Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

the summer of 86' was quite miserable in hawkins, indiana. most days, the heat and humidity were blistering, the air leaving your skin tacky with sweat in seconds, and the party was desperate to cope. luckily, a massive bonus in ted wheeler's pay meant a new pool was installed in their backyard, perfect for lounging lazily on a sunday morning or wading in just to cool down on those extra torturous days. even after hearing about the heat, the hopper-byers' kids were eager to visit from california.

at first, things were awkward. but, nancy and jonathan's rough patch about college fizzled out, and he gladly stayed in the apartment she was renting. jane was more than happy to stay at max's house after her breakup with mike over spring break, and will stayed with the wheelers, nancy's room acting as a guest bedroom. the party saw each other often in the evenings and weekends, working part-time jobs at the arcade or melvald's, trying their best to work early and stay out late.

everybody was happy to spend the summer together, but will and mike were in an awkward space. their argument while looking for jane at the rink and the tension from the rest of spring break lingered even after 3 months. when alone together, the tension is almost palpable. luckily, that wasn't often.

today was one of those 'sweat on your upper lip as soon as you step outside' kind of days, and mrs. wheeler had the brilliant idea to task the boys with cleaning the pool after lunch. fresh grass clippings clumped together messily on the pool's surface, and shiny overturned beetles floated along slowly. to both boys' disdain, they had no choice but to complete this grueling task alone. the sky was a clear, vibrant blue that was accompanied by an occasional breeze you always find yourself thankful for.

"boys!" mrs. wheeler called from the open sliding door, "go ahead and clean the filter baskets, please!"

"okay!" mike called out towards the house, squinting in the sun. even in his sleeveless shirt and shorts, he's already baking. ted was typically the one to deal with the real equipment, but mike felt as if he'd watched him long enough to figure it out on his own.

the shed doors creak despite being brand new as they pull them open. "i'll use the skimmer," will announced, slightly pushing past mike, who was blocking the entrance. he pulls it from the rack it lives on, and makes his way to the pool. mike rolls his eyes, but still watches will while he walks off and studies his every action as he gently dips the skimmer into the pool and drags it along the water's surface.

mike sighs as he rips his eyes away from his best friend. he wasn't sure he could call will that anymore. their interactions became something almost robotic, and it almost killed mike with every passing hour. the shift in their fragile relationship started the day they bickered at rink-o-mania. their argument wasn't on terms for ending their friendship, but the fact that they barely spoke for the rest of the following week set off their radio silence. over the 3 months of their separation, neither received a call or letter from the other. mike hesitantly tried to call a few times, prepared to toss aside his dignity and deliver a sincere apology, but joyce kept the line busy with her job. 

and, even though they weren't on the best of terms, mike couldn't stay away from will this summer. even on the worst days when the silence was almost unbearable, it was impossible for mike's eyes not to gravitate towards the boy. mike tried to stop himself for the first two weeks, but found the task too difficult, and instead opted to figure out why will was so magnetic. there were too many factors to consider, and they flooded his mind each waking moment. maybe it was clothes, or how his skin tanned beautifully and shone with a sheen of sweat. perhaps it was the beat-up shoes he wore, or the echo of his laugh when the party swam at night. the way he'd grown a slight build over the months and wasn't arrogant with his strength, just helpful. the pattern of his footsteps down the hall, the muscles on his back and arms rippling as he used the push mower, the smell of his sunscreen. maybe it was just him. whatever it was, it made it annoyingly hard to keep mike mad at him. he'd nearly folded under the pressure at a few points, nearly begging will to come back to him, to rebuild their friendship and maybe something more.

mike tries to shake the thought of will from his mind as he stares at the equipment pad before him. the cicadas seem to grow louder as he contemplates, reaching out to the breaker on the wall and pulling the warm metal door open. none of the buttons were labeled particularly well, but the buzzing of the machinery cuts off on the first button he attempts. must be a good sign, he thinks.

meanwhile, will has been dumping piles of grass onto the concrete and wrestling with the bugs' tiny legs on the net of the skimmer. water has caught onto his legs and arms and dripped down them, a nice cooling sensation in the heat. the task was a mindless routine he had repeated weekly during his stay, so he finds his mind idly drifting to mike, as it typically does. he looks back over his shoulder towards him, but the open shed doors block his view in.

funny enough, the two felt the same about each other. staring when they thought the other wasn't looking, going to sleep at night with the thought of knocking on bedroom doors just to see one another. will was a bit more concrete about his feelings towards mike, he forgave him as soon as their argument ended but he didn't want to push mike, so he gave him space that spanned from a few hours to months.

those late nights awaiting a soft knock brought will a yearning he'd never thought he'd feel, especially at seventeen. he'd watch the gap beneath the door for any disturbance in the hall light and eventually doze off, still prepared to reach for the doorknob at the first sign of michael, and welcome him into the quiet of his temporary bedroom.

in the shed, mike was attempting to twist off the pump lid and failing miserably. he groans, sweat dripping down his back and causing his shirt to cling to him. he's quietly cursing to himself about the heat, the humidity, having to be outside at all, being weird around will. the same person that his mother used as a personal mover whenever she wanted a room rearranged, or the garage emptied. he weighs his options, knowing the clear plastic on top of the lid was too fragile to hit. he accepts his defeat with a sigh, steps out of the shade, and calls out to will.

"yeah?" will calls over his shoulder, having crouched near the panel in the concrete to dump the clumps of leaves and grass from the basket beneath the pool wall's skimmer. hearing mike speak his name made his stomach drop delightfully.

"can i get some help?" mike asks. he knew he wasn't weak, but he could've sworn somebody cemented the lid onto the filter.

"yeah, one sec!" will glances back at mike as he's dropping the panel back over the tube and stands, grabbing the skimmer before heading towards the shed that mike has disappeared back into.

mike had to get back into the shed because of the blush spreading across his cheeks. he'd spoken to will throughout his visit, and looked at him plenty, but seeing the shirt he was wearing strain against his torso, and hearing the slight bass in his voice made him dizzy as his stomach flipped.

"what's up?" will says as he steps into the shed. sharp beams of sunlight shone through the closed blinds of the small window and caught will's attention as they landed on mike's shoulders. they were red, slightly sunburnt, and sprinkled with light freckles. will wanted nothing more than to playfully tease mike about his irresponsibility and help him put sunscreen on those same shoulders. mike would shiver at his light touch, and will wouldn't mind.

"um.." mike hesitates, motioning haphazardly down to the lid he'd struggled with. "just.. can't get it open." 

will follows mike's motions. "the filter?" the question didn't seem teasing, just helpful, as will always was.

"yeah.."

without another word, will crouches beside the filter and begins to twist the lid off. there's a bit of struggle, but it comes off with a shallow pop from the suction, and mike suddenly feels as if he were asking a husband to open a pickle jar. the thought ignited both fear and excitement in his veins. the way will's biceps flexed slightly, and how he held his breath when he struggled with the lid. when will pulls the dripping basket from the filter and hands it to mike to empty, their hands touch, and they both seem caught off guard, just for a moment, before pretending it hadn't happened.

that brief moment of contact brought will back to their road trip to a newly developed water park in indianapolis. holly had begged to be brought there, and so nancy, jonathan, holly, jane, and the boys all loaded into nancy's station wagon and took off. holly's car seat required her to sit near a window, so the boys were slightly crammed together in the backseat alongside her, mike consciously avoiding sitting across from jane in the very back. it was warm enough to make your legs stick to the leather, and the limited room forced the boys shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee. mike kept his eyes focused on the window to his right, and will stared out on the highway before them. without looking at one another, they were both intensely focused, for an hour and a half, on being as casual as possible and monitoring every move the other made. holly had made conversation with will during that ride, and mike silently admired how well he did with her. he could only hope their conversations would become that easy again.

mike had dumped the basket outside and handed it back to will by the time the memory concluded, and will didn't miss the way mike seemed to hold the basket between his pointer finger and thumb to assure they didn't touch each other again.

the shed door creaks quietly behind them and closes gently, swaying in the breeze, too heavy to be opened again without assistance. will turns to replace the basket and drops it, cursing under his breath as it rolls towards the back of the shed, stopping as it hits the wooden leg of a stool. the shed dimmed without the doors open, but neither of the boys reached for the metal chain dangling from the ceiling, or the blinds to let some sun in.

mike watches him half-stumble over the piping. matured as he had grown to look and seem, he was still as clumsy as ever. will sits on the stool, white basket in his hands that he seems to fidget with. it's quiet, and the boys look at each other, "you okay?" from mike breaks the silence. the wind comes in slow waves and whirls around the shed, a slight whistle through the crack in the doors.

will contemplates, looking down at the basket and picking stuck stems and grass from the grated texture. he nods, but lifts his head to see mike still staring, half expectant. "i'm sorry," he says, conflicted expression, and it's silent again. there's a trickling inside the pipes, and mike finds himself pushing a dead leaf around with his foot.

"i am, too," mike says, nearly having to squint at will in the shed. maybe it was better that way. dark, easier to hide yourself.

"i just.." will says, pauses as if in deep thought, and sighs. "i was hurt, at first, and then whenever i got here i could tell things were weird, i guess." will finishes, leaning down to pop the basket back into the filter, the small layer of left over water rushing back through the mesh.

mike sighs then. "me, too." was he really going to keep saying 'me too?'  he thought. no, he had to let the words tumble out as they pleased. word vomit, robin called it. "i felt like i couldn't talk to you. i thought you-" the door opens slightly and closes again and again, being pushed by the wind. he reaches back and pulls it shut. "i thought maybe you didn't like me anymore."

will shakes his head as if to say, 'that's ridiculous,' and speaks. "no, i guess after not seeing you, i didn't know who you were anymore. i didn't know what to talk to you about."

"i guess i felt that way as well," mike concludes, and doesn't quite know what to say after that. the part of will that still knows that part of mike picks up on his expression and fills in the gaps.

"ask me a question, then," will prompts, chuckling at mike's confused expression. "go on, really! any question."

"what's your favorite season?" mike asks with a shrug, 'i tried; you put me on the spot.' even in the dim lighting, their eyes held their silent communication.

'that's okay,' his eyes say. "winter," his response is simple enough, no guessing, but no explanation either. "what's yours?" there's a look in his eyes that hints he knows the answer. of course, he knew it.

mike's eyes shift slightly, and he speaks, "mine, too."

will is caught off guard by this, "no, your favorite season is summer." the part of him that knew mike knew that it was summer, that it'd forever be summer.

"how'd you know that?" he asks, more meaning, 'how can you still know me so well? '

'i just do.' will's eyes respond before his voice "you're happier during the summer." a pause, then, as if dipping his toe into the pool to gauge the temperature, he says, "you sort of become the sun. i think it's in your blood." will recalls the day watching mike ride the waterslides with holly, or riding lucas' shoulders in the pool playing chicken, endless smile plastered across his face, even when he'd forgotten his sunscreen and realized too late, but kept playing because he loved the summer. wearing his pale blue button-down without a shirt on underneath, which seemed to billow in the wind while they ate lunch on the deck. will wrote about days like those.

'why winter?' mike wanted to ask, but he already knew the answer. "well, what have you been up to since i last saw you?" the casual chit-chat was slowly killing him. he continues, more word vomit, "working out?" that gave away that mike had been looking at him close enough, "dating anybody?" and that gave away a bit too much for his liking. mike kept his mouth closed after that. 'sorry.'

will ignores the dating question, 'of course not, and you know why,' he wants to say, but seems flattered by mike's first question. "why, yes, i have been working out," will says proudly, smiling. "i didn't think you noticed.. i actually started when we got to lenora."

that explained the tight shirts. "of course i did." though, his words seemed a bit too blunt, and again, a bit too revealing when it came from mike's mouth so swiftly, he attempts a quick recovery, "you've been like my mom's personal assistant whenever it comes to the heavy lifting. of course i noticed." though silently, he says, 'of course i noticed, will. how could i not?'

there's just a smile on will's face, then. receptive, somewhat knowing, but still unsure. mike returns it, suddenly feeling bashful. 'i noticed things about you, too,' will thinks. there's a short pause, "i like your hair," will says, studying the black waves that brushed mike's shoulders. the inky hair was shiny, soft-looking, and a bit shaggy at that.

mike blushes at the compliment, instinctively reaching to curl a piece around his finger. but whenever his smile drops as he reaches a realization, will notices, "what?" he questions.

mike shakes his head, "mom is actually cutting my hair tomorrow."

will's smile drops slightly, "oh, well that's too bad.." he trails off, staring at mike. "but, i get it. it's too hot for long hair," he reassures.

"yeah," the unsure chuckle that follows is the kind you hear when somebody doesn't know how to carry the conversation on. thankfully, as always, will picks up on this.

"well, hey, let's finish up here," will says, stepping down from the stool and twisting the lid back onto the filter. "get the breaker?"

"yep. yeah." mike almost trips in his rushed actions to do as will asked. he presses the button, and the buzzing starts again, water rushing through the pipes, eager to return to the pool. mike turns to the shed door, pushes it open with another creak, and looks back at will. "you coming in?" he asks.

will is pulling a push broom from the rack and shakes his head at mike, "no, no. i've gotta sweep the grass clippings, but i'll be in as soon as i'm done."

"okay," mike says, stepping back into the heat.

"okay," will repeats. they share a smile, and will watches mike saunter back into the house, unaware of the smile he was wearing and failing to wipe off his face.

Chapter Text

once the sun has calmed its relentless reign over the day and sunk into the evening, will emerges from the house once again, the sky a burnt orange fading into a gentle pink, accompanied by wispy clouds. he was working through reading the second book of his visit, but sleep was pulling at his eyelids and making his limbs feel heavy. 

he reclines on one of many long pool chairs and tries his best to focus on his book, the leftover heat of the day keeping him warm, and the breeze being just gentle enough to keep him from overheating. eventually, he gives himself over to the demanding drowsiness and places the book over his face, drifting off. the pages are gentle against his skin and smell like home, comforting. behind his eyelids, as he falls deeper into his nap, he can almost see the beaches and hilly terrain of lenora, and can almost hear the waves and seagulls. he's unaware of how long he drifts off for, but it's certainly not enough time before he's interrupted, hardly registering the back door gliding on the tracks to open.

"hey, will," mike says as he crosses the deck and leans against the railing, looking down to the crown of will's head beneath him on the concrete. will jumps, and the book slides from his face and thumps onto the concrete.

will cranes his head to look at mike behind him and offers a polite smile, still not used to hearing mike speak to him again. "hey, mike," he says tiredly, reaching down to retrieve his book and place his bookmark into the worn pages. it was easy to remember what page he was on because will had made it his mission to read as many of his untouched books as possible during his three-month stay in indiana. but, the nostalgia was too overbearing to immerse himself into the fantasy worlds of his fiction, wanting to soak up as much of the good memories as he could, resulting in being stuck on page twelve for two days.

"sorry, i didn't mean to scare you," mike says as he watches will. will shakes his head and sits up on the chair, swinging his legs over the edge, looking up at mike. "um," mike hesitates, "lucas was going to come by in 30 minutes, i'm not sure what we're doing, though. are you coming?"

the book in will's hands practically screams at him for attention, and will sighs, knowing it'll have to wait another day. he can't refuse any offer that mike will ever make to him. sorry, stephen king. "yeah, that sounds good," will says.

mike is trying his best to bite back the smile forming on his face as he nods. "cool," he says.

"cool," will responds, smiling. mike wanders back into the house and will follows eventually, now feeling the night cooling as the sun winds down into its slumber.  how lucky , will thinks. the nights he stayed up late for the slim chance of mike coming to see him have been weighing on his sleep schedule, the hard physical work he did during the day doubling down on him.

whenever lucas arrives, will meets mike in the driveway, thankful to have pulled on his favorite sweater as the absence of sun brought on a quickly chilling breeze. mike, as stubborn as always, seemed to be fighting the urge to shiver under the driveway's light, his arms crossed at his chest.

lucas' white malibu squealed to a stop on the street, dustin pushing the back door open and sliding to the furthest window seat. will climbs into the middle and is greeted by jane, lucas, and max in the front bench seat. he greets them and is grateful to feel that mike has finally stopped shying away from his touch, as their arms and knees are reunited in the back seat.

"dude, you are SO burnt" dustin says, openly teasing mike, whose face is very much a shade of red that can't be missed. jane and max immediately turn in their seats to examine mike's peeling nose as lucas peels off into the night, leaving the radio low.

will leans forward as mike continues to be bullied and greets lucas before asking, "what's the plan for tonight?"

lucas glances back, "max and jane want ice cream first, so we're going to sparky's," this grabs mike's attention as he's trying to defend himself and he jumps into the conversation, "sparky's?! ohhh sweet!" mike says, his enthusiasm exaggerated but genuine. there's a joint celebration from each passenger until the radio is turned up and the conversation has turned into a gentle, chatter, everybody breaking off into their different topics. it's mostly quiet in the back seat, the windows down despite the chill to break the humidity of a full car. it brought relief to will, who was struggling with the amount of physical contact being shared between him and mike, able to feel his gentle body heat and smell the fading cologne on his white shirt. he suddenly wishes he hadn't put on his navy blue sweater, saddened by the fact he couldn't feel mike's skin against his.

after dodging potholes and nearly running multiple red lights, another irritating squeal and jerk of the car indicates that the party has arrived at the parlor. mike climbs out of the back seat and holds the door open for will, who thanks him casually, to which mike hums in response. ahead of them as they stagger behind, max and lucas have joined hands, and jane has looped her arm around dustins, leaving the idea of doing something like that lingering in mike's mind. he's sure he could right now, reach out for will's hand, interlacing their fingers. it'd be so simple in a different universe, as easy as breathing. of course, will would have to want to, and people would have to be okay with that, which mike doubted. instead, his hands are shoved into the front pockets of his black jeans.

the bell above the door rings as the party crowds the small parlor, which they practically funded with their frequent visits. each party member pulls stray dollar bills and coins from their pockets, shoving them into dustin's open hands, runaway pennies and dimes rolling across the tiles. the cashier, alex, was delighted to see his favorite customers and to put up with another round of lucas and dustins indecisiveness. will ordered second to last, mike standing behind him.

"could i get blue moon, please? two scoops?" will asks, thankful to finally see his favorite flavor back in stock. he hears mike groan behind him. will looks back as alex builds his cone for him, "what?" he says. he almost dies on the spot seeing mike in the warm lighting of the store, hair shiny and slightly messy, but somehow still perfect.

mike raises his eyebrows, "no, nothing. that's just kinda gross," he says, shrugging and bringing his hands up defensively.

"are you kidding?! it's the best flavor on the menu. better than whatever you get," will says to defend the flavor that taught him what true joy was. just then, alex quips through the banter to hand will his cone above the display glass. "the usual?" alex asks mike, who nods and thanks him, but doesn't let the interruption cause his loss in the debate.

"oh, no. superman is superior," mike states, alex already scooping the yellow ice cream marbled with red and large stripes of blue. mike steps forward to watch alex work, and to be a little closer to will.

"i've never even had that," will says, wrapping napkins around his waffle cone. mike's jaw drops in disbelief, "you're telling me you've never had superman?!" he exclaims.

will shakes his head and laughs, stepping to the left to allow dustin to pay, more silver and copper coins dinging off the floor. the three steps will takes close the friendly distance between him and mike, bringing them face to face. mike is mildly surprised at the proximity, but doesn't move. alex finishes his cone and hands it over to mike, who thanks him once again. "dude, you've gotta try it," mike says, turning to face will and holding the cone towards him.

will scrunches his face in refusal and pushes mike's hand away gently. "gross, no. it looks radioactive," he says, laughing.

"oh, come on!" mike says playfully, dragging out the end of his sentence and waving the cone closer to will's face, "you know you wanna..." mike raises his eyebrows, smiling at the other boy. will does his best to seem annoyed, but eventually gives in with a chuckle and wraps his hand around the cone. mike doesn't let go, and the thought of holding hands revisits him, watching as will tastes the ice cream. they make eye contact and will is mostly silent, processing the flavor. mike licks his ice cream after will, trying not to think of the fact that will had just tasted it, too.

realization crosses will's face, and his eyes widen. "that's blue moon!" he half-shouts. the music mixed with customers' conversations gives them a nice blanket of privacy, the general volume rising and forcing the boys to shuffle even closer. incoming customers push their way to the front counter and usher will and mike to scooch over, which they do, still waiting for dustin to finish paying/hassling alex.

mike is taken aback, "what?! bullshit!" he says, eyeing the melting cone in will's hand. 

"mike, have you ever had blue moon before?" will asks teasingly, amused.

"i mean, no.. but that doesn't mean anything! superman is its own flavor," mike says, his face warming, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"i swear, something in that tastes just  like blue moon." will brings his cone towards mike's face. "try it," he says.

mike leans forward and allows will to hold the cone for him as he tastes the ice cream, incredibly disappointed at the fact that it tasted amazing, that it was definitely in superman, and that blue moon would forever remind him of will from that moment on.

will can read the flurry of emotions mike is experiencing, and it's enough to make him laugh. "oh, god! your face!" he speaks between chuckles. as he watches him, mike realizes how much he missed making will laugh.

dustin steps into mike and will's blanket of privacy and chimes in, "hey, let's sit." will nods and follows behind dustin, making sure to glance back to mike at the first possible opportunity. 

"will, sit here!" jane says cheerfully as she sees will approaching the makeshift table, just big enough to fit the party, created by shoving two smaller tables together. the chairs drag across the floor irritatingly as will takes his seat. dustin sits on the other side of will, and mike is seated at the far end of the table, panicking at the melting ice cream dripping down the back of his hand. max, dustin, and lucas tease him relentlessly as jane and will fall into their own conversation.

"how is it at max's house?" will asks as he works on his pale blue dessert. jane got her usual, two scoops of vanilla with rainbow sprinkles.

jane shifts in her seat and smiles widely "it is SO fun, it's like a sleepover every night," jane continues, telling will about their daily activities. painting their nails every week, doing each other's hair, and tanning together. it was the perfect summer. will nods along as he listens, but at some point, he looks up from his waffle cone and across the table at mike.

mike was already looking at him, his expression hard to read. it was as if he wasn't looking at him,  more like he was trying to see inside of him, to read his mind. though, mike looked away casually and continued his conversation with lucas. will brought his attention back to jane, but couldn't stop his face from heating up. he bites into his ice cream to cool himself down. it doesn't help.

the metal chairs scrape loudly against the tile as the party gets up to leave, tossing their trash into the can near the door while they file back out into the cool night. "what now?" dustin asks. theres a short commotion and the party agrees to wander downtown, veering down the hill along the sidewalk, separating into staggered duos, the sidewalk never being quite big enough to let them walk in unison. 

they wander into multiple stores, but end up in a tiny boutique being run by a small, cheerful old lady. as max and jane browse the clothes, will finds himself smelling a large arrangement of candles. eventually, he feels somebody approach his right side, and looks over to see mike. "hey," will says, picking up a yellow candle and bringing it to his nose, a gentle lemony scent, surprisingly pleasant. "hey," mike greets back, picking up a candle to sniff. he exclaims in disgust, "eugh! this stinks!" he says, tilting it towards will.

will leans forward and takes a small sniff of the candle, some kind of nasty, sour scent that makes his nose crinkle. "oh, jesus. you're right." he laughs and tries to clear the putrid scent from his nose, smelling his yellow candle again. "can i smell that one?" mike asks. will nods, and holds it up to mike, watching intently as he smells it. "oh, that's great," he says, taking the candle from will's hand—making sure to brush his fingers against wills—to continue to smell it. will smiles as he watches.

mike snaps out of whatever trance the scent put him in and looks to will, straightening up. "do you want me to buy this for you?" he says quickly. will is surprised, but decides to take mike's offer, somewhat flustered. "um, yeah, sure," he says, chuckling. he grabs another of the same scent from the shelf and holds it up to mike, "only if i can buy one for you?" he says.

"sure," mike says, smiling at will, his gaze gentle.

"cool, let's go," will says, cocking his head towards the counter to check out. the older woman at the register greets the boys sweetly and compliments their candle choices, making sure to wrap each one in thin paper and seal them with stickers. the boys end up chatting casually with her until lucas nudges them as max and jane walk out of the front door.

"goodbye!" she says, will waving to her and stepping back into the night.

"will, i'll carry the bag," mike says, holding his hand out for it.

"oh, it's okay. i've got it" will declines, putting a hand up towards mike in polite dismissal. mike takes the bag from him anyway, and will can't argue when he speeds off, catching up to walk next to max.

dustin slows his pace to be next to will, and puts an arm around his shoulders. "so, how you likin' hawkins? better than california?" dustin asks. 

will shrugs, "i like the weather there, it's always perfect.. but i missed you guys," he says, suddenly feeling sentimental.

dustin swoons, "aww, you're so sweet!" he ruffles will's hair and will removes dustins hat to return the favor.

"hey, what happened to the farrah fawcett hair routine?" will asks teasingly.

"hey, how'd you know about that?" dustin says, pausing in place on the sidewalk.

will laughs and continues walking, slowing down, "just come on!" will says.

"hell no! who told you that?!" he says, but keeps walking to keep up with the group. will denies he said anything at all, and suggests dustin gets his hearing checked out. they laugh together, and dustin interrogates each party member for information, swearing loudly into the night after realizing he gave himself away, and that steve must have snitched. 

"dude, we found the hairspray in your bedroom when we surprised you after camp..." lucas begins, "remember how you sprayed me in the face with that shit?" the group has another laughing fit, recalling the few days of peace they experienced before the upside down bled back into their hometown.

as it gets colder and closer to 10, dustin and the girls complain and suggest going back to the car, will agreeing for the sake of his worn-out converse. the new drive-in theater was a hot spot for teenagers and old couples alike, and the party followed the trend of frequenting it. tonight's showing was the karate kid, which was lucas and dustin's personal favorite since it came out two years before. during the ride there, will resists the urge to rest his head on mike's shoulder.

of course, they only had one vehicle, so two party members had to be kicked out for every passenger to see, and a mass game of rock-paper-scissors always determined who would freeze for two hours. will was never good at the game, so he was often exiled. dustin and mike made it to the finals, and their game was intense. mike ultimately lost and whined about the fact that he didn't have a jacket, claiming he'd die out there. dustin simply told him to quit his whining, shoved his jacket into mike's hands, and told him to get his ass out and go buy the tickets.

will couldn't help but chuckle, and slid across the leather backseat to join mike in the dark. the grass dampens their footsteps as they approach the concessions stand, side by side. crickets have begun their nightly song; the occasional firefly blips on its neon light before disappearing again. mike and will's arms brush with each step, neither moving to stop the brief contact.

in terms of his visit, will has done a nice job of staying out of the public eye, avoiding those who bullied him and slandered his family. though, tonight, there's a group of kids their age leaning against their sickly silver car, laughing at him, whispering and scoffing as their eyes follow him slowly. the one thing he'd never thought he'd hear again floated through the chilling breeze, reaching him and making him stop in his tracks. 

zombie boy.

Chapter Text

will only meant to pause for a moment, but mike must have caught the nickname, too, because he whirled around to face will immediately. the look on will's face breaks his heart. he looks like he's stuck between the slides again, brought back to his days of true sight, kind of frozen. will swallows thickly and makes the kind of eye contact with mike that was reserved for the worst moments. this sequence of events only occurs over a few short seconds, but it seems as if everything was in slow motion.

mike shoots a sharp look to the teens, recognizing troy walsh and his grating voice almost immediately. "fuck off, troy!" he calls out, closing the distance between himself and will, putting his arm around his shoulders and urging him to walk, as if they were in middle school again. "c'mon, ignore them." mike says lowly to will, who takes small steps, shuffling his feet along the dry, cracked dirt path.

"what was that, wheeler?" troy says, stepping towards the boys. will has kept his head down, but lifts it to look at him, memories of middle school making his stomach turn.

mike sighs and turns towards troy, rolling his eyes, "i told you to fuck off." mike says pointedly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"can't zombie boy speak for himself?" troy says, chuckling before he continues, "or are you always gonna stand up for your boyfriend?" the rest of the group behind him laughs along with him, making quiet comments and studying will as if he really were a zombie.

mike scoffs, "he's not my boyfriend." the word boyfriend almost makes mike shiver, "you're such a dick, troy. can't you just leave us alone?"

troy takes a step closer to mike, stopping a few feet in front of him. "look, wheeler. your freak of a friend may have broken my arm in middle school, but she's gone, off in pennhurst or wherever. which means you're dead," he says.

will steps closer to mike and reaches for his arm, attempting to diffuse the tension that was quickly thickening in the night. "hey, come on," will says, mike glancing back to him. they make eye contact, and will gives him a look that says leave it. mike understands, but will can see the hesitancy in his body language.

mike gives troy another look before he turns away, doing his best to ignore the rest of troy's friends' teasing. they were talking about mike now, about how he hung out with freaks like eddie munson, which must make him a freak too. will glances back just in time to see troy following mike, and shoving him from behind at the first chance. mike falls hard and lands on his side, looking at troy, who had his back turned, clearly trying to impress a blonde girl who was gasping and giggling.

"hey, what the fuck?" will says, troy whipping around to face him.

"oh, so you can speak!" he says. "i thought maybe coming back from the dead would make you mute."

will helps mike up, trying to brush off the dirt that had accumulated on his right side, sticking to the fabric of dustin's windbreaker easily. mike huffs and pulls his arm from will's grasp, stepping in front of troy as if to block his view of will.

"hey, i wasn't done talking to zombie boy." troy says, pushing past mike to reach out and grab at will's navy sweater.

will steps back from troy, who follows quickly, a small crowd gathering at the edges of the path. "hey, come on, you never told us how you came back to life, freak."

"just leave us alone, troy," will says, pushing troy's outstretched hands away, which eventually leads to them both stumbling back and away from each other. "look, i don't want any problems," will says, bringing his hands up slightly.

"troy!" mike calls out, and troy looks to his left. almost immediately, mike lands a punch somewhere on troy's face, and troy is quick to throw a punch of his own in mike's direction. the situation escalates quickly, and the small crowd begins yelling as the boys grapple with each other and end up on the ground, small clouds of dirt puffing around them while they fight for dominance. 

troy quickly mounts mike and punches him directly on his cheekbone, a gash opening, and an immediate flow of blood begins down the side of mike's face, seeping into his inky hair. seeing troy on top of mike makes his stomach churn. the anger on mike's behalf bubbled up inside of him until it started seeping into his limbs, electrocuting his fingertips. suddenly, he can't help but step in, his body involuntarily yanking him forward. will can see that mike has gotten a few good hits in on troy, but steps in then, tearing troy from his position above mike, practically flinging him onto the grass near the rear end of someone's car. will had never been in a fight before, but he was willing to do anything in order to keep mike out of too much harm.

troy almost looks scared as will approaches him, he's clutching his eye, and although will can hear the adults nearing and a much larger crowd accumulating, he reaches down to the collar of troy's shirt, using it as leverage to land punches wherever he can. will feels as if he's blacked out then, unable to see through the fog crowding his brain, continuing to hit wherever he can until lucas is grabbing him, "he's had enough!" he's repeating to him, pulling will to stand up straight. his stomach hurts, and he feels nauseous. the electricity in his body lowers into a constant buzz inside his chest, shaking with adrenaline. 

the fog is slow to clear, and will can't focus on any one thing; there's so much going on around him. yells from bystanders, troy clutching his bloodied face on the ground, dustin using the jacket he gave mike to soak up the blood escaping mike's sunburnt face and trickling quickly to his jaw, jane and max still pushing through the crowd, and the managers attempting to peer in to understand the commotion. lucas is pulling his arm, pulling him through the crowd and telling him to run, to hurry up, they have to leave.

cramming into the backseat, lucas peels off into the night, and with a panicked tone, "what the hell happened?!" he questions, "what was that?"

will's ears are ringing faintly, and he's staring down at his bloodied knuckles, the pain settling in and the bruising blooming quickly. "will," a voice says to his left. "will, are you okay?" it's mike in the middle seat next to him, still holding the thin windbreaker to his face.

it takes him a few seconds to respond, "yeah, yeah, are you okay?" he asks, studying the blood that has started drying on mike's white shirt. mike only nods back.

dustin turns around from his seat in front of will, and his voice is gentle, understanding. "will, what happened?" dustin does his best to put a steady hand on will's shoulder, grounding him, bringing him back to his senses. dustin was always the best mediator of the group.

will swallows thickly, clenching his fists as they lay in his lap, able to feel his heartbeat in his palms and fingers. "troy called me.. zombie boy," the name makes him nauseous, "and mike stood up for me, they both wouldn't drop it. i mean, you saw most of it." mike sniffs beside him.

"well, you should see his face. you guys fucked him up, seriously." max says from beside mike.

"what?" will says, leaning forward to look at her.

max chuckles, "i think you broke his nose." she laughs then, but stops herself with a hand over her mouth. "sorry, it's not funny." jane giggles in the front seat, which sets off a joint session of chuckles and laughs filling the car before it's quiet again, on the route back to the wheelers' house.

"that was some crazy shit." lucas says, "i didn't know you could fight, will." he almost responds, but dustin interjects, his hand still resting on will's shoulder.

"are you kidding? look at how beefy he's gotten," dustin says, reaching to squeeze will's bicep. will laughs, "c'mon, feel it! hard as rock," dustin continues, his humor lightening the dark atmosphere of the car.

lucas keeps his eyes on the road, but sticks his hand in will's direction, motioning for him to meet him halfway. when will doesn't move, lucas glances back, "i gotta feel now," he says. will surrenders his left arm to lucas and laughs when he gasps, "shit, will!"

max reaches out and bats lucas' hand away, feeling will's arm as well. mike reaches up and wraps his right hand around will's upper bicep from the inside, will's hand resting on the back of the front seat. "flex?" max requests, and hums in approbation when will obeys, nodding, obviously exaggerating for the sake of diffusing the tense atmosphere. mike laughs, squeezing will's arm gently. "isn't that nice?" max says to mike, who agrees and slides his hand up and down along the length of will's arm, squeezing at his forearm as well, as if he were giving it an inspection.

will glances at mike and is sure to keep his arm up and accessible to him, because he couldn't express with words how grateful he was to have mike touching him just then, appreciating the hard work he had put in, making will remember what it was for. mike eventually, hesitantly, lets go of will's arm, his fingertips lingering before letting his hand drop. will crosses his arms across his chest, and squeezes his bicep in the same spot mike had, the inside of his left arm.

the rest of the ride is quiet, the radio a gentle static due to losing the signal of the drive-in. the windows stayed down once again, and cicadas still buzzed on, the crickets scattered in front yards joining in harmony. the brakes faintly squeal when lucas rolls to a stop in front of the wheelers', and will is sure to hold the car door open to a currently one-handed mike. he had been too scared to remove dustin's jacket from his face, so his arm was practically dead from having it propped up, cupping his cheek.

"good night, guys," dustin says, reaching out of the passenger window to pat will's arm.

"good night," will says, leaning down to look into the car. jane meets his eyes, call me, she mouths, and will gives her a short nod. her expression was a mix between concern and admiration.

max slides across the backseat and holds the bag containing their candles out of the window. "almost forgot this," she says, and will thanks her. will turns to see mike already walking up the driveway towards the front door, and he gives a final farewell before meeting mike on the porch.

mike fumbles with his keys, his left hand still up and clutching the windbreaker to his face. he drops them and curses under his breath. will reaches down and grabs them before mike can, their hands bumping. "i've got it," mike says, angling his body towards will, reaching out to meet will's hand.

"no, just hold this. i'll do it." he says, handing mike the paper bag from the boutique. mike's fingers lightly brush the top of will's arm, from his wrist to his bruising knuckles, eventually taking the bag. he would've blamed it on shitty depth perception from squeezing one eye shut if will had asked, but he didn't. instead, will shivers, and urges mike to step back so he can unlock the door, a flash of his digital watch reading 11:30 pm.

they tiptoe into the foyer and make their way up the stairs, grimacing at each unavoidable creak. mike almost goes into his bedroom, but will catches his arm in the dark hallway. will takes the bag from him and places it on the floor next to his door, and pulls him into the bathroom.

the light flicks on and nearly blinds both of them, will shutting the door behind them and locking it with a pleasant click! they blink wildly as they adjust to the light, and the sight before them, in the mirror, is worse than they had expected. mike has to hold back a gasp/curse as he sees himself, a long, thin stream of dried blood along his neck and collar, hair tangled and dusty with dirt. will is generally untouched, other than his hair being disheveled and, of course, the mess of his hands.

"don't freak out," will says when he sees the terror on mike's face. mike frowns and looks at him, eyebrows bunched together. "let me clean my hands up and i'll take care of you," he gently urges mike to sit on the closed toilet lid while he washes his hands as gently as possible, the blood from troy's nose swirling into the drain. his hands were a little swollen and bruised—he would ice them as soon as possible— and there were a few small wounds, but they were generally okay.

he dries his hands and turns to mike, who was watching him already, that same look he'd been giving him all night. will ignores it for now. "okay, let me see," he says, reaching to carefully pull the jacket from mike's face. he sets it beside the sink and finally looks at mike. will's eyes widen and he clenches his teeth, sucking air in through his mouth, yikes, this says, and mike's expression only twists with more urgency.

"is it bad?!" he says, moving to stand up and check himself out in the mirror, but will stops him with a hand on his shoulder and guides him to sit back down.

"quiet down!" will says, "it's not that bad, let me at least get you cleaned up before you look in the mirror again." mike relaxes as much as he can and sighs. will stands and grabs a washcloth from the narrow linen closet and rummages for the first aid kit, praying mike wouldn't need stitches. he hears mike's converse tap impatiently on the tiled floor behind him.

will lays out the kit on the counter and wets the washcloth with cool water, finally turning to look at mike. he reaches out to begin cleaning mike's neck, but pauses. mike gives him a confused look, and will kneels to the tile in front of him. it's silent in the bathroom, and it was far too late to make any noise, so will reaches out and grabs at the bottom hem of mike's shirt. he looks up at him for approval, and mike nods.

his heart and stomach begin a rollercoaster ride as he stands and pulls mike's shirt up and over his head, of course, being sure to avoid touching the cut on his cheek. his breath catches when mike looks back up at him, his expression softened, but with a hint of embarrassment. mike's torso was long, pale except for his sunburns, and with the kind of gentle abs that sometimes came with being as lengthy as he was.

the air of the bathroom felt thick, as if you could cut it with a knife. will's fingers twitch as he holds onto mike's bloodied shirt, but snaps himself out of it and tosses the shirt next to the sink with the ruined jacket. he tries not to make eye contact as he finally begins cleaning mike's cheek, neck, and hair, being as gentle as possible. mike grimaces at first, any sign of negative emotion melting from his body when will's hand comes to his jaw to steady his head. to mirror this, mike rests a hand on will's shoulder for support.

"you didn't have to jump in, you know," mike says quietly when will steps back to refresh the washcloth. "i had it," he whispers.

will glances over, but keeps his head leaned down towards the sink, "i wasn't going to let troy keep going, especially after he.." he trails off, swallowing. he wrings out the washcloth before approaching mike again, lowering himself on one knee again.

"i've just always been the one to sort of protect you," mike says, leaning into will's touch when his hand comes back to the clean side of his face, his hand firm yet incredibly gentle.

"well, why do you think i work out?" will says, "i want to be able to protect myself... and you. everybody." after having to rely on others for years on end, being the hopeless kid, witnessing people become injured—or even dying— for him, he became hyperfocused on being able to protect himself and return the favor to his family and friends. this included waking up at ungodly times on school days to get in an hour of lifting before class at 8:30 am, along with nasty smoothies and eventually working enough at the local library to buy weights so he could set up in his garage. this torturous process proved worth it tonight—he was proud of himself for at least that.

mike doesn't respond at first, processing this, how much sense it made now. "well, if i leave it all to you, it won't be fair. let's work on protecting each other," he says, sharing a chuckle with will.

"okay," will whispers with a nod, finally having cleaned up mike's face enough to see the wound. he rinses the washcloth thoroughly while he examines mike's face from afar. "i think you might bruise up, but it's not horrible." mike visibly relaxes, shoulders slumping and a sigh that was a little too loud falling from between the lips. "i think maybe you're just a bleeder, because this isn't big at all." will adds, drying his hands off and turning mike's face to examine it from different angles.

"good," mike says. will nods and hums in agreement, and they fall silent again. will does his best to remember his health class as he takes out wound wash, gauze, and a decently sized bandage.

will coats a small section of gauze in the saline and reaches up to clean the cut, to which mike flinches harshly. "what?" will says, retracting the hand and gauze that hasn't made contact with mike's face.

"is it going to hurt?" mike says, bringing his hand to will's wrist to gently stop him from getting any closer.

will chuckles and shakes his head no, "it's saline, not alcohol." mike lets out an ohh, and releases his grasp on will's arm.

the process goes by slowly, and it's 12:15 by the time will has finished placing a bandage over mike's cheekbone. "thank you," mike says, giving will a grateful smile.

"hey, no problem," will responds, cleaning up after himself and unlocking the bathroom door, pulling it open slowly so as not to disturb the hallway. "good night," will says from the doorway, looking back at mike, who was still seated on the toilet lid.

"good night, will," mike says, watching as will disappears into the dark hallway, and listening to the bedroom door open and close. he lets go of a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and washes his hands.

before stepping into his bedroom, mike pauses and reaches down to the brown bag next to the doorway, pulling out his candle and unwrapping it, giving it a long smell before placing it on a bookshelf, next to the binder of will's drawings that he had kept over the years.

as will falls into a peaceful slumber, he thinks about his life. home, the fight, mike, mike, mike.

Chapter Text

the thunderstorm the next morning takes hawkins by surprise, nice and early at 7:15 a.m. karen yells for the boys to get up and store away her expensive pool furniture from the bottom of the stairs, her booming voice causing mike to roll out of bed and thump onto the floor, "COMING!" he yells, pulling on shorts and a oversized shirt, scrambling to his bedroom door.

will's door opens at the same time, and he emerges looking just as panicked as mike. it takes everything for mike not to stop and stare, because will's hair is messy, and he's not wearing a shirt, only a pair of grey, older-looking sweatpants with the drawstrings untied. his knuckles are a purpleish-red that makes mike shiver, thinking about how he stepped in for him the previous night. whatever, he'd do this task quickly and run to his bedroom to fangirl on his own time.

they fumble down the stairs and rush to the back door, karen noticing the bandage and black eye that mike certainly didn't have when he left the house last night. "michael, what happened to your face?!" she exclaims, following the boys to the threshold of the door when he responds with ' i'll explain later!'

it's absolutely pouring, and the water level in the pool has seemed to rise a few inches after just a couple of minutes of rain. "jesus!" will yells over booming thunder. he gets to work on gathering the hefty umbrellas, fingers slipping on the metal runner used to close the giant things. mike seems to struggle with the chairs, too, cursing to himself as he and his clothes are already drenched. does this count as his shower, then?

will huffs in frustration and looks over to mike, yelling out to him after recognizing the mutual struggle, " here , let's switch!" he suggests, already missing the shelter from the rain he'd be giving up by swapping. mike nods in agreement and reaches up for the runner, trying not to get caught up looking at will's rain-spotted torso that was making his face warm.

will makes quick work of the chairs, collapsing them and taking two under each arm, rushing them to the shed towards the back of the yard. he briefly thinks about his conversation with mike as he stores them in the shed, the air damp. he goes to step back out and practically slams into mike, knocking him back, and he thuds onto the squishy grass. "shit!" they call out in unison.

"i'm so sorry!" will says, mike rubbing his head as he stays on the ground. still standing, will doesn't hesitate to offer a hand to mike, pulling him up quickly. they bump into each other more softly this time, making eye contact as their hands stay clasped in between them. even with the cool rain, will's skin is hot along the back of mike's arm where it's pressed into his chest. "is your face okay?" will asks, blinking rain out of his eyes.

mike nods, " yeah , i'm alright. sorry ." he says, " i got one of the umbrellas down, but i think the other is stuck or something," he says, letting go of will's hand and taking half a step back. he can't help but study will's exposed skin at the first chance, the water dripping down his toned torso and soaking the waistband of his sweatpants. thank god for rain and expensive pool equipment.

" okay , get that one put away, and i'll see if i can work on the other." he pats mike's arm and nods at him before walking back towards the patio, cursing to himself for not paying attention. the umbrella is a pain in the ass to close, and will pinches his fingers more than once. after a particularly close lightning strike, karen yells for the boys to leave it and come inside, which they don't waste time doing.

karen hands each of them a towel as they step inside and doesn't wait to question mike on his face. "did some kids do this to you?" she asks frantically, eyeing him. "i swear to god, i will raise hell if i find out who-" she begins, but mike cuts her off.

" mom , i got into a fight, okay?" mike says, wringing out his hair into the towel.

her eyes widen and she gasps, " with who, michael ?!"

he sighs, shoulders slumping in defeat. "troy walsh..." he mutters, "i technically threw the first hit," his mother's wild gasp and expression cause him to panick shortly, quick to defend himself, "but, he was picking on us!" will appreciates the fact that he said  us  rather than  will.

" oh , i am  so  tired of that little brat!" mrs . wheeler exclaims as she makes her way across the kitchen and to the phone. she begins flipping through the phonebook to find the walsh residence, and mike protests when he realizes.

" mom , do  not  call them!" he rushes to her and tries to convince her, and will makes his way upstairs to the bathroom, the family's bickering voices fading behind him.

will brushes his teeth and turns the shower on to let the water heat up, staring at himself in the mirror while he waits. he flexes in various poses and worries about his physique, noting that he has to find a gym soon. when he finally steps under the stream of water, he closes his eyes and thinks about the night before, troy's words echoing in his head. zombie boy, zombie boy, his voice repeats.

he sighs as he opens his eyes, and does his best to ignore the throbbing in his knuckles. as he reaches for his soap, he hesitates. mike's soap is perched on the ledge next to his, and his eyes dart between the bottles. it's as if his hand has a mind of it's own, because he takes mike's black bottle and flips the cap open. he takes a long while, thinking, standing under the water, and smelling it, before using it for himself. the scent fills the steamy bathroom and calms will's racing mind.

once he's out, he looks in the mirror again , and suddenly , he sees the small, weak boy he was just a few years ago staring back at him. he sighs to himself before stepping out of the bathroom, a yellow towel wrapped around his waist. as he gets dressed, he smells the skin of his arms and is pleased to find that the scent of mike's soap had stuck to him.

mike barely catches a glimpse of will entering nancy's old room, but can faintly smell remnants of his soap in the hallway. the bathroom mirror is still foggy around the edges when he takes the bandage off of his cheekbone, looking closely at the bloody line that blossomed into a bruise along the rim of his eye. it makes him wince to see the wound, and he forces himself to look away while he's brushing his teeth.

in the shower, he curiously checks will's soap bottle as a result of smelling his own in the air. it's still mostly full, sitting in the same position as yesterday, untouched. this makes mike smile. will used his soap... but why? he doesn't bother to debate on it any longer, and uses will's soap along with his set of shampoo and conditioner. the scents are slightly fruity, but still definitely men's products, although distinctly different from his own. they're more gentle, guiding, like will. like his hands, and their firm yet careful touch.

the storm has calmed considerably by the time mike makes his way downstairs, the raging storm melting into a silent, constant drizzle, typical midwestern weather. his mom has just finished trimming holly's hair when he steps into the dining room.

" well , that was an interesting start to the morning, huh?" she says as she dusts off the seat, motioning for mike to sit down. mike can tell that she's trying to be cool about the uncovered wound on his face, appreciating the immense amount of effort it likely took for her.

" yeah , definitely," mike says,  what an understatement,  he thinks, his rainy interaction with will replaying in his head .  he sighs as he settles in the chair, stretching to snatch a slice of bacon from a serving dish on the table.

karen runs her fingers through mike's hair, brushing and combing it as she goes. " you should've waited to shower until after i did your hair, silly," she says, chuckling. she pauses , " did you use a different shampoo?" she asks, sniffing mike's hair.

mike frowns and shakes his head gently. "nah," he says, hoping the conversation would end there, and it did . he takes a deep, shuddering breath and closes his eyes.

"please, can i cut it short again?" karen asks. he hesitates, thinking about how long he had admired the length and general badass-ness of eddie's hair and wanted the same, but eventually gives in with a nod, the cons of maintenance and the blistering summer heat winning. he could always grow it back out. karen silently dances and celebrates behind him, earning a giggle from holly, and begins to cut off several inches of his hair.

will walks in and sits himself at the table next to holly . " good morning, will," holly says, and he greets her, checking out her latest coloring page and being sure to compliment her ability to stay inside the lines. will watches intently as chunks of mike's glossy hair land on the linoleum, already missing it.

although , as mike's new haircut starts to come together, will tosses his grief out of the window, because  jeez , his hair looked good. his subtle waves tightened as his hair got shorter, and instead formed loose curls that gently hugged his ears and the base of his neck. will redirects his attention to holly and the cooling breakfast when mike gets up from the chair and runs his fingers through the back of his head, where his hair was the longest.

" how's it look?" mike asks aloud, to which karen enthusiastically responds.

" honey , you look so handsome!" she says, and mike looks to will, who nods in agreement.

" yeah , it looks good," he says, with holly humming in approval. mike blushes under will's gaze, and his hand raises as if he were going to grab at his long hair, before pausing with realization, and going to the half-bathroom to check himself out and get clippings off his neck.

will wishes he could have used better words to express to mike how much he liked his new hair, because there were hundreds of things he'd rather say, rapidly flying through his brain. he forces himself to focus on the plate in front of him: toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage links, all paired with fresh orange juice. it was safe to assume that karen enjoyed cooking for a full family again, although ted wasn't home, leaving before the kids awoke.

karen notices will's hands once she sits herself across from him at the table and gasps softly, " sweetie , what happened to your hands?" she asks, leaning forward to peer at them.

will hesitates, "um, i ended up in the fight with troy , too," he says quietly. karen purses her lips, nods, and gets up to pull a bag of peas from the freezer. will rests his hand on the table and plops the bag over it.

" you know i'll have to call your mom, right?" she says gently, and will nods in return. her face twists with settling worry.

" why did you guys fight?" holly asks beside him, to which he shrugs gently.

"he was being mean to me and mike, saying things that weren't so nice," he says, trying to keep his explanation vague. karen is watching the two of them intently, nodding at holly with a small smile.

"things like what?" she continues, and karen finally interjects to help will avoid reliving the night and hopefully protect holly's innocence. mike walks into the dining room after a few minutes and sits at the end of the table, to will's right. mike is fidgeting with his new hair, obviously anxious. he twirls a curl from behind his ear around his pointer finger and chews at his lip gently.

will assesses his body language and leans towards mike. " it looks good," he says reassuringly, nodding. in all reality, mike looks good in general; he has on black skinny jeans and a fitted grey shirt, his work outfit that will continuously admired, even with its simplicity. mike blushes, shyly thanks will, and fills his plate with a little bit of everything from the breakfast arrangement. they all chatter quietly as they work through their meals slowly, the rain dying out bit by bit.

at 8:15, karen checks her watch and pats the table. "mike, are you ready for work?" she asks.

mike groans, letting his head fall back. " yes ," he says, feigning misery as he gets up to leave. mike works at the arcade, which isn't a difficult job at all, but he had always preferred to stay at home and lounge around in his boxers lazily, waiting for the hours to pass and for the sun to sink into the yard so that he could wander at night with the party. " bye , holly . bye , will," mike says before he heads towards the front door.

will had happily agreed to watch holly at times like these, when karen needed to step out or run errands alone. will clears the table and moves holly's art supplies and coloring books to the living room, flipping to the children's channel while she begins to work at the coffee table. "will, can you show me how to draw?" she asks after a while, looking back at will on the couch.

will sits up from his reclined position and scoots to the edge of his seat. " well , what do you wanna draw?" he asks, grabbing holly's spiral notebook and flipping to an empty page, tearing a sheet out for himself, and leaving the book open for holly .

" i think i wanna draw a princess and a castle," she says, eager to learn from will. she had always loved to color and draw, and often admired will's artwork that hung on display in the basement, or the binder mike kept in his room when he wasn't home.

after taking a few seconds to think, will lowers down to his knees before the coffee table and hums contemplatively. "well, that might be a little tough..." he begins, "i usually draw princes, but i think we can learn princesses together." holly celebrates briefly and waits for will to figure out how he wanted to start, following his instructions carefully.

karen finds them this way 30 minutes later, sitting between the couch and coffee table, intently focused on their artwork. " hey , karen ," will greets her as she walks into the living room.

" hi , what are you guys up to?" she asks. she disappears into the kitchen and emerges with her favorite coffee mug, sitting behind holly on the couch.

"will is teaching me how to draw a princess!" holly responds excitedly, lifting her page to reveal the work in progress. even though will had to simplify his art style, she still had a bit of trouble keeping up with him, but it was turning out decent for a first try.

" wow , that's so pretty, holly !" karen says, giving will a smile. " mind if i put on my show?" karen had recently been absorbed by reruns of  i love lucy ,  and her watching it during downtime had become a routine of sorts.

" no problem!" will says, occupied with observing holly's process as her princess finally comes together. " that's very pretty, are you giving her a crown?" he asks her.

holly nods, " yeah , i want her to have a biiiig crown." will has to hold back a laugh when she drags the crown to nearly the top of the page, jagged but still weirdly smooth for a crown.

" yeah , okay! that's great," will tells her, opening the colored pencils and spreading them out across the table.

karen chimes in then, " so , i was thinking that whenever mike gets off work, we could go get some fireworks? that huge stand opened today, i saw it on my way home."

"can i get sparklers?!" holly perks up and immediately abandons her princess, colorless and missing her high heels. karen giggles and nods her head, taking a sip from her coffee. holly begins rambling on about the pretty fountain fireworks and how she wanted a giant one, and will eventually tunes out, starting to color in his princess. predictably enough, holly's attention is stolen by anything other than will, and she asks to finish her princess after dinner. will doesn't object and packs up her art supplies neatly.

since will doesn't have a job in hawkins, he tries his best to set a goal for himself each day. they vary from ideas like simply talking to mike, going for a walk, or working through a chapter of his book. today, his goal is to finally find a gym and begin a short-term membership with the money he had saved up for his trip. he studies the address book and writes down various gyms on another one of holly's notebook pages. once he's gathered the three gyms that exist in hawkins, he says his farewells to the girls and exits through the garage on mike's bike.

the first gym he rides by has a wide window you can see into, and it's mostly occupied by brawny men who look like they could crush a watermelon just by looking at it. although will wished to be that strong, the appearance was  not  worth it, and neither were the definite steroids, so he doesn't bother to go in. the second gym is quiet, small with decent equipment and good pricing as well, and the faint noise of a dance-based workout seeps from behind a frosted glass door while he waits.

the day has already warmed considerably, and a thick, vibrant rainbow arches across the sky. will purchases a month-long membership with the receptionist—a sweet older lady with thick glasses, clearly around for the free yoga—and she thanks him kindly, offering that he begin working out as soon as his card is finished printing. will had to respond with a polite 'no thank you, ma'am, i'll be in tomorrow,' because he had one more thing to check off the list: visiting mike at work.

the arcade isn't too far from the gym, so he arrives quickly. the parking lot has very few empty spots due to it being in a strip with more popular stores, and will is grateful that karen has never insisted that he borrow the family car.

" welcome in," mike says flatly, too distracted by a book in his lap to look up at will.

" hey ," will says, and approaches the service counter, leaning his hips against it. mike seems to immediately recognize will's voice because his head shoots up , and he's somehow startled, dropping his book with a loud  thud.

"will! hi ," mike says, the shock and enthusiasm in his voice genuine yet somehow still awkward. mike bends down to retrieve his large, hardcover book—a d&d guide, as mike had mentioned an upcoming hellfire campaign to his mother—and blushes once he realizes that will's eyes have been intently following him. he rests back on the stool he had previously been sitting on and smiles at will across from him. " hey , what's up?" he asks cooly .

will returns the smile and shakes his head before he speaks, " oh , nothing. i just wanted to stop by and say hi, since i was already out."

" oh , really ? what have you been up to?" mike asks, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the cherry red counter.

"just got a short membership over at johnson's," will says, pulling his new membership card from his pocket and holding it up breifly, mike humming in approval. "how's your cheek?" the bruising is darkening slowly and making itself more present as the day goes on , but the gash seems to be closing quickly.

" it's okay. i mean, it definitely hurts, but it's alright." mike nods as he speaks, bringing his hand up to gently run his cold fingers around the bruising. after a long second of silence, mike speaks up again. " so , playing anything today? i can get you free credits," he says, motioning to the loud machines crowding the arcade.

" no , i don't think so. just came to see you," will says casually, pressing his palms against the counter and leaning forward more.

mike chuckles and can't help but blush. he feels will's energy shift, and tries to chase it. " well , thank you for coming by, you definitely just made my shift." he gives will a smile.

will returns the smile and straightens up. "anytime," he says before waving goodbye to mike, who calls 'see you later!' as will walks away. he smiles to himself when he gets to the bike rack, pulling mike's bike off of it. out of all the times he had tried to flirt with mike, this may have been the most progress he's made. of course, it wasn't entirely safe to be obvious about it, especially when he doesn't know how mike's views are aligned, but mike had always either been oblivious or knew deep down, but didn't mind in some way, for some reason.

the bike ride home is nice, will takes the long way home and rides slowly to think more about mike, and admire the weather. once he enters the neighborhood, he can see lucas in his driveway washing his car, and pulls his bike up to the house.

" hey , will!" lucas says. he's got a long garden hose with a nozzle on it and is washing a soapy foam off the car , the bubbles traveling slowly down the driveway.

" hey lucas , how's it going?" he says, clapping lucas on the back but keeping a safe distance from the water.

" good , what are you up to?" lucas flips a switch on the nozzle to stop the water and grabs a microfiber towel from a caddy at the top of the driveway. he tosses will one of the black cloths and starts drying the hood, which will immediately starts on the driver's side.

will shakes his head, " nothing much, just got a gym membership and stopped by the arcade to see mike for a second." he tries not to smile, thinking about his and mike's conversation.

" what's up with you two?" lucas asks, pausing to look up at will.

with a shrug, will meets lucas' eyes. " what do you mean?" he averts his gaze and keeps drying the car.

lucas follows along and continues drying, "i mean, you guys were really weird around each other, and i know that spring break was awkward and stuff, but it kinda made hanging out in a group hard," lucas pauses, coming to the front tire of the car and leaning against it. "but i'm glad you guys are doing better. besides the fight and all," he says with a nod.

" oh ," will says at first, " i'm sorry, i didn't realize it was affecting the whole group."

" it's alright, man. it was more like when dustin and i stopped talking in 8th grade because i took his stupid comic out of the plastic sleeve," lucas says, rolling his eyes and making his way over to the passenger side of the car.

will scoots his way down to the trunk and groans, " god , the silence was so awkward! i'm sorry," will says again, his stomach dipping with guilt at the thought that he may have ruined group hangouts because of his silent grudge against mike .

" trust me, it's okay. you guys are mostly back together again, so that's all that matters," lucas tells him innocently, flashing him a smile before disappearing to dry the rims.

back together  makes will choke on his spit, and he coughs, lucas' head popping up just enough to peer at will. " you good?"

will nods eagerly. " yep , sorry," he says, laughing afterwards. lucas doesn't question him and joins his laughter, and they fall into a comfortable silence.

after a few minutes, lucas speaks up, " hey , did jane tell you anything that max may have said? about us?" he asks, straightening up as he finishes drying his side of the car. will finishes up at the same time and looks at lucas from across the trunk.

he frowns slightly and shakes his head. " no , why? did you break up again?" he asks, feeling like a bad friend for not keeping himself in the loop.

lucas sighs and nods, making his way back to the top of the driveway and wringing the rag out into the grass, "yep, i  really  don't know why this time," he says.

" well , jane hasn't said anything to me. i don't think she would, though." it's quiet again and lucas shakes his head to himself, truly oblivious. "maybe you should just call her?" will suggests, "just talk to her, ask about her day." this tactic has helped slowly defrost he and mike's icy relationship, so he figures it'd be a good place to start for lucas.

lucas' expression is shocked whenever he looks back up to will, as if will had just made a groundbreaking discovery. "will, you are a genius," lucas says.

will can't help but laugh, " it's common sense!"

" still , i love you, man. i gotta go!" lucas says hurriedly, taking the microfiber cloth from will and patting his shoulder, collecting the supply caddy, and rushing inside.

" love you, too!" will calls out, chuckling to himself. when he looks up, the rainbow is still arched above him, and he wonders if holly had seen it. he picks up mike's bike and walks it down to the bottom of the cul-de-sac. he punches in the code for the garage and parks the bike, stepping into the house.

holly and karen are asleep together on the couch, with karen leaning against the armrest and holly wrapped in her arms, a knitted blanket atop them,  i love lucy  still playing quietly. will silently curses himself for being loud, and tiptoes up to his bedroom.

at the top of the stairs, he will pauses whenever he sees the paper bag from the prior night next to mike's door. he scoops the bag up and makes his way into his room, pulling the candle from its paper and sniffing it. he sets it on the desk in the corner of the room, makes his way to the full-sized bed, and plops onto the foot of it. he sighs and looks around at the walls, a neutral wallpaper that replaced nancy's and karen's own decorations that may have been too outdated for the general living area.

the wall clock's arms show that it's about 12:00 pm , and its steady ticking seems to assist the drowsiness suddenly raking over his body, pulling him down towards the bed. he kicks his shoes off and crawls to the top of the bed, slipping under the covers and shoving the side of his face into the pillows, quickly dozing off.

will wakes up to the front door opening and closing, and holly's voice echoing quietly in the foyer. karen says something unintelligible, and mike's muffled voice responds. will opens his eyes slowly, then, and he can hear the familiar sound of feet traveling up the stairs. a door in the hallway opens, and there are a few long minutes of silence.

eventually , after will has resorted to staring at the ceiling and willing himself to get out of bed, there's a soft knock on the door as he sits up. will's heart skips a beat because he knows who it is. this wasn't the scenario he had been imagining for the past 3 weeks—mike, knocking on his door in the dead of night to confess his love and live happily ever after—but it was close.

" come in," will says, and the door clicks open, mike peeking his head through hesitantly.

" hey , ready to hit up the fireworks stand?" mike asks, and opens the door wider to allow himself to step into the room just a bit. " i think we're also meeting dad for dinner at 6."

will nods, the realization of how long he must've slept catching up to him. he raises his head to look at mike , " i missed lunch?" he says, and his stomach grumbles, as if responding  yes.

mike chuckles and raises his right arm to check his watch, " yeah , it's almost four."

will's eyes widen with the slight shock, and he glances up at the wall clock. "wow, okay," he sighs quietly, leaning back against the headboard, and he lets his eyes fall shut gently, "i'll be down in a few minutes," he says.

mike lingers at the door for a moment, leaning against the frame. as will's eyes are closed, mike takes the opportunity to examine his features briefly. the gentle arch of his nose, the gentle pinkness of his lips, his tousled, sunlitened hair that looked as if it had small specs of gold tracing each strand when he stood in the sun. mike takes a deep breath, nancy's room now smells like will.

will is aware of mike's presence and can nearly feel mike's eyes burning into his face, and he wonders what mike's expression is. he wants to open his eyes so badly, lift his head, make eye contact with mike, and invite him to take another nap with him, even though he's no longer tired. but he knows it'd most likely scare mike off, so he keeps his eyes closed and takes slow, deep breaths until he hears the bedroom door close behind mike.

making his way downstairs, will sees karen , holly , and mike waiting in the foyer for him.

" hey , sleepyhead!" karen ruffles his hair gently and hikes her purse further up onto her shoulder. will greets her with a chuckle and runs his fingers through his hair, which could be described as less of a bowl cut, like when he was a kid, and more cropped and textured. jane had been the one to encourage will to ditch the bowl cut, and he found himself more and more grateful each day.

will's new look seemed somewhat popular with all the wrong crowds in california, but he at least knew that his hard work was paying off somehow. people were nicer to him, and girls flirted occasionally, to which he politely declined each time, which resulted in him becoming known for being hard to get. again, all the wrong people, for all the wrong reasons.

" let's go!" holly says impatiently, pulling the front door open. karen laughs and ushers holly outside, the boys left standing in the doorway.

mike steps out in front of will and glances back, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, a looser version of his work outfit. will didn't know much about the hellfire club, but understood that it made mike transition from his usual preppy-ish style into something casual, darker, and a thousand times more flattering. will appreciates eddie deeply for that.

will closes the front door behind him and slides into the backseat behind the passenger side. as he settles, his eyes land on the nape of mike's neck between the headrest and seat, and the curls that now hugged it perfectly. he wanted nothing more than to reach out and snake his fingers into the inky mass. instead, he admires from afar, completely silent for the entire 15-minute ride, engulfed in the idea of mike.

Chapter Text

the firework stand is steadily busy, but navigable. holly insists on visiting every table and touching as many fireworks as she can reach. karen insists that the boys go off on their own and pick out a few fireworks for themselves, so they wander aimlessly around the tent.

"need help with anything?" a sweet voice calls to will's left as they're standing at a table. the boys have already accumulated a small selection of fireworks, and held them under their arms.

will turns towards the source and is almost shocked. jennifer hayes, the girl who supposedly cried at his 'funeral,' is standing there, wearing a red shirt that distinguished her as an employee. she's short enough that he has to look down at her, and he can see the recognition register on her face at the same time. 

she gasps, "oh my gosh! will! i thought you moved?" she says, bringing a hand to will's upper arm.

"i did, i'm just in town for the summer," will says, and can't help but chuckle. jennifer's hand travels along his arm, and she's very obviously more surprised by will's new muscle than his prescence in hawkins.

"wow, that's so great to hear! how have you been? what have you been up to?" jennifer continues bombarding will with questions, and interrupting him when he tries to answer politely. at this point, mike has already peeked over will's shoulder and rolled his eyes to himself, directing his attention to some random smoke bombs in front of him. after hearing jennifer ramble on about her summer, he sighs loudly and clears his throat.

"oh!" jennifer exclaims, looking around will to see mike. "hey, mike! i didn't even see you there," she says, side-stepping to get a better look at him. she had been very notorious for hating on the hellfire club, going on about how d&d was the devil's game and all. she never directly made fun of or harrased the party, but was very vocal in her opinion, and gave scowls towards their lunch table whenever eddie had his 'creative outbursts.'

"hey, jennifer." mike says curtly, sighing to make his annoyance obvious.

will clears his throat and angles his body further towards mike, "i've been staying with mike this summer," he explains to jennifer, and he reaches up to place a hand on mike's shoulder.

"oh, cool!" she says, squinting at mike. "hey, what happened to your face?" there was no denying that mike's damage was incredibly obvious: a long, thin wound tracing his high cheekbone, with a bright bruise surrounding it. after a few seconds of silence and an awkward cough, jennifer gasps again.

"was it you that got in a fight at the drive-in!?" she exclaims. this only further affirmed her idea that d&d was corrupting her classmates. mike doesn't respond, obviously ignoring jennifer as he ducks his head down to read the description on a firework.

"we don't need help looking for anything, but thank you, jennifer," will interjects, pulling his hand from mike's shoulder—letting his fingertips run along the fabric of mike's shirt—and copying jennifer's side-step to close off the conversation and her view of mike, just as mike had done for him during their interaction with troy.

"oh, okay," jennifer's expression falls flat, her eagerness fading with it. "well, i'll see you later, maybe? at the fair?" will smiles and nods in agreement to get jennifer to go away, and sighs in relief whenever she finally walks off.

will turns to mike, ready to resume their hunt for the biggest firework possible, but mike has already walked off, moving to the next table. he follows quickly, "sorry about that," will says when he catches up.

"hey, no problem, man." mike's tone is somewhat dismissive as he feigns casualty. "i always knew she had a thing for you," mike adds, imitating the jock-type kids at school.

will actually laughs, which catches mike off guard. "she is not my type," will clarifies, reaching to grab a few roman candles.

the jealousy that had been buzzing in mike's chest fizzles out from its raging fire to a mellow crackle. "oh, really?" mike says, and will nods, humming.

"what is your type?" mike asks hesitantly, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence. he clears his throat and hits his chest with his fist to cover up his nervousness.

will takes a moment for consideration, trying to find something to say other than 'you, mike.' his mind blanks, and the only thing he can say is, "i like dark hair." he makes brief eye contact with mike, and mike almost catches something in them, something deeper.

that glint of something in will's eyes makes mike's heart soar, and he smiles, turning his head in the other direction to bite back the grin growing across his face. "cool," mike says as he returns to a normal position. they both push away from the table and continue down the aisle, industrial fans blowing down loudly above them.

was that more flirting? mike could only hope that was true, just like when will stopped by the arcade that morning. even in he heat, he gets goosebumps along his arms and shivers. 

will was torn between internal panic for unconsciously hinting to mike that he's his type, and subtly hoping that somehow, in some way, mike understood. he prayed that mike's types were brunettes that happened to go to the gym and had an appreciation for art.

as they're walking, will suddenly gasps and takes off, rushing towards the far edge of the tent. mike tries to follow, having to push past multiple people and yell out 'excuse me!' and 'sorry!' behind him. he nearly rams into will as he reaches him, and looks over will's shoulder to see the holy grail of fireworks he's taking into his hands.

satan's baby, also known as what helped take down the mind flayer at the mall. "dude," mike says, and will looks back at him, smiling. they share a nod, and karen's voice floats towards them.

"boys, we are not getting that," karen says, holding a basket of firecrackers, sprinklers, pop-its, and fountains. she holds the basket towards the boys and lets them toss in whatever they had tucked into their arms, but snatches it away before mike can set the legendary firework in.

"what?!" mike immediately protests, and will can't help but let the disappointment seep in, his shoulders slumping. "please mom, come on!" he begins, following karen as she turns away and down the aisle.

"no, that is such a hazard, michael!" she says, pulling a pack of pastel smoke bombs from a table.

"come on, we'll be responsible!" mike says, motioning to will, who had been following closely behind him. karen turns to face the boys, and will nods eagerly in agreement.

"we'll be careful i'll pay you back for it, too!" will pleads with karen, and can tell that they're winning her over. holly is even helping, tugging on the end of karen's skirt and exclaiming how she wants to see a big firework.

karen sighs, and closes her eyes for a moment. "fine," she says whenever she opens her eyes, "but ted is lighting it, i don't want you boys anywhere near it," she tries to sound stern, but can't keep the seriousness up.

the boys celebrate, attracting attention from fellow customers with their loud outburst. they laugh and shush each other, following karen up front to the checkout table, who is sure to let them know how dorky they are. jennifer is now working the register and smiles at will, stealing obvious glances every possible moment. will avoids her eyes.

as mike watches her, he replays will's words in his head, 'i like dark hair,' and that glint of something in will's eyes. it helps keep the buzz of jealousy from sparking up in his chest again. mike can't deny that jennifer is the typical pretty girl; blonde hair, gentle mannerisms, light eyes. none of that covered up the nastiness that hid under her skin.

as they close the transaction, jennifer calls out to will before he turns away with mike. karen and holly are already on their way back out to the car.

"hm?" will hums, and jennifer holds out a small slip of paper towards him. will's stomach drops, but he reaches out and takes it to be polite.

"bye, will," jennifer says, blushing. she flashes him a smile, turning and walking away from the register to meet another girl she was working with. will opens the slip and curses under his breath whenever he sees jennifer's phone number with hearts surrounding it, and 'call me' in cursive underneath.

mike is close enough to see it, and feels that jealousy flare again. he huffs, and turns to duck out of the tent with his hands shoved into his front pockets. will watches him, suddenly feeling nauseous. he slips the note into his pocket and takes a deep breath before jogging out to the loaded car.

as the family runs errands before dinner, even though the jealousy is still burning in mike's chest, he tries his best to read will and get some hint as to how he feels about jennifer without explicitly asking. to his frustration, will is impressively neutral, and he can't get a look into his mind until they sit down for dinner.

he had been quiet since they left the stand, which wasn't completely uncharacteristic for will, but his expression in the cherry-red booth of the wheeler's favorite diner shifted into something crestfallen, his eyes casted towards the tile. ted is passive-aggressively scolding mike to his right, but he's too focused on will to listen.

"michael," karen says across from him as holly sips on a juice box. mike lifts his gaze from will and looks back and forth between his parents. "did you hear what your father said?"

mike shakes his head, staying quiet as he turns looks to ted. his expression is coated with disappointment, and will has started watching quietly. "i asked you what this troy kid said that made you hit him," ted says, his usual sour tone seeping into mike's skin.

karen cups her hands over holly's ears and looks to mike sympathetically, "it's okay, mike. you can tell us." she nods and looks over to will, who sinks into the corner of the booth, suddenly feeling out of place and guilty about being the subject of the fight.

the waitress, nicole, approaches as mike opens his mouth to speak, and cuts him off. "ready to order?" she has her brown hair in a high ponytail and looks to be in her mid-twenties, her apron folded in half at her waist. she had the kind of natural kindness that wasn't just for more tips. the wheelers had grown to like her over the short time she had been working there.

as soon as their orders are placed, ted is quick to resume grilling mike for answers, and he slumps against the cushy seat.  he sighs, and looks over to ted after a long silence. karen had already been back to covering holly's ears.

"he was just being a douche," mike says flatly.

"language!" karen scolds him gently. she had always been more understanding than ted, and her tone isn't sour like his dads. she seems genuinely concerned, reasonably so, as she was a main witness of how the bullying he faced changed him as he grew.

teds expression is still the typical slightly annoyed face. "look, you're not in trouble. but if you keep up this attitude, we're not opposed to grounding you."

mike looks at karen, who seems unimpressed with ted, giving mike a subtle head shake that said, 'we're not grounding you.'

"look, he was just bringing up old stuff from middle school. he was calling will and i names." mike refuses to elaborate further and finally looks at will, who was already watching him. he looks as if he's pleading to mike, 'please, don't say it,' his eyes say. to hear mike say the name that others used to torment him would break his heart.

"what kind of names, mike?" karen asks. she looks expectant, like she's waiting to hear an answer that she won't get.

mike huffs, looking out of the window to his left, "he called me a freak because i hang out with eddie," he half-mumbles. karen doesn't look like she buys it, but releases her hands from over holly's ears.

"well, michael, that just shows the consequences of the decisions you make, like the kind of people you surround yourself with," ted says. nicole returns with the family's meals, and ted begins eating without hesitation. mike is holding himself back from saying something to his dad, because what the fuck did that mean? the kind of people you surround yourself with?

karen sighs and leans towards mike, "we can talk more about this later, okay?" her words are directed towards will, too, and they can both tell.

will sighs quietly in relief and he relaxes against the back of the seat, his hands folded in his lap as he stares at mike. 'thank you,' he says with his eyes, and mike's eyes respond with'of course.'

towards the end of dinner, will reaches into his pocket and pulls out the slip jennifer gave him. mike's stomach drops, and a wave of despair starting at the crown of his head washes over his body. he had almost forgotten about her. will holds the paper for a while, and eventually crumples it, shoving it into a napkin that sat on top of his empty plate.

will felt guilty for discarding jennifer's number like he did, but knew he didn't want to have the awkward conversation of 'why?' and 'did i do something wrong?' all he could do was pray that he didn't run into her at the fair like she suggested.

"okay, ready?" karen asks as their nicole says goodbye to them. they all grumble in agreement with the leftover tension and load into their respective vehicles. with ted gone, karen seems more comfortable reaching out to the boys.

she reaches over and cards her fingers through the back of mike's hair, "honey, you can always talk to me, okay?" she looks back at will to the best of her ability, "you too, will. i'll always be here, no matter what." her tone sounds as if she's insinuating something more, as if her words are deeper than surface level.

will nods gently, and she turns back to focus on the road, keeping her hand in mike's newly cropped hair. mike has always appreciated physical affection from his mom, so he finds himself leaning into it, resting his eyes for the rest of the ride home.

after assuring he was off the hook from karen, will's first course of action whenever he gets back to the house is to change into pajamas and call jane from the phone nancy left in her bedroom. it rings three times, and max is the one to answer. "hello?"

"hey max, it's will, how's it going?" he thinks back to his conversation with lucas and wonders how their phone call went, if she even answered. max's ability to stay in the friend group was hindered after billy's death, and a rough depression had rocked over her that jane and will both heard about while they were in lenora. she seems to be doing better, but the group isn't great at hiding their concern, oftentimes overwhelming her with the amount of support.

"hey will, it's alright over here. did you wanna talk to jane?" she asks, and hands the phone over to jane once will confirms.

"why didn't you call?" jane's first words sound stern, as if she were a parent left in the dark.

"sorry, had sort of a busy day. you okay?" will doesn't pay much mind to her tone, because he knew it was in good nature. living together, they learned to look out for each other in ways that they may not have before. they had grown close, often spending most of their free time together.

he almost feels guilty for not having told jane about mike, or his sexuality in general, but he senses that jane wouldn't care. she knows what it's like to be different, too.

"my day was okay." there's a very long silence, a tension felt through the phone line. will waits patiently for her to ask about the fight, which she does, hesitancy coating her voice. "can we talk about the fight?"

will takes a deep breath. "of course... what do you wanna know?" he lets his posture falter and slumps, his position on the edge of the bed allows him to reach down and pull his shoes off.

"i just wanna know what happened," jane says.

as the explanation forms in his throat, zombie boy seems to create a lump that he can't swallow, and it takes effort to speak. "do you know what they used to call me during school? when i came back from the upside down?" will doesn't expect her to know due to her absence during that time.

"i think so... did troy call you that?" as jane speaks, will sighs, and lets his eyes close. for some reason, he was still anxious to tell jane everything he had gone through when she wasn't present because of the pain it caused him, but her knowing about zombie boy made it clear that she knew more than he expected.

"yeah, and they were making fun of mike for being in hellfire," he continues, "troy started pushing mike around, so he fought back, i guess."

the line is quiet again, "i'm worried about you, will," jane says softly. although she hadn't planned on it, will became a huge part of jane's support system, and she found it hard to be a part of his because she didn't have her powers, and she wasn't used to supporting people in other ways. she felt useless whenever situations such as these arose.

"hey, don't worry. i'm okay," will explains, sitting crisscrossed on the bed. "let's not talk about the fight, tell me about your day so far?"

jane is hesitant to drop the subject, but found herself laughing along with will and rambling on to him, which he did back. she missed living with him, even if it was a short amount of time.

eventually, the siblings say their goodnights, and the line disconnects. will listens to the dial tone for several minutes, the droning helping ground him. it's dark outside by now, and will reaches over to set the phone back on the hook.

his eyes land on the bedroom window that leads out to the rooftop, and he gets up to open it. he hadn't done this often, but he climbs out and onto the slanted roof, staring out at the street below him and the stars above him. the air is cool, and it smells like it may rain again. if he had to decide, apart from his friends, the smell of the night air was what he missed the most about hawkins.

mike had been in his bedroom, cleaning as his punishment for fighting. he's just finishing up, trash bag in hand, when he sees that will's bedroom light is still on, and the warm light is filtering underneath the door.

he hurries to toss the trash into the bins outside and rushes back upstairs, relieved but anxious to see that the light was still on. he paces the hallway quietly, hyping himself up to finally knock on the bedroom door.

he does it gently at first, expecting will's typical 'come in,' from the other side. he waits a few moments and tries again. by now, he would've given up, but he knows that will never sleeps with the lights on. it was a surprising fact due to everything he had been through, but mike knew it was absolutely true.

eventually, he opens the door himself, peeking in headfirst to assure he wasn't intruding. the empty bedroom confuses him until he sees the sheer curtains billowing around the open window. he makes his way over it, and sure enough, will is there. it reminds him of whenever he caught steve sneaking in to see nancy. maybe they'd do something like that, someday.

he knocks on the window frame gently to announce himself, and will jumps, relaxing whenever he realizes it's mike.

"hey, mike," will says, leaning towards the window.

"hey," mike says with a smile, "mind if i join you?" will shakes his head, and mike clambers through the window, nearly rolling down the roof. he finally settles next to will and looks up towards the night sky. "what are you doing out here?"

"it's pretty nice out, don't you think?" will looks at mike then, seeing the way the moon illuminates his face and leaves a sparkle in his eye.

mike looks over to will, they're shoulder to shoulder, so the proximity doesn't surprise him this time. still, he finds it hard to get his words out, "yeah, it's really nice," he says finally, looking back towards the sky when his body warms against the chilling night.

will leans into mike's side a bit, testing the boundary. to his surprise, mike leans into him with the same pressure, sharing the warmth that couldn't be felt on the surface of their skin. will is hugging his knees, and clears his throat. "i'm sorry about the fight," he says.

"no, no. don't be," mike is quick to reassure him, 'i would do anything for you,' he says in his mind, which would reflect in his eyes if will were looking at him. to prevent giving himself away, he closes them, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air.

processing, will is quiet for a moment. "and, thank you for not saying it earlier," he hopes that mike understands what he means by it.

of course, he understands. "i would never say that, or tell anybody," he says softly, opening his eyes.

will relaxes, somewhat melting into mike's side, but keeping his head from resting on his shoulder. they settle into a comfortable silence and watch as the thin clouds pass by the moon with the wind. as the clouds become thicker and show more signs of rain, will ushers mike back inside.

mike is clumsy as he climbs back in, his limbs too long for their own good. will is practically silent, which impresses mike on a new level. every time will does something admirable, it hits mike like a train, and makes him fall deeper into the scary, strange, yet beautiful pit of his affection for will byers. he notices that will leaves the window open, another habit he had kept over the years. it feels good to know that will hasn't changed completely.

"i'm gonna hit the hay," mike says as an excuse to retreat into the safety of his bedroom. it wasn't as if will made him unsafe, but that he didn't have the same amount of restraint as he should, and the word vomit that would follow if said restraint cracked in the slightest would alter every aspect of his life.

will nods, "yeah, sounds good," he says, and steps to open the bedroom door for mike.

mike blushes and prays it'd be too dim to notice, and steps through the door, "good night," he says.

"good night, mike." the bedroom door clicks quietly, and will waits for the sound of mike's door closing before he switches off the lamp, crawling into bed and plummeting into a dream of mike. 

they're together on the roof, but mike is bolder towards him. he's touching will's face and hair, pulling him closer. he tells will that he loves him, and as their lips are about to meet, will opens his eyes to find himself alone in the blue decay of the upside down. he hyperventilates, spotting a raging, red storm forming in the distance, on its way to swallow him whole. vines snake around his limbs and begin trapping him on the slant of the roof.

he wakes up sweating, out of breath. for the first time in years, will sleeps with the window closed.

Chapter Text

will didn't have time to worry about the nightmare he had, because preparing for the 4th of july roane county fair, and the day-after pool party had consumed the few days in between. the 4th landed on a sunny friday, and thankfully, the on-and-off rain kept the day generally tolerable. the sky stayed a vibrant blue, with thick clouds passing by quickly, and the high temperature was 85 degrees.

the party arrives at the fairgrounds at 6:30, and has been debating on which ride to get on first for 10 minutes while wandering around the carnival. they were already tired from the near hike it took to reach the entrance from the car, which was parked in a large field-turned-parking lot.

"dude, i'm telling you," dustin explains to will, "we've got to start strong, just like, jump in there!"

"um, do you want me to throw up on you?! i'm not getting on that as my first ride," will motions to a ride full of screaming passengers being swung on a pendulum. motion sickness was always an issue for him growing up, so the rides gave him anxiety that fluctuated between excitement and genuine fear.

"what are you gonna do the whole night? hog the kiddie rides?" dustin teases.

as will begins to rebut, max interrupts the two of them. "guys, we're getting on the swings. stop being babies and come on before the line fills up," she says, pulling both of them by their wrists towards the nonexistent line.

"jesus! slow down!" dustin protests as he struggles to keep up with max's rushed pace. the rest of the party is already being let in by the time they arrive at the gate, and have to stop the attendant from closing it at the last second.

from his swing between lucas and jane, mike turns around to search for will, who is 5 seats behind him. the night has just started, and he already can't keep his eyes and mind off of him. 

today, he's wearing a light grey polo with the top few buttons undone, and a pair of black shorts. he's also wearing the sunscreen mike has grown to love the smell of, and a light cologne. he's warm, carefree.

will tries to keep his eyes from gravitating towards mike, but gives him a small, casual glance. dustin kicks the back of his swing lightly, which sends him towards max. he laughs and looks back at him, before kicking max's swing with the same force. the chain continues until the attendant yells at them to stop before starting the ride.

the party rushes between attractions, fooling around on the gravitron, pausing whenever lucas feels like he's going to barf after riding the moby dick, and landing themselves in line for the face and body paint stand.

"so," mike says, stepping to stand next to will. he lets his elbow brush against will's arm as he rests his hands on his hips. "what are you thinking of getting?"

will hums while he thinks, swaying a bit. "i'm not sure..." he brings a hand to his chin. "i think i'll just tell them to surprise me."

"honestly, i might just tell them that, too. i have no idea what to get," he says, and doesn't comment on when will's weight leans against his arm as he sways in his spot. he reaches forward and places a hand on lucas's shoulder.

lucas is taking tiny sips from a bottle of water, but turns slowly towards mike. "hey, man," he says, obviously uneasy. will felt the same, but recovered quickly.

"what are you getting?" mike gestures to the end of the tent where the painting was taking place. the stand was being run by two women, who happened to be identical twins. they were on the older side, both with long grey hair that flowed along the lengths of their backs.

"max's name, baby," lucas says and flexes, his sleeveless shirt showing off his arms. this wasn't an original idea of lucas's; they had seen countless couples walking around, boyfriends with their girlfriends' names on their arms because they were too scared to get their faces painted.

will chuckles, "so, my idea worked, then?"

"yes. you really are a genius," he responds, smiling at will.

curiously, mike chimes in, "what's that mean?"

"i guess max broke up with lucas again, so i told him just to call her and try talking casually," lucas is nodding along dumbly and reaches behind him to find max, pulling her under his arm.

"ew, gross, you're sweaty!" max scrunches her face and ducks from lucas's grasp, but kisses his cheek before stepping up to get her face painted.

"we worked it out well enough," lucas shrugs and takes another sip from his water bottle.

mike wonders if will had been applying that advice to himself, in the form of starting random conversations or apologizing first in the shed. he wonders if that means will thinks of him in the same way he does, but has to shake the thought from his mind because dustin was stepping away from the artists to show off his new look.

being as odd as he is, dustin has cat whiskers and his nose painted, giggling loudly. "oh, my god," will says, placing his hands on dustin's shoulders once he makes his way over.

"think the ladies will like it?" dustin purrs, and readjusts his hat. he raises his hands after a moment. "just kidding, we all know i'm practically married to suzie," he declares.

"yeah, trust us, we know." lucas rolls his eyes jokingly, recalling the countless hours dustin has spent talking about suzie and how amazing she is to him. mike remembers, too, and the romance is starting to be a bit too much for him.

he's suddenly imagining his name painted along will's bicep, or even tattooed there, thinking about will taking relationship advice from lucas about him, using cerebro to communicate, or sending stacks of letters to him. he lets his arms fall to his sides and distances himself from will, which he notices immediately. what he doesn't realize is that the red flush on his face isn't because of the heat.

will decides to brush it off and watches as lucas sits down to get his arm painted. max and jane now have matching rainbows flowing out of musical notes framing their temples and cheekbones, and are happily teasing dustin about his face.

as will sits in front of the painter, she greets him kindly. "hi, what can i do for you today?" her voice is clear and smooth, and he suddenly feels bad for not knowing what he wanted.

"i was wondering if you could surprise me?" he asks hesitantly, but she seems to perk up at the question.

"why, absolutely!" she begins dipping her brush into a blue paint and examines will's face, gently turning it. he can see mike sitting down next to him and can overhear their conversation. he smiles to himself whenever mike asks her to surprise him as well.

the woman takes his attention again. "i'm actually very glad you asked me to surprise you, honey," she says, the paint cold against the right side of his face.

"oh, really?" he feels the relief, "i was kinda nervous to ask," he chuckles to himself, trying to keep his face still. he feels her brush travel from his jaw up to his eyebrow, trying to guess what she was doing.

"no, i love whenever kiddos ask! it's better than doing unicorns all day, you know?" she's easygoing, and her way of speaking calms will, who lets his shoulders relax against the back of the chair.

"good to know," will says, and she begins asking him questions about himself while she works quickly, dipping a wide brush into a container of glittery pastel blue powder. he answers politely as usual and does his best to watch the way her thin hands work, the twins' sign mentioning almost 15 years of being in service.

thinking about his love for art, he considers finding a fairground to volunteer at to give it a try of his own. illustration has his heart, but being able to see the direct happiness caused by his work would most certainly boost his confidence. he thinks about mike joining him, traveling throughout the states by his side, maybe learning magic. would he do that?

"okay, sweetie, you're done!" she holds up a handheld mirror for will, and he takes it, seeing a monochromatic blue butterfly spanning across the side of his face, black swirls and subtle sparkles growing along his eyebrow bone and jaw. he loves it, and thanks her generously, turning to look at mike.

mike's face paint is nearly identical to him, but with a gentle yellow coloration instead. the twins look to each other and laugh, calling it twin telepathy. the boys say their goodbyes, step out of their seats, and look at each other skeptically, their matching butterflies drying quickly.

jane gasps when she sees will's paint. "oh! that's so pretty! i should've asked for that," she seems mildly disappointed, but notices mike's matching face. "did you match on purpose?"

"no, i swear, those ladies can read each other's minds or something!" mike exclaims, explaining how they both asked for surprises. he secretly likes matching with will, and wonders if he feels the same. he does.

they continue to run around playing rigged games and stuffing themselves with crappy carnival food until they approach an eye-catching booth. arm wrestling, $5 per round, and a stuffed animal of choice for the winner. there are vibrant purple and blue lights lining the awning that flash occasionally.

"oh, will, we've got to do this!" lucas says, practically jumping in excitement as they approach the stand.

will sighs, groaning, "do we have to?"

"please, will! let me give those new muscles a try! i bet i could still beat you," lucas teases, the attendant giving the party a look over, and smiling at them. he's very clearly a stoner, his eyelids low, with his long blonde hair covering his shoulders.

"okay, fine." will gives in and hands the attendant a $5.

"alright, before you start, we've gotta lay down some ground rules." the attendant lazily flips his hair to get it out of his face. "basically, you've gotta keep one hand behind your back, no dilly-dallying, and the winner gets to pick from this beautiful assortment of stuffed animals behind me, alright?"

the boys nod, and he perks up once more, "oh! and we aren't responsible for any injuries sustained while playing."

lucas leans down dramatically and slams his elbow onto the table, bringing his hand behind his back. "come on, man," he says, smiling widely.

will chuckles, copying lucas's position, and joining hands with him. the attendant counts down, and lucas immediately begins pushing against will, who bears down and keeps their hands in the middle.

the realization dawns on lucas, and he curses under his breath, straining. "oh, shit."

the party is torn between who to cheer for. dustin and jane are cheering for will, while mike and max give lucas words of encouragement. what traitors, will thinks.

will focuses on tiring lucas out, which happens quickly, and will slowly wrestles lucas's hand towards the table, although not without a struggle of his own. to be fair, lucas has filled out as well, mostly from basketball, but not to the extent that will has.

jane and dustin begin dissing lucas's fans, doing a victory dance as they roll their eyes. a few passerbys congratulate will as he looks towards the wall of toys and picks out a decently sized tiger. he turns it in his hands for a second before passing it to lucas, who thanks will with a saddened tone. he looks down at it and presents it to max, who seems happy enough with it, telling him that he put forward his best effort.

"lucas, you're such a wimp! it's about strategy," dustin says, patting lucas on his shoulder.

"oh, really? if you're such a genius, you try."

dustin rolls up his sleeves, "alright, but only if will is up for it?" his face has a hint of self-doubt, but he steps to the table with confidence whenever will agrees and passes the blonde another $5.

dustin makes a fool of himself, dramatically pulling will's arm with both hands, which gets him disqualified 1 minute into their round. jane and max take their time to laugh at him, and will picks out another toy with his automatic win. he picks out a cat in a banana costume, and gifts it to jane, who hugs him.

mike is observing with his arms crossed, "wow, you guys really suck."

"show us how it's done, then!" dustin declares, max joining in to tease him.

mike raises his hands defensively, "hey, i'll give it a go, but i'm not gonna be a sore loser like lucas."

lucas rolls his eyes, but doesn't say anything, his arm loosely wrapped around max's shoulders. will digs into his front pocket and pulls out another bill. "are you sure?" will asks, making eye contact with mike.

"yeah, yeah, i'm sure," mike says. his eyes have a certain mischievous glint in them, and he leans down, elbow on the table.

will decides to play with mike a bit, and leans down slowly, keeping heavy eye contact. he smiles at him, and takes a slow breath as he holds onto mike's hand. it makes him a little nervous to be in such a close situation, but he listens for the countdown and bears down just as he did with dustin and lucas.

he maintains a smile, watching mike struggle. by then, he's been worn down by the two other matches, but doesn't find it difficult to keep the other boy in place.

meanwhile, mike is inching closer to giving up, but is basking in the feeling of this. will looks so good, the grey complements his tanned skin, purple tone under the lights. will's hands are still so firm, guiding. he's flexing his bicep as they wrestle, and it reminds mike of the numerous times he's witnessed will mowing the backyard, his arms working against the rattle of the motor. he'd be drenched in sweat some days, and mike, for some reason, thought that was will's best look.

"come on," mike says under his breath, straining. he puts a little extra effort, and will begins to move in his favor.

will hums, and starts pushing back against him, eventually pressing mike's knuckles into the cool table. "ah, man," mike says through the butterflies slamming around his torso. there was something about will's brute strength that made him dizzy in the most amazing way.

they stand up, still holding onto each other's hands. will doesn't miss the way that mike's thumb brushes across his unbruised knuckles.

"ha!" dustin exclaims. "you're the one who sucks!" dustin lightly shoves mike, which pulls their hands apart.

"oh, please! you couldn't even last a minute. their round was like, 5!" max chimes in.

"whatever, you're just mad because your boyfriend has puny little arms." dustin rolls his eyes.

"oh! the line to the gravitron is short! let's go!" jane tugs on dustin's arm, and he follows her, along with the party minus mike and will.

"you did pretty good," will says, nodding to mike. mike smiles and goes to follow the rest of the party.

"alright, man, what shall be your final prize?" the attendant asks, gesturing to the wall of stuffed animals behind him.

will eyes the display before him and points at a stuffed monkey, the kind with velcro on the hands that hugs you. he recalls mike being upset about having to donate a toy just like it back in middle school, and figures he would appreciate it.

holding the monkey under his arm, will thanks the blonde, and begins to make his way through the crowd, able to see peeks of max's red hair next to mike's shirt. a hand catches his arm, and he stops in his tracks, looking over to see jennifer. her face was painted, and she had her long hair in two french braids.

"will!" she says, smiling.

shit. "oh, hey," will responds, and spots a few of jennifer's girlfriends watching from an ice cream stand nearby, giggling.

"i knew i'd find you here!" her hand travels down will's arm and to his hand, and she laces their fingers together, swaying where she stood, obviously trying to woo will with her sparkly eyes. in contrast to the way that mike's slender hand just felt in his own, he hated it.

"um, yeah," he looks in the direction of the party—primarily mike—and the crowd begins to dissolve in the space between them. jennifer is talking to him, but he's not listening, only looking for a way out of this situation.

"hey," he interrupts jennifer, "my friends are waiting, i have to go." he tries to pull his hand away from hers, but she is holding on, pulling him to stay in place.

"don't you want to talk to me?" she sounds mildly offended, as if speaking to her is some kind of privilege. she brings her free hand up to will's bicep, still trying to flirt.

"no, i do," will is still trying to be polite, "i just need to-"

jennifer cuts him off. "so stay," she says firmly. 

will begins to feel the internal panic building up inside of him, his eyes finally landing on mike, who is already watching him. he's leaning casually on the gate bordering the gravitron. he sips on his water bottle, one leg crossed over the other. under the colored lighting from the ride, he looks genuinely beautiful, and will wants nothing more than to be by his side. mike isn't even hiding the fact that he's checking will out, dragging his eyes over his profile, but watching jennifer's actions as well.

"no, i really can't," will is almost pleading with her, finally able to pull his hand from hers.

he almost walks off, but she scoffs loudly, "what is wrong with you?!" she exclaims. even in her anger, will can't keep his eyes away from mike, who looks unhappy, frowning. she's rambling on about how she went out of her way to make the first move, which was already a reach, and-

"i'm not interested!" will finally snaps at her, his tone harsh. she's surprised, and suddenly looks like she might cry. will's eyes are darting between jennifer and mike, and the pit in his stomach is deepening as mike begins to walk off. lucas reaches out and says something to him, and mike snaps something in response, finally storming off as lucas stands still, confused.

the entire party is staring at him now, slowly connecting the dots. will brings his attention to jennifer.

"i'm sorry, okay?" his tone has softened, but she still walks away and to her friends, who hug her and glare at him over her shoulder. he sighs and takes off after mike, passing the party, who are all asking what happened. when he doesn't respond, they don't follow him.

mike is leaning against the trunk of lucas's car in the field whenever will finds him after 10 minutes. he feels relief fill the pit in his torso, but it doesn't last long. 

"mike-" he starts, but mike doesn't let him get very far.

"just don't, will." mike doesn't even look at will, his arms are crossed at his chest, and he's dragging one of his converse through the thick grass.

"what?" will says.

"are you really picking a girl over your friends?" he looks at will then, his eyebrows bunched together.

"no, she just stopped me," will explains, but mike pushes off the car and starts towards the fair entrance.

"mike!" will yells after him, and mike turns towards him suddenly. he almost runs into him, but stops a few feet away. mike jerks his head and raises his eyebrows as if to say 'what?'

"why does it matter?" will asks, a chilling breeze brushing over them.

mike is looking at him, conflicted. "what do you mean?"

will repeats himself, "why does it matter? you obviously didn't care about that before we moved, ditching the party to be with jane every day. so, why does it matter that i stopped to talk to jennifer for a few seconds?" he's not sure why he's being petty, or why he's defending jennifer as if he didn't just reject her, but the poision is beginning to seep into his tone.

mike's eyes shift while he thinks of a response, because he just realized how hypocritical he sounded, his bad habit of jealousy getting to him once again. why did it matter so much? all he can say is, "that was different."

"different how?" will waits for an explanation, tapping his foot. there's a long silence consisting of mike looking down at his shoes, his arms still in place across his chest, slouching.

"it just was," he mumbles.

will scoffs, "i thought this is what you wanted." his tone is one that he didn't use often, and it sounds weird to hear it from himself.

"what?" mike says, looking at will now.

"didn't you say you wanted me to get a girlfriend? to move on? so, why is it an issue now that a girl is actually showing interest in me?" although he didn't want jennifer's interest or affection at all, he couldn't help as the words flowed out, the regret sure to set in later.

mike's mouth opens, and he closes it, sighing. "look, i shouldn't have said that."

"you think?" will says sarcastically, thinking back to their argument in mike's garage, how different the setting is now. they're older, bigger, and the background noise is crickets and faint carnival music rather than pouring rain. fireflies are blipping in and out of view, and there are fireworks barely audible in the far distance.

when mike goes quiet again, another comment slips out from will. "so, why does it matter so much?" he repeats. his fingers are shaking at his side, and he clenches his fists to ground himself, the wounds on his knuckles making their presence known.

"because..." he could tell will the real reason right now. it'd be so easy, like slipping into the pool, and it'd be just as refreshing. it gathers on the tip of his tongue; he's battling himself. the night is so calm, stars are becoming visible, and will looks so pretty. they're far enough so that nobody would hear or see them. he could kiss will, here in the field, because words are too hard. it almost hurts to swallow the words and generate something different, so he stays quiet.

will looks down at the stuffed monkey hanging from his hand, and gathers it closer to him. "whatever. picked this out for you," he says, walking past mike, being sure to shove the prize into his chest. he huffs and feels his eyes tear up, but keeps walking towards the arched entrance.

mike catches the monkey and stares down at it, feeling the softness of the fur, and remembering the monkey he had in the same pattern. his chest tightens, and he lingers for a moment before turning to follow will into the fair.

they walk in silence to the entrance, staggered, flashing their neon-green wristbands to the ticket attendant, who nods at them.

the party can sense the obvious tension, but they don't question it. the night continues to darken as they wander the fair, hijacking the kiddie rides and irritating parents as they go. will was able to lighten up as he stuck to jane's side, but mike remained gloomy. he primarily stayed alongside dustin and lucas, who seem to be slowly chipping away at his tough exterior.

15 minutes before the fireworks are scheduled to start, the party lines up to ride the ferris wheel, each of them hoping to watch the display from the top. a muffled announcement sounds as they approach the ride, and dustin stops both mike and will, who had been paired up with anybody but each other.

"look, guys." he starts, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "you two obviously just got into some petty argument, and none of us want to deal with the awkwardness again, so you are going to ride the ferris wheel together, and sort the shit out before your feet touch the ground again, got it?" he sounds like a parent, and the boys understand that they can't refuse at that point.

the seat rocks gently as they climb on, and they have no choice but to be shoulder to shoulder on the metal bench. they start to move, and the wheel creaks in its old age. will has already decided to stay quiet and keep his head turned in the opposite direction, but it seems mike has other plans, because he speaks when they're about halfway to the top.

"you know, i tried to call you," he admits, squeezing the stuffed monkey closer to his stomach.

will is surprised that mike is speaking to him, but responds out of courtesy. "what?" his voice is meek, and he looks over at him, shifting in the blue seat. seeing his face paint melts his grudge slowly.

he sighs, "at the skating rink, you said that i never called or reached out. that's the thing, though. i called all the time. your mom just always kept the line busy."

"oh," will says, "well... why didn't you say that before?"

mike shrugs and looks away into the bustling crowd below them, where people are gathering to watch the show. the further the boys inched up, the quieter the night seemed.

"i just couldn't," mike says softly.

will doesn't know how to take that, so he nods, and it's quiet again. they sit there for a while, the bench rocking.

"i guess..." mike looks at will again, the warm lighting from the wheel illuminating them against the darkness of the night. "i guess what i was trying to say earlier is that i care about you. i want you around... not with some girl on our night out." he swallows thickly. who was he referring to when he said our night out? the entire party, or just himself and will?

"i told you, i don't like her," will says, fidgeting with his hands, running his fingers over the scabs on his knuckles.

"i know..." mike trails off, thinking. the word vomit comes for yet another round, "also, i know that i shouldn't have said all of that in my garage. i regretted it as soon as i said it," mike says, and will looks over at him again, nodding. 'i'm listening.'

"you don't need to give up d&d, or video games." mike holds his breath, because he's not sure what changes his next words will make in their relationship. 

"and you don't need to like girls," he finally relaxes against the seat, waiting for will's response, and getting nervous that he overstepped when there isn't a reaction at all. not only did he not care about whether will liked girls, but he didn't want will to like them. selfishly, he wanted to be the object of will's affection, his only desire.

will just smiles at him, "i know, mike." he reaches out with the hand furthest from mike and places it on his arm reassuringly. mike sniffles, and the crowd below starts counting down. they finally reach the top, and the first golden-blue firework bursts before them.

they step off the ride with another unspoken understanding, and dustin is happy to see that they finally, really made up.

Chapter Text

the day of july 5th has been full of guests filtering in and out of the wheeler's residence, popping in to say hi, eat, and take a dip in the pool. after doing the mandatory mom-assigned socializing, the party locked themselves in the basement to play card games and watch dump movies until karen's book club friends dragged themselves out of the house after hogging the pool until the sunset started painting the sky, and drinking almost an entire bottle of wine.

ted eventually packed up the grill, having babysat hot dogs and burgers on it all day, and began setting up the driveway for fireworks. they couldn't start until 9, so the party got three blissful hours of pool time all to themselves.

mike and will had broken their backs bent over the pool floaties that morning, scrubbing cobwebs from them and almost deflating their lungs trying to blow them up without a pump. from mike's knowledge, they hadn't owned floaties. it seemed awfully convenient how karen mentions them when her friends are in question.

they had been left drifting around the surface of the pool by karen's tipsy, inconsiderate friends, and max and jane immediately hogged the donut-printed circles, lounging in them and hoping to soak up the remaining sunlight.

"hey!" will grunts as he wrestles with lucas, who was trying to wrest a beach ball from his grip. the boys were still standing on the edge of the pool, completely dry.

"just give it!" lucas demands playfully, doing his best to shove will into the water.

"you idiots are gonna break my mom's stuff," mike says, to which the boys pause and look at him, then each other, and go back to wrestling over the ball with less vigor. 

dustin creeps up to mike's side. "watch this," he smirks at him, waggling his eyebrows, and motions to the boys arguing. he slips around mike and makes his way to stand in front of the boys, who were already inching closer to the edge. "how about both of you guys get in and sort it out in the water?!" he calls out, not giving them any time to react, before he shoves them both into the pool.

they make a huge splash, the girls screaming as they're nearly flipped over with their floaties. jane actually manages to slip out of hers, and glares at dustin whenever she comes back up with her bangs dripping into her eyes.

"you suck!" she exclaims, snatching the floatie towards her and climbing back onto it, wobbly. max manages to grab hold of the beach ball and guards it from the boys, who are still making their way back up to the surface.

will and lucas emerge from the water and begin yelling at dustin, who laughs at them, pointing. mike silently shoves dustin in, and he screams. mike cannonballs in after him, staying under long enough to grab at dustin's leg under the water, dragging him down a few inches. chaos ensues, and the boys start a lighthearted contest of who can drown somebody else first?

the water eventually settles, and the party floats their way over to the shallow end, ready to engage in their typical few rounds of chicken after wearing themselves out in the deep end. will isn't allowed to be a rider due to his obvious advantage, so he acts as a base, helping the riders out by occasionally swatting and splashing the opposing team's base.

"okay, this game still isn't fair!" dustin whines after taking a mouthful of water when trying to base for max. "we need a new rule to stop will's obvious cheating," he's salty after his third loss, and it makes will laugh teasingly.

"what are you gonna do? tie my hands behind my back?" will says, splashing dustin again. "unless you want me to be a rider?" he raises an eyebrow.

dustin and lucas shake their heads vigorously. mike is leaning against the pool wall, arms crossed loosely, not getting involved in the conversation. a recently victorious jane lines up next to him with max by her side, waiting for the boys to hash out their grievances.

"fine, then. stop whining and just politely ask me not to use my hands," will says, and the boys scoff.

"could you please not cheat?!" dustin asks sarcastically. will shurgs, and says maybe, which starts dustin on another fit. the back door slides open, interrupting dustin's rant.

"kids, firework time!" karen calls out, and the party rushes—wrapped up in their towels and damp overclothes—to the driveway, claiming spots to watch from.

after hearing about mike and will getting their hands on satan's baby, the party members—primarily lucas, after sacrificing the firework to save hawkins—were bouncing off the walls with excitement.

nancy and jonathan had spent most of the day at the house and were already waiting outside for everybody else. jonathan gives will a small wave, and he smiles back. he and nancy are leaning against each other, chatting quietly amongst themselves. 

it was a great relief to everybody whenever the two of them made amends after their college predicament, agreeing to continue being long-distance, even if it proved difficult. nancy's apartment was downtown, a small, homey place that will had seen a few times. she liked to host small get-togethers there, and jonathan always made sure to invite will over. no matter the season, her home remained dim and always smelled like fall: pumpkin spice and the color orange. 

it often reminded him of how mike had a certain smell. this summer, he mainly smelled like chlorine from spending so much time in the pool, but will could always scout out his real smell underneath. he always smelled like his soap, the spicy, earthy scent mixed with the clean smell of his house and clothes, and there was sometimes a certain sweetness that clung to his hair. will had never thought about having a favorite scent, but if he had to pick, it'd be mike.

will stands towards the top middle of the driveway, and jane joins his side, looping her arm into his and pressing her damp hair against his arm. he rests his head on hers despite how cold her hair was, and lets his eyes rest as ted starts setting holly up with her sprinklers and fountains.

to his right side, he can feel mike next to him, dangerously close. their arms are almost brushing, and will shifts the extra inch to press his elbow into mike's arm for a second, just to acknowledge him, to say: i see you, without being obvious.

it makes mike shiver, the hair raising on his arms. even though it was hot and humid during the day, the nights never failed to cool drastically.

"okay guys, ready?" karen says, clearly excited as she picks holly up, who is holding a lit sprinkler away from them.

"hell yes!" dustin says. he earns a stern look from karen and language! from ted, but they continue with lighting the fireworks.

nearly the entire block is lit up, neighbors gathering on the sidewalks to watch their own and each other's display. ted was in some silent competition with the other fathers on the cul-de-sac, trying to show each other up with expensive fireworks and burnt-smelling barbeques.

the fireworks were typical, short and sweet due to city regulations. that is, until satan's baby is standing alone at the top of the driveway, silently beckoning everybody, encouraging them to break the rules and put on a show.

"i don't know if we should light that, guys. it might be too loud for the kids," karen looks unsure, and the party almost immediately protests. 

"holly can cover her ears! screw those other kids," mike says, motioning to the rest of the neighbors along the street.

"language!" ted says, eyeing the box. "well, kare, we did spend $40 on this thing."

"um, i spent $40 on it," will corrects ted playfully, earning a genuine chuckle from him, which was rare.

 "cmon mrs. wheeler!" dustin pleads. max and lucas join in, begging her to let loose for the night.

karen looks to nancy for her opinion, raising her eyebrows. "i think it sounds like fun, mom," nancy says, smiling proudly when the party praises her for being on their side. karen sighs in lighthearted defeat and gives ted the go-ahead.

ted grabs onto the box, carrying it down to the street, a bit further from the house than their other fireworks. lucas, will, dustin, and mike all follow the firework with their eyes, anticipation building.

"now, how do i set this thing up, exactly?" ted asks curiously, raising an eyebrow.

lucas is quick to volunteer, "i can help!" he practically skips along the driveway to meet ted.

the firework is an artillery-style one, prioritizing noise over flashiness. lucas shows ted how to load the stand, shell number 1 of 6 being dropped down, fuse pointing just out of the top. jane covers her ears in anticipation, and will wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. mike eyes this interaction and admires will for being a good brother- lord knows how much jane deserves it. it makes his heart and stomach twist, the admiration taking his attention from the highly praised firework about to be set off before him.

"alright, step back," ted directs lucas to the top of the driveway and lights the fuse, stepping away from the stand cautiously.

lucas squeezes between mike and max, pushing to get a better view of the firework. mike doesn't have to step over much, but gets close enough to will so that their fingers accidentally brush. will doesn't know if it's intentional, but his fingers twitch towards mike, brushing along his soft knuckles. mike feels his face flush, and finds himself grateful that the streetlights weren't bright enough to make it visible.

the fuse burns quickly, sizzling. it's quiet for a moment until a small light shoots high into the air, pauses, and bursts with red-tipped silver streaks. then, another silver burst pops loud enough that it travels down the street and back, echoing off the houses. nearly everybody on the block is taken by surprise, looking towards the source of the noise. a small cloud of leftover smoke is left barely visible, illuminated by the moonlight.

everybody jumps, and the boys' hands hit each other, the bruises coming to life on will's knuckles remind him of their presence. being in the pool did something to the scabs, making them painful for the first time in days. he winces, audibly hissing, and pulls his hand away.

"oh, sorry! you okay?" mike's tone is worried, and he's looking down at his injured hand. he suddenly feels... guilty. like the wounds on will's knuckles were his fault. thoughts start flooding into his mind before he can stop himself, and he's blaming himself for starting the fight, for being in hellfire, for turning will into a freak by introducing him to d&d. for going up to him on the swings in elementary school.

will clenches his fist and stretches his fingers a few times, and smiles at mike through the throbbing in his hand. "yeah, i'm okay! sorry," he chuckles nervously and brings his hand closer to his face, squinting at the scabs to be sure they hadn't opened. mike doesn't respond; lucas's cheering steals his attention.

ted is already lighting the second shell by the time will looks over to jane to check on her, and they're interrupted by the high-pitched crackle of the first color shot, and then the loud bang of the noise shot. another puff of smoke sits in the still air.

"i don't think we should do another one of those, ted," karen says, watching the neighbors give them slight looks. ted is in awe, watching the other fathers' faces become painted with defeat. he won.

"yeah, okay hon," ted agrees and watches the stand cool off, small ashes from the previous firework drifting back down to the street. he's smiling proudly to himself when he leans down to grab it.

"aw, man," lucas says, and max yawns with a stretch. 

everybody else is still lighting fireworks in the surrounding area, and an idea pops into jane's mind. "guys, why don't we go for a bike ride?" she's eager, nearly jumping with excitement.

everybody had ridden their bikes over, so they agreed without much persuasion, pulling their bikes from the garage. will is about to use the extra that the wheelers kept—he simply preferred to use mike's bike when he needed to get around—whenever jane approaches him.

"will, did i tell you that max is teaching me to ride a bike?" she smiles proudly.

will is surprised, but proud even though this was something long overdue. "oh, really? did you want to ride this, then?"

"uh, yeah, if that'd be okay with you?" will nods and guides the bike towards jane, who thanks him, nudging his ribs with her elbow. she had been practicing being more independent in general, so not having to piggyback off of somebody else's bike gave her a rush of self-satisfaction that was unmatched.

"here, you can get on with me," mike says, mounting his bike only a few feet away. the bike had a small cushioned rack on the back, and he cocks his head towards it.

"will we fit?" he asks hesitantly, but still approaches the bike. he hadn't been on the back of mike's bike since middle school, when he fell and broke his finger. that day, mike begged joyce to ride with them to the hospital and sat in the waiting room with jonathan for 2 hours until will was discharged.

"we'll manage," mike says, swallowing. he was nervous, but so was will.

hesitantly, will climbs on and settles. everybody in the party is ready by then, so mike sits down, getting ready to pettle. will's hands hover hesitantly at mike's waist for a moment before mike reaches down and pulls will's hands closer, pressing them into his sides.

they were so close. if they were still enough, mike would be able to feel will's heartbeat on his back, quick and heavy, and hear how shaky his breathing was. as they begin to take off, will lets his feet rest on the back pegs, trying not to focus on the proximity and how his thighs were pressed against mike's.

instead, he looks upwards, focusing on the fireworks bursting overhead. the group rides slowly, up and down each street in the neighborhood, and eventually into the next. the two of them stagger behind a bit, riding slower than the rest of the group. families are playing with their kids in the front yard, and older couples set up lawn chairs in their driveway to watch the town glow.

it almost makes will miss living in hawkins, but it couldn't compare to how much he wanted to be back because of mike's presence. he imagines having some kind of family with him, and eventually setting up chairs like those old couples. his hands snake around mike's waist as if they have a mind of their own, and he presses his cheek against his right shoulder blade. he closes his eyes and focuses on having mike so close, wondering if they'd ever really have a future.

eventually, they circle back and head towards mike's house to pack up and get home before it's too late. will had nearly forgotten that the world existed outside the two of them, but his eyes snapped open, and he straightened up whenever lucas called out for mike to catch up.

 "you okay?" mike calls out to will over the fireworks, which were quieting down as the night became darker. whenever will hugged him closer, he nearly crashed into a parked car because he was so focused on staying cool, but so happily enveloped by the feeling.

 "yeah," will says back, his voice cracking a bit. he leans back and keeps his hands on mike's ribs, remembering where they were and where their relationship stood. sure, he was only getting comfortable, but the look he imagined mike to have if he confessed creeped into his mind, making him cringe.

after arriving back at the house and packing up, will walks jane to the bottom of the driveway where max was waiting. she hugs him before climbing onto the back of max's bike, and they pull off, traveling up the road and disappearing around the corner. when he steps back into the foyer, jonathan is waiting to say goodbye to him, his hands stuffed into his front pockets.

"hey," he says. "you know, it's weird not seeing you every day after so long," jonathan admits, chuckling.

"i know," will says. after everything that happened since the first day he went missing, the byers and hoppers have melded into a close-knit family, always keeping an eye out for each other. this trip was one of the first times they had been separated for so long. it was a little hard for each sibling, but even harder for joyce and hopper at home.

will had called joyce with jonathan and jane earlier, crowding around the phone to tell her happy late 4th and how much they missed her and hopper. she sounded almost teary on the other side, relieved that her kids were still safe in hawkins. she wasn't too hard on will whenever he told her about the fight in private, but he got a short lecture on not feeding into troy's behavior and all—typical mom stuff.

"i think nancy wants to host dinner at her place sometime next week, you're welcome to come, of course." jonathan motions to nancy, who was chatting to karen at the kitchen island, holding a stack of tupperware full of leftovers.

"yeah, i'll be there," will says, leaning against the semi-wall beneath the stairs.

nancy walks into the foyer and pulls on her tennis shoes, karen following her to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "ready?" she says to jonathan, who nods.

jonathan brings his attention back to will, pulling him in for a brief hug. just as he's about to say goodbye, he perks up, "oh, hey! i had something for you, i left it up in your room. let me know how you like it, okay?" he says, making his way towards the door.

"okay, thanks," he says, smiling. 

"bye will," nancy says, giving him a small wave. she leans further into the house and yells in the direction of the living room. "bye, mike!"

"bye!" mike calls back, and holly rushes to the door to hug nancy, closing the door behind them when they finally step onto the porch. she's struggling to stay awake, rubbing her eyes. by now, it's nearly 10:30, which is well past her bedtime. ted scoops her up and carries her to her bedroom to put her to sleep.

 mike pads into the foyer and is left standing with will alone. he starts up the stairs, and when will doesn't follow, he pauses on the landing halfway up. "are you not coming up?" he asks, trying not to sound desperate. he had hoped to get a bit longer with will, to talk with him alone.

will looks up at him and shakes his head. "no, i was gonna go back out to the pool," he's still in his swim trunks, wearing a dark, oversized, worn graphic tee that must have been hopper's.

thinking, mike stands in place for a moment before heading back down the stairs. "okay, let's go," he invites himself, and will doesn't seem to mind, following mike to the back door when he passes by.

outside, the fireworks are still popping in the distance, hiding on the other side of the house, just out of view. they get ready at the pool chairs, and mike can't help but watch as will pulls his shirt off, the skin stretching over his ribs and goosebumps following the flow of the big shirt. he tries to be casual whenever will almost catches him.

the water is heated, so it doesn't take long to warm up against the cool night. after jumping in, will watches mike swim laps in the pool, and he's cutting through the water almost effortlessly. he's a strong swimmer, and karen had been encouraging him to join the swim team since they had the pool installed, to which he refused profusely. 

will lets himself sink below the surface to admire him further. it's quieter down there; the world suddenly muffled and muted.

he wishes he and mike could own this house together, swim in the pool, and host parties just as karen did today. then, the image of parents with their kids and old couples in driveways flashes in his mind, pushing his fantasy of being with mike even further. 

it overwhelms him, and he has to rush back to the surface, gasping for air, coughing. he makes his way back to the shallow end to give his legs and lungs a break, leaning against the pool wall and hovering his hand over the jet to ground him.

"you okay?" mike asks when he comes up on the deep end a few minutes later, rubbing the chlorine from his eyes and pushing his bangs back.

"yeah, just thinking," he says, and swims over to mike, holding onto the ledge as mike does the same.

they look at each other for a while, time ticking by slowly. "i like that hairstyle on you," will says. it's slicked back due to mike pushing it away with the water, and blushes, subconsciously reaching up to push it back once more.

"thanks," he says, smiling bashfully. will cups a bit of water in his palm and uses it to push his own hair back, running his fingers through it. he gives mike a questioning look that says 'how do i look?' 

mike nods, 'it's good,' and lets his gaze fall again, a smile forcing itself back onto his face.

"so," will starts. "did you have fun today?" he asks, trying his best to make conversation.

"yeah, it was just a little crowded. i wish we got to hang out more," mike admits, and feels the pre-word vomit symptoms arise.

will chuckles. "we can always hang out, mike," he says, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. mike's skin starts to burn where will's hand is touching him, but it's not a bad, painful burn. it snakes into his chest, and a delightful orange flame replaces the envious green from before.

mike's hand comes to rest on will's outstretched forearm. "i mean, just us, though. alone?" he didn't mean to sound suggestive, but he gets nervous, wondering if he was getting ahead of himself at that point.

"yeah, we can do that sometime, we still have a while before i go back home," will reassures mike, giving his shoulder a small squeeze, which causes a fleet of butterflies to attack mike's stomach. mike returns the gesture on will's arm.

back home. the phrase makes mike feel weird, like there was a hole waiting to be opened in his torso, along the whole thing. like if he hears it again, his heart will start cracking, and it'll grow bigger until he's left with a gaping wound. the butterflies are moths now, trying to find that orange flame and banging around his torso aimlessly, weakly.

"yeah," mike says. will can detect the energy shift, and pulls his hand away from mike's shoulder.

"everything okay with you?" he asks gently, resting his head on the back of his hands as he holds onto the ledge again.

mike doesn't really know how to answer, so he chews at his lip. the word vomit is stirring inside him, ready to expose him at the first possible instance. "well, i've just been thinking a lot," he continues to pull at his lip.

"about what?" will's eyes search mike's face for any hint, but his expression is something he hasn't seen before. it reminds him of when a storm is a few towns over, and the clouds are starting to darken before you can see lightning in the far distance.

 "oh, i dunno," mike brushes it off, pushing off the wall. he wades into the middle of the deep end and lets himself float on his back, looking up at the smoke-polluted sky, lanterns floating until they disappear, and thick clouds of dark smoke drifting by.

will joins him eventually, his head towards mike's feet. they watch the sky in silence, pushing off of one another whenever the water magnetizes the two of them together. fireworks are still going off down the street, and it seems like some disrespectful college students are in a neighborhood far too quiet to meet their needs.

when mike sits up and begins wading again, will mirrors him and talks to him from a distance. "you know you can talk to me, right?" he nods at mike, who looks away from him.

"i just get worried that people won't like the truth of what i have to say," he looks back to will then, and shrugs as best as he can in the water.

"maybe they will," he says, shrugging back. his tone is all too suggestive, 'maybe i will,' it hints. will swims to the shallow end and stands up. "i'm gonna head back in," he jabs his thumb in the direction of the dimly lit kitchen, the light over the sink on. the action almost says follow me, in the most entrancing way known to man.

"wait up," mike says, and clumsily pushes his way through the water, stupidly wondering if will thought his swimming was impressive like his mom claimed it was.

will waits until mike approaches the stairs before he turns away and walks up them slowly. with the water beading on his back—the muscles that continued to drive him crazy shifting with each movement—and the blue cast caused by the pool lights, mike's view of will is incredible. he reaches his hand up, just inches away from will's back. he could slide his fingertips across it, and something in him is telling him to do it, because will wouldn't mind. maybe will would like the truth? 

he continues to watch will as he dries off, his hair becoming messy as he uses a  towel on it. when they tiptoe back into the house, the pool lights time out and power off, leaving the backyard dark and deserted. they reach the top of the stairs, stop at their respective doors, and begin their nightly routine.

"see you in the morning," mike says, his hand lingering on the doorknob.

"yeah, see you," will nods, smiling. they open their bedroom doors at the same time and step in. will's door closes, but mike can't seem to push his shut, to make the latch click for another night. he switches into a white shirt and basketball shorts as quickly as possible, the door still slightly ajar.

fireworks are still popping in the distance, although it was nearing midnight by then. mike takes a deep breath before stepping back into the hall, and he knocks gently on the bedroom door. this felt like he was getting ready to get into the pool, knowing it was ice cold. it pulls him back to the nights he stayed awake, hoping to hear from will.

"come in," will's voice is muffled on the other side.

mike hesitantly steps into the room and suddenly feels queasy. will is flipping a cassette back and forth in his hands whenever mike's eyes catch him. with a shaky voice, he asks, "wanna watch the rest of the fireworks together? i don't think they're stopping anytime soon." he motions to the window, already cracked open.

will nods, "yeah, sure," he stands from his position on the bed, still shirtless, yet in a similar pair of shorts to mike. he sets the tape on the bedside table, and pulls the curtains open, lifting the window, motioning for mike to climb out first.

mike obliges and fumbles along the shingles. he sighs as he settles, and will climbs out with his graceful quality, sitting beside him. their bodies are close again, that familiar habit of leaning into each other claiming them. their shoulders are pressed together, and mike can feel will's warmth seeping through the thin short sleeve of his shirt. the college kids live on the next block, but their fireworks are still visible over the trees and houses.

"do you have a favorite kind of firework?" mike asks after a moment of silence. anything to hear will's voice, and to ease his shaking figure. something in him knows that tonight will be fateful, that the truth will come out. there are exactly four weeks until will goes back home, meaning it'll be the most wonderful, or most excruciatingly painful month of his life.

"i really like the big gold ones, you know? they're kind of soft... and i love it when they crackle at the end," will motions to the sky thoughtfully, panning it out with his hands. "do you have a favorite?" he looks over to mike as he finishes speaking.

mike hums in thought, "honestly, i'm not sure." he taps his chin, "i really liked satan's baby. i'm so glad we found that," he says, 'i'm so glad we found you. so glad that i found you.' he wants to say it so badly, but painfully swallows the words.

will chuckles, "yeah, me too." they share a glance, and mike can't help but look down at will's plush lips, not realizing that will had just done the same to him.

mike feels the familiar post-swim drowsiness settle into his bones and pull at his eyelids, but he fights the feeling so that he can stay with will on the roof. numerous minutes pass, and the fireworks continue before them.

"hey," mike says in between the noise.

"what's up?" will looks over at him and angles his body so that he can look at mike better. their shoulders become separated, and mike misses will's heat. he was always warm, like a personal space heater.

"i'm sorry about last night, again," he fidgets with his fingers, and lets his knee fall and rest atop will's.

will swallows, "it's okay," he says, the fireworks almost muting his words. he desperately wants to reach out and rest his hand on mike's knee. he thinks for a moment and gives in, casually placing his right hand there. mike's leg twitches, and he sits up a bit straighter, but doesn't make any moves to put distance between himself and will. if anything, he leans closer.

"it's just," another bang interrupts him, so mike waits for a second of silence. his stomach is churning with anxiety, and he's sweaty against the cool night, especially with will's hand on his leg, even if it's completely still. "i think i was so upset because whenever you moved, i felt like i lost you. i didn't want to lose you again... i had just gotten you back, you know?"

"yeah, i know," will nods, "you didn't lose me completely, though. i don't think you could," the fireworks resume, smaller and quieter, because they must be running low on the flashy ones.

"no?" mike's tone is shaky, and he feels emotional, wishing he could hug will.

"no, you couldn't." will sounds so sure, so confident. mike prays that he means it after tonight.

"i appreciate that," mike admits, "i honestly thought a lot while you were away," he pauses, huffs. "i think i'm more attached to you than the rest of the party... or anybody, really."

will thinks, trying to figure out if the invisible barrier that kept them from going further was still present. "yeah, you've always been sort of my favorite party member. don't tell anybody, though," he chuckles dryly, nervous.

frustrated, mike breaks down that barrier. "no, i don't mean it that way," he says, trying not to confess explicitly.

"oh, really? what kind of way, then?" will is suddenly hopeful as he asks, his chest swelling with caged excitement.

"i just..." mike feels as if he's on the edge of the diving board now, teetering, not quite ready to take the plunge. "i like you more than that."

"more than that?" the fireworks sound distant now, will's attention hyper-focused on mike.

"yeah, like.. a lot more," he says. 'please, understand,' mike begs silently.

will's heart skips a beat. does mike really mean that? is he dreaming? he's lost in his thoughts, mike's voice bringing him back.

"will?" mike says shakily, wiping his sweaty hands off on his shorts.

"so, is that the truth you were talking about? in the pool?" will asks, and his fingertips dig into mike's skin a bit, the hopefulness beginning to release itself from his body.

mike swallows thickly, but nods. his entire body is shaking, but there's a warmth spreading in his chest, and where his leg is still resting on will's. when will's fingers dig into his skin, he almost faints at the feeling of the simple pressure, his guiding touch.

will bites back a smile. "i don't hate the truth," he says quietly. "i agree with it, actually."

mike wants to relax his body then, but he's suddenly surging with adrenaline... heat. "you do?"

will mirrors his nod, his thumb now traveling across his knee gently. there's a new tension that arrives then, not like before. before, it was almost hateful, a petty silence. now, it's warm, buzzing, their heads both swimming.

mike takes a slow breath, and his eyes finally land on will's hand, and he reaches out to touch it, traveling his hand up will's forearm and back down. it feels different to touch him now, all of the bumps and grazes suddenly full of the same intention. knowing that, it makes him blush furiously. the fireworks are still going, but will scoots a bit towards the window, pulling mike's hand along with him.

"i think they're finishing up, wanna head in?" the question is charged with something more, and will can't help but smile, teasingly challenging mike.

mike is surprised, and it takes him a minute to answer, because will is actively holding his hand, pulling him slightly. "oh, yeah," he glances out to the next block, almost having forgotten they were outside to watch them. will lets go of mike and climbs back into the room first, to which mike follows closely. will doesn't stop too far from the window, so they're close whenever mike straightens up.

will steps around mike and shuts the window slowly. the lamp beside the bed is the only source of light, and it's on its dimmest setting. the room seems to be warming quickly without the draft from the window.

"are you tired?" will asks, and his voice is lower than usual, but still quiet so as not to wake anybody else up. he feels a surge of confidence in his chest and an eagerness that isn't typical for him.

"not anymore," mike shakes his head, almost feeling frozen in place. will is still at the window behind him and places a hand on mike's right shoulder blade, where he rested his head earlier, smoothing over the shirt he was wearing. mike's breath hitches.

"did you wanna hang out for a little longer?" boldened, will leans forward and rests his chin on mike's left shoulder, their faces close. the tip of will's nose presses against mike's neck and shoulder, feather-light against his skin.

mike nods, his hand twitching. he turns his head towards will slightly, and can feel will's breath on his neck. he swallows thickly, and will's hand comes up to trail over his shoulder and down the length of his arm.

"what do you wanna do?" will asks quietly.

mike turns to will slowly, stopping when his body is fully facing him. "um," he hesitates. "i don't know, what do you wanna do?" he wasn't sure what was supposed to happen after the truth finally came out, so he relied on will's guidance, still unsure on how much experience will had in the dating realm.

although will had taken his hands away from mike, he returned them, his right hand on the outside mike's left forearm. he trails along the length of his arm with his fingertips until their hands touch, and their fingers do some kind of dance that laces them together messily. will squeezes mike's trembling hand gently.

"it might be too soon, but, um, can i kiss you?" will asks quietly, eyes searching mike's face for a reaction. "would that be okay?" he had never kissed anybody before, but the words seemed to have slipped out on their own, too excited at the discovery that mike likes him more than 'that,' more than a friend. after waiting for what was essentially their entire lives, will felt like he was floating.

mike's face flushes a deep red again, and the months in his torso have been brought back into full-force raging butterflies. he's so nervous, but that warm, fuzzy feeling is slowly seeping through his veins, the orange flame turning a deeper color. he swallows and nods slowly, feeling lightheaded.

"are you sure?" will asks, because he doesn't want mike to regret this later, to be relieved whenever he goes back to california.

"yes, yes!" he nods more eagerly then, quick to reassure will. "i'm just... nervous, i guess," mike admits. sure, this wouldn't be his first kiss, but he's never been in a situation such as this, with so much tension, so much warmth, so much history.

will tucks one of mike's small curls behind his ear with his free hand, and rests it on the crook of his neck. "we don't have to if you're too nervous," he reassures him, thumb stroking mike's sharp jaw.

mike shakes his head vigorously. "no, no. i want to. i really do," he says, "i've just never done anything like this," he motions to himself and will.

"well, you know i haven't either," will says, chuckling and giving mike's hand another squeeze.

"really? i heard that a lot of girls flirted with you in lenora. i thought maybe you'd been with one of them," he sounds stupid and scolds himself for it, but anything could tumble out when he feels like this.

will shakes his head, "no, i don't want any of them." he says it so gently that mike's knees might buckle. i like dark hair, the phrase replays in mike's head, then.

"so, when i asked what your type was at the firework stand..." mike trails off, his free hand waving in the air.

"yes, i was talking about you," will looks down and chuckles. "that was so dumb," he admits, rubbing a hand over his face and through his damp hair. 

a bit of lightheartedness and a shared laugh makes mike's anxiety settle a bit, but the seriousness bleeds back into the atmosphere, and they stare into each other's eyes in the dim light, sharing glances at each other's lips.

"so, can i kiss you?" will asks one last time. his voice is so gentle, careful.

"yes, please," mike says, tongue coming out to swipe at his lips. suddenly, he's scared that his breath might smell, or that he's a bad kisser. the worry dissolves whenever will starts moving closer, pulling him forward as well.

here it is, the plunge, he wasn't just dipping his toe in to test the water anymore. he falls off the diving board more than diving gracefully. as their lips connect, and he splashes into the pool, he'd expected it to be cool, refreshing.

it's quite the opposite, so charged. it's a deep, hot red that surges through his chest, blacking his vision out even behind his closed eyelids. his hand writhes away from will's and drags itself up to tangle into his hair, close to the crown of his head. his other searches frantically for a place to rest on will, grabbing at his shoulder and bicep.

will gasps with the action, and pulls mike closer by his hip. he always imagined this kiss to be gentle, soft, sweet. seems like the 10 years of desire weren't going to excuse themselves politely. their lips move together messily, still learning each other, leaning forward and back to find their perfect balance.

when they finally pull away, gasping for breath, they're both drowning in the haze of affection. their hands fall away from each other, but they stay close.

"will," mike says, winded. he feels dizzy, craving more, but afraid to ask.

"yeah?" he responds almost immediately, eyes fluttering open. he's flushed, and it spreads down his neck. the room felt sweltering at that point, the window screaming to be opened again.

mike doesn't know what he planned on saying, but more wanted to say will's name, to let him know that he was still there. when he doesn't respond, will's eyes do the talking.

'more?' they offer, plead. mike nods, speechless, breathing heavily through parted lips. will takes his face into his hands, giving him a small smile before pulling him in.

will's lips are so soft against mike's, still holding that guiding quality like the rest of him. mike stumbles a bit, and will brings an arm to hook around his back, supporting him, pressing them closer.

mike drags his fingers over will's shoulders, pressing them into the muscles of his back, just as he had imagined in the pool. only, this was better than his imagination had granted him. he can't help it whenever his short fingernails leave crescents on his skin, and will groans quietly against him, but it makes the experience that much more hypnotizing.

mike steps back towards the bed, pulling will with him. without realizing, he begins whispering will's name between kisses, repeating it like a prayer. it's sweet on his tongue, and he's still burning up, will's fingers now igniting a fire where they dragged and touched rather than goosebumps. will's hands have tangled into mike's shirt, twisting and tugging at it.

will pulls away for a second to look into mike's eyes. "i've waited so long for this," he says, kisses mike again and again, pulling away in between to say 'so, so, long.' it's almost automatic, and he can't help but repeat it.

mike manages to say 'me too, will,' in response, finally sitting on the edge of the bed. will goes to pull away, but mike drags him down with him, keeping their lips connected as he guides him up to the top of the bed, against the pillows.

a creak in the hallway is what tears them apart. their heads whip to watch under the door for any disturbance. mike can recognize the walking pattern as karen, and hears her enter the bathroom.

they look at each other, the realization setting in. messy hair, will's tanned skin red from mike's hands grappling with him. they're tense, holding their breath until karen makes her way back to her bedroom, the door closing quietly.

they sigh in relief, collapsing onto the bed side by side. they're still gasping for air, breathing in sync. after a moment, will chuckles.

mike turns his head to look at him. "what?" he says, smiling.

"nothing, i just wasn't expecting the night to go this way," he says, running a hand through his already disturbed hair.

"i think i was," mike says, and will scoffs. in reality, he was really hoping this was how the night turned out and felt extremely lucky, grateful for will.

"no way," he pushes at mike's arm playfully. it's quiet again, before mike speaks.

"could you... lock the door?" he asks lowly, and will hums, nodding. his footsteps are quiet as he walks around the room. he locks the door quickly and plops next to mike on the bed again, looking over. they stare at each other for a second, and mike feels shy.

hesitantly, will turns to lay on his side and opens his mouth to speak. "did you..." he pauses, rewording in his head. "did you wait as long as me?" he sounds almost desperate, pathetic in his own ears.

"i think so," mike nods. "i just think that i didn't realize for a while, and then when i did realize, i pushed it really far back."

will nods, understanding. his eyes search for a bit, focusing on nothing, "what about everyone?" he says quietly, his real thought being, what about jane? the guilt starts to flood into his body, ripping away the adrenaline thrumming through his veins.

"i don't know," mike admits. "can we not think about that right now?" he feels bad for asking, but doesn't want to let the moment be taken by doubt.

will nods silently, chewing at his lip. he shifts on his back again and offers an arm to mike. it takes a moment to realize what will was doing, but mike slides closer and rests his head on will's chest, reaching up and resting his arm on the other side of him. he listens closely and can hear will's heart still pounding in his ribcage, his skin warm along the side of his face.

"will you sleep in here?" will asks, gently wrapping his arm around mike's shoulders.

mike nods, feeling the sleepiness take over his body again, and the boys sort of curl into each other. he nearly falls asleep, enveloped in will's smell and warmth, but makes sure to lean up to give will one last blushy kiss before the lamp is clicked off, and his vision blissfully fades to black.

Chapter Text

will is in that half-dream state, seeing himself on a picnic with mike, when a noise interrupts. it's annoying, and keeps going. it sounds like... metal? it's being shaken, and there's somebody knocking on something. will does his best to ignore it.

"will?" karen's voice fades in and breaks will out of his trance. his eyes shoot open, and mike is sprawled out across the bed, still snoring lightly. when he sits up and the bed shakes beneath his panicked movements, mike's head jerks and he's awake now as well, suddenly realizing that karen is attempting to enter the room against the locked door.

"uh- one sec!" will says, fumbling out of the full-sized bed to snatch the oversized shirt from last night that had hung on the back of a rolling chair. he pulls it on, and mike is silently panicking, motioning to will for help. what the fuck do we do? will shrugs, his expression mirroring mike's.

"have you seen mike this morning?" karen asks, stopping her attempt to get the door open.

"no... maybe he went for a walk, or something?" will says, sounding cringingly unsure, and goes quiet as he and mike stare at each other, hoping she'll give up and go away.

"okay..." karen doesn't sound like she believes it, but steps away from the door. "sorry to wake you, hon," she says, and her footsteps fade away back down the stairs.

the boys sigh in relief, and will sinks to his knees in front of the bed, hanging off of it and shoving his face into the comforter. he groans quietly and lifts his gaze to look at mike. "good morning," he says tiredly.

"morning..." mike says, bringing a hand up to run through his bangs as he collapses against the pillows.

to cover up their horrible story, will snatches an outfit and mike's hairbrush from his room and forces him out of the window to take a walk up the street and back down. when he enters through the front door, and karen asks where he had been, his excuse is, 'i woke up early, so i took a walk before it got too hot... sorry, mom.' in his persuasive i didn't do it voice.

breakfast was chatty, nancy and jonathan back over to have chocolate chip pancakes and take holly for a day out, so karen could relax on the perfect sunday. mike has to work, and ted takes him, not coming back to the house due to a sporting event watch party at one of his coworkers' houses, leaving will alone at the house.

the silence is the first thing that sets in and bothers will, along with boredom. he treads up the stairs and back into his bedroom, which smells differently than usual. of course, it still smelled like him, but it smelled like mike, too. now, if he had to pick, this would be his favorite scent.

the cassette that jonathan gifted him turned out to be worthwhile, containing newer music mixed in with artists and songs that were introduced to him in his younger years. scrawled across the front of it, in jonathan's boyish handwriting, 'miss you.'

will lounges across a pool chair and manages to get through a few chapters of his book, reading until the tape ended. afterwards, he fishes the limp floaties from the pool and fully deflates them, folding them neatly and shoving them on the cramped shelves inside the shed.

the day heated up as it got closer to lunch, but will didn't let it stop him from riding mike's bike to the gym, reminiscing on how close he and mike were on it last night, which led him to fully think about the kiss for the first time since we woke up. he nearly crashes when the memory resurfaces, and he has to apologize to a few people waiting at a crosswalk.

he spends an hour in the gym, working his legs until failure. outside, he sits on a bench just in front of the gym windows and sips from the plastic water bottle he packed himself.

the day is pleasant so far, quiet. the gym was closer to downtown, so wires hung low over the streets and faded brick crosswalks, and couples passed him by hand in hand. he had to admit that he at least liked summer a little bit, but it still hardly compared to winter. what he liked about winter was the snow, how it sparkled in the sun, and the holidays. he always felt younger when he would bundle up in winter gear and venture out just to see kids making snowmen. winter wasn't the same in california, which added to his list of reasons to come back to hawkins. of course, mike was at the top of the list.

it was weird, because the main reason he liked summer, if he had to make a list, was mike. mike's rosy sunburns, his carefree attitude, his dark hair shining in the sun, the way he cut through the water, and the chlorine smell that clung to his hair. he liked seeing clouds, which there were also few of in california. he appreciated the lack of humidity california offered, but that was about it. he missed the green here, and the pretty, delicate plants. succulents were just okay.

except on this perfect day, there was something off. he hadn't noticed at first, but whenever he saw kids his age, they were giving him a look. he was used to being stared at and treated differently due to his past, but this was something unfamiliar, something new.

he does his best to ignore the stares and whispers, instead focusing on the hum of vehicles passing and birds in the trees that lined the sidewalks, evenly spaced. the bike ride home proves to be a bit torturous, his legs dead after his gym session. he ignored the burn, reminded himself what it was for, and kept peddling.

after showering, he makes it back into his room just in time to catch the phone on the bedside table on its last ring. "hello?" he speaks into it, sitting on the edge of the bed in his towel.

"hey man, it's dustin!" the familiar voice pipes up on the other end. will can almost see him now, smile wide and showing off his pearly whites, as dustin calls them.

"hey dustin, what's up? have fun last night?" will says, mirroring what he imagined dustin's expression to be at the moment. he runs a hand through his wet hair and taps his foot on the soft carpet.

dustin chuckles, "yeah man, so much fun," he says, but his tone becomes more serious. "look man, listen. jane and i had a trip to the library planned, but she canceled last minute," he says, pausing. "would you wanna come with me instead?"

will perks up, "oh, yeah. sure! i need to get dressed, though... what time were you thinking of going?"

"i'm free all day, baby. just call me when you're dressed, and we can meet up there, sound good?" dustin says, his voice charming as ever.

"yeah, cool, talk soon," will says goodbye and places the phone back onto the receiver, promptly getting up to put on his outfit for the day: comfortable grey shorts, a white, baggy shirt, and grey sneakers with white crew socks peeking out.

the bike ride back downtown isn't unbearable, but the humidity had definitely kicked in and started to make the weather more irritating bit by bit. in his backpack, will had his book, new 'miss you' cassette with his walkman and headphones, and a sketchbook that he hadn't touched in months, along with basic art supplies.

dustin meets him out front, clearly exhausted from the bike ride. "dude," he says, reaching a hand up to will's broad shoulder. "you took forever."

will ignores dustin's comment and opens the door for him, ushering him inside. "so, what'd you need?" will asks quietly, eyeing the entrance. the library is a little busier than usual, but still quiet, like the rest of hawkins' residents convinced themselves the town was.

in turn, dustin ignores him and approaches the librarian, a woman he didn't recognize. "do you have any study rooms open?" he asks politely, and is given the key to room 6 for 2 hours.

will doesn't question dustin any further and follows him upstairs to their room. inside, it smelled like crayons and new books, but it was pleasantly cool against the heat outside.

"so, what's up?" will seats himself in one of the large wooden chairs and leans back in it.

"i didn't have plans with jane," dustin admits, sitting across from will. he was never one to lie to friends, so will is instantly intrigued, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.

it's quiet for a moment, and will waits for dustin to continue, which he does with a sigh. "so, i had to tell you something," dustin says gently.

"okay...?" will says, nodding. his suspicions were growing moment by moment, fully expecting dustin to tell him that he found another version of dart somewhere in town.

"so," dustin sounds cautious, as if trying to figure out how to word something. "basically..." he hums to himself again, thumbing his chin in thought.

"dustin, spit it out. you're starting to scare me," will says, half joking. his stomach is suddenly tingling, unsure of how it should feel.

"i heard earlier that jennifer hayes and her friends have been spreading rumors about you," dustin says, sighing as if he'd been holding the secret in for years.

rumors. will was used to rumors, about how he went missing for attention, or how he missed a week of school in 8th grade because he had to go to a psych ward, how he was trying to shoplift after hours whenever the mall was burned down, or how he started the fire. sometimes, he wished some of them were true, imagining that being in a ward seemed better than having been possessed by some mysterious shadow creature and forced to kill.

"about what?" will asks, and usually, he wouldn't care. but, seeing as how he had only spoken to jennifer twice, he was curious. he had a guess, but wanted to hear it for confirmation.

dustin looks like he feels bad for will. "she's telling everybody that you're..." he trails off. "gay," he blurts out.

for some reason, this was something will hadn't expected. sure, people speculated his sexuality when he was younger, but he figured bringing that up would've been like beating a dead horse. suddenly, he's thinking about the only people who know and could've spoken on it. jonathan, joyce, mike. jonathan would never betray him in that way...had mike told somebody about last night?

before jumping to conclusions, he asks, "why's she saying that?" knowing jennifer, he had a good guess again.

"i'm pretty sure it's 'cause you rejected her at the fair, and because she's a brat who thinks anybody who isn't attracted to her must not be attracted to women at all," dustin says, a twinge of anger in his voice.

will swallows. well, he wasn't attracted to women. he could sit there and let people talk, and then deny it profusely, and continue lying whenever his closest friends asked him. dustin watched him intently, waiting for a reaction.

"yeah, i'm not," will admits, unable to contain the truth from one of his best friends, one of the only people from hawkins who called him when he moved. it feels horrifying and amazing at the same time to verbalize it, one less weight taken off his shoulders.

dustin raises an eyebrow, "not.. what?"

oh, yeah. he had to explain, will remembers. "i'm not attracted to women," he says, each word feeling like he was both stuck in drying concrete and completely weightless at the same time.

"yeah, i know," dustin deadpans, unimpressed.

will's eyebrows raise, and he jerks his head towards dustin in surprise. "what?" he says, mouth gaping slightly.

"will, we've been friends for basically our entire lives. i knew as soon as you didn't think farrah fawcett was hot," before will can protest, dustin continues. "i'm really just trying to protect your privacy and tell you what's going on, and to be careful, dammit. i know you're all buff and macho now, but i don't want you getting hurt or something," he motions to will's physique.

will takes a slow breath. "farrah fawcett?" he says, chuckling.

this time, dustin's jaw drops. "THAT'S what you're concerned about!?" he says, slamming his hands onto the table lightly.

will chuckles again and straightens up. "no, seriously. i really appreciate you telling me. people have been talking about me and that for a long time," he explains. "i'm leaving in a few weeks, it'll be okay." leaving. it saddened him to say the word, but he knew he had to accept the fact that this trip, and everything about it, was temporary.

"i know, i just don't want something to happen, you know?" dustin says. will reassures him, and they settle into a comfortable silence.

curiously, will looks at dustin after picking at the edge of the table. "so, who else do you think knows?" he says quietly. "like, have you guys talked about it?"

dustin shrugs. "i have no idea," he says, crossing his arms. "but, i really don't think anybody would mind, will." he says, nodding.

will mirrors his nod. "okay," they had a long time left in the room, so he pulls out his book, and starts exactly where he left off. the book didn't last long before he and dustin fell into conversation again, goofing off until their time was up. 

still, in the back of his mind, he was putting the pieces together: the stares, the whispers. he remembers the fight with troy, the pain and anger in his chest watching mike bleed for him. it makes him lose his appetite, it makes him want to bike back to california.

"be safe," is how dustin says goodbye to will, pushing off and starting in the opposite direction, towards his home. will nodded at him and peddled home slowly.

so, dustin knows. great. who else, though?

it honestly did feel relieving, although he was embarrassed that somebody like farrah fawcett was the giveaway. dustin had always been observant, but he didn't think he was that observant to pick something like that up on such a small detail.

that evening, everybody gets home around the same time, the sun slowly lowering itself into the horizon. dinner, again, was chatty. ted's team won during the watch party, karen and holly both had the best days ever, although karen's consisted of a spa day, and holly's consisted of eating more candy than usual. mike and will were the only two who were truly quiet at the table, only piping in when they were prompted to.

for some reason, as much as he tried to brush off the fact that rumors about his sexuality came back, will couldn't look at mike without feeling...bad. he almost regretted his actions the previous night for getting so close to mike. it was funny how he was just praying that mike didn't feel the regret that he was currently experiencing. he picks at his food and tries to make it look like he was enjoying himself, but the food had no taste to him, none of its usual attraction.

so, will did what he was best at during the beginning of his visit and avoided mike. instead of knocking on his bedroom door or stopping to say good night, he walked swiftly and silently into his bedroom and closed the door just as silently as he had been. he plays the cassette as loudly as possible and does his best to drown out the world.

mike doesn't knock on his door, either. and, even though he was avoiding him, will found himself disappointed that mike didn't speak to him.

mike, after what he labeled one of the best nights of his life, showed up to work extra cheery that morning. he was so cheery that max was creeped out and told him to knock it off. whenever the hopper-byers moved, hawkins became a dark, lifeless place to mike. he refused to leave the house for weeks and ignored phone calls.

he and max bonded over that for a little while, both of their worlds darkened after losing somebody. sure, their terms of loss were different, but not to them. before, mike and max had that hateful banter that was almost too real, but it eventually cracked down into quiet conversations and honesty that left their friendship in a foreign, but comfortable place. even when max broke up with lucas for the longest time they'd been apart, they still confided in each other.

the arcade was generally slow, considering most of the kids that played were forced to attend church with their parents, but it picked up around 12 when services released. he and max worked at the front desk and serviced broken machines. keith was mysteriously 'busy' in the back room. max made the gross guess that keith had a porn stash back there, and as disgusting as it was, mike couldn't deny the plausibility. keith manages both family video and the arcade, so it made sense that he'd have such easy access to all he needed for his creepy office.

mike fiddled with a few different parts from decommissioned machines, screwing pieces together to create absolutely nothing. sometimes, his weird inventions would actually work, and he'd be able to make a light turn on, but it was never more than one at a time. he started to become interested in the way the arcade games worked, and their insides. so, he was grateful to have the resources to mess around with them. with this freedom, he started considering actually learning about tech and building real things as a career.

max had just scammed a kid out of 25 tickets for a tiny pencil topper and a mini laffy taffy—she and mike thought this was totally dumb, but company policy forced them to torture these poor kids—whenever two boys around their age were exiting, speaking loud enough to be overheard.

"oh, dude. did you hear that the byers kid actually is gay?" the boy on the right says, elbowing the other. he has short, curly brown hair, and mike recognizes him as a kid in his biology class during the previous school year. 

the other teen has blonde, straight hair in an ugly combover, presumingly for church, as his outfit was too nice to be a kid who played here. "dude, yeah. that's disgusting," he says, pushing the door open with a ding! and they continue their conversation as they walk off.

mike and max look at each other, raising their eyebrows. "what did we just hear..." max says, dropping the roll of tickets in her hand onto the glass display section of the counter. it doesn't roll away, but instead unravels loosely around itself, leaving gaps in between each layer.

"um," is all mike can get out. was this his fault? were they too obvious, or had somebody seen them? were the curtains that wide open? thousands of questions fly through his mind. his stomach dips for a moment, but he just swallows and focuses back on the flashing light in front of him. 

max can see the conflict in mike's face, but doesn't mention it. she pulls a stool from along the wall and seats herself a bit closer to mike. she leans forward on her elbows, posture just as hunched as mike, and dips her head down, looking at mike closer.

mike furrows his eyebrows, eyes flickering between max and his hands working on different wires, a light flashing on each time they touched. "what the hell are you staring at me for?" mike says, but keeps his head down, gaze focused on the counter.

"i don't know, you looked bothered for a second," she says, reading him easily after they spent months of gloomy days sitting in windowsills of the library, overlooking the dull town of hawkins. both of them shared summer as their favorite season, because it brought max back to the few happy memories of california, and mike loved the freedom from school, but most importantly, he got his friends back. he got will back, every summer.

"i mean, that's not really a good thing to overhear," mike says, thinking back to his fight with troy, how quickly he spoke up. the boys said it in such a passing, casual manner that the shock glued him to his stool.

max hums, resting her chin in her palm. "i know," she pauses for a second. "want me to ask around about it?" she asks, willing to investigate the rumor. when mike doesn't respond, she leans until her shoulder bumps into mike's, nudging him.

finally looking over at her, he straightens up, just to slump back into his usual slouch. "i guess we should get to the bottom of it," he says, shrugging. at that, max nods once and slinks her away from behind the counter and into the arcade, disappearing into the small aisles. 

he tries not to worry as he waits, slumped on the stool. a few kids come by, loaded with crumpled tickets, and he awards both of them with stuffed animals. one of them picks out a monkey, the kind with velcro on the hands. the same kind will picked out for him at the fair, the same one he hugged to sleep. he chews at his lip, concerned for him, but still can't help the blush that arises when he's reminded of last night's events.

when max comes back, she slaps her hand on the counter, pulling mike from the fog in his mind. she's standing across from him, and he can tell by the glint in her eyes that she has answers. after playing off the fact that he jumped at max's approach, he raises an eyebrow, silently questioning her.

"jennifer hayes," max says, leaning close and keeping her voice low. "she's been saying that since the fair, apparently."

it makes mike sick to hear her name, and he scrunches his face, leaning back. "come over here," he says, motioning for max to come back. when she does, their stools are close so that they can strategize, which was a fancy word for gossip, because company policy was strictly against it.

she leans down, cupping a hand around her mouth to shield it from customers. "so, i guess their little talk at the fair didn't go well, then?" she says, whispering. 

"i guess not," he says in response, and shakes his head, not bothering to try and hide. he keeps his eyes on the project before him to avoid her seeing reading into his expressions any more than she already has.

"i mean, i knew that he was..." she trails off, "different...but i didn't really expect to hear that, you know?" max has the tendency to bring up harsher topics with no filter, and the statement throws mike off, his hands pausing for just a moment before he looks back down.

mike shrugs, trying to appear neutral. "people say all kinds of things about him. they always have," he says.

the bell above the door dings, and they both whip their heads to repeat the same welcome in! in unison as they had all day, before slouching back into their strategizing position. 

max looks like she remembers something then, and furrows her eyebrows. "also, what the hell happened that night with you guys?" she asks, "you like, stormed off."

"nothing, don't worry, we made up," he says, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from blushing. oh, they made up for sure.

max squints at him, but lets it go. she straightens then, leaning to pop her back. "well, should we tell him?" she asks, placing her palms on the ledge of the counter and pushing herself to balance on 2 legs of the cherry red stool. 

"i'm not sure," he says, shrugging. just then, another ding interrupts them, but it's a familiar face. dustin greets them cheerfully and reminds mike of the hellfire meeting they have coming up the next day. they chat for a while, and dustin seems antsy to get to pac-man, where somebody took his spot in first place. 

just as dustin is about to walk off, max blurts out, "wait!"

she gives mike a questioning look, and mike gives her a slight nod, which he didn't really mean. he didn't want this rumor to spread at all, not even to dustin. max tells dustin about jennifer and the rumor. dustin seems to take it better than mike had, but he looks deep in thought for the rest of his arcade visit.

when he finished an hour later, dustin called will from the payphone outside the arcade and asked him to meet at the library.

when they get off work together, mike and max venture a few stores down and into family video, where robin and steve were intently focused on a movie at the counter, the rest of the store empty.

"ahem," max chimes whenever the two don't look up from the screen, too intrigued.

"oh!" they say in unison, bringing their gazes up to the two, jumping.

"hey, guys!" robin says, reaching forward to pause the movie.

"hey, what're you watching that's got you so focused?" max says, trying to lean across the glass counter to peek at the bulky screen facing away from her.

steve's hand flashes out to turn off the monitor altogether. "nothing! and hey, don't lean on the glass!" he says, shooing her away.

max scoffs as she leans away from the counter, being sure to drag her fingers along the surface, leaving smudges. max's favorite thing was to piss people off by annoying them, and this attempt is successful. steve immediately starts grumbling about damn kids and polishing the glass with the corner of his work vest. it makes her laugh, and she taps the glass one last time before nudging mike to follow her into the aisles.

"hey, mike," robin says, waving slightly.

"hiii," he drags out the end of the word and directs it to steve as well, following max into the horror section, his head clearing the rows due to his height. even in his usual slouch, he was tall. he reached 6'1 his sophomore year of high school and seemed to stop there for a while. doctors claimed he was done growing, to which his joints celebrated against the ache. currently, he was 6'2 and 3/4ths, slouching down to 6'0 even.

will was close in height to mike, maybe 5'11. it didn't matter, because mike found himself slouching even lower, just to be on the same level as will whenever they spoke. he liked that will was a decent height, and that he filled out nicely, evolving from the scrawny kid he was in middle school. he liked that will was capable, able to take care of himself. he admired it, even.

max and mike decide on a movie to rent for the party's next get-together, which was typically on fridays. it was rated R, and they technically weren't old enough to rent it, but steve put it on his own account and dismissed them with, 'you shitheads owe me.'

using the payphone, each of them called their respective rides and sat outside on a bench together, chatting casually. lucas is first to arrive, with flowers, whisking max away. another thing he admired was their relationship, even with the on-and-off pattern. when they were on, they got each other. they spoke with their eyes, silent conversations about anything in any setting, and matched each other's pace naturally, their dynamic even and smooth. he hopes that he and will can evolve further, being a couple just like lucas and max, minus the off parts.

at dinner, mike can tell that will looks conflicted, and it mutes him. he suddenly wants to crawl back into his comfort zone, to tell will that they could forget about his truth and move on. god, the stupid truth. maybe if mike didn't spend so much time flirting with will that summer, will would've given jennifer a chance, and maybe they would've had a summer fling. the two hottest teens in town, together as an item. maybe, will wouldn't have such a lost look on his face at the table.

whenever will doesn't even look at him as they reach the top of the stairs, his heart cracks a bit. the moths return to his torso, banging around aimlessly, looking for the flame that was will. he thought that maybe will would reassure him and say that they'd make it through together. he spends another night staring at the bottom of the door, waiting for his flame to come back to him.

monday's weather was a bit moodier, which matched will and mike's thoughts and feelings. will doesn't get out of bed. he wakes up, pulls the headphones back on that fell off overnight, and restarts the tape, over and over. he just thinks. he doesn't want mike to get caught up in the rumor, too. he wonders if mike knew about it, if he regretted getting involved, because now his feelings were real, unavoidable. for the first time in what feels like years, will lets himself cry, not bothering to stop himself at just one tear.

he liked to think that he was accepting of himself, his sexuality. he liked to think that people saying things about him wouldn't bother him, but they did. god, they did. he chews at his lips until they're swollen to hold back the already silent sobs.

the only thing louder than the music was the phone, its shrill ringing next to him waking him up from the half-sleep state, peaceful now that his tears dried. he thinks about it and pulls the headphones off, sitting up. he watches the phone ring for a long time and eventually reaches out to pick it up.

whenever he first tried to speak, nothing but a croak came out. he straightens, clearing his throat, and tries again. "hello?" it was better, clearer. his face felt tight from the dried tears, and he did his best to rub the feeling away from his cheeks.

"hey, will," it's lucas, and there's a lot of background noise. 

"hey lucas, what's up?" he says, having to pull the phone away from his ear a bit whenever the noise errupts into a group cheer.

lucas rolls his eyes at the rest of hellfire behind them, gesturing to the phone pointedly. "hey, so, we're having hellfire tonight. i'm sure mike told you?" he assumes. yeah, mike had told him. eddie seemed fun, but he couldn't help but feel like an intruder in the rest of the party's newfound friend group.

"uh," he says, trying to sound like he was thinking on it. "yeah, he told me, why?" he questions, scooting to the edge of the bed and crossing his ankles near the carpet, just the heel of his right foot brushing the fuzzy material.

"we're down a teammate, jeff went home sick, you wanna come fill in?" lucas offers like he really doesn't mind, but will can't bring himself to agree.

he hums, hesitant. "no, it's okay, but let everyone know i say hey," he says, nodding even though lucas couldn't see him.

"are you sure? we'd love to have you," lucas sounds more reassuring, and it makes will feel kinda pathetic. all of his friends moved on somehow, and yet he was still stuck, like always.

"yeah, i'm sure. have fun, lucas." will doesn't wait for a response, and places the phone back down with more force than necessary. he plops down, falling backward on the bed. he rubs his hands over his face, breathing through his mouth.

he lays there in silence for a few minutes, sitting up and dialing a familiar number in. it rings once, twice, before max answers.

he bikes over and watches cheesy rom-coms with jane and max, a slight tradition he and jane had back at home. they wouldn't necessarily pick a genre or specific film, but would rather channel surf until they saw a movie that hadn't started yet and watch it no matter what, all the way through. they'd rate it at the end, bonding over having the same taste in films. the rom-coms were good, and he has to comfort jane whenever a love interest passes away, or there's a heartfelt confession.

he and max share glances and stifle their laughs as jane sobs dramatically into his side. one time, they can't be quiet enough, and jane overhears them, feels the rumble in will's chest. she beats both of them with a stiff couch cushion, playfully cursing them out, although she didn't typically use that kind of language. to make it up to her, will lets jane paint his nails purple—the color being her choice, of course. he doesn't bother ever to take jane's work off until it's chipped to hell, so his nails are still the glossy, deep purple when he leaves.

on the ride back home, will imagines himself in the rom-coms, his love interest being mike. he scolds himself for it, reminding himself that he can't drag mike down with him whenever his reputation is bound to plummet. mike's bedroom door is closed and the light is off whenever he gets back home, so he assumes he's sleeping, and slips into his respective bedroom. he doesn't listen to music tonight; he just wonders what tomorrow will be like.

when tomorrow comes, it's tuesday, july 7th. it's quiet in the house. holly and karen sleep in, ted is at work, and will stays shut in his room until he knows mike has biked to the arcade. it's now been 3 days since they spoke, 3 days since the kiss. kisses. he misses hearing mike's voice. of course, he overheard mike talking sweetly to holly, or planning dinner with his mom, or debating with his dad, or in the background of lucas' phone call, but it wasn't right. mike's voice wasn't right when it wasn't directed to will. 

dustin had mentioned it one day, about how mike always let will off easy, how he had a soft spot for him. when will questioned his reasoning, dustin leaned forward, rested his head in his hands, and looked towards the sky, sighing dreamily. in the most smitten voice ever, he impersonates mike. 'oh, will, it's okay. i don't care that you just broke my $50 action figure, or that you just spilled grape soda on my atari, we'll clean it up, it's fine.'

when dustin looked back at will on that sunny day, wills jaw was dropped, and he was holding onto the seat of the picnic bench for dear life. he started laughing uncontrollably, rocking back and forth on the picnic bench, because jesus, that was so accurate. he hadn't seen it until now, but the realization hit him, and it was hilarious to him.

dustin laughed hard too. 'you can't tell me that's not how he talks to you!' he laughed so hard that his face turned red, and they doubled over, clutching their stomachs because dustin kept piping up to do more and more dreamy impersonations of mike before breaking back into the laughter.

when will begged for mercy, and they finally calmed down, abs hurting, dustin spoke again. 'i just don't get it,' he said, shaking his head slightly. 'what about you is so special to him?'

that question stuck with will for the longest time, because dustin suggested that mike found something about him extra special, worth losing a limited edition figure that was now missing an arm or an atari he begged for, for 6 months straight. in his own eyes, he was anything but special.

and so, he missed mike's voice. the soft, sweet, understanding tone that mike used for him, and him specifically. he wonders if mike knew about his voice, if it was intentional. it makes him blush, and he has to pinch himself to get his mind away from the boy.

mike's day was generally the same as yesterday, talking to max, and watching her get replaced when her shift finished earlier than his. the boy, darren, was nice enough. he was easy to talk to, but wasn't exciting. he encouraged mike whenever a second light would flicker for a moment, and would crack jokes every so often. he doesn't stop by family video, instead biking home. it's only 4, but the house was silent. silence killed mike. it killed both boys. 

karen's car wasn't in the driveway, and his dad wasn't off until 5:30. mike expected will's bedroom door to be shut, to not hear anything behind it. whenever he reaches the top of the stairs and reflexively looks over, will's bedroom door is wide open, but he's not there. at the end of the hallway, a window overlooks the backyard, where he can see will sitting on the edge of the pool, headphones over his ears. his wide shoulders, shrunken by limp posture, made it clear that will wanted to be alone, needed time to think.

it had only been 3 days, but that was far too long for mike. in the back of his mind, he would constantly recall the kiss, his confession on the roof, the pretty fireworks, the sound of his name on will's tongue. he couldn't take another day. he writes a short note and leaves it neatly folded on the end of will's bed.

on the note, the words are messy, but legible. 'what happened? please talk to me.'

he didn't leave his name, because will would know. he always knew. 

without looking back, mike rides his bike to max and eddie's trailer park, finding himself lying on eddie's couch, staring at the collection of hats and shot glasses around the living room.

Chapter Text

eddie's trailer smelled like incense to cover up the marijuana usage that occurred frequently in the small space. thankfully, eddie graduated two years ago, after being held back twice, making him now 21 years old. karen wasn't too fond of mike having a friend so much older than him, but still trusted him enough to let him visit eddie whenever.

a movie played quietly in the background as mike focused on eddie, who was sitting on the opposite end of the couch. he was resting his elbows on his knees, rolling a joint. his hair was in a messy ponytail, and his tongue stuck between his lips in concentration. mike has one arm resting across his stomach, and the other just above his eyebrows, blocking out the light shining in from the kitchen.

eddie glances over. "so, my friend, what'd you need?" he asks casually, but his voice holds a twinge of concern. mike didn't typically come over unannounced.

mike takes a long, slow breath. "can't i just come over?" his knees are resting against the back of the couch, legs pulled up so eddie has room. eddie turns his head towards him then, skilled hands pausing on the paper tucked between his fingers.

he nudges mike's legs. "yeah, you can," he pauses. "but i can tell something's wrong. what's up?"

he wonders if he should bring will up, but figures he's allowed to take advice from a close friend, just like anybody else. "how do you know if somebody actually likes you?" mike asks after a minute, pushing himself to sit up. his legs jumble together in an attempt to sit criss-cross on the tan couch.

eddie still lived with his uncle, but was working as a manager at a convenience store to help pay rent and save enough money to move out. he planned to go to trade school eventually and figures he'll learn something useful and find a blue-collar job like wayne.

eddie finally sits back, sighing. "uh-oh, girl trouble?" he tilts his head at mike.

it wasn't as if he expected eddie to know, but the fact that he said girl trouble still annoys him. he sighs, "something like that."

"something like that?" eddie repeats it back to mike, leaning forward again to lick a stripe along the paper, tucking it closed.

"yeah. so, how do you know?" mike rests the side of his face on the back of the couch, his head sinking into the insanely cushy section.

eddie lights his joint, taking the first puff and letting the smoke fall out of his mouth in long tendrils, immediately curling into the air and sitting in place. "i need some context, kid," eddie says, and holds the joint out to mike, an offering.

mike waves away eddie's offer with his hand, shaking his head. he had tried smoking a few times, and it didn't appeal to him, the loss of complete control. it honestly freaked him out. when eddie retracts his hand, he raises an eyebrow at mike, still waiting for a response.

"i can't really give much context," he says, shrugging.

eddie rolls his eyes and stares up at the ceiling, thinking. he takes another puff, inhaling slowly, exhaling at the same pace. "i mean, what's she like? does she give you signs and stuff?"

she. it bothered him again. he rubs his hands over his face slowly, his vision becoming spotty as he pressed into his eyes. "i don't know," he says. "yeah?"

he feels lost, somehow unsure of the intentions behind will's actions, even though he could read the rest of him easily. this fingertips linger on his cheek, where the bruise was slowly fading back to his normal skin tone, and the scab was almost nonexistent.

"yeah?" eddie is starting to sound just as lost. "like what? flirting?"

mike thinks about it for a moment and blushes. "sure, flirting... kissing..." he trails off. eddie gasps, choking on his spit and smoke for a moment. when he recovers, mike is quick to continue his sentence before eddie can interrupt him. "but, we haven't talked since," he says, a bit saddened.

"how long has it been? are you gonna tell me who this person is?" eddie starts to interrogate him, and his usage of person makes him feel better.

"no, i'm not gonna tell you. and it's been 3 days now, almost 4." he stares out of the living room's sheer curtains to see the approaching sunset. he'd been at eddie's for a while, silently lying on the couch while eddie did his housekeeping chores and settled a few deals outside. he had actually managed to get a small nap in, exhausted from how late he stayed up waiting for will, his flame, again last night.

eddie scoffs and rolls his eyes, disappointed at mike's discretion. "dude, you've gotta say something...three days?" smoke rises from between eddie's fingers, and he takes another hit. mike has gotten used to the smoke after years of being around eddie, so he takes another deep breath, regardless of how the room is starting to get stuffy without circulation.

"yeah.. i know. i left a note," he admits, and sounds pathetic to himself. a fucking note? eddie's reaction doesn't help; another sigh that says you're doomed.

trying to lighten things, eddie turns his body towards mike and swings his legs up to rest on the couch, ending near mike's torso. "so, you gonna at least tell me what kind of kiss it was?" he flicks some ash into an intricate glass ashtray and waves at the air to try to clear some of the stiff smoke in between the two of them.

"what do you mean?" mike asks, straightening his legs and tucking them under eddie's arm on the other end. eddie welcomes the gesture and pushes mike's feet into the cushions a bit, adjusting his body so that there'd be more space.

"like, was it a peck?" eddie takes a slow hit, and mike watches the smoke trail out of his nose.

mike shakes his head and puts a hand over half of his face, blushing again. "no, no..." he says, and casts his gaze towards a small stain on eddie's pant leg. "it was more than that."

eddie kicks him lightly, intrigued. "moreee?" he drags the word out, finally getting mike to make eye contact with him. "do tell, sir," he says in a posh british accent. mike had never told eddie about any romantic encounters he'd experienced—although there weren't many at all—but had welcomed stories from eddie and the rest of hellfire over the years.

"i mean," mike is mumbling now, chewing at his bottom lip, and rubbing at his face to hide behind his hand. "we kinda made out i think, i don't know," he says quietly, now biting the insides of his cheeks.

"ohh my, michael," eddie says, british accent still heavy, wiggling his eyebrows as he smirks. mike chuckles, not looking up at eddie. "did you like it?"

mike thinks about it. did he like it? absolutely, a thousand times, yes. thinking about their specific actions that night made his body temperature rise. the roaming hands, whispered names, warm skin. he clears his throat before nodding casually, as if to say: yeah, it was whatever.

eddie continues to question mike, who doesn't give him many details. now, eddie knew that it was at mike's house, with somebody he had liked for a long time, and it wasn't jane. when dinnertime inches nearer, he bids eddie farewell until the next hellfire campaign and rides home, pedaling quickly to get the weed smell flushed off of him from the wind.

regarding hellfire, whenever eddie finally left school, the club itself was immediately disbanded by the school board. but it didn't stop the group from meeting up in mike's basement, gareth's garage, or eddie's living room to play. they tried to work around everybody's busy schedules and meet at least once every 2 weeks, or more frequently if possible.

when mike shows up at home, cheeks rosy from the bike ride, and the smell of weed still undeniably stuck to his clothes, he rushes upstairs past his mom, who calls after him. she knew that eddie was a smoker and knew of mike's dislike for it, but still insisted that she check mike's eyes every time he came home.

emerging from his room in non-tainted clothes, mike freezes whenever will opens the bathroom door at the same time, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. they were both in a rush, but stopped to stare at each other. will's hair was still wet, dripping onto his strong shoulders and down his torso, which was also dotted with water. mike can't help whenever his eyes trail down over will's toned stomach, landing on the sharp v-lines on will's hips, disappearing beneath the navy blue towel. he can see the color of will's nails, too; a deep purple as he held onto the towel with one hand. he doesn't let his eyes linger for too long, bringing them back up to will's face.

will opens his mouth as if to say something, but karen yells up the stairs that dinner is ready. so, will shuts his mouth again and pushes into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. mike heads down and tells karen that will was still getting dressed, seating himself at the table.

on the other side of the door, will was freaking out. seeing mike after the note made his stomach drop in fear, and his heart flutter with admiration. he stares at the note, which is sitting open on the desk. faintly, he can hear dishes clinking together downstairs, and rushes to pull on a striped shirt and shorts before bounding down the stairs.

dinner is amazing, perfectly seasoned chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, green beans, fresh fruit, and bread. mike scarfs it down, his first meal of the day at 6 pm. this makes karen more suspicious, leaning closer to try to catch his eyes.

"kare, this is great," ted compliments the meal, stopping in his actions to help holly cut her chicken into smaller bits.

karen smiles, "well, you should be thanking will, too. he helped me out a lot tonight," she says proudly, to which ted lets out an ohh.

"well, thank you, will." ted gives will a nod and checks in with holly, whose chicken was not quite small enough for her liking.

"yeah, no problem," will says. "did the bread come out okay?" he eyes the sliced loaf on the table, still lightly steaming from the middle.

mike pauses mid-bite. as the looks down at the fresh bread, he starts to imagine will in a flour-covered apron—maybe shirtless beneath, freshly showered like in the hallway—kneading the dough with his large hands, veins visible along his forearms. he has to physically shake his head to clear the thought from his mind.

"you don't like it?" will's voice rings through mike's ears now, and he perks up.

"what?" mike says, head snapping up to look at will then. will gestures down to the bread, and mike realizes what he must have looked like, shaking his head just then. "oh, no! no, the bread is really good...sorry, i was distracted," he chuckles awkwardly, pinching his leg beneath the table. hearing will speak in his direction after 3 slow days made his stomach flip.

"oh, okay," will rests against the back of the seat now.

karen is squinting at mike, holding back from immediately accusing him of smoking because of his weird behavior. she had caught him once, coming home way too late when holly was already asleep, half-crawling up the stairs. she whisper-yelled at him on the landing at the halfway point of the stairs, and he had to apologize profusely to get the chance to hobble the rest of the way up the stairs. nancy was sleeping over that night and silently observed from the top of the stairs, refusing to help him up, laughing.

that had actually been the last time mike smoked. it was january, and a snowstorm was rushing towards hawkins, expected to arrive the next day. eddie had picked him up and dropped him off that day; the campaign was long and stressful. he felt extra miserable on that grey winter day, and decided to try to forget about the subject of his and max's conversations for a while. it worked, but resulted in being grounded for two weeks.

holly chimes in and claims that she's full, but still has room for ice cream. karen redirects her attention and tells holly she has to take a few more bites. when holly begins to protest, the noise becomes distant as will stares at mike, who only glances at him before resuming eating.

they finish dinner at the same time, and there's a weird, still tension as they both walk up the stairs in silence. because will hadn't said anything, mike is about to enter his bedroom, but will's hand catches his wrist gently.

"mike?" he says, stomach churning.

his stomach flips again, and will simply saying his name makes him remember the way it sounded from him 3 nights ago. he looks back at will, who looks concerned. "yeah?"

when mike speaks, it's in the tone that will missed so much, and his shoulders relax. he lets go of mike's wrist and sighs before speaking. "i got your note. can we talk?" he wanted so badly to feel mike's lips again, to be with him, but the rumor resurfaces and drags his mood down once again.

mike nods, motioning for will to come into his room. he sits on the bed, and he smiles widely as will sits next to him, but he's more distant than he expected. the distance and will's expression makes him nervous, and a wave of anxiety crashes down onto him, dreadfully starting at the top of his head and seeping down.

"um," will starts after a moment, his voice wavering. "i'm sure you know that people are talking about me again, right?" he can't look at mike, focusing on clothes sticking out from the edges of mike's dresser drawers.

"yeah, i heard," mike says, shrugging. he wonders how will knew, wonders if he had gone out today and had to deal with the snotty brats he attended high school with. he prepares himself for will to cry in his arms for a little bit, and for them to lie down together after and have a whispered conversation on how they'd get through the mess. he was already imagining waking up next to him again but on his own terms, uninterrupted, blissful and sunny.

will takes a deep breath, tears welling in his eyes. he's leaned forward stiffly, elbows pressed into his knees rigidly, and he's picking at the skin around his nails. "well..." he shudders, trailing off. "i thought about it, and it's just probably better if you and i keep our distance," he says, breaking his own heart.

mike's stomach drops, and the sparks that ignited in his chest are instantly smothered. "what?" he says it as if he didn't hear him, disbelief painting his voice. he sees a tear roll down will's cheek, and neither of them move to wipe it away.

will nods, "i just don't want you to get caught up in this stuff." he lets out a singular, quiet sob, "it's okay for them to talk about me because i won't be here long... but i don't want your reputation ruined over something like this. if they see us together, they'll start talking about you, too. about us," he explains shakily.

"but..." mike is at a loss for words. he reaches out to touch will's shoulder, but will pulls away from him, standing up.

"i'm sorry. i just can't do this, okay? i promise, it's for your own good," will says, and rushes out of the bedroom.

mike hears the bedroom door slam across the hall and sits in the stiff silence that follows. eventually, tears start to flow, and he curls into himself on the edge of the bed, rocking himself through the sobs. all the years of pining, the flirting, the kissing, all to be torn down by a rumor started because a girl got rejected. god, he felt so stupid.

karen knocks on his bedroom door after a while, and he hears the bathtub start, signaling holly's bathtime at 9:30 pm. he doesn't say anything in response to the knock and stays frozen in his curled-up position whenever his mom opens the door and enters the room.

"mike, sweetie, you okay?" karen's voice is sweet, but it's charged with an obvious distrust due to mike's avoidance of her after he came home from eddie's.

mike nods, half of his face smooshed into the pillows. karen closes the door behind her and sits on the edge of mike's bed, placing a hand on his leg. they sit in silence for a while, and mike can feel her eyes burning into his face.

"so, you were at eddie's?" karen says, fidgeting with a small blanket on the end of mike's bed. she keeps folding it in different ways in her lap and plucking pieces of lint from the soft material.

"yeah, sorry i didn't let you know before," mike says, and yawns. the sobs that rocked through his body for an hour exhausted him, and his eyes stung.

karen leans a bit closer. "honey, look at me," she says, and reaches out to direct mike's gaze towards her.

mike knows where this is going, and knows he probably looks even more suspicious than he may have when he got home. he sits up and looks at her anyways, watching her eyes search his face, and he can almost see the gears turning inside her head.

she squints, and her face falls in disappointment. "so, you smoked." the sentence comes out more as a statement than a question, and mike pulls his face away from her, turning to look away.

"no, i didn't," he says, bringing his hands up to rub over his sore face.

"michael, do not lie to me," she says firmly, not moving from her spot on his bed. "you came home reeking, your eyes are red, and you've been acting weird all night. if you're not high, then what?"

mike can't do this right now, not with his flame gone, distant. not with his heart aching and stomach churning, not when hawkins has been drained of color once again. he doesn't respond for a while, just chews at his lip. "can we just not, right now? please?" he pleads quietly.

karen tilts her head a bit. "no, mike. we're going to do this now. i told you what would happen if i ever found out you let that man get you high again," her voice is tipping between calm and angry, and it leaves mike rigid in his spot, hugging his knees to his chest.

"i'm not high." he's not sure what else to say. would she even believe him? he feels like he's falling down a pit, dominoes falling atop of one another, and the last domino is right in the perfect place to max out his patience.

scoffing, karen stands up. "what is with the lies recently?" she says, crossing her arms. when mike doesn't respond, she becomes impatient. she keeps going, asking him questions, and mike remains unresponsive. "michael, answer me!" she gets a bit loud, and that last domino tips.

"mom, i'm not fucking high!" he snaps, shouting. karen looks bewildered.

her jaw drops, and it takes her a while to speak. "michael, do not yell at me."

"why not?!" he exclaims, going to stand up. "even if i was high, why does it fucking matter? i'm so miserable in this fucking house!" he's still yelling at that point, surprising himself.

"mike! please," karen is suddenly apologetic, the shock across her face obvious. mike didn't often have outbursts like this during his high school years, although they skyrocketed in frequency after the hopper-byers moved. "your sister is in the bath," she lowers her voice, "please don't upset her right now."

mike scoffs, rolls his eyes. "fine, but i'm not staying here," he says at a normal volume, pushing past his mom and out of the bedroom, bounding down the stairs as karen calls after him.

the tears are fogging his vision as he opens and closes the front door, and he wipes at his face furiously, speed-walking up the sidewalk in the direction of lucas' house. he prays that he's home, and rushes towards his bedroom window. his body is trembling with anger, adrenaline, misery.

lucas is at his desk, seemingly working on a small project that mike can't see. the bushes shake outside the window, and he jumps, looking over to see mike pushing up at the window frame.

"what the hell?" lucas's voice is muffled on the other side of the window, but mike can hear the confusion in his voice. lucas approaches the window and unlocks it, pulling it open.

"lucas," mike says, trying to see past the tears in his eyes. his chest is heaving, and his face burns from being tears being rubbed away and cheeks being scratched the entire night.

lucas squints at him and can see his condition in the light of the distant streetlight. "c'mon man," he offers a hand down to mike, and mike takes it, pulling himself up by the ledge and lucas' hand, boosting himself on the vine-weaved lattice lining the exterior wall.

when mike straightens, and he sees the worry on lucas' face, his brave cover crumbles again. his shoulders heave, and his chest caves in; a long, low, sorrowful wail escapes his lips. his hands come to his face, and lucas rushes to pull him in for a hug, allowing mike to stain his shirt with tears and snot.

"what happened? it's okay," lucas rubs his back, holding mike's head on his shoulder. when mike tries to talk through the hiccups and isn't able to get a singular word out, lucas just shushes him and guides him to sit on the edge of the bed until mike's tears run dry.

no matter how hard high school tried to pull mike and lucas apart, they always reunited as if nothing had changed, refusing to let go of each other. mike originally confided in lucas whenever he and jane broke up in march, and lucas talked about his breakups with max, and that's how their friendship worked. they could laugh, joke around, but get deep and serious within an instant. lucas was strong in every way, and mike admired that. it makes him cry harder.

will didn't cry whenever he got into his bedroom. he locked the door, and paced the length of the room in utter silence until his legs nearly gave out and he got rug burn on the bottoms of his feet. he didn't cry because he didn't have any tears left; he'd been mourning this day for the last 2, whenever he decided he'd do anything to preserve mike's reputation.

the note from mike still sits on the edge of the desk, and it catches will's eye. he pauses across the room, stares at it. it pulls him in, and he scoops it up into both hands like it'd crumble if he was too rough. opening it, he runs his fingers over the smudged pen, admiring what he had left of mike before he broke his heart.

he considered calling jennifer, yelling at her, apologizing to her, begging her to take it all back. instead, he calls jonathan at nancy's apartment.

"hey, will," jonathan says, casual and unsuspecting.

"hey," will says quietly.

it's quiet for a little while, and he hears movement on the other side. "are you okay?"

the question itself is what starts his tears again. hearing his cries on the other end, jonathan grows concerned. "will? did something happen?"

"i wanna go home," he says, feeling like a child again. this reminds him of when lonnie would take him to spend the night, and will could call home, scared. jonathan would drive an hour to lonnie and back to hawkins in the middle of the night, just for him. he's put on will's favorite music, and he'd finally fall asleep in the passenger seat, waking up in his bed the next morning.

"why? what's the matter?" jonathan's voice is gentle, understanding.

will sniffles, takes a slow, shaky breath, and wipes his eyes. "people are talking about me again," he says weakly.

on the other side, jonathan sighs. "i'm sorry," he says, and will can tell he means it. "do you want me to come get you or anything?"

"no, no, it's fine. i'm just trying to figure out what to do," will says, the tears lessening. he glances outside to see the darkness of the night looming outside of the window.

"well, what's going on?" jonathan asks.

will holds his breath for a moment. he trusts his brother more than anybody, so he confesses. "i kissed mike," he says, the words quick and jumbled together.

the silence is deafening, jonathan's voice coming through, confused, "what...?"

"yeah, i know," will says, running a hand through his hair and tugging at it. it hurts, but he doesn't let go.

jonathan clears his throat. "what happened after, though?" the shock in his voice is evident, but he keeps his voice low, nancy most likely not far.

"i thought maybe we'd be with each other, but jennifer started talking about me and just... i don't want him to get dragged down with me, you know? i told him that we should keep our distance," will sighs.

"did you ask him what he thought?"

"what?"

"i mean, did you ask him if he cared about the rumors?" jonathan says it like it's obvious.

"no..." will is confused now, because why wouldn't mike care?

"maybe you should, will." the more he thinks about it, the more conflicted he feels. jonathan eventually breaks through the silence again and changes the subject to stop wills overthinking, which he's grateful for. they talk about the tape, the track-list, being back in hawkins.

will can barely sleep after he and jonathan hang up an hour later. maybe he should ask? whenever he finally drifts off after the sky has already started to lighten outside of the window, he gets a few hours of sleep that feel like minutes before that grating noise of the phone screams in his ears.

he opens his eyes, blinded by the brightness in the room, and rubs his eye as he reaches for the phone with his free hand.

"hello?" he says, collapsing against the pillows.

"will? it's jane, good morning!" jane says cheerily, wide awake.

"jane? what time is it?" he squints at the clock across the room and reads 7:30. jane always was an early bird.

"only seven three zero! i usually get up earlier but max and i were up super late," jane says, max groaning in the background, obviously having just woken up.

will playfully rolls his eyes at jane's enthusiasm. "wow," he says, clearing his throat. "so, what's up? what'd you have planned?"

"i was wondering if i could bike over?" she says, twirling the cord around her finger on the other side.

"do you know the way?"

"i think so! i tried to memorize the whole town," she sounds proud of herself, and will adores it. seeing jane flourish into her own person makes him feel so proud to be her brother, blood or not.

"well yeah, i'll be here," he says, eyelids heavy and drifting closed.

"okay, bye!" she hangs up the phone without waiting for a response.

as the dial tone plays in his ear, he says a quiet "see you soon," before lazily tossing the phone back onto the receiver and drifting to sleep.

jane shakes his shoulder lightly to wake him up, and she's sitting on the edge of the bed, her long wavy hair tickling his nose. it easily flows halfway down her back now, her bangs in a cute swoop on her forehead as they grew out.

will jumps and sits up, snorting. jane jumps back with a short scream. "sorry!" she says, laughing.

"oh shit, sorry. i couldn't sleep last night," he explains, rubbing his face. jane gives him a side hug and settles back to wait for will to gain consciousness. he'd always been slow to wake up.

"i was thinking we could go shopping?" jane suggests. she's wearing black denim shorts and a white tank-top, a white and black plaid flannel over, classic low top converse tied neatly.

he doesn't understand how she keeps getting her hands on his clothes, but has learned to accept it. both the flannel and the converse were his.

"it's it too hot for a flannel? and how are you getting my things?" will gestures to her outfit and swings his legs over the bed, getting up and stretching.

"i can tie it around my waist! chillax," she says, crossing her arms.

"chillax? did max teach you that?" he asks, digging through the dresser for an outfit.

"yes she did, thank you very much," she sticks her nose towards the air.

"oh, god. she's corrupting you," he shakes his head and eventually kicks jane out for a few minutes to change. this outfit is close to jane's, although he didn't have the flannel for obvious reasons.

he brushes his teeth and hair, and greets jane, who has lain down diagonally on the bed now, her shoes the only part of her hanging off.

"ready?" he said, tugging at her ankle. she jolts, looking over at will. he laughs, "were you sleeping!?" he exclaims.

"i told you max and i were up late!" she kicks in his general direction before popping up and straightening her outfit. "okay, let's go!" she says, making sure will has his wallet.

it's another perfectly sunny day, the air still cool from the night. slightly cloudy, nice gentle breeze. jane dragged will up and down the streets of hawkins, through nearly every strip mall and into the tiny boutiques.

they don't stop until lunch time, and will can feel his feet dying, begging for mercy. they find a small sub shop to get sandwiches at and set up at the outdoor eating section, sunbathing while they picked at their food and chatted.

it was nice, being with jane. any thought of last night or of mike was quickly interrupted by jane's high energy. they still got looks, but it wasn't as bad a feeling, because they were together.

"so, i talked to max the other day about you," she says, leaning forward to take a sip of her orange juice—a weird choice for lunch, but in character for her.

"oh yeah? what about?" he shifts in the seat, feeling out of the loop about the happenings of their group because he honestly hadn't been listening lately, just acting on autopilot.

jane clears her throat. "nothing specific or anything," she says, "we're kind of worried about you, though."

"really?" he tils his head, ignoring the dip in his stomach.

"yeah," jane nods, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "ever since the fight with troy you've been far away," she says.

"distant?" he suggests, and jane nods. "i'm sorry, jane," and he really is.

"no, it's okay, we just want to make sure that you are okay," she says, reaching a hand to rest on will's.

will smiles a bit, and nods. "yeah, i'm okay," but there's a hint of sadness when he speaks. he chews at his lip thinking about mike again, how he couldn't even look over to gauge his reaction.

"you can talk to me," jane finishes with that, and goes back to eating. will joins her, the thought of 'maybe you should ask' circulating again and again.

as friday rolls around slowly, and the boys haven't seen the slightest sliver of each other since wednesday night, the party's weekly hangout jumps out as if to say surprise!

lucas' house was the meeting place this week, and the group typically circulated between dustin's, mike's, and his.

nobody ever pushed max to host with her mother's state, although she was recovering. she dealt with it, and still cleaned up after her, but having jane around wasn't as bad because she somewhat understood the whole dysfunctional parent thing, even if the situations were different. she seemed happier the healthier her mom became, and seemed to be okay with helping her mom pay bills, eager to reduce her workload.

eddie has been invited tonight, will is told by dustin. he doesn't let it bother him, getting ready and loaded with snacks at max's trailer alongside jane. since she was home for the night, max's mom allows the kids to borrow her car to pick max up from work and bring her back after the movie.

the amount of trust from her mom was insane, but will was a good driver. he got his license as soon as he could in california, but still lacked an actual vehicle.

as he and jane approach the flashy arcade, max is already outside, tapping her foot as she sits on one of the steel benches. she hops up, and practically skips to the car, sliding into the backseat.

"someone's awfully cheery," will says, chuckling. jane nods in agreement, turning around to look at her.

"the movie mike and i picked out is supposed to be a total bloodbath. so yea, i'm extremely cheery!" max explains, pulling off her jacket and shoes.

will flinches slightly at the mention of mike. "how'd you even get your hands on it?" he asks, pulling out of the parking lot.

"steve helped us rent it," max says, and jane holds max's jacket up above the center console to block his view of the back. will can tell that she's changing with the way the leather seats are creaking. respectfully, he keeps his eyes on the road even though he can't see back there.

will just hums, tapping against the steering wheel as the miss you cassette sings should i stay or should i go quietly.

they park along the front curb at lucas's house, behind eddie's van. as they approach the door, will prepares himself to see mike, and to have to act friendly with eddie. after hearing so much about how great eddie and hellfire were, he was admittedly a little jealous.

lucas is the one who answers the door, ushering them and making them leave their shoes at the door as always. lucas's living room consisted of a large sectional and a huge recliner, which was taken up by dustin and lucas's dog, spot. on the long end of the sectional, mike sat with his legs strecthed along the cushion, crossed. eddie is next to him, and it's easy enough to assume lucas had the spot on eddie's other side reserved.

will's stomach drops whenever he sees mike, who is chatting with both eddie and dustin, laughing about something. whenever they make eye contact, mike's face sort of falters just for a moment, before he laughs again at something dustin had just said.

max sits next to lucas, and jane next to her, leaving will on the very end of the couch, resting his elbow on the arm. he carries a quiet conversation with jane for a while, before erica emerges from the doorway connecting the dining room and kitchen.

"here, nerds," she says, shoving small bags of popcorn into eddie and lucas's hands.

"thank you, tiny child!" eddie exclaims. she rolls her eyes before turning on her heels to go, lucas's mom watching from around the corner from what will can see. he hears erica say 'happy now?' and chuckles to himself.

"oh!" eddie says, standing up. to will's disdain, eddie approaches both him and jane, outstretching a hand. "i'm eddie, sorry that these dimwits weren't polite enough to introduce us to each other," he says, smiling.

"oh, come on! dimwits?" dustin says. eddie ignores him, and instead shakes jane's hand, then will's. he puts a finger up as if to say hold on, and grabs his backpack from behind the couch.

"you know what, mike told me that you'd be fine with a medium..." eddie says, digging through the green bag. after a second, he finally brings his hand back out, holding a shirt. he unfolds it and holds it up, looking between will and the shirt. "but you might actually need a...large..." he says.

"what?" will says, looking up at the long-sleeved hellfire shirt that eddie was turning and twisting.

"oh yeah, i had shirts made for you and your sister," eddie explains, reaching into his bag to pull out another shirt, women's style for jane. she thanks him happily and examines the shirt closely, running her fingers over the print.

"oh, thank you," will says, honestly a bit touched. "medium should be okay," he says and accepts the shirt. it's soft, and surprisingly good quality.

"just wanted you to be included is all," eddie says, putting his hands on his hips like a proud parent. "will you try it on? i wanna make sure it fits before you head back home."

will nods, "yeah, hold on," and gets up to make his way down the hall to the bathroom. he doesn't miss the way mike's eyes follow him.

the shirt actually is a bit tight, and his arms are constricted in it. he tries to stretch it, but doesn't have any success. he ermeges from the bathroom in it and shows eddie, who groans in disappointment.

"dammit, mike! i can never rely on you for anything," eddie says playfully, to which mike just chuckles. although he was trying not to look, he could see mike's eyes trained on him, can almost feel it, too. that familiar burning sensation. it makes him nervous, and he tugs at the collar of the shirt a bit.

"hey, it's not mike's fault that will practically doubled in size since spring break!" dustin chimes in, to which lucas joins him.

"it's okay," will says, and turns quickly to pull the shirt off in the bathroom. whenever he opens the door again, jane is standing only a few inches away. he jumps, exclaiming, "jeez! what is with you scaring me today?" will says, clutching his chest.

"oh, sorry!" jane says, smiling. "i was just waiting my turn to try on the new shirt. i like the eddie guy," she says, shirt hanging from her hands.

"well, don't wait that close to the door. you're gonna give me a heart attack," will says, chuckling. he gets around her and seats himself back on the end of the couch where he was before. eddie asks for the shirt back, so he tosses it over, and tries not to look at mike directly next to him.

the movie does prove to be gory like max claimed earlier, and it results in jane hiding halfway behind his shoulder. he puts on a brave face, but he can tell he's going to have some freakish nightmares about it tonight. the other boys have no problem showcasing their fear, and max sits there with a wide smile, teasing lucas about his girlish screams. she was seriously creepy sometimes.

eventually, the movie comes to a bloody ending, a plot twist of betrayal. of course, the killer was the camp counselor after all.

"oh, shit." lucas holds his chest as if he was genuinely horrified.

max nudges him, "oh, please! it wasn't that bad," she says, and stands up, stretching. "i'm starving, c'mon," she grabs lucas's hand and drags him into the kitchen.

"wait, i'm hungry too!" dustin says, standing from the recliner, but not without struggling with putting the leg down. he follows them in, and jane joins as well.

"don't leave me here!" eddie says jokingly, running to join the rest of the group. even spot runs to join them, nails clicking across the kitchen floor as the tiny dog waits for scraps to be dropped.

the living room falls silent, because it's just mike and will left. he tries not to look over, feeling that familiar burning sensation of mike's eyes boring into the side of his face. it makes him blush, and he reaches up to scratch his neck.

the group is gone for what feels like forever, too long. suddenly, it's all too much. mike's watchful gaze, the memories flooding back in as they had all day, refusing to quiet themselves.

he can't stand it. he gets up from the couch and begins towards the front door, slipping his stupid shoes on, struggling with the left one because the laces are too tight.

"will?" he hears, mike's voice coming around the corner, approaching him.

he finally gets the shoe on and rips the door open, just fast enough to where he can only see a glimpse of mike's hair coming around the corner. mike's house isn't far, only a few minutes down the cul-de-sac. he would just get to his room and lock the door, listen to music, and cry himself to sleep.

he's about to cross the street whenever he hears mike again, outside with him. "will!" he calls out from the sidewalk.

he doesn't look back. "not right now, mike." he's halfway across the worn, grey asphalt whenever mike speaks again.

"i need you!" he yells, and it almost echoes off the houses.

will stops in his tracks, turning around slowly to see a tearful mike at the edge of the sidewalk. he hesitates, "what...?" is all he can get out.

"i said that i need you, will." mike throws his hands up for a moment and lets them fall back down. "i can't just keep my distance," he admits, quoting will as his voice cracks.

will is speechless, he just watches mike. the street suddenly feels desolate in the night, fluorescent streetlights flooding the area with a gentle, buzzing yellow hue.

"i can't just be nothing with you," mike continues, sniffling. "i need to know that i have you in some kind of way. friend... boyfriend.. whatever, i don't care," mike steps down from the curb now and takes a few steps forward, still keeping distance between them.

"knowing that i have you makes me feel like i can live in peace, will. without you, i can't do any of this shit," mike pleads.

"what do you mean?" will says, feeling like an idiot for asking.

"this!" mike exclaims, gesturing to the surrounding area, but will understands what mike means before he can keep explaining. "hawkins, school, life. i can't do any of it without you."

"i can't have you getting hurt," will says quietly.

"nothing can hurt me more than not having you in my life," mike steps forward again, a bit closer. "i don't care about stupid rumors, or bullies or whatever," he says. "i don't care."

it gets to will then. maybe he should've asked. he feels tears well in his eyes, threatening to spill out.

"whenever you left, hawkins was so dark, so lifeless," mike says. "i couldn't leave the house, i couldn't even answer a fucking phone call."

"i'm sorry," will says, not sure what for.

"sorry? you don't have any reason to be sorry. it's not your fault, it's my own for l-" it almost comes out. love. mike chokes on the word, physically has to clear his throat. he loves will, but saying it would make it almost too real, and he knew saying it would send him over the threshold that kept him from physically needing will there all the time. it'd kill him.

mike takes a breath. "for caring about you so much," he corrects. the term doesn't sound meaningful enough to himself. he thinks of correcting it again, saying love instead, but his tongue dries up.

will is staring at the pavement, and can see two tears fall from his eyelashes. one lands on the white rubber toe of his converse, and the other saturates the street, turning it a darker, purer shade.

he tries to hold it in, but a small sob escapes. he lifts his head to see that mike is only a few feet away, and he reaches a hand out. "mike," is the only word that falls from his lips, meek and desperate.

mike takes his hand in both of his, smoothing over the small scabs along each of his knuckles. when will squeezes his hand, mike pulls him forward into a tight hug. will reciprocates immediately, softly crying into his shoulder.

"please, just help me out," mike says quietly. "i can't do it without you... just let me know that i still have you."

will nods, sniffling. "i'm so sorry," he says. "i shouldn't have pushed you away, i should've asked."

"we'll get through it together, i promise," mike says, squeezing him tighter for a moment.

will pulls away to wipe his tears, mike's arms still wrapped loosely around him, refusing to fully let go. he chuckles at his crying, and looks back at mike. he looks pretty under the light, shadows casted along his face from his sharp cheekbones.

"i told you, you could never lose m-" will starts, but is cut off suddenly.

mike takes will's face into his hands and pulls him into a kiss, right in the middle of the street. will gasps, but kisses him back, the relief blissful. their lips move together slowly, and will's hands tangle themselves into the back of mike's shirt like the first time. one of his hands comes up and rests on mike's upper arm, squeezing lightly.

the tension between his eyebrows slowly release, and he practically melts into the kiss. the stress that built up in his shoulders and stomach are lifted away quickly.

the street is still quiet. no porch lights were coming on, no concerned neighbors were exiting their houses, no headlights barreling down the road. it's so peaceful, crickets and cicadas serenading the boys as they kiss, close and embracing.

"the movie's over, let's just go home," mike says whenever he pulls away, and laces his fingers with will's. will nods and allows mike to guide him down the street, still sniffling and drying his dampened cheeks. max could drive herself and el home, he’d get his bike back tomorrow. as they make their way, they bump into each other and laugh about it quietly, complaining about how the other couldn't walk straight.

the house is silent whenever they enter, and mike guides will to his bedroom. in mike's pajamas, will drifts to sleep on mike's bed, the exhaustion of the summer finally sinking in and taking him over. mike joins him eventually, jostling him awake just to hold his hand as they go back to sleep together.

Chapter Text

mike can remember the day vividly.

will shot up in bed, gasping loudly, panicked. he was drenched in sweat, out of breath in his grey long sleeve. his eyes were blown wide, and they searched the room as if he was about to be caught by something.

mike was awake as soon as will was, waiting by his side. his back was aching from sleeping on the hardwood floor in the navy sleeping bag, but he was speaking before he knew it. "will, what's wrong?"

seeing will that way left a permanent impression on mike, unable to forget the torture his once delicate, soft spoken friend endured.

seeing will seize helplessly on the rotten pumpkin patch ground was the scariest thing he'd ever witnessed at that point, watching the soldiers cart him away, hearing will call his name specifically as they wheeled him through the lab, muffled by the oxygen mask.

it all broke his heart for reasons he hadn't realized yet. perhaps he almost realized it whenever he talked to will in the shed.

"it was the best thing i've ever done." he finally looked up from the dark floor to see will's composure cracked, a tear matching his own on his pale cheek. he could hear the faint tapping of will's right hand- the one he'd touched just earlier.

no, he didn't fully realize until much later. sure, over the following summer he noticed how little he liked doing typical couple things with jane, but he didn't realize why until he watched will's family drive away, far too late.

mike waited that day until everybody had left before biking home, unable to keep in his cries. he cried the entire ride, stood on the porch until most of the tears were gone, before going to hug his concerned, clueless mother.

the next morning was unbearable. looking out the window, knowing will wasn't there, not even close enough to see from the tallest building in hawkins. it bothered him, the fact that he didn't miss jane as much as he should've. still, he wrote her letters and called her because they were together, and that's what you do for girlfriends.

he knew something was wrong whenever he got to lenora, and beat himself up for not acknowledging it sooner with jane. of course, they argued about it. then, whenever she could hardly look at him from the back of the cop cruiser, he knew things were over. if only he could've said the right thing.

everything felt so out of control, and it drove mike crazy. that's why this morning was so special to him.

waking up to see will peacefully sleeping by his side, the sun casting gorgeous beams through his bedroom window and showering them both in light. this was his decision, and it was the first that he was okay with in what felt like years.

he watches will for a little, admires the way he sighs in his sleep, how the persistent crease between his eyebrows faded, his tanned skin and the freckles that compliments it. what he liked most was seeing will in his favorite shirt, how it fit him perfectly compared to the slightly baggy look it had on him.

eventually, when he sees that his digital alarm clock on the nightstand reads 9:30, he brings his hand from under the covers and reaches toward will.

he lightly runs his fingers over will's arm, which was splayed across the blankets. "will," he whispers pleasantly, not able to help the cheerful tone in his state of bliss.

when will doesn't wake up, mike brings his hand up to his face, tucking an unruly piece of chestnut hair behind his ear. "will," he sings again, tickling his face and ear with feather-light pressure.

will's eyes flutter open slowly, a stark difference from his panicked awakening years ago that mike admired. his vision comes into focus and he can see mike lying there, smiling, and he can't help but smile back.

"morning," will says, bringing a hand up to rest on mike's outstretched arm.

"how'd you sleep?" mike asks, fingers making their way to gently scratch will's scalp and detangle his hair.

will nods a bit, as if to say, good. he hums as mike touches his hair and closes his eyes again, but speaks. "how about you?"

"good," mike says, naturally scooting closer to will on the bed.

"your bed is really comfortable," will claims, snuggling deeper into the fluffy pillows and bringing the blankets up until they're just under his nose. he tucks his arms close to himself and sighs, content. the house cooled down exponentially overnight and karen left the A/C on, so he was grateful for their mixed body heat.

"just sleep in here all the time, then." mike suggests, mirroring will's new comfortable position.

will opens his eyes then, challenging. "maybe i will," he says mischievously, raising his eyebrows.

mike shrugs beneath the thick duvet. "i don't mind, as long as i can stay."

"you know you can." will extends his hand to mike beneath the sheets, eventually finding it and fitting their fingers together easily, like they were meant to be that way.

mike smiles as he stares into will's eyes, but it fades as he thinks more and more. stay here all the time.

he would leave, eventually, and go back to california. he can't help but wonder what color hawkins will be whenever will goes. will it be grey again? maybe it'll completely blacken, because he knows his flame is so far. he squeezes will's hand tighter, and he reciprocates.

"hey," will says, seeing how mike's eyebrows have bunched together. "c'mere," he says, reaching with his free hand to pull mike closer.

like a reflex, mike gets as close as possible to will, scooting down so that his forehead pressed into will's chest, and kept it there. will runs his fingers through mike's hair now, holding him close.

mike turns his head, pressing his ear flush to will's chest, searching for his heartbeat. whenever he finds it, stable and strong, he closes his eyes and hopes that his was beating at the same pace, matching will.

whenever he wakes up again, it's because will is shaking his shoulder lightly, saying mike's name in that same singing tone. he sighs, another smile spreading across his face.

"sorry, didn't mean to fall asleep," mike says, scooting away and stretching.

"i don't mind at all, but we should probably get downstairs," will says, going to sit up on the edge of the bed.

mike hums in agreement and rubs his eyes, sitting up as well. he crawls over to will's right side and rests his head on his shoulder for a moment. whenever he pulls away, will is staring at him in admiration.

"i really liked waking up with you," will says tenderly, touching one of the short curls near the base of mike's neck.

"me too," mike says, nudging will. after a moment, he finally notices the smell of the house, his mom's classic french toast and bacon wafting up the stairs. he sniffs, humming, "smells good, let's go."

"right behind you," will says, following mike out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

it's 10am, and mike points that out as he sits down at the table. "it's a little late for breakfast, don't you think, mom?"

she smiles at him as she finishes pouring orange juice for holly. "yeah, i was on the phone with aunt janice all morning," she says, amused as she eyes mike's wild hair. things were already normal between them, even if it'd only been a few days since their argument.

whenever mike finally came home from lucas's house, karen was quick to apologize, hugging him tightly. "i'm sorry, i just get so worried about you," she said, sighing.

"i know, mom." he said, arms wrapped around her. "i'm okay," he lied lightly, still heartbroken from the night before. she nodded at him, smoothed his hair, and sent him upstairs to get cleaned up before lunch.

"oh, yeah? what about?" he says, loading his plate. he serves will as well, to which his mother doesn't bat an eye.

karen sighs, "her and john are renewing their vows," she says, wiping her hands off on a towel atop the kitchen island. "she wants your father and i to go this upcoming weekend, but it's no kids." she rolls her eyes as she speaks.

aunt janice was a little on the unstable side, the wild child of karen's many siblings. she settled a bit after marrying her second husband, john, but still insisted to do things like renew their vows and only tell people a week beforehand. she didn't have any kids of her own, so the no kids rule wasn't surprising to anybody.

"no kids, huh?" ted says, quietly reading the newspaper. he peeks over the top edge of the paper and gives karen a look, never being fond of janice.

"yeah, i might ask nancy and jonathan if they feel like babysitting again," karen suggests. the office nancy interned at closed on weekends, so she always offered her home to holly in case her mom needed a day off.

ted just hums, nodding before bringing his attention back to the newspaper, squinting through his reading glasses.

"does that mean i'm not allowed either?" mike asks, secretly hoping that'd be the case. his mom's side of the family could be distressing.

"yeah, i guess," karen picks at her nails. "i just don't get that! i mean, you're seventeen. it feels a little unfair that you're not allowed to go just because of one year."

mike shrugs, "i'm not complaining," he mumbles under his breath.

karen laughs, "mike, be nice! your aunt is finally happy." she sits across from the boys, who are nearly shoulder to shoulder, and loads her own plate.

"yeah, yeah," mike says playfully, rolling his eyes as he stabs his french toast.

"so, if nancy and jonathan are able to take holly, you two will be home alone for the weekend. can you handle that?"

"you just said it yourself, i'm seventeen. we'll be fine!" mike nods, glancing over to will.

"will, just make sure he doesn't burn the house down, mkay?" karen says pleasantly, ignoring mike's instant protest. will chuckles and promises he'll keep a close eye on him.

the rest of breakfast is comfortable, and the boys are the last two at the table. as they finish their meals, they chat quietly about simple things like work and school. it feels easier now that they're close, less awkward and forced.

the ride to max's house to get the wheeler's extra bike is peaceful. they take the back way, out of the public eye. the curvy, paved path is lined with trees on both sides and sunlight pierces the spaces between the bright green leaves, swishing overhead.

will doesn't hesitate to keep his arms wrapped tightly around mike's waist this time, resting his head on the same shoulder blade as the night of their 4th of july party. he basked in the feeling of the breeze along the two of them, mike's scent mixed in with the sharp smell of the sappy trees.

the borrowed car is parked in the driveway whenever the boys pull up to max's house, and will is relieved they made it home without issues. he prays they won't be too upset, knocking on the front door. susan answers, a cigarette hanging from her lips.

"good morning, will. here for max?" she asks, eyeing will. she looks like she's getting ready for work, wearing a nice blouse tucked into a long skirt. the top layer of her hair is still in pink rollers, bumped bangs fanned across her freckled forehead.

"yeah, we just stopped by to pick up the bike i rode over last night, but thought we'd say hi," will explains. mike steps into view and offers a small wave, smiling. she returns it briefly, leaning back to call for the girls.

"they'll be out in a second. you boys have a good day," susan says, leaving the door ajar as she steps further into the trailer, disappearing to finish getting ready.

whenever max steps into view with jane trailing closely behind her, she leans against the doorframe. "morning, losers."

"sorry," will starts immediately. "i had to go last night, i didn't get the chance to tell you. i'm glad you made it home okay."

"don't worry, i'm a great driver." max shrugs, slinging an arm around jane's shoulders as she rubs her eyes, clearly just having woken up. she yawns and blinks rapidly to adjust to the blinding sun, but smiles at will.

will sighs in relief, grateful that both of them didn't seem upset at all. in fact, jane doesn't care at all, leaning forward to pull will into a hug as usual. if he were to approach her and not receive one, he'd know he was in trouble.

"hi will, hi mike. did you guys like the movie?" jane asks, rocking on her heels slightly.

"yeah, but maybe it was a little too gory," will says, referencing max's statement the previous night. "i'm surprised i didn't have a nightmare about it last night."

he hears mike chuckle a bit, and turns to look at him. "something funny?" he elbows mike, who doubles over in fake pain.

"no, you just have to be a huge wuss to find that stuff scary," mike says whenever he straightens up, an amused expression painting his face.

"hey!" jane says, pushing at mike a bit. he throws his hands up in defense and gives a quick apology, the sincerity unclear.

"oh god, you guys are such dorks." max rolls her eyes and pushes off the doorframe, her annoyance clearly a cover-up.

"oh c'mon, you know you love us!" mike calls out as max slowly closes the door.

"goodbyeee," she says, dragging the word as the gap closes slowly.

"bye, jane!" will rushes to say before the door finally latches, and they're staring at an out-of-season wreath hanging on the door.

"way harsh," mike jokes, turning on his heels to bound back down the steps leading to the door.

will doesn't say anything, only watches mike as he walks, shiny hair glinting against the high sun. he smiles to himself, grateful he no longer has to want mike, because he has him.

the bike is parked along the side of the trailer, facing the back of another. whenever they approach it, will brings mike closer, entrapping him in a hug. mike doesn't hesitate to reciprocate, tucking his head into the crook of will's neck the best he could.

the hug is tight but brief, and mike is wearing a smile whenever they break away. "what was that for?" he asks, mounting his bike as will grabbed the spare.

will shrugs lightly. "no reason, just happy," he says with a nod, and lets mike lead them away from the trailer park.

will was so narrowly focused on following mike that he didn't realize they weren't heading in the right direction to get back home until they entered the downtown area.

"what are we doing here?" he finally questions, picking up speed to ride next to mike rather than behind.

"i thought we'd do something while we're out, just follow me," mike says, not giving will any time to question before he speeds up again.

"uh- okay!" will puts his trust into mike, and is far from disappointed whenever they pull into the alleyway along sparky's, the familiar ice cream parlor.

"ice cream? we just had breakfast," will chuckles as they set up their kickstands.

"trust me, it'll be worth it!" mike waves will to follow him and steps into the relatively empty shop with a 'ding!' overhead.

alex is working again, and looks happy to see the boys. "hey guys! what can i get for you?" alex is prepared, flipping an ice cream scooper in one hand.

"i'll take 2 scoops of blue moon," mike chimes before will can speak. this seems to take alex by surprise, seeing as how mike always got superman.

"okay, blue moon coming up!" alex makes quick work of the waffle cone and dessert before he's turning his attention to will and asking what he wants.

"2 scoops of superman, please?" he and mike share a quick glance, smiling at each other from opposite ends of the counter. whenever will joins him, their arms brush, but neither of them dare to move away.

mike pays, which makes will's heart swell. they sit across from each other at a table near a window, chatting quietly as they work through their cones.

"wanna step outside?" mike asks suddenly after a few minutes of silence, already scooting his chair back a bit. they were both about halfway through their ice cream at this point, so will is shocked at the sudden offer.

"what, you don't wanna eat in here?" will asks back, looking out at the cloudless day on the other side of the exterior glass. he's already following mike's actions and standing up without thinking about it.

"no, i've got somewhere better," mike offers, holding the door open for will.

"oh, okay!" will goes along cheerfully, not hesitating to follow mike back down the alleyway. a bit of confusion washes over him whenever they don't stop at their bikes, but he trusts mike's judgment.

at the very end of the building, around the corner, a wooden bench sits. it's old, and extremely worn with decades of heart-initial carvings and several graffiti attempts, brandishing the wood. the alleyway continues with another building and goes on to connect with the next street, but they're at the middle point, where a tiny intersection is paved.

mike sits down on the bench and pats the space beside him, just enough for both of them to fit.

"what is this?" will asks, sitting wearily in fear that the old thing might collapse if he sat down too hard.

"this raggedy thing is called the kissing bench," mike says, far too casually.

will raises his eyebrows, feeling his bangs brush them. "what?" he'd never heard of this before. sure, he'd heard of lover's lake and the couples that liked to frequent the area, but never a kissing bench.

mike chuckles and drags a hand through his inky bangs. "i guess it's super old, obviously, but you're not supposed to know about it until your junior year of high school. the seniors and adults keep it super top secret," mike explains, picking at the layer of peeling paint on the bench.

licking at his ice cream, will takes a moment to process. he savors the yellow-blue treat and looks around a bit, examining the building in front of them, more graffiti sprayed onto faded brick.

there are a few potted plants that look well taken care of, and a dumpster too far to smell at the very end of the alley to their right, a chain-link fence behind it. this was a little corner of hawkins, just for them.

"so, what's the story?" will finally questions, not able to look over at mike just yet. mike's arm is outstretched across the back of the bench, and will leans into it a bit.

"basically, they say that if you carve your initials here with your lover and then kiss them, you're supposed to be together forever," mike pauses for a moment, thinking. "or something like that, i dunno." he waves his hand on the back of the bench as if dismissing the idea as stupid.

will blushes. "and so, you brought me here?" he finally looks over to mike, whose eyes flit away and search for something to focus on other than will.

mike pulls his arm back from the top of the bench and lets it fall to his side. "yeah, i guess i did," he says quietly, as if he was just now coming to the conclusion himself.

"so, should we do it?" will asks teasingly, part of him hoping mike says: yes, will. of course.

mike smiles, eyes drifting back to the magnetic force that is will. "if you wanted to," he says. there's more to be said, but mike doesn't verbalize it.

if you wanted to be together forever, i'd carve my full name into this rotting bench next to yours and kiss you in the middle of main street during rush hour. it was intense, and it admittedly scared mike because of how true his thoughts were.

will opens his mouth to speak, but freezes whenever a girl laughs somewhere down the main alley towards sparky's, a boy's chuckle following it. his stomach flips, and the boys stare at each other, eyes slightly widened. here they are, carelessly sitting knee to knee on the kissing bench, just as will was just about to say: i do.

unable to flee fast enough, they stay frozen on the bench until the couple turns into the area, freezing in their steps as well. it's troy, with his arm slung lazily around jennifer's shoulders. her smile drops, and she looks up at troy as if searching for guidance.

will expects another throw-down like at the drive-in, his body preparing itself to protect himself and mike at the first sudden movement. it wasn't surprising, seeing jennifer with troy. girls their age always fell for troy's handsomeness, and never realized the ugliness of his personality until it was too late.

troy's eyes travel back and forth between mike and will, assessing the situation for a couple of awkward, dragging seconds. there's tape across the bridge of his nose and a fading bruise, a telltale sign that yes, will did fuck up his nose somehow.

the words that come out of troy's mouth shock both mike and will beyond their expectations. "c'mon babe, let's go," he murmurs, guiding jennifer to turn around. she staggers a bit, her feet not seeming to want to turn her away from the sight before her.

"um," is all she says, stealing one last look before she disappears back around the corner. if will caught it correctly, she almost looked sorry.

"shit, i'm so sorry," mike says, bringing a hand to his face as soon as he's able to unfreeze himself.

"no, it's okay," will is quick to reassure mike, bringing a hand to his shoulder, soothing over the black shirt he was wearing. "getting through it together, remember? it'll be okay."

mike pauses in his actions, nodding quickly. "yeah, yeah. together." he smiles weakly at will and leans into his side, heart pounding in his chest.

"did you see his nose, though?" will says, motioning to his own nose and drawing a line on it with his finger.

mike perks up then, straightening with a more genuine, relaxed smile. "yeah, max told you that you fucked him up that night!"

"we fucked him up, babe," will says, going to elbow mike, but freezing. the word babe had come out so naturally, like second nature, that it rendered both boys speechless.

mike blushes furiously and bites into his waffle cone, praying that the huge bite of blue moon he was about to take would cool his burning face. 

will doesn't say anything, just watches to gauge mike's reaction. pleasantly surprised, he can't help but smile smugly to himself at mike's redness.

they revert into a comfortable silence and finish their ice cream, but not before making sure to get a bit of each other's, missing their classics.

"okay, ready?" will says, feeling like he may be glued to the bench based on how long they'd been sitting there.

"yeah," mike says, grunting as he stands up and popping his back. will takes the moment of mike standing up to examine the bench closer. of course, it was impossible to find anybody's initials in the sea of contributors, so it all mainly looked like a jumbled mess that had been painted over in brown by the city for years. will can still find beauty in it, appreciating the jagged hearts.

"hey," will says, looking up at mike. his heart skips a beat whenever he looks down at him, patiently waiting. mike hums in question, stepping in front of will, unaware of the admiration playing in the other boy's mind. will reaches up and pulls mike back down to the bench by his hand, and he obliges.

"what's up?" mike asks, quirking his brow.

will hesitates for a moment, taking a deep breath. he doesn't say anything, just reaches forward and cups mike's face in his hands, leaning closer. mike understands, his face revealing a hint of surprise, but he leans forward as well.

after a glance over will's shoulder to ensure there wouldn't be any other interruptions, their eyes flutter closed, and will kisses him, gentle and brief. it's exactly how will imagined their first kiss to be like: delicate and genuine, the ice cream making it particularly sweet. blue moon and superman seemed to mix well.

it felt so weird, the fact that all of his favorite things were being taken over by mike. his favorite smell, his new favorite taste. his favorite color, slowly converting from yellow to blue, the same color as mike's bedroom walls. his favorite sound, mike's voice. part of him liked it, but another, smaller part, was terrified to be without his favorite things, the inevitability of losing them clawing at his heart.

they're both shy whenever they pull away, blushing. it's quiet in the alley, and they giggle , looking away from each other. step one, will thinks, referring to the traditions of the bench. he wonders if mike wanted step two, carving their initials, as well.

"now we can go," will says quietly, pulling mike to stand up with him. still holding onto his hand, will turns to walk away, but mike spins him back around, pulling him into another kiss without warning.

the flames inside of mike's chest are raging delightfully, practically doubling whenever will's arms raise to wrap around his neck, leaning further into him. they stumble into each other awkwardly, both smiling into the kiss.

pulling away, mike speaks before will can, "want some real food? i'm starving," he says, tilting his head at will.

will nods, humming "mm-hm." they pull away from each other slowly and walk back to their bikes, not without stealing their own glances at the kissing bench before they turn the corner and leave it behind.

they wind up at the wheeler's favorite diner again, sitting across from one another in the same cherry-red booth as before. the memories from that night are gone, though, too enveloped in the newfound bliss of each other's presence.

their server isn't nicole like usual, but a polite man in his early 20s. will orders a patty melt, and mike gets a huge bacon cheeseburger. they mostly eat in silence, but will pauses to speak to mike.

"you know, i kinda wish we could share a milkshake like in the cheesy rom-coms jane made me watch," he says quietly, dipping a french fry into ketchup.

"you and jane watch rom-coms?" mike teases, raising his eyebrows. will just shakes his head, biting back a smile. mike's voice gets serious, though. "i wish we could share one too," he says, wiping his mouth with a napkin to hide the frown developing unvoluntarily across his face.

"maybe someday," will suggests, sliding his foot across the space between them and bumping mike's.

mike just nods, smiling again. he pushes against will's foot receptively, setting the toe of his shoes atop of willl's.

whenever they finish eating, will insists on paying, and eventually wins. mike waits outside while will uses the bathroom, and he seriously considers tossing the extra bike in the dumpster behind the diner so that will would have to ride with him again.

"hey," will says whenever he steps outside. he squeezes one eye shut, squinting against the bright sun and tilting his head. he reaches out for mike's hand subtly.

"hey," mike smiles, reaching out to subtly brush his fingers against will's—they were in public, after all. "home?" he suggests as they mount their bikes.

will nods, smiling with his teeth. "yeah."

they race the whole way home, exhausting themselves and arguing about who won—it was will, and he let that be known—until they decide they need a much-deserved nap.

holly follows them up the stairs, insisting she hangs out with them. mike agreed with fake annoyance and an eye roll, and received a kick to the shin. they entertain her for a while, lying on opposite ends of mike's bed.

unsure of when, they all three fall asleep sprawled across the mattress, not waking up until karen found them all for dinner.

Chapter Text

"bye!" mike calls out, waving to his parents, who are walking begrudgingly down the driveway. they're heading out for the weekend to attend janice's ceremony, bound to be a nightmare full of relatives poking and prodding about their home lives.

"be safe! please, lock the doors," karen pleads, a worry line forming between her eyebrows. she spent most of the morning lecturing mike about what to do while they were away, stricken with anxiety over leaving the boys alone.

"we will, mrs. wheeler! don't worry," will says, waving as he leans against the frame of the open garage door.

ted opens the driver's side door and pauses before he gets in. "just don't burn down the house," he says, sighing. he didn't bother to hide the disappointment he felt at having to sacrifice his weekend.

"okay, have fun!" mike says, stepping further into the garage as his parents buckle their seatbelts and shift into reverse. they back out of the driveway, and the boys watch as they travel down the road and disappear. the sweltering afternoon heat is what sends them back inside, a blistering 95 degrees.

the boys have spent the past week together as often as possible. whenever mike wasn't at work, annoying max with his newfound optimism, he admired will in the quiet space of his bedroom, sitting in comfortable bliss.

that was precisely why, on this friday, they decided to skip the weekly movie at dustin's house.

"hey, so, what do you want for dinner tonight?" will asks as he grabs two of holly's capri-suns from the fridge, tossing one to mike. he leans against the island and stabs his straw into the pouch, a bit of it overflowing and catching on his thumb. he rolls his eyes to himself, still adjusting to this whole strong thing.

"well, mom left us like twenty bucks for pizza?" mike suggests, making his way from the sitting table to lean against the fridge with his back, one foot stretching to cut into the space between will's adidas.

will purses his lips, frowning a bit. he sips from the pouch, orange-flavored juice so cold it hurts his teeth. "how about i make dinner?" he suggests, tilting his head. he has his free arm tucked across his chest, fingers wedged into the elbow of his raised arm.

"so you make more than bread, then?" mike recalls asking will about it earlier in the week, and will's blushy avoidance of the question.

will mirrors the previous reaction, scratching his neck nervously as he blushes. "yeah, my mom made me do cooking classes with her," he admits, eyes wandering to the tile floor.

"why you?" mike chuckles, amused. he's not laughing at him, though, and it comes from a place of genuine admiration.

"both hop and jane can't cook to save their lives," will drones, rolling his eyes whenever he thinks back to the morning he and joyce left breakfast up to them. they awoke to tooth-achingly sweet ‘triple decker extravaganza’ eggos piled in stacks of three with melting whipped cream and cold gummy bears falling off.

mike nods. "i could've guessed that," he says, sipping on his grape-flavored capri-sun.

will stops avoiding mike's gaze and looks at him, reiterating his question. "so, i'll make dinner?"

"yeah, yeah! i'd love to see what you make," mike nods again with more vigor. they 'cheers', their juice pouches, and mike suggests they take a swim to beat the heat. agreeing, will races mike upstairs to get changed.

reemerging from their respective rooms, will follows mike down the stairs, towels slung over their freckled shoulders. he watches as mike's curls bounce softly as he bounds down the stairs heavily. he skips the last few steps, jumping off and landing successfully, looking back at will for approval.

"max is right, you really are a dork," will jokes playfully, the loyal admiration he felt for the boy seeping into his tone and staining the edges of his words a deep blue.

"you're just mad because you wouldn't be able to make that jump," mike says, sticking his nose in the air as he walks away.

he's still on the landing as mike enters the kitchen, and takes the jump, greedily adding one extra stair to his stunt. he lands successfully, of course, and almost silently compared to the other boy. he smiles smugly to himself and makes his way to the back door, which has been left open.

mike stands at the edge of the pool, his hands on his hips like he's admiring something.

"what're you doing?" will asks, tossing his towel on whichever chair was closest to mike's.

"you do a good job on the pool, it's super clean," mike compliments, turning to see that will has joined him, standing just a few inches behind him.

"oh," will blushes, compliments from mike still foreign. he chews on the inside of his cheek, biting back a bashful smile. his skin flushes, both with the affection and the beaming sun that dominated the sky completely, not a cloud in sight.

"thanks," he says quietly, swaying where he stands as if to shake away a thought. he tries to be serious, to make a joke, but a few simple words were distracting him too much.

"you're welcome," mike says honestly, smiling. "so, who's going in first?" he redirects his gaze back to the rippling water.

"you," will says it as if it's common sense.

mike squints and dips a toe in, yanking it back out. "holy shit, it's so cold! you go first!" he steps back and places a hand on will's tanned shoulder, urging him closer to the pool.

will shrugs his hand off. "what?! i'm not going first! it's your house!" 

"you're the guest!" mike says, now putting both hands on will's shoulders to push him towards the water. will doesn't budge, of course, and so mike's hands travel down his back and to his hips, fingers brushing something rough compared to his smooth skin. 

"what's this?" he asks, leaning to look closer. it's a small, rugged scar he'd never noticed.

will quiets, looking down at where mike's thumb is rubbing back and forth. "oh, that?"

mike hums, nodding as he eyes the back of will's neck for a moment, accumulated sweat making his skin shine.

"it's um... it's a burn scar. from nancy, in the cabin," he explains, clenching his fists at the memory.

"oh, yeah. i guess i never noticed it," mike says, smoothing his palm over the scar. "i'm still sorry it had to come to that," he kisses will's freckled shoulder, over a small mole. he presses his nose into will’s skin, the familiar scent of his sunscreen washing over him. “should’ve been there with you.”

will just shakes his head, angling it to look at mike a bit. "no, it's okay. it reminds me that i'm strong. i think it'll fade eventually, too." he sighs, “plus, i wouldn’t have wanted you to see that.”

"you are strong, and i wouldn’t have minded seeing you that way," mike reaffirms, bringing his free hand up to trace will's shoulder blade, trailing it up to his shoulder and down his bicep. 

will smiles, "thank you," he mumbles, breathing in the clean summer air, slightly sweet. "you know, you're still going in first..."

"what!?" mike exclaims. "i thought my charm would change your mind," he sighs, pressing his body closer to will's.

"you're not getting out of this," he chuckles, reaching back and managing an arm around mike's shoulder, essentially trapping him. 

"please, have mercy!" he cries out, laughing. in a second, will maneuvers their bodies quickly, and mike is suddenly dangling from will's arms bridal style.

oh, no. the realization settles instantly: he was getting in the pool whether he liked it or not. "put me down!" he panics, squirming in will's arms.

"nope!" will says, and begins swaying mike, back and forth as if to throw him in at the end of each sway. "ready to get in?" will says, looking down at the boy.

mike has his eyes screwed shut. "will, it's not funny! put me down!" even with the adrenaline pulsing through his veins, he really liked that will was able to pick him up so easily, swing him effortlessly. he didn't care about the water.

"put you down?" will mirrors humerously. "okay!" satisfied, will tosses mike into the pool, near the section of the deep end that bled into the shallow, just in case he couldn't recover. mike yells out on the way down, splashing and sending water flinging towards will's feet.

to avoid facing a fate decided by mike, will jumps into the deep end, further away from mike's landing zone. mike has already surfaced whenever he does, laughing immediately and brushing his bangs away from his eyes.

"you suck!" mike says, splashing will.

will wipes his face again and splashes mike back, exchanging a few more blows and lighthearted insults. after a moment, the water stills, and the boys are left staring at each other, wading several feet apart. it gets quiet, the cicadas still chirping eagerly, filling the space with their sound.

neither of them say anything for a little while, naturally gravitating closer. lips twitch around lost words, both having too much to say yet nothing at all. it's only them; the privacy fence lining the expanse of the backyard guarantees it. their little corner of hawkins jumped from the alley to the pool, cool and calming.

"hey-" they say at the same time, laughing awkwardly and urging the other to go first.

will decides to go first, staring at mike. "i was just gonna say that i missed you," will says, blushing again, cursing at himself.

mike's lips part, and eventually lift into a smile. "i missed you, too." he watches the way will smiles, and can't bring himself to say what he intended to. he forces the words back down his throat, into his lungs for another day.

"what were you gonna say?"

"hm? oh, nothing. just something about dinner, never mind," mike flashes him a quick smile and doesn't give will time to answer before he lowers himself beneath the surface and swims absentmindedly around the deep end.

unconvinced, will does his best to keep an eye on mike, who was cutting through the water below him with ease. he's admittedly impressed and smiles to himself, eventually diving down to meet mike on the pool floor.

they spend what feels like hours in the pool, getting carried away in conversations and competitive games, seeing who can dive the deepest or jump the farthest. it was a tie, which annoyed mike and completely amused will.

they drag themselves back into the house around 3:30 and crash on the couch, dozing off on opposite ends as a movie played lowly.

whenever mike wakes up, the house smells like food and there's light filtering in from the kitchen, the sun setting outside. he hears quiet humming and something on the stove. sitting up, he sips from a glass of water left on the coffee table and stumbles tiredly to the kitchen.

will is at the island counter whenever mike finds him, kneading dough in one of his mom's aprons. he glances up at mike for a moment and smiles. "hey, sleep okay?"

mike doesn't respond, but shuffles his way around the counter until he's behind will, snaking his arms around his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. "so tired," he groans, stuffing his face into the side of will's neck.

chuckling, will plops the dough into a ceramic dish and tosses a towel over it. "you can go back to sleep until dinner is done," he comments, supporting mike's weight leaning on his back.

mike just shakes his head, humming. he urges will to turn towards him, hands and forearms covered in flour.

"mike, i gotta wash my hands," will giggles, but obliges as he turns in mike's arms, their faces close.

"in a minute," mike says quietly, leaning forward and kissing will. they sigh contently, and will's elbows raise to rest on mike's shoulder, trying to keep his messy hands away from his clothes.

after a few quiet moments, a timer running on the counter dings and will jumps, pulling away from mike. "i gotta grab that!" he says, going to wash his hands and arms before rushing to attend to vegetables steaming on the stove.

"sorry, didn't mean to distract you," mike says, kissing will's cheek before making his way to the fridge. 

"i don't mind," will says, smiling to himself.

pulling the door open, mike's eyes wander aimlessly until they land on a familiar bottle in the very back of the highest shelf. the dark red wine from the fourth of july, seemingly forgotten back there.

humming in interest, mike wrestles with jugs and pitches to get the wine bottle by the neck, pulling it out. "wine with your meal, sir?" he asks in eddie's posh british accent.

"hm?" will hums, looking over his shoulder. he smiles again, "sure, just set it back in the fridge and i'll grab it later so it doesn't get warm."

"sounds good to me," mike says, pushing the various pitchers back so he can set the wine front and center, smiling proudly to himself. "do you need help?" he asks.

"no, i'm okay. thank you, though," will says cheerfully. he starts stirring something whenever mike leaves the kitchen, going to channel surf on the couch.

it's not until about an hour later that will comes to get mike, ushering him to the dining room table where their meals have already been plated. "oh wow, this is nice, will," mike comments, blushing when will pulls his seat out for him.

"i hope it tastes as nice as it looks," will chuckles, sitting across from mike.

"it will," he pauses. "let's try the wine first," he suggests, picking up the wine glass before him by the stem.

"oh, sure," will mirrors mike and holds the glass to his nose for a second, trying to smell it like real wine tasters. he looks at mike over the rim and chuckles whenever he doesn't smell anything.

"nothing?" mike laughs, sniffing his own glass and facing the same results. he shrugs and holds his glass away from him and to will. they clink their glasses together quietly and sip at the same time, the dry liquid filling their mouths.

will hums, trying to swish the liquid around before he swallows it, blushing from the alcohol. "it's not too bad," he reasons, shrugging.

"yeah, not bad," he says, his cheeks burning similarly to will's. he clears his throat and sets the glass down, picking up his utensils and taking the first bite of his meal, steamed broccoli. it's delicious, and he lets it be known, complimenting will.

dinner is amazing, and they spend nearly an hour eating and chatting, sitting at the table long after their plates and glasses have been emptied, along with half of the remaining wine in the bottle.

it's dark outside by the time they get up, and mike carries their plates to the kitchen as will brings their wine glasses and the bottle to the living room, setting them out on the coffee table and waiting patiently for mike. a star wars movie plays on the tv, but will doesn't pay any mind.

"hey," mike says as he walks in, holding two small glasses of fresh water to replace the cups there earlier. the wine has seeped into their bodies more, brains buzzing lowly in sync. 

"hey," will motions for mike to sit next to him, which he does. he fits into the side of will's body, beneath the arm he has extended across the back of the couch. will smiles, watching as mike pulls one knee up to hug against his chest.

it's quiet for a while, watching the TV as a blanket of warmth and a slight tension covers them, heating the room. mike speaks after a while, "i'm really glad you came," he says, clearing his throat as he grabs a glass of water from the table and takes a sip.

"me too," will says, smiling. mike offers him the cup, and he takes it, placing his lips over where mike's had just been. "i'm glad we got to eat dinner together... alone, i mean."

"it was really nice, yeah," mike sighs. "in the future, we can do that every night," he glances at will, setting the cup back down after it'd been handed to him, fingers brushing and leaving fireworks in their wake.

"yeah?" will says, hope blossoming in his chest.

mike looks over at him then, nodding. "yeah," he whispers, eyes glued to will's lips. getting the hint, will leans forward and presses their lips together, trying not to smile. he fails, and mike returns the smile, bringing a hand up to rest on will's jaw.

the kisses grow, mike eventually leaning forward enough to get will to lay back against the stiff pillow at the end of the couch. hands wander, and small, sweet comments are whispered. 

"i'm so happy to have you," mike whispers, kissing will's cheek before scooting down to kiss at his neck, nipping gently at the warm skin. the wine had properly loosened their restraints, actions shameless.

will doesn't respond, only closes his eyes as he grabs at mike's shoulder, squeezing it tenderly. his heart pounds against his ribcage, butterflies batting around violently in his stomach. 

one of mike's hands slips under will's shirt, tracing around the scar mentioned at the pool. will leans into the touch and whispers mike's name. he's about to pull mike up and into another kiss whenever the phone rings loudly in the kitchen. above him, mike sighs and rests his head against will's shoulder.

whenever he doesn't move for a moment, will pushes at mike a bit. "it could be your parents checking in," he slurs unintentionally. 

mike groans, getting up and shuffling to the phone, actions wine-affected and sloppy. will follows in suit, watching mike's rosey cheeks fade gradually. he picks up the phone, speaking into the receiver. "hello?"

will can hear it on the other side, and grimaces as mike pulls the phone from his ear at max's cheerful "MIKE!" mike rolls his eyes harshly, squinting at will as if to blame him.

"hi, max," mike says, keeping the phone angled away from his ear.

"i heard you and will got the house to yourselves, why didn't we have movie night there?!" there's chatter in the background, making it obvious that the entire party was present.

"um, because we wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet from you idiots," mike says sarcastically. he looks at will more tenderly as max starts chatting, reaching out for him. will shuffles closer and wraps his arms around mike, resting his head on his shoulder as he listens to the conversation.

"oh, screw you! if anyone is an idiot, it's you," max laughs, jane's voice coming in to affirm.

"max is right! is will there?" jane asks, shushing lucas and dustin, who seem to be making a ruckus in the back.

mike pushes the phone towards will, sharing it with him. "hi jane, i'm here," he says, smiling.

"how are your nails looking?" she asks.

will had forgotten about the deep purple, and raises his hands up to see the polish chipped and messy. he grimaces, looking over to mike, who mirrors his face. "uhh, they're... looking great!" will lies, biting his lip.

"that is such a lie!" max interjects.

"what?! no it's not! don't call will a liar," mike says in will's defense. they're both obvious in their lying tactics, so max doesn't hesitate to tear them down.

she and jane keep the boys on the phone for far too long, and the night has completely darkened by the time mike can hang up. he sighs, looking at will, who wandered to the sink minutes ago and is finishing up the dishes he dirtied from dinner, pots and pans tapping one another.

"sorry," he says quietly, making his way to the boy and leaning against the counter.

will shakes his head, smiling. "no, it's okay. i'm glad you and max can finally get along," he admits, keeping his attention on the dishes. he remembers his last summer in hawkins, the party bickering constantly, seriously or not. the image of he and mike in the garage flashes in his mind before will dismisses it, blinking it away.

"yeah," mike says, nodding. "she helped a lot whenever you guys left," he says it cautiously, glancing around the room with his arms crossed at his chest.

"really? did you wanna talk about that?" will turns off the tap, drying his hands on the hand towel resting on the counter.

mike thinks for a moment, taking a deep, thoughtful breath. "i mean, it was just really hard. not hearing from you, and then spring break being a disaster... it all sucked."

"you said you couldn't get out of bed, right?" will asks, leaning against the counter with his hip, facing mike.

"uh, yeah, mom and nancy had to drag me out of bed most days," he chuckles dryly and scratches his neck, eyes downcast. "the world just felt... empty, you know?" his voice cracks, and he sighs. he still isn't sure that the world won't turn dull and grey again whenever will's time comes. they still had a week left, and he'd be sure to make the most of it.

"i do know," will says. "i was able to get up and get around because i had to, but it felt weird… felt wrong."

mike is quiet for a long while, continuing to avoid will's eyes. "mike?" will says gently, placing a hand on mike's arm. mike shakes his head, turning away from him. it looks like he wipes his face on his shoulder.

"hey, what's wrong?" will ducks to try and catch mike's gaze, seeing a tear streak shimmer in the overhead lighting. 

"no, it's nothing," mike sniffles, hand coming up to swipe at a warm tear on his cheek.

"talk to me," will urges, pulling at mike's shoulder a bit. mike finally turns to him, glancing up at his face. "what's wrong?" he feels guilty for asking, an apology forming on his tongue.

mike hesitates, face twisting with emotion. "i... i don't want you to go," he says, a small sob escaping his throat.

"oh," will pulls mike towards him, into a hug, tucking mike's head into his chest. "i'm sorry," he says honestly, listening as mike cries in his arms.

"i don't want you to go," mike repeats weakly. "i'm sorry, we were having such a good day but i... i can't stop thinking about it," he sobs.

"don't apologize. i promise, we won't be apart for very long. we'll keep in touch this time, i swear." will feels his own eyes well up, feeling the way he did the first time his family left hawkins. he takes a deep breath, clearing his eyes and allowing mike to rely on him.

mike feels that same way too, and it makes him cry harder. he puts his weight against will, leaning into him further. they stand in the dim kitchen until mike's eyes dry, will rubbing circles into his back and whispering, it's okay, over and over.