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For it’s true
You are my destiny
When you hold my hand
I understand the magic that you do
You’re my dream come true
My one and only you
There was only one thing in 15-year-old Michael Wheeler’s head right at that moment: he was certain that it had to be today. He was positively certain that there was nothing that could change his mind. He would absolutely be going through with it, and it had to be today. There was no sense in delaying it any further because the metaphorical foot was already put down.
Well, now it hinged on Will agreeing, but he’ll think about that when he gets there first.
Mike rushes home as fast as he can, all sorts of thoughts going a mile an hour in his head, eager to meet with his very best friend and most favorite person in the world: Will Byers.
The cleric-in-training’s classes had ended earlier that day, which meant Will went home early from the academy, otherwise they would’ve walked home together like usual.
The trek is so familiar, as if it’s already been seared into the back of his eyes, and he’d bet he could walk home with his eyes closed. The dip on the ground near that sign, the cat that always lounges on that wooden fence, the sweet elder witch up the street that sits on her porch with her familiar keeping her company.
Coming up on the Byers’ home, not even bothering to stop by his own first, Mike quickly raps his fist on the door. It takes only a few seconds before the door opens, then he is met with the kind and welcoming smile that can only ever come from one Joyce Byers.
"Hello, Mike. Will came home just a little over an hour ago. Come on in." In that kind voice, Joyce beckons him in and he gladly obliges.
With only a curt nod and a fast greeting, he makes his way towards Will's room. Fighting against his eagerness were the jitters of uncertainty, but what was Mike Wheeler if not brave? With his strength mustered, he offers his own special knock on Will’s door, reserved for only the two of them. They created it when they were younger, among the many other things that they shared specially between the two of them.
Will greets him, opening the door with his usually bright smile. He gestures for him to come inside and he nods, smiling back.
Inside, they settle in cots on the floor at the foot of the bed, where they hold their everyday talks, spending the afternoon sharing bits and pieces of their day to each other (despite them spending most days together anyway).
Today, with how much Mike wanted to say, he takes full charge and finally shares what’s been bugging his mind all morning.
“Will. We finally learned about the paladin’s oath today.”
The brunet urges him to continue, intently listening.
From the bag that he brought with him, he pulls out his volume on ‘The Powers of a Paladin’ and shows Will the page where they explain the concept of a paladin’s oath. In that very excited and passionate voice that Mike holds for his special interests, he goes on about how it was the source of the most innate driving force of the powers and capabilities of a paladin, how it makes them stronger the more they heed the explicit words of their pledge, how this binding to their oathsake may very well dictate the entire course of their life.
Mike doesn't lose the glimmer in his eyes as he speaks, and Will thinks that he'll never get tired of hearing him talk, especially about the things he loves. His own eyes share Mike's excitement.
He'd practically known as long as he'd known Mike that the boy was always passionate about his aspirations on being a paladin. Always talking about being strong enough and trained enough to be a protector, to learn about hand-to-hand combat, to be a master at wielding a sword. He'd always admired it about Mike, among many other things.
He lets Mike go on and on about what having an oath entails: the strength that he would gain the more he heeded his words, and then about the unique, one-of-a-kind mark that would manifest itself on the paladin’s skin once the oath finishes its binding, as if sealing the process with a final signature.
When Mike ends his spiel, he sends Will a different kind of smile, and Will realizes that the other is now about to start on another tangent, different from what they were just talking about.
“So. There’s a reason why I went to you about this.” He says. There was a sense of determination in his voice, but also, for some reason, nervousness?
“Okay, what is it?” Will carefully asks.
“You know how you’re in training to be a cleric, right? A- and that the professors say that you're doing amazing and that the divine calling in you would surely manifest itself as great power the more that we train as we grow older."
Will flushes at the barely hidden compliment but nods all the while. He's still confused as to what he's talking about, though.
"Where are you heading with this?"
Mike exhales a seemingly heavy breath and then speaks, deep brown eyes straight into Will’s hazel and voice carrying such conviction. "I want to swear my paladin oath to you."
In that moment, Will’s eyes almost jump out of their sockets, his heart almost beats out of his chest, and his jaw almost falls down from the rest of his head, all at the same time. What?!
“What?!” He shrieks.
"Just listen, okay?" Mike takes his hands, for some reason. "You already know that I've been dreaming about becoming a full-fledged paladin when I grow. But maybe you never realized, I only ever wanted that because I wanted to be strong to protect you."
Will's heart continues its rapid beating, almost to the point that he could feel it in his throat. His hands in Mike's were growing hotter by the minute.
"Whether we were 6 years old and fighting off bullies at the academy, whether we were 10 and fighting off the mean older teens that always make fun of us for reasons I don't even know, whether we were 12 and you went missing for a whole night by yourself because you said that a wolf stalked you in the woods and I found you in that cave, alone and shaking in the cold, I always feel the strongest and most determined to become a paladin because of you. It was always because of you. I only loved the idea of being a paladin, to become that strong heart, to bear that bravery and resilience, because I-"
His breath hitches, and Mike's whole life was about to be offered bare into Will's clutches right at that second.
"I love you."
The grip around Will's hands tighten just a fraction.
"And since I'm already on that path, wouldn't it make the most sense for me to swear my oath to the person who was my inspiration in the first place?"
There was so much emotion in Mike's voice that Will was almost on the verge of crying. This entire time, it felt as though his feelings for Mike would never lead anywhere, that he would have to force himself to forget about the affection in his heart for his best friend, that he'd have to settle on being just the best friend for the rest of their lives.
This entire time, he thought that Mike’s kindness towards him was only because of his good-hearted nature, the traits of being a paladin displaying itself in his everyday life.
He never thought that Mike loved him too.
Will’s at a loss for words, so he settles for the next best thing and engulfs his best friend, the absolute light and love of his life, in the tightest hug that he could muster. It was at this point that his tears had already started freely pouring down his face, unable to control the massive wave of emotions any longer. He only had the strength to sob in Mike’s shoulder, repeating his name over and over again.
Mike hugs him back just as tight, hand caressing the back of Will’s head and curling into his soft brown locks. There was a happiness blooming deep in the recesses of his heart. This means that he loves me back, right? My cleric loves me back.
They take a few minutes just in the quiet of Will’s room, sunlight peeking through the window, birds chirping happily in the trees, basking in each other’s embrace. The feelings felt too overwhelming, the good kind, to break the calm atmosphere.
Mike waits until Will’s cries become only soft hiccups, gently pulling away to wipe at the tears on his beloved's face.
Without a thought, he pulls the other close and kisses each of Will's eyes, then his forehead, then his nose. That adorable nose. "I might've laid that down on you a little abruptly, didn't I?" He whispers in the space between them.
Will chuckles wetly, nodding at the jest. "Yes, you definitely did." He bites his lip for a second, not missing those brown eyes that briefly peaks down. "I love you too, by the way."
The feelings in Mike's heart bloom even further, like a wealthy garden right in the height of spring, multitudes of colors growing left and right.
"I'm glad." Mike chuckled back. "So, what do you think, my cleric? Can I swear to your divineness and become not an oathless paladin?"
Will's cheeks heat at the question, feeling as if he wasn't being asked to be the root of an oath but rather having his hand asked for in marriage. Though he supposes that they're just about the same thing anyway.
He nods eagerly, eyes shining from his previous tears, smile so bright it could blind (in Mike's honest opinion).
"Yes, you can swear your oath to me."
Mike's face returns to him all the love that he sends, and they pull each other back in that warm embrace.
Will takes this time to ask, “How would that even work? Don’t the paladins all take their oath together at the divine church and the church’s magic will heed their call? I don’t know how to do that.”
The taller only shakes his head and quietly laughs, “I got books from the archives. There are still recorded accounts of the ancient ways that paladins used to perform the process of swearing oaths by themselves. Just trust me, okay?”
Into Mike’s neck, Will softly nods. “Okay. I trust you. Always.”
When they let go, Mike cradles his head and says, "Meet me by your fort just after the sunset, I have to prepare a few things at home. Dress warmly for the night and be careful, alright?"
In the residual glow glow of the sun that had just set for the day, Will comes up to Castle Byers and sees Mike already there, bag over his shoulder and dressed as warmly as he was in the cool breeze of the evening.
After that emotional moment that they'd shared, Will couldn't help but feel all those emotions rushing back, heating his cheeks and making him three times as nervous as he already was.
Without directly meeting his eyes, Will walks up to Mike and wordlessly offers a shy wave.
He hears Mike softly chuckle at him and suddenly he feels a pull at his right hand, body meeting Mike's and soft lips pressing on his right cheek. "Nice of you to drop by, my cleric."
Flustered, he answers. "Well, I couldn't refuse such a romantic offer, could I, my brave paladin."
Seemingly satisfied at his response, Mike lets go and lays down the bag at their feet, fishing out a rather large tome from it and flipping it open to a marked page.
Will sneaks a peek and sees that it holds an intricately designed circular shape. He realizes that it must be the circle in which they will stand during the ritual. His eyes shine amazed at the ancient art in the book, wondering about the history of that shape and the magical prowess it must’ve taken at the time of its creation. The beauty of there being art in everything always made Will’s heart swell. He hoped to become a cleric as renowned that he too would offer art and bleed it into his magic.
Mike tells him to stand on the side for a while, and then starts to make work of replicating the image on the page onto the ground. Will lowly giggles to himself as Mike does his best, but it looks like the image enough. It would probably work.
A few minutes later, Mike softly pulls on his hands and guides him to stand on one side of the circle, and then he positions himself in front of Will.
“Alright, so mostly it’s me who has to do something during the ritual, okay? All you have to do is stand there and listen, and then you’ll feel your divine powers shifting as it recognizes my oath. But when I start speaking the ancient language, you have to start giving me some magic, similar to when you’re transferring energy like we sometimes do. I’ll be holding your hand during that, so you should focus your energy there. Are you ready?”
Will gathers his senses, focuses his eyes into Mike’s, devotion and excitement evident in their glow, and nods. “I’m ready, Sir Michael Wheeler.”
Mike visibly flushes at that, sending Will a small wink before clearing his throat and nodding back.
The tome is now back in the rucksack and he pulls out a roll of parchment, holding it open in his left hand, and then reads.
“May the divine bless upon my soul, may fate watch over my journeys, and may the universe hear my call as I partake in this rite to swear my oath as a paladin… in training.”
The atmosphere changes, the wind slows, and suddenly the circle they are perched on glows in the magic of the divine. The oathtaking begins.
“I, Michael Wheeler, a paladin-in-training, do solemnly swear to follow on my devotion to William Byers, a cleric-in-training, and hereby bind onto him my magical core as a paladin. I promise to stay true to my faith, protect my beloved always to the best of my abilities, and onto these responsibilities I bind my strength to perform my duties as a paladin. It shall be my falling, both as a paladin and as a being in this world, if I shall break this paladin’s oath.”
Mike removes his gaze from the roll of parchment and looks up, straight into Will’s eyes. He gives a subtle nod and Will understands, time to call on his magic and share it with Mike. His beloved.
Mike starts to utter words whose meaning he doesn’t understand, but he listens anyway and does his part. He’s since already gotten used to giving Mike some of his magic, most times to heal minor cuts and bruises. Anyone who knows Mike knows that he wasn’t a stranger to rough-housing every now and then. Playful or not.
In the middle of Mike’s ministrations, Will feels somewhere in his heart the shifting in his magic, as Mike had said, and it makes him feel… warm all over. Kind of like a blanket being covered around his heart. Makes him feel safe and protected, and if he was being honest, a little more powerful.
When Mike finishes his piece, a glow over his left shoulder shines bright, golden in the darkness of the early night. A smile makes its way onto Mike’s face, and he hurries to stand and remove his upper garments, eager to see the mark that fate’s magic had given him to represent his devotion to Will.
Will doesn’t even have time to react to Mike’s bare torso—there it was.
They lay their eyes on the symbol at the same time: it was a shield, surrounded by tiny little stars, and inside it was a heart over it. It was beautiful. It looked almost alive, and Will’s hands itched to start drawing it everywhere. Maybe even on himself, to directly match with his beloved. This was fate’s chosen representation of their devotion. Not just Mike’s towards him, but his own magic in connection to Mike’s as well.
Will fights back the tears threatening to fall from his eyes, and he offers the biggest, warmest smile that he can conjure towards Mike.
“It’s done. I’ve sworn to protect you. You’re the object of my devotion. Only you.”
With a lingering look, brown eyes meeting hazel, Mike takes only one last look onto Will’s lips before they meet in the middle, sealing the ritual closed.
3 years have passed and both boys have since turned 18 years old. Mike and Will have seemed to succeed in their mission to keep their binding a secret from everyone else. It was practically unheard of that any paladin would partake in their oath at the young age of 15, let alone to a cleric who was equally as inexperienced as he was. But it worked either way, and they’ve surprisingly not spread the metaphorical beans to anyone since then.
One prime difference that they’ve noticed was that their studies only became easier for the both of them, especially as their relationship progressed at the same time as their training. Mike’s oath made it so that their love and devotion for each other made them stronger, as poetic as it was.
Spells came easier to conjure for Will, and Mike became more physically inclined (much to Will’s liking) and life simply seemed easier and happier for the both of them.
Max and Lucas, the nosy couple, would keep pestering Mike about his ‘newfound strengths,’ questioning his sudden excellence in their physical training despite his seemingly lanky stature.
“Man, you really have to tell me. It just makes no sense! How are you being all so strong and hunky out of nowhere?!” Lucas exclaims, sometime when they were 16 years old.
“For all we know, Wheeler, you could be cheating our classes and drinking up strengthening potions, or something. Just tell us and we won’t bother you anymore! Maybe then I’ll think about not ratting you out to the masters. Deal?” Max unhelpfully adds.
“Guys, can’t you just trust me when I say that I’ve just been working hard? And also training outside of hours. Ask Will! There’s no strengthening potions or whatever you’re thinking about!”
Technically, the oath did serve as the said ‘strengthening potion,’ but they didn’t need to know that.
On the other side of the board, Jane and Dustin were continuously asking Will about his spellcasting practice, eagerly wanting to know more about how he was mastering his magic so quickly and getting in on whatever his ‘secret’ was.
“Will, I’m your sister. Surely you’ll trust me enough to believe that I won’t share your secret, right? Please! I’ve been hung up on a spell for the past three days, I really need your help!” Jane, as cute as her adorable doe eyes were, was using her assets to the best of her abilities, batting her eyelashes to add more effect.
“And then I’ll be able to know too, because Janie tells me everything, and I need it for one of my spellcasting classes, right my Janie-bear?” Dustin quips beside Jane, wide-toothed smile on his face.
“There’s really no secret! I just found some old tomes in the archives and it’s been giving me some tips on things! And I’ve just been using a lot of my free time to practice. You can ask Mike, I ask him to come with me all the time.”
There was no secret ‘technique,’ but boy there was a secret alright. Time will have to tell when it’ll be revealed.
What’s even more surprising is that they were able to hide their relationship in between everything as well. Or, it wasn’t really hiding, but since not much has changed with the way they publicly interacted, still as equally as affectionate as before they made their relationship official, no one bothered to question anything. No one had asked, and therefore no one was told.
The actual revelation came when the academy had officially announced that the ceremony for their paladins in training was about to be held. It was time for them to officially devote themselves and partake in the oathtaking.
Mike and Will had avoided talking about the ceremony the entire time since they’ve been bound together by the oath, but now the time was upon them. They had to explain to the masters that Mike, one of their most-excelling paladins in training, would be participating in the ceremony because, well, he’d already sworn his oath. Maybe it was cheating, maybe it wasn’t, but there isn’t exactly a divine law that limited a paladin’s ability to swear their oath strictly at the age of 18. Not even the academy was strict in enforcing that fact, but it really was unheard of to do it earlier than the ceremony.
5 measly days before the gathering, Mike and Will had agreed to come clean to the masters then, excusing themselves from their friends.
“Did you guys do something wrong? Why would you have to meet with the headmaster? And why together?” Dustin had asked.
“Sorry, guys, we have to go.” Mike had said for the both of them, and they part from everyone else.
Once they were out of earshot, Lucas spoke. “Maybe they were framed for something? Did you guys see someone trashed that section of the library the other day?”
“I don’t know what Wheeler does, but Will has been with me and Jane this past week! Maybe that idiot finally did something stupid and Will got roped into it.” Mac shrugs, perching a leg on top of the other.
“Mike doesn’t get into trouble much anymore, Max.” Jane says. “And Will has never gotten into trouble before. It could be that they’re gonna receive merits at the ceremony for being top of their classes.”
Inside the headmaster’s quarters, the elder welcomes the couple. “William! Michael! Some of our very best students in training. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?”
Mike turns to give Will a short look and heaves a breath. He didn’t prepare enough for this. Talking to any of the masters, let alone the headmaster, was always so terrifying, what with their age and wisdom and all that.
“Headmaster, I’m afraid I will not be participating in the paladin’s oath ceremony in five days’ time.” Mike finally says.
A mixture of confusion and appallment paints a picture on the headmaster’s face, seemingly unable to process Mike’s statement.
“I beg your pardon, child?” He chooses to reply. “Is there somehow a prior commitment that you have made for yourself on that same day? Might you ask that they excuse your absence? The paladin’s oath is essential to the duties and capabilities of a paladin, you see.”
Mike shakes his head in disagreement. “No, headmaster. I must tell you the truth.” Another deep breath. “I’ve already sworn my paladin’s oath.”
A sound of complete and utter surprise startles the two young adults. There was nothing but surprise on the elder’s face, and it appears that he didn’t know what to say next, so Mike continues explaining his situation. Save the elder man, who was about one breath away from having a heart attack, from asking.
“Some 3 years ago, when the academy had taught us about the paladin’s oath, I- uh… took it upon myself to perform the ritual. I found some tomes and followed the ancient way. I’ve been bound ever since.”
The headmaster chooses to speak then. “Well, child, there certainly aren’t any rules against what you have performed, though it has never happened in the near history that a paladin would take their oath that early. I presume you were simply eager to gain that additional strength and sense of responsibility. And the Sanctum’s Council has not been notified that you have sworn that early to the Divine Church?”
Mike blanches at that. He braves a look towards his lover and they share a pained smile.
“Headmaster, you must know that I did not swear my oath to the divine church.”
The elder startled yet again, mere inches falling from his position.
Will thinks, I would never forgive myself if I become the reason that the headmaster dies of a heart attack right at this moment.
“Then- What-” He gathers himself. “To what have you sworn to then, child?”
Mike gently takes Will’s hand into his own, tightly intertwining their fingers together. This was it.
“I’ve sworn my oath to a different power. Not of the church’s but of a cleric’s.” He raises their laced hands. “My paladin’s oath rests on my devotion to this cleric-in-training.”
Later, when they leave the quarters of the headmaster, they are unaware of the bewildered look that made itself present on the elder’s face. But it wasn’t only that: there was also the look of deep understanding. An elder’s understanding of pure young love.
When they break the news to their friends, they’re met with all sorts of reactions: they were confused, surprised, proud, and annoyed at the secret all at the same time.
“Wait- you can swear the paladin’s oath by yourself? You did that? 3 years ago?”
“You’re sworn to him?! Since 3 years ago?! You’ve basically been married this whole time!”
“I’m glad that you’ve confessed to each other. I was worried that you were never going to realize each other’s feelings.”
“So you did keep a secret! This entire time you had this magic oath boost up your sleeve!”
Ultimately, they all shared the same sentiment that it did make sense for their two best friends. They absolutely did find strength in each other, and they deserve each other’s love and devotion.
Only you can make this world seem right
Only you can make the darkness bright
Only you and you alone can thrill me like you do
And fill my heart with love for only you