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“So… who's Tammy?”
Will felt like the air was sucked out of his lungs and left him choking a bit as he glanced at Mike, whose question still hung around their heads like the world's most depressing balloon.
Will tried to scramble for excuses as he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, like that would do anything to alleviate the burning in his throat or the heartbeat thumping in his ears as he hoped that Mike wouldn't say anything more.
But that was the thing, right? Mike was hardly the type to just let things go because he was stubborn like that. He had his dark eyes pinned onto Will at the moment, like he was stopping him from getting up and leaving, and Will was going to die.
“Sorry?” Will finally managed to sputter out as soon as he finished trying to hack up a lung.
Mike, who had been sitting on the couch adjacent to Will's armchair, scooted closer.
Like this, their knees were almost barely touching, and it was a truly herculean task of Will to not jerk his leg away as his eyes darted around them while he feverishly prayed someone, anyone, even Henry, would barge in and interrupt what was likely to be the second hardest conversation Will would ever have.
But Will's prayers went unanswered, and listen, maybe it was a bit self-centered of him to wish that they would've been more surprised at his coming out, but no one had even twitched an eyebrow, and if Will were any better and the world wasn't hanging in the balance then he would've joked about homophobia and lack of love and we get it, Will was obvious.
Oh, god.
He was freaking out.
Will was freaking out and Mike's knee was pressed against his and he smelled so good like petrichor and Will was going to die.
“Will?”
A pale hand littered with small, white scars on prominent knuckles laid itself on his thigh and squeezed. As a reflex, Will's body jerked, like he was that dead demogorgon on the roof that they had all literally fried back to life, except Mike was the 50,000 watts and Will was unfortunately not shriveling up and exploding.
“Mike.” Will finally managed to choke out, and he leaned back, like he had any room to lean back in the teeny armchair he had claimed while not so subtly blurting out his love for Mike to all his friends and some family. “I don't really think this is the time.”
Mike's eyes gleamed, and it was so unfair, really, how his voice didn't even raise as he calmly said, “yes it is. Don't run away.”
“I'm not running away.”
“You're trying to.”
“Mike,” Will said again, helpless, and Mike didn't move.
It was strange.
The apocalypse hadn't changed the world as much as Will had anticipated, but it was like instead of affecting the world, it affected the people instead. It affected Mike.
Mike, who had always had the worst temper out of all them, a hot-wire ready to burst if someone so much as breathed a bad word towards him or any of his friends, sat there without even a leg bounce or a slight inclination that he was losing patience. He looked at Will steadily, like he had all the time in the world to wait, and he was so -
And Will was so -
“You said he's your Tammy,” Mike said, and there was something about him, something in the way he spoke that Will couldn't look away. It wasn't quite anger, but it was stiff and awkward, almost like anger adjacent. Bitterness, maybe, though Will had no idea why Mike would feel that way about Will's… Tammy. “Could you explain that to me?”
“It doesn't matter,” Will said, trying to scoot his leg away so Mike would let go already, but if anything, it was like he gripped him even tighter, and Will wanted to scream. “Look - I don't - he's not important, Mike.”
“Right, which is why Robin wouldn't stop looking at you like you shot her puppy in front of her.” Mike's lips pursed and his brows furrowed like they always did when he was trying to seem understanding but in reality was starting to get upset. “Has she got something to do with him? Tammy? Your… Tammy?”
Jesus.
There was something seriously wrong with the image of Mike talking about, well, himself.
Will swallowed.
That was the other thing the apocalypse had changed.
Mike was observant. Way too observant, actually, a trait that seemed inherent in all the Wheeler children, because god if Mike didn’t look exactly like Nancy right now, all concentrated and firm and intense with his need to unwrap the puzzle that had just been plopped down in front of him.
Will couldn’t believe he had picked up on Robin’s facial expressions during that conversation. It wasn’t to say Robin herself was an all too subtle person - something she definitely wasn’t - but Will had just falsely assumed that everyone was too reeling over him liking boys that she would be noticed.
Will knew he had broken her heart with his Tammy comparison.
He knew that of all people, she had been rooting for him. That against all odds, Mike wasn’t his Tammy, that he was his Vickie, his Victorie (like Robin tried to rib before that god awful conversation with everybody), but in the end it didn’t matter.
It didn’t matter because jesus, Mike loved El, and they even had that dramatic confession some nineteenth months ago, and Will -
Will loved him.
Oh, Will loved him, and there was nothing to do, and so he deflated, and, with a voice quieter than he would have liked, he said, “do you remember Tammy Thompson?”
Mike blinked like he hadn’t been expecting Will to give in so easily, and Will wanted to laugh. Didn’t Mike know? Didn’t he pick up on the fact over these years that if he asked, Will would give?
Give me your hand, Will, I’ll pull you up.
Okay, Mike.
Give me your X-Men comic, I like it better than the Fantastic Four.
Okay, Mike.
Give me your heart, Will. I promise I’ll take care of it.
… You’re full of shit, Mike. But I’ll give it to you anyway. I’ll give it to you because you’re so good and so kind and you never once looked at me like I’m a freak. And you love my sister but that’s okay, I can watch you love someone else, because I gave you every part of me and I’m not even sure if I want any of it back. Do you get it, Mike? Do you know?
“Isn’t she that girl who sings like a possessed Muppet?” Mike said, and he was rather serious about it, like this conversation was more important to him than anything, and Will wanted to shake him. “Dude, she sucks.”
“Yeah, something like that.” Will huffed out a gentle thing of laughter as he scrubbed at his face with his hand. He had a soft, throbbing headache that was pulsating behind his right eye and he wanted to press the heel of his hand to it so it would calm down. “She was Robin’s, at least for a little while.”
“Robin’s…?”
Will shrugged. He played with his fingers, picking at the loose skin near his nails, and his voice was soft as he said, “just - Robin’s. She thought Tammy was Whitney Houston. It didn’t end up mattering because Steve sort of swooped in, but it was a wakeup call. Tammy didn’t feel that way about Robin because she didn’t see her. She wasn’t - Tammy - “
Will took in a small breath.
“Tammy didn’t like girls,” he said. “Do you get it, Mike? My Tammy. He doesn’t like - “
“He doesn’t like you?” Mike said with no small amount of outrage. “What the hell? That’s so fucking messed up! It’s bullshit, Will, you’re so - you’re so astounding, why the fuck - “
“Jesus, Mike, calm down,” Will said in fond exasperation as he gently flicked the hand that was still gripping his knee like a lifeline. “I was going to say he doesn’t like boys.”
“Oh,” Mike said.
“Yeah,” Will muttered. “Oh. Anyway, like I said, it doesn’t matter. He’s my Tammy and I’m okay with it, seriously, I just want us to kill Vecna and - “
“He doesn’t deserve you.”
Will cut himself off at the sound of Mike’s voice, low and angry and simmering with something that he really couldn’t put his finger on, like Mike was doing his best to hold in his temper but he couldn’t because a person could only change so much, and Will gaped as Mike swore and then ran his free hand through his hair, turning the wild curls even crazier.
“I’ll kill him,” Mike said with a conviction that made Will’s spine jolt. The heated look in Mike’s eyes told how serious he really was, like he was going to grab a fucking gun and just shoot whoever Will’s Tammy was, and normally that would have been such a ridiculous thought that Will would have laughed, except - well - Mike’s aim was clearly genetic, because on some days he could outshoot even Nancy, and, oh, god, please don’t tell me Mike’s going to shoot himself, Will thought with some amount of hysteria. “I’ll fucking kill him, who is he, Will? Huh? I swear I’ll make him pay - “
“Mike - “ Will gasped out, half-confused and half-crazed as he shot up from his chair and tried to hold back Mike, who was trying to walk towards the door, like he was actually seriously about to steal one of Hopper’s firearms and, what, commit first degree murder? “Mike, hold on, what’s the matter with you!”
“Let go, Will,” Mike said too calmly, which only served to make Will even more anxious than he already was, because a calm Mike was a dangerous one. Will dug his fingers even more into the sleeves of Mike’s puffer, and while Will had filled out a bit, Mike was still taller and therefore was only letting Will keep him in place. “I’m going to - “
“You’re going to what?” Will scolded, shoving at Mike a little more and rubbing at his temples when Mike made a noise of protest but finally sat back down onto the sofa with a heavy scowl and crossed arms. “Seriously, Mike? We don’t have time for this, and while I appreciate you looking out for me, I don’t - “
“You think I’m looking out for you?” Mike cried out.
Will’s jaw dropped a little as Mike got up again and began to pace with ferocity and a jerky, neurotic motion to his arms and hands, which he used to gesture his increasingly frantic words.
“Jesus fuck, Will, do you think I think you need to be looked out for? No! I literally saw you kill three demogorgons with your fucking mind, I don’t need any more proof than that to know that you can handle yourself! No, dude, this is for me, okay?” Mike ranted with a sort of breathlessness that made Will’s own chest feel like it was clenching. “I can’t stand the idea that some - some loser out there doesn’t even like you back, because what, he doesn’t like boys? Screw that! It’s bullshit, Will, it’s bull. Shit. There’s no such thing as not liking you back! There’s no such fucking thing about liking boys or girls or whatever if it means it’s you, okay? And I’m losing my mind here, really, because he’s your Tammy, fine, whatever, I can live with that, I mean, I kind of want to kill myself, sure, but that’s pretty par for the course, and I encourage you to get over him, but I need to kill him because he’s bound to fall in love with you sooner or later, it’s inevitable, really, ineffable, and I have to stop him before he does because I swear to god if you fall in love with another boy then I’m going to - “
“Wait,” Will said in a harsh, croaky voice. He felt like his brain was dribbling out of his ears and he fell onto the couch with a small poof of air as he stared at Mike in such a hard daze that it was a wonder he didn’t pass out again. “I - what do you - “
They stared at each other.
The air was thick and suddenly it was like Will could taste ozone at the back of his tongue, like electricity was coating his mouth and didn’t leave any room to breathe, to think, and his voice was wobbly, uncertain, as he said, “what do you mean… other boys?”
Mike gave a sharp inhale.
“Will,” Mike said hoarsely. He stumbled, shook his head, and then ran his hands through his hair again. When he looked at Will, his eyes were glassy and he sounded so lost, so tiny, like that little boy who had found Will on the swingset and offered him a hand, and oh, oh, wait, this, this was - “Please don’t love Tammy anymore.”
Oh, what the fuck?
Will felt like he was hyperventilating as Mike leaned down and kneeled right in front of him, and he was gripping onto his knees again, leaning in and looking up at Will from the floor through his long lashes and with his rapidly moving mouth as he spoke again, his voice cracking indiscriminately as he did.
“It’s okay if you still like him, but I-I think I’m a better choice, right?” Mike sputtered, looking like he was going crazy as he gripped Will’s jeans and leaned in so close that their noses almost knocked together. “I mean, I know I mess up a lot, but I swear I can be better, I’ll do it for you, Will, I’d do anything for you. I don’t want you to like another boy, please, it’s killing me, I can’t breathe knowing that you love someone else, someone who isn’t me, and I - “
He took in a big, shuddering breath.
Will’s heart was going to give out.
“I love you, Will,” Mike said, and oh, this sweet boy, this sweet, wonderful boy, and Will scrambled to tell him, to scream that it was him, that Mike had been his Tammy but not anymore, because apparently - oh, shit, oh, fuck, fuck, FUCK, Mike was no fucking Tammy, he was fucking Vickie, and, oh, god - “I love you. Quite desperately.”
He leaned in, and Will barely had the forethought to close his eyes, and -
They kissed.
It was barely a press of their lips together, nothing more than a fleeting touch, but it was there, and it warmed Will from the inside out, because Will hated the cold and Mike knew that, and he was so soft with it, like he was scared, and then he was pulling back and looking up at Will with wide, watery eyes.
“Will?” Mike said in a small voice. He still had Will’s knees in a death grip, but his hands were starting to shake. “I - I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to - “
Will grasped Mike’s jaw and yanked him in for another kiss.
This one was messy; their lips gasped and pressed frantically together, like they were trying to bury themselves into the other, and Mike was leaning up and over Will, wrapping his arms around Will’s neck and tangling his fingers with the curls at his nape as Will dug his fingers into Mike’s waist.
“More, please, don’t - don’t stop - “ Mike gasped in between their kisses, where their slick lips would detach just for half a second before diving back in, like they couldn’t stand to not be kissing, like they had been waiting their entire lives for this moment, and Will realized with thunderstruck clarity that they had. They had been waiting their entire lives for this, for the heady breaths in between them and the taste of petrichor, and Will loved him.
“Mike,” Will finally somehow said in the split second when Mike tore himself away to kiss frantically at Will’s chin and jaw, and the touch was so good and so sweet that Will almost went cross-eyed trying to reorient himself. His hands clenched tightly at Mike’s waist but Mike didn’t seem to mind, and only squirmed from where he sat in Will’s lap. “Mike, hold - hold on - “
“Kiss me again,” Mike pleaded, begged, looking like an absolute dream as he pulled back just enough to peer down at Will.
His entire face was pink and the color was steadily making its way down to his collarbone, which peaked out slightly underneath his jacket. His hair was a mess and his mouth was bitten cherry red and swollen, wet with saliva and Will’s affection, and there was truly nothing on earth that could have stopped Will from leaning up and doing as he asked.
“Another,” Mike whined when Will pulled away again.
“Mike.” Will laughed breathlessly, but he did.
“Again,” Mike mumbled.
“One more.”
“Another.”
“Please, Will.”
Again and again, Mike pleaded, and Will gave in, until finally Mike pulled away just enough to tuck his face into Will’s neck, mouthing at the skin there and snuffling when Will stroked his hair and pressed kisses to his head.
“You’re not my Tammy, you know,” Will said in a soft voice.
Mike froze, then, with a small voice, “I know.”
Will shook his head. “No, I mean - you used to be my Tammy. But now you’re not anymore.”
Mike lifted his head and he looked up at Will in awe.
There were still traces of their kisses on him, all the way from his swollen mouth to his red ears and his glazed eyes, but most of all, the biggest sign was his heartbeat. His chest, pressed so close to Will’s, thumped erratically in time with Will’s own heart, and together, it was an endless stream of beats, like they were making up for the lulls of the other.
“Really?” Mike breathed.
“Yeah,” Will muttered, unable to stop himself as he leaned down and pressed another kiss to the corner of Mike’s beautiful mouth, licking the sweet skin there. “Really.”
“So then what am I now?” Mike mumbled against him, his hands fisting Will’s shirt as he bumped their noses together.
Will hummed.
“Everything,” Will said. “Just - everything.”
Mike beamed.