Chapter Text
“What if,” Will says, and he slows down his horse, flashing a grin at Mike, “we just didn’t come back?”
Mike pauses, slowing down his horse just enough to look over his shoulder and give his husband an amused smile. “Not a bad idea,” he muses. “But then, I’m pretty sure Nancy would name us outlaws in the kingdom of Corazzia and send all the knights to come find us.”
“Mm,” Will hums, riding his horse up to where Mike is at, so the two of them are now sitting side by side. “Jonathan probably would too. And then I’d end up getting a lecture slash pep talk from my older brother, which wouldn’t be very fun.”
Mike can’t help but shudder at the mention of his brother-in-law’s infamous peps talks turned lectures, and he scrunches his nose at his husband. “You know he gave me one of those the very first day we met? My very first night in Luzios, the king showed up at my door and asked me to come take a walk with him. I’m pretty sure if I’d said ‘no’ our countries would’ve ended up at war again.”
The sound of Will’s laughter fills the quiet meadow, and Will just rolls his eyes. “I told him not to do that,” he recalls. “That was after we fought at dinner, wasn’t it? He must’ve come to you right after the two of us talked. You’re really lucky he didn’t decide to declare war right then and there. Jonathan was pissed.”
Mike laughs softly, reaching for his husband’s hand and pressing a light kiss to the back of it. “I guess I can’t blame him for that,” he muses softly. “It’s not like I made a very good impression on either of you.”
As he says those words, Mike runs his hand gently down Will’s forearm—where, underneath the sleeves of his tunic, are the remnants of the torture he’d experienced on their arrival into Corazzia. Though the wounds have all but healed now, they’ve left behind jagged scars that not even the best Luziosian healers can reverse.
It’s fine, or so Will says. Still, waking up and seeing those words every morning is a painful reminder of just how far they have to go to help their kingdoms heal from the darkness of the past. And gods, Mike knows those words, that title, and the past don’t define Will in his mind—not anymore. But it still hurts every time Mike remembers all the pain and suffering Will experienced, both before they even met and since the time they’ve known each other.
“Mike,” Will’s voice snaps Mike out of his thoughts, and Mike blinks, looking up and seeing an amused smile on his husband’s face. “You’re overthinking. Again.”
“I am not,” Mike protests, even though… yeah, he probably is. “Maybe you’re just… underthinking.”
Will raises a brow. “I’m underthinking,” he echoes. “That’s a new one. What, are you saying I’m stupid now or something?”
There’s a teasing lilt to his voice, but that doesn’t change the fact that Mike’s face goes warm at the accusation. “Hey now,” he huffs, glaring playfully at his husband. “Don’t put words into my mouth that I didn’t say!”
“I’m not putting words into your mouth!” Will laughs. “I’m just – I’m only asking for clarification on what you meant by underthinking. You know… since that isn’t actually a word.”
Again, Mike just glares at his husband, and Will’s eyes crinkle as he smiles and takes Mike’s hand in his own. “Back to the matter at hand though,” Will says, his voice softer now. “I know you. You get this little look on your face when you overthink. So, what’s wrong?”
He presses a kiss to the back of Mike’s knuckles, soft and sweet. It’s just like Will to do this – to break down all of Mike’s defenses with nothing more than a few words and a gentle touch. Nobody’s ever been able to do that, but then again, nobody’s ever known Mike as well as Will does.
“Just thinking about how we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Mike admits with a dry smile. He glances out at the capital city, trying to ignore the strange feeling of nervousness that’s settled into his stomach. “I mean… we didn’t exactly leave Corazzia in the best position. Who knows whether the uprisings have gotten any worse or what’s happened, you know?”
“I think,” Will says softly, and he presses his lips against Mike’s knuckles again, “if anything major had happened while we were away, your sister would’ve sent word to us. Besides, we’ve only been gone for two weeks. If anything, things are probably just like how we left them, and yes, that does mean we still have a lot of work to do… But it’s you and me. We’ll get through it together.”
He says those words with such certainty and conviction that Mike can’t help but smile. It’s true, after all. The road ahead of them to peace is difficult, but as long as Mike has Will by his side, he knows that everything will be alright.
“How do you always know exactly what to say?” Mike asks softly, leaning over and kissing his husband sweetly.
Will laughs softly, but he lifts his hand, resting it against Mike’s cheek and smiling into their kiss. “I could ask you the same thing,” he murmurs, his breath warm against Mike’s face. “Guess we just know each other too well.”
“Guess so,” Mike murmurs, and he deepens their kiss, tugging Will close by the collar of his shirt and running a hand through his husband’s hair. Will makes a soft, pleased noise in the back of his throat, leaning into the kiss, and Mike can’t help but smile as he leaves trails of kisses down Will’s cheek, his jaw, and his neck.
“Mike,” Will gasps, tilting his head back as Mike kisses his neck, right where his little mole is. “Mike.”
Mike just hums. “Hm?”
“We – we need to,” Will says with a bit of a laugh, but he doesn’t struggle when Mike pulls him close again, “we need to get back to the castle.”
“Weren’t you the one who just suggested not coming back home?” Mike whispers, and this time, he kisses his husband again, relishing the way Will shivers and responds immediately to his touch. “We could just… take an extended vacation.”
“Our siblings,” Will reminds, his voice a mumble.
“Ugh.” Now, that gets Mike’s attention, and he pulls back, making a face at his husband. “Please don’t mention our siblings when I’m trying to kiss you.”
Will raises an eyebrow, an unamused look on his face. “We need to go back home,” he says, voice taking on a playfully mournful tone. “Honeymoon can’t last forever.”
“Alright, fine,” Mike says with an overly dramatic sigh, and as Will rolls his eyes, he can’t help but smile. “Race you back?”
Will considers the offer for a moment; then, before Mike can even process what’s going on, Will kicks his horse into action, riding quickly across the meadow. “Hey!” Mike protests, attempting to catch up to his husband. “You cheater!”
“What’s that?” Will calls over his shoulder, grinning widely. “I can’t hear you!”
Mike just rolls his eyes, and together, the two of them ride towards the capital city, though Will always remains a few feet ahead of him. Naturally, his cheater of a husband makes it back to the city wall before Mike does, and by the time Mike catches up to him, Will is already calling up to the guards, “Harmon! It’s us! Will and Mike!”
Mike looks up at the city wall, and to no surprise, he finds Harmon and a couple other guards standing on top and completing their regular patrol. What is surprising, however, is when Harmon barks, “The princes have returned! Quick! Someone alert the Queen!” before the gate even begins to open.
The urgency in his voice sets off immediate warning bells in Mike’s mind, and he exchanges a nervous look with Will, waiting for the gate to open up. Finally, the two of them are able to enter through the gate, and more fear settles into Mike’s heart when he sees the grave looks on the guards’ faces.
“Your Highnesses,” one of the guards says, bowing to the two of them. “We’re glad to see you’ve safely returned. We’ve sent a messenger ahead of you to alert Her Majesty of your arrival, but you’ll want to seek her out immediately. It’s a matter of utmost importance.”
“Thank you,” Mike says, cordially nodding to the guards and watching, out of the corner of his eye, as Will does the same. Once the guards have moved out of the way, he and Will waste no time, riding as fast as they can through the city and to the castle.
What was that Will had said about overthinking? Well, Mike thinks he’s definitely overthinking, because there are a thousand different, worst case scenarios running through his mind right now. With how unstable things have been in Corazzia, there’s no telling what might have been gone in their short time away from home.
Gods have mercy. They really can’t catch a break, can they?
Finally, the two of them reach the castle, where they find servants ready to take their horses to the stable. One of the servants directs them to the war room, so Mike quickly takes his husband’s hand, running down the familiar hallways leading back to the room where he and his sister have met together dozens of times now. There’s no denying the unsettled feeling that grows in his stomach or the way his heart pounds inside his chest—a nervous thumpthumpthump that Mike thinks he can actually hear.
When the two of them finally reach the war room, Mike doesn’t hesitate to fling the door open and pull Will inside.
“Shit!” a familiar voice—Steve, Mike thinks distantly in the back of his mind—exclaims, and the familiar SCHLING! of someone’s sword being drawn echoes through the small room.
Mike stands in the doorway for a moment, blinking as he tries to take everything in. The war room is packed full of people—most of whom Mike recognizes. Of course, Nancy stands at the head of the table, her brow furrowed in concern. The Party members are all here, standing close to one another, and Steve is here too, hovering close to Jonathan just like Mike has noticed he’s been doing ever since their initial trip to Luzios. None of this is too surprising.
What is somewhat surprising is the fact that Jonathan is here, standing to the right hand of Nancy, a deep frown on his face. Robin has accompanied him and stands next to Steve, and much like Jonathan, she looks like she has definitely seen better days.
Yet somehow, the presence of their Luziosian friends is not the most surprising sight to see here.
Because there are two people—a tall, burly man with a shaved head and a petite woman with dark brown hair—whom Mike doesn’t recognize, standing beside Nancy and Jonathan and frowning deeply at the map in front of them. They’ve made themselves right at home alongside Nancy and Jonathan, and Mike wracks his brain, trying to remember if maybe the pair are Luziosian diplomats whom he doesn’t recognize.
Mike looks around the room, opening his mouth to ask what the hell is going on.
But before he can, Will beats him to it.
He takes another step into the room, pulling Mike with him, and he stares directly at the pair—no, at the woman—standing beside Jonathan. And as if somehow the woman can sense his gaze on her, she looks up too, her dark eyes going wide when she sees him.
“Will,” she whispers, and her voice is watery, full of emotion. “Oh, Will, baby…”
Confusion fills Mike’s heart, but before he can do anything about it, Will lets out a small, watery laugh. Then, with his own voice full of surprise, he whispers, “M-Mom?”
Oh.
Oh.
In the next instant, Will is running towards his mother, and he throws himself at her, nearly causing both of them to fall to the floor. “Mom,” Will sobs, and his mom—Joyce, as Mike recalls—hugs him tightly, rubbing his back and whispering quiet reassurances to him. “You – you’re alive. You’re alive. How – where have you been? What happened?”
“Shh, shh, it’s okay, baby,” Joyce reassures, though she sounds just as choked up as Will is. She runs a gentle hand through Will’s hair and hugs him tighter, whispering, “It’s okay. I’ll explain everything later; I promise. But I’m here; I’m here, baby. It’s okay. We’re both okay.”
Despite the grave tension that hangs in the room, Mike can’t help but smile, and he exchanges a look with Jonathan, who merely offers him a tired smile and nods to both Will and Joyce. Mike nods in return, taking his brother-in-law’s silent suggestion to approach the pair, and he lingers close to them, looking around the room once more.
It’s hard to read the expressions on his friends’ faces, but from what Mike can tell, the situation is not good. They must have all just gotten here, because there are no battle plans or anything laid out on the map yet – no other context clues that might help him learn what’s happened in their absence.
Unfortunately, Mike is going to have to wait for the others to fill him in.
So, out of pure instinct, Mike glances over at his sister, and he’s not surprised to see a familiar weariness in Nancy’s eyes. She looks older in this moment – less like the big sister who had the time of her life sharing Mike’s most embarrassing moments with his husband and more like the queen that she is.
Finally, Nancy happens to catch his eye, and her lips press into an even deeper frown. Mike raises a brow, hoping his question comes across clearly: What the hell happened?
Nancy’s gaze flits over to Will and Joyce, and she hesitates, only for a brief moment. But then, she straightens her back, and that steely resolve returns as she quietly says, “Joyce, Will…”
It takes a moment, but then the mother and son pair look up, turning their attention back to Nancy. “I’m sorry,” Nancy says, and she seems genuine. “But Joyce… we need you and Hopper to finish your story. We need to know the rest of the story.”
There’s a grave tone to Nancy’s voice, so it’s no surprise when Joyce’s face falls, morphing into one of determination not unlike Nancy’s own. “Of course,” she says, exchanging a look with the man—Hopper, Nancy had called him, and if Mike’s memory serves him correctly, that’s El’s father. “Like I was saying—”
“Hang on,” Mike blurts out, and every person in the room turns to face him now. Each of them has that worrying, nervous look in their eye, and it fills Mike’s heart with an all too familiar sense of pure fear. “Someone… please catch Will and me up. What happened? What’s going on? And – and why is everyone here? Jonathan, why… why aren’t you in Luzios? What the hell is going on?”
The room goes dead silent. Whatever the news is… none of them are ready to share it. And quite frankly, Mike isn’t ready to hear it.
He watches as Nancy and Jonathan exchange a look, engaging in their own silent conversation before glancing at Joyce and Hopper as well. Then, finally, Jonathan turns back to him, and his voice is quiet as he says, “I’m here… all of us are here because… because Luzios is under attack… and Luz has already fallen.”
Mike feels his heart drop all the way to the bottom of his stomach. The fear takes root, and he stares at Jonathan and Nancy, blood rushing in his ears, head spinning, as he tries to process the news. On instinct, he and Will reach for one another’s hands, and it registers, somewhere in the back of Mike’s mind, that his husband’s hand is trembling.
“W–what?” Mike finally manages to whisper. “How… why… who…”
His voice trails off here, and he forces himself to just breathe and to get it together. Somehow, he manages to find his voice again, and though it comes out shakier than he wants it to, Mike asks, “Who? Who did this?”
Immediately, something in the air shifts. Every single person goes impossibly still. Impossibly quiet. This piece of information, this secret that they’re withholding from Mike and Will… it’s a dangerous one.
And Mike gets a feeling he already knows the answer to his own question.
Beside him, Will takes a shuddered breath, and he squeezes Mike’s hand so tightly it almost hurts. “Jonathan,” he whispers, his own voice trembling. “Answer the question.”
It’s not a request.
It takes another moment before Jonathan is able to lift his head again. But when he looks up, he doesn’t meet Mike’s gaze. No, instead, he looks directly at Will, a weary, heartbroken expression written all over his face.
And Mike knows, even before Jonathan says the words. He knows exactly who has attacked Luzios.
“It’s him,” Jonathan whispers, his words sealing the fate of their two countries. “Henry.”