Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Hey, Mike,” Will called as Mike zoomed out of the classroom. “Wait up!”

Mike turned around, hitting a Freshman with his backpack before sliding to the side of the hallway to get out of the way. “What’s up?”

“Are you free Friday?” Will asked, joining him by the lockers and leaning back slightly.

Midterm week was finally over and apart from a few studying sessions with the party, Will and Mike hadn’t been able to hang out at all. Now that they were no longer stressed and busy, Will wanted to get back to a regular schedule of hanging out with Mike as much as possible (because that's what normal best friends did).

“Yeah, why?” Mike asked, adjusting himself against the lockers and giving Will a curious expression.

“That new movie just came out in theaters and I wondered if you wanted to go see it with me.”

Mike stared and for a brief second Will thought he would say no. “Yeah, yeah!” Mike opened his mouth again and as Will waited for him to speak he thought he spotted a tiny of pink rise in his cheeks. Mike looked over his shoulder as the hallway started to clear and then leaned towards Will.

“Do you mean like a date?”

Will froze.

No, in fact, he had not meant as a date. What? Was it romantic to ask your best friend to go with you to the movies after a month of barely hanging out? No, that was a completely friendly and platonic think to do.

But then again, Mike had suggested it… and he didn’t seem angry about it. Plus he’s technically said yes already (even if he probably hadn’t registered the romantic context until afterwards). Will tried hard to read his expression, every detail of his features to try to read his mind. If only he could have El’s powers and just dive into his mind.

“I…”

So now Will had two decisions. He could tell the truth and they’d end up having a really awkward night at the movies now that it had been suggested as romantic. Or he could be brave and confess and hope Mike didn't blow up in his face. But why would he make it awkward if he didn’t want it to be romantic? Unless he already had his suspicions of Will and wanted to snuff them out, make sure Will wasn't trying to do anything weird. Maybe Mike already knew and was waiting to yell at him for being disgusting and awful and...

Mike watched him carefully and looked like he was trying hard to keep a neutral expression as he rocked back and forth just slightly. Will watched as his cheeks got redder with each passing second as his eyebrows dipped further down his face. In disappointment? Impatience?

How long had he just been staring at Mike? Was he blushing? (He was definitely blushing). The bell was going to ring soon, they were going to be late…

Speak, Will, speak. He told himself as words lodged into his throat. God, why couldn’t they do this literally anywhere else and not the school hallway filled with the smell of teenage angst and B.O.

This wasn’t how he wanted this to go but whatever. There would never be a moment like this where Will had been directly confronted. If he said no, Mike would never say anything like it again and nothing would change. He took a shaky breath and met Mike’s eyes.

“Yes,” he said, finally. “I meant as a date.” Was he shaking? He could definitely feel the warmth in his cheeks now as he refused to let his eyes wander anywhere except Mike’s face.

Mike’s eyebrows relaxed and he breathed out like he’d been holding it for a while. If even possible, his cheeks got redder but he smiled softly. “Cool.”

Will wasn’t sure his eyes could go any wider as he stared at Mike, sure now that he looked like a tomato. Really? He wanted to ask. Like really really? Was this some sort of joke or something? Mike couldn’t actually… that was seriously… after years of pining and frustration, all it had taken was a misunderstanding for Will to get everything he’d dreamed of?

“Cool,” he squeaked.

They continued to stare at each other, faces red and lips pulled upwards. Suddenly the bell rang and Mike turned his head to the sound of it.

“Shit…” he muttered before turning back to Will. “See you at lunch?”

“What?” Will asked as his brain continued to short circuit. “Oh! Yeah- yes, yeah! See you!”

Mike shot him another smile before rushing down the hallway to get to his math class.

Will didn’t move. Oh my god. He stared at the empty hallway where Mike had been. “Oh my god,” he whispered out loud. This was a dream… it had to be a dream.

It had been so anticlimactic Will was almost angry. All of this getting worked up about Mike rejecting him or even hating him just for him to suggest that maybe he wanted something more than friendship as well. He was going on a date with Mike. A date. With Mike. Will and Mike on a date.

He turned and ran down the hallway.

Trying to concentrate on English after that interaction was probably the hardest thing Will had ever had to do, and he’d survived a week in the Upside Down. Every time he tried to focus on the teacher his thoughts immediately went back to his DATE with MIKE on FRIDAY. What was he going to wear? Should he meet Mike at his house or the theater? Was any of this even real?

Finally, the bell rang and Will rushed to lunch, jumping into line next to Lucas and Dustin.

“Dude,” Lucas started, “What did you do to Mike?”

“W-What?” Will asked, starting to panic. Did they know? Did they think he’d turned Mike gay or something? Did they hate him and think he was disgusting and never want to talk to him again? Was he overthinking everything?

“He was out of it all math class,” Dustin jumped in as they pushed forward in the line. “Kept getting all fidgety and barely paying attention to the teacher or anything. We tried to ask him about it but all he did was turn away and mutter your name.”

“Did you two get into a fight or something?”

Will stared at them, willing his face not to go pink and give himself away. “No, we’re fine. Very, uh, very fine.”

Dustin turned back to Lucas, “I read that extreme restlessness can be caused by all kinds of diseases. Do you think he’s really sick and trying to hide it from us?”

“What does that have to do with Will?” Lucas asked completely ignoring that Will was, in fact, right there.

“Maybe Will gave it to him. Are you feeling an extreme restlessness, Will?” Dustin turned to him, placing a hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

Will pushed his hand away, “No-“

“Do you think it’s drugs?” Lucas suddenly whispered. “That’s definitely a symptom of taking drugs.”

“Holy shit, you’re so right!” Dustin gasped. “He's definitely on drugs. Fuck, we need to have an intervention, right?”

“Guys!” Will interrupted. “Mike's not on drugs. He’s fine, I’m fine, everybody’s fine. Not everything is some big conspiracy theory.”

Dustin still looked suspicious, “After the life we’ve led, I’m allowed to theorize.” He rolled his eyes, “But whatever, keep your secrets, Will.” He grinned quickly at Lucas and Will knew that even though they’d pretend to drop it to his face, they’d definitely be talking about it as soon as he was out of earshot.

He slid forward and piled salad onto his tray trying to calm his beating heart. They wouldn’t hate him, they were his friends. It wouldn’t matter if they found out.

After paying for lunch, he walked over to see Mike and Max already enjoying the lunches they’d packed at the table. Sometime in between Max waking up from her coma and coming to an almost complete recovery except for being blind, she and Mike had become decent friends or at least they’d stopped hating each other. They still pretended to be absolutely annoyed with each other at all times but the whole party knew they secretly enjoyed each others company. Will recognized how similar they were and noticed they loved to gossip together and complain about trivial things the others would otherwise ignore.

As Will slid next to Mike, chest pounding and trying to keep his emotions in check, Mike and Max immediately stopped talking and tried covering up their smiles. Mike shot Will a smile and Will looked back. “What? Why are you two all smiley?”

“Nothing,” Mike answered with a small false chuckle, a small tint of red gracing his cheeks. “Max just said something funny.”

Lucas slid next to Max and placed a hand on hers to let her know he was there.

She turned to him. “You know you don’t need to do that, right? You’re loud as fuck.”

“What? I can’t hold hands with my girlfriend?” He asked. “Plus, remember-"

“It was one time!” Max scolded with a smile.

“But you jumped like ten feet in the air,” Dustin added, laughing. “We all thought you were going to have a heart attack! Right after you finally got rid of the wheelchair too.”

“Stay out of it, Dustin! He snuck up on me!”

Will tried to act normal during lunch, he really did. Everyone else was acting completely normal. We’ll… not everybody (Mike. It was Mike who wasn’t acting normal). Every time he and Will caught each other’s eyes, uncontrollable smiles crept onto their faces and they would look away blushing and trying not to laugh awkwardly. Max remained oblivious to it but Lucas and Dustin caught on quickly and exchanged suspicious looks with each other throughout the meal. Will knew it was only a matter of time before they broke their silence and asked what was happening.

Mike and Will talked like they normally would of course, in a totally non-suspicious, platonic, best friends kind of way and not a boyfriends (God, was Mike Wheeler going to be his fucking boyfriend? Was he going to be Mike Wheeler’s fucking boyfriend?) kind of way.

“Okay,” Dustin finally gave up with pretending it was normal. “What is happening between you two?”

“What?” Max asked. “What’s happening between who?”

“Mike and Will,” Lucas whispered loudly in her ear without realizing everyone could hear him. “They’re acting weird…”

“No we’re not!” Mike said. “You just like to create drama. Will and I are acting exactly like we always do.”

“How are they acting weird?” Max asked. “They don't sound like they’re acting weird.”

“Exactly,” Mike agreed. “I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.” He quickly winked at Will who felt warm in his face.

“See!” Dustin said, jumping up and pointing at Mike. “See, I told you!”

“See what?” Max asked. “I can’t see.”

“Mike just winked at Will!”

Shit. Was Mike okay with making it that obvious or did he assume their friends would be too oblivious to put it all together? If Lucas and Dustin wouldn’t, Max certainly would.

Mike just rolled his eyes, “Because I knew you’d overreact. Seriously, you guys are the ones acting weird.”

“Why did Mike wink at you Will?” Dustin asked eagerly as Will stared at him with wide eyes because of such a direct confrontation.

“Didn't he just say he thought it’d be funny to see you overreact? I don’t know any other reason he’d wink at me.” Will felt a small nudge against his foot and had to bite his lip to stop from giving a revealing smile as his eyes met Mikes again.

“I think you guys are idiots,” Max cut in. “Mike is always weird and Will tends to follow whatever he does.”

“I do not!” Will argued as Dustin spoke at the same time.

“You aren’t seeing them!”

“Whatever, Dustin. Out of all the people here, you’re definitely the weirdest,” Max said.

“Your boyfriend is literally dipping his potato chips into his yogurt,” Dustin said, disgusted.

“What?” Lucas mumbled, swallowing. “What’s weird about that?”

“Lucas, that’s disgusting,” Max said, trying to smack his arm but ending up barely brushing against his skin and hitting her palm against the table. "Everyone at this table is weird except Will and I. Speaking of Will," she turned in his general direction.“Are you free Friday? I want to start our Physics project as soon as possible.” She had a small smirk and pressed forward a bit over the lunch table.

“Oh, uh…” Don’t look at Mike. Don’t look at Mike. Shit, he definitely just looked at Mike. “Like doing the whole project? That could take a few hours, right?”

Her smile widened, “What? Got any plans?”

Why the hell was every single person actually out of their mind? We’re Mike and Will being that obvious? Seriously, they needed new friends. “Yeah,” he smirked back, “Maybe I do.”

Mike was glaring at her and Lucas and Dustin exchanged excited glances, swallowing the food the had in their mouth in a comedically similar fashion before turning back to Will at the exact same time.

“Was that a fucking smirk?” Lucas asked. “Will Byers, is that what’s going on? You have a date?”

He felt himself turn scarlet as Mike’s glare towards Max intensified. They didn’t know, he told himself. They probably thought it was some nice girl in his art class who wanted to go out for coffee and a trip to the bookstore. But was he allowed to lie with Mike right there?

“Oh my god, he totally has a date. It finally happened!” Dustin practically squealed. “Who?!”

Will shifted uncomfortably. This was his doing after all, he’d have to pay the unfortunate consequences or joining the party’s gossipy banter. “Oh- uh… no one important…”

“No one important?” Mike raised an eyebrow while Max tried to hide her laughter.

“I mean…” Will really wished he didn’t have to wear his heart on his sleeves. “Its just… you know.”

“No, I don’t,” Dustin said, “But whatever. Keep your secrets, Byers, we’ll figure out who the mystery lady is eventually.”

At that, Max snorted loudly but covered it up with a cough. Will and Mike stared at her while Lucas and Dustin had already turned their attention back to each other in order to discuss Wills ‘mystery lady’.

“So, Mike…” Max started when Lucas and Dustin were busy. “Got any plans on Friday?”

He flicked her arm with his fork. “Oh, Shut up.”

And then it was Friday. Time really seemed to fly while waiting to have your first date with your first crush of five years at least.

“I don’t understand,” Eleven asked, swinging her legs behind her as she laid on his bed reading a comic while he got ready. “Why do you need to look fancy?”

“I don’t look fancy,” Will argued as he tried to fix up his hair with a brush and the smallest touch of gel.

“It is just a movie,” El continued, flipping the page of Wonder Woman loudly.

“Exactly,” Will reached for his comb. “It’s just a movie.”

Eleven did not know the details. Nor did she need to know the details. Knowing that Will was going to the movies was enough detail she needed.

“Wait, is it like you have a girlfriend?” She asked as she closed the comic and threw it beside her. Eyes wide, she rolled over onto her belly to really look at him. “Is that why you’re so fancy?”

Will rolled his eyes. “Sure. Something like that.”

She got up completely from the bed. “Will! Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Who is your girlfriend?”

Will shrugged and slid over to his mirror for final touch ups on his look.

“Friends don’t lie.”

“I’m not lying,” he countered. “I’m just not going to tell you.”

“Max says lying by o… om…”

“Omission?” Will asked.

“Yeah! She says lying by omission is still lying.”

“Okay, well, brothers are allowed to lie sometimes. Maybe I would tell you if you weren’t so nosy!”

“I’m not nosy! You just always tell me everything.” She placed her chin in her hands and pouted. He wished he really did tell her everything.

It was true that after California they had become as close as any blood siblings would be but that didn’t mean she had to know every single detail. There was plenty of stuff he still didn’t know about her and that was fine. She just had to understand that that trust went both ways when it came to the bonds of siblinghood. “If it goes well then maybe,” he stretched the vowels to emphasize the low probability of him keeping his words, “I’ll tell you.”

“Deal,” she agreed. “I hope you have fun on your date and that the movie is also good.”

“Thank you,” Will said. “Tell Max I said hi.”

She nodded as the doorbell rang and she ran out of the room to greet her friend. “Bye!!!”

Will smiled and turned his attention back to his attire. Twenty minutes until Mike would be here. Twenty minutes until he would get everything he wanted (or Mike would come and tell him it had all been a huge mistake and that he actually never wanted to speak or see Will ever again for the rest of their lives). Yeah, he was going to need to change his outfit one more time.

Mike was on time. Exactly, perfectly on time and that was definitely the only thing Will was focusing on and not the way his dark curls framed his jawline and how his shirt fit his form perfectly. So timely. Mike was just very timely and poignant and that was quite admirable. Anyone would have to agree.

“Hi,” Will said without really putting any air into his words.

“Hi,” Mike answered, eyes wandering a bit before settling in Will’s. “You look nice.”

If Will started blushing now he didn’t think he’d ever stop. “Thanks! So do you!” And he did in a very conventionally attractive kind of way that anyone could appreciate. Honestly, he was just very clean looking and what a nice outfit, really. Blue definitely complemented his complexion. Will was always one to appreciate fine aesthetics and great style.

Mike smiled warmly.

Will drove them to the movie theater even though he technically wasn’t allowed to since it hadn’t been six months but whatever. If he crashed it would really be Mike's fault for distracting him with his timeliness and great aesthetics.

When they didn’t die on the way there and Will didn’t pass out with anticipation, he counted it as a win. He was going on a date with Mike. A date. With Mike. Will and Mike on a date.

“Slushee?” He asked as they passed the counter.

“Only if it’s blue raspberry. The cherry tastes like medicine,” Mike grimaced. “You get the drink, I’ll get the popcorn.”

“Oh, you don’t have to-“ but Mike had already walked away while reaching into his pockets. Will grabbed the blue raspberry slushee and froze at the counter while debating if he should get one or two straws. In the end he grabbed two but kept one hidden in his pocket just in case.

They found their seats quickly and just in time for the trailers to start. As the first one ended and the next one started, Mike leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Remember that one summer we used to go to the movie theater like every day. When Steve used to work at that ice cream shop and we’d go with Lucas and Max? We should see if they want to do that again, like a double date.”

Before Will could fully register what Mike had said, he answered, “Max is blind, Mike.”

“Okay? She can still hear the movie. Plus Lucas won’t mind whispering everything that’s happening in her ear.”

“They’d get kicked out for talking the whole movie and then what kind of date would it be?”

“Geez, are you really that against the idea of a double date?” Mike asked with a smile.

“What? No! I just-“

“Will, I know. I was just joking. You can relax, it’s only me.”

Only him. Only Mike. Like Mike could be only anything. But Will knew what he meant, don’t be nervous, you’re being weird and you’re supposed to be acting normal. It’s only me, your best friend and now your date (and maybe later your boyfriend), Mike.

But the thing was that they hadn’t really talked about it. Will had told him the plan of course, that he would drive them to the theater at noon to catch the third showing of The Lost Boys, but they’d never actually discussed the whole ‘as a date’ part of it. It almost felt forbidden to Will, like he would jinx it if he mentioned it. In a way it didn’t feel like a date at all with Mike acting so casual while Will was completely panicking. So yeah, it was only Mike but it was also only Will and how could Mike have wanted to go on a date with only Will in the first place?

“Y- yeah. I know. Uh, maybe we can do something else with them like a restaurant or something…” A restaurant? Will slapped himself internally. A restaurant was so forward and fancy and not at all what he was ready for.

“Dinner? That sounds nice.” Mike leaned back into his seat and stared back at the big screen as a new trailer rolled on.

A few more trailers played and Mike continued to comment into Will’s ear (“ooh we should totally see that one!” “The effects for that one look awful” “I think Holly wanted to go to this one with me”). Will nodded and agreed but couldn’t think of anything new to say. He didn’t know why he was so nervous but he felt almost like he was boring Mike who was still being his regular, old, charismatic self.

Eventually the movie did start and Will allowed his worries to drift away as the lights dimmed and Mike shoved the bucket of popcorn at him excitedly.

They finished the popcorn about twenty minutes in. The second straw laid untouched in Wills pocket as they passed around the slushee. After they ate the final few kernels (well Mike ate the kernels and Will told him he was going to break his teeth), Mike turned and leaned his lips to Wills ears.

“I almost forgot I snuck us some candy if you’re hungry!” He stuck his hand through the hole of his shirt between two buttons and then brought out a small box that had apparently been hiding there the whole time. How Mike had forgotten it was there, Will had no idea. “Reese's pieces for you,” he said, holding them out to Will.

Will suddenly felt insecure for not having anything to give to Mike but he took the pack of it with a wide smile he wasn’t even sure Mike could see in the dark. “Wow, thanks! I love Reese's Pieces!”

Mike gave him a lopsided smile. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I got them. For you.”

Okay, this is where Will really really hoped the theater was dark enough to hide his inflamed cheeks. For you. For Will. Mike had gone out to the store and had seen the candy which had made him think of Will and with Will and their date in mind he had grabbed them, bought them, and then snuck them into the theater. For Will.

Someone from behind shushed them and Mike gave his signature glare back before turning back to the movie and casually wrapping his arm around Wills shoulders. Will's body tensed as his mind screamed. Act normal, act normal. Why was he panicking? Why the HELL was he panicking? Why was everything Mike did throwing him into a spiral where it hadn’t before? Well… not a spiral quite like this. Mike's hand was so warm compared to the air conditioning of the theater but still Will felt himself shift almost uncomfortably. He opened the box of Reese’s pieces and poured some into his hand. Mike removed his arm from around Will and placed it in front him instead, gesturing for a couple of candies. Will's shoulder felt cold without Mike's touch but he poured a couple into his hand and watched him throw them into his mouth.

They watched the movie for about thirty more minutes before Mike made another move. Will was resting his hand on the side bar when he suddenly felt warmth over his fingers as Mike pressed his hand on top in a quick motion. Will figured it had actually been quite slow, first his hand had come onto the rest and then had made its way over to his hand, but Will apparently wasn’t paying attention and almost twitched his hand away in surprise. When he realized that Mike was trying to hold his hand he tried to let his arm relax while he muttered a small apology at his jumpiness.

Mike gave him a small sideways glance before curling his fingers in between Wills so the tops brushed lightly against his palm.

Very slowly Will returned the motion so their fingers laid on top of each other. He felt Mikes thumb brush against his skin lightly in a subtle back and forth motion. Will knew he was turning bright red. It was almost annoying how much power Mike had over him with every little thing he did causing Will to panic and forget everything else.

He tried hard to turn his attention back to the movie but every slight move Mike made caused his brain to spiral again. He was hyper aware of every small twitch, every change in temperature, everything that was happening between their hands. Holding hands wasn't necessarily new for them, per se, but holding hands in a movie theater while on a date after Mike had purposefully gotten Will's favorite candies and while sharing a slushee and blushing profusely definitely was. 

Will turned his head and his eye caught on the exit that was lit up by the outside lights of the swinging door. He ripped his hand from Mike's as his eyes went wide with realization and terror.

"What?" Mike whispered, seemingly unable to hide the slight hurt on his face. His eyebrows dipped in confusion as he scanned Will's face. 

Will shot up and frantically gestured for Mike to follow. "You have to go. Now."

Mike got up slowly, the confusion deepening on his features. "What are you talking about? Will?"

Will was already pushing him through the aisle, their snacks and drink left on their now empty seats. He led them to the side and pushed Mike through the exit to the outside, letting the door close. He grimaced as the light tried to filter into his unaccustomed eyes.

Mike's face looked similar as he squinted at Will, blinking a few times as his pupils began to shrink. "Will?"

Will looked up at him as words tumbled to the tip of his tongue and died. His heart refused to settle as they mocked his quick breathing and panic. It was only Mike's expression, a mix of worry and hurt drawn on his face as he tried to read Will, that was enough for the words to revive themselves and Will was able to speak. "I- I saw Dustin and Lucas."

Relief flooded into Mike's face and a smile cracked on his face. "What?"

Will didn't know why this reaction flustered him so much but he struggled to continue his next words. "They- they must have known and- and wanted to see who was with me." 

"Oh my god," Mike said, placing a hand on his forehead. "We have the nosiest friends in the world."

"Okay... Okay, it's fine," Will said although it was really only to himself. While he seemed to be absolutely losing it, Mike was completely calm and even taking it as a bit of a joke. "I'll just... Go back in there and try to divert their attention. Then I'll get you and we'll go back..."

"What?" Mike continued to smile in amusement. "You want me to stay out here while you go tell them how your girlfriend's in the bathroom with a really bad stomach ache or something?"

Will shrugged, "You really want them to find out?" 

Now it was Mike's turn to shrug but his eyes narrowed slightly casting a more serious look on his face. "I don't want to stay here alone in the cold. But yeah... I guess keeping them in the dark would probably be for the best."

"Okay," Will nodded. "Then I'll be right back. Seriously, right back." He pushed the door open backwards so that he could keep looking at Mike as he re-entered the theater. For a moment, all he could see was the screen before the darkness settled on his eyes and allowed him to see his two friends in the back.

He walked over to them and they waved at him with wide eyes as his own narrowed into a glare. They gestured for him to join them outside of the showing room and he rolled his eyes, following only so he could hurry this up and get back to his date with Mike. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked when they made it back into the light.

Dustin held up his hands in surrender as if not expecting any anger from Will. "Dude, we totally warned you that we'd find out about your date one way or another."

"So you decided to stalk me?" Will asked, disbelieving. 

"It's not stalking!" Dustin replied. "We just came early and checked every showing of the movie you came to see until we could find you since you didn't give us the time. And look! It worked!"

Yeah, Will seriously needed new friends.

"But where's your date?" Lucas asked. 

Will blinked, completely forgetting that the whole point of coming out here was to tell a realistic lie that he had yet to come up with. "Uh... bathroom," he said, borrowing the lie from Mike. "Ate something... bad." Dustin looked like he was going to tear his lie to shreds before Will beat him to a response. "So where's Max?"

"Oh, she told us specifically not to do this," Lucas said. 

"And you did it anyway," Will deadpanned. 

"Yes, because we care about you!" Dustin said dramatically. "And we don't know this girl or her intentions. Sure we were also curious but really this whole thing was so we could look out for you and make sure you didn't get hurt. Right, Lucas?"

"Right," Lucas said. "Stranger danger."

"My date's not a stranger," Will said, shifting awkwardly. It felt wrong to fully commit to the lie that he was on a date with a girl. Sure it was incredibly suspicious sticking to gender neutral terms but it was better than having to pretend he had a girlfriend. 

"You may think that," Dustin said matter-of-factly, "But you may not know them as well as you hope. We're just looking out for you."

"Sure." Will rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess I should tell you that the date was going well until you showed up."

"Really, it was?" Lucas broke into a genuine smile and Will felt his heart warm a bit and his anger slipped away just enough.

As much as he knew his friends did not come here with intentions to 'keep him safe' or whatever bullshit, it felt really nice knowing they were actually happy for him. He tried not to think about what their reaction might have been if they knew the truth, if they knew he was on a date with a boy and that boy was Mike. It wasn't that they'd be outright hateful towards them (or at least he hoped they wouldn't), but when the world tells you how wrong you are, you can't help but wonder if your friends are a part of that hate. It was just something he knew they would never understand. 

Will dropped the annoyance from his expression and finally gave way to a smile, "Yeah, it was."

"So we'll get to meet your mystery lover?" Dustin asked as Will blushed at the word lover. "Eventually?"

"Eventually," Will agreed. "But only if you leave now and stop bothering us- me about it." 

Dustin gave an over-dramatic frown that practically reached his chin. "Fine, I guess. But don't think this means we'll stop investigating!"

"You're sure it's not Sylvia?" Lucas asked. "I swear she was constantly trying to sit next to you in history. And I swear you smiled at her that one time; I saw it so don't even deny it!" 

"Lucas, I think I know who my own date is and it definitely isn't Sylvia."

Lucas deflated, "Okay. Well, we won't keep you then. Enjoy the rest of your date!"

"Yeah, I hope she feels better!" Dustin added as he turned. 

Will stood in momentary confusion before he remembered his lie. "Oh, yeah, I hope so too. See you later?"

"See you later!"

"So?" Mike asked as soon as Will threw open the exit door and became blinded by the light once again. "Did you tell them to fuck off?

"Kind of?" 

"Aw, come on, Will," Mike said, nudging his shoulder lightly. "You're way too nice. They're our friends and they definitely deserve a good telling off. I mean, how did they even know we were here anyway?"

"There's only one movie theater in Hawkins," Will said. "They told me they checked every showing of The Lost Boys until they saw me."

Mike was leaning his back against the wall as the sun caught the smoothness of his cheeks and the rigidness of his cheekbones. His leg was propped up against the wall, bent like he was posing. He looked so... drawable. Yeah, very aesthetically pleasing and objectively just nice to look at. The way Will could see a thin line of fog slip from his slightly parted lips in the brisk air, the way his hair fell perfectly on his forehead, the way his eyes lit up at seeing Will's return. God, Mike just had so many drawable qualities. 

"Good thing you spotted them first."

"Yeah..." Will said, completely distracted by Mike's drawability. Mike tilted his head at him and broke Will's trance with a small clearing of his throat. "Oh! Um, we should get back to the movie."

Mike smiled, dropping his leg from the wall and pushing off. "Or... We could stay out here..."

"What?" Will asked, alarmed. "You don't like the movie?" 

Mike took a step closer. "No, no," he assured him. "I like the movie. I love the movie." He reached for Will's hands and took them in his own. "I was just thinking that maybe... maybe we could stay out here a little longer." 

"In the cold? Why can't we just go back inside?" Will asked, completely confused as to what Mike was implying. As in tune as they seemed to be, there were moments where Will had no idea how to read between Mike's lines.

Mike stopped moving forward as he looked at Will's face. It must have been a bad expression because he dropped Will's hands and stepped back. "Am I doing something wrong because I feel like I'm doing something wrong."

"What?" Will asked. "No, you're not doing anything wrong."

Mike crossed his arms and Will recognized this as his defense mechanism, a kind of shield. "Okay, it just kind of feels like you don't want to be here with me."

"What?" Will asked for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "Why would you think that?"

Mike looked like he was fighting the urge to roll his eyes, like everything in him was telling him to replace his hurt with anger but still he kept looking at Will like he was trying to understand. The conflict spread on his features made Will's stomach twist with the realization that he had somehow caused this pain. It wasn't Mike who had done anything wrong; apparently, it had been Will. 

"You're just acting weird." 

"Weird?" One word questions that made Will look like an idiot were apparently becoming his specialty. Of course Mike had noticed how weird Will had been; he wasn't being any more normal now.

"And I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or something," Mike continued, looking everywhere except for Will and sticking his hands into his pocket. "I just thought that you asked me so maybe it would be okay. It's- it's fine, I just-"

"Mike," Will started, knowing he had to interrupt him before things got too self-deprecating but not sure exactly what to interrupt him with. "You didn't make me uncomfortable."

"Then why do you keep flinching whenever I do anything or, like, try and pull away?" Mike's voice was rising but more in panic and confusion than any sort of anger. "And- and you haven't said much and I was worried maybe I said something weird or that maybe it was just because we were in public and I thought, well, if we're out here, maybe we could do something but-"

"Do something?" Will asked. Do something like- like talking away from the movie? Do something like kiss? Like make out?

"See!" Mike finally turned his eyes on Will and brought his hand out of his pocket to gesture towards Will's face. "See, this is what I mean! I clearly just made you uncomfortable and you were just going to play it off as nothing! You could have just said something, you know? Talked to me. We can take things slow but I thought going on a date with you meant, I don't know... something." Mike's hand flew into his hair as he brushed it back anxiously. "I mean, why did you even ask if you weren't ready?" 

"I..." Will didn't know what to do. He wanted to yell back at Mike, maybe latch onto the anger Mike wasn't providing him. Someone deserved to be angry and he wasn't sure who and it felt like it should be him but also it absolutely felt like his own fault. "I didn't."

This time Mike stole his line. "What?"

"I mean... I didn't mean to ask you," Will felt more words tumble out of his mouth in defense, words he felt like he would regret. "I just wanted to hang out with you and then you- you asked and I didn't know what to do!" 

Mike froze, taking another step back. "You... what?" He looked terrified and even from the distance between them Will could see the tears clinging to his lashes like jewels. "No... what?" He wasn't looking at Will and seemed to be talking to himself. His hands reached for his hair again and a tear slid down his cheek like a scene from a movie. 

The words Will had said finally settled into his brain and he realized what he had just implied. "Wait... no, that's not what I meant..."

"God, I'm an idiot..." Mike whispered as his head fell into his hands and his palms dug into his eyes. He stepped away from Will, ready to turn away. 

"No, wait," Will said, stepping forward. "I did want to do this; I still do..."

Mike's head shot up and his now puffy eyes locked into Will's. "It's fine, Will." He sounded almost exasperated, a hint of the anger he was holding onto finally surfacing. "I'm going to go. I'm sorry."

"No, Mike!" 

Mike ignored him and walked away almost at a jogging pace as if he couldn't wait to get as far away from Will as possible. Without a second glance back, Mike was completely out of view like he'd never been there at all. 

Will barely remembered walking back through the door to the theater. He barely remembered grabbing the leftover snacks and tossing them in the garbage. He barely remembered walking back into the light and spotting Lucas and Dustin still there, getting a slushee. 

He definitely knew he was thinking some thoughts, he was just trying so hard not to think about those thoughts. 

"Will?" Lucas' concern broke his trance. 

Will turned to look at his friend who was holding a cherry slushee in his hand. He wanted to scoff at his friends' bad taste. Everyone knew that cherry flavoring tasted like medicine. 

"Are you okay?"

His head was spinning and the lights were too bright and his thoughts were too loud he couldn't make any of them out. His vision fogged as tears dragged across his skin and he shut his eyes tightly. He felt warmth flood through him as arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a hug. 

Digging his head into Lucas' shoulder, he let the pressure dissipate his thoughts. Focus on his friend. Focus on his words. 

Softly, Will heard him. "It's okay..."

Will was an idiot for thinking that he could ever have Mike, that they'd ever be something, that they could ever have something normal. Or maybe they could've and it was just Will who had fucked it up, Will who couldn't be normal because he just wasn't. 

He wanted to fight against Lucas' grasp. He didn't deserve this, he deserved everything else. Everything that Mike was now getting, alone and unable to tell anyone what had happened, what Will had done while Will could play innocent and leech every bit of sympathy he never deserved. But Lucas' embrace was too comforting, too safe, and Will was just too selfish. 

Maybe he didn't need new friends after all. Maybe his friends didn't need him. 

Will didn't tell either of his friends what had happened. He let himself cry in their arms until the guilt of having a comfort that should be offered to Mike instead was too much and he went home. The temptation to immediately find Mike and explain himself was great but he knew he needed to calm himself down first, figure things out. 

Mike wasn't crazy and he had definitely picked up on something in Will that even he himself had not. Why had he been so defensive of letting them actually be on a date? Why couldn't they have just stayed outside and, like, kissed or made out. 

He was relieved that no one was home when he returned and went straight to his room. He assumed El was still with Max and knew his mom was still working. His thoughts lingered on Max's name, Max who so obviously saw through Mike and Will's bizarre interactions at lunch and their obvious staring and blushing. Max who he was so sure knew about them and who had most likely told Mike she'd known. 

Max who would know what to do. Who was possibly the only person Mike would be able to talk to. Without realizing it, he had made his way to the phone. He dialed her number and pressed it to his ear, hand still shaking slightly and face still shiny with tears. He just hoped his voice wouldn't shake when she answered. 

But she didn't answer. 

Why would she? She was with Eleven and he couldn't blame her for not wanting to check the phone. If it had been him with Mike, he probably wouldn't have picked up the phone either. 

He tried again just for good measure. 

"What?" An exasperated voice came from the other side. He could hear a giggle that sounded like El in the background. 

"Max."

"Will? Hold on, let me get El."

"No, wait. I, uh," Will took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you, actually. Without her listening."

He heard El shuffling and speaking in indistinguishable words of annoyance. "Okay," Max's voice returned. "She's in the other room. Is everything alright?" 

Will hesitated, forming the entire script in his head before he dared to say it out loud. "Yeah... I was just wondering if you could, maybe, check on Mike?" The request sounded lame and suspicious even on his own ears, he couldn't imagine what Max must have been thinking. 

"Mike? Is he alright? Is this about your date?"

Will was incredibly thankful she couldn't see him as he shrunk in his own bed, biting his lip a little too hard and trying to control the swirling emotions in his head enough to form a response. "So you know?"

"Yeah. I forced it out of Mike when he was acting all weird, sorry."

"You should talk to him- or call him. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your time with El or anything. I just-"

"No, Will, it's fine," Max assured him softly like she knew how much he really wanted to hide. "I'll talk to him, okay?" 

Will couldn't help the breath of relief that slipped through his teeth. "Thank you."

"Yeah, of course," she said, her voice laced with comfort and concern. It usually reminded him of fire, hot and burning in a fierce and protective way, but her voice could be a little less when it wanted to be, like embers, warm and inviting. "But if you need anything, I'm here, okay?"

"I know," Will answered, smiling in spite of being alone in his room. "Um, can you maybe tell El not to ask how that date went? Or to bring it up at all, just for a little bit, until I... sort things out."

"I guess I can," Max said with suspicion in her voice. 

"Okay, great. Thanks again."

"It's no problem, Will. I hope you sort things out."

"Right," Will muttered. "Bye."

"Bye."

He hung up and flopped onto his bed. It wasn't late but his thoughts laid heavy in his head and his blankets looked extra soft and maybe he could sleep and sleep and continue to sleep when Eleven and his mom got home so they wouldn't ask him anything and he could just sleep and not think of other things and sleep. 

Yeah, sleep was sounding pretty nice. 

He woke up to the sound of his annoyingly loud door creaking at the hands of his annoyingly nosy sister. 

"Will?" she whispered as he groaned and turned his body towards his wall away from her. "You are awake?"

He had gone to sleep thankful it would be the weekend the next day, not having to face anyone at school, having an excuse to just stay in his room the entire day to process things and cry and stuff, and just being able to sleep in without interruption was going to be so nice. But then, when did Will get anything nice? 

"Yeah, I'm awake," he grumbled, pulling the blankets over his head even if he was already too warm. 

"Good. It's late." 

Will flipped the blankets off his face in annoyance and sat up to check the clock. 12:04. Shit, it was late. 

"Do you want breakfast? I made eggos with whipped cream and chocolate chips."

"Aren't you sick of eggos?" he asked as he swung his legs over so they hung off his bed, grounding his body. 

She gave an offended gasp, "Sick of eggos? I could never be sick of eggos. But it's so late, you'll be eating lunch."

"I'm getting up, El," he said defensively as he pushed himself to his feet. He at least appreciated the fact that she was sticking to the topic of eggos and not other things. It seemed Max had been at least true to her word in one thing which meant she'd probably been true to her word in both. Unfortunately, eggos were not enough to distract him from his thoughts, racing back as if they had been hiding just for him to finally wake up. "Uh, did Max say anything?"

He followed El to the kitchen as she seemed to take a moment to think. "No," she said, surely. "Just not to ask."

He nodded and let her serve him cold eggos and melted whipped cream. At least the chocolate chips were good, maybe a little bitter since he had never been a fan of dark chocolate, but good nonetheless. 

"Are you going to do anything today?" Eleven asked as she took her leftover mac and cheese out of the microwave and sat down next to him for lunch. 

"I don't know," he answered honestly. He wasn't quite sure when he was going to try to contact Mike, only that he would, eventually. The night had given him some perspective on the situation but he also didn't want to talk to Mike when he was still angry and wouldn't listen. "Are you?"

"Nope. Do you... want to do something?"

He wanted to say no, he really did. But he felt bad because it hadn't just been Mike he'd ignored all month with his studying but all of his friends and family. Plus, he knew this was her attempt at helping without bringing anything up. It reminded him of Lenora and the amount of times one of them would be visibly upset without saying a word and the other would know immediately and try to cheer them up. Once they'd come back to Hawkins, he felt that slip away a little bit, they were no longer alone and only had themselves to rely on. It was refreshing and bitter all at once and he missed doing things with his sister one on one. 

"Of course. Have something in mind?" He pushed the soggy waffles into his mouth before pushing his plate away. Eating the rest of them was unfortunately not a sacrifice he was willing to make, even for El. 

She smiled as if she wasn't expecting him to agree. "Bike ride?"

He had to admit the fresh air felt good. The weather was the perfect mix of warm sun and light clouds twisting into images only the best artists could replicate. The breeze prickling his cheeks hardly stung and all the trees were colored brightly, clinging to the branches in the final few days of September.

They ended up biking to the arcade and then the bookstore and then to the park to sit down and have a picnic while El read her new Wonder Woman comic book and Will took out his sketchbook. 

He popped a chip into his mouth as he started to sketch out the landscape before him. He'd been practicing landscapes a lot since Lenora but had never really been able to capture the naturalness of seeing it in real life. He looked down at his drawing and sighed, starting to erase the majority of the placement blobs he'd tried to start with. 

"Will," El said as she placed her comic face up in the grass. "Are you ever going to talk to me?"

"El..."

"Sorry," she muttered. "I know I'm not supposed to ask."

"No," he said softly, "You're not."

"But was the movie at least good?" she continued. 

"I don't know. I didn't stay until the end." Like he had really been paying attention to the movie and not Mike in the first place. Mike who had put his arm around Will, who had laced their fingers together, who had implied that he'd wanted to do something like kiss Will. He closed his eyes on his tears like it was the beginning of a performance he wasn't ready to show, a performance he was now covering with a very obvious curtain. 

"Oh."

He turned back to his sketch and acted like he couldn't feel Eleven's eyes still on him. He tried to make a grid on his paper and wished he'd brought his ruler as the lines came out uneven. 

"It was hard when I broke up with Mike."

Will's gaze immediately turned up to hers as his pencil dropped to the grass. He raised his eyebrow half in annoyance that she was still not letting it go and half in intrigue. This was something he'd never heard about before. He'd known they had broken up shortly after the first fight with Vecna and that there hadn't been any hard feelings between the two, but beyond that, neither of them had said anything. 

El took a breath and continued. "After three years of being boyfriend and girlfriend, I was scared we wouldn't know how to be just friends. But it was what we both wanted, maybe what we had both wanted all along. I know he was your first friend and he was my first friend too. It was scary thinking it would change."

"Scarier than all the other shit we went through?" Will joked lightly. 

She smiled, "I don't know, saying no to Mike is pretty scary."

He laughed. 

"And now we are still friends. We talked and it was hard but now we got what we both wanted. To just be friends."

"Yeah," Will said. "I know. I'm happy you and Mike still get to be friends but it's very different to... you know." He didn't want to be just friends with Mike and it didn't seem like Mike wanted that either. But now he'd fucked up so bad that they probably wouldn't even get the chance to be just friends again. The thought sent a shiver through his body as he tried to focus back on El. 

She tilted her head slightly. "Maybe it's not. Maybe if you understood what you both wanted, you would know that you wanted the same thing," she said. "Maybe you also need to talk and maybe it will be hard but maybe you will be happy by the end."

He stared at her wide eyes, unable to be mad or annoyed. She'd done all of this for him, dragged him around and let him be distracted before she could lightly try to get him to talk or at least listen. "When did you get so wise?" He smiled. 

"I was always wise," El matched his grin. "You just forget to notice."

He rolled his eyes and turned back to his sketchbook. Whether she knew the truth or not, she was right. Will and Mike had been friends for over 10 years, one misunderstanding wasn't going to change that. Even if Mike was still angry, he'd listen to Will, he didn't want to lose him any more than Will did. So feeling a little bit better, he let out a final breath of anxiety and felt it get picked up by the wind and carried away. 

After a moment of silence where Eleven had already taken to her comic, Will looked up from his drawing. "Hey, El?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Her face lit up. "You are welcome any time. I'm very good at relationship advice."

Will snorted, "Yeah, you should ask Nancy to get you your own news column in the school paper. You can get a fake name and everything and people can send you letters and shit."

"Yeah!" El said. "They can call me the love maker."

Will snorted even louder and buried his face in his hands. "El!"

She looked at him confused but laughed anyway because they were siblings and there was nothing more contagious than sibling laughter. "What? I make love work."

"Yeah, but... nevermind, be whatever you want." That was definitely not something he needed to explain to her. "Just don't start to go around calling yourself that. Please." 

With what he had already told himself, plus El's words in his head, Will set his new plan into motion as soon as they finished their picnic. It was already getting late so he would have to wait until the next day to actually execute said plan, but for now he had a few errands to run. 

He went to bed with a nervous sort of energy, somehow he was equally excited and terrified. Maybe he was doing it too soon, if he did it wrong it might ruin everything between them forever. He pushed the thought away as he settled under his covers. He needed to trust Mike and trust that he wanted things to work out just as much as Will did. 

His dreams did nothing to ease his anxieties as they filled with him forgetting everything he wanted to say and then Mike crying green tears before he ultimately turned into a waffle. And also El was there, a reporter writing about the whole thing under the nom de plume of the love maker.

A bit disoriented when he woke up, Will glanced over to his desk where the plastic bag of peace offerings was waiting to assure him that Mike had not in fact turned into a waffle and that he still had a second chance to make things right. He pulled on a clean outfit as quick as he could and snatched the bag from the desk, heading for the phone. He figured he'd have a better chance of winning Mike over if he called first, especially since Mike was far from a morning person (even though it was already technically ten, he knew Mike would call it the crack of dawn). 

And if Mike didn't answer or told him not to come... well, Will just had to hope that wouldn't happen. 

He dialed the number, trying to stop his hands from shaking as the phone started to ring.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings.

Mike never let the phone ring this long when Will called. 

He held his breath. 

Four rings. 

Will loosened his grip on the bag.

Five rings. 

"Hello?"

Will nearly dropped the bag as his fist tightened on the phone and his heart started to beat out of his chest.

"M-Mike. Hi."

A pause. "Hi." Will could hear the fatigue in his voice that told him he'd probably only just gotten up. 

"I'm sorry to bother you so early but, uh, I was wondering if I could come over?" It wasn't really a question but he phrased it like one anyway, wanting to give Mike every option he could to prove that he wanted to fix things just as much as Will did. "To talk?"

Another pause. "You want to talk?"

Will tried hard to read his tone, hidden in the grainy filter of the phone. For all he knew, his voice could be slimy with hatred or still burning with anger. 

"To me?" Mike continued. 

No, that wasn't anger. That was surprise, almost bittersweet like Mike thought Will hated him or something.

"Yeah, I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Yes, it's okay with me," Mike breathed out softly. "Come over in an hour?" 

Will couldn't help but smile. "Cool."

"Yeah," Mike practically whispered. "Cool."

His nerves only multiplied in the time between Will going over his lines and him finally jumping on his bike to head to Mike's. He still had the bag in his hand as he rode, the plastic hitting his side for every bump in the road or extra strong breeze. Will basked in the tranquility of autumn as he observed the different stages of the trees. Mike seemed willing to listen based on their phone call but he wasn't one to stay calm when things got serious so Will tried to latch on to a sense of calm while he still could. 

He could hear his heart loud in his ears as he finally parked his bike next to the Wheeler's house. Passing the car in the driveway, Will walked up the door and took a breath. Stay calm and don't be weird, Will told himself as he slowly lifted up his hand. Just knock. 

He did. 

Mike opened the door. 

"Hi," Will breathed out. 

Somehow Mike looked just as nervous as Will felt, rubbing his fingers on the hem of his shirt and swaying just the slightest bit, His eyes darted from Will back to the inside of the house and then back to Will again as his lips moved slightly as if they didn't know whether to frown and smile and ended up getting caught in a lopsided shape. 

"I'm sorry," Mike said like it was one word that had been caught in his throat and he had to cough it up. "I'm sorry, Will, really, really sorry. And I'm sorry I didn't get to say sorry before because I panicked and I left and I'm sorry I did that and I know I should have apologized before. So just, I'm-"

"Sorry?" Will answered, giving Mike a small grin but having no idea what he was apologizing for. That was Will's job, that's what he had came from here to do, that's why he had the stupid bag in his hands. 

"Yes. Sorry. I hope I didn't- I hope we can..." He hesitated, eyes growing foggy with tears. "Do you hate me now?" Mike said abruptly, tilting his head with obvious tears in the corners of his eyes. 

Will's eyes softened in realization. Mike wasn't angry, he genuinely thought Will was upset, made uncomfortable from the whole thing. It made Will's heart hurt to think that Mike had been struggling with this for days. "Mike..." 

“I know I shouldn’t have sprung up this whole idea on you, that was so, so stupid. Of course you didn’t mean it as a date or- or in a romantic sense. I’m just so stupid," he took the quickest breath anyone had ever taken before. "But I still just don’t understand, why didn’t you just say no? Why did you let me make a fool out of myself… just so what? You could spare my feelings?"

“No, I-"

“Because I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable and I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything or make things awkward or-"

“Mike-"

“I would have understood if you said no. We wouldn’t have had to talk about it or anything. We-“

“Mike, will you just listen for once? You ask all these questions and think you know all the answers. You don’t know anything!” Will almost covered his mouth with his hand when he realized how angry it had come out. Mike took a step back and looked genuinely afraid. Afraid of Will. Shit. He'd only meant to sound a bit exasperated, it was oh so typical of Mike to keep rambling on and make assumptions about Will and his own feelings and Will just wanted him to take a breath. 

Mike looked like he had been stung. "S- sorry..." He closed his eyes like he was bracing himself for the worse. 

"Mike, I wanted to go on that date with you. I really wanted to." Understatement of the year. 

"Wha-"

"Why would you think I hated you?"

Mike hesitated, "B-because I'm gay. And in love with you. And-"

Will pulled him into a tight hug, practically pinning Mike's arms to his sides as he rested his chin lightly on his shoulder, feeling for any resistance, any indication that this wasn't okay, wasn't what Mike wanted. But it seemed the opposite was true as he melted into Will's hold, slowly adjusting his arms so his hands found Will's back. 

After a moment, Will pulled away so he could look at Mike's face, still staying close enough to feel his warmth. "Do you want to take a walk?"

There were tear stains gracing his cheeks. "Yes."

They started to walk down Maple street as the wind shook the rainbows of leaves in the trees. Will felt his face blush equal parts from Mike and the chill breeze as they continuing, taking a pause in the dramatic dialogue as Will tried to taste the words he was about to say before Mike could hear them. 

"Mike," Will finally said, looking to the boy on his right. "I'm sorry. I wanted to explain before but you left and I... I wasn't sure what to do, what you wanted or thought or- I just wanted to give you space I guess."

Mike nodded, looking at the pavement. 

Will wasn't sure if it was an invitation to continue or if he was about to make things a lot worse but he pushed on anyway. "It's been six years."

Mike glanced up, "Huh?" 

"I've liked you for six years."

Mike's face burst with color as he continued to stare at Will, the corners of his lips pinching up slightly before dropping again. "Since we were fucking ten, Will? Why didn't you say anything?" His voice was almost that of humor and disbelief, fully committing to the smile he had been unsuccessful in hiding. 

Unfortunately, Will was not in the same mood as he looked back at Mike with a painful expression. Why hadn't he said anything? Well, maybe because he barely even knew what liking a boy meant except for all the words his dad and the bullies used to say. Maybe because Mike was his best friend first and that had always been more important than Will's stupid feelings. Maybe because Mike had a girlfriend for years and Will couldn't even possibly imagine that he might like boys. Maybe because he was just Will and Mike was Mike and that was enough for them to never be together. 

Mike's smile dropped, "Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean..."

Maybe because they weren't supposed to be together, weren't supposed to like each other, love each other. They weren't supposed to go on dates at the movie theater or buy each other's favorite candies or ask each other out in a stupid school hallway. Those were things for Max and Lucas. For Suzie and Dustin. Those were things Eleven and Mike had done because they were allowed to do them. 

"I'm sorry I was acting so weird at the theater," Will interrupted, trying to push the conversation forward. "I really did not mean to ask you on a date- not that I didn't want to go on a date with you- I was just surprised. I never thought... Never even entertained the idea that maybe you felt the same way, that you wanted me to ask you out. So when you suggested that I was asking, I took it as an opportunity to be brave."

He took a breath and Mike smiled at him as if prompting him to continue. The smile was laced with more sadness than joy. 

"It was sudden and we barely talked, which is my fault, I was scared to really bring it up, but I just couldn't help but doubt myself. Six years of trying to move on by telling myself you'd never feel the same way, that you'd probably hate me if you knew, made believing you liked me really hard."

"But you believe me now?" Mike asked, the tears in his eyes contradicting the smile on his face. He grabbed Will's hands and squeezed, bringing Will back to the two of them outside the theater, inches apart, ready to...

Will moved closer. "Yes, I believe you." Inches apart, ready to...

"I'm sorry," Mike whispered. "I'm sorry for making this hard. It's all my fault..."

The never-ending butterflies in Will's stomach stirred and he could feel Mike's breath on his cheeks. They were completely stopped now, they'd barely walked at all and if Will turned he knew he would still see the Wheeler's behind them. Mike didn't break eye contact as they each tried to win their own little game and Will felt the plastic bag slip from his grasp.

"No it's not," Will whispered back, leaning just the slightest bit inward.

Will could barely hold hands in a dark movie theater. Barely let himself look at Mike while they were alone. And now here he was, in the middle of the street. Inches apart, ready to...

He pushed forward gently, hand reaching up and carving around Mike's jaw. The moment their lips touched, the wind picked up and stole all the leaves from the ground, swirling them through the air around Will and Mike like a movie. Will closed his eyes with the vision of Mike's raven hair blowing in the wind. So, so drawable...

Mike's hand met the back of Will's neck as he pushed into the kiss. It started soft and gentle, Mike guiding him and grounding him and making him feel like he was flying. Will felt himself leave reality as he melted into the kiss. He pulled Mike closer and brought his other hand up to his face. 

Even though he had his eyes shut, it felt like everything around him had lost gravity, like they were floating in space. Or maybe everything was crashing down in the best way possible. It felt like the end of a chapter and the start of a book, the final strike of a pencil and the picking up of a paintbrush. Everything Will had ever questioned about anything, about liking boys, loving Mike, evaporated. This was now, this was right, this was what they could have had years ago. 

But years ago didn't matter. 

Will leaned back and opened his eyes, smiling wider than he ever had before as he stared at Mike, bright red and mirroring his expression.

Mike blinked slowly, parted lips coming together before opening just the slightest bit again. He slid his hands down Will's arms and grabbed his hands again. He swayed a little bit, taking Will's hands with him. "So..."

"So."

Mike's smile turned into a smirk in seconds. "What's in the bag?" 

Will had nearly forgotten about his stupid plan to make everything right. His stupid gifts in a stupid bag making probably the worst, most stupid romantic gesture anyone had ever come up with before. He let go of one of Mike's hands to pick it up, "Okay, it's really stupid but-"

"Will, I'm pretty sure you've never done anything stupid in your life."

Will rolled his eyes. "Well, I fell in love with you."

Mike seemed to freeze, his mouth open, caught between a look of shock and a laugh, edges of his lips turned up as he stared. "Love?"

Will couldn't help but smile at how flustered he'd made Mike. "No, you're right. It's just been a silly, little crush this whole time. That's why I couldn't get over you for six years, went on a date with you to the movies, and just kissed you in the middle of the street."

And then they were kissing again, this time initiated by Mike. Mike's lips already felt so familiar, like they had been doing this their whole lives. The kiss felt certain, it felt safe and dangerous and everything all at once. 

Mike leaned back before pushing forward again, this time sliding Will into his arms for a tight hug. He rocked them back and forth for a moment before whispering, "I love you too."

Will smiled. Nothing between them would ever not be dramatic as fuck. 

So as the leaves blew through the air again and the curtains closed, Will sighed as dramatically as possible into Mike's arms, committing every part to memory. They'd talked, gotten what they'd wanted, and now they could be happy. 

"I can't believe you were going to woo me with a kitkat bar and a rented movie in a plastic bag," Mike laughed as they both settled on the couch in his basement. 

"I wan't trying to woo you," Will said, blushing. "It was an olive branch!" The day before, Will had went to the store with Mike in mind and had seen the kitkat, actively acknowledging that it was Mike's favorite candy and so, thinking of Mike, he had bought it. For Mike of course. And then he'd also gone to grab a movie from Family Video that also may or may not have been one of Mike's favorites. 

Mike broke the kitkat in half and leaned into Will, waving a piece in front of his face. 

Will took the bar, noticing how Mike hadn't even attempted to break it the normal way but vertically instead. "Mike, what did you do to this? This is atrocious."

Mike shrugged, throwing his arm around Will as the movie started. "If you don't want it, I'll happily take it back." 

Will popped the candy into his mouth, shaking his head a little at his boyfriend (Yeah, that's right, he can say it now. And he can draw him and hold hands with him and think he's more than objectively good looking). "Shut up, the movie's starting." 

Mike pulled Will closer and knocked their heads lightly together. "I know it's just started, but we should so this again, like, really soon."

Will twisted his head slightly, unable to help the smile stretched wide on his face. 

"What?" Mike asked in the milliseconds between Will's pause. "Got any plans?"

"Maybe I do," Will said smugly. 

"Well," Mike continued. "I hope it's with no one important." As if breaking the kitkat the wrong way hadn't been bad enough, Mike proceeded to bit it from the middle without thinking twice. 

"I'm never getting you a kitkat again," Will grimaced. "And I don't have plans but maybe we can go on that double date with Max and Lucas," Will smirked jokingly. 

"Ugh, I don't even know why I suggested that," Mike admitted. "I mean, can you imagine? The teasing would be relentless and we can't even tease them back because Max is blind and it'd be, like, ableist or whatever."

Will laughed, "Did Max tell you that?"

"Hey, I may not be the smartest person, but at least I'm a good person. I would never make fun of someone who is blind."

Will rolled his eyes, thinking of the countless times he'd heard Mike and Max bickering and throwing insults at each other. "Well if she pokes fun at us, you can just tell her she's being homophobic."

It was Mike's turn to laugh as he poked Will in the arm, "That's so genius. You're so smart."

Will couldn't help the blush that painted his cheeks. "Okay, seriously, we need to shut up. We already missed part of the movie."

When Mike didn't look away from him, Will felt his face burn brighter. Mike leaned forward slowly and their lips locked together, almost more intimate than before now that they were in the privacy of the Wheeler's basement. There was more certainty and both of them had been ready. 

When they finally pulled away, it was hard for Will to turn his attention to the TV. He could hardly believe it. Believe he got to have this. That he could let Mike pull him closer without feeling guilt and shame. Could kiss him whenever he wanted and tell him things he never thought he'd get to say. He was on a date with Mike. A date. With Mike. Will and Mike on a date.

Maybe getting here had been an accident, a misunderstanding, but everything before... meeting Mike, falling in love with him, that was not a decision he had made but something that had been written in the stars. 

Will didn't have to think when it came to Mike. 

He was Mike and Will was Will and anyone with any sense at all (so not Dustin and Lucas) could tell that was all it took for them to be together. 

Will squeezed Mike's hand, rejoicing in the fact that it wouldn't have to be the last time. He could do this whenever he wanted with no second thoughts. No qualms or queries, no crossroads or conundrums. 

And change was scary even at its best, of course it was, but in the end, Eleven was right. 

Will was happy.