Chapter Text
As the head finally fell, loud in the dead shell of the Mind Flayer, everyone remained silent,
labored breathing through exhausted lungs the only noise anyone could muster.
Memories ran past them all. The torture, the nightmares, the death. It was finally over now that they killed the monster. Henry. One. Vecna. The name didn´t matter anymore. All that mattered was that they were safe now.
Well, not quite yet. They still had to get everyone out of Dimension X safely, but Mike firmly believed that, if they had managed all of this, it wouldn´t pose a problem.
However, there was one person left to check on.
Will had stayed behind, closer to the gate back into the Upside Down, afraid of the hivemind effect. He had still been a huge help, holding Vecna back so El could get control of the situation and finish him.
But that meant they had no clue if their plan to keep him safe had worked.
Nancy and the others took care of the kids and each other as Mike went ahead to find his best friend. He left Joyce with the group as she needed to be carried due to a small injury she sustained during the battle, and Mike would not be that person.
He reached the spot where they had separated from Will, but the boy was nowhere to be found. Panic set in immediately and he was about to turn back to get help when unmistakable brown hair rounded a large rock a little ways away.
Relief flooded through Mike and he immediately ran for him and pulled him into a tight hug, excitedly telling him of their victory.
When he pulled back, he expected a smile and bright hazel eyes. Instead, he got surprised with a kiss.
Will´s lips, rough and chapped from dry air and lack of care, moved eagerly against Mike´s equally dry ones, desperation filling the movement.
Mike didn´t know what to do. He didn´t even have the time to think, Will´s arms around his neck pulling him closer as heat spread through his chest and face. His heart hadn´t calmed since the battle, frantic and inconsolable the entire time, yet the rhythm it carried in that moment felt like a different type of suffering.
He didn´t plan to, didn´t think at all, but he tightened his own hold around his friend´s waist and reciprocated the kiss, moving his lips much more softly, calming Will until the boy pulled away.
Tears had flooded his face sometime during the kiss, cleaning his cheeks of dust. He looked sad and tired in a way Mike had never seen before.
“Why…”
Mike was just going to ask what made him so sad.
“Why did you do that?”
He asked instead, his own eyes blown wide as his mind tried to understand what just happened. Will had only come out to them all a few hours ago, before they went off into battle, so Mike knew of his sexuality now and he didn´t care about that at all. He really didn´t… But to suddenly be kissed by his gay best friend was certainly something he hadn´t seen coming. It confused him.
Will searched Mike´s eyes as his arms slowly slid away. He let out a quiet:
“Oh.” of realization and took a step back.
“S-sorry. I… I was excited that we won, you know? Forget I did that.”
His voice sounded panicked, like he feared Mike would be mad, and it melted something within Mike,
“That´s okay. We all… make mistakes sometimes.”
Mike gave a tight-lipped smile and watched Will relax.
__________
Mike woke from his trip down memory lane in the middle of the night, the clock hidden in the dark but lack of sunlight giving the time away. He turned on his mattress with a groan, annoyed he dreamt the same dream once more. It hadn´t even been a week since they ended the Hawkins nightmares, since he and Will kissed in another dimension, and Mike was reminded every night.
The sight that greeted him now didn´t help his obsession.
Will, wrapped in two layers of blankets, laying on his mattress next to Mike´s, lips on display with a slight part and glossy with drool.
Mike couldn´t stop himself from staring yet again.
For reasons unknown, Mike has not been able to forget their kiss that day.
He saw it every time he closed his eyes, felt the ghost of it still brushing his lips, and when they lay in bed at night, sharing the basement like they did as kids, he relished in the joint body heat like he needed it to breathe.
It was silly, Mike thought. There was no desire within him to kiss his friend again, yet somehow his mind betrayed him.
It had felt good, warm and comforting, and he hadn´t wanted to stop. He acknowledged as much.
But that didn´t have to mean anything. It didn´t mean anything.
Mike sighed heavily and tore his gaze away. He shouldn´t even be thinking about this.
The basement was cold, so cold that the tip of his nose hurt a bit. Reluctantly he got up and made his way to the heater to turn it up. It was already close to the max, and it got Mike thinking again.
He looked back to the curled up boy that was shivering just a little despite all the layers.
A heavy feeling settled within Mike at the image of him shaking like this last winter, alone in this worn down room while Mike slept comfortably two floors above without a care.
To be fair, Jonathan was supposed to sleep in the basement with Will and it wasn´t Mike´s fault that he didn´t.
He caught himself eying those pretty lips again as he laid back down on his own mattress. They were back to their usual soft state again, no more crusty skin covering them.
If their last kiss felt so… sparkling, Mike wondered what it would feel like if they kissed one more time under different circumstances.
There was no point in thinking like this. They weren´t going to kiss again. That was the first and last time.
First time.
Mike felt himself stumble over the words. Wasn´t that Will´s first kiss? He had always said that he hadn´t had it yet.
As Mike laid back into his mattress he thought of his friend´s words.
I don´t like girls.
It had looked like it was hard on Will, telling them all like that, and Mike secretly wished it had been more personal. Maybe just his family and Mike, since Mike has known Will the longest out of their friendgroup. But of course, it was up to Will to do it how he felt was right, so it was fine.
It was fine.
And Mike truly didn´t feel uncomfortable around Will now. It might just be the opposite, actually. Mike had been thinking for a while at that point that there was something Will was hiding from him, something that tore at them both. Now that he knew, he felt closer to his childhood best friend than he had in years.
And it definitely had nothing to do with the kiss that literally brought them closer than they ever had been.
Mike forced his eyes shut. He needed sleep. Uninterrupted by unimportant memories.
__________
The bright morning sun ripped Mike right back out of his dreamless sleep just a few hours later, the ray having landed directly on his eye.
He turned over to escape the onslaught but the sight of Will, awake and watching Mike, promptly froze him.
Will´s lips twitched as a soft blush rose to his cheeks, a smile brighter than the sun reshaping Mike´s worldview.
“Good morning.”
The honey sweet voice whispered, warm breath hitting Mike´s nose from how close they were.
“Hey.”
He replied breathlessly, his heart beating too fast for this time of day.
In the golden light that bathed the room, Will´s eyes looked impossibly green, and Mike had trouble tearing his attention away.
Will has always been beautiful, he thought. This is nothing new.
“Sleep well?”
Will asked, rolling onto his back to let his gaze follow Mike into a sitting position.
“Mhm.”
Mike hummed through deep breaths. He needed to get himself under control. That kiss was nice. It was a one time thing. He didn´t want it to be anything more. He did not. And neither did Will.
“You?”
“Fine. It was kinda cold, though. Winter really is on the way now.”
Mike didn´t look back towards Will, too aware that his messy mind will find another reason to make his heart race the moment he sees his friend laying there all vulnerable.
“Yeah. I turned the heater up at some point… Hope it will be enough when it gets even colder.”
He hoped that Will wouldn´t be freezing down here alone again this winter. Maybe he could invite him to stay in his room when the time came.
Listening to Will´s even breathing, Mike slowly calmed down enough to start his day.
Another day of cleaning the Wheeler house.
As if summoned, Holly ripped the door open to shout:
“Mike! Coffee! Now!”
Then slammed the door shut again, her footsteps audible above them.
Mike and Will exchanged a confused look.
“Don´t I usually make the coffee?”
Will asked like the answer changed from yesterday to today, because yes. Will has been the one to make the coffee these days.
Despite the urgency in his sister´s voice, Mike took his sweet time getting dressed while Will did the same in the bathroom. For some reason, Will stopped changing in front of Mike the day they got back home from the battle. He had thought, at first, that maybe Will thought he would be uncomfortable now that he knew of his sexuality. So he asked him about it, but Will assured him that that was not why, without any further explanation.
It scared Mike a little. He wondered if he had done something wrong, or if Will´s amnesia has anything to do with it.
Will kept repeating how he´s fine, how the bit of amnesia he´s been experiencing since the head injury he suffered during their fight against Vecna really wasn´t that bad. And sure, he hasn´t forgotten all that much. He mostly had trouble with the days leading up to the battle and some details before that were fuzzy for him. On a daily, he seemed just fine.
Still, something felt different about Will, and Mike wanted nothing more than to find out.
The door fell open once more, an angry Nancy this time.
“Mike! Holly called you why aren´t you up here yet?! We need your help!”
“Need my help with what?!”
Mike shouted back to her, slowly pulling his socks on.
“The coffee?!”
He could hear her curse under her breath.
“What about the coffee?!"
“The- Did Holly not tell you?!”
“Tell me what?”
Mike asked as he made his way up the stairs.
Nancy sighed, shook her head, and just walked into the kitchen to show him.
The sight in front of Mike was a little shocking, to say the least. Coffee ran all over the kitchen counters, down the cabinets and onto the floor where it pooled.
“How-”
“Holly.”
Nancy said, clearly tired.
“Right. But how? And why?”
Mike looked around, hoping to find the little devil but she´s nowhere to be found.
“I don´t know, Mike. I don´t know.”
She sighed, overwhelmed with the task of breakfast and house cleaning and taking care of their traumatized little sister.
“Will you just, please, help me clean this up.”
“Yeah. Of course.”
Mike turned on his heels to find some more paper towels than the roll they already had in the kitchen, when a roll was shoved into his chest. He barely caught it before it dropped down.
“Already got them.”
Will said, standing in front of him with two more rolls in his arms.
“Oh. Thanks.”
He muttered, then quickly kneeled to clean the mess on the floor. He heard Nancy take a roll, thanking Will as well, and then she swept over the counters, coffee dripping down and right onto Mike´s head.
He was about to complain to her when Will´s face appeared in front of him yet again. He kneeled opposite of Mike, his own paper towel roll in hand, ready to help.
“No.”
Mike shook his head, put his roll up on the clean kitchen island and brought Will back up by his shoulders.
“You know you´re not supposed to overexert yourself or get yourself in situations that could lead to hitting your head again.”
Mike lectured Will for probably the fifth time already, earning him another upset pout from his friend.
“I´m fine, Mike, seriously. I can help clean.”
“He´s right, Will.”
Nancy chimed in though she didn´t stop her frantic cleaning.
“The doctors were clear on that and we promised your mom we´d take care of you. So. You sit down until we´re done here and then you can make us coffee without flooding the kitchen, okay?”
Will´s shoulder´s slumped in defeat, he knew there was no point in arguing. At least not with Nancy.
He dropped his roll next to Mike´s, then planted himself at the island to watch.
Mike gave him a little sorry smile but then continued his cleaning, eager for a cup.
Throughout the cleaning process, Mike looked over to Will more often than not, sometimes catching him watching, sometimes not, but every time he admired how cute Will looked when he was all pouty and grumpy like that. He´d always rather see him happy, of course, but this was like a little treat to sweeten his day.
“There you are you little- What were you thinking?!”
Nancy raised her voice when Holly entered the kitchen just as they finished cleaning the mess she made.
“You´re lucky the machine didn´t break.”
“I´m sorry… I just wanted to make coffee for everyone like Will always does.”
The remorse was evident in her voice and everyone melted a little. Even Nancy, who usually wouldn´t give in for a few minutes at least, relaxed and walked over to hug her.
They all knew she´s having a hard time after everything she went through. She just needed love and support for a while.
“I can show you how, if you want?”
Will offered, a gentle smile directed at her that immediately brightened Holly back up.
“Would you?! Please, Will!”
She ran and hugged the boy, earning a delighted giggle from him as she stared up at him with lively eyes.
“Sure. If it means we won´t have to deal with more incidents like this.”
Will wrapped an arm around Holly´s shoulder and led her to the machine to show her the ropes.
“That reminds me, how do you even know how to use the coffee machine and make such good coffee? You don´t drink any yourself, right?”
Nancy questioned as she got out the pancake mix.
“Oh. Yeah, I don´t.”
Mike saw that his friend seemed a little nervous to answer, his brows tense but twitching with the attempt to relax them.
“Someone I know showed me a while ago. Had pretty much the same model so i figured it out pretty quick.”
“Makes sense. You´re good at it, it tastes better than what we usually had.”
“Ehh.. I think that may just be your imagination.”
“It´s not.”
Mike added, sitting back at the island like Will did a few minutes ago.
“I like your coffee better, too.”
“You drink it black, Mike.”
“Still.”
Will rolled his eyes and tried to hide his smile by starting his explanation to Holly.
Mike watched, helped Nancy here and there, until they could all sit down and enjoy a proper breakfast.
__________
Hours later, Mike finally felt that he was making progress in Holly´s room. He had started cleaning it the day before but it felt like an impossible task at the time. Now, as he listened to the shower running down the hall with the knowledge that it´s Will in there and that, once done, he would bless Mike with his company, Mike found himself speeding.
And soon enough, just as expected, Will stood in the doorway to Holly´s room, fully dressed and with dripping wet hair, watching Mike.
Mike watched as a singular drop rolled down Will´s neck until it disappeared into his dark blue sweater. Will´s head tiled to the side as he eyed Mike, probably wondering where his mind was at.
It was in a horribly insensitive place.
Mike could´t help it. He wanted to see more. He needed to see more. Feel more.
Will waved a hand in front of Mike´s face, suddenly much closer.
“Mike? You in there?”
His friend questioned, his face hovering in front of Mike´s own, lips shaping the words so beautifully.
“Hm? Oh. Yes. Yes!”
Mike cleared his voice and quickly turned away, picking up the broom off the floor to sweep around uselessly in the pretense of cleaning.
“Why are you dressed? Didn´t you shower? I mean- of course you´re dressed, I just mean-”
Will´s breathy laugh paused Mike´s rambling.
“What? Why am I dressed?”
Will confirmed the question Mike hadn´t meant to ask, an amused smile lingering on his pretty lips even as he sat himself on Holly´s abandoned bed.
“What?”
Mike returned, genuinely confused for a moment before he played his words back in his head. Will tried to stay casual, Mike could tell by his dipped brows, but he also saw the way his lips twitched. It was infectious.Mike could´t stop a grin of his own, and then they were laughing into the quiet of the room.
“What?!”
Mike asked again even though he knew by now. He held himself up by the broom as he laughed, careful to not squint his eyes so he could watch Will. He admired the way his friend´s face pulled together in happy wrinkles while his lips stretched thin over his teeth to form his pretty smile.
Mike decided this was a good moment for a break, so he set the broom against the wall and sat himself next to Will, who by now had slid down to lay on his belly, feet at the headboard so he could watch Mike.
“Here to watch me work?”
“I´d help but you´d banish me to the cold basement.”
Will pouted yet again, but he closed his eyes and laid his head into his arms.
“Very true.”
Mike agreed as he let his eyes wander over the broad plane of Wills´s back, down to his narrow waist that he could swear would fit perfectly into his hands, and over the well of soft flesh even lower. He lingered there, knowing full well it was inappropriate of him, but he needed the sight to organize himself.
Mike knew he did not want to kiss Will again, or so he kept telling himself. Yet he couldn´t tear his eyes away from his lips most days, and now apparently from his body, too.
But seriously, Mike didn´t actually want to do anything with Will.
It was just that the kiss felt unbelievably good and now he was curious!
Mike never particularly enjoyed kissing. It always felt more like something you just did to show the other you appreciate them. It wasn´t so warming and exciting…
He didn´t even feel any sort of attraction towards Will(yeah right), but the kiss was magical.
Yet any kiss with El, his girlfriend, felt bland.
Mike already knew before all of this that he should break up with her. It hadn´t felt right for years now and the only reason he hadn´t yet was because they hardly saw each other while she was in hiding. He couldn´t get himself to dampen the mood when they would only see each other once every few weeks or even months.
Well, maybe that wasn´t the only reason. He also just had no idea how to break up with someone in a way that allowed them to stay friends. Because he did love El, and when he said he couldn´t lose her again, he meant it.
Mike laid back, right over Will´s ass so his head came down on the other side of it. He tried not to observe the softness.
“You good?”
“Mhmmm”
It wasn´t convincing.