Chapter Text
Robin cautiously made her way back to the basement. Mike hadn’t moved from Will’s side in the time that she had been gone, remaining awake and alert for any change in his condition despite the fact he hadn’t slept in over forty-eight hours at this point. Robin felt like she was going to fall asleep on her feet, the moment she sat down she would be out like a light.
Mike’s eyes glanced over at her briefly, distrustfully, before returning to stare at Will with a downturned frown. He didn’t acknowledge her any further than that, clearly not in the mood to talk to her right now. But that was fine! Robin was great at talking, she could certainly make up for a lackluster conversation partner with the amount she was able to chatter when she set her mind to it. And she had a feeling she really needed to talk right now and make sure Mike knew she was really the last person who would want to snatch Will away from him like he seemed to think.
“Hey…” she said, laughing awkwardly and immediately kicking herself for that stellar start to the conversation. Despite everything jumbling up in her mind, she didn’t actually know what to say next. Mike was like an active landmine, and she had no concept of how to navigate a conversation with him without setting him off again.
“Is Lucas ok?” Mike asked her bluntly, eyes still darting back to Will every few seconds as if he physically couldn't bear to tear his eyes away for too long. Robin softened a bit at the display, Mike looked like he was seconds away from breaking down completely. She really should cut him some slack for being so short-tempered. His friends and family were either injured, kidnapped, or in the Upside Down and unable to be contacted. And the boy he was clearly in love with was passed out next to him. It was enough to make any normal person shut down, and the fact that Mike was still up and kicking was a miracle in and of itself.
Robin had a feeling that he was hanging on a by a thread right now, she kind of felt a little bad for making fun of his overprotective bitchiness in her head for the past half and hour. Maybe this was just the only way he felt like he could do something to help and keep a modicum of control of the situation.
“He’ll probably be ok, he refused to go to the hospital so I patched him up as much as I could,” she admitted as she carefully took a seat at the table across from Mike and Will, “Once everyone’s awake, functioning on a semi-normal level, and we have a plan on where to go from here we can ask him to see a real doctor. He might be more willing when things aren’t as unsure as they are now.”
Mike nodded with a grim look on his face, but didn’t respond otherwise. He averted his gaze back to Will in full now, acting like she wasn’t even there at all. It was a clear dismissal, he had already made it known he wanted to be alone right now. But Robin thought that was probably the last thing the kid needed with basically everyone he cared about being in danger. She was the last person he would want to hear any comfort or reassurances from, but damn it, she would try her best anyway.
“So… Sorry about earlier,” she tried to bridge the awkward gap in conversation, “I get that I can be a little much sometimes, and it’s probably the last thing you wanted to deal with given everything that’s going on right now.
“It’s fine,” Mike said in a terse, stilted voice. It looked like he wanted to leave it at that for a moment, which was probably his version of being polite, before an annoyed look flashed across his eyes, and he couldn’t hold himself back anymore, “Just because you and Will have a thing now doesn’t change the fact that you barely know him.”
Robin couldn’t help it, she really couldn’t. She tried to hold it back, but the image of her and Will dating, that Mike seemed to have, flashed through her mind and she burst out into laughter. Mike glared at her with a sour expression on his face that practically reeked of misguided jealousy. It was certainly time that Robin corrected this little misconception in his impression of her, “Me and Will are not together,” she told him with another chuckle, “Like we’re really not together, I cannot stress this to you enough little Wheeler.”
Mike’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his face scrunched up as he attempted to scramble a thought together, "Whatever. You clearly want to though, given how clingy you’ve been. And Will looks at you like you practically hung the stars in the sky.”
“You’ve got it all wrong,” Robin insisted, trying to convey to Mike just how dead serious she was being right now, “He’s like a little brother to me. I mean, it would be weird if it was anything else, I’m the same age as Will’s older brother,” she scrunched up her nose in disgust at the very thought of dating the kid. Even if it wasn’t for the fact that she was a lesbian in a loving relationship, he was practically a baby in her eyes! Hell, the kid was sixteen, and Robin would be turning twenty in a few months. Yeah, no thanks, she wasn’t a cradle robber. And Jonathan would probably kill her, that was if Joyce didn’t get to her first. And that wasn’t even taking into account Will’s pissed off not-yet-boyfriend who was currently glaring at her like she had personally pissed in his cereal. Yeah, absolutely not. Even if Robin had had the misfortune of being born straight, she would not be going for Will Byers, “I was just helping him, he needed advice on some things. That’s why we’ve been talking so much recently," she explained.
“About what?” Mike asked her skeptically.
Robin hesitated, unable to reply. She couldn't explain the real reason, because that would practically out Will to the boy that he seemed most scared of telling the truth too. Even if she thought Mike returned those feelings, it wouldn’t be fair to Will. He deserved to come out on his own terms and in his own time, “Well, It’s a little personal. I don’t think I can just share it with you and betray Will’s confidence like that.”
Mike scoffed, giving her a disbelieving look, as if to say just like I thought. Clearly Mike was taking this the wrong way again. He probably thought they were both lying to him to keep some kind of relationship between the two of them a secret. Robin sighed in frustration and exasperation, this was not going as well as she thought. Will you certainly know how to pick them, I’ve never met someone so oblivious! She thought to herself as she cycled through possible ways to fix this trainwreck of a conversation.
An idea popped into the back of her mind, and Robin bit her lip as she toyed with it. The most surefire way to really convey to Mike she wasn’t after his boy was to let him know about the existence of her girlfriend. But that was a risk. She hadn’t told anyone else about her sexuality other than Steve, Vickie, and Will. And Mike hated her right now, if by a small chance she was wrong about his feelings for Will, she was entrusting her deepest secret to someone who didn’t even like her.
It was a leap, and a scary one. Robin had grown so used to the little bubble she made of Steve, Vickie, and now Will. Her people, the ones who knew the truth and supported her. She had grown comfortable with just that. But maybe it was time to stop being so scared, just like what she had told Will. She would never be fully open about it in a town like Hawkins, where it would only be used to hurt her and Vickie. But maybe she didn’t have to settle with just three people knowing. There are other people here who cared for her, and maybe sometime soon she would feel brave enough to let a few others know. And more importantly, maybe she could help out someone else. Someone like Vickie, who felt trapped by society into fitting themselves into a role and a relationship that just wasn’t them.
It wasn’t just about Will anymore. It was about Mike. He needed to know he wasn’t alone just as much as Vickie and Will had. When they realized that, it had been the thing to finally give them the confidence they needed to live as themselves.
Mike had gone back to ignoring her, so Robin took a deep breath and prepared to make the leap. Steve’s reassuring smile in the Mall bathroom, pulling against the corner of his lips on his beat up face came to her mind. Vickie’s tears the first time Robin reached out to hold her hand flashed through her memories alongside Will’s hopeful expression as he clung to her every word about having a girlfriend. She opened her eyes again and spoke, even though her voice shook a bit at first, “Look, Wheeler, Mike,” she corrected, "Whatever you’re thinking now is wrong.”
“You don’t have to lie to me, you know? Why should I care if you and Will are dating? It’s just annoying you pretend the rest of us can’t see what’s obvious--” Mike began to rant.
“We’re not dating!” Robin exclaimed again, effectively cutting Mike off. His words trailed off enough for her to get her foothold back in the conversation. She didn’t waste it, not hesitating for a moment to prevent Mike from starting up again, “Trust me. I think my girlfriend would be pretty upset if I was going behind her back to mess around with a boy, especially one that is three years younger than me!”
The words felt heavy in the air after Robin spoke. Mike was gaping at her in an almost comical way. His lips parted slightly in surprise and his eyes wide. For once, it seemed he had been truly shocked to silence. Robin took a deep breath, expecting to feel more anxiety churning in her gut now that the words were out there. No matter how many times she came out to a person, she doubted it would get any easier, even now that she had three under her belt. It was different with every person, just because one of them accepted you, you couldn’t be sure the next would as well.
But while Robin found herself anxiously awaiting his reply, another part of her was relieved to clear the air between them and have the truth on the table. Regardless of what happened, at least Mike would abandon this stupid belief that her and Will were a thing. And, hey, she thought to herself humorlessly, at least if by some small chance Mike actually turned out to be some homophobic asshole, she could save Will the heartache of having to find that out first hand in his own confession.
Mike took a few moments to process what she had just said, his tongue flicking out briefly to wet his lips before he spoke, “Your girlfriend?” he asked weakly, looking like his entire worldview had been flipped on its head.
Robin decided to take that as a promising development. So far he seemed surprised, but not disgusted, “My girlfriend,” Robin replied in a quiet voice.
“So, that means that you’re…” Mike trailed off as if he was unsure what to say.
“Queer, gay, lesbian, fag?” take you pick, she said, a grimace as she emphasized the last part. Mike, much to Robin’s relief, seemed equally upset at the word. He shuddered a bit the moment it left her mouth, like it physically crawled along his skin, “Whatever you want to call it, I wasn’t lying when I said you have nothing to worry about when it comes to me and Will.
“Oh..” Mike whispered. Robin swallowed heavily as the silence lingered. Mike blinked a few times, as if realizing he needed to respond with something else and he looked up at her with a nervous expression, “Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, that’s cool, and all. You’re cool…” he trailed off slowly.
Robin could practically see him thinking. She wouldn’t have been surprised if smoke started to come from his ears like in cartoons. There was an almost lost look on his face, the fear was so visible in his expression it made her heart twinge. It was so familiar. It was an expression she had made looking at herself in the mirror when she was younger and wondering why she couldn’t seem to be normal like everyone else.
It was also absolutely not an expression or response that would come from someone who wasn’t questioning those same feelings in themself. That raw fear only came from a place of self-identification, “Look, maybe you should get some rest,” Robin offered in a gentle voice. She didn’t want to push Mike any further at the moment, when he was already in a fragile state. He didn’t need that. He clearly needed time to think and come to his own conclusion before he could say the words out loud. And Robin doubted she would be the first person he wanted to admit that part of himself to. She wished Nancy was here, Mike could probably use his sister’s support right now. But she wasn’t, only Robin was, and the other person he might choose to confide in was still passed out a few feet away, “You don’t even have to leave, you can stay down here and I’ll take a turn keeping an eye on Will. The moment he wakes up, I will wake you up as well, I promise.”
Mike took what felt like a whole minute to sit with her words before nodding, “Ok, but wake me up the second you see any sign of him stirring,” Mike told her as he stood up and stretched his limbs.
“On it,” Robin swore, saluting him like he was a ship captain in a way that she hoped lightened the mood a bit. She took her spot in the chair that Mike had left, groaning as she realized she was going to have to force herself to stay awake for a little longer. She was really making herself purposefully draw all the short sticks today. And it was all for these stupid kids that she couldn’t help but be fond of. This must be what Steve felt, and why he let them pester him all the time. They really did worm their way into your heart like some kind of virus.
She expected Mike to take some of the other chairs to form himself a makeshift bed. Instead, he sat heavily on the ground a few feet away from her, at the base of the couch. He leaned his head against the couch cushions and promptly closed his eyes. Robin stared at him as his breathing quickly began to settle into sleep with a smile pulling at her lips. She should have expected that Mike wouldn’t want to stray more than a foot away from Will while he was in this state, even in his sleep.
She turned her attention to Will, reaching out to carefully brush away a stray hair that had fallen over his eye, “Looks like you picked a good one after all,” she whispered to him fondly as she settled back and prepared to keep her watch.
------------
Mike wasn’t sure how long he drifted in and out of sleep, but his attempt at sleeping was fitful. His mind was reeling even while resting, not only from worry but also as he tried to process everything he had just learned from Robin.
He woke up suddenly when an agonized scream suddenly sounded through the room. Mike was on his feet before he even processed what was going on, “Will! Will! Are you ok? What’s wrong?”
Will had jerked awake and sat up in the same breath as he screamed, and Mike scrambled over to grab his shoulder to try and steady him, almost knocking Robin off her chair in the process.
Will thrashed again with a glazed look on his eyes and Mike swore under his breath. He tightened his grip on Will’s shoulder, before deciding to go all the way. He leaned forward to wrap his arms fully around Will, holding onto him tightly to stop his arms from thrashing around and hurting himself in the process, “Will, Will, it’s me,” Mike said in the gentlest voice he could, aware of how badly Will was shaking, and the pure fear in his hitched sobs, “What happened? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
The only response he got was another hitched sob, and Mike tightened his hold impossibly further. Robin had frozen at first, but now she quickly squatted down next to the couch to be on eye level with them, “Will, are you injured anywhere? Is it Vecna?”
“Please, talk to us,” Mike begged. Will’s face dropped heavily against Mike’s shoulder as he tried again to catch his breath. Mike exchanged a worried look with Robin as he held Will’s trembling form.
“I’m… Fine,” Will finally managed to choke out through rasping breaths.
“Uh, sorry to doubt you on the matter Kiddo, but you don’t look fine,” Robin swallowed heavily, “I mean, you looked like you were in agony there.”
Will took a few more deep breaths, Mike could feel them puffing against his shoulder and it caused a shiver to run through his body, “Sorry,” he whispered, “It was just an after-effect from killing those demos. It was the last thing I felt before I passed out, I guess the memory of what they felt lingered when I woke up,” he finally managed to get his breathing under control enough to speak in a full sentence.
Mike only tightened his grip more around Will at the information, wishing he had the power to get rid of everything that was hurting him, “Why the hell are you apologizing. You just felt as though all your bones snapped three times over,” Mike told him softly.
“Yeah, Will, if anything, I would have reacted way worse,” Robin laughed softly, “You’re tougher than I can imagine to just brush that off like it’s nothing.”
Will picked his head up from where it had been pressed against Mike’s shoulder in order to let out a weak chuckle as he looked at Robin. It was a clear signal that Mike didn’t need to be practically clinging onto him anymore, but Mike was reluctant to let go. He let his arms linger around Will for a few more moments before slowly pulling away.
“If it wasn’t for you, I’m not sure I would have had the guts to do it,” Will admitted to Robin with a watery smile, “What you said in the tunnels really helped.”
Robin smiled back with budding tears in her own eyes, and Mike stamped down the instinctual curdle of jealousy in his gut, remembering what Robin had told him about her girlfriend. He didn’t have any reason to think that there was something secretly going on between her and Will anymore, but it still hurt to see his best friend confide in another something he felt like he couldn’t admit to Mike.
“You did it, you really did it, I knew you could!” Mike said in order to get Will’s attention back on him, “You’re a real life sorcerer!”
“Well, not really, I mean, I just siphoned Vecna’s powers, it’s not like I have any powers of my own,” Will replied bashfully.
Mike smiled at the way Will practically lit up at the compliment anyway, “Siphoning Vecna’s powers is your power! I mean, none of us would be able to do that, it’s a power in and of itself,” Mike explained with a giddy smile on his face, “And you kicked his ass. You killed not one, not two, but three of his demos all at once!”
“It was only because--” Will started to say with a flustered look on his face.
Mike reached out to grab his shoulders, forcing Will to meet his eyes again, “That was all you,” he insisted as he stared deeply into Will’s wide, green eyes, “You saved me, saved us. You were the one to take control of the hive mind. Do you think Vecna would have allowed that to happen if he could have stopped you? No! That just shows how special your powers are!” By the time he was done ranting, Will was staring at him with an almost mesmerized look on his face, seeming to be in some kind of state of shock from his speech. His lips were parted slightly, and Mike couldn’t help but stare at the way the tops of Will’s front teeth were slightly visible behind them, and how soft his lips looked. It was really unfair that after days without sleep or rest Will still looked so damn perfect. Mike didn’t ever want to look away, he wanted Will’s eyes to stay on him and never look at anyone else again. He wanted to run his hands through his hair and gently brush out the tangles and dirt. He wanted to hold Will in his arms and never let go. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted everything.
And maybe if Robin and her girlfriend could figure things out despite this shitty town… Maybe he had more of a chance than he thought. Maybe they had a chance.
He was so focused on Will he had almost forgotten about the fact Robin was still there as well, “So, I’m gonna head upstairs and get some rest now that Will’s awake,” she interrupted, “I’ll wake up Joyce and let her know Will’s up, she’ll want to see him,” Mike finally tore his eyes away from Will with a frown. He forgot he was supposed to tell Mrs. Byers right away. He knew it was the right thing to do, but he didn’t want to. He was selfish, and he wanted more time alone with Will before the others joined them and they all inevitably got swept up into planning.
“I’ll make sure to wait for a bit before I do to give you two some time to talk,” Robin added with a sly smile on her face, shooting Mike a subtle wink as she did. A part of him wanted to flinch away from that and all the implications about Robin knowing that came with it. It was an instinctual response developed after years of doing just that. But this time, he pushed it down, instead nodding minutely to show her he understood what she was implying. This was his chance. His chance to finally put everything on the table before the final fight against Vecna. And whether Will felt the same or not, at least there wouldn’t be any secrets between them anymore. At least Mike wouldn’t have to carry around the weight of this longing, and the inevitable guilt that followed it, any longer.
“What are you talking about?” Will asked Robin, glancing between her and Mike as he caught onto the fact the two of them were sharing some kind of understanding that he was an outsider too.
Robin directed her wry smile towards Will, only offering him a small shrug and whispering, “Avalanche,” to him in explanation. Will practically choked on his own breath as Robin said it and hurried to make herself scarce from the room.
Will whirled back around to face him, his eyes frantically scanning Mike’s face as if he expected the answer to all his questions to be there. Mike took a deep breath to calm his brimming nerves, as he shifted back a little bit to get his bearings on the upcoming conversation. He had no clue what the word avalanche had to do with anything, but clearly it had meant quite a lot to Will, and Mike was starting to think it might have something to do with him. Robin had said she was giving Will advice on something. Maybe it was the part of him about to take one of the biggest risks he’d ever taken, but he thought that was a good sign. That maybe it meant Will had been going to her for advice on him, because Will was feeling the same thing that he was, “Did you and Robin talk?” Will asked nervously, “Did she say anything to you… About me?”
“No,” Mike responded, “She mostly talked about herself, and about how much of an asshole I was being towards her,” he snorted.
Will looked even more confused, “You were being an asshole to Robin? Why? She’s great,” Will replied.
“Yeah, she’s fantastic,” Mike added sarcastically, still a little jealous of Will’s hero worship for her. Sue him, it didn’t matter if there wasn’t a chance of a romantic relationship between them, it didn’t change the fact Will seemed to think she was cooler than him now, “I was being unreasonable,” he admitted, “I got… A little defensive when she was trying to check on you.”
“What?”
Mike grumbled to himself, wondering how he could explain it without sounding like a possessive asshole, “I was worried after you passed out. I took it out on her a bit,” he settled on saying. It didn’t fully explain why, but it was all he was able to admit out loud at the moment.
“Oh,” Will replied, looking into Mike’s eyes with an almost cautious expression, “You were worried?”
The fact he even had to ask was enough to remind Mike of just how much he had fucked up over the years when it came to his relationship with Will. He couldn’t let that be the case for a single moment longer, “Of course,” Mike insisted, leaning forward, “I haven’t left your side since you passed out at the MAC, I wouldn’t have been able to bear knowing you were hurting and I wasn’t there for you.”
“Mike?” Will whispered in a quiet voice that seemed breathless. He leaned back as Mike leaned forward, almost as if he was scared, just as scared as Mike was.
“Look, I know this is probably the worst time possible for this, but when the demo attacked me it made me realize how much would be left unsaid if I had actually died tonight. And going forward I just can’t let that happen again. I can’t die knowing that all I did was live in fear, I don’t want to be a coward anymore Will,” Mike knew he was rambling and carefully skirting around the point he wanted to make. He was building up to it, even with his new resolve, it was a lot to admit all at once.
“Mike,” Will said again. Mike’s rambling ceased the moment he heard Will’s voice cut through his chattering. Will had a small smile on his face, his cheeks were visibly tinged red, “Are you saying…” he bit his lip as he trailed off and Mike followed the motion hungrily with his eyes, hyperfocused on each and every action Will made right now.
Will understood where he was going with this, right? His reaction was proof of that. And it had to be a good one, right? He frantically cycled through the thought process in his mind. A part of him wished that Will would just say it, and that he would outright ask if Mike was trying to confess to him. But Will didn’t continue after he trailed off, he was looking at Mike, waiting. And Mike understood that he couldn’t rely on Will to be the one to take that step. It was up to him. After everything that he had put Will through while sorting out his own feelings, Mike needed to be the one to do the heavy lifting and confess his own feelings first.
“What I’m saying, I guess I just…” he fumbled, struggling to find the words to just say it, “You are-- that is, I--” fuck this was hard. Mike cursed himself internally for being so scatterbrained right now. He wanted to tell Will he liked him, but it was like his brain was fumbling through all the possible ways to phrase that statement and instead of just settling on one and getting the words out, he was combining them all together until it was just one mesh of words that made no sense as they streamed from his mouth.
Will’s breath hitched slightly, and his eyes darted around to look anywhere but at him, “Mike--” he blurted, a nervous look on his face as he played with the tassels on the end of the blanket, like he couldn’t hold back something he wanted to say anymore, “The painting. I wasn’t completely truthful with you about it.”
“What?” Mike froze. He was thrown off by the sudden mention of the painting. That had nothing to do with what they were talking about right now. He knew his attempt at a confession was pretty pathetic so far, but why would Will interrupt his fumbling to mention the painting now of all times.
Will took a deep breath before raising his eyes and meeting Mike’s, “I made it for you. But… El never commissioned it,” he admitted, a shaky note to his voice. He was quick to start speaking again, as if he feared what Mike would say once he had a chance to talk, “It was from me, but I thought, well, I don’t know… I just figured you would have preferred if it was from El. I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable."
Mike just stared at Will after the admittance, his mind racing as he tried to fit that knowledge into his understanding of what was going on, and why Will would bring it up at a time like this. The painting wasn’t commissioned by El? Will had been the one to think of it and make it for him, all of his own violation? And he had been too scared to give it to Mike in that context, so he had pretended like it was from El instead? But why?
Mike had unfailingly kept each and every one of Will’s drawings since they were kids. Why would Will suddenly think that Mike wouldn’t have any interest in his artwork? Even worse, why did Will think Mike would be uncomfortable?
He wracked his brain to remember what they had been talking about when Will gave him the painting. It had been about El, obviously, Mike had been doubting their relationship once again. And then Will had described El’s feelings for him, and Mike had been entranced. Not just by how the light streaming through the van window practically cloaked Will in an angelic glow, but also by the words coming out of his mouth. Despite the fact he had spent almost a year doubting his relationship with El, all it took was one impassioned speech from Will and Mike’s doubts had been pushed to the back of his mind. El needed him, she always would, just as he needed her. He made her feel like she wasn’t a mistake, that she was special. Mike wasn’t just needed, he was wanted.
And because of that, she had come up with the thoughtful idea to commission a painting for him, the perfect gift. He had felt so seen while Will was describing the meaning behind the art, and then Will had called him the heart with such a soft expression on his face and Mike’s own heart had almost beat out of his chest.
From the moment Will told him, Mike had been so surprised that it came from El. He had even been disappointed by the fact, and a part of him had been guilty for thinking like that about his own girlfriend. But, after all the struggles in their relationship it just seemed too perfect. Then their reunion with El only confused him further, as the romantic part of their relationship continued to deteriorate to the point it was unsavable. Mike had been left fumbling, how was this the same person as the one Will had described in the van? The same person who planned out the best gift Mike had ever received?
But if El had never commissioned the painting, if this whole time it had come from Will… And he had been… Scared to give it to Mike.
Oh god.
Mike was an idiot, a goddamn idiot! Will had never been talking about El in the van. It wasn’t just the painting that had come from him. All those feelings he was describing were his own, hidden behind the facade of belonging to El. Will was the one who felt like a mistake. Will was the one who viewed Mike as the only person who made him feel otherwise. Will was the one who would always want him and need him. And Will was the one to come up with a gift as perfect as the painting because he knew Mike better than anyone else.
“Mike, please say something,” Will said in a quiet voice, his eyes shining with the threat of tears as he looked at Mike with a pleading expression, “Whatever you’re thinking right now, it doesn’t have to change anything. I’m sorry if I overstepped, or misread where this conversation was going, or--”
He realized he had just been sitting in shell-shocked silence since the revelation, and he needed to remedy that immediately. Mike didn’t give Will any more chances to overthink the situation. It seemed like both of them had been overthinking for a very long time, when the answer was actually quite simple. It had been in front of them since they met on that swingset at five years old. Mike didn’t want to have any more regrets. He was tired of holding back. With the final battle on the horizon, Mike refused to let there be any more miscommunication between the two of them. Not anymore.
Before he could lose his resolve, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Will’s in one smooth motion. Will gasped quietly against his mouth. A few seconds passed without any response from him, he didn’t kiss back, but he didn’t move away either. He was frozen, and Mike started to worry that he had been the one misreading the situation.
And then, all at once, Will melted. His shoulders slumped and he pressed himself into Mike’s hold, tentatively kissing back as he dug his hands into Mike’s sweater. Mike groaned in relief, pressing into the kiss harder in his excitement, the motion causing Will to fall back against the couch with a gasp. Mike reached out a hand to catch himself on the arm of the couch so he didn’t fall onto Will, bringing his other hand up to caress the side of Will’s face as he continued to kiss him. His body practically burned at every point of contact between them, and the very thought of separating from Will right now was unthinkable to him.
It only vaguely processed to Mike that he should slow down a bit. Him and Will still needed to actually talk about this after all. And after Will had practically saved his nightmare attempt at a confession, he owed it to gather his thoughts and actually put his feelings into words. But after years of longing, and fighting to pretend like those feelings didn’t exist, Mike couldn’t bring himself to stop. He used Will’s gasp as a chance to lick into Will’s mouth, deepening the previously tame press of their lips that had started this into something more wild and uncoordinated. It was desperate and messy, but it was the best kiss Mike had ever had.
It was Will’s first kiss, but he caught on quickly as he instinctually matched Mike’s movements with his own, his tongue experimentally came to press back against Mike’s and his mouth moved in sync with his. One of the hands that Will had gripped into Mike’s sweater came up to bury itself in his hair instead. The pull caused him to gasp, only encouraging him to press himself impossibly closer to Will. He felt like he was going insane, like he was a starving man who had food placed in front of him for the first time in weeks. He wanted to devour Will until he wasn’t sure where one of them ended and the other began.
The kiss was broken as Will turned his head to the side in order to take in a gasping breath. Mike could feel his own breathing coming in ragged gasps, but he had been so focused he hadn’t even noticed how little oxygen either of them had been getting. He was running on pure adrenaline and want, and despite his lack of oxygen he chased after Will’s lips the moment they separated. Will obliged him, having had his chance to draw a few deep breaths into his lungs before Mike’s lips were on him again.
He felt a wetness against his cheek and finally pulled back to see the tears in Will’s eyes had spilled over onto his and Mike’s cheeks, “Will, are you ok? Did I go too far?” Mike asked quickly, before noticing the beaming smile on the other boy’s face and instantly relaxing.
“No!” Will said in a breathy voice that made Mike’s head spin and his heart pound, “I’m just so happy,” he giggled a little.
Mike sighed in relief and smiled in return, leaning forward to press a kiss to Will’s cheek over one of the tear tracks, eliciting another gasp of laughter from Will’s lips. Mike didn’t stop as he began to lay a trail of kisses across Will’s face. Every inch of skin that had been touched by tears was replaced with his lips as he left feathery kisses across Will’s cheeks. Will spoke again in an awestruck voice, “I didn’t think you felt the same, I mean, I had started to hope recently. But still, a part of me never thought this day would come,” he said in an almost dreamy voice.
Mike finished his trail of kisses by pressing one more to Will’s lips. This one was gentle and soft, almost chaste, as he pulled away again a moment later to properly look Will in the eyes, “I love you Will, I love you. I love you so fucking much, sometimes I can’t think straight. I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you for years. I was just too scared to admit it to myself. And because of that I hurt you and pushed you away, and I’ll never forgive myself for that. And if you can find it in yourself to forgive me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you,” the words that seemed stuck in his mouth before came flooding out now. Kissing Will Byers was the strongest boost of courage imaginable. Mike felt like he could do anything right now, Will made him feel like that.
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Will replied with a happy flush on his face, “I was scared of my feelings too.”
Mike raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, but only one of us took that out on the other,” he pointed out with a self-deprecating smile.
Will considered his words with a tilt of his head, “Ok, maybe there is something to forgive. But it was forgiven a long time ago already.”
Mike wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve Will’s love. Will who was forgiving and kind even when others hurt him. Will who loved so strongly and so earnestly… Mike was such an idiot for not noticing it earlier. How he could ever have been scared of this was lost on him as he looked at Will’s lovestruck expression and kiss-swollen lips. He was sure he looked similarly messy and flustered from the impromptu makeout session yet all he could focus on was leaning forward to steal one more kiss from Will, knowing that soon this bubble they were in would be shattered and they would have to rejoin the others to fight Vecna.
He could feel Will’s smile against his lips, and Mike couldn’t believe this was just something he was allowed to do whenever he wanted now. Will wanted to kiss him, he was happy when Mike kissed him. He was allowed to love Will in the way he’d always secretly desired. They had to kill Vecna and make it out of this shitty town alive, Mike refused to lose Will now that he truly had him. He needed Will to know how loved he was, and how much Mike loved him. He wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to making Will feel that way, and he wouldn’t let Vecna or any other bullshit from the Upside Down stop him.
Mike gently grabbed one of Will’s hands and intertwined their fingers, “We’re a team, remember. Now that you’re awake we’re gonna find and kill Vecna together, and when it’s all over, we’ll graduate and get the hell out of here,” he promised as he stroked his thumb along the back of Will’s hand.
“And we’ll be boyfriends?” Will asked softly with a giddy expression.
Mike smiled, “I kind of assumed we just became boyfriends. No need to wait till after we save the world for that.”
“Boyfriends,” Will repeated gleefully, leaning forward to press a kiss to Mike’s cheek with the brightest, happiest expression Mike had ever seen grace Will’s face. It was so beautiful, he was so beautiful, it nearly short-circuited Mike’s brain. He was sure Will could feel how his cheeks were practically burning through the kiss.
Will pulled away only far enough to press his forehead against Mike’s, “Together,” Will agreed with a slight nod of his head, “We’ll end this, together.”