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Now, if you'd ask Mike what it was like to babysit his little sister, he'd say that it's annoying and gets in the way of other things he would much rather be doing (like hanging out with the Party). But if you were to actually see him 'babysit', you'd realize that Mike genuinely loves to hang out and play with his baby sister. I mean, yes, the different interests and the fact that she is a literal child can be...frustrating but Mike had never felt more loving towards a human before (that's a lie, there is one other, we don't talk about that).
The Wheeler house had never been more chaotic than it had been in the past few months, with the Byers moving in, it seemed like the house was constantly occupied with people. His dad moping around the house or his mom trying to manage the rowdiness that has consumed her life or Jonathan and Nancy being all stuck up each other's ass or Joyce constantly popping in and out or Will silently drawing or doing homework in the basement. There was rarely ever a window of opportunity for Mike to have alone time with his little sister, time that he oh so missed.
It was luck, really, that everything worked out the way it did. Nancy and Jonathan were out for the day, probably going on a date or something, Mike doesn't know, he doesn't really want to think about his older sister and his basically older brother (since Kindergarten, when he met Will) being all romantic. His dad was at a get together with some of his colleagues. (Mike is honestly impressed that he's actually going and not just lazing on the couch.) His mom would be at a friend's house the whole day. Joyce and Will were at Hopper's cabin with El, wanting the siblings to spend some quality time together that they rarely got now.
El.
Just the thought of her sent ripples of guilt through his heart. They had broken up after their return from California. El did not feel fulfilled in the relationship and thought it would be best for both of their sake that they parted ways, especially since he didn't love her in the way she wanted to feel loved.
He felt so bad. She didn't deserve someone like him, she was a superhero and he could barely write her proper letters. El deserved someone who loved her for the way she was, who took her out on nice dates, who was patient with her, who liked the things she did, she deserved better than Mike Wheeler. Mike was glad she broke up with him, that she is finding herself.
But now, that seemed to be the least of his problems right now, with the threat of Vecna/Henry/One on the horizon (god, why does the guy have so many names), Hawkins splitting in half, and the military slowly taking over Hawkins like they own the place.
Honestly, Mike is kind of thrilled it’s just him and Holly in the house for the day, he's been needing a fucking break to just forget everything that's happening around him and feel a little normal again.
His mom doesn’t even ask him to watch Holly anymore, he just does when both his parents are out of the house, it's routine, it's expected.
He vaguely remembers Nancy doing the same thing when he was younger, but most she did was make sure he was entertained and then heated up some leftovers his mom left in the fridge. (He did NOT trust Nancy to cook at all, last time she tried, she burnt the pasta.)
Mike checks the time, 11:30, he should make lunch, Holly should not be left on an empty stomach. He grabs a hair tie from the bathroom and puts his hair up while walking down the stairs, he definitely needs to cut his hair, at first he thought it was cool and nice to have control over his hair, but now it just gets in his way.
He grabs his mom's apron hanging on a cabinet handle and puts it on, turning on the radio as well so that he isn’t stuck in silence while cooking.
He enters a trance while cooking, methodically cutting up vegetables and chicken to throw into the simmering pot of broth while humming to the radio.
Poor Holly was recovering from a cold this past week, it made her sniffy and especially tired. Her fever had passed, and she seemed mostly healthy again, but the lingering effects of the cold had made her pass out just after breakfast, Mike carrying her up to her room to tuck her in. He hopes that the homemade chicken noodle soup will make her feel a little better. (He takes pride in knowing that Holly prefers his cooking to their moms, she rubs his ego a little too much.)
Starting to boil the pasta, he hears a familiar song start to play on the radio.
Darling, you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
He smiles at the familiar lyrics that fill the kitchen. Will's song was always a familiar tune that brought a smile to his face. It has been his favorite after Jonathan got him into The Clash to distract him from their parents arguing. Mike remembers Will humming the song constantly at school and faintly singing it over the radio when he was stuck in the Upside Down.
This song meant more to him than he'd like to admit, it was Will's song, it reminded him of everything surrounding Will, his laugh, his smile, his eyes, his muscular arms-
Woah Mike, let’s not go there.
A faint blush comes on Mike's cheeks as he thinks of seeing his best friend for the first time in months. Will had really changed in those months away in California. He had a growth spurt and his voice really deepened from the high pitch voice Mike was used to.
Not to mention, his arms, those defined muscles that have left Mike speechless. He remembers the awkward hug they shared after they got off the plane, he didn't mean to make it awkward, but feeling his scrawny and lanky friend have a firm body made him pull away. He'd never thought he’d find muscles attractive before, but seeing them on Will made it so incredibly different, it was like his whole world was exploding.
It made him look stronger, more dominant, more sure of himself. It made him look impeccable. Will was cute before but now, he was jaw dropping handsome, in Mike's opinion, but he was sure others thought the same, if the looks Will gets in the hallways were anything to go by. God, why does he keep thinking about his best friend this way? It's wrong. Not to mention that's also his ex-girlfriends brother. (Talk about a type, Michael.)
But Will's arms were so strong and defined, Mike was sure that if he wanted to, he could pick him up and pin him against-
Wow Mike. You really need to stop before you get ahead of yourself.
He finishes the dish while trying not to think about his best friend's body, very inappropriate thing to think about when you're babysitting your baby sister Mike.
He quickly cleans the mess he made in the kitchen and plates two bowls of chicken noodle soup on the kitchen table for him and Holly. He glances at the clock, 12:45, Holly has been asleep for long enough.
He climbs up the stairs and softly knocks on Holly's door while slowly opening it, "Holly…" he says, peeking into the dark room to see his baby sister still sound asleep on her bed, surrounded by stuffed animals. He smiles and goes over to Holly, gently placing a hand on her shoulder and rubbing it. "Holly…wake up, it’s lunch time, I don’t want you to go hungry." He says in the softest voice he can conjure, often called the 'Will Voice' dubbed by Lucas.
Holly groans and starts squirming, "Nooooo, nooo, not yet…" it’s the cutest thing ever, seeing Holly all sleepy and whiny, the cute kid kind, not the annoying kind. He smiles and kisses the crown of her hair. "C'mon Holly, you’ve had enough sleep, it’s lunch time." Holly groans again and yawns, slightly opening her eyes to look at him and oh, he just about melts.
"C'mon Holly, lunch time." He says, but this time, he picks her up and puts her head on his shoulder, grabbing her blanket and placing it over her to keep her warm.
He carries her downstairs and puts her in her chair, as it seems she's finally starting to wake up, rubbing her eyes and blinking to adjust to the light. He rubs her back to wake her up a bit more and they start to eat lunch in a calming environment, Mike listens to Holly blab about her most recent adventures with her princess dolls and stuffed animals.
It’s methodic and peaceful, something he didn’t know he missed until it presented itself again. When Holly declares herself done, he puts their dishes in the dish washer and wet a paper towel to wipe Holly’s face.
"Alright Miss Holly, what shall we do now that we have the whole house to ourselves?" Holly makes a face of thinking before brightening up and jumping on him, "PRINCESSES! Oh please Mikey! Please dress me up as a Princess! Please! Please! Please!" Practically shaking with excitement. Mike giggles at her enthusiasm.
"Okay, okay, princesses it is, let’s go to your room." Holly cheers and rushes up to her room to pick out her princess dress. Out of her closet, she pulls out a blue Cinderella dress and shows him. "Cinderella! I want to be Cinderella! Do my hair! Do my hair!" Mike giggles at the childish enthusiasm and brings her to the bathroom to put her hair into a bun.
One of his very secret talents that are a little impractical for him, being able to do hair, he has had much practice in previous babysitting sessions, finally being able to master the difficult task that was taming women's hair.
He sighs and starts brushing Holly's hair, she has become dependent on him as her personal hairdresser, not that he minds, but he worries that she may never learn how to actually do her own hair.
He grabs the spray bottle with water in it and starts spraying Holly's blonde locks with it, before brushing it all up into a tight high ponytail and then finally twisting it into a bun. It was one of the better ones that he had done, he nods approvingly at himself and turns to the mirror. "Is that good enough for Princess Holly?"
Holly cheers and turns to him, "Can a bit of makeup? Pleaseeeeee." She gives him puppy dog eyes and god, did she learn from the best, those were very convincing, he has taught her well. "Okay, okay, just don't tell Nancy." He says, pulling out some of Nancy's makeup from the drawer and looking at the selection.
He puts some silver eye shadow on her and a light line of eyeliner, along with some pink lip stick that he dabbed on her lips.
She looked like an adorable little child pretending to be a princess, just as it was supposed to be, he couldn't help a swell of love pour into his heart. She was adorable and so very sweet, Mike wished that if he had a child that they were just as cute as Holly.
He helped her get into her Cinderella dress while she set up the scene, she is a detective Princess who solves the mysteries of the kingdom and helps her people.
Her knowledge is so vast that a Prince from a neighboring kingdom requests her help in finding his lost Princess so that he can have his soulmate back.
It is all very sweet, and actually very intriguing. Holly would make a good Dungeon Master for D&D when he finally introduces her to the game.
Mike was assigned to be the villagers and the castle staff who help her in finding the missing Princess (who were played by Holly's many stuffed animals). He tries to keep track of who is who but it is very difficult when she has so many. The sheep and the cat are the baker and his wife, the fox is a merchant from overseas, the bear is the butler, the dog was Holly's guard, the bunny was the head maid and he himself was her lady friend. (He believes the term is lady-in-waiting but why would a six year old know that?)
As the story continues, Mike is even more convinced at what a good DM Holly would make, he might even steal some of her ideas for his next campaign, even though he knows some of the things she has come up with are just from Disney movies, like the fairy godmother to help her through the magic forest and the animals who talk to her.
The adventure is vast and wide, and they eventually end up at a dark castle that is housing a supposed evil witch, which is played by the horse.
"You will never win, evil witch! Return the Princess to us!" Mike says, as the bunny. "Ha! Ha! Ha! You fools! I don't have the Princess! And you brought her right to me!" Holly cackles as the horse and throws a plastic crown at him.
"Ow! Holly, what was that?" He asks, picking up the crown and looking at Holly who has a devious grin on her face. She picks up the horse and points at him. "It's you! You are the missing princess! The lady friend is the princess!" Mike gasps aloud but Holly interprets it as a reaction for the other characters and continues the story, pulling him over and wrapping him in some string that was on her dresser.
"You are the Princess I have been looking for! With you captured, I will take revenge on Prince Charming!" Mike shakes his head and tries to process it, because wow, is that a plot twist, who'd have thought that the lady friend would be the missing Princess? Children's minds really are interesting.
"Wait, pause, how is the lady friend the Princess? Why did she run away from the Prince if they are soulmates?" Holly gives him a look like, 'Are you stupid?' Before huffing and pointing at him. "You. Are the missing Princess." Mike nodded, "Well yes, I gathered that, but why did 'I' run away from the Prince?"
"Because you need your Prince Charming to come rescue you! You knew that the evil witch would come after you to get at Prince Charming so you left to protect him! Now, you are captured by the evil witch and Prince Charming needs to save you and give you a true love kiss!" And wow, what a childish explanation for the story, he should've expected it, considering the three Princess movies she watches over and over again. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and their Prince Charming's, he should've seen this coming.
"Okay, okay," he laughs, "but why do I need to be the Princess? Couldn't it be one of the stuffed animals? Or one of your dolls?" Holly gave him a pouty look that signified that she clearly disagreed with him. "No! You need to be the Princess so you can be saved by your Prince Charming!" She crossed her arms and gave him a displeased look. "And who would be my Prince Charming, sweet girl?" He asks.
"Will of course!" As if I was the simplest thing ever.
Mike freezes and audibly chokes, his mind running at a million miles her second.
Will? Like his Will? Like William Byers Will? The same Will who has been his best friend since Kindergarten? What in the world is Holly thinking? Why would Will be his 'Prince Charming'? Why does he need a Prince Charming?
What kind of fantasy was Holly living in? Maybe he had gotten too carried away with his bedtime stories to her, the ones that were inspired by either his D&D campaigns or real life, fighting the Upside Down. But Mike was sure that there was hardly any romance in these bedtime stories, he would know, he came up with them, the most he gave her was a kiss here and there. So, this romantic fantasy must've come from those Princess movies she watches.
But that still doesn't explain why Holly thinks of Will as his Prince Charming, he, a man, Mike doesn't think he needs a Prince Charming to sweep him off his feet, thank you very much, he is no damsel in distress, he has fought actual monsters from other dimensions.
Mike just doesn't understand. Why does Holly see Will as a Prince Charming? I mean yeah, he's nice, handsome, kind, intelligent, a gentleman and has muscles but that doesn't mean he's a Prince Charming, especially to Mike who is NOT a damsel in distress.
"I know Will isn't here right now, but we can pretend!" She assures him, going to set up the next part of the story. Mike grabs her by the arm to get her attention and she turns around. "But Holly, why is Will my Prince Charming, I am no Princess or damsel in distress, and I understand if it's just for the story, but why Will?" He questions her, grabbing her other hand with his, showing that he is serious.
Holly pouts again, like the answer is obvious, like she should've had to explain something that is so true, like Mike is wasting her time, as if Mike isn't incredibly confused and his heart isn't pounding. "Welllll you may not be a real Princess but you're pretty enough to be one! You look just like Snow White! Pale, skin white as snow, lips apple red, black hair, and even brown eyes! You look just like Nancy, and she would definitely be a Princess." Mike isn't sure whether to correct her that he is, in fact, a man, or giggle at the praise.
"And Will is definitely your Prince Charming! He's always picking me up and carrying me around! He's so strong! He can definitely protect you! And, and, Will is alwayssssss with you! I don't remember when he wasn't! You and Will are just like Nancy and Jonathan! You look at each other like they do and Will is always trying to help you! He is perfect Prince Charming material and he's perfect for you!"
Mike feels like he just got hit by a bomb and exploded, his face was beat red, and he was sure he was radiating steam. Because God, she was right. And yes, he has been thinking about Will like that now but hearing someone else say it, much less his baby sister, makes it seem more real.
The thought of Will being a Prince, sweeping him off his feet is...something, he didn't think he would like to be protected but if it was Will, god if Will protected or defended him, he would fold like paper. He was already bad at saying 'no' to Will, there isn't very much that he wouldn't do for Will, it's like Mike is always crawling back to him, like he can't let go no matter how hard he tries. Wow. He was whipped, and the thought of Will being his 'Prince Charming' made his stomach knots.
Holly gives her a blinding smile like she just cracked the code and returns to explaining the rest of the story to him, now that he was the kidnapped Princess, Princess Holly and her team have to devise a plan to rescue him from the evil witch.
Now they're just waiting for his Prince Charming.