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Joyce held the door open for Hopper as they both stepped into the cabin after a lovely date. It was late, the sky nearly black and dotted with bright stars.
"Where's the kids?" Hop began to untie his shoes, and Joyce slipped off her flats while she answered.
"I think Jonathan went out with Nancy, he might be at her house. Will should be here, unless he went to the Wheelers too." Joyce waved at El on the couch who was casually reading a book. "Hey hun! Where's Will?"
El simply pointed down the hall where Will's room was and stated: "Bedroom" without looking up from her book.
Ever since Vecna had been defeated two years ago, the Byers and Hoppers had been living all together in Hop's old cabin. At first it took a while to adjust, but with Jonathan and Will and Joyce and Hopper sharing rooms, everything ended up working out.
Hopper started toward Will's bedroom just to check on him (ever since '83 it had become a habit hard to break for the both of them), and Joyce followed closely behind. It sounded generally quiet in there, and Hop began to open the door.
"Hey kid, we're back is everything…" Hopper trailed off and Joyce peeked over his shoulder.
Will was shoving Mike away from him and their hair was ruffled while Mike pulled his hands away from Will's face. The boys looked horrified and stared at the ground, their faces blushing red. Clearly they had just been kissing, and Hopper's face matched theirs, colored in anger over embarrassment.
"Wheeler," He barked, and thrust out a finger in Mike's direction. "Seriously? Will, of all people, you just had to choose…? Come on!" Hop's voice was very loud, and Joyce winced at every word as well as Will, who looked more and more sick to the stomach as Hopper incoherently yelled.
Eventually, Joyce got a hold of herself and shouted at Hop, tugging on his elbow out of Will's room. "Can we talk?" Joyce clenched her jaw and basically dragged Hopper away, his mouth pressed shut in a similar way.
"Can you believe him, Joyce? It's like I'm cursed to have to see-"
"HOPPER." Joyce shocked herself with how loud she yelled, and both she and Hopper winced. "Will is my son, I have seen him go through Hell again and again. I have been by his side through so, so much, including Lonnie -who he is still recovering from mind you (we all are!)- and I cannot bear to see him go through anything more. I know that it's not completely accepted in society yet or whatever and the government has made it illegal for some reason but I could care less because if you have any sort of problem with my son, my boy who I love with all my heart, liking boys, then I will leave you without a second thought like I should have with Lonnie the moment he said anything to Will, do you understand?!"
Hopper looked a little scared, his lips parted and his eyes wide while Joyce caught her breath. After a quick second for both of them to recover, Hop cleared his throat and glanced at the floor.
"Joyce, after everything that we've been through together, I could care less about whether he likes boys or girls." Joyce nodded and they both relaxed, their shoulders dipping down. "...But come on, Mike? He's seriously the. worst," Hopper began to whine.
Joyce groaned and Hop raised up his hands to further express his disdain for Mike Wheeler. "Hop, come on." Joyce took his hands in hers and met his eyes. "You don't know Mike like I do, like Will does. He has been with Will his whole life, through Lonnie, through the Upside Down, and he is his best friend. I think that there is no one better for him. He knows Will better than any of us, and is able to comfort him like no one else (and let's be honest, after everything Will has been through, he needs someone with him who knows what will help calm him)." The corner of Joyce's mouth began to turn up and she looked at Hop sideways. "Plus they have shared trauma, just like you and me."
Hopper sighed and rolled his eyes, although a smile began to form on his lips. "Okay, you got me there, Joyce. Fine, I guess it's okay if Mike dates my son."
"Our son."
"Yeah. Our son." Hop grinned at Joyce, and she matched his smile.
"Although, it isn't technically our decision whether they are together or not, right?" Joyce raised her eyebrows at Hop.
Hop glanced side to side, rolling his eyes but eventually nodding his head again. "I guess you're right,"
"Like always."
"Like always. But that doesn't mean I can't make them keep the door open three inches for my own sanity."
"Alright, well, I guess you'll have to talk to them about that, right? A heart-to-heart, even?"
Hop pressed his lips together and sighed. "Yeah, I will."
"Okay, just make sure it is crystal clear that your limits are not because they are both boys, but because you are just…protective."
"Will do." Joyce turned back to Will's door, Hopper directly behind her. She gently tapped her knuckles on the door as she creaked it open.
"Hey boys, can we talk?" Will immediately scooted away from Mike, who previously had his arm around Will's waist and his opposite hand on his head, cradling him close as Will sobbed. Joyce's heart melted as she saw how comfortable Will looked in Mike's arms, and she knew everything she had said to Hopper a moment ago was true.
Will scrubbed a few tears away with the backside of his hand while Hop and Joyce sat on Jonathan's bed across from them. Mike gazed over at Will, who was focused on the ground, and Joyce could see the worry for her son in his eye.
"I just want to make one thing clear," Hop cleared his throat and shifted where he was sitting, and Mike turned to face him, his eyebrows furrowed and prepared to defend him and Will. Hop, after glancing at Mike and then deciding to focus on Will who was still staring on the ground continued: "I love you. You are my son and nothing about you will change that, okay?"
Mike's face visibly softened, his shoulders relaxing and a faint smile even crossed his face. He looked down and swallowed hard, and Joyce felt a small stab to her chest, knowing that his dad would likely never react that way as much as they both hoped he would.
Will grinned, although it was laced with sadness and it quickly fell away along with a few more tears. His head, still tilted toward the floor slightly, bobbed up and down before Hopper continued.
"I understand that maybe it isn't normal or anything to be accepted like this, and I know you have experienced horrible people who don't accept you first hand but I really want to be as different from those people as possible. I want to be the person you can go to when you need help or when you don't know what to do about something or when you're scared that people hate when guys aren't attracted to only girls and vice versa. You are such a strong kid, and I honestly don't know how you have managed to pull through this much hardship. I look up to how strong you are, and am inspired every time you stand up from whatever battle you are facing and look your opponent dead in the eye and keep going. I am genuinely so glad that you found someone that loves you like this, because you deserve it. I really, really think that you are amazing and if anyone wants to think otherwise or tell you that you can't like boys then, well, let's just say there will be a few less bullets in my shotgun than before." Hop clasped his hands together and gestured over at Mike. "Same goes for you, Wheeler."
Mike's head shot up to look at Hopper, and his mouth went from a surprised open mouth to a grin. He glanced over at Will, who also wore a grin, albeit a soaked one from his tears. Will peered up at Hop, a hesitant smile forming. "Thanks," was all his dry, cracking voice provided before he burst into more tears, hopefully happy ones this time.
Hop stood up to cross the room and wrapped his arms around Will, kneeling on the floor in front of him. Will tentatively hugged Hopper back, and after a pause he let his face fall into his shoulder while tears dripped onto Hop's coat.
Hop pulled back and took his seat back on the bed. "Mike, if you break his heart, I take that all back and I will break your bones."
With his eyes wide, Mike replied "Okay, and to be clear, El dumped me, it wasn't me who called it off. Just to make sure you knew."
"Oh, I know." Hop leaned back on Jonathan's bed. "But back to your current relationship; we have some rules."
Will's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked over at Mike, worry spreading across his eyes while Mike rolled his and groaned.
"Don't give me that attitude, Wheeler. Just because you're now dating my son rather than my daughter doesn't mean you're suddenly exempt from my rules."
Mike clenched his jaw and thrust up his hands. "Whatever. What are the rules?"
Hopper cleared his throat and slapped his hands against his lap. "Keep the door open three inches, for starters."
"Seriously? I get why you made me and El do it, but our relationship is a complete secret in a house of, what, five people when it used to be just you and El in this place?"
"Well, I guess it helps that half of us already know about you two."
"And Jonathan knows about me," Will, who had been quiet this whole time, finally piped up. "Not about us, but he knows that I like boys. That I like you." Will glanced up at Mike, who furrowed his eyebrows. Something in Joyce felt hurt that Jonathan knew her son's secret before she did, but another part of her felt proud that her boys were this comfortable with telling each other these kinds of things.
"Who's side are you on?" Mike frowned at Will, who shrugged helplessly.
"I just thought you guys would want to know, sorry." Will looked down again, and Mike shook his head vigorously.
"No, don't apologize, it was just-" Mike reached over and took Will's hand, who met Mike's eyes and affectionately smiled. Joyce watched as Mike exchanged a silent apology, and Will accepted it by curling his fingers around Mike's. Joyce felt herself faintly smile as well, thinking to times she and Hopper had silent conversations similar to that as well.
"Ahem." Hopper broke Will, Mike, and Joyce from their zoned out spaces, and everyone looked at him. "So does that work to start? Keep the door three inches?"
Will nodded, while Mike rolled his eyes but eventually let out a quiet but still present "Yes sir."
"Great. Now, Miami Vice is about to start, and I'm not about to miss it." Hop walked out of Will's room, leaving Joyce and the boys to join El on the old sofa.
"Will, honey." Now it was Joyce's turn to hug Will, and she nearly cried this time while he hugged her tight. "I love you so much, okay?"
"I love you too, Mom."
"And Mike." Joyce reached over to pull Mike in a hug as well, who seemed a little tense at first, but ended up hugging her back after a pause. "I remember when Will came home from his first day of Kindergarten, he was so excited to tell me about his new friend that he made, and I knew you were gonna be very special in his life. I didn't exactly predict that you'd end up dating him, but I'm glad you did. One of the most vivid memories I have of knowing that you were the best person for my boy was the day after Lonnie left. I was frazzled and panicking and didn't know how to help my kids through this, but then you showed up out of nowhere and went straight to comfort Will in his room. At one point I walked past, and you were holding him while he cried, not saying anything, just letting him get out all his emotions just like you were earlier and that-'' Joyce cut herself off with a proud sob. "That moment I knew that you were the best friend any mother could hope her son would have. And a few minutes ago, I knew that you were the best boyfriend a mother could hope her son would have." Joyce wiped a tear away, smearing her makeup slightly. "How long has it been?"
"Uh…" Mike and Will grimaced and glanced at each other before looking back at Joyce. "Almost a year. A few months after El and I broke up."
Joyce's eyebrows shot up, but when she started thinking about the past year, things started to click. The shared glances between the two at dinner, the sudden spike in sleepovers and hang out sessions, the fact that Will had been acting a lot more energetic than normal, a lot happier. "I can tell that Will has been a lot happier since you've been together. Mike," Joyce placed a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you."
"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine, Ms. Byers." Will snorted and Mike kicked him gently, smirking at him.
Joyce rolled her eyes and stood up to join Hop and El. "Well I'll leave you to it. But," Joyce began to swing the door shut, but left a few inches between it and the doorframe. "I love my boyfriend too, unfortunately."
Joyce stood outside for a moment, and she saw Mike say something to Will, resulting in a smile. He then leaned in and kissed his grin and Will's smile grew, his eyes fluttering shut while a similar expression reached Joyce, and she joined Hopper on the couch leaning into him, knowing that her boy was safe and happy.