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“You know, you could always just kiss her again.”
Robin shoots him an incredulous glare, she almost looks irritated. “I knew that was your goddamn bowl cut”
Will laughs, suddenly embarrassed. “Yeah, I mean, they're not that popular anymore.”
“Did I look like I knew what I was doing at least?”
Will recalls that moment, seeing Robin and Vickie that close to each other with so much ease. And the kiss he interrupted. “I mean, yeah. To me.”
“I guess that's something."
“So, how did you know that, with Vickie, right? How did you know that Vickie wanted to—”
“Make out?”
“—to date?”
“Oh.” Robin says, looking a little surprised. “Well, we volunteered together. You know there were like, signals.”
“Signals?”
“Yeah, you know, like a brush of the knee, a bump of the elbow, a shared look. It all just kind of accrued, like a snowball rolling down a hill, until it was obvious.”
“How obvious?”
“Let's say the, uh, snowball became an avalanche.”
October 31, 1987
“I'm still not sure about this,” Will says as he drops his mattress on the floor of Mike's bedroom, pillow and covers still under his arm.
“About what?” Mike looks up from his comic, genuinely confused as to what Will was sorry for.
“Me, invading your space like this.”
Mike looks Will up and down, and can't help the smile spreading across his face as each second goes by with this view of his best friend. Pillow under one arm and blanket under the other. He can't help but wonder what's this feeling in his chest.
Will catches him staring, and he almost feels embarrassed. “No way, it's gonna be fun, right? A sleepover, like old times.”
Mike didn't say it out loud, but he felt a genuine uncertainty, mixed with excitement—but no one needed to know about the second part—when Holly said she had plans to watch a scary movie with her friend on Halloween this year. In his basement. Because obviously that meant Will and Jonathan, currently sleeping in Mike's basement, would have to be off the basement for the night.
For Jonathan, the other alternative was simple, go to Nancy's room. They are boyfriend and girlfriend, after all. As for Will, well… Mike wants to think the alternative was obvious, too. Come to his room.
And he did. After some convincing on Mike's part, because Will seemed a little unsure about it, considering that when the Byers moved in temporarily with them, they originally didn't just settle with the Nancy and Jonathan roommates dynamic because they “were dating but still too young to share a bedroom” according to Ted Wheeler, and Mike and Will for a different reason, “boys shouldn't sleep together, separate beds or not”, he'd said.
“Screw what he thinks,” Mike stated matter-of-factly when Will brought up what his dad had said when they moved in with them. “You're my best friend and we've had plenty of sleepovers before, the fact that we're older now shouldn't suddenly be a problem.”
“Okay,” was all Will said to that, with a smile growing in the corner of his lips.
And now, here they are, in Mike's room on Halloween night. Surprisingly, the party had no plans to go out and Trick or Treat, for maybe the first time in all their years of being friends, because according to Mike himself, they're "too old for that”.
Except, if he's being completely honest, he doesn't even really believe that, he just wants an excuse to spend some more time alone with Will. So when his little sister said she wanted his basement on the 31st, he saw an opportunity, and he took it.
“So, what do you wanna do tonight?” Mike asked as he sat next to Will in his bed now that he'd settled himself into his new bedroom for the night.
“I don't know, what do you wanna do?” Will returns the question, to his dismay.
Things have been only slightly less weird between them, since Will's return from Lenora, but they still feel… off around each other most of the time. And that's been driving Mike crazy. That he can't seem to be able to read Will as well as he's used to.
“We could, um, I don't know, watch a movie? I can go downstairs and make some popcorn. And I think there's more than a few beers in the freezer we could steal.”
“Mike,” Will looks genuinely appalled at the suggestion.
Mike can't suppress the smile that spreads across his face. “What? We just have to have popcorn if we're watching a movie.”
Will rolls his eyes, with a playful nudge to Mike's sides. “And the beer?”
Mike just shrugs with the same smile still on his face.
“Sure,” Will says, seemingly convinced. “But you know we're gonna have to wait until everyone's asleep to go downstairs so we can have the TV for ourselves, right?”
“Yeah, I mean, it's already pretty late” Mike pauses, and checks the time. 11 p.m. “Plus, everyone's been so tired I really doubt we'll have to wait too long.
“What do we do until then?” Will asks looking around his room.
“I'll go get the beers.”
Mike and Will are four beers in (each) when Mike finally hears the sound of his parents’ bedroom door closing shut.
He stands up straight in his bed too fast and scares Will, who looks just slightly less lightheaded than Mike feels.
“I think we're good to go,” he says as he gets up to go check if they're really in the clear.
“Are we?” Will looks up at him, his bowl cut a little in disarray. Mike can't help but think he looks so cute like this. He brushes the thought away as fast as it comes, though.
“Yeah, let's go.”
“I'll make the popcorn, you choose the movie, yeah?” Mike tells him as they get to the living room on their tippy toes and Will nods and makes his way to the drawer of the Wheeler's VHS collection he's already familiar with.
Mike stands in the kitchen, he looks around and feels a little lost. He's certain he came here with a purpose, he just suddenly can't remember what that was.
He finds his way back to the living room and finds Will sitting down with his legs crossed with a couple of movies in front of him.
“Hey,” Mike says.
Will looks up at him, slowly. “Did you do it? I didn't even hear anything.”
“Do what?”
“...make the popcorn?”
“Oh, that.” Mike regains his surroundings and starts giggling.
Right, the popcorn.
Will raises a concerned eyebrow at him. “What's wrong with you?”
And now Mike is full-on cackling like a lunatic, leading to Will immediately sprinting up to him to cover his mouth.
“Shhhh,” He whispers, and Mike's brain short circuits for a brief moment at the feel of Will's hand on his lips.
He starts to calm down and Will continues shushing him, still whispering as he takes Mike back to his room. “Yeah, we're done. No movie or popcorn for you tonight.”
Mike can tell Will is a little tipsy himself, even in his current state, so it amazes him that Will managed to get him upstairs with neither of them falling to their asses.
Once they reach the bedroom again, Will carefully sets Mike sitting on his own bed, which doesn't last long because he inadvertently rolls over to the mattress on the floor. To Will's bed.
“Mike,” Will sounds exasperated now, nearing irritation. “What's gotten into you tonight?”
Mike mumbles something even he can't comprehend, and makes his way to the bathroom next door. Barely.
He needs a shower. He turns around one more time before closing the door of his bedroom and just sees Will standing there staring at him, question marks all over his face.
Jesus Christ, what's wrong with you? He thinks to himself as he stumbles inside the shower, frustrated with himself now for seemingly ruining what could have been a really fun Halloween. A different one too, for once.
He doesn't fail to overthink the way Will has been acting around him all night, either—even more confusing than he already has ever since The Van Incident, as he likes to refer to it. Is he making things weird? Is he making Will uncomfortable somehow? They can't have grown apart that badly during the time Will lived in Lenora, can they?
Mike really thought things have been going back to normal, that they have been, just… Will and Mike. Again. Like they have always been.
And maybe for a moment they have, especially since the Byers moving in with them basically forced them to be around each other more.
When he goes back to his room, having now showered, he feels less ridiculous than a few minutes ago, and he's met with a messy haired, cheeks flushed and eyes closed Will lying on his bed.
“Hey,” Mike says softly and Will jumps up from the bed, like he's just been caught doing something he isn't supposed to. “Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.”
“How're you feeling?” Will ignores him as he fixes himself up and drops down to his mattress on the floor right next to Mike's own.
“You know, you really didn't need to bring your mattress all the way up here.” Now it's his turn to ignore Will.
Will stares at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Come on, how many times have we slept on the same bed?” Mike mutters, and nearly regrets bringing that up at the sight of what looks like absolute terror in Will's eyes, but it's too late now. “You could've just brought your pillow.”
Will keeps staring at him, like his eyes are searching for something in his expressions. Mike sits next to him and watches as Will continues scanning his face. He isn't sure what it is Will might be looking for, but Mike is desperate to give it to him, but instead he just stares back at him.
“Do I have something on my face?” Will asks eventually. His eyes are closed again, and Mike's heart stops.
“No,” he manages.
“No?” Will turns his head to the side, opens his eyes more. It's only now that Mike realises they're so close together, and Will's face looks as unguarded as Mike has seen it in years. “So what are you looking at?”
Will might still be a little tipsy too, so there isn’t much he can hide in his current state, and Mike is secretly grateful for that because that makes it possible for him to notice how Will is blushing.
“You,” he answers simply.
Will freezes and his eyes shoot open. “What?”
“When did you get so pretty?”
The words fall out of Mike's mouth like loose teeth, painful but with so much ease as they move past his lips, and there isn't much time for him to regret it when he hears Will's breath hitch immediately as he says that.
Will only repeats his previous question. “What?” He looks bewildered in a way unknown to Mike up until today. Which is crazy, to say the least, considering half the things they've been through that could easily bring this sort of reaction out on any random day.
Mike pauses, reflects for about five seconds before coming to the conclusion that there's really no reason for backtracking now, he might as well own up to what his lips are about to say and make things worse. “You're pretty.”
Will lets out a laugh, clearly a forced one. “And you're still drunk.”
Mike shrugs. “Only a little.”
All things considered, Will still isn't breaking eye contact, so he's not about to lose to him.
Their faces are so close together, Mike can feel Will's uneven breaths brushing past his face like a gentle autumn wind.
Fuck.
"Listen, Mikeㅡ" Will's voice is faint now, and Mike suddenly feels breathless and has a hard time forming the words at the same time as his mind registers that maybe his heart is beating a little too fast, and it might give away what he's thinking at this exact moment as his eyes travel down to his best friend's parted lips.
He really wants to kiss Will.
His hands suddenly move on their own and before he knows it, they're at the back of Will's head, holding him in place, so he doesn't move away. Mike pulls them closer together, close enough that he can hear Will's heartbeat in unison with his own.
And then Mike experiences yet another burst of courage himself as he lifts his arms to cup Will's face, slowly moving his hands behind his head to pull at his hair lightly.
He feels drunk, but this time he's pretty sure alcohol isn't to blame. At least not entirely.
With those clear hazel eyes staring at him, Mike feels himself growing bolder, both his hands move down now, coming around Will's hips, pulling him impossibly closer, and the noise that comes out of Will's mouth is all it takes for him to close the remaining gap that's left between them, swallowing it down.
Will's breath hitches, but then he's leaning in closer and chasing Mike's lips with his own without holding anything back.
Just like every other part of them, their lips fit perfectly together, their noses aligning just right, hands in all the right places at the same time, with the same urgency.
Will hesitates for a second, and Mike assumes this is the first time he's ever been kissed—he wants this to be the first time Will's ever been kissed, because that would mean Mike is his first.
Something about that thought alone has Mike pulling Will even closer, chasing him more desperately and slipping his tongue between his lips, which causes Will to jump up and pull away from Mike, looking startled and breathless from just a few kisses.
A tiny bit of pride fills Mike's chest knowing he caused this reaction.
“What are you doing?” Will finally asks.
Mike feels inadequate now, unsure what to answer because the truth is, he doesn't know what he's doing.
“I—I wanted to kiss you?”
Sincerity wins tonight, apparently.
“Why?”
“I don't know, I just did,” He pauses for a moment. “I do.”
Will starts to get up from the bed, moving away from Mike with his back turned to the door. “We're drunk… You're drunk. This is wrong, Mike.”
Mike's not holding anything back anymore. There's no point in even trying at this point. “Then why does it feel this right?” He asks as he follows Will in getting up and making his way towards him again.
He can practically see the wheels churning inside Will's head as he gets closer to him, eyes following his every move before he confesses, catching Mike off-guard. “I—I've never done this before.”
“Done what?” Mike whispers, and their knees brush lightly once he's close enough to smell Will's perfume again, and they're back to breathing the same intoxicating air.
Will sighs, clearly annoyed Mike is making him say the words.
Because Mike knows exactly what he's talking about, but he still just wants to hear him say it.
“I've never… kissed anyone.”
Mike attempts to hold back a smile, and it doesn't go unnoticed.
So I am his first.
“Shut up,” Will shoves Mike away playfully, and he stumbles back dramatically, laughing.
Unable to stop himself during the comfortable silence that follows, his gaze falls lower to Will's mouth again, his lips half-parted, tongue darting out to wet them, soft and pink.
Mike starts to lean down again, but Will stops him this time. “Mike…”
Will seems to take a moment to think about what they're about to do again, but before he has a chance to say anything else, their lips are crashing at the same time, messily, causing their teeth to clatter, clumsy with lack of experience. On Will's part, mostly.
“Sorry,” He giggles. He giggles, and Mike is officially and terminally gone.
He doesn't get to finish whatever else he's about to say, wasting no time before going back in for another kiss.
We should definitely talk about this once we're both completely sober, the rational part of his brain argues. But for now, Mike makes the decision for both of them, that they should just let it all go. Lose themselves in each other's arms completely, high on the thrill of stepping over the line most friends should probably never dare to cross.
Mike holds his waist so gently, cupping the back of his neck like he’s the most delicate thing his hands have ever held.
Will is now fully being pressed up against Mike's bedroom door, and the rational side of Mike's brain also remembers they're supposed to be quiet, and that's exactly the opposite of what's happening right now when they're pressed up against his door like this. So, against his better judgement, he starts to pull Will forward again, towards his bed, their lips never moving even an inch apart.
They fall into the bed, laughing as quietly as they can in their current state. Unable to stop himself from chasing eagerly after Will's lips, Mike nearly loses it when Will licks clumsily into his mouth, his tongue swiping along his bottom lip, a small warning before fully pushing into his mouth. A startled gasp escapes Will as Mike returns the action by pulling at Will's bottom lip lightly with his own, resulting in another moan from him, which Mike swallows down greedily as the sounds both of them are making turn into something more desperate, something needy.
Mike's knees move to straddle the other boy's lap, inching closer to kiss him even harder, like he's making up for months, or rather, years of his own secret yearning and loneliness, and the silent anguish of pining after his best friend, by drinking in every bit of Will Byers that he can.
His eyes are half-lidded, his lips swollen and hair disheveled, the room completely silent except for the sounds of their heavy breathing and Will's occasional moans.
There's something Mike never thought he'd get to hear, Will moaning. But he begins to realise that might just be one of the best sounds he's ever heard.
Especially once he starts kissing along Will's jaw, trailing his lips down his neck until his breath ghosts right over his pulse, and Will all but collapses under his touch, making sounds Mike can only hope no one else would ever get to hear. He feels nauseous at the thought of anyone else touching Will like this. He wonders why that is, but ultimately decides he's not going to think about that right now.
Mike's teeth scrape against the sensitive skin of his neck, sucking on that spot until he can see Will's vision completely white out, pleasure noticeably overwhelming him.
So it definitely comes as a shock when Will suddenly pulls away, looking like he's just seen a ghost.
“Wait, wait.” Will's voice is hoarse, barely able to string together more than one word at a time. “Shit.”
Mike freezes. “What's wrong? I'm sorry, I—”
“I need to tell you something.” Will cuts him off before he can finish, sitting upright and bringing a pillow to his lap almost clumsily. Mike's eyes follow his motion, and he's barely able to hold back a grin seeing what prompted Will to put a pillow to his crotch so quickly.
He could probably do the same, now that he has time to look at his own problem.
“Will? Will, are you there?”
They both freeze completely at the sudden knock on the door.
Shit.
It's Jonathan.
“Mike?” Another small knock on the door, and Jonathan whispers again. “Is Will here, man? Open the door.”
They both try to fix themselves up as quickly as they can given the circumstances, hoping it's dark enough that Jonathan won't notice how dishevelled both of them look. Will drops down to his mattress and Mike makes his way towards the door, barely opening so that Jonathan can only see his face, and not the inside of his room.
“Is Will here?”
“Yes,” Mike whispers. “He's asleep.”
“Is everything okay? I went downstairs to get something and he wasn't there.”
“And where were you?” Mike asks, voice low and malicious.
A pause.
“I, um. I'm sleeping next door.”
“With Nancy.”
Another pause, and Mike hears Will giggling under his breath.
“Don't worry. Will's okay,” Mike looks back at Will and smiles briefly before continuing. “He's with me.”
“Alright,” Jonathan believes him. And then he starts to sniff him, causing Mike to feel slightly irritated. “Have you two been drinking?”
“Goodnight!” Mike closes the door as he says it—remembering to lock the door this time—and he can only hope Jonathan doesn't bring this up in the morning.
“So…” Mike sits back down next to Will on the mattress, smiling at him
“We should probably go to sleep,” Will says under his breath, his lips still puffy from what they almost got caught doing.
“Yeah, okay. Yeah.” Mike replies, lowering his gaze, feeling small all of a sudden.
He shortly recalls what happened right before Jonathan came in. Will was about to tell him something. At the risk of making things even weirder between them, he wants to ask what it is.
Mike checks the time.
It's 4 a.m.
He can ask him tomorrow. Right?
“You can come up here, you know,” Mike breaks the now uncomfortable silence that followed Jonathan's visit.
Will just looks up at him.
“You don't have to sleep on the floor. Come on.” He moves a little to the side and gestures for Will to lie next to him. “Just get your pillow.”
Will nods. “Yeah, okay.”
Mike sighs, not exactly relieved; he wants to bang his head against the concrete wall for not asking what Will was about to say before, but figures it's in his best interest to let it go for now and come back to this, whatever this was, once they’re both fully awake and completely sober.
If anything, he can just blame it on the alcohol tomorrow.
"I guess we should sleep then?" Will is suddenly the first to speak again.
Mike smiles at him as he makes space available on his bed and opens his arms for Will to fit into them like they used to do when they were kids and watched a horror movie together that had them both too embarrassed to say they were actually scared. Except this time there's no movie—or horror—involved.
“Goodnight, Mike.”