Chapter Text
December 24, 1989
“Ugh, they’re at it again,” Lucas groaned, pretending to shield his eyes in horror as Mike pulled Will under the mistletoe hanging in the entryway and gave him a sloppy kiss.
“Oh stop it, they’re cute,” Max gushed from where she was tucked under Lucas’ arm, smiling back at them from the couch.
Will pulled away from Mike, laughing and blushing, as Joyce came into the living room to announce dinner was ready. She smiled warmly at both of them as they walked into the dining room, hand in hand, to join the others at the table.
Dustin waggled his eyebrows suggestively as they slipped into their seats across from Lucas and Max. El smiled brightly at them as she took the open chair next to Max, with Hopper and Joyce soon joining the group at opposite ends of the table. Jonathan had his camera set up on the tripod with a timer and after capturing the annual Christmas Eve family portrait at the table, plopped down next to Will with a friendly bump to the shoulder. Hopper cast Will a fond smile as he passed him the bowl of mashed potatoes, a twinkle of pride in his eye.
Joyce, Jonathan, and Hopper had been first on the list after Will and Mike made things official—Joyce cried from happiness, and even Jonathan got noticeably choked up. Will never thought he’d have a father figure who accepted him for who he really was, but Hopper had taken the news in absolute stride. (He figured Hopper was actually more relieved that Mike didn’t end up with El than anything else, but he’d take the acceptance either way.) Mike had been a little more conservative with their approach to his family; they had told Nancy right after it happened, then Karen and Holly a few months later. Nancy and Holly were ecstatic and Karen, to her credit, didn't miss a beat when she gathered Will into her arms and proclaimed that she already considered him her son. Ted, in his typical clueless state, still thought they were just college roommates, and they all decided it was easier that way.
From there, it had been easy telling the Party; most of them figured it out purely from the fact that Mike and Will absolutely sucked at being subtle. Max was the first one to catch them having a moment in the Wheeler basement—”I KNEW it!”—and from there, it was only natural to let the rest of the group in. Dustin and Lucas, to their credit, were immediately supportive, and El just smiled like she’d already seen it coming.
Telling Steve had required a little more debate between them, but in the end, they both figured that Steve was one of the few people in Hawkins who would actually understand. Mike had admitted to Will that seeing Steve kissing Billy that day had given him the last piece of courage he needed to tell Will how he felt. In a way, they owed Steve for that.
Will would never forget the way Steve had reacted to the news—After a brief moment of confusion, he had uttered a soft “Oh,” and immediately enveloped them both into a hug. He hadn’t said anything else, and they hadn’t pushed him. At the time, Will wished he could have told Steve how much it meant to know that there was someone else like him out there—especially someone he admired as much as Steve.
Steve never had a formal conversation with them about it; not while he was in Hawkins, at least. Will knew from Max that Billy's dad was abusive, and Hawkins overall wasn't exactly a tolerant place. In early ‘87, after a year of working menial jobs with his new friend Robin to save up money, Steve announced that he was moving to California. It took everyone by surprise—except Max, who seemed to know more about the decision than she let on. Steve promised he'd be back for their graduation and that they could come visit anytime.
Will and Mike took Steve up on his offer the summer after their junior year, wanting to get away from the restrictions of their small town. When Steve had pulled up to his little oceanfront cottage with them in the back of his Beamer, Billy was walking through the yard, covered in water and sand and dragging a surfboard. Will remembered getting out of the car and making immediate eye contact with Billy, who gave him a friendly wave and a smile.
It was clear that Billy was comfortable with them knowing about him and Steve—probably because they all carried a secret of equal weight and knew they'd keep it for each other. Plus, in California, things were different. Billy showed them all kinds of safe places where Mike and Will could actually kiss or dance in public. It was the most free Will had ever felt in his life; he'd wished that summer could have gone on forever.
They had gotten to see a new side of Billy, too—he cooked for them every night, taught them both how to surf (Will was hopeless, but Mike got the hang of it), and insisted on slow-dancing with Steve in the living room whenever a ballad came on the radio. Will saw so clearly the person that Billy had kept behind his mask of anger back in Hawkins, and why Steve had fallen for him.
When it came time for them to catch their flight home, Will found himself holding onto Billy for just as long as he did to Steve as they gave their hugs goodbye at the airport. “Hang in there, Byers,” Billy had murmured, patting the top of his head, “There’s a whole world waiting for you outside of Bumfuck, Indiana. I promise.”
About a week ago, a Laguna Beach post card had arrived in the mail at Will & Mike’s new off-campus apartment.
Happy 5-year anniversary, lovebirds.
It was signed with a neatly scrawled “Steve” and a barely legible B with a bunch of scribbles.
Will was holding that card in his hands now, standing on the balcony overlooking the water. Joyce had shooed them away from helping clean up after dinner, and this was the first time he was seeing his mom and Hop’s new cottage out on the beach. It was so peaceful, the waves gently crashing on the shore the only sound you could hear for miles. Mike came up to stand beside him, looping their pinkies together on the railing.
“Happy five-year anniversary,” Will greeted Mike with a smile, handing him the card. Mike grinned at the messy signature from Billy.
“It was great to see them at graduation. And Billy being there for Max. I'd love to go back out there to visit soon.” Mike gently tucked the postcard into his back pocket and then set his hands on either side of the balcony, caging his arms around Will, who slowly turned to face him.
“I can't believe it's been five years. That's crazy, right?” Mike murmured, smiling crookedly as he searched Will's eyes for confirmation.
“Yeah, it's definitely crazy. But we always said we'd go crazy together, so…” Will’s words were cut off by Mike leaning in to capture a searing kiss. Will hummed against Mike's lips and wrapped his arms around his neck, leaning up on his tiptoes to deepen the kiss. God, Mike had gotten so fucking tall.
Will laughed in Mike's mouth as he pulled away. “I’m gonna have to buy taller shoes, because if this growth spurt continues, I won't even be able to reach you anymore. You're literally 100 feet tall.”
“Nooo, I'll hunch, I promise!” Mike pleaded, and while Will knew how much Mike loved the height difference between them, it was still fun to tease him.
“Fine, but your spine is going to hate you,” Will conceded, glancing behind them at the sound of the sliding door opening and the rest of the party spilling out on the balcony.
“I told you they were making out again,” Lucas grinned, shoving Mike playfully in the arm as Max rolled her eyes and took the spot next to Will.
“Physical touch is Mike’s love language, Lucas. Funny how you judge him when it's definitely yours, too.” Max lifted her eyebrows and stared him down, as if daring him to question her.
Lucas grinned mischievously, simply replying “Good point,” before reaching back to squeeze her ass, earning an indignant squawk from Max and a half-hearted slap on the chest.
“Ugh, the sexual tension out here is suffocating,” Dustin complained as he approached the balcony with El following quietly behind him. “Back me up here, El. Wanna blast them with some sea water to cool them off?”
El smiled and shook her head good-naturedly. “I am glad everyone is happy,” is all she had to say in reply, looking out at the waves wistfully.
“How about you, El? Are you happy?” Will asked, because he really does love her like his own sister. She paused, still gazing pensively out at the ocean.
Doc Owens had set El up with new identification paperwork and garnered some kind of top-secret deal for the government to leave her alone, but there was always the possibility that someone would defect and break the agreement. The Doc’s team had the new house under surveillance 24/7, just in case. Will desperately wished that someday, El could live a life of peace.
“Yes,” El replied, smiling and grabbing Dustin's hand next to her, “My friends are here. Of course I am happy.”
Dustin continued the chain and grabbed Mike's hand, who then reached for Will's, weaving their fingers together. Will took Max's hand in his and she grabbed Lucas’, all of them smiling at each other once the chain was complete.
“Let’s make a promise that we'll get together at least once a year,” Mike proposed to the group, squeezing Will's hand in his, “To share our adventures in life and in college. To keep the Party together, always.”
After a pause, Lucas loudly spit into his palm and decreed, “Spit swear.” After a brief look of disgust, Max rolled her eyes and relented, grabbing his spit-covered hand to add her own before spitting in her other and offering it to Will. Will did the same to Mike and it continued down the chain until it reached El, who spit in her hand and grabbed Dustin's, officially closing the sacred spit swear chain. They all held hands for a moment, reflecting on this time of togetherness and their promise, before reluctantly pulling away.
“Gross. We need to wash our hands,” Max complained, looking down at her spitty hands in disgust. The words had barely left her mouth when a wave suddenly crashed up onto the balcony, soaking everyone with a fine spray of ocean water.
Sputtering, they all turned to stare incredulously at El, her hand outstretched and a tiny drip of blood glittering from her nose. She grinned innocently at the group and everyone promptly burst into laughter, with loud comments filling the night air like “You did suggest she do that, Dustin,” and “Well, at least our hands are clean!”
The group eventually started making their way inside to dry off, but Mike and Will lingered for one last moment on the balcony, looking up at the moon and stars in the clear night sky. Will closed his eyes and breathed in the cool winter air, thinking back to that snowfall in Hawkins five years ago when Mike kissed him.
“I love you, you know that?” Mike murmured, pulling Will's hand up against his lips to kiss it, as if he hadn't been saying it for the last four years already.
“I love you, too,” Will replied, smiling at him warmly because he could never hear those words enough.
Mike pressed their foreheads together and wrapped his arms around Will, and they sat there holding each other for a long time. When they finally pulled apart, Will looked up at the sky and laughed in disbelief when he saw snowflakes gently falling around them.
He looked over at Mike, whose eyes were shining. "I'll never forget that first snowfall in Hawkins,” Mike whispered, smiling as his eyes clouded over with memories, “Our first kiss.”
“Technically, it was our second,” Will corrected wryly.
“I'm sorry, what?” Mike asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“Yeah, the night before, you kissed me in your sleep. It was pretty great, actually. Bummer that you missed it.”
Mike's mouth dropped wide open. “And you didn't think to ever inform me of this? I dreamed about kissing you all the time, I couldn't help it!”
Will grinned, putting a comforting hand on Mike's shoulder. “The five-year anniversary felt like the right time to let you in on the secret,” he replied matter-of-factly, trying not to laugh at Mike's appalled expression.
Mike narrowed his eyes, clearly deep in thought from this new revelation, before grabbing Will and tickling his ribs. Will screamed for mercy, but Mike would not relent until Will promised no more secrets, if you sleep-kiss me again, I will absolutely tell you.
“We should go inside and dry off, we're going to freeze out here.” Will reached out for Mike’s hand but instead of following Will to the door, Mike grabbed Will's hand and pulled him back to the balcony.
“Not so fast. You’re forgetting something.” Mike gestured to the sky before threading their fingers together before pulling Will to him in a slow, sweet kiss.
As the snowflakes swirled around them, Mike's lips warm against his own, Will thought back to all the times growing up when he told his mom he'd never fall in love. He wishes he could go back in time, to his younger self, and show him this moment.
Everything's okay now. You're safe. You're loved.
You made it.