Chapter Text
They hadn't even so much as made it out of the mountains of Utah when Will started floating to the roof of the van. There was no warning, there had been no symptoms of Will's true sight reappearing, nothing. At least, not as far as Mike had been informed. El was still hours away in Nevada somewhere, and for all they knew, she may not even be close to recovering her powers.
Everyone screamed, but Mike more than anyone clung to Will's form hanging on the ceiling, trying his utmost to drag him back down, yelling for him to come back.
It didn't work. There wasn't even enough time to tell him- or to even think. Not before the sound of bones snapping and a clock ticking yanked Mike out of place and unceremoniously dropped him out of the world.
Spinning and darkness consumed Mike as he continued to rough up his throat attempting to call out for Will, as if it would bring him back. He felt sick. After everything they'd gone through together, after finally having started to make things right with his best friend, he was ripped away. If he just had more time. If he'd just-
Mike startled, his screams silenced as he frantically searched his surroundings. The plane. He's still on the plane to California. It wasn't a dream, though. It just wasn't, Mike refused to believe it was nothing. There's no way he's going to brush this off, he's going to fix it, he has to fix it, he has to save Will no matter the cost. He doesn't know how exactly, but he's not going to tell anyone until he's absolutely sure it was all real.
The rest of the plane ride is unfortunately too short to make a lot of plans, but he knows that the first people that he'll need to confide in are Will and El.
"Mike!" El called out from the group awaiting his arrival.
Mike meant to act normal, the same way he did the first time around, but the second he's off the plane and Will comes into view, everything else goes out of focus until it's just them. He didn't process until just then how afraid a part of him had been that Will somehow wouldn't be there, wouldn't be okay, alive. In the moment, his breath hitched and his grip faltered, unaware he was dropping the bouquet to the ground. In his desperation to fully see Will, Mike took off his sunglasses immediately. Will was wearing the same blue shirt Mike remembered him wearing, but somehow it felt brighter than last time, and Will was smiling so widely.
Unknown to Mike, El had gotten up, and began to move toward him before hesitating once she got to him, looking concerned. "Mike...?"
The rest of the Cali group had caught up by this point, and El wasn't the only one a little weirded out by the way Mike was just standing there. Argyle was the first to put it into words. "Woah man, you look like you've seen a ghost. Must've been some plane ride."
Mike isn't sure why that stupid comment is what drops the gravity of the situation on him, but tears well up in his eyes as he steps forward into Will, hanging his head on his best friend's shoulder and holding on like it's the last time he'll ever be allowed.
Will hugs back immediately despite his surprise, and he feels like they're flying a little bit. "Hey. I missed you too, Mike."
Hearing Will speak was so grounding. Like coming home. Everything was going to be okay, they were going to figure it out together. Mike sniffled, trying to pull his feelings back into his chest as he left the hug, smiling and looking around at the others, finally realizing how he'd look to everyone else clinging to his friend like that. "Yeah, uh. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Mike backtracked, picking up the flowers he'd dropped and brushing them off, holding them out to El. "I- I got these for you, in Hawkins...."
El took the bouquet, distractedly. Mike wasn't...acting like how she expected, and it may have been a while since they last saw each other, but she could tell something was up. Still, as Mike continued to blabber on, saying a few nice things about her favorite colors and the bouquet, she checked the card. /From, Mike./ Something in her gut sank, but she gave him a half-assed smile, anyways. It's still good to see him again, after all. "They're perfect. Thank you." Unfortunately, Mike caught her reaction, this time. He knew exactly why her face was so tight, and he knew the words he needed to say. The words were right there, but they wouldn't come out. It felt so wrong. He just wished that he never had to say it at all so that he didn't have to think about the reason why he can't.
But none of that is stuff he can tell her or anyone. So the day progresses as he remembers it, except when they ask him why he was acting so weird, he says he'll tell them later. He wants to keep these moments before everything goes so downhill, he wants to have them here, safe forever, shielded from the inevitable future. Will and El are so important to him, he just can't lose them again, he doesn't know what he'd do without them. Mike spends a lot of time looking back at Will, checking, making sure he's still there when he turns around. Like any second, it could happen again.
Mike can tell Will has something to say because he keeps breathing in, jerking like he started to say something but swallowed it back into his throat before any sound could be made. There were too many people, too much stuff going on around them, and Mike just wanted to sit down with him so they could both breathe normally. For some reason, things always felt different when it was just the two of them- easier, somehow. More safe.
As they marched out of the airport, Mike leaned into Will's space, speaking lowly, "Hey, can we talk about something later?"
Will's mouth twitched up a bit in the hint of a grin as he responded breathily, "Yeah- yeah, sure."
Will meant to hand over the painting, but it could wait for that later conversation. Still, it hurt Will just a little more to have Mike so close only to watch as he pulls away to sling an arm around El's shoulders. Back to his girlfriend, of course. Will doesn't mean to be jealous. He genuinely wants his sister and Mike to be happy. He does.
He really does.