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The first time it happens, Mike almost screams.
They’re having lunch in the school canteen, trying to slowly come back to normal after everything that’s happened. Whatever normal means, anyway.
Suddenly, Lucas and El’s light bickering over some high school drama is interrupted by a girl, who Mike’s never seen before - she comes up to their table and looks straight at Will.
Mike thinks she could turn right away and just fuck off .
Will, unfortunately for his best friend, is a much kinder person than him. He looks at the girl, slightly pulling away from Mike, letting their hands distance, as he brushes his hair off his forehead with his fingers.
All Mike can do is stare.
“Hi.”
Will says, gazing askingly at the blushing girl in front of him. Mike rolls his eyes, as he takes a bite of his sandwich.
He’s not a great fan of this, honestly. Ever since they came back to Hawkins properly, Will seems to have everyone under some kind of a spell - suddenly half of the population noticing his beauty.
Which, pretty unfair, if you ask Mike. They haven’t known him for ten years - haven’t wanted to kiss the mole above Will’s upper lip for ten years.
“Uh, I’m Polly.”
The girl, who’s unfortunately for the both of them still there - as Mike’s urge to actually tell her to fuck off grows more impatient - seems to have finally gotten her tongue back.
“I was wondering - would you maybe wanna get ice cream today? With me, that is.”
Mike’s jaw clenches and he can feel the piercing look the entire table - except for Will, still turned away from him and Max, whose eyes have never fully recovered from the coma - gives him.
Max elbows him and Mike just stares at her.
“Relax or you’ll stay like this forever. Whatever we’d do if you couldn’t talk.”
She whispers - however much they pretend for it to be otherwise, they’ve grown to like each other and Max doesn’t want to cause any harm. The party’s suspicions about Mike’s crush are an open, but certainly not silent, secret.
“You can’t even see me.”
Mike whispers back, flipping Lucas off on the way. He doesn’t really appreciate him updating his girlfriend on everything happening. His friend only shrugs, as both El and Dustin laugh at Mike’s face.
“I don’t have to see you to know that you reek of jealousy. He’s not gonna go, you know that.”
Mike does know that, but it’s not helpful in the slightest. It’s not the first time a girl asks Will out - it’s actually very far from it. Will doesn’t take any of the offers, though and Mike can’t help but wonder why.
Don’t get him wrong now - he’s not complaining. He gets to have Will to himself, not worrying about a girl taking his time - the irony of the situation isn’t lost on Mike, don’t worry.
Yet, he can’t help but wonder if Will doesn’t maybe have an eye on someone, since he seems to turn down each girl kindly, but firmly.
And - sure enough - Will’s answer comes right after, same as always.
“Look, you’re nice and I really appreciate it, but I’m not interested. Sorry.”
Will gives the girl an apologetic look and Mike wants to wipe it off his face.
“Oh. I’m sorry. The offer will stand, though, if you change your mind.”
Mike wants to hit his fist on the table. El rolls her eyes at him, as she whispers something into Max's ear. Soon Mike has two pairs of eyes piercing into his face. He’s not sure how Max can be blind and still see right through him - she just does.
“Yeah, I’ll remember. Have a nice day.”
Will gives Polly a small smile and watches as she returns it and turns away to come back to her friends. Mike immediately scoots closer to him, letting their fingers brush again.
Will smiles at him before opening a bottle of water and Mike just stares at his throat, watching his Adam’s apple move with every sip.
Lucas follows Mike’s gaze and discretely shows Mike a gagging move. Like him and Max aren’t way worse.
Dustin looks at him, too and something mischievous roots in his eyes, as he turns to Will.
“So, Will. Any girl caught your eye?”
Will almost chokes on the water he’s drinking. Mike helps him, hitting his best friend’s back, as he gives Dustin the coldest look he can manage.
“Uh, no. No girls.”
Will says, when he finally catches his breath. Mike feels almost victorious - no girls!
“Oh, really? Seems like you have a lot to choose from.”
Lucas joins the conversation, not taking his eyes off Mike for a moment.
Mike almost shakes at the reminder of how many people want to take his best friend out. He intertwines his pinky finger with Will’s and stares back at his friend.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t get it - it’s just me. Why is everyone suddenly so interested?”
Will, god bless him, is so peacefully oblivious that Mike’s heart aches. If he could only see himself with anyone else’s eyes, he would get it.
Mike wants to kiss the confusion off his best friend’s face, but a sigh is what he decides to settle for.
“Will, have you seen yourself lately?”
It’s El and Mike can’t help but feel under attack - all of his friends teaming up against him, almost exposing his embarrassingly massive crush.
Will gives them an incredulous look and Mike just can’t keep his mouth shut.
“You got buff, dude. And changed, you look good. Like, really - I don’t know how it’s only half of the girls asking you out.”
Mike knows he must be blushing to the tips of his ears, but Will’s answer only makes it worse. He picks his sandwich back up and takes a bite of it, as all of his friends’ eyes turn to him.
“Oh, you think I’m pretty - is that so?”
Will’s voice is different - if Mike didn’t know better, he’d describe it as flirtatious.
This time it’s Mike, who needs help with not choking on his food.
—
The second time it happens, Mike’s barely paying any attention to his surroundings, as he openly stares at Will, who’s deep in a passionate discussion with El.
They’re in Mike’s basement, having another get-together meeting. Lucas and Max are sitting on the couch, Dustin on the floor in front of them.
“I miss Suzie.”
Dustin sighs for what feels like a millionth time and Mike groans.
“I’ll have you know that she’s the best girlfriend ever. Don’t look at me like that, it’s not like you’re any better.”
This, Mike can’t argue with.
“It’s not our fault you haven’t tasted the kiss of your true love.”
Lucas puts a hand on his chest, making a dramatic gesture. Mike slaps him on the arm.
“Shut up.”
Mike murmurs but his words are cut short with another voice coming from behind.
“Wasn’t Mike in love with El for like two years? I’m pretty sure I can vaguely remember them still dating back then, you know, like a few months ago.”
Mike closes his eyes and lets his head fall to his hands in embarrassment.
If Will only knew.
Mike decides to deflect.
“Yeah - uh. On that note, have you had your first kiss yet? You’ve never told us.”
Mike desperately wants him to say no. He’s selfish - he knows, but he can’t help but long to be the one who can call himself Will’s first. As if Will would ever let him.
“N-no. Guess I haven’t found anybody worth it.”
Will sounds almost shy and Mike wants to scream. He wants to shout his lungs out, because he’s right there. He’s right there and he’s ready to give up everything to be worth Will.
Mike risks a glance at El and she’s already looking at him with knowing eyes - making Mike doubt the lack of her mind-reading abilities.
“Really? Who wouldn’t wanna kiss you?”
Mike’s mouth once again moves faster than his brain, as Will turns to him with a concerning speed, blush forming on his face.
He can hear Lucas and Max snort into their hands. Mike’s hopeless.
“I don’t know, Mike. Would you?”
There it is again - the teasing in Will’s voice. It’s an undertone that makes Mike want to bury himself alive and put his lips on his best friend’s face everywhere he can reach simultaneously.
“I - uh.”
Comes from Mike - the answer more intelligent than ever.
“Cut him some slack, Casanova. Better show us the latest painting, we missed out on so much of your art”
Lucas cuts in, effectively changing the topic.
—
The third time it happens, it’s just the two of them, sitting on Mike’s bed. Will’s laying next to his best friend, his eyes focused on the paper in front of him. Mike holds a book in his hands, desperately trying to catch the words on the pages, but unable to keep his thoughts off the way Will’s face looks bathened in sunset.
“Can I draw you?”
Mike gets hurriedly pulled away from his dreams, as Will looks at him with the question written all over his face.
Mike has never been good at saying no to him.
“I mean - yeah. ‘Course. Why, though?”
Mike can’t help but ask - Will could choose so many people to draw, yet somehow he’s the one to get asked. He, with all his splattered freckles and too hard jaw - his face expression awfully similar to a frog. Frogface.
“I like drawing pretty people.”
Will’s answer punches the air out of Mike’s lungs. His eyes widen and he can feel his face heat up, but his best friend is no longer looking at him - already back to sketching. Mike can see the beginnings of him on the paper.
“Will?”
Mike asks, before he can stop himself. The question can go both ways, but he really needs to know where they’re standing.
“Hm?”
A hum comes in the lieu of a response, as Will doesn’t look up from where he starts forming Mike’s face on the painting.
Mike can’t place it, but something in the picture makes him feel different. He’s looking at himself, obviously, yet the paper version seems odd, almost - handsome?
He wonders if this is how Will sees him.
“Do you really think so?”
The question makes his best friend look at him with a confused look on his face. There’s no way out now.
“Do you think I’m pretty?”
The sentence isn’t above a whisper, Mike almost hopes that Will won’t catch it.
He does. Mike watches a grin form on his best friend’s face.
“I think you’re the prettiest person I know.”
Will shrugs and goes back to painting like it’s nothing. Like he hasn’t just single-handedly caused Mike a heart attack and made his brain lose the connection between its cells.
He moves to the end of the bed and lets the back of his head hit the wall behind, as his eyes fall shut, exhausted with hiding his emotions.
—
Mike is waiting for the popcorn to get ready, when he decides to play Will’s game. He’s waiting for Mike in the basement, trying to choose which part of Stars Wars they’re going to watch today and looking exceptionally good in the hoodie Mike gave him to warm him up. He knows how sensitive to cold his best friend is.
Mike watches the way the seeds pop and decides that two can play this. He’s not sure if Will’s actually flirting with him, per se, but what’s the worst that could happen, if Mike started.
There’s only one way to find out.
He takes careful steps down the stairs, as the full popcorn bowl threatens to fall from his arms.
Mike sits down on the couch, already occupied by Will, and sets the dish down, letting his body gravitate towards his best friend.
Mike maneuvers his arm, so that he can wrap it around Will’s waist, and lets a bowl-cutted head fall on his shoulder.
They’re about half of the movie in - Mike hasn’t really comprehended any of which, by the way, too focused on his internal monologue instead - when he decides to stop biting his tongue.
“Can I kiss you?”
The words come out rushed and Mike refuses to look at Will, who takes the remote control and stops the movie abruptly.
“What?”
“I mean, you don’t have to, obviously. But I was thinking - if you think I’m pretty and would wanna kiss me, then you should. Like you know-”
Mike cuts himself off in the middle of the sentence and looks for better words. Preferably ones to show him as any less desperate to kiss Will than he is.
“For practice. You’ve never kissed anyone and I haven’t kissed anyone in a long time, so - yeah. I can show you how to and then you’ll know, when you find a girl you like.”
The words are bitter on Mike’s tongue, he lets them roll off with a pinch of poison - jealousy towards this possibly future girl, who Will is going to kiss someday.
“I mean, why not. If it’s for practice.”
Will grins at him and Mike almost thinks he’s seen through him, when he closes the distance between them.
Will’s looking at him from less than five inches away, now, and Mike lets his eyes wander to his lips.
“Yeah?”
Mike asks, the need to make sure evident in his voice. He can’t bring himself to find better words, but he knows Will gets it - the silent plea for consent more than readable from the soft undertones.
“Yeah.”
Will’s agreement is all Mike hears before the small proximity suddenly turns to nothing and his lips are on Will. It’s barely a peck, Mike doesn’t want to overwhelm Will with anything, but it’s everything to him.
Will tastes sweet, almost like he’s made of honey and Mike’s dreams, when his hand finds his best friend’s face- his thumb brushing over the cheekbone.
They separate after a few seconds and all Mike can think about is the desire to do it again.
Before Will can say anything, Mike puts one hand on the back of his neck and pulls him right back into a kiss. It’s different this time - more hurried, desperate. The second Mike gets a clear go ahead from the way Will kisses him back, he opens his mouth and brings both of his hands to his face.
Mike wants everything he can get - everything Will is willing to give him. Greedily, he rolls his tongue over his best friend’s and relishes in the gasp he gets in response.
They’re both panting by the end of the kiss - the air’s not something they’ve particularly cared for, apparently. Will looks at Mike through his long eyelashes and doesn’t move from his place in his best friend’s arms.
“How was I?”
The question hits Mike like a truck and he has no idea how to answer. Obviously, he lets his mouth work before his brain instead.
“I'm in love with you.”
It’s the only thing Mike’s refrained himself from saying for so long - yet it seems to be the only thing he can think of. His whole mind is flooded with the strength of what he feels for Will.
His best friend blinks at him.
“No, you're not.”
Mike’s not sure which one of them is more confused, but Will looks almost flabbergasted - like Mike’s suddenly grown two more pairs of arms and turned green right in front of him.
He can’t help but laugh at the expression.
“I am - I mean. ‘Course I love you, how could I not? I think I’ve been half in love with you my entire life, just never gave it any second thoughts. It hasn’t helped that suddenly half of the Hawkins population thinks the same - did you not see how hard I tried to explode everyone, who asked you out with my mind?”
The question is genuine - Mike’s sure his jealousy is visible to everyone who looks at him.
“Well, lucky for you, I’m not in love with half of the Hawkins population.”
Mike’s brain never seems to catch up fast enough - his speech proceeding functions turning off as always, when Will looks at him like this. Like Mike personally hung the sun for him in the sky.
“Can I kiss you? Again, I mean.”
Mike sees the way Will lets a small smile form on his face.
“For practice?”
Will’s teasing Mike again and he wants to flirt back - he really does, now that he knows he can. But he also really wants to kiss Will again.
“No. For me.”
“Please.”