between the lines. Mike isn't acting gay anymore, and he doesn't remember it so please do not remind him. Maybe it shouldn't be surprising to Will that Karen, and likely by extension Ted, have decide to accept this whole ordeal as simply a fluke. These are the same parents who had no clue their son kept a girl with telekinesis in their basement for a week or that their kids fought real life monsters semi-regularly for a few years. They're both more than willing to ignore what is right in front of them.

But Will is not. He's going to get the truth.

"That's great, I'll just head up then!" He calls to her, already slipping past to travel up the steps. He takes them quickly, growing more eager to speak with Mike by the second.

Holly is at the top of the steps, the two nearly collide, he has to grab her shoulders to stop them from falling.

"Sorry!" they both say in unison. Will laughs, lets go of her shoulders and moves away to let her head down the steps.

"Holly, wait!" he says suddenly, an arm shooting out to grip her shoulder again before she gets to far away. She turns to him, waiting. "Look, Mike said some stuff yesterday and its stuff that you might think is wrong or not normal. But it's also stuff that Mike probably didn't actually want all of us knowing. Or anyone else for that matter. The rest of the Party is coming over later, promise me you wont tell anyone what he said."

She purses her lips, looking around in thought, like she is considering her options.

"What's in it for me?" she asks, he grimaces, shoulders slumping.

"It's not enough to protect your brothers secrets out of the goodness of your heart?" he pleads. Her face goes blank, just one eyebrow arched to say: really? He sighs, "Okay, I will paint custom mini-figures for you and your friends next campaign — but!— you have to come up with some fake story to tell Max when she inevitably tries to weasel it out of you. It can be as embarrassing as you want, just don't tell her the truth."

She grins maniacally, he can practically see the wheels turning in her head as she develops a cover story.

"Deal," she sticks her hand out to shake on it. Her grip is surprisingly firm, he winces, flexing his hand once she lets go. "I also would've done that anyway though, just so you know. I'm not a monster, despite what Mike might have told you."

Will huffs as she turns away, bouncing down the steps. He's unsure if he should be proud that she actually would keep a secret like this for Mike or annoyed that he'd been tricked. To be honest, having watched her grow from a tiny little girl who hardly said a word — not unlike himself at that age — to an almost-teenager who has stood up to evil villains and bullies alike, he thinks he's proud of both.

The butterflies play tag in his stomach when he knocks lightly on Mikes bedroom door. Mikes muffled voice sends his heart rate elevating and he needs to take a few deep breathes before opening the door.

"Hey, Mike! How are you feeling?" he asks, stepping just inside the door. He hovers there, taking in Mike whose sitting on his bed, a comic book freshly abandoned on his lap. His usually sullen cheeks are puffy from swelling, effecting the eager grin his face always makes when greeting a friend.

Cute. Will's betraying mind fills in, forcing his heart to beat a little faster. But he can't deny it when Mike is blinking at him all sleepy-eyed like this.

"Hmm, hurts a little. I can barely move my jaw and I think I must look like a chipmunk or something," he jokes, hissing as he pushes on his cheeks.

"No, you look — fine, " Will reassures with a shuddering breath. He crosses over towards the bed, moves to sit on the edge but half way down he changes his mind. Maybe this conversation would be better with a little distance? He straightens, moving to grab the chair at Mike's desk, a hand clamps around his wrist before he can get there.

"Will, is something wrong?" Mike asks, his voice careful. His eyes search Will's, concern instantly crossing his face. It's simultaneously the most relieving and most painful thing to be known so well by Mike. He can tell in an instant when something is off with Will, it's just the kind of friend he is.

"Everything's fine," Will says, swallowing around the lump in his throat.

It sounds like a lie. He can tell by the way Mike's expression shifts, brows lifting out of their furrowed state. But it isn't a lie, really. Because Will knows that regardless of how this conversation ends he and Mike will still be friends, if Mike laughs at his own bizarre drug addled ramblings then he never has to know of Will's own feelings and nothing changes. It's the one thing making him confident enough to go through with this, to take the chance that Mike does mean all those things. Then everything changes.

"Then sit," Mike nods to the spot before him on the bed, shifting his legs so theirs more room. Will sits, turning his body to face the wall. He has no clue how to start this conversation, especially while looking at Mike. "Is this about yesterday?"

Will's head spins towards Mike. Does he remember? Does he remember everything? Does he know I said it back?

"What?" Will chokes out, his breath too shallow to let the word form naturally.

"Did I like say something? Something embarrassing? My dad kept muttering about it but neither him or my mom would go into detail. I'm sorry, if I was like rude or something." the idea seems to genuinely upset Mike, he slumps a little where he sits.

"You weren't rude," Will says quickly. Why does everyone think Mike would be rude? He hardly thinks of that as being Mike's natural state. He's been unkind in the past but to Will those where always anomalies. It's why it hurt so much, at the time, because that wasn't Mike. That wasn't his best friend, the boy he loved. Besides, that was all ages ago now, back when they were both so young. Mike's apologized, and proven things have changed.

"But I did says something embarrassing?" Mike groans, scruffing his hands through his hair. "And in front of my parents — and Holly! — too. Damn it." he takes a breath, preparing himself for the inevitable. "Okay, out with it."

"What?" Will asks, a hint of laughter in his voice. He's surprised the conversation went this way so quickly, unsure rather he should be grateful for it or not.

"Come on, Will. My parents actually looked scared earlier, they wont tell me anything. I know I can't trust Holly — she could say anything — it's gotta be you. I trust you'll tell it to me straight, we're best friends."

Will presses his lips together, nodding. Right. It's up to him. Just tell it to him straight. Will tries his best to stifle the nervous giggles that bubble up. Mike visibly grows more impatient.

"Okay! Uh — here it goes," Will takes a deep breath, he can tell Mike thinks he's being purposefully absurd. Maybe he should just start at the beginning. "Uh well the first thing you said was that you had a secret to tell me. Made me get really close so only I would hear it. Then you said it like really loudly anyways."

Mike looks confused, clearly this doesn't warrant Will's earlier awkwardness.

"What was the secret?"

"You thought they gave you super powers."

Mike blinks, the laughing. "What?"

"It was really dumb, you thought you got them from the hospital gown, because El wore one in the lab, and I wore one after the upside down? I guess? I'm not sure what your logic was there really," Will chuckles, some of the tension easing. Maybe the whole conversation can be this easy, maybe they can just laugh about it and move on. Will can pretend to move on.

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Yeah, I know. You thought I was really smart for noticing that," he smirks. Mike tries to suppress his own grin, the pull clearly hurting his jaw.

"I always think you're smart," Mike shrugs. "What else did I say?"

Will hums, thinking it over. "You kept saying how cool I was when I had powers, which everyone else was like confused at best because they never actually saw me do any of that. But not to worry, because you reenacted it for them."

Mike's eyes go wide, then he quickly buries his head into his hands, muffling another groan. Will laughs at his amusing misery, but his stomach turns with the thought of what's next.

"And then — then you said some… other things," he stops, waiting for Mike to regain composure. "This part was a little different."

Mike lifts his head, expression turned serious at Will's voice. He waits silently for Will to continue.

"You um, you said you l—" he stops, mouth going dry. Maybe he can just skip this part for now, come back to it depending on how the next part goes. "You said you wanted to kiss…me. You said you wanted to kiss me."

The words seem to sit in the air between them. The room is silent save for the sounds of their breath, though Will isn't sure if Mike is actually breathing. He's gone unusually still, normally the boy can't stop twitching or fiddling in some way. Mikes face contorts at an excruciatingly slow speed, flickering with recognition before deepening into something more like devastating horror.

Will swallows, heavy weight settling over his chest, the hopeful butterflies drop dead within his stomach. Oh. He definitely didn't mean it. Will concludes from Mike's face alone. He blinks at the prickling of tears, silently cursing himself for having any semblance of hope and prepares to jump into damage control.

"Will, I'm so sorry —!"

"It's okay! I knew you didn't actually mean it, that would be crazy!" He tears his head away again, facing the wall as he talks. "So crazy! I know you're not — like me. It was just a side effect of the drugs! I've never actually heard of anesthetics making people act gay, but I bet they keep stuff like that really under lock or like a lot of awful people would be refusing surgery — which, come to think about it wouldn't be a bad thing but, you know they can't just —"

"You think I don't want to kiss you?"

"— I. What?" Will chokes, his throat suddenly dry. He lets his gaze find Mike again, who is staring back just as stunned. "You— you do?"

Mike blinks, crease between his brows deepening. "Well, yeah. Obviously."

"Obviously?" Will he has to remind himself to breathe. The butterflies have been miraculously reived. "How is it obvious?"

"Well… I mean I thought you knew. Like, I'm always bumping into you or finding reasons to be close," Mike drops his gaze to the blanket below them, running his fingers along the top-stitching. He sucks in a deep breath and mutters "I always pay for your popcorn at the movies."

Will shakes his head. That proves nothing. "You've literally always done that. All of that and the popcorn — you make it sound like a date. We aren't dating Mike."

Mike pouts, but Will is to preoccupied to really acknowledge it. Mike wants to kiss me? Mike thought I knew?

"Yeah, I know! But I kind of thought we were building up to — that," Mike finishes lamely, he wont even meet Will's eye.

"Building up to dating?" Will clarifies, thought what else could Mike really mean? Will needs things to be direct though because what he's hearing is Mike doesn't just want to kiss him, or make out, or anything else that could just be passing teenage fun between friends. He wants to date.

"Yes, Will! God — I thought I was doing it right, sending signals.

Signals?

"Have you been talking to Robin?" Will asks, and Mike finally meets his eye face screwed up with annoyance.

"No! What do you — Nancy told me to make it clear that I liked you. She told me to send you signals."

"You told Nancy?" It tracks, Robin had mentioned spending more time with Nancy recently when Will last spoke to her on the phone. The two must have shared flirting tips, or something.

"Yes! I had to tell someone!" His face has gone red, he looks flustered. "I can't believe you didn't know. I mean, we held hands yesterday! We joked about growing old together!"

Will's heart skips, his vision of the two of them old and wrinkly with matching wedding bands at a dentist office comes back to him. He'd never dared to think Mike could have imagined it the same.

"But you just meant that platonically."

Mike huffs, exasperated. "You want to grow old with me as friends?"

"Best friends!" Will corrects. Mike groans, slumping over and burying his head into his palms. "And I thought that you meant it that way."

"Geez, Will. No. I thought you'd been giving signals back, I thought we were on the same page."

"Mike. I didn't know you opened the book! I didn't know you had access to that part of the library!" He laughs, a ridiculous, full laugh bubbling up from his belly at their shared stupidity.

"What?" Mike's head tilts like a confused dog, only making Will laugh harder. "Stop laughing! I'm literally being rejected right now, and you're making fun of me!"

Mike's voice carries an attempt at being light, but Will can feel the real tinge of upset underneath it. It forces him to turn serious, he settles his laughter as best he can. Still softly chuckling as he turns, one knee on the bed to face better Mike, this time giddy with what he is about to say.

"Mike." He says, gently reaching out to cup his cheek. Mike winces slightly, but doesn't pull away, waiting with wide eyes. "There is no world in which I am rejecting you right now."

Mike gasps, his eyes flick down to Will's lips in away Will now realizes he has caught him doing before. He'd simply refused to look into what it could mean. But now it was clearly desire.

"No?" Mike asks, voice still unsure. He leans in closer, a hand resting hesitantly on Will's thigh. Will's own eyes drop to Mike's lips, swollen from the surgery. He watches as they move lazily, feels Mike's breath on his own. "Then… can I?"

Will nods, lips refusing to drop from a smile as they both lean in to close the distance.

Will has never felt another persons lips brush against his own. At first its chaste, lips pressing lips. Just two relentless smiles spread thin, nothing to play off of. Mike's breathy laugh against his mouth is instantly intoxicating, he gasps, breaking away briefly only to be pulled right back in.

This time though their lips line up correctly, the ebb and flow of movement is still a little clumsy. Both from inexperience and Mike's still partially numbed mouth. Will doesn't care, humming against the curve of Mike's bottom lip between his. He shifts, moving closer. Lets a hand slide up from Mikes cheek into the curls at the nape of his neck, Mike gasps and he uses the extra room to test a theory. Opening his own mouth he grazes he top teeth over Mike's lip, momentarily capturing it between his own, running his tongue across it. He tastes slightly metallic, medicinal but also just Mike. Will's mind is void of any other thought but — Mike, Mike, Mike.

Mike sighs, tongue darting out to mingle with with Will's. His grip tightens at Will's thigh, thumb tracing circle there, his other hand roams, grazing over Will's jaw, down his chest, tugging him in with a handful of Will's t-shirt. Taking over control he pulls Will's lip between his own, teeth and tongue grazing over it, sucking. Mike groans around his lip and it takes every ounce of willpower with in him to break away.

With one firm hand on Mikes chest he stops him from diving in again. They breathe frantically, Mike blinks back into his surrounding.

"What — why'd you stop?" He whines, Will has to let his eyes flutter shut so he can focus without seeing Mike looking so wrecked.

"We can't —no suction, you'll get dry socket," He gestures vaguely at his own mouth as explanation. Mike makes a noise of displeasure and waists no time pulling Will's face towards him, planting a firm kiss to the mole above his lip, two quick pecks to the moles on his cheek, then a lingering one along his jaw.

Just like he'd said, Will thinks with a thrill, his heart does a dance within his chest.

Mike pulls back, looking so incredibly satisfied despite saying, "I hate you."

Will laughs, bubbly and bright. "No, you love me," he shrugs, nocks their foreheads together.

"Yeah —wait. Did I say that yesterday too?" Mike stares at him through his eyelashes, Will bites his lip.

"Um, yes. But it's okay if you didn't mean it!" he leans away, nodding his head in an attempt to reassure Mike, or maybe himself. "Like if you're not there yet that's totally fine. This is probably still new for you — you're still figuring things out. So…"

Will trails off, dropping his eyes to blanket below them. Logically he knows that Mike doesn't have to love him yet to want to be with him, most relationships build up to feelings that big. It just that Will has been in those feelings all alone for so long, he doesn't now how to manage an I like you phase.

"Will, I think we can just operate under the assumption that I mean everything I said to you yesterday," Mike's voice is soft, gentle like always, but now Will realizes it carries something bigger. A hand tips Will's chin up until their eyes lock again. It's the same all encompassing stare Will has lost himself in and dreamt about a thousand times, it's a look of deep, full understanding of the person before you.

It's a look of love.

"Oh." Will whispers, something settles within him. When he let himself picture this moment in the past he'd thought it'd be intense, exhilarating. He expected a rush of adrenaline to hit, a need to move. He is so indescribably happy, but he is also hit with a perfect, content calm. Like the last piece of a puzzle has clicked into place.

He pulls Mike in again, lips sliding against each other in a way that is exhilarating. He only lets it last a few second, though, pulling back before he can get lost there.

"I love you," The words fall from Mike's mouth in an exhale, he looks lighter from simply uttering the words. Will grins at him, stokes his thumb over the spot it's come to rest at Mike's neck, fiddling with the collar of his t-shirt.

He wants to say it back, he can't wait to say it back to a Mike who will remember it this time, who he knows wants to hear it. But he also has so many questions that instead what comes out is: "How long?"

Mike blinks, probably not what he'd been expecting to hear back either.

"How long have I loved you?" Will nods. Mike purses his lips, considers it. "I guess I'm not sure. It's kind of like — like I've been standing on the shore my whole life, and I knew the tide was coming in, but it happened so slowly, so gradual that I didn't really acknowledge it until I was already waist deep."

Will shivers and Mike instantly rubs his hands up and down Will's arms like he's cold. He opens his mouth to speak.

"But like, I'm probably neck deep now. Maybe drowning. I don't really know, the analogy isn't perfect I guess," Mike shakes his head, Will chuckles. "What I mean is, I actually realized it that day you saved my life, Sorcerer."

Will's face gets hot, he takes in a shudder shocked breath. "But. That's been over a year — why didn't you," he doesn't finish his thought, because of course he gets it.

Mike answers him anyway. "I was still so scared. And then you came out. Which should have been a good sign over all, I guess, but I wasn't ready and you had that crush on some other guy so I figured we both need time. For you move on — not that I expected you'd move on to me, but I hoped — and for me to be as brave as you are. I can't say I expected that moment to be when I was high, but, whatever works."

"Truth serum," Will whispers, more to himself then Mike. Then he shakes himself, eyes widening. "Mike, I never got over that crush."

"Oh —"

"I never got over it, because that crush was you, idiot," Will pushes gently against Mike's chest. "And it was always more than just a crush, Mike. I love you too."

The air leaves Mike's chest, he sputters a moment. "Really?"

"Yeah, really."

Then they're kissing again, which is probably a bad idea because Will really doesn't want to hurt Mike and can he can only hold back for so long. Still, he lets his hand slide up into Mike's hair once more, pulling him in closer. This time the kiss is all smile, open with teeth clacking together. Mike has to pull back, but any pain is over shadowed by a delighted grin brightening his whole face.

With a breathy giggle, Mike shifts on the bed. Chucking the long forgotten comic book away he moves over and settles down nodding his head for Will to follow suit. He lowers himself next to Mike slowly. They've just been kissing but for some reason it still feels off limits to actually touch Mike when he's right there next to him. He just lets their shoulders bump gently.

"What are you doing?" Mike asks, voice amused but exasperated.

He waists no time in correcting things. Lifting an arm so Will can tuck in next to him. As soon as Will is in reach he pulls him tightly against his side. Will practically falls against him, expelling a little shocked laugh in the process. His hand comes to rest on Mike's chest, he think he can feel Mike's heart beating just as fast as his own.

When Will lifts his head towards Mike's, he is already looking down at him. His eyes seem to trace over Will, lost in thought.

"What is it?" Will asks, not really expecting an answer. If Mike is even half as overwhelmed as Will right now the answer to that would still probably be everything. It's just — everything. Will can't even wrap his head around it. He's laid in this bed next to Mike countless of times, but never like this. He can't really believe it is like this.

"How long has it been, for you?" Mike asks quietly. Will's eyes go to the ceiling, he bites his lip.

"God, if I had to really pin it down…I'd say since we were fourteen? That's when I started to really figure it out. That it was bigger then like a crush or just a really intense friendship…" he trails off, thinking back through the moments where Mike was so clearly more to him then just a friend.

"But— when we were fourteen — that's that summer. I was so awful to you. How could you have possibly—?"

Will chuckles, shaking his head. "I didn't fall in love with you because of all that. I fell in love with you before it, I think just you acting so different then made me realize what those feelings truly where."

"I wish I'd realized sooner, been less oblivious and cruel. I wish you'd felt like you could've told me."

Will 's heart clenches. "You know, I actually did consider telling you once. Right around the time leading up to final battle."

Mike blinks, shaking his head. "Why didn't you?"

"Got scared, I guess. Of it changing things for the worse. We'd kind of just gotten back into a good place you know? After California and everything. Vecna tried to convince me that if I came out everyone I loved wouldn't accept it. I was able to prove him wrong about that, but I guess I just couldn't risk him being right about what might happen if I told you."

Mike pulls him in closer somehow, Will braces for a moment, then lets himself relax against him. It feels as though they fit together like this perfectly. Like in some way this moment was inevitable. Mike's hand rests on Will's shoulder, dragging soothing circles with his thumb.

"What did he show you?" Mike asks, voice wavering, he seems almost afraid of the answer.

"It doesn't matter," Will shakes his head, pushed his face against Mikes side for a moment to regain his composure. When he looks back up at Mike he is beaming, setting any painful memories aside. "Definitely not this."

Mike face flicker with concern, some deep need to pull out all the missteps of their past and process them right now. But then his expression softens and Will watches him come to the same realization he just had. They have all the time for that later, now they can just be happy.

"I can't believe when we tell people I'll have to admit to literally needing to be drugged in order to finally confess," Mike grumbles, running a hand through his hair. Will laughs, eyes squinting up at Mike fondly.

"You know, we don't actually have to tell anyone. Not right away," Will responds, smile firm. It's important to him that Mike have the chance to do all of this on his own terms as much as possible.

"Well, I guess I already told my parents. Which is insane, and now Holly knows so that means —"

"I've already taken care of Holly. She wont tell a soul, but she might come up with something more embarrassing to tell Max when she gets here in like —" He lifts his head to read the alarm clock on Mike's bedside table. "— Half an hour? Your parents seem very willing to pretend none of it ever happened, I actually think if you gave it like a week they'll have blocked it from their memory as though they where the ones on drugs."

Mike doesn't look thoroughly enthused at the prospects of what tales Holly might spin. But he seems to relax a little at the thought that his parents might just ignore this whole thing.

"I'm sorry, if I'm not really ready to tell everyone. I think I'd be okay with our friends knowing its just — a lot," Will nods, trails his had along Mike's chest. Mike sticks out his chin, lets out a deep exhale. "I don't really care what my parents think, if they hate it then that's their own problem. But it might be easier if they don't like really know. At least for now."

Will can tell the way Mike holds himself and how much force he puts behind his words that he doesn't really mean that last part. He knows that the eventual fallout from his parents facing the fact that Mike likes boys will be painful.

He shifts up to place a gentle kiss to Mike's jaw. Looks him deeply in the eyes. "Hey, no matter what happens, or when, I'll be right here with you. Okay?"

Mike's eyes go shiny and he seems to be over come with affection. All he can do is nod and pull Will close. Their lips meet, Will can't believe this is something that just keeps happening. Something that will just continue to happen, apparently. Like someone just flipped a switch in their relationship.

Will quickly discovers that kissing laying down feels a bit different. From where he is positioned above Mike, leaning over from one side he holds most of the control. He sets the pace, slow and gentle and angles Mike's head so the slide of their lips connect perfectly.

While lost in this moment the entire rest of the world seems to slip away. They aren't in Mike's room, they aren't even on the planet. So it is entirely reasonable when they don't notice the sets of foot steps racing up to the second floor. Or how those foot steps come to a stop outside Mike's bedroom door. Or how the door flies open without so much as a nock, or probably, even a hand on the door nob.

"Oh - sorry!" El shrieks at the same time Max cheers "I knew it!"

They both spring apart. Will's line of sight landing on the two of them in the doorway just in time for it to start to fly shut again, but Max's hand shoots out to stop it before it can close. El wipes a hand across her nose and sends the two of them an apologetic look.

"You guys are here early, " Mike informs. He's sat up against the head board now, arms crossed and scowling at Max specifically. Somehow he truly does seem unbothered by being caught like that, Will on the other hand is certain he is a tomato. He sits in the center of the bed on his knees, hands out stretched and hovering awkwardly, like he shouldn't be there.

"Yeah, because Will wouldn't let on about what happened yesterday so we went to Holly, but it was clear she was lying about you 'reciting poetry you secretly wrote about that sad cat we saw last week', so I had to come up and figure it out myself," She declares, crossing her arms with a pleased smirk. Will notices how Mike and Max are almost mirroring each other, it's always been funny to him how alike they are — but he wouldn't dare let either of them know he thinks that.

El glances at Max fondly, shaking her head. "You completely believed Holly, we raced up here to make fun of Mike, not to prove anything," she giggles.

Mike lets out an noise of anguish, looking towards Will for support who only sends him a down turned smile and shrugs. They might be boyfriends now — actually, Will can't be certain, they didn't really confirm that — but Will isn't about to play nice all of a sudden.

Max drops her proud stance, and scoffs at El, but it's all gentle. Like she's incapable at holding any level of annoyance at her for even a second.

"Yes, okay! Fine, I did actually believe that he wrote poetry about that cat — to be honest I still think he wrote it, how else would she have come up with that? How'd she even know about that cat?" All eyes turn curious and fall on Mike for a moment, who is suddenly really interested in the ceiling.

"That cat was like, really sad okay? We should have tried harder to catch it," Mike mutters, pouting. Will is so gone for him, his heart squeezing at the sight of his round, sad eyes. "She must have found my poetry note book."

Will needs to find that poetry note book, already making mental notes of where it could be hidden in this very room.

Max snorts, vindicated, then rushes on to the clearly much more important topic. "But I also totally called all of this! Way before Will admitted it to me too, when we smoked weed together that time."

Mike's face whips back to Will. "You got high without me?"

Will's eyes widen. "It was just once! In hindsight, I should've let you do it with me, would have saved us a whole lot of time."

Mike's slightly offended expression softens into something amused. "Yeah, sounds like we both start to admit things when we're high."

Will ducks his head to hide his smile.

"You two are ridiculous, I can not believe it took Mike being on actual drugs for you to finally figure this out. It has been very obvious for quite sometime," El says, hands on her hips. She shakes he head at the two of them, then smiles. "But I'm glad you finally did, you two deserve it."

Will hops of the bed, rushing to his sister to pull her into a tight hug that she returns with equal force. Mike looks at the two of them, cringing slightly.

"Thanks, El. This isn't like weird for you is it?" He asks, his hands twist together in his lap and it strikes Will that this is the part that Mike is still self-conscious about. He appreciates that Mike cares so much about El to ask. Their two of the most important people in the world to him, he needs things to to be good between them.

El just looks at Mike like he has grown a second head. "Why wouldn't I be? I have not liked you in a very long time." Mike feigns physical pain at her word, she rolls her eyes. "As anything more than a friend, I mean. I have moved on."

Max takes a deep inhale and slides closer to El, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. El giggles as her hand lands on Max's shoulder.

"Yep, she's moved on and up in the world from the likes of you Wheeler — no offense, Will," she tacks on the last part before resuming her goofy, proud expression.

Wait. Mike and Will share a shocked look, both seem instantly comforted that they've been both left in the dark about this.

"You mean —"

"The two of you—"

El steps back towards the door, slipping away from Max only to grab her hand and drag her along. She grins mischievously. "The boys will be here soon, and you two better be downstairs to watch this movie unless you want them finding out too — which, I guess you might?"

Mike purses his lips, the movement still a little awkward. "I mean, yeah, definitely. But maybe not like today. If that's okay?" He looks to Will, who is nodding encouragingly.

"Yeah, everything can happen on your own time, Mike." He holds Mike's gaze, watching a subtle amount of tension release from him as he exhales. He turns around two Max and El, who are slowly trying to slip away. "You two, however, I have follow up questions for."

Max blinks, nods her head out the door. "You tell us everything that happened yesterday and maybe I'll answer a few questions."

"I just have to get dressed. I'll be down in a second," Mike says, climbing out of bed and walking towards the closet.

"'Kay. Come on Will, lets go raid the snack cupboard," El suggests, perking up at the thought of candy and chips. Will bites his lip, glancing back at Mike.

It feels like their is still so much to say, and he know they have time but.

"Oh, I get it. You're sticking around while Mike gets changed — okay," Max holds up her hands. "We'll leave you two love birds alone."

Will's face burns. "That's not — I wasn't!"

"It's fine Will!" Max's voice is bright and teasing. "Just don't be too long, you too!"

El snorts, and Max finally lets herself be pulled out of the room. The door sliding shut as if on its own as they descend the steps. When their foot steps fade, Will lets out a sigh, turning to Mike, pink faced and flicking through shirts.

Will walks over and weasels his way in front of Mike, planting his forehead to his shoulder and letting his hands slide around Mike's waist.

"I thought they'd never leave," Will groans. Mike chuckles, one arm settling around Will's back while the other pulls a shirt from the closet.

"Did you really not know about the two of them?" Mike asks, Will lifts his head to look at him.

"I guess I had some slight suspicions," He starts, thinking back to just yesterday. How the two of them seemed to be in their own little world up on the hill. "But I didn't know anything had happened, that they were officially girlfriends — which I guess we still don't know if they are."

Mike nods, takes a deep breath and presses his lips thin. "Are we — boyfriends? Officially?"

Will beams, eyes flittering away because if he looks at Mike any longer his heart might just burst. "Is that what you want?"

"Yes. More than anything in the world, Will."

Will reaches up, noticing how he has to stretch just a little to reach Mike when standing, and presses a quick kiss to his lips.

"Then yes. I really want to be your boyfriend too," He says. Mike sucks in a deep, exhilarated breath.

"Cool," he exhales.

"Cool."

Will leans into Mike again, resting his head against his shoulder. Mike must let the shirt fall, his other arm wrapping around Will's back, hand bracing against the back of his head. They lean into the hug, melting into each other like they were always meant to.

In a few minutes they will need to separate. So Mike can get dressed and they can go downstairs to spend time with their friends. Once they are in the basement, they will just act like best friend Mike and Will again. Not that they ever aren't that, it is the very foundation of their relationship. But all the typical soft nudges and knocking of knees will mean something now. They always did, Will realizes, but now he can let himself notice it.

Will Byers can't be certain what is going to happen next, and usually the lack of control over what the future holds terrifies him. But here, with Mike holding him, loving him. That uncertainty only make Will feel excited about all the possibilities.