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Will stares at the ground beneath him as they walk. It’s dark in the tunnels, even with the light of the flashlights, and the ground is uneven. He hasn’t spent much time in here, not like some of the others. Hopper and El are the most familiar with it, of course, given that they can’t exactly go gallivanting through town like the rest of them, but even the other Party members come through this way fairly often.
Not Will. His mom hates having him involved in the action in any way, shape, or form, not that he can entirely blame her. He wishes he could, some days, but he hates it here too. It feels achingly familiar in a bone-chilling way. Right now, he wonders if he even needs the map to find his way. He thinks that he could trace his way through this path with his eyes closed, relying solely on his past-now-memories from those god forsaken days when every part of him was covered in the Mind Flayer.
“You cold?” Mike asks, sidling up beside him. Robin is chatting with his mom and Lucas, who’s guiding them, and he can hear the dick jokes from here. He wonders why Mike split from them. Back in middle school, it was a common occurrence. Dustin and Lucas would get into some sort of debate, or Will would get distracted, and Mike would be there before he could even think to be lonely. It’s been years since then, but maybe Mike is still in tune with him enough to know when he’s getting lonely.
“A little,” he admits quietly, eyes ahead. If his mom heard such a thing, she would be all over him in worry, turning the whole mission around for his comfort. Maybe saying such a thing was doing her a disservice, but experience agreed with him even if it felt rude to think. Mike doesn’t do any such thing, just looking at him with knowing eyes. He knows how much Will hates the cold. Especially now, closer to the hive than he’s been in ages. He walks a little closer, their shoulders brushing as they go.
“I, for one, am ready for a nap. I feel like I’ve been awake for days.”
“We got a bit of rest at the Squawk,” Will reminds him. “But yeah. It’s been rough. I can’t wait to sleep in an actual bed.”
God, it sounds like bliss. Will doesn’t think about the fact that he never sleeps through the night without waking up with his heart racing and his sheets coated in sweat. It wouldn’t change the fact that he is desperately in need of rest. Will tries to ignore the voice in his head that whispers that this isn’t over, and that no matter if they succeed in getting the kids out safely, there’s more coming. It’s easier if he pretends.
“It’s worse for you,” Mike says. “I mean, what with the hive mind and stuff. You must be exhausted.”
Will shrugs, his shoulders drooping. It’s true. He feels like he has to fight just to keep putting one foot in front of the other. But what other choice does he have? “Not more so than you. I mean, it’s not like I feel it all the time. Usually it’s just when Vecna is active or when a demo is close. Or when it has been close, like at the Turnbows.”
Mike looks to him sharply. “You could see it at the Turnbows?” He seems shocked, which Will supposes makes sense. It hadn’t been much on anyone’s radar. The whole episode had happened as they were dragging the bodies of the family into the barn and tying them up. It had almost been over before his mom came running over in a panic to see him curled up in pain in the front seat.
“Uh, yeah,” he confesses. “It started around when we got to the barn. I was useless when it came to tying the Turnbows up. Too busy watching you beat the shit out of that demo.” He smiles lightly at him, hoping it doesn’t give too much away. “You were pretty handy with that shovel.” That was an understatement. Even in the throes of pain, with the fear and anger on Mike’s face directed at him, he had been beautiful. It wasn’t as though Will could say such a thing though.
Mike laughs, and the sound is like honey. Will could live off of that sound if he tried. “Thanks. Nancy did most of the work if I’m being honest. And Lucas, he’s the one who lured it out. He didn’t even have a weapon outside of those water balloons.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Will tells him. “I mean, the whole thing was your idea.”
“Yeah, and it didn’t work.” He tries to make it sound nonchalant, but Will can hear the undertones of sadness. He’s known Mike for most of his life. Even removing the aspect of his love for him, he knows him.
“That wasn’t on you,” Will says. “You did everything you could. Our crew is the ones who screwed up. If we’d kept Derek blindfolded better, then maybe—”
“Not on you either,” Mike interrupts. “You were watching us beat the shit out of that demo.”
“Hurt like hell,” Will admits with a snort, glancing at Mike. He expects a laugh in return, at the very least, even after his embarrassing moment of flirtation earlier. He doesn’t expect the smile to slide right off Mike’s face and shift into something horrified.
“You felt that?” he asks, his face pale even under the yellow light of the flashlights.
“Yeah?” Will says, unsure where this is heading. “I mean, when I’m connected to the hive mind, I feel everything.”
“Oh my god,” Mike chokes out. He sounds like he’s going to be sick, and for a brief moment Will thinks of telling him to step down another path so none of the kids slip in it on their way back. He holds his tongue. “I hit you with a flaming shovel wrapped in barbed wire.”
“No,” Will corrects. “You hit a demo with a flaming shovel wrapped in barbed wire. I was just… along for the ride. Besides, Nancy shot it, Jonathan lit it on fire, and Dustin and Steve hit it with a car. It’s not like you’re the only offender.”
Mike doesn’t look placated by his words, and Will wants to slap himself in the face for thinking he would be. Now, he knows, all Mike is thinking of is Will experiencing all of those things. He grabs his hand, and Will’s breathing stops as he holds it up, inspecting his knuckles like he’s expecting to find them caked in blood. Will remembers the sharp pain of his shovel slamming into the demo’s hands, knocking it onto the lower level through the hole they carved in the floor and into the barbed wire that bit at every piece of his skin.
“I’m fine,” he assures him. “It doesn’t actually hurt me. Not physically.”
“But you felt it,” Mike says, his voice pained. He lowers their hands back between them, but he doesn’t let go. “You felt it, Will.”
“I did.” There’s not much else he can say. Regardless of what he tries, Mike is going to blame himself. It’s in his nature. It’s why he’s such a good leader, and why he’s such a good friend.
“Wait, Dustin hit you with a car?”
Will sighs. “Technically, Steve did. But Dustin was in there too. I saw him. And Nancy and Jonathan must have been in the backseat, now that I think about it. It’s fine, though. If they hadn’t, that demo would have killed us and taken Derek, and then where would we be?”
Mike sighs, pointing his flashlight up at the tunnels above them. “Not in these shitty tunnels trying to rescue Dipshit Derek?”
“Hey,” Will teases. Mike’s hand is still intertwined with his, and it’s all he can think about. “He’s Delightful Derek now, didn’t you hear my mom?”
Mike laughs again, the sound echoing around them. He would say a million stupid things if it would make Mike laugh again and again and again.
“Right. Delightful Derek then.” Mike’s smile goes tight on his face. “I hate this.”
“What, Derek?”
“You.”
Will’s face drops, and Mike’s shifts into a panic. “Wait, no. That came out wrong.” He lifts his hands to his face in flushed embarrassment, his flashlight pointing directly in Will’s eyes, but all Will can think about is how cold his hand feels without Mike’s. “I just… I hate how much this always ends up effecting you. I wish… I wish you didn’t have to deal with this. Any of it. You’ve been through the most out of all of us. You’re - you’re just really brave, is what I’m saying, I guess.”
“So are you,” he retorts, flustered. He hopes the redness of his cheeks doesn’t show in the darkness. Mike rolls his eyes, so he doubles down. “I’m serious. Not many people would be willing to stand face-to-face with a demo with nothing but a shovel. It was impressive. At least, it was impressive when I wasn’t, you know, screaming in pain.”
Mike looks utterly devastated. “Don’t—” he says sharply. “Don’t joke about that.”
Will stares. This is really hurting him, isn’t it? A part of him hates that. He hates that he made Mike feel the same burning pain that he felt when his brother threw that fire at the eyes he was looking through, but there’s a part of him that’s grateful for the care. A few years ago, he would have given anything for Mike to pay him that sort of attention.
“Okay,” he says softly. “I won’t.”
Mike clears his throat, chewing on his lip. Will’s eyes are fixed on the movement for a moment before he realizes just how suspicious that is, and he instead stares ahead at Robin’s shoes in front of him.
“I should go help Lucas,” Mike says after a moment of quiet. “God knows we shouldn’t trust him to do that on his own.”
Will snorts. “Trust him more than you. You could get lost on the way from your bedroom to the bathroom.”
Mike makes an offended face, elbowing him lightly, and Will just smiles as he stumbles. His body is warm where Mike’s touched it. He can’t tell if it’s a physical warmth from the closeness, or just emotional because it’s Mike, but either way, he feels better.
Mike leaves his side, and he’s cold only for a moment before Robin is walking backwards to crash into him, her eyes holding that knowing glint he’s seen a lot of over the last couple of days. The world may be ending, but he’s glad to know her, even if it is mortifying to have someone else be aware of his stupid crush. Jonathan was bad enough.
Mike glances back at him once while Lucas complains about him trying to take over his role, making a face, and Will laughs silently. When Mike looks at him like that, how could he be anything but warm?