Archive of Our Own ^beta

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It’s not like he expected anything to go back to normal. In fact, he had long ago expunged the word “normal” from his vocabulary, because from the second he opened his eyes to find himself in the Upside Down, he knew that normalcy wasn’t really a thing that could exist anymore. Not for him, anyway.

Will Byers knew that he would never, ever feel normal again. He was getting good at faking it, but his time in the Upside Down & being possessed by the Mind Flayer had done irreparable damage. He had tried, he really had – He had done his best to shed himself of the memories and to find joy in the little things about being alive, like stopping to smell some flowers on the way home or listening to the sound of the birds singing in the forest. But when the flowers turned into the jagged mouths of the Demodogs, and the bird song turned into the screams of his family and friends while the Mind Flayer wreaked havoc on his body, he knew there was no fixing him. He was ruined, and all that the Upside Down had taken from him would never be returned.

And the worst part was, nobody really understood. Yes, Nancy had gone into the Upside Down and seen the monster. But she was never lost - Jonathan had pulled her back. Yes, his mom & Hopper had donned those crazy space suits & faced a horrible death to rescue him. But they had each other, and they got out of it together. Yes, Steve had fought the Demogorgon AND the demodogs, but his life and great hair continued on. None of them were irreparably marked by the Upside Down – They hadn’t huddled in a tiny fort for what felt like weeks, shivering on the ground and fearing every second that the monster outside would find you and kill you once and for all. They didn’t know what it was like to have an alien presence invade your body, to feel like a prisoner in your own skin, or to cause the death of hundreds of people - most that were strangers, but one that you loved dearly.

The guilt, the shame, the loneliness, the fear – The aftermath of his trauma was something that Will had never been able to articulate. He didn’t want anyone to know how many residual effects of the Upside Down were left inside of his body – How his chest still ached at the sight of flames, even just a campfire; how he still couldn’t sleep in the dark; how he couldn’t ride his bike alone, anywhere (not that his mom would let him). He was ashamed that he couldn’t just move on, and put the awful memories behind him. Everyone had moved on – Or at least, it seemed like it. Will still felt like he was running in place while everyone else kept walking ahead of him, leaving him behind. Always abandoned, lost, or trapped – That was Will Byers’ story, and he knew it well.

His mother was constantly fretting over him, asking if he wanted to talk about it. She would touch him a lot, like petting his hair or gently placing her hand on his shoulder, as if to convince herself that he was really there. He knew she didn’t meant to suffocate him – He understood firsthand what she had gone through while he was gone. She had fought for him, even after everyone had dismissed her as crazy - She had talked to him and he had heard her. She was his only lifeline when he thought he would be lost forever, and that was something he would never stop being grateful to her for. But just like everyone, she couldn’t truly understand.

He tried to find common ground with his friends. Eleven was the one that he knew would understand the most, but it hurt to talk about it with her. He had tried once, to talk about the Upside Down with her, and it had ended with them both crying and Eleven clasping tightly to his hand and saying “I’m sorry,” over and over again. He thought it was because she was too close to it, that maybe she understood the pain too much. There was a reason Eleven didn’t talk about Papa to her friends, and the reason was the same as Will’s hesitance to ever discuss his time in the Upside Down or as the Mind Flayer’s prisoner – All talking about it would do was open the wound. And he just so desperately wanted it to heal.

The Party did their best with him. Dustin would come over to his house and spend his time clowning around, wrapping himself in toilet paper and saying he was Will’s “Mummy” or trying (and failing) to juggle, all just to make Will smile. Lucas would always bike all the way home with him, even though it was super out of the way, and make sure he got inside safely before turning around to pedal back home. Will was sure it wasn’t easy for Lucas to ride alone either, but he knew that Lucas would rather it be him than Will. Max even took Will to the arcade with her sometimes, and gave him advice on how to improve his scores and cheered for him whenever he beat the next level. They were all trying so hard to make him feel normal again, and he didn’t want to be the one to break it to them that he never would be.

Mike, however, was a different story. If Will was ever going to be able to talk about it with someone, it was going to be Mike. But he was terrified. He was terrified because Mike was so pure and so good, and Will didn’t want to stain that goodness with all the darkness that he kept hidden inside.

Will never had to fake a smile around Mike. Mike was the only person that truly made him feel like he was safe, like nothing would ever hurt him again. Whenever he awoke from a nightmare, he would think of one particular moment between him & Mike, and it would always calm him back to sleep.

“Hey, well, if we’re both going crazy, then we’ll go crazy together, right?”

“Yeah, crazy together.”

Thinking about that moment still brought Will to tears, because Mike just cared so much. He thought about Mike’s steadfast presence in his life after he returned from the Upside Down - how Mike was always the first one to be at his side when he was having an episode and how he never, ever made him feel weird or embarrassed. Mike had been the one to bring him back from the Mind Flayer, if only for a moment, with his tender soliloquy about meeting Will on the swings for the first time. “It was the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Mike Wheeler was the best person Will had ever met in his life, and that had only become more true as time went on. He should feel like he could talk to Mike about anything, because Mike had never given him reason to believe any differently.

But along with the dark remnants of the Upside Down that Will still felt clinging to his insides, there was also a feeling that had begun blossoming in his chest whenever Mike was around that had begun to worry him. It was a warm, dizzying sort of feeling that made Will feel like he was floating a couple inches off the ground. It was the kind of feeling that was decidedly not what a boy should feel for another boy, and certainly not for his best friend.

And this, most of all, was the reason that Will Byers couldn’t talk to anyone about the things he felt inside – Especially not to Mike Wheeler.

* * * *

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As long as Will could remember, sleepovers at Mike’s house had been one of his favorite things to do. They would stay up way too late in the basement (even going so far as to rig the door with a bell, so that they knew to pretend to be asleep if Mrs. Wheeler came down to check on them), reading comics, playing with Mike’s huge assortment of action figures, and just laughing. Will had never felt more at home than in Mike’s basement, and that hadn’t changed even after all he had gone through - but what had changed was the sleepover part.

Will didn’t want Mike to know that he couldn’t sleep without a light on, and he especially didn’t want him to know how bad his nightmares had gotten. It was bad enough dealing with his mom at home, who would hear him screaming and rush into his room to find him thrashing and sweating in bed. He’d wake up to her frantic cries of “Will! Will!” and it would only make him more upset because of how often he had already heard his mother crying out for him, whether he was trapped in the Upside Down or a prisoner of the Mind Flayer. He was thankful for Jonathan, who normally woke up and came in to calmly put his hands on Joyce and tell her, “Mom, go back to bed – I’ve got this.” Jonathan would just sit with him, grasping Will’s small, clammy hand in his and whispering that it was going to be okay until he finally drifted back to sleep.

Logically, Will knew that Mike would never judge him, especially not for having nightmares or being scared of the dark. But he hated the thought of looking weak in front of Mike, or having Mike feel sorry for him. There was also the matter of his newly discovered feelings for Mike, which were sure to further complicate the matter. Will tried to imagine sleeping next to Mike in their blanket fort, like they always used to, and a strange feeling of warmth would spread across his entire body. He was sure Mike would notice Will’s hesitance to get close to him and ask him what was wrong. And quite frankly, Will just wasn’t ready for those kinds of questions, because he could barely answer them himself.

For two weeks after the Snowball, Will had gently turned Mike down anytime he had asked if Will wanted to sleepover, usually employing his mother as the excuse. “Mom doesn’t want me away from the house for a whole night,” or “I promised my mom I’d spend time with her, you know how she gets.” Mike had never fought him on it, but Will could always see a flicker of disappointment cross Mike’s face before he schooled his features back into a smile.

But today, when Mike asked if Will wanted to sleepover when they were at the bike rack getting ready to ride home, Will could see on Mike’s face that something was wrong. His eyes had an uncharacteristic dullness about them, and his mouth had a sad tilt. It killed Will to see Mike looking so upset, and it killed him even more that Mike had asked him in a way that said he already thought Will would say no.

“Look, Will, I know your mom’s been pretty strict lately, but I was just wondering if you might—” Mike sighed, running his hands through his hair, looking down at the ground, “—want to spend the night tonight,” he finished softly.

Will’s heart squeezed at how Mike couldn’t even look at him. He suddenly felt ashamed, that he had allowed his own fear and insecurity to push Mike away when he should have been pulling him closer. It was easy to forget how much Mike had gone through, too – first losing Will, then losing El, then nearly losing Will again. Mike had always put the world on his shoulders. After all, it was Mike that took El in when she was lost, which ended up saving both Will and El's lives. Mike was a hero, and Will couldn’t let Mike feel alone for a second longer.

“Yeah! That would be so great, Mike, I’d love to,” Will replied, smiling as Mike raised his head from where he had been staring at his bike tire, his eyes wide.

“Really?” Mike asked, a smile tugging at his lips, but still looking unsure.

“Yeah. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to in a while, but tonight is perfect,” Will replied, his heart already beating faster at the thought of being alone with Mike.

Mike’s face immediately lit up with such joy that Will couldn’t help but think that Mike Wheeler’s smile could qualify as the 8^th Wonder of the World. “Okay! Um, let’s ride to your house so we can grab your stuff.” The grin on Mike’s face was absolutely infectious, and Will couldn’t help but smile back at him as they hopped on their bikes and headed to Will’s.

As Will rode alongside Mike, a sense of peace came over him. Everything was going to be okay. Will would figure out how to be around Mike again, even after how much had changed. Mike was his best friend in the entire world, and no nightmare or secret crush would ever change that.

* * * *

“Feels good to be home,” Will murmured as he sat down at the D&D board in Mike’s basement, the pieces still scattered from their last campaign, which must have been months ago.

Mike sat down next to him, looking thoughtful as he picked up Will’s wizard piece. “It wasn’t the same without you here,” he said, his voice heartbreakingly quiet as he turned the piece over in his hands.

“I hated being away,” Will admitted softly, thinking about how even after he was rescued from the Upside Down, the Mind Flayer once again took him from his friends and family.

“Will, can I ask you something?” Mike blurted, looking surprised at himself even as the words came out of his mouth.

Will’s heart stuttered to a stop. Uh-oh. Here we go.

“Yeah, Mike. ‘Course you can,” Will replied, wringing his hands nervously as he waited patiently for Mike’s question.

“Did I… Did I do something wrong? I just… I’ve noticed that you haven’t wanted to come over lately. And I know how much you’ve been through, and that maybe that’s why you’d rather be at home. But I just… I thought maybe it was something I did.” Mike looked down at his hands, and Will’s chest felt like it was tearing in half.

“No, no, Mike, listen to me.” Without a moment to doubt his actions, Will grabbed Mike’s hands in his own. There were tears in Mike’s eyes as he raised his gaze to meet Will's, and Will felt his own eyes sting in response. “Mike, you could never, ever do anything wrong. Especially not to me. You’re the best person I know. The truth is…” Will heaved a sigh, trying to figure out where to begin. “The truth is I’ve been having a really hard time, after everything. And I just… I didn’t know how to talk about it. I was trying to get over it, to move on. And I just feel… stuck.” Will’s voice cracked at the last word, and he looked up to see Mike’s big, brown eyes staring carefully at him, imploring him to continue.

Will laughed, a strange sort of hiccupy laugh, his eyes filling with tears. “I guess I just felt like everyone was moving on from what happened, and I didn’t know if I ever could.”

Mike rearranged their hands so that his were on top of Will’s and squeezed. “You don’t have to move on, Will. It might feel like everyone is continuing on with their lives, but I don’t think anyone goes a day without thinking about what happened. I… I think about it every day. Sometimes I wake up and I still think you’re missing, and it terrifies me.”

“R-Really? Will asked, letting go of Mike’s hand momentarily to scrub at his eyes as a tear threatened to fall down his cheek.

“Yeah. I even have nightmares sometimes, about the Mind Flayer or the demodogs or… Them pulling your body from the quarry.” Mike's eyes fluttered shut at the last memory, his eyebrows contorting in pain.

Will tried to imagine how he would have felt, had he seen the police dragging Mike’s pale body out of the water. The pain he felt at just imagining it was absolutely unbearable, and all of his friends had lived through that pain in real time. What if they hadn't figured out the body was fake? Will would have died in the Upside Down, and all of his friends would have showed up to his funeral and thought the body they put into the casket was really him. The thought of how his story could have ended stole the breath from his lungs.

“I can’t imagine what that was like for you, Mike. But you saved me. You all did. You didn’t give up on me. And that’s the only reason I’m still here.” Will smiled at Mike, who was currently staring in fascination at the floor, and tried to catch his gaze.

Mike slowly raised his head to look at Will, tears glittering in his eyes. “Please don’t leave me again, okay?” Mike asked softly.

Will choked down a sob and pulled Mike to him in a tight hug. “Never, Mike. I’ll never, ever leave you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry that I haven’t been there for you.” Will prayed that Mike couldn’t feel how his heartbeat was quickening, or the warm flush of his skin as he held his best friend.

Mike pulled away from Will, putting his hands firmly on Will’s arms. “I’m always here for you, Will. Remember what I said? If we’re both going crazy, then we’ll go crazy together.”

Will laughed, thankful that Mike remembered that moment just as vividly as he did. “Yeah, crazy together.”

* * * *

Normally, the boys would sleep in the basement, but Mrs. Wheeler had caught on to their bell trick and insisted that they sleep up in Mike’s room. “Dinner at 5:30, and lights out by 10:00,” she instructed.

She came up about twenty minutes later, telling Will his mother was on the phone wanting to say goodnight. Will fought the urge to roll his eyes, remembering how much his mom had gone through in the past few months, and went into the hallway to take the phone.

“Hi, sweetie. Are you having fun?” Joyce’s voice was always tinged with a bit of worry, but she sounded like she was trying hard to sound positive.

“Yeah, Mom. I’m having a lot of fun,” Will replied, glancing over at Mike standing in his bedroom door, who chose that moment to lob a rubber ball at Will’s head. It bounced off his forehead, causing his bangs to go askew and a small bubble of laughter to escape from his lips. He heard his mom laugh fondly on the other end of the phone.

“It sounds like it. I’ll let you go, just wanted to say goodnight.” Her voice caught a little bit at the end of the sentence. Will clutched the phone a little closer to his ear.

He loved his mom, he really did. She had literally gone through hell and back for him, and she never gave up on him even when everyone around her was telling her to, including Jonathan. He knew she had every reason to worry about him, so he always tried to be understanding and gentle with her.

“’Night, Mom. Thanks for calling. Love you,” Will replied softly into the phone.

“You call me if you need anything, okay? I love you. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow when I’m heading home. Mike already said he’d ride with me there. Goodnight, Mom.”

He quickly hung up before she could think of anything else to worry about. Will picked up the ball by his foot and lobbed it back at Mike, hitting him square in the nose. Mike collapsed dramatically onto the carpeting, pretending to be badly injured, and Will launched himself on top of him and began a play wrestling match.

After a few minutes of rough-housing, they ended up tangled together on the carpeting of Mike’s bedroom, nearly nose-to-nose. They were both breathing heavily and laughing, and without thinking, Will reached out to brush a stray piece of Mike’s hair out of his face. His breath stuttered in his throat as he realized what he had done, and he averted his gaze from Mike, trying to will the blush from his cheeks.

When Will was finally brave enough to look over, all he saw was Mike smiling at him. Will smiled back, and was about to say something when Mrs. Wheeler popped her head in the door. “Dinner’s ready, you two,” she announced. The two boys sprang up and away from each other, startled. Mrs. Wheeler took one look at their mussed hair and flushed cheeks and quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing as she turned around and headed downstairs.

Once she was gone, Mike and Will looked at each other and immediately burst into laughter. As they thundered down the stairs together, Will tried not to think about how Mike’s gaze had seemed to linger on Will’s lips for just a moment too long after the laughter had died away.

He knew it was just his imagination.

* * * *

After enjoying a hearty helping of Mrs. Wheeler’s spaghetti and meatballs (which Will had a sneaking suspicion that Mike had asked her specifically to make because he was coming over, as it happened to be his favorite), Will and Mike were all snuggled inside a blanket fort they had made in Mike’s room. Mr. Wheeler, in an uncharacteristic display of parental affection, had even helped them bring up the blankets and dining room chairs that they used to build the fort by Mike’s bed. It was also Mr. Wheeler’s idea to put a small lamp underneath the blankets so it wouldn’t be too dark, much to Will’s relief. Will had watched as Mr. Wheeler gently patted Mike on the head, and then did the same to Will, looking like he was going to say something before thinking better of it and heading out the door.

“That was really nice of your dad to help us,” Will said, trying to keep the incredulity out of his voice but failing miserably.

Mike laughed, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, weirdly nice. Both my parents have been acting kind of strange ever since…” He paused, looking down at the wool blanket covering both of them, wrapping the fringes around his fingers absentmindedly.

“Ever since…” Will prompted, gently urging Mike to continue.

“Um, well, I… I haven’t really had anybody over lately. And I think they got a little worried about me.” Mike looked down, blushing in embarrassment. Will’s chest constricted in guilt.

“I thought that El came over a lot?” Will asked, trying to tamp down the little flame of jealousy that ignited in his chest at saying her name.

Mike’s eyelashes fluttered as he squeezed his eyes shut, not able to look at Will. “She used to… Until I asked her to be my girlfriend.”

Will felt like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. Girlfriend. He knew it was only going to be a matter of time, but that still couldn’t have prepared him for this moment. He had seen the way they had looked at each other at the Snowball, and he had seen Mike kiss her. He hadn’t told anyone, but he had gone home and cried in his room after the dance. At the time, he hadn’t really fully understood why he was so upset.

Mike was still looking down at the blanket, and the pieces began to fall into place in Will’s mind. He remembered how sad Mike had looked at the bike rack today, and how Mike had said that El used to come over a lot… But it couldn’t be, could it?

“Do you want to talk about it?” Will asked softly, scooting closer to Mike so that their knees were touching. He tried to ignore the blush creeping across his cheeks at being so close.

“She said no. Actually, she said, ‘Friends tell the truth,’ and told me that I was her first friend, and that she didn’t know if she wanted to be more than friends. Hopper actually came by to talk to me about it today – He pulled me aside after school, when I was heading out to meet you. He said that she was afraid of losing me, and she was too young to really understand what it means to be a ‘girlfriend.’ I guess she told him that I’m her best friend, and she wants to be my friend forever. Hopper said she watched how awkward Nancy is around Steve now, and she told him she didn’t want that to happen to us.”

Will let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. It all made perfect sense. El—sweet, sweet El—didn’t want to lose Mike, and she wasn’t willing to risk her friendship with him for anything. El was so young, and she was robbed of having a childhood. The members of the Party were her first friends, and of course she didn’t want anything to jeopardize those friendships that must be so precious to her, especially the relationship she had with Mike.

He suddenly felt foolish for ever being jealous of El, because clearly, she cared deeply for Mike, just as he did.

“Mike, El cares so much about you. I know she does. She would never want to hurt you—” Will began, but Mike interrupted him.

“I know she does. I’m not upset that she said she didn’t want to be my girlfriend. I want El in my life, in whatever way she wants to be in it. I just feel like I ruined things by even asking her. She hasn’t been over in days. Hopper said it didn’t mean anything, that she was just busy, but I feel like I made things weird.”

Will gulped softly. Mike was describing Will’s worst fear. If Mike found out how Will felt about him, and didn’t talk to him for days, he couldn’t imagine how awful he would feel. It must have taken so much courage for Mike to ask El to be his girlfriend, courage that Will felt he would never have.

“Mike, El isn’t upset with you. I don’t know how she ever could be. She might just be giving you some space, is all. I’m sure everything will go back to normal when you see her next.”

There was that word again, ‘normal.’ Will wondered if Mike ever felt like things were normal in his life, after all that had happened.

“Thanks, Will,” Mike began, looking at him with a small smile, “I’m really glad you came over tonight. I missed you.”

Will wanted to throw his arms around Mike and tell him, I missed you too! I missed you every day, I thought of you after every nightmare, I have never stopped thinking about you. But instead, he settled for knocking his knee against Mike’s and saying, “I’m glad too. There’s no place I’d rather be.”

* * * *

It was 9:45pm, and Will and Mike had just brushed their teeth and gotten all snuggled into the makeshift bed they’d made inside of their fort. Mrs. Wheeler came in at 9:55 sharp to shut off the lights and tell them goodnight, and that they’d be subject to random checks throughout the night to make sure they were actually sleeping. Mike rolled his eyes (thankfully inside of the fort and out of his mother’s sight) as he yelled “Goodnight!” and she closed the door.

Mike leaned over to turn the fort’s lamp on and buried himself deep under the blankets, fanning out the X-Men comic he had picked out on their laps. Mike’s entire side was pressed up against Will, and Will took a moment to look over at his friend in the low lighting.

His long eyelashes cast a small shadow on his face as Mike’s lips mouthed the words of the comic, his eyebrows furrowed. Will’s heart couldn’t help but do a tiny pitter-patter as he watched Mike, so adorable in his concentration. Will loved the look Mike always got when he was deep in thought, where his mouth hung open just a bit and his eyes did that cute little squinty thing.

Naturally, Mike sensed Will staring at him, and looked over at him with a quizzical expression. “Do I have something on my face?” Mike asked jokingly, reaching his hand up to touch his cheek. Will blushed, looking down and shaking his head.

“No, it’s just nice doing something so… Normal,” Will murmured, gesturing to the comic book. “I missed things like this the most, actually. When I was…” He trailed off, his eyes glazing over from the terrible memory.

“We can do all the normal things you want, okay?” Mike reassured Will, wrapping his arm around him. “We’ll be the most normal pair of best friends ever.”

Will smiled, but a part of him hesitated. It probably isn’t very normal to like Mike as more than your best friend, a tiny voice at the back of his mind whispered.

But before he could think more on the issue, they heard a door open in the hallway. Mike quickly switched off the lamp and dove under the covers with Will as his bedroom door opened. Will squeezed his eyes shut and focused on steadying his breathing as he felt the covers of the fort part. He heard Mrs. Wheeler make a noise of satisfaction, and then Mike’s bedroom door close.

Mike’s arm was still draped across Will’s shoulders under the covers. He made no effort to move it, even after they both began to drift off. Will fell asleep with a smile on his face for the first time in months.

* * * *

Somewhere far off, Will could hear someone screaming. He blindly ran towards the noise until his vision suddenly cleared, and he realized he was in the Upside Down again. He looked frantically left and right, trying to gather his surroundings, until a dark shape came hurdling at him from the sky. He realized it was one of the limbs of the Mind Flayer as he looked up to see the monster towering above him in the stormy sky, a menacing roar filling his ears. The screaming got louder, and Will realized too late that it was his own scream before the monster’s knife-like limb came barreling towards him and pierced him through the chest.

“Will! WILL!” Will woke up mid-scream to Mike shaking him frantically. His shirt was soaked through with sweat and he sucked in a gulpful of air, his chest heaving. Tears ran down his face as he looked frantically over to Mike, the shame and embarrassment he felt at Mike seeing him this way making his blood run cold.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Will whispered as Mike pulled him into his chest, holding him steady as his body was wracked with sobs. His secret was out – Now Mike knew that even though Will had left the Upside Down, it hadn’t left him.

“Mike? Will? Is everything okay?” Nancy’s soft voice came from outside of the fort, and her head appeared between the parted covers. Her tired eyes widened as she saw Will’s state, but before she could say anything, the sound of the Wheeler parents’ bedroom door opening down the hall interrupted her. Nancy immediately bolted to her feet and went out into the hall, where Mike and Will could hear her having a hushed conversation with Mrs. Wheeler.

“Mom, Will just had a really bad nightmare. Please, go back to bed. Mike is with him, I’ll make sure they’re both okay.” After a few more murmured supplications from Nancy, the boys heard the Wheelers’ bedroom door close once again, and Nancy returned after a few moments with a tall glass of ice water. She sat down gently in the entrance of the fort and handed Will the glass. She smiled as he slowly unwound from Mike’s embrace to grasp the glass and swallow big gulps of water. The cool liquid felt refreshing as it traveled down his throat, effectively snuffing out the flame he always felt burning in his chest after a Mind Flayer nightmare.

“I get them too,” Nancy said softly as she gently took the now-empty glass from Will’s hands. Mike’s arm immediately wound itself back around Will’s shoulders.

“Y-You do?” Will asked softly, feeling marginally less embarrassed now that he knew he wasn’t alone in his nightmares.

“Yeah. A lot of them are about Barb.” Nancy squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head as if to clear it of the memory. “She’s screaming my name for help, and I’m frozen – I don’t even move. I don’t help her, and that thing gets her.” She looked at Will, tears in her eyes, and reached out to gently touch his hand. “You’re not alone, Will. I know sometimes it might feel that way, because nobody has gone through exactly what you went through - but we’re all here for you. We all carry it with us, in some way.”

Will could see Mike out of the corner of his eye smiling at his sister and wiping away a stray tear from his eye. Will had never been more grateful for Nancy in this moment, not only because she had saved him from an embarrassing conversation with Mrs. Wheeler, but because she was actually trying to relate to him. She was trying to show him that he wasn’t alone, that her experience with the Upside Down had stayed with her too, and her efforts touched him so much that he started to cry again.

“Thank you, Nancy,” was all he could muster, trying to stop his lower lip from trembling in order to smile at her. She grinned, her eyes soft as she leaned in to envelop both Mike and Will in a hug.

“It’ll take some time, but it’s going to be okay. I promise,” she murmured to Will, running a delicate hand through his hair. He nodded into her shoulder, using the group hug as an excuse to pull Mike closer to him. He felt Mike’s lips accidentally brush the top of his ear and his heart threatened to beat right out of his chest.

“Try to get some sleep, okay?” Nancy murmured as she crawled out of the blanket fort. She paused outside, however, and popped her head back in.

“I hope this isn’t weird but… I don’t usually have nightmares when Jonathan is sleeping near me,” she averted her gaze to the ground, clearly a little embarrassed, but continued on, “When I’m trying to fall asleep, I listen to his breathing and feel his warmth, and it grounds me. It helps me feel like I’m not alone.”

Mike squeezed Will’s shoulder, and they both nodded at Nancy, understanding what she was implying. She smiled at both of them, her eyes lingering on Mike’s hand on Will’s shoulder for just a moment before getting up, the bed sheets of the fort fluttering from her exit.

“Just remember, you’re not alone... You have each other.” Nancy’s soft whisper echoed through Will’s head like poetry, before Mike’s bedroom door closed with a soft ‘click.’

“Your sister is so nice,” Will sighed, relaxing against Mike’s shoulder. He had no energy to overthink his actions – he just wanted to feel safe and warm. Mike leaned his cheek against the top of Will’s head, moving his hand up and down his arm comfortingly.

“She’s okay,” Mike shrugged, but Will could hear the affection that hid behind the casual statement. “I think she might be on to something, too,” Mike began, sounding a little bit hesitant but continuing on anyway, “Maybe if you focus on the fact that you’re not alone, that I’m right here, the nightmares won’t bother you anymore.”

Will could feel his heartbeat thumping in his ears as he pulled away to look at Mike in the dim glow of the blanket fort. “I guess I-I’ve never thought about it,” he stammered, praying that Mike couldn’t see how red his face was in the darkness.

“I’ll lay close to you, okay? Listen to my breathing, like Nancy said. And you can—” Mike hesitated for a moment, and if Will didn’t know any better, he would swear that he could see a light blush creeping across Mike's cheeks, “You can... hold onto me. I mean, if you need to.”

“O-Okay,” Will choked out, lying down stiffly onto the pillows as Mike tucked himself into the blankets next to him. They lay there for a moment, Will staring intensely at the ceiling of the fort, until Mike reached out and gently slipped his hand into Will’s. Will’s head snapped over to peer at Mike in the darkness, terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing in response to the unexpected gesture.

But Mike just smiled at him, squeezed his hand, and said, “I’ve got you.”

Will nodded, squeezing back. “I’ve got you, too.”

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Chapter Text

* * * *

Will awoke the next morning to sunshine streaming brightly through a crack in the blanket ceiling of the fort. He squeezed his eyes shut against the harsh light, burrowing deeper into the warmth of the heavy covers. Just as he was beginning to nod off again, he felt the covers move around him, as if possessed. He squeaked, hurdling back into consciousness to find that it wasn’t covers around him at all – It was Mike. Will was face-to-face with Mike’s chest, and Mike’s arms were looped protectively around him, holding Will snugly against his torso. Will’s eyelids fluttered shut, and he reached up slowly to pinch the skin of his neck, figuring that this was merely a very wonderful dream.

However, when he opened his eyes again, he still saw the dark green fabric of Mike’s T-shirt, and felt the warm air of his steady breathing against his forehead.

Even though the epiphany of his feelings for Mike had come on not too long ago, Will had already daydreamed of several scenarios like this; but his fantasies couldn’t even begin to compare to how Mike’s warm body actually felt against his own in this moment. Will had never felt safer or more protected than he did in Mike’s sweet, innocent embrace. Will’s gaze traveled down to his own hands, where they were intertwined against Mike’s chest. He reached out and gingerly splayed them out along Mike’s ribcage, feeling his strong, sure heartbeat underneath his fingertips. Mike remained blessedly asleep, and Will wasn’t sure what he should do.

If he moved away, he might wake Mike up, and he certainly didn’t want that. But if he didn’t move away, and just relished in this lovely, accidental sleep positioning, what would Mike think when he woke up? Would he think Will was super weird for not pushing him away? Or had he consciously pulled Will close to him last night, and they had simply stayed this way until morning?

He didn’t have much time to make a decision, because suddenly the soft, warm breath of an early morning yawn hit his forehead, and before Will could even remind himself to breathe, Mike was blinking awake.

Will froze in Mike’s embrace, figuring the easiest thing to do was to act like he was just waking up too, because he was terrible at pretending to be asleep. He yawned loudly, expecting to feel Mike’s arms release him, but they only marginally loosened their hold around him as Mike scooted down so they were at eye level.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked softly.

His arms are still around me. Why are his arms still around me??

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m really… w-warm,” Will stuttered, laughing awkwardly. His cheeks could likely rival the color of a fire truck right now, but Mike just hummed and smiled warmly at him.

After a weighted moment of silence, Mike spoke. “You started to have another nightmare last night,” he began tentatively. Will began to squeeze his eyes shut in embarrassment, and Mike continued hurriedly, “It - It wasn’t bad or anything, you were just kind of crying quietly and I wanted to help you realize it wasn’t real, so I just, um, sort of… pulled you close to me. And it seemed to help, because you weren’t crying anymore, so I… I didn’t…” Mike trailed off, looking at Will through his eyelashes, their noses a hairsbreadth away from each other. His mouth was slightly open, as if he had more to say but the words wouldn’t come.

“Is this… Okay?” Mike finally asked, glancing briefly at his arms around Will. If Will didn’t know any better, he’d say Mike looked nervous.

Mike’s mouth was so close to his, Will couldn’t help that his gaze flickered down when Mike licked his lips, waiting for Will to answer. “Y-Yeah! Yeah, of course it is,” Will stammered, smiling broadly at Mike, who looked sort of… relieved? “Thank you… For helping me. I definitely didn’t want to deal with another round of nightmares after I already embarrassed myself in front of your family once.”

“You didn’t embarrass yourself. Believe me, my mom has woken up to me screaming plenty of times too.” Mike looked down at the pillows beneath their heads, looking lost in his thoughts for a moment. He took a deep breath in before he began speaking again, his voice soft and tentative. “Will, last night, you… You whispered my name in your sleep.”

Mike’s tone wasn’t accusatory, just thoughtful, but Will’s stomach still seized at his words. Oh, God. Would Mike think he was a freak now? Whispering his best friend’s name while he was sleeping? That was decidedly NOT normal, no matter how badly Will might wish it could be.

“Hey, are you okay? You just got all pale,” Mike asked in concern, pushing Will’s bangs gently off his forehead to feel his skin.

And it was all too much, seeing Mike’s big brown eyes full of concern and feeling his soft hand touch Will’s flushed skin—So instead of letting Mike Wheeler stroke his fingers across his forehead like he so desperately wanted him to, Will instead rocketed out of Mike’s embrace as if he had been shocked. He missed Mike’s body heat the moment it left him, the world suddenly feeling much too cold.

Will covered his face with his hands, feeling absolutely humiliated. “I’m sorry, Mike. I don’t know why I said your name … I hope you don’t think I’m weird now.”

Will decided honesty was the best policy, and that was the truth. He didn’t exactly know why he had whispered Mike’s name, and he certainly didn’t have the energy to craft any elaborate excuses.

Mike sat up too, leaning in close to Will. “Not at all,” he murmured, putting his hand delicately on Will’s back. The gesture was extremely comforting, even in the present circumstances. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to embarrass you. I was just wondering if maybe you remembered why you might have said my name.”

“Why does it matter?” Will asked softly, looking over at Mike. He was trying really, really hard not to cry, because he was just so embarrassed. If he couldn’t control the things he said while he was asleep, how was he supposed to keep his feelings for Mike a secret?

“I just… I was afraid that you were having nightmares about me. Like, me hurting you or… something.” Mike finished the sentence sounding unsure, and Will couldn’t help but wonder if he might have originally wanted to say something different.

“No, Mike, that’s not true at all,” Will began, reaching over to take Mike’s hand but thinking better of it, aborting the movement to lay his hand back down into his lap, “My nightmares are never about you hurting me. You’re never even in them. If you were, it would be a good dream.”

Mike turned to look at Will, tears glittering in his eyes as he smiled at him. “I’m glad to hear that. I hated seeing you like that, and when I heard you say my name, I got scared that I was part of them.” Mike paused. “These nightmares happen a lot, don’t they?” The question was more of a statement, like Mike already knew the answer.

Will didn’t want to lie to Mike. Keeping certain things to himself was one thing, but lying to his best friend’s face was something that Will just couldn’t stomach.

“Yeah. Almost every night,” he admitted weakly. After he said it, he was surprised to find that he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had thought that he would feel embarrassed, or like he was burdening Mike, but he felt better now that Mike knew. He really should have given Mike more credit, because when Will finally worked up enough nerve to look over at him, Mike’s eyes were full of nothing but understanding and sympathy.

“I understand why you didn’t tell me, because you probably didn’t want me to worry. But you can tell me anything, okay? You’re my best friend, Will. I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide things from me.”

Mike’s expression was just so earnest that Will couldn’t help but try to imagine telling him the one thing he was hiding from him. I like you, Mike. As more than my best friend. The flare of panic that ignited in his chest at the very thought, however, was evidence enough that he wasn’t ready.

Will gulped, focusing on schooling his features back into a neutral expression before looking back to Mike. “I know that. I just… Didn’t want to feel like a burden. My mom and Jonathan already worry enough. I didn’t want you to be worried too.”

“I’m not worried,” Mike began, scooting closer to Will and slinging his arm around his shoulders. “You’re going to be okay. You’re strong, Will, and you’re not alone. We’ll get through this together.”

Tears sprang to Will’s eyes and he had to look away for a moment, Mike’s words still ringing in his ears. What had he done to deserve a friend like Mike? It was no wonder he had fallen so hard for him. Where everyone else treated Will as if he was some fragile thing, like glass that might shatter at the slightest touch, Mike made him feel the exact opposite—like maybe all the terrible things he had gone through in the Upside Down hadn't ruined him forever, but had made him stronger.

“All I wanted after I came back from the Upside Down, and after the Mind Flayer, was for everyone to treat me like they used to.” Will hesitated, fiddling with the corner of one of the blankets before peeking over at Mike with a crooked smile on his face. “I’m grateful to all the others, and they do try… But you’re different, Mike. You’re the only one that makes me feel like I’m not a freak. That maybe, someday, I could actually feel normal again.”

When Will looked over to see Mike’s smile in that moment, he likened it to looking straight into the sun on a cloudless summer’s day (without the whole burning your retinas part, of course). “You’ve been through more than I think any of us can imagine.” Mike paused, squeezing Will’s shoulder in encouragement. “You’re not a freak. You’re a fighter. The Upside Down tried to take you away twice and you never gave up. You kept fighting. That’s how I know you’ll get through this.”

Will was too lost for words to reply right away, so he took a few seconds to analyze the features of Mike’s face, wanting desperately to remember every detail of this moment. His big brown eyes, so full of sincerity, with flecks of gold sprinkled throughout the irises like tiny stars; his mouth, soft and pink, the top of his lower lip slightly chapped; his soft black hair, the gentle waves still a bit mussed from sleep; his eyelashes, impossibly long and delicate, every blink like the gentle beating of a butterfly’s wings; and lastly, his favorite, the freckles dusting Mike’s nose and cheeks, tiny kisses from the sun that Will longed to connect like constellations.

He was so caught up in admiring Mike, his heart bursting from emotions he wouldn’t dare name, that he didn’t even register Mike leaning in towards him until the gold flecks in his eyes had suddenly grown to the size of islands. Will’s breath caught in his throat and he froze, not sure what Mike was doing.

Mike didn’t seem all that sure either, his eyes fluttering closed nervously for a moment before he opened them to stare at Will. “Will, I…” He trailed off, his cheeks an enchanting shade of pink.

Will’s heart was hammering against his ribcage, and he squeezed his eyes shut because he didn’t really know what else to do.

After a few silent seconds, he felt Mike’s lips brush the side of his cheek, and his heart stuttered to a momentary stop; and then Mike’s arms were around him, and he was pulling him into a tight hug.

“Sorry, I just… You were looking at me just now, and I thought about how easily I could have lost you, both times, and I had to remind myself that you’re still here.” Mike’s whispered confession floated into Will’s ear and must have landed somewhere, but he barely heard the words.

His cheek was burning where Mike’s lips had grazed his skin, and he couldn’t help but think to himself that this was the best fucking sleepover he’d ever been to.

* * * *

Chapter Text

* * * *

When the boys had realized the clock on Mike’s bedside table only read 7:45am, they settled in next to each other inside the fort, each holding a side of the X-Men comic they had begun last night. Will’s breath quickened a little every time Mike’s arm brushed his, his mind still reeling from the moment Mike’s lips had touched his cheek only minutes ago.

Will watched as Mike’s fingers nimbly grasped the page to turn it, his knuckle grazing the top of Will’s hand before returning to holding the opposite end of the comic. Mike made the gentle touches between them look so easy, whereas Will spent most every second around Mike worrying that he was standing too close to him or that he was looking at him too much while he was talking.

He tried to focus on the comic in front of them, nodding as Mike looked to see if he was finished with the page. Mike hadn’t meant to kiss Will’s cheek earlier, he knew that; but he couldn’t stop thinking about how it made him feel. The explosion of butterflies in his stomach was no surprise—that happened a lot around Mike. What unsettled him was how Mike’s lips on his cheek felt; like coming home - like something he had been searching for his whole life and had finally found. His chest ached at the thought of how Mike actually kissing him would feel.

A soft knock at Mike’s bedroom door startled him out of his reverie, and they both looked up as the door opened and the smell of maple syrup filled the room. They scrambled out of the fort to find Nancy with a steaming tray of food in her hands, still wearing cozy pajamas with her hair mussed from sleep.

“You two are up early,” she observed, laughing at their eager faces as she set the tray down on the floor beside Mike’s bed. There were two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and chocolate chip pancakes laid out for each of them, and the smell was heavenly. Nancy settled in comfortably on the other side of the tray and grabbed the bowl of oatmeal and fruit she must have prepared for herself, smiling as she watched them stare at the tray in amazement.

“You made this?” Will asked, giggling as Mike grabbed a piece of bacon and unceremoniously stuffed it into his mouth.

Nancy nodded, pulling her knees up to her chest and setting the bowl on top of them. “I woke up early and thought that you both could use a nice breakfast after being up so late last night.”

Will’s heart squeezed at the thoughtfulness of the gesture. He wanted to hug her, but that would probably be weird, so he settled for offering her a shy, “Thank you, Nancy,” before excitedly cutting into his pancakes.

Mike also offered a “Thanks, Nance,” with his mouth full of food, but she looked like she appreciated it all the same.

“No more nightmares last night, I hope?” she asked tentatively, looking at Will as she took a bite of oatmeal.

Will shook his head. “Almost, but Mike uh, made it go away,” he stammered, looking shyly down at his food, hoping that was an okay thing to say.

“Yeah Nance, your advice worked. Once he knew I was there, the bad dream went away.” Will could see Mike smiling proudly at Nancy out of the corner of his eye before he turned to look at Will, his eyes soft.

Will’s gaze immediately came to rest on a drop of syrup clinging to the corner of Mike’s mouth, and before he could stop himself, he was reaching up with his napkin to wipe it away. “Messy,” he said fondly, as Mike grinned toothily.

His face began to burn once Will realized Nancy had been watching the entire time, but she only smiled at him, saying nothing as she busied herself with finishing her oatmeal. Mike and Will both finished every bit of food on their plates, short of literally licking the syrup off of them.

Soon after setting his fork down on his plate, Mike announced that he had to use the bathroom and disappeared, leaving Nancy and Will to make their own conversation. Will was actually a little nervous, never having really been alone with Nancy before, so he was grateful when she was the first one to speak.

“You make him really happy, you know,” she said softly as she stacked the dishes on the tray.

Her comment surprised Will. Of course he wanted to hear that he made his best friend happy, but the fact that Nancy was the one commenting on it seemed strange. “What do you mean?” Will asked, looking at her curiously.

“I just mean, I saw what he was like when you were missing. He was miserable. And I know he’s missed you coming by the house lately.” Nancy paused, pursing her lips as if she wanted to say more but wasn’t sure she should. “You’re very important to him.” Will thought she was going to continue, but Mike came barging into the room before she could.

“What are you guys talking about?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked between Will and Nancy, knowing he had interrupted a conversation.

You make him really happy, you know.

“How smelly you are,” Will responded matter-of-factly. Mike opened his mouth in mock offense before grabbing a nearby pillow and hurling it at Will, hitting him squarely in the face.

Nancy, sensing the fight was about to escalate, quickly picked up the tray and hurried out of the room, casting Will a fond smile before shutting the door behind her.

Will picked up a pillow and pitched it at Mike, the force of it knocking him backwards. Mike laughed, his eyes bright with mischief and his hair mussed, and Will thought that he could listen to Mike’s laugh on a mix tape for the rest of his life and never, ever get sick of it.

After a failed dodging attempt by Will and another pillow to the face, they were both startled out of their game by Mike’s Supercom crackling from somewhere nearby. Mike put down his pillow, eyeing Will suspiciously for any signs of retaliation before crawling under his bed to unearth the walkie-talkie.

“Mike, come in, over,” Lucas’ voice demanded. Mike smiled at Will and sat down beside him before answering.

“Will and Mike here, over,” he responded dutifully, pressing the walkie-talkie between their ears so they could both listen.

“Will’s there? Hi, Will!” Dustin’s voice came over the walkie-talkie this time, and Will smiled as he gingerly took the Supercom from Mike’s hand.

“Yeah, I’m here. Hi, Dustin! Hi, Lucas! Over!” He looked at Mike to make sure he had caught that Will had used “over” where Dustin had not, and from the satisfied smile on Mike’s face, he had certainly taken note.

“Can you guys come over to Lucas’ house? We have some big news that the Party needs to meet to discuss,” Dustin began excitedly.

“Dustin, can you say ‘over’ so we know you’re done talking?” Will asked into the walkie in fond exasperation. (He could only imagine the smile on Mike’s face right now.)

“COME OVER TO LUCAS’ HOUSE. BIG PARTY NEWS. OVER AND OUT,” came Dustin’s sassy response before the line went quiet.

Mike set the Supercom down, looking over at Will. “So, do you want to go over there?”

If Will were to truthfully answer that question, his response would have been something like, “Actually, Mike, I would much rather stay in this fort with you all day and count the freckles on your face,” but since he hadn’t gone certifiably insane yet, his natural answer was, “Yeah, let’s go!”

Mike grabbed the walkie-talkie once more. “We’ll be there soon, over and out.”

* * * *

After they had both brushed their teeth (which consisted more of knocking elbows playfully against each other in front of the sink than practicing actual dental hygiene) Will had just changed out of his pajama shirt when he caught a glimpse of Mike across the room.

He was changing in front of his closet, and Will watched in fascination as Mike’s green T-shirt slipped over his head, exposing the creamy skin of his back. He looked down, feeling like he was invading Mike’s privacy, but then Mike spoke.

“What do you think Dustin’s ‘big news’ is?” he asked curiously, turning around to face Will as he unfolded a navy T-shirt he had grabbed from his dresser. Will looked up and blinked several times, trying to avoid looking at Mike’s bare chest but failing miserably. His eyes roamed across the smooth planes of Mike’s collarbone and the carved lines of his stomach as he shrugged the shirt over his head, Will’s heart beating frantically against his ribcage. His face burned hot with shame and he turned away from Mike, pushing his pajama shirt where it lay on Mike’s bed onto the floor and pretending to be picking it up to allow himself a moment to collect his thoughts.

“I’m not sure,” he replied, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice, “Knowing Dustin, it might just be that his mom started buying pudding in bulk again.”

Mike snickered, stepping out of his sweatpants to change into a pair of grey jeans. This time Will purposefully looked away, focusing on slipping on a clean pair of socks from his overnight bag and trying to quell all of the strange feelings twisting around inside his belly.

Things with Mike used to be so easy, and now he felt like he was overthinking every moment they spent together. He wished that he knew how to make things go back to normal.

“You ready?” Mike asked expectantly, standing at the door. Will startled, realizing he had completely zoned out when he saw his second sock still in his hand.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” he replied, trying to inject some enthusiasm into his voice as he slipped the sock on and followed Mike out the door.

* * * *

Dustin opened the door with a flourish when they knocked, swinging his arms wide in welcome. Lucas was right behind him, rolling his eyes at Dustin’s theatrics.

“Gentlemen! Come in. The meeting will begin shortly in Lucas’ quarters,” Dustin announced loudly, gesturing them inside, with Lucas mumbling a quiet, “Dude, this is my house,” as Dustin marched off to Lucas’ room and pretended not to hear him. Mike made to follow Dustin, but stopped when he noticed Will politely slipping his shoes off and followed suit, casting Will a fond smile that made his heart ache a little.

They followed their friends to Lucas’ bedroom, and after they were all inside, Dustin closed the door carefully, whipping around to face them.

“All right, I have gathered you today to—” he began, but was cut off when Lucas unexpectedly clapped his hand over Dustin’s mouth and held a finger up to his own, mouthing Shhh.

The rest of the boys watched Lucas curiously as he crept slowly over to his bed, leaning down and abruptly pulling up the tan bed skirt.

“I knew it! Erica, get OUT OF MY ROOM!” Lucas yelled underneath the bed. Will’s eyes widened as a dark head of braids emerged from the shadows and Lucas’ little sister scrambled out from under the bed, a smirk on her face.

“It’s a free country, Lucas,” she replied smoothly, “Enjoy your stupid little meeting.” And with a flick of her braids, she was gone.

Lucas slammed the door behind her, still seething, and gestured to Dustin in agitation. “Just get on with it and tell them,” he snapped, crossing his hands over his chest and looking at Dustin impatiently.

“All right, as I was saying, I have gathered you today to discuss a very important milestone that we need to celebrate.” Dustin began, placing his finger with dramatic force on the Captain America calendar on Lucas’ wall where it read “DECEMBER.”

Will and Mike looked at each other in confusion. Milestone? Will tried to think. It was halfway through December, but it was a little early to be celebrating Christmas already.

Dustin looked at them, his arms out and his mouth agape, as if they were totally missing the most obvious thing in the world. “I’ll give you a hint: Great hair and one hell of a baseball swing? Spent most of November concussed? SAVED ALL OF OUR ASSES FROM THE DEMODOGS? IS ANYONE WITH ME HERE??” Dustin shrieked as he flapped his arms up and down to encourage everyone to get with the program.

“Steve? What about him?” Will asked, still confused.

Dustin put a hand up to his face, clearly frustrated. “You guys are seriously terrible friends. It’s his BIRTHDAY. Steve’s birthday is December 17^th, and we need to plan something for the poor guy, because he has literally no friends besides us, and his parents suck.”

Will couldn’t help but smile at Dustin’s declaration. He really admired Dustin’s relationship with Steve, and Dustin was right: Since his breakup with Nancy, Steve had become pretty isolated, besides the times Dustin could talk him into hanging out with the Party in the basement or coming to the arcade to inevitably kick their asses at Pac-Man (excluding Max, of course).

It made Will happy to see that Dustin could confide in Steve, sort of like a big brother or even a father figure. (The details behind where Dustin’s real dad was had always been a little blurry—it wasn’t something he had ever brought up to the Party, so no one had asked.) Will felt a little pang of jealousy, if he was being honest, because even though he adored his brother and their relationship, he didn’t feel like he could be as open with Jonathan as Dustin was with Steve. Will knew that Dustin shared a lot of deep stuff with Steve; he could just tell by the way Steve acted around him, like he was determined to protect him from as much of the bad out there in the world as he could.

Jonathan was the best big brother Will could ask for, but there were certain things Will just didn’t feel comfortable telling him—his newly-discovered feelings for Mike being a prime example. He remembered when he started noticing that where Jonathan would make comments to him about Princess Leia, Will was gazing at Han Solo, and it was in that moment that he realized he couldn’t really talk to his brother about what he felt inside. It wasn’t by any fault of his own; he knew Jonathan loved him, but he also knew how many times he had heard him screaming at Lonnie, “Stop calling him that! SHUT UP! He isn’t a fag, don’t you fucking say that word in this house again!”

How would Jonathan feel if he knew Lonnie was right about him? Will had always known, deep down, but he had never been brave enough to face the truth until his feelings for Mike had made it impossible to ignore. He longed for someone that he could confide in, but it was a small town and there was really no safe place for him to talk about something like that.

Will tried to imagine Dustin talking to Steve about something that personal, and he couldn’t help but wonder how Steve would react. A part of him really thought that Steve would understand, and would want to help. But Will wasn’t Dustin, and maybe Dustin would be brave enough to share something like that with his trusted mentor in all things, but Will just wasn’t ready.

“I think a party for Steve is a great idea. He deserves it, I mean, he kind of saved our lives a couple times.” Will was startled back into reality by Mike’s voice. Dustin grinned broadly, clapping Mike on the back.

“That’s the spirit, Mike! Well, Lucas and Mike are in—Will, what about you?” Dustin asked, his eyes glimmering in excitement.

Will paused for a moment, pretending to think about it, before happily declaring, “I’m so in, Steve’s the best!” Will squeaked as Dustin abruptly picked him up, swinging him around and cheering, narrowly missing knocking over Lucas’ bedside lamp with Will’s feet.

Dustin set him down after Lucas’ undignified shriek of “DUDE, WATCH IT!” at the almost-tragic lamp accident, straightening Will’s hair and clothes haphazardly.

“I knew you guys would come through for me! All right, who’s got ideas?” Dustin asked, settling onto Lucas’ bed and looking at them all expectantly.

“Um… What about a surprise party?” Will asked, astonishing even himself with his swiftness to answer.

Dustin hopped right back off of the bed, clapping his hands together in glee. “Yes! Will, you’re a genius. His parents are like, never home, and he has basketball practice after school. We could go early after school on Monday, set up balloons and stuff, and then hide and surprise him when he walks in! Oh man, this is going to be so great!”

Dustin turned to Lucas and began excitedly discussing the possibility of Lucas’ mom baking a cake for Steve, because she was just such an amazing baker, while Mike turned to look at Will.

“That’s a great idea. I think it’ll be really special for Steve,” Mike said softly, bumping his shoulder gently against Will’s. Mike’s touch sent electricity straight through Will’s spine; Will tried to tone down his smile at Mike’s compliment, but he was sure his grin was blinding.

* * * *

After spending a couple hours planning the finer details (Dustin wrote everything down neatly in a notebook he labeled CONFIDENTIAL PARTY PLANNING), Dustin’s mom called Lucas’ house and asked that he come home, so Will and Mike took that as a sign to make their exit.

They walked home slowly, in comfortable silence. Will noticed that Mike seemed to be deep in thought, but he wasn’t sure how to ask him what was on his mind.

They had just reached Mike’s front yard when Mike stopped, looking at their bikes where they were laying in a pile by the sidewalk with a strange sort of intensity.

“I know your mom will probably want you to come home soon,” Mike began hesitantly, still staring at the bikes.

Will tried to imagine falling asleep alone in his bed, while Mike was miles away, and his heart caught in his throat. He had no doubt the nightmares would return, likely with a vengeance now that he had managed to get through one night without them.

“Y-You could stay over! I mean, if you wanted.” Will blushed, pursing his lips at his sudden outburst.

Mike tore his gaze from the bikes to look at Will, his eyes wide in surprise. “Really? You don’t think your mom would mind?”

Will’s gaze lingered on Mike’s lips for a moment, upturned in a soft smile and rosy in the December chill.

“She would love to have you, Mike, she always does,” Will replied softly, imagining for a moment reaching out to gently graze his fingers across Mike’s bottom lip.

Mike took a small step closer to him, the wind rustling his hair as he reached his hand out towards Will. Will froze, looking up at Mike in confusion; but Mike only smiled, taking Will’s jacket collar gently between two of his fingers and smoothing it back into place as if it was the most normal thing in the world to do.

“Okay,” was all Mike said, smiling warmly as he put his arm around Will’s shoulder and they walked together back towards the house.

* * * *

After Mike had asked his parents for permission and packed his overnight bag, the two boys stood in the foyer, waiting while Mrs. Wheeler packed up a pie that she had baked for Joyce. Nancy came down to give Mike a quick hug goodbye, and Will was surprised when she pulled him into the embrace too, holding them both in her delicate arms. Will inhaled the scent of her perfume, finding a strange sort of comfort in her touch.

“Take care of each other, okay?” she whispered, patting Mike on the head and squeezing Will’s shoulder gently before heading back upstairs. Mike watched her go, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“She’s being so… nice,” Mike started, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Will laughed. “Maybe because she is nice?” he asked, as Mrs. Wheeler appeared through the kitchen door with a brown paper bag. She handed it to Will and he murmured a shy “Thank you,” still a little embarrassed about his episode last night.

“Tell your mom that Ted & I say hi, okay honey?” Mrs. Wheeler hesitated a moment, looking at Will like she had more to say, before continuing in a gentle voice, “You take care of yourself. We’re here if you need anything.”

Mike’s mother’s eyes were so sincere as she gazed at Will that he had to swallow past a newly formed lump in his throat, nodding slowly. “Thank you, Mrs. Wheeler.”

“Okay, bye, mom!” Mike interrupted impatiently, hustling Will out the door with him.

The sun glimmered through the tree branches as they rode towards Will’s house, the chilly winter breeze combing itself through their hair. Will put his head back for a moment, inhaling the crisp, wintry scent of the air.

Even though it was mid-December, it hadn’t snowed yet in Hawkins. Will was secretly a little bit glad for that, because the snowflakes reminded him of the toxic spores that were constantly floating in the Upside Down. He hated that so many things brought him back to that place. He tried to rewind and reshape his memories, to remind himself of the normalcy of his surroundings—that’s a snowflake, it’s just snowing, nothing is going to hurt you. But no matter how hard he tried, the Upside Down still leaked through sometimes, like the blooming blood of a wound reopening beneath a bandage.

Will made a promise to himself that he would give snow another chance. Maybe Mike would be there with him when it snowed the next time; he could imagine enjoying the snow again if he knew Mike was nearby.

He realized he was smiling at the thought just as Mike looked over at him quizzically. “What are you thinking about?” Mike asked, reflecting Will’s smile as they biked up the slight incline of gravel road that led to Will’s house.

“I’m thinking about… snow,” Will replied, gazing ahead thoughtfully.

“Yeah? Me too! I can’t wait until it snows,” Mike agreed excitedly, weaving his bike back and forth absentmindedly as they approached Will’s driveway. Mike stopped his bike and planted his feet on the ground, looking ahead at Will’s house. “Promise me something, okay?” he asked softly.

Will pulled his bike to a stop next to Mike, leaning forward to try to catch Mike’s gaze. When Mike turned towards him, the sincerity of his expression caused Will’s heart to skip a beat.

“Yeah, anything Mike,” he responded, nodding earnestly.

“Promise me that when it snows, no matter where we are, we’ll find a way to meet up with each other. So that we can watch the first snowfall together.”

Mike’s eyes were soft as he glanced at Will, a gentle smile tugging at his lips. Will wondered if it was possible to spontaneously combust from how much you loved someone, because if it was, he should be bursting into a billion pieces right about now.

“I promise,” was all Will could muster as a reply, his mind overtaken with images of standing outside with Mike, watching the snow fall delicately from the sky.

(And even as the snowflakes began to circle lazily around him in his mind, he didn’t think of the Upside Down once, because all he saw through the hazy white was Mike.)

* * * *

Chapter Text

* * * *

Joyce practically threw the door off the hinges when she saw Will walking up the porch stairs with Mike, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug as soon as he stepped inside. Will laughed, a little embarrassed, but hugged her back anyway with a soft, “Hi, Mom.”

“Oh sweetie, I’m so glad you’re home,” Joyce replied softly, stroking her fingers through his hair. “Mike, it’s so nice to see you.” She smiled fondly at Mike as she reluctantly let go of Will, pulling her son’s best friend to her in a gentle hug. Will watched as Mike clung to his mother, Mike’s eyes closed in contentment—he wondered if Mike could smell the faint scent of cigarette smoke and cinnamon that always filled his nose whenever his mom held him. To Will, that smell was home; he hoped it made Mike feel welcome too.

“Good to see you too, Ms. Byers. Thanks for letting me stay over tonight.” Mike smiled at Joyce gratefully as she pulled away, and the smile on her face made Will’s chest ache a little.

“You’re always welcome here, Mike, I hope you know that. And you can call me Joyce if you want, remember?” Joyce put her hand briefly on his hair, ruffling it fondly.

Will watched as Mike looked around the house—Every room was neat and tidy, and the house was covered with Christmas decorations. He was proud of his mom for how gracefully she had recovered after suffering so much over the past two years. Her hair and makeup were always done, the house was clean, and dinner was ready in the oven or the fridge when she worked late. He knew that she did everything with him and Jonathan in mind, and Will truthfully couldn’t appreciate her efforts more.

“The decorations look amazing,” Mike commented as Joyce busied herself with hanging up their coats. A brief flicker of surprise flashed across her face, as if she wasn’t used to being complimented on anything.

“Oh! Thank you, Mike. That’s so sweet of you to say.” Will watched as Joyce smiled at Mike warmly, pulling a worn Zippo from her sweater pocket to light a red candle on the kitchen table. The smell of apples & cinnamon began to permeate the room and Will closed his eyes, breathing in his favorite scent (he had mentioned that he loved that particular candle once last Christmas, and Joyce had bought nothing but that kind ever since).

Will watched as Mike’s eyelids fluttered shut and he breathed in the aroma of the candle. He had the sudden urge to reach out to grab Mike’s hand and squeeze it, to reassure him that this would always be his home, too.

“We’re going to go to my room, okay Mom?” Will asked when Mike’s eyes opened again, grabbing his and Mike’s bags and starting to lug them down the hallway. Mike laughed and followed him, scooping down to grab his bag from Will.

“Thanks, I’ve got it,” he said softly, his eyes shining with something Will couldn’t quite name as they walked through the door of Will’s bedroom and Mike threw his bag on the floor, by his usual spot.

Will’s chest ached a bit when he saw that his mom had already laid out Mike’s sleeping bag on the floor and set out some comfy pillows for him. (He wasn’t thinking about being disappointed that Mike wouldn’t be sleeping in the bed with him… Not at all.)

Mike plopped down in contentment on the sleeping bag, patting the spot next to him and smiling up at Will. Will sat down gingerly beside him, hoping his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.

“I was thinking about what to get Steve for his birthday,” Mike began, digging into his duffel bag and producing a magazine with curling corners. He opened it and pointed at a picture clumsily circled in Sharpie. Will peered over his shoulder and saw that Mike had circled a pair of red fuzzy dice, hanging on the mirror of a car.

“They’re perfect,” Will murmured softly, gently knocking his shoulder against Mike’s. Steve loved his car, and Will knew that he would appreciate the thoughtfulness of the gift.

“What are you getting him?” Mike asked excitedly, turning to Will, who was trying desperately hard to keep his focus on Mike’s eyes before his gaze could wander to his slightly chapped lips.

“It’s not finished, but…” Will reached up to his bedside table and grabbed his sketchbook, placing it gingerly on his lap. He took a moment to smooth his hand over the cover, realizing that there were a couple sketches of Mike in it that he would have to make sure he didn’t accidentally display. He carefully opened the book with the cover still facing Mike until he found the correct page, folding it over and showing Mike.

It was a half-finished sketch of Steve, with his sunglasses on and his nail-covered bat sticking out of his backpack, standing with his hands in his pockets in front of a sunset. Will had begun outlining the letters “BADASS” in the corner of the picture in big blocky letters. Will had never planned to actually give this to Steve—it was just something that he had decided to start sketching out one day. But when Dustin proposed the idea of the party, Will couldn’t imagine giving him anything else. He hadn’t felt this proud of a drawing in a long time, and even though it wasn’t finished, he felt good showing it to Mike.

“Will, this is amazing!” Mike exclaimed, grabbing the sketchbook and holding it up closer to his face so he could examine the details. His eyes combed over the drawing in admiration, before he gently pointed a finger at Steve’s head. “You got his hair perfect,” Mike giggled, looking over at Will and grinning. Will laughed too, incredibly pleased that Mike liked his drawing.

“Have you ever drawn the Party?” Mike asked softly, looking like he wanted to turn the pages in the sketchbook but looking to Will for permission. Will took the book delicately from Mike’s hands, turning the pages slowly until he arrived at the sketch he was looking for. It was a rough sketch, something he had done in sort of a hurry—he remembered that he had drawn it after a particularly bad nightmare, in an attempt to ground himself. But he showed Mike anyway, trusting that he wouldn’t judge it too harshly.

Mike took the book from him almost reverently, staring at the sketch on the page with wide eyes. Will had drawn the Party riding their bikes—Dustin was at the front, standing up on his pedals, his mouth open in a laugh and his curls blowing in the breeze; Lucas was riding behind him, his arms hanging lazily at his sides as he steered with no hands, his eyes rolling at Dustin’s antics; and in the background were Mike & Will, biking side by side. They were gazing at each other, smiles on their faces, seeming to enjoy the quiet ride. Will suddenly worried that his expression in the sketch was too revealing (the smile he had drawn on his face was definitely something that only happened when Mike was around), but Mike’s gentle expression as he gazed at the page set Will’s mind at ease.

“I love this,” Mike said softly, gently smoothing his finger over the sketches of himself and Will, the corner of his mouth turning up in a crooked smile.

“You can have it. I mean, if you want,” Will corrected bashfully. Mike nodded immediately, seeming to be temporarily at a loss for words. Will crawled over to his nearby bookshelf to pull out a clear sheet protector from a binder. He carefully ripped the sketch from the sketchbook and slipped it cleanly into the clear sleeve, smoothing it over once before handing it back to Mike.

Mike’s fingers softly brushed against the tops of Will’s knuckles as he took the sketch from him. Will looked down shyly at his hands, the skin beginning to tingle from where Mike had made contact.

He looked up again to see Mike smiling at him, that same soft, gentle smile that once spoke the words, “If we're both going crazy, then we'll go crazy together.” Will gulped, unsure what to make of Mike’s very intense eye contact, so he smiled back, hoping desperately that he didn’t look as nervous as he felt.

Mike laughed softly, looking down at the drawing again.

“I love your smile.”

The words were so quiet, nearly a whisper, that Will almost decided he was hearing things. Almost. But when Mike looked up at him, as if to gauge Will’s reaction, he realized that he must have heard correctly.

“Y-You do?” Will asked dumbly. Smooth, he scolded himself, but still looking to Mike for a reply.

Mike nodded, chewing on his bottom lip, seemingly deep in thought. “For a long time you didn’t… smile much. It just… It seems like you smile more now. And I’m happy for that.”

Because of you, Mike, Will wanted to reply, but he bit his tongue. He couldn’t help but let his gaze wander to his drawing, still being held carefully in Mike’s hands, contemplating the way Sketch Will was smiling so wholeheartedly at Mike.

“Well, I didn’t die in the Upside Down, and the Mind Flayer didn’t kill me. I have lots of reasons to smile,” he replied honestly, dragging his gaze from the drawing to meet Mike’s eyes.

Mike grinned at him, and Will was pretty sure he could hear angels singing somewhere. “Me too… Lots of reasons,” Mike echoed, before reaching out to place his soft, warm hand atop Will’s, squeezing it once.

A fiery blush began to spread across Will’s cheeks, but this time, he didn’t will it away, because he saw that Mike’s cheeks were flushed too. His heart was hammering in his chest, wondering why Mike was holding his hand, why Mike was blushing…

“Will, I…” Mike began, but a knock on Will’s bedroom door startled them both, Mike’s hand slipping from Will’s in his surprise.

“Boys, dinner’s ready!” Joyce’s voice announced through the door. Will cursed her terrible timing, looking over to see Mike already getting up from the floor. Mike extended a hand to Will, his face noticeably less red now. Will took Mike’s hand, relishing the feel of his soft skin against his once again as Mike helped him hoist himself up from the floor. Will swayed a little as he regained his equilibrium, and Mike’s grip on his hand tightened.

Will looked down at Mike’s fingers, still holding tightly onto Will’s hand even though he wasn’t swaying unsteadily on his feet anymore. He looked up at Mike, his mind full of questions, but Mike just smiled and tugged him towards the door, loosening his fingers from Will’s hand torturously slow as he opened the door and gestured him through.

As he walked to the kitchen, the smell of pot roast wafting deliciously from the kitchen, Will decided that yes, he certainly had lots of reasons to smile—especially where Mike Wheeler was concerned.

Chapter Text

* * *

After scarfing down what was perhaps Joyce’s best pot roast to date (Mike and Will both had two helpings – Will loved how much watching them enjoy her cooking made her smile), the boys collapsed onto the couch in a tangle of limbs.

Will casually stretched out on the couch, his socked feet brushing against Mike’s legs where he sat on the other end, the sketchbook Will had snagged from his room settled in his lap. He gazed at Mike thoughtfully, a light blush creeping across his cheeks as he gazed at the blank page before him.

“I was thinking,” Mike murmured, leaning close to Will as Joyce cleared their dishes from the table, humming softly as she went to wash them in the sink, “You’re always saying how much you like to practice drawing, and how sometimes you don’t have time with homework and stuff…” Mike trailed off, suddenly looking unsure as he fiddled with the edge of his napkin. “I was thinking maybe, you could draw me. I-I mean, if you want to. For practice.”

He looked over at Will, a nervous smile flitting across his lips before quickly disappearing, replaced by a look of uncertainty as he waited for Will’s answer.

“Y-Yeah, that’s a great idea!” Will exclaimed, probably too excitedly. Mike’s smile at his response was so vibrant that Will’s fingers were already itching for a pencil.

Now, sitting in front of Mike, staring at the blank page before him, Will suddenly had a moment of doubt. What if his drawing turned out terrible? What if he couldn’t capture the gentle slope of Mike’s eyelashes or the light dusting of his freckles? What if Mike hated it?

But when Will’s eyes raised from his sketchpad to meet Mike’s, all he saw in his eyes was confidence and trust – And with that, his pencil began to move.

He smiled shyly at Mike as he looked up at him. He started with the outline of Mike’s face, carefully sketching the curves and slopes of his chin, jawline, and cheekbones. His hand moved confidently, his nerves gone as his artistic instinct took over.

Will decided he would save Mike’s eyes for last, as he knew they would take him the most time, so he focused first on getting his hair right. His pencil moved in gentle, sure strokes as he attempted to capture the subtle slant of Mike’s dark hair across his forehead. He marveled at how easy this was, at how little he had to think as his pencil moved across the page.

When Will looked up again, Mike was smiling at him, something Will couldn’t quite name sparkling in the depths of his eyes. Will’s heartbeat picked up pace and he quickly looked back down at his sketchbook, focusing on shading in Mike’s hair and defining the gentle curls that framed his face, his cheeks burning. Did Mike have any idea what it did to him when he smiled like that?

He took a moment to admire his work, running a finger gently along the curved line of hair that lay snug against Mike’s cheek in the sketch, imagining for a moment that it was something he could touch in real life. He felt the couch shift underneath him and looked up to find Mike a great deal closer to him. Mike made to peek down at the sketch but Will immediately yanked it out of view, hugging it to his chest.

“Nu-uh Wheeler, no peeking!” Will laughed as Mike put a dramatic hand up to his chest, acting like he was terribly offended.

“I’m just trying to see your creative process!” Mike exclaimed, smiling toothily as he tried to grab at the sketchbook.

Will giggled, poking his foot gently into Mike’s chest to scoot him back so that they could resume their previous positions on the couch. Mike grinned back good-naturedly, settling back into stillness so that Will could continue to sketch.

It was a little unnerving, having Mike stare at him the entire time, but Will did need a clear outline of his face to finish the sketch—so he tried to simply focus on the subject before him, instead of getting too lost in the golden brown of Mike’s eyes.

After he had outlined the planes of Mike’s neck and drawn in the beginnings of his shirt collar, he focused on his mouth next. Mike seemed to sense Will’s gaze shift to his lips, because he absentmindedly licked them, and Will looked down hurriedly, hoping Mike couldn’t see how red his face was as he began outlining the corners of his mouth.

He looked up to find Mike smiling and took the cue immediately, rushing to immortalize the expression onto paper. The lines spilled from his hands, quickly and easily, and he took a moment to stare at what he had created—a replica of Mike’s lips that was so realistic, he could practically feel them brushing against his cheek.

Will smiled triumphantly, looking up at Mike once more as he began on his nose. The shape was easy, just a gentle slope, but he knew that the hardest part would be the tiny freckles that dusted his nose and cheeks. He wanted to get them just right, so he silently gestured for Mike to come closer, and Mike naturally obeyed.

He squinted as he matched each freckle on Mike’s face to the page, trying not to focus on how Mike was so close that he could feel his body heat, or how Mike’s fingers were gently splayed across his socked foot.

Satisfied that he had marked every freckle, he moved on to Mike’s eyebrows, the magnitude of having to draw his eyes next looming above his head. The eyebrows came off his pencil effortlessly, and he spent a few extra minutes shading things that didn’t really need shading and darkening lines that were already well-defined, procrastinating on the real task at hand.

Finally, Will sighed, looking up at Mike, his heart beating loudly in his ears. He must have looked hesitant, because Mike nodded encouragingly at him, urging him to keep going. His pencil began to work its way across the paper again, focusing first on Mike’s left eye. Will swallowed thickly as he took in the golden flecks in Mike’s eyes, thinking about what happened the last time he was this close to them. His pencil kept moving, bold movements forming the outside of Mike’s eye and small, gentle strokes giving way to his eyelashes. He repeated the same process for his right eye, wanting to save the irises for last.

Once he was satisfied with the eyelashes and the outlining, he reached over to the coffee table, where he had placed two colored pencils. One was a dark brown and the other was a vibrant gold—Will had known right away that grayscale wouldn't do Mike’s eyes any justice.

Will gazed into Mike’s eyes for a long moment before he gently began to color in the gold flecks, gradually blending them into the irises with the dark brown pencil. His movements were steady and confident, having looked into Mike’s eyes dozens of times before—but even so, he took advantage of the subject being right in front of him, taking special care to mirror the golden flecks and blend the different hues of the brown eyes staring back at him onto the page.

When he was finished, he took a moment to gaze at the sketch before him. He could hardly believe it had come from his own hands—The sketch was so lifelike, with Mike’s lips turned up in a crooked grin and his eyes bright with amusement. He gazed at it for a few more moments, half expecting it to the move on the page, before Mike’s voice startled him from his reverie.

“So, is it finished? Can I see?” Mike asked excitedly, scooting closer to Will on the couch and attempting to peek over the notebook. Will could already feel a light blush creeping across his cheeks, but he gingerly turned on the couch so that he was sitting next to Mike and offered the sketchbook to him.

Mike took it from him slowly, almost reverently, and examined the sketch for what felt like ages. Will wrung his hands nervously as he watched Mike’s eyes roam the page up and down, until they came up to meet Will’s.

“Will, this… This is incredible.” Mike turned to smile at him, and Will’s heart jolted at the look in his eyes. Mike’s leg was pressed flush against his thigh, and he tried desperately not to focus on it too much.

“Can I keep this?” Mike asked softly, stroking the edge of the paper.

“O-Of course you can, Mike, I made it for you,” Will answered shyly, gently knocking his shoulder against Mike’s.  And there it was again, his favorite smile, the 8th Wonder of the World, playing perfectly across Mike’s lips.

* * *

Joyce made them both hot chocolates (with extra marshmallows, Mike’s favorite) before sending them to Will’s room to start getting ready for bed around 9:30. Will watched in disappointment as Mike started to crawl into the bed Joyce had made for him on the floor, so he pretended to busy himself with rearranging his pillows.

He watched as Mike gently placed both sketches Will had gifted him directly beside his blankets. Will wondered if he wanted to look at them when he woke up in the morning - The thought made his cheeks flush.

Wanting a distraction from all of the thoughts swirling around in his mind, Will once again grabbed his sketchbook, deciding he should finish the drawing of Steve. After a few moments of coloring in Steve’s hair, he felt the bed dip slightly beside him and Mike’s warm breath on his neck.

They sat in companionable silence until the clock on Will’s bedside table read 10:15, Mike quietly watching Will’s pencil drift effortlessly across the page. Will was surprised to find that he didn’t feel self-conscious while Mike observed, but strangely encouraged, like he wanted to infuse even more time and care into his strokes just because Mike was watching.

Before he knew it, the sketch was complete, and Mike and Will both leaned back against his headboard to admire his work. Mike ran his fingers across the vibrant colors of the sunset in the background of the drawing, an amused grin playing on his lips. “Steve’s going to love this. He’s probably going to frame it above his bed!”

A bubble of laughter escaped from Will’s lips at the comment, imagining Steve proudly hanging the sketch above his gigantic bed and stepping back to admire the perfect rendering of his Hollywood hair. Mike began to laugh too, and soon they both had dissolved into an uncontrollable fit of giggles, which then somehow snowballed into them hitting each other with the pillows on Will’s bed. Will dramatically fell onto the floor after a particularly aggressive hit from Mike, and Mike followed suit, until they were both laying on Mike’s makeshift bed.

Will snuggled his way under the covers, staring at Mike as he settled onto the other side of the pillow. Will watched Mike’s eyes slowly drift closed, fascinated by the way his eyelashes fluttered against his freckled skin.

Suddenly feeling embarrassed for staring, Will began to get up to crawl into his own bed, but Mike’s warm hand on his wrist stopped him. “Hey, Will?”

Will looked down at Mike, whose eyes were now open. “Y-Yeah?” he asked shakily, his wrist tingling from where Mike’s fingers gently rested on his skin.

“Why don’t you sleep here?” Mike asked quietly, gently tugging on Will’s wrist. It might… Help with the nightmares.”

His cheeks burning, Will nodded once and uttered a soft, “Okay,” before leaning over and switching the lamp on his bedside table off. He curled up inside the covers, relishing the warmth of Mike’s body heat beside him.

“Are you okay?” Mike whispered into the darkness. When Will didn’t answer right away, Will felt the blankets move, and suddenly Mike’s warm hands were clasped around his.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay,” Will murmured. Mike’s grip tightened around his hands, and Will wondered if he didn’t believe him.

“I’m right here,” came Mike’s soft voice as Will began to drift off, sleep coming as easily as it had used to, before the Upside Down had stolen it away from him. He felt no dread, no fear. All he felt was safe. He knew Mike was next to him, and that everything was going to be okay.

What he didn’t know was that even after he had fallen fast asleep, Mike never let go of his hands.

* * *

Chapter Text

* * * *

This chapter was inspired first by Songbird by Fleetwood Mac, and second by the musical stylings of Eva Cassidy. (Rest in peace, sweet angel.)

Will awoke to the faint sound of his mother singing along to the radio in the kitchen. Mike was fast asleep, and his pale, slender hands were still loosely wrapped around Will’s. A gentle sigh of contentment fell from Will’s lips as he sat and listened to the distant rising and falling of his mother’s voice, straining to hear what song she was singing to.

And the songbirds are singing, like they know the score… And I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before….

Joyce’s singing was very soft, but Will had noticed that the gentle timbre of her voice effortlessly hit each and every note. He could imagine her now, probably at the sink washing dishes, the song floating from her lips likely without her even knowing.

And I wish you all the love in the world…. But most of all, I wish it from myself.

Will’s heart beat rapidly against his ribcage, like a frantic bird longing to take flight, as he gazed at Mike’s sleeping face—his lips parted ever so slightly, his chest rising and falling steadily, his eyes fluttering open and closed ever so slightly as he dreamed. Will longed to reach out to touch his cheek, to fall headfirst into whatever he was dreaming about.

Dreaming. Will’s memory suddenly started to clear as he remembered: He’d had no nightmares last night. In fact, something was lingering at the edges of his consciousness that he was desperately trying to pull back into his memory—The feeling that he had indeed dreamed last night, but of something wonderful.

He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to remember, before he opened them to find Mike’s eyes gently peeking open. When he let himself be consumed by the soft, familiar gaze, so close yet so far, the dream came rushing back to him. A deep blush began to settle upon his cheekbones, but he did not break the eye contact, wanting to memorize each and every part of the dream that was falling back into his consciousness like gentle flakes of snow.

“Good morning,” Mike whispered, gazing shyly down at their hands, still miraculously intertwined. Will’s entire body felt warm as he watched a light blush creep across the tips of Mike’s ears.

“Good morning,” Will whispered, making no move to let go of Mike. He watched Mike’s eyes, still heavy from sleep, lift to settle on Will’s face. The next moment happened tortuously slow, or perhaps it only seemed so to Will—Mike’s gaze flickered down to Will’s lips, and Will would swear he was leaning closer. The frantic drumbeat of his heart was pounding in his ears, and he kept perfectly still, not waiting to make one wrong move or take one unnecessary breath—-

“Will, Mike—Are you awake?” Joyce’s cheerful voice startled both of them enough to immediately spring apart, and just as suddenly as it had begun, the fragile moment shattered before them, like the abrupt splintering of thin ice from the gentlest footstep, as Will’s bedroom door swung open.

Will was lost for words as his mother’s smiling face came into view, but Mike, cool and calm as ever, cast her a brilliant smile. “Good morning, Ms. Byers. How did you sleep?”

“I slept well, thank you, Mike.” Will watched his mother as she gazed at Mike, a special sort of fondness shining in her eyes that he didn’t think he’d noticed before. “I made breakfast, but you’d better hurry before I eat it all!” she teased, grinning mischievously as she made to run down the hall.

Will & Mike both bounded through the door after her, laughing and knocking elbows as they raced to the kitchen, jumping excitedly into their chairs to scarf down several helpings of Joyce’s homemade French toast.

Will stole a few glances of Mike between bites, searching for any remnants of the interrupted moment from earlier, and nearly choked when Mike caught him and returned his gaze.

The smile that Mike cast him—so gentle, warm, and innocent—left Will with a lot more questions than answers.

* * * *

Will had decided they should visit Fort Byers after breakfast, because he was desperate for some cold, crisp air to clear his head.

Standing in front of his castle in the middle of the forest, Will felt at peace, mostly because he knew Mike was standing right beside him. As long as Mike was there, no dark creatures lurking among the branches nor hulking monster hidden amongst the clouds would hurt him today.

A gentle breeze began to pick up and stir the leaves from the ground of the forest floor, and Will extended his arms out from his sides, spinning along to the delicate dance of the breeze and the leaves. He imagined for a moment that he was one of them, lifting off of the ground and allowing the breeze to carry him without a care in the world.

He felt more leaves raining down around him, and he opened his eyes mid-spin to see Mike’s arms outstretched, the leaves he had thrown into the air swirling around Will before softly coming to land by his feet.

“Mind if I join you?” Mike asked. There was that smile again—Will’s legs felt like jelly as he stopped spinning. He nodded, his throat suddenly feeling very dry, as Mike came closer and picked up more leaves from the ground, tossing them into the air before slowly staring to spin as the leaves gently rode the twists and turns of the breeze around them. Will watched in fascination as Mike’s hand reached out to catch the last leaf to fall back to Earth, holding it by the stem as he twirled it between his fingers.

He gently handed it to Will, a shy grin on Mike’s face as Will’s slender fingers reached out to gingerly take the leaf, cradling it in his hands. After admiring it for a while, Will gently tucked the leaf into his jacket pocket, wanting to take it home and press it between the pages of his sketchbook and save it forever.

After exhausting several interpretive leaf dancing routines, Mike crawled into Castle Byers, laying down on the comfy blankets and staring up at the ceiling. Will joined him, gingerly settling down next to Mike, but careful not to get too close.

They both sighed, relishing in the comforting sensation of the gentle autumn breeze that twisted through the gaps of the fort. “How is this? Pretty normal?” Mike asked cheerfully, turning to face Will. Will laughed softly, peering over to meet Mike’s gaze.

“Yeah, this is… Perfect.” Will trailed off softly, letting his gaze linger on Mike’s face for one extra second before turning his attention back to the fort’s ceiling.

They lay there in companionable silence for what felt like hours, and Will savored every second. The memories of hiding in this very fort, freezing and frightened and starving, while the Demogorgon hunted him outside, had never felt more distant.

* * * *

They spent the rest of the day playing outside in the woods, alternating between a live-action version of D&D, hide and seek, and tag. By the time the sun was starting to set, Will’s chest ached from laughter, his cheeks were sore from smiling, and his heart had never felt so full.

When Joyce called them in for dinner, they were ravenous with hunger. As Will began to dig into the steaming chicken pot pie in front of him, he nearly choked when he heard Mike ask his mom if it would be okay if he spent another night. “You know, so we can ride to school together tomorrow?” he explained, smiling charmingly at Joyce. Will looked at his mom hopefully, imploring her with his eyes to please please please say yes.

“Let me just call your mom, Mike, and make sure it’s okay with her,” Joyce replied, smiling fondly between him and Will as she got up from the table and headed over to the phone.

Will turned to look at Mike once his mom was out of view, making absolutely no effort to hide the ecstatic grin on his face. Mike mirrored the smile as he stuffed a giant bite of pot pie into his mouth. “You’re going to be sooooo sick of me by tomorrow,” he teased, chewing with his mouth open obnoxiously as if to further his point.

“Never,” Will replied softly, hoping that Mike knew he meant it.

* * * *

This time, after he turned off the light and his bedroom was plunged into darkness,Will slipped in under the covers next to Mike without hesitation. He could feel the heat radiating off of Mike’s body next to him, and it was so comforting that sleep felt only moments away.

“Goodnight, Will,” Mike whispered softly. Will froze as he felt one of Mike’s fingers gently graze his wrist.

“Goodnight, Mike,” Will replied, his heartbeat reaching a rapid crescendo as he felt Mike’s hand slip snugly into his and squeeze.

Will closed his eyes, grounding himself in the feeling of Mike’s hand in his, as he let the dream that had been lingering in the back of his mind all day settle back into focus.

Will looked up at the icy blue and white twinkle lights hung above the gymnasium, from where he was sitting alone at a table in the corner. He watched Lucas & Max dancing stiffly in the center of the crowd, and Nancy and Dustin laughing as he twirled her around ostentatiously in front of Stacey and her snooty friends.

He smiled, glad that his friends were having such a good time. Will scanned the crowd for Mike and El, but was surprised to find El and Steve dancing together instead, with Steve busting out some particularly cringe-worthy dance moves and El covering her face in embarrassment, but laughing all the same.

Suddenly, Will felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Mike, a shy smile on his face, with his hand outstretched towards Will. “Want to dance?” Mike asked softly, his voice echoing through the gym.

“But… Aren’t you worried about what people will think?” Will asked before he could stop himself.

Mike’s smile remained as he reached for Will’s hand, pulling him out of his seat.

“I don’t care what they think,” Mike whispered, putting his hand firmly on the small of Will’s back and pulling him so close to him that their noses nearly touched. Mike’s hand grasped Will’s confidently as he led him out onto the dancefloor.

Will blushed deeply as he looked around at the crowd, but he noticed no one was even paying attention. In fact, everyone around him was starting to fade away, and the twinkling lights above were starting to tremble. Will watched in fascination as the lights gradually transformed into snowflakes, falling gently around them in the now-empty gymnasium.

Mike was smiling at Will’s surprised reaction as they swayed back and forth on the dance floor. “Did you do this?” Will asked softly as Mike twirled him across the snowy floor, kicking up gentle bursts of snowflakes as they went.

“We made a promise, remember? That we’d watch the first snowfall together,” Mike murmured, as if a magical snowing gymnasium was the most normal thing in the world.

Mike leaned forward until his forehead was touching Will’s, the hand on his back tightening. “Mike… I…” Will began, his voice shaking. He felt like he was about to float out of his body.

Mike nodded, as if he understood exactly what Will was trying to say. “I know,” he replied simply. Will opened his mouth to say more, but then he began to notice the snow above him moving menacingly and turning black. Will began to pull away in panic, but Mike stopped him.

“I’m here,” Mike whispered, pulling Will closer so that his head was resting on Mike’s shoulder. Will buried his face into Mike’s suit, hiding from what was in the sky above. He thought he could hear the roar of the Mind Flayer, but it sounded like it was miles away.

“I’m here, Will. Nothing’s going to hurt you. I’ve got you.”

Will awoke with a start, his head still fuzzy from recalling the dream. Somewhere in the night, he must have actually fallen asleep—It was still dark outside. As he settled back into his body, he realized that Mike’s arms were wrapped tightly around him, and Will was clinging to him as if his very life depended on it. Mike’s voice was whispering in his ear the same thing he’d been saying in the dream:

“I’m here, Will. Nothing’s going to hurt you. I’ve got you.”

Upon realizing that this wasn’t a dream anymore, that this was really happening, Will froze, completely panicked. This was humiliating - He was clinging to Mike like a child. He didn’t know what to do—his urge to pull away from Mike was just as strong as the urge to keep holding on.

He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for an answer of what to do, when suddenly he realized that he heard snoring. Stunned, Will stayed completely still and listened as Mike continued to snore, until suddenly, he spoke again:

“I’m here, Will. Nothing’s going to hurt you. I’ve… got you…” Mike mumbled, and then the snoring resumed.

Mike was asleep! Will breathed a huge sigh of relief. He must have either dreamt that Will was having a nightmare, or fallen right back to sleep after comforting him. Either way, Will no longer felt like he had to pull away from Mike—In fact, he didn’t dare, for fear of waking him.

So instead, Will relaxed back into Mike’s warm embrace, sighing in contentment. He had almost fallen back to sleep when he heard Mike speak again. He lifted his head to listen, not having quite caught the words.

“Come here,” Mike whispered. Will stayed quiet, barely even daring to breathe, trying to figure out if Mike was awake, or talking in his sleep. “Come here,” Mike repeated, and Will lifted his head ever so slightly, squinting at Mike in the darkness to try to see if his eyes were open.

Before he could draw any conclusions, Mike’s hand suddenly reached out to anchor itself in Will’s hair. Will let out a surprised gasp as Mike pulled Will in close to him, so close that he could feel Mike’s warm breath hitting his lips. Will froze, wondering if there was any way that Mike could still be sleeping through the deafening drumbeat of Will’s heart in his chest.

Mike sighed softly, and then became very still. Thinking he had fallen back to sleep, Will began to relax again, but then jerked in surprise as Mike’s hand, still entwined in Will’s hair, twitched abruptly and tugged down on the strands.

Will’s breath caught in his throat as Mike pulled him even closer, and before he knew it, Mike’s lips were slowly pressing themselves against his.

Will remained completely still, trying to convince himself that this was simply some wonderful dream, and willing himself to wake up. But even when he reached to pinch himself, Mike’s lips were still there, gently moving against his, and Will finally surrendered and sighed into Mike’s mouth, reaching up to gingerly place his hand on his cheek as he kissed him back.

But just as suddenly and unexpectedly as the kiss had begun, it ended, with Mike abruptly letting go of Will and rolling onto his side, sighing contentedly as his snoring resumed—Leaving Will to question which of those moments, if any, had even been real.

* * * *

Chapter Text

* * *

Will slept fitfully the rest of the night, startling awake at the slightest sound from Mike. By the time the sun started peeking through the blinds of his bedroom, his eyes were stinging and crusted over from sleep. He couldn’t stop replaying what had happened over and over in his mind, wondering desperately if Mike was going to say anything about it when he woke up.

Eventually, a soft knock sounded on the door and Jonathan poked his head in. “Hey guys, breakfast is ready.” His eyes briefly flickered in concern when he made eye contact with Will, probably noticing the dark bags under his eyes, but then Mike was sitting up and yawning loudly beside him.

“We’ll be there in a minute,” Will replied, giving Jonathan a half-hearted thumbs up as he pulled the door closed, his brow still furrowed with worry. Will’s heart pounded nervously in his chest as he turned to Mike, who gave him a sleepy smile.

“I’m starving, how about you?” Mike asked cheerfully as he carefully folded up his blanket and set it on the end of Will’s bed.

He doesn’t remember. Will couldn’t help how his chest ached in disappointment.

He looked over at Mike, feeling like his face might tear into pieces from the fake smile he’d plastered on. “Yeah, I’m starving too.”

* * *

After breakfast, they rode their bikes to school in companionable silence. Joyce had tried to insist that she drive them but after Will explained that they needed their bikes to get to Steve’s for the party, she had reluctantly relented.

The winter air was cool and crisp and Will inhaled deeply, trying to steady himself as they pulled up to the school. Dustin and Lucas were already waiting at the bike racks, waving in excitement, and Max rolled up on her skateboard to join the fray.

“All right, here’s the plan.” Dustin brandished his party planner notebook from under his jacket, opening it in excitement for the group, “Steve has basketball practice after school, so that gives us about an hour and a half to decorate his house and get ready for the party. My mom will drop off the party food at Steve’s at 4:00, including the special cake Lucas’ mom baked, and I have the decorations with me. Did everybody remember their gifts?”

Mike and Will both nodded—Will had wrapped the sketch of Steve between two cardboard slabs early this morning, tied safely to his backpack, while Mike had picked up the neatly wrapped car dice from Mrs. Wheeler on their way in. Lucas proudly displayed his own horrendously wrapped gift, shaped suspiciously like a wrist rocket and gaining a major eye roll from Max, and Dustin pulled a “World’s Best Babysitter” mug out of a gift bag with a cheeky grin. Max’s gift, a neatly wrapped square, remained a mystery.

“Excellent,” Dustin exclaimed, nodding in approval. “We’ll meet here, right after the bell, and ride over.”

Will went through the school day in a fog, only half-listening to Mr. Clarke’s lecture on magnetism as he stared out the window.

“Magnetism is at work all around you. Almost everything that uses electricity or runs with a motor has magnets in it. The magnetic force helps your car run, your microwave cook and your computer work. Even the Earth we live on is a giant magnet!” Mr. Clarke exclaimed excitedly as he pointed to the board.

This was normally Will’s favorite class, but he just couldn’t focus. He was trying desperately not to look at Mike, who was dutifully taking notes. He had to get over this; Mike had been asleep. It hadn’t meant anything, even as much as Will might wish it had.

“... If you hold two magnets in your hands, the north pole of one magnet will always attract the south pole of another. Opposite poles push each other away.”

Will sighed. He didn’t want to push Mike away again. He couldn’t. And for that to be possible, he had to put last night behind him—for good.

* * *

The rest of the day went by torturously slow, but once the final bell rang, the Party raced to the bike rack to head over to Steve’s. Will listened fondly as Dustin yammered on about the party details on the way—”We’re gonna play Duck Hunt with him on his huge TV, you guys”—and decided that he was going to focus on making sure Steve had a good birthday. Will really liked Steve and everything he had done for Dustin, and this was his day, after all. He could put his own problems aside for a friend; he always had in the past.

Upon arriving at Steve’s, Will busied himself with hanging up streamers around the living room. Mike was nearby, struggling to string up the Happy Birthday letters. A few moments later, Will heard him groan and looked over to see he had accidentally spelled out HAPPY BIRHTDAY.

“Need some help?” Will offered as Mike ripped down the letters to re-string them.

“Ugh, yes. Spelling is clearly not my strong suit,” Mike lamented as he handed the letters over to Will. With careful fingers, Will sat on the couch and took the last five letters off the end and restrung them in the correct order, spacing them out thoughtfully before handing it back to Mike.

“Are you okay? You’ve been really quiet today,” Mike asked in a low voice as he leaned up to hang the now correctly-spelled banner.

Will nodded and cast Mike a smile that he hoped would assuage his worry. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well.”

“More nightmares?” Mike asked quickly, his brow furrowing in concern. Will shook his head, feeling his face heat up. “No, more like I just couldn’t… fall asleep at all.” 

Mike opened his mouth to ask something else but was unceremoniously interrupted by Dustin. 

“Um, MIKE? Will was assigned to the decorations, and for good reason because he is the only artist of the group. Max and Lucas are working on the balloons, so I need your help getting the food assembled in the kitchen. Ándale, Ándale!” 

Rolling his eyes, Mike cast Will an apologetic smile and dutifully followed Dustin into the kitchen, leaving Will to finish the decorations in silence.

Pretty soon, the house was transformed—the living room was covered in colorful streamers and balloons, with piles of confetti decorating the tables (Dustin had wanted to throw it everywhere when Steve came home, but Will knew that would have been horrible to clean up and decided to save them all the headache). The kitchen counter was piled high with the selection of sandwiches Claudia had made for the party, with bowls of chips, candy, and of course, the chocolate cake Mrs. Sinclair had baked especially for Steve, every square inch decorated with Peanut Butter Boppers—Steve’s favorite dessert, according to Dustin. Steve’s presents were piled on the dining table along with five party hats and noisemakers, ready for the big surprise. 

“I think we’re ready,” Dustin announced proudly, handing out the party favors to everyone.

It was just past 6:00 when Dustin, patiently positioned by the window, waved at everyone to get into position as Steve’s Beamer pulled into the driveway. They all hid behind the couch that was closest to the front door; all the lights were off and they had hidden their bikes behind the house, so Steve should truly have no idea what was about to happen.

They heard keys in the door and waited with bated breath; once they saw the light come in from outside, they all jumped up and yelled, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVE!”

Steve screamed and dropped his duffel bag on the ground with a loud thud, assuming a defensive stance before realizing it was them and nearly collapsing. “Holy shit, you scared the shit out of me, you knuckleheads,” he breathed, putting his hands on his knees and breathing in deeply as they all blew into the noisemakers obnoxiously.

Dustin was the first to run over to Steve, throwing his arms around him. “Happy birthday, ya big lug,” he exclaimed cheerfully, patting Steve on the back.

“Thanks, man,” Steve replied with a smile as the others gathered around him, “I haven’t celebrated my birthday in… a long time, to be honest.”

Will’s heart squeezed a little at that. Joyce, while not perfect, had always made a huge deal out of his birthday—She’d take the whole day off work and cook him a special meal, watch a movie of his choice with Jonathan, and she always surprised him with new art supplies. He couldn’t imagine having two parents who didn’t even bother making sure they were home for their son’s birthday.

“Happy birthday, Steve,” Will greeted him with a smile and a side hug.

Steve ruffled Will’s hair fondly, beaming at him. “Hey, thanks, squirt.” 

After Lucas, Mike, and Max all took their turns wishing Steve a happy day, Dustin proudly escorted him inside to give him a tour of the decorations and then to show him the food in the kitchen. Will could tell that Steve was genuinely touched by all the work they had put in; first, he spied the cake and loudly exclaimed, “BOPPERS? How did you know??” and then his eyes landed on the pile of gifts on the table. “You guys didn’t have to actually GET me anything, geez,” Steve murmured as he ruffled the back of his hair self-consciously.

“It’s your birthday, Steve. You’re our friend. Of course we got you presents,” Dustin replies matter-of-factly, grabbing his gift and handing it to Steve.

Steve barked out a laugh when he opened Dustin’s World’s Best Babysitter mug, and “ooohed”  appreciatively at Lucas’ wrist rocket and Mike’s fuzzy dice for the Beamer. Max’s gift was a Super Mario Bros game for Steve’s Nintendo, which Dustin promptly lost his mind about and earned a “Whoop!” from Steve. 

But when Steve opened Will’s gift, he paused, momentarily speechless.

“Holy shit,” Steve breathed out as he ran his eyes over the sketch in disbelief, “You drew this, Byers?”

Will nodded shyly and Mike immediately piped up, “Yeah, all by hand too! I watched him finish it.” Mike turned to Will, beaming with pride, and Will couldn’t help the blush that burned across his cheeks.

“It’s not a big deal, really,” Will insisted quietly, but Steve didn’t let him get away with it.

“No man, it’s definitely a big deal. This is so cool. Thank you—All of you.” Steve grinned warmly at Will and walked over to the fridge, hanging the sketch proudly with a Hawkins High Tigers magnet. After Will’s gift was properly displayed, Steve brought Mike’s dice out to his Beamer to hang on the mirror, poured his Coke into Dustin’s new mug, and asked Lucas for a crash course in using the Wrist Rocket.

Steve didn’t give himself much credit, but Will recognized how thoughtful he really was. He always made sure that everyone felt included—probably because he knew how lonely it was not to be. 

The party soon devolved into animated chatter as everyone loaded up on sandwiches, snacks, and cake before heading to the Harringtons’ game room to give Max’s gift a spin on the Nintendo. 

Will lingered behind in the kitchen for a moment, feeling drained from all the commotion and just needing a moment to catch his breath. He jumped when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, kid. You okay?” He turned around to find Steve, looking at him in concern.

Will nodded, feeling embarrassed. “Y-Yeah, I'm fine.”

“It's weird, right? Trying to get back to normal after… everything.”

Tears stung Will's eyes and he nodded. That was an understatement. Trying to get back to normal after being trapped in the Upside Down, becoming possessed by an interdimensional monster, and realizing your romantic feelings for your best friend was definitely weird.

“I know I'm not the best at giving advice—Dustin reminds me constantly—but I did figure out one thing this last year that helped me, if you want to hear it.”

Will nodded and Steve squeezed his shoulder. “Try not to bottle things up, you know? Even when things get hard, sometimes you just gotta say how you feel. Rip off the Band-Aid.”

Logically, Will knew that Steve was probably referring to his ex-relationship with Nancy, but he still felt completely cracked open by the advice; like Steve could see straight through him.

“You’ve been through a hell of a lot these past two years, Byers—You don't have to go it alone. We're all here for you.”

Will gripped the edge of the kitchen counter, nodding. Even through his rising panic, he felt touched that Steve would care enough to talk to him like this. And he knew he was right—He couldn't keep these feelings bottled up forever. If he wanted Mike to stay in his life, something eventually had to give.

“Thanks, Steve. You're a really good friend.” Will could tell how much the praise meant to Steve by the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled.

“All right! You ready to kick some ass at this new game?” Steve wrapped a comforting arm around him and together, they walked back to the game room.

Dustin was right; the TV in there was huge. Will carefully tucked himself into the corner of the tan sectional couch while Lucas, Max and Dustin loudly argued over whether Super Mario Bros or Duck Hunt was the superior game. Will’s heart leapt into his throat and he nearly dropped his plate of food when Mike moved over next to him, so close that the fabric of their jeans were touching.

“I told you that Steve would love the sketch,” Mike announced in satisfaction, “Your gift was definitely the best one.”

Will shrugged. “I don’t know… Your gift was great. Everybody knows how much Steve loves his car. And I think Max’s gift is pretty cool, too. Everyone’s really excited to play it.”

Mike nodded diplomatically, but Will could tell he didn’t agree. Suddenly not feeling hungry anymore, Will set his plate down onto his lap with shaking hands, trying not to focus on how close he and Mike were sitting together.

Steve had the Super Mario Bros game all loaded up onto the TV and handed the controller to Max, who had called first dibs so she could show everyone how the game worked. Will watched Steve glance quickly at his watch, unseen by any of the others, before announcing, “Hey guys, I’ll be back in a second. I left something in the car.” Will watched him go, wondering briefly why it seemed like he was in a hurry.

They all leaned forward to watch as Max began the game. Mike unconsciously pressed his leg even closer against Will’s. Panic rose up like bile in Will’s throat and he set his plate of food on a side table before robotically standing, muttering an excuse that he had to find a bathroom before running like hell out of the room. He just needed a moment alone to collect himself; maybe some fresh air would help.

Will grabbed his jacket and slipped out the sliding glass door towards the pool, gulping in the crisp winter air. He counted down from ten, willing his heart to slow down. You're with friends. You're with Mike. You're okay. Everything is going to be okay.

He heard voices in the distance and his eyes snapped open. Worried the Party might have followed him outside, he glanced around for somewhere to hide before his eyes landed on a cluster of bushes by the pool. He dove into them just before two people walked out of the woods at the opposite end of the pool, mostly hidden by the cover of trees.

It was Steve and… Billy Hargrove? Will couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Heard it's your birthday, Harrington. My invite must have gotten lost in the mail,” he heard Billy drawl, and Will's heart started to pound in his chest wondering if Billy was here to hurt Steve. But they were standing so… close. He watched as Billy reached out a hand towards Steve, heart in his throat—

“Will? What are you doing out here?” Will pulled Mike down to the ground gracelessly with a desperate “SH!”, peering through the bushes and breathing out a sigh of relief when Steve and Billy didn't turn their way.

“Is that… Billy Hargrove?” Mike whispered incredulously. “What is he doing with Steve?”

“I have no idea,” Will whispers, peering through the bushes. Mike's eyebrows furrow when he sees Billy's hand tug on the corner of Steve's jacket, pulling him closer. 

“What are they—” 

What happened next played out in slow motion. Will's heart was pounding deafeningly loud in his ears as Billy leaned forward, splaying his fingers across Steve's cheek before pressing their lips together in a slow kiss. Will watched, transfixed, as Billy slipped his free hand into the back pocket of Steve's jeans while Steve buried a hand into Billy's curls. Will could see from here how Steve was smiling into the kiss, how familiar they were with each other, like they'd done this a hundred times. Had they? 

Mike let out a soft “Holy shit,” and Will startled to his senses, immediately looking away. This was not something they should have seen. They were intruding on a private moment. He felt sick to his stomach.

“We, uh,” Will's heart was beating like a panicked jackrabbit in his chest as he whispers, “We shouldn't be watching this. It feels wrong.”

Will squeezed his eyes shut, his face burning. Steve “the Hair” Harrington, the most popular guy in school. Beautiful. Funny. Athletic. Was kissing a guy. And not just any guy—Billy Hargrove, who had beat him within an inch of his life just a month ago. How had this even happened? Will had so many questions, it was making his head spin.

Maybe this was why Billy was so angry all the time. Because he was harboring this secret. Will didn't ever want to become angry like that. 

But if Steve was kissing Billy like this… Billy must have done something to earn forgiveness. But to do that, and get this close, in just a month and a half? Will couldn't understand it. Especially how exactly Steve and Billy had figured out that they both…

A snowflake floated down and landed on the tip of his nose, and Will startled back to reality. Mike was looking up at the sky thoughtfully. They hadn't said anything and all Will could hear was Steve laughing at something Billy said about “the snow in this shitty town.”

Will’s chest was aching painfully and he had no idea what to say to make any of this okay. Steve's words echoed in his mind. Try not to bottle things up, you know? Even when things get hard, sometimes you just gotta say how you feel. Rip off the Band-Aid.

It felt like the universe himself had given him this moment. If there was ever a time to share how he felt about Mike, now would be it. What they had just seen spoke so deeply to a reality he never thought existed beyond his innermost thoughts. Was it too much to hope that maybe he's not such a freak after all? If Steve Harrington and Billy Hargrove both liked kissing boys—or at least, each other—couldn’t that be proof that there were others out there… like him?

He opened his mouth, inhaling one last shaky breath to steel himself, when Mike spoke.

“It’s the first snowfall,” he whispered, smoke curling into the frigid air from his breath.

Yeah. We promised we'd watch it together, Will thought to himself.

“I, uh. I have something to give you.” Mike whispered slowly, “Now feels like the right time.”

Will's brow furrowed in confusion. “It isn't my birthday,” he reminded Mike kindly, but Mike shook his head.

“It's not a birthday present. Just humor me, okay? Close your eyes. Please.”

Will did as Mike asked and closed his eyes. He felt Mike grab his hand in his, expecting him to press something into his palm. But then, quickly and somewhat clumsily, Mike was crashing their lips together. Will gasped in surprise but didn't pull away. Mike was awake this time. There was no need to wonder if this was real, or if he meant to do it. This was happening, and the why or the how didn't matter. Mike Wheeler was kissing him.

Mike reluctantly pulled away after a few seconds, frantically searching Will's eyes for validation. “Was that… okay?” 

Will was momentarily lost for words but nodded, casting Mike a disbelieving smile. “Yeah, it was more than okay, but I… Mike, how did you—” 

“I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner. I was just… scared,” Mike admitted, “I was scared about my feelings and what they meant. I… I hated when you wouldn't talk to me, after the Snowball. I missed you so much, it was like I couldn't breathe. And I was confused, because I’ve always liked girls… but I like you, too. I like you more. It just took me a while to understand how much.”

Will's breath caught in his throat at the admission. “Are you… sure about this?” he asked softly because God, if Mike changed his mind, Will would never recover.

“Why do you think I wanted to watch the first snowfall together?” Mike asked, gently.

A blush burned brightly across Will's cheeks as realization set in. Oh. The kiss… Mike was waiting for the first snowfall to kiss him. Like something straight out of the movies.

“I know we're best friends, and I don't want to ruin that—” Mike began nervously, but Will silenced him by grabbing his hand in his.

“I feel the same way about you, Mike. The only difference is I, um… I don't… like girls. At least, not the same way you do.” Will looked nervously over at Mike, who immediately smiled reassuringly at him and squeezed his hand.

“Okay, that's good to know,” Mike replied warmly, not a hint of judgement in his eyes, “Now that we're on the same page—Would it be okay if I kissed you again?”

Will nodded, his heart fluttering like a frantic bird in his chest as Mike leaned in to press a slow, sweet kiss to his lips. Without the earlier surprise and panic, Will could finally melt into the kiss, surging forward as Mike gathered him into his arms to pull him closer. Kissing Mike was better than Will could have ever imagined. Suddenly, all the cheesy love songs and corny poetry, the ones he used to scoff at thinking they'd never apply to him, made perfect sense. It was Mike. It had always been Mike.

They heard distant laughter and pulled away at the same time, having temporarily forgotten that they had company. Peering through the bushes, it appeared that Steve was trying to tell Billy goodbye, explaining that he had to get back “before the kids realize I'm missing.”

Billy pulled Steve back towards him roughly by the belt loops of his jeans, stealing one more kiss before letting him go. “When can I see you again? Are you plannin’ to leave the door unlocked for me tonight?” Billy asked Steve with a wolfish grin. Will's face burned bright pink to match Steve's.

Steve hesitated as if he was going to keep Billy guessing, then sighed in defeat. “Yeah. Fuck me, I guess I am.”

Billy barked out a laugh and reached back to give Steve's ass a quick squeeze. “Seems a bit forward… but I accept the invitation, Harrington.” 

“You know what I meant,” Steve insisted in exasperation, but Billy was already backing away into the woods.

“Enjoy your party, pretty boy,” he replied fondly, giving Steve a casual two-finger salute as he disappeared into the trees.

Will and Mike were both silent for a moment, stunned at the interaction they had just witnessed, before the reality of their situation set in. 

“Crap, what's our cover story?” Will whispered frantically to Mike as they watched Steve jog towards the house. “Steve can't find out we were here.”

We need to protect him and his secret, he thought silently.

Will could see the cogs turning in Mike's mind, looking around at all the freshly fallen snow before his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “Snowball fight! We'll go to the front of the house and pretend we've been out there the whole time.”

They frantically hurried away from the bushes, careful to sweep away their footprints on the way to the front yard. Mike formed a tiny snowball with rapid speed and promptly hit Will square in the face with it.

“HEY!” Will shouted indignantly before lobbing one back at Mike, who managed to shield himself from the attack with crossed arms over his face.

They were laughing raucously and pelting each other mercilessly when Steve opened the front door a few minutes later. “What the hell are you two doing out here? It's freezing, get inside!”

Will met Steve's eyes and saw there was no look of panic there; their plan had worked. The two of them traipsed inside at Steve's command, removing their coats and boots before rejoining the others in the game room.

Dustin was at the controller, yelling profanities, while Max and Lucas were shouting advice at him from either side. Mike and Will collapsed on the couch together to watch the chaos play out, close enough so that their forearms were lightly pressing against each other. 

Will sank contentedly into the couch cushions, his skin warm from where he and Mike were touching. Mike glanced sideways, smiling at Will fondly before subtly looping their pinkies together. It felt like a promise—an unspoken I've got you. Will squeezed Mike's pinky in response and grinned, already daydreaming about the next time they'd get to kiss again. 

Mike must have read his mind because he brought Will's hand up to his mouth to gently brush his lips across it. Will looked over at their friends nervously, but they were all distracted by the game. Mike grinned, clearly not caring who might turn around to see, when he leaned in to press another slow, sweet kiss to Will’s lips.

All Will knew for sure was this: Today had been the best day of his life, and it wasn't even his birthday.

* * *

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.