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Mike looked around the room, his heart racing so hard he was sure someone else could hear it. Conversations about Will and Vecna and his abilities erupted around the room. Robin and Lucas were debating Mrs Byers’ plan. Murray was talking obnoxiously loud, Erica was interrupting, shooting off sarcastic comments. And Mike… well, he couldn’t stop thinking about Will.
Will, who had taken down three demos with his mind and had looked fucking hot while doing it, Will, who had nearly collapsed, his hands shaking afterward with the exhaustion of it.
Across the room, Will sat opposite him, shoulders hunched, still smeared with dirt and drying blood. He was accepting the praise shyly, half heartedly nodding when someone spoke to him, eyes flicking away whenever the attention lingered too long. Mike’s chest felt tight just looking at him. Pride swelled so big inside him it almost hurt, so fierce he thought he might burst apart from it.
Beside him, Erica let out an exaggerated sigh. “Are we done with the sitting around part yet?”
The room buzzed with nervous energy as everyone talked over one another, voices rising and falling while they debated Mrs. Byers’ plan. Lucas had stood up, fingers pointing, arguments starting and stopping. But Mike barely registered any of it. His world had narrowed to one person.
Will.
He looked small, somehow, despite what he’d just done. Quiet. Fragile. Like if someone raised their voice too sharply, he might flinch. Mike was suddenly very aware of the grime still caked on his own body, the muck and blood on his skin. Proof that none of this was over, not really.
Will glanced up then, and their eyes met.
Something passed between them, wordless and familiar. Mike tilted his head slightly, jerking it toward the hallway in a subtle let’s go. He didn’t know why he needed to get Will alone so badly. He just knew he did.
Will hesitated for half a second before nodding. He slipped away and followed Mike out, moving stiffly, like every step hurt.
They ducked into the bathroom at the end of the hall. Mike shut the door behind them and locked it, the click loud in the sudden quiet.
For a moment, they just stood there, breathing. Then Mike turned to Will.
“Are you okay?” Mike asked.
What Will had done was fucking awesome. But Mike also knew that Will was probably slightly freaked out by it. And exhausted.
Mike had known Will had it in him, to reach into the hivemind and take control of the monsters that had haunted him for years. Will was the strongest person he knew. He’d survived hell. A week alone in the Upside Down when he was just a kid. Being possessed, his body and mind turned against him. Four years of living with a psychic tether to a monster that refused to let him go.
Anyone else would’ve broken under that kind of weight.
And yet, Will was still Will. Kind in a way that didn’t ask for anything back. Selfless to a fault. Loyal even when it hurt. Still soft, still gentle. Still… Mike’s thoughts tripped over themselves.
Beautiful. Still beautiful.
Mike swallowed, suddenly aware of how small the bathroom was. How close they were stood. So close he could feel Will’s breath on his skin. He wondered, stupidly, if Will could hear how loud Mike’s heart was pounding in his chest.
Will nodded. “Yeah. I… I mean.” He shrugged, a small motion, disbelieving. “I can’t believe I did that.”
Mike laughed slightly, shaking his head, a grin tugging at his lips. “I told you you could!” Mike didn’t even try to hide the warmth or the pride in his voice. “I always believed in you. And you did it! You did it, Will.”
Will looked at him then, an expression flickering across his face that Mike couldn’t read. But a small smile was tugging at Will’s lips and his cheeks were flushed and Mike had the strangest urge to press his mouth against Will’s cheek to see if his skin was as warm as it looked and -
Shut up, he told himself. Don’t go there.
Will reached out and gently nudged Mike’s arm with his fist, rolling his eyes.
“Shut up,” Will said through a grin.
Mike’s mind blanked for a moment. Will had done something similar, earlier. Shoving Mike lightly in his chest and Mike hadn’t known how to respond. Because Will wasn’t the affectionate one in this relationship. Mike was. Mike was always reaching for Will, wrapping him up in gentle hands on elbows, arms around shoulders, knees nudging under tables.
Will reaching for Mike sent a shiver racing down his spine, a warm, fluttering feeling settling in his stomach that Mike very deliberately ignored.
This time, though, when Will shoved him affectionately, Mike didn’t walk away.
Instead, Mike let a small smirk curl at his lips as he nudged Will gently back.
“You’re a sorcerer,” he teased, voice light and fond.
Will rolled his eyes again, but he laughed anyway, a soft, breathy sound.
“Mike, shut up,” he repeated, though his grin was impossibly wide, bright enough to make Mike’s chest ache.
Mike watched him for a second too long, struck by the simple, dangerous thought that he wanted, needed, Will to always look this happy. This carefree. This alive.
They grinned at each other for a moment longer, the air between them warm and easy, before Mike’s gaze drifted to Will’s neck. His smile faded into something more careful as he took in the smudges of dirt, the faint grazes standing out against Will’s skin.
They’d come so close to dying today. Mike knew that Vecna could have killed them all. He hadn’t. He’d been counting on his demogorgons to finish them off and if Will hadn’t tapped into the hivemind and leeched off Vecna’s own power, Mike wouldn’t be standing here right now. And Will... Vecna had Will in his grasp, but he’d let him go. And Mike really didn’t want to think about why.
“Hang on,” Mike said quietly, his voice dropping into that soft register he always seemed to save just for Will.
He grabbed the hand towel off the hook. It was clean enough, he supposed.
Mike turned to the sink, wetting the towel and wringing it out before stepping back into Will’s space. Slowly, carefully, he lifted the cloth and brushed it over Will’s neck, gentle enough that it barely pressed at all. Dirt came away easily, leaving clean skin behind. Mike focused on what he was doing, like if he paid enough attention he could make the world smaller, safer.
Like he could keep Will safe. Safe from monsters and Vecna and plans that could potentially kill him. Mike couldn’t survive in a world without Will. And the battle was far from over. Mike felt sick with it, with the thought of anything happening to anyone. But Will… well, it was Will.
Will had always been special. Different. More.
Mike’s eyes flicked up without meaning to, meeting Will’s.
Will was watching him. Not startled, not tense. Just calm, eyes warm and open, that familiar expression that Mike couldn’t read on his face, the look that Mike never quite knew what to do with. It made his chest feel full in a way he didn’t have a name for.
“Okay?” Mike murmured, pausing, the towel still resting lightly against Will’s skin.
Will drew in a quiet breath, then nodded. “Yeah,” he said, just as softly.
Mike smiled a little and kept going, careful and unhurried, like there was nowhere else he needed to be. Like the world outside wasn’t falling apart.
“Thank you, by the way,” Mike said after a moment, voice gentle as he finished cleaning the last of the dirt, blood and sweat from Will’s skin. “For saving my life.”
He hesitated, then let his hand fall to his side as he looked up and met Will’s gaze.
Will shrugged, lips twitching like he was trying not to smile. “I wasn’t about to let you die.”
Mike lifted a shoulder, shrugging with feigned casualness. “I mean,” he said, “you could’ve.”
Will let out a disbelieving huff, shaking his head. “Right. I could totally have just stood there and watched a demogorgon eat you. Sounds like something I’d do.”
Mike snickered. “I mean, you totally could have. Would have been easier.”
Will’s eyebrows shot up. “No, actually, I really couldn’t.”
Mike laughed properly then, the sound bright and relieved. “Okay, fair.”
Will’s smile softened, eyes lingering on Mike’s face a second longer than necessary.
“Besides,” Will added quietly, “you’d be really annoying to replace. Dustin and Lucas are great, but they aren’t nearly as irritating as you.”
Mike blinked. “Hey!”
“I’m just saying,” Will said, grin widening. “Where else would I find someone who almost gets eaten and still finds a way to argue about it?”
Mike rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop smiling. “Okay, okay, I get it.”
Will laughed lightly, and the sound hit Mike square in the chest. It still amazed him how easily Will could do that, how one small laugh could make everything feel steadier. Safer. Mike looked at him for a second too long and thought - not for the first time, not even for the first time in the last 5 minutes - that his best friend was… painfully beautiful.
“How’d you manage it, anyway?” Mike asked, trying to sound casual and failing a little. “I mean, I knew you could do it, but,” he gestured vaguely with his hands. “How did you actually do it? Tap into the hive?”
Will’s cheeks flushed pink at once. He glanced away, eyes dropping to the tiled floor.
“I thought about my mom,” he said softly. “And Jonathan. About when I was a little kid. And…” He hesitated, then looked back up. “And you.”
The way he said it made Mike’s chest tighten. Will held his gaze, and Mike could see the nerves there, bare and honest. It made Mike’s throat feel tight and his head feel fuzzy and he wanted to press closer to Will, to touch him, to hug him, to do something. Anything. Fuck. Being around Will was like walking next to an open flame. He burned with it. And fuck, Mike wasn’t stupid. Craving your best friend wasn’t normal. He knew that. But hell, did he crave Will. Everything about him drew Mike in, calmed him, exhilarated him. Mike needed him. Needed him like he needed air. Needed-
“Remember when I was possessed?” Will went on, oblivious to Mike’s internal panicking. “When you reminded me of the day we met? On the swings?”
Mike nodded, swallowing hard. His throat closed up, he could hardly breathe.
“I thought about that day,” Will continued, voice barely above a whisper. “About how you asked me to be your friend.”
Something inside Mike cracked open.
The bathroom felt too small. The air felt thin. He forgot how to breathe, forgot how to speak, forgot how to do anything except stand there and look at Will like he was the most important thing in the world, because, right then, he kind of was.
He always was, at least to Mike.
Mike thought about that day, when they were kids. He’d just wanted a friend back then. He’d had no idea what he was really giving Will. What Will would become to him.
And now, standing there, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to give Will enough.
Unable to stop himself, Mike’s gaze flickered down to Will’s lips, pink and slightly chapped, curved in that familiar way that made something warm twist in his chest. He thought about Will’s mouth far more than he probably should. It had become a bit of a problem.
When they sat at the table eating, Mike noticed Will’s lips as they curled around a smile. When Will talked, Mike found himself watching the way they moved. When Will laughed, bright and unguarded, Mike’s thoughts always seemed to circle back to Will’s mouth, again and again.
He didn’t know when it had started. He only knew it wouldn’t stop.
“Will,” Mike mumbled, eyes fixed on Will’s mouth.
His breathing trembled as Will licked his lips and Mike felt like a gate to the Upside Down had opened beneath him and dragged him in.
Will was so beautiful. So beautiful in a way that Mike tried not to let himself think about. But standing here, so fucking close together, it was hard not to think about Will Byers pretty face. His fluttering eyelashes. His soft eyes. His lips that Mike had the urge to kiss. Right there, right now, in the cramped bathroom.
He finally flicked his gaze back up to meet Will’s and found Will staring at him with flushed cheeks, wide eyes and a hopeful sort of look on his face.
And Mike thought he might die. This was it. It wasn’t Vecna that was going to take him out, but Will fucking Byers staring at him with soft, wide eyes and parted lips, looking absolute fucking lickable.
Mike swayed forward against his will, the towel dropping from his fingers and landing on the floor with a soft thud. His nose bumped Will’s and Will gasped audibly. Mike reached up with one hand and gripped Will’s shoulder as he tilted his head. Their cheeks brushed and Mike sucked in a deep breath, taking in Will’s scent.
Under his fingers, he could feel Will trembling.
Shit, shit, shit. What was he doing?!
Mike panicked and started to pull away but Will’s hands shot out and fisted into his jumper, holding him in place. Mike’s eyes flickered up to meet Will’s.
They were so close. So fucking close. And Mike was sure Will could feel his heart beating frantically under his hands. But Mike didn’t care. Couldn’t care. Because Will’s breathing was erratic, his eyes were wide, his cheeks flushed and he was gripping onto Mike’s jumper like his world depended on it.
“Please,” Will whispered into the inch between them. “Mike. Please.”
Mike leant back in, their foreheads pressing together. They stayed like that for a moment, breathing the same air, consumed in each other. Mike reached up with both hands and lightly cupped Will’s cheeks in his sweaty palms.
“Will,” he practically whimpered.
He would be embarrassed, except Will let out a desperate whine and nudged their noses together again and whispered, urgently, “Please.”
And who was Mike to refuse Will when he asked so prettily it made Mike’s entire body tingle.
He closed the small distance between them, letting their lips brush lightly, barely a kiss at all. Will shook under his touch. And Mike… Mike felt like his entire body had been set on fire, like he was burning from the inside out. Will’s lips were so soft and Mike didn’t think he’d ever felt anything as perfect.
He let out a small gasp, a desperate whine, and pulled Will closer, kissing him deeper. Will whimpered and gripped into Mike’s jumper tighter and Mike couldn’t help but let his hands fall from Will’s face. He ran them down Will’s chest until he could grab at Will’s hips and pull him flush against his chest. Will stumbled into him and Mike fell back against the hard wall. He barely noticed.
“Shit,” he gasped, pulling Will even closer and pressing their lips together more firmly.
Kissing Will was heaven. It was wet and clumsy and Mike thought he might drown in it, in being this close to Will. He gasped into Will’s mouth, clutching at him tighter, breathless and so fucking in love and-
Mike froze against Will.
What the fuck. What the actual fuck. In love?
Will pulled back, panting heavily, cheeks so pink and looking like a fucking angel and Mike needed to kiss him again. Like, he might die if he didn’t get to kiss Will Byers again right fucking now.
“Mike?” Will whispered through shuddering breaths. His brows furrowed.
Mike swallowed hard. Okay. So he was in love with Will. Big deal. That was fine. Totally fine. How could anyone not be in love with Will? He was sweet, kind, brave, loyal, selfless, not to mention really fucking hot. It was totally expected that Mike would end up head over heels in love with him. It didn’t matter that Will was a boy. It was all fine. Totally fine.
Will had kissed him back. Will had asked Mike, desperately, to kiss him back.
It was all okay. Shit. Was it okay? Holy shit, what had Mike done. What had he, what had they…
Mine sucked in a breath.
“Mike?” Will asked again, looking slightly panicked. His grip on Mike’s jumper loosened and he started to let go.
Mike’s hands shot up and clutched at Will’s own, holding him in place.
“Will,” he whispered, mind whirling, feeling crazy with the overwhelming amount of feelings he was currently experiencing.
“Mike,” Will mumbled, staring, blinking rapidly.
Mike leant back in and kissed him again, so softly, so gently. It was okay. They were Will and Mike. Everything was okay. And Will deserved everything. Mike wanted to give it to him. Wanted to be able to love him. To show Will just how much he fucking adored him.
Mike pulled back. “Sorry, I just… this is okay, right?”
A slow grin spread across Will’s face. “Mike,” he said, and Mike could hear the happy, relieved laughter in his voice. “I wouldn’t have let you kiss me if it wasn’t.”
Mike chewed at his lip. “Okay, but like, this isn’t a thing where you let me kiss you because I want to and you just want me to be happy? Because you’re the most selfless person I know and I know we’re best friends and you always want me to be happy and I just don’t want-”
He was cut off from his ramblings when Will closed the gap and kissed him again. Soft and sure. Mike sighed into it, his hands clutching desperately at Will’s own. Will pulled back and pressed his forehead to Mike’s. They stood there, pressed together, and Mike couldn’t remember anything ever feeling so right. So real.
“I want this,” Will whispered. “I want you. I always have and I always will.”
Mike shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut, unable to fucking breathe. He felt as Will tilted his face and lightly kissed Mike’s cheek, then his eye lid, his nose and finally, his lips. One light press. Two. Three.
Mike swallowed. “I love you.”
He might have only just realised it. But the truth of it burned inside his chest.
Will giggled and nudged their noses together so tenderly Mike could cry with it. Fuck, he was so in love. How had he not realised?
“I love you, too,” Will murmured back, happiness leaking into his voice.
Mike opened his eyes, and they peeled their foreheads apart, hands still clasped together between them. Mike felt a grin tugging at his lips and Will beamed back at him and it occurred to Mike that he didn’t think he’d ever seen Will look so damn happy. So damn beautiful.
And still really fucking lickable. Without thinking, he leant forward and licked a strip up Will’s cheek. Will startled, a burst of stunned laughter falling from his pretty lips.
“Mike!” Will snorted, gasping as he laughed. “What the hell?”
Mike blushed furiously. “Sorry! I just, Will. I had to! You make me crazy!”
Will snickered and shook his head. That soft look was back and Mike realised with a start that it was love that was written, plain as day, across Will’s flushed face. That it was love that Will constantly had on his face, everytime he looked at him.
Mike felt dizzy with it.
“Crazy together,” Will giggled.
And Mike grinned. “Yeah. Crazy together.”
Soon, they’d have to step back outside. They’d have to make plans, argue strategies, figure out how to stop Vecna once and for all. They’d have to face their friends and family and pretend that something fundamental hadn’t just shifted between them.
But not yet.
For now, the world was reduced to a small, cramped bathroom and the boy standing in front of him.
Mike leant in and pressed his lips to Will’s again - soft, sure, unhurried. It wasn’t desperate this time. It felt like a promise. Like something solid they could hold onto when everything else started falling apart again.
Will let out a quiet breath against him, hands once again curling into Mike’s jumper like he was anchoring himself there. When they finally pulled back, they stayed close, foreheads resting together, eyes shut.
“I love you,” Will whispered, like he was still afraid the words might disappear.
Mike smiled, chest aching in the best possible way. “I know,” he said softly. “And I love you too.”
They stood there a moment longer, memorising the feeling, each other, before reality came knocking. Before the door would unlock and the war against monsters would resume.
When Mike finally reached for the handle, his fingers found Will’s instead.
Whatever waited for them outside, they wouldn’t face it alone.
And for the first time in a long while, that felt like enough.