Archive of Our Own

“I’ve never been angrier at you in my life.” Said Will, with the voice of someone who was actually enjoying himself fully.

Unlike Mike, who seemed to really be starting to stress up.

“Shut up. I’m serious, how the hell is this,” he held up the small, blue cardboard sample color, “not the same color as this.”

He raised it next to the other small blue cardboard sample color he had already pinned on the wall, and from his place on the desk chair, Will tried not to laugh.

“How the hell do you not see how different they are?” He said, crossing his arms. “The one you are holding is so much warmer.”

Mike stared at him blankly. “It’s blue. I may not know shit about colors, but I know blue is not warm.”

“Hey, you always wear blue and you are nice enough.”

“Yeah, well, not the point, or nothing, er, at all.” Mike said as he adjusted himself over Will’s bed, resting against the wall.

The local paint store had thrown out all of their old paint samples, little cardboard cut outs in every color under the sun, and it was the perfect thing for Will to fill his walls. He had pictured to cover the wall next to his bed with an inverted rainbow of sorts, pinning them with thumbtacks one next to the other by messily following the color spectrum. 

He actually had meant to do it on his own. A nice, somewhat art related project to do on the weekend while listening to music. And then Mike knocked on his door, and it suddenly was a lot more fun to do it with him.

And it was fun to mess with him, a little bit. 

“That one,” Will pointed at the wall, “is indigo. The one you are holding is more of a sapphire.”

“Isn’t sapphire a gem, or something?”

“Oh, right, it absolutely cannot be both at the same time. Just like a color and a fruit can’t be the same either.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Fuck off. So you want these two together?”

Will pouted his lips and hummed, as if he was carefully considering it. 

“No, they are too similar.”

“Are you for fucking real. That’s what I’m—”

“It needs something lighter. Or something to start the color change. Grab the periwinkle.”

Mike looked down at all the color samples around him; over Will’s bed and on the floor, and looked back up. “You are fucking with me. No way periwinkle is an actual color.”

“Wow, Mike, periwinkle. That’s my favorite color. How do you not know it?”

“Wha—?” He stood over his knees again, his whole body facing Will. “Your favorite color was yellow.”

“And you call yourself my friend? You don’t even know me.”

“Will.”

It was almost impossible to contain his own smile. To be able to joke with Mike this light-heartedly had taken months. Hell, years. A couple of life-threatening events and close calls, but now they were as tight as ever— as friends, of course. 

“Okay, okay.” Will held his hands up, finally laughing. “Periwinkle is a real color, I promise.”

He rolled himself towards his own bed, careful not to go over his own feet with the desk chair’s wheels. The color sample was right below Mike’s knee, so Will slightly nudged him.

“That one?” Mike mumbled, sitting on the edge of the bed, his knee now next to Will’s. “That’s lilac.”

“Okay, now you are messing with me. You can’t be that colorblind.”

“I’m not! Maybe you have something in your eyes that makes you see more colors than there already are.”

“Oh, I would love to have that. Imagine how the world would look.”

“Like a headache, probably.”

Will chuckled. “Well, if colors and my room are such a headache to you, the door is right—”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Mike interrupted him, grabbing the periwinkle sample from his hands, and raising back up on his knees to face the wall. “So, you want it next to the indigo?”

With a light nod, Will shifted on his chair, watching Mike pick a thumbtack from the box next to him to carefully start pinning it on the wall.

This summer had been kinder to them, not too hot and humid as to take the life out of them, but sunny enough for days to last weeks. Mike had seemed to embrace it, he was wearing t-shirts and jean shorts, and somehow the clothes seemed childish on him. 

But Mike was… a guy. Eighteen years old and even when he was as skinny and bonny as always, he had grown into his body and his factions in ways that kept catching Will’s breath. He tried not to stare as he saw his friend pushing the thumbtack carefully into the wall, before quickly knocking on it with a hammer, untrained muscles shifting. 

Will felt like such a child next to him, still awkwardly growing into himself. Like a heightened toddler, slowly training his hair to part in the middle instead of falling like bangs over his forehead. 

He locked his feet behind the wheels of his chair, slightly turning the seat in its place as he saw Mike carefully take the third color, the sapphire sample, and grasping the edges with his fingers. His other hand grabbed a new thumbtack and the point pressed against his own thumb, and Mike readjusted himself, his weight on his heels and his shoulders forward as he pressed the sample on the wall, grabbed the hammer. Thump, thump.

“Is your favorite color yellow still?”

Will looked down, pressed his feet harder against the wheels. “I don’t know. I guess? I don’t think I have one favorite color.”

“You are wearing more red lately. And green.”

“Red? I mean, it’s what they have at the new shop downtown.”

Mike turned, resting his hands on his knees. “It’s nice.”

“The color red?” Will chuckled.

“On you, yeah.”

“Oh. Well, I don’t know if I wore that much of it. Maybe it’s more of an accent color.”

“Right. Uhm, it’s eyecatching.”

What was this conversation? He chuckled. “If you say so.” 

“So.” Mike looked down at the samples around them. “Which one next?”

“What do you think?”

Mike eyed him, hair falling over his face. It was growing back again, the curls framing his cheeks.

“Don’t torture me.”

“Hey, you chose to come here.”

“Yeah, but you are putting me to work.” Mike struggled his legs from below him and sat with feet hanging from the bed, now the skin of their calves brushing.

“It’s hardly any work.”

“You didn’t even offer me something to drink. You are not very hospitable.”

Will raised an eyebrow at him. “You should know better and just go get it. That never stopped you at my old house.”

“Well, maybe it’s ‘new house, new rules’, you know.”

“You know it’s not. Not with you, at least.”

“Why?” Asked Mike, his head falling to the side, leaning forward.

Will shook his head, trying to hide the slight gasp that had left him. “Because you have no sense of respect or regard for rules.”

“Those are the same.”

“What?”

“Regard and respect are synonyms.”

“They are not.”

“In this context they are.”

Will clapped his hands on his knees to stand up. “Okay, you want water? I’ll get—”

“No, no!” Mike stopped him. “I was kidding.”

His hand was on Will’s forearm, keeping him in place. Suddenly he was the one feeling thirsty. He liked his lips.

“You sure?”

Mike observed him. “Yeah. But we can take a break from the wall, right?”

“Of course.” Will relaxed back onto the desk chair, or at least as relaxed as he could be. “Sure. What do you want to do?”

Barely, Mike shifted forwards again. It was normal for him, Mike has always been somewhat physical in his attention. 

A few years ago, it had been the thing that caused the most despair on Will. To have this boy, his best friend being so attentive of him, so ready to hear everything he had to say, it gave him— well, butterflies, as dumb as it sounded. Then, when it suddenly stopped, and Mike seemed a million light years away, Will thought that maybe it meant something. Maybe something good, probably something bad.

Now he just doesn’t think. It’s just the way Mike is, and whatever way Will has of being, it’s unrelated and not important. 

It’s like the Upside Down. It’ll always exist, somewhere in another dimension. It’s burning even when it can’t get them. Nothing Will can do about it, just accept that some things just exist outside of his control. Overthinking it does nothing.

Their knees pressed together, and that’s nothing.

“I like your new house.” Mike says.

It is a nice house. Big enough for the family Will had found himself having. His mom and Hopper have their own room downstairs (ew, but sweet), El and him have each one upstairs, and there’s even a guest bedroom for Jonathan when he comes to visit from college. They have a dining room with a dining table as well as the kitchen breakfast nook, Will feels like a millionaire with a mansion.

But he’s humble, and just says: “Yeah?”

Mike hums, looking towards the window.

“You have a nice view.”

Not really. It’s not bad, but outside there’s just the neighborhood. Sometimes he can see the neighbors across the street walking around.

“It’s close to my home.”

“Oh, I see.” Will laughs, his eyebrows shooting up and he knocks on Mike’s knee with his own. “Sorry that I used to live so far away and that you had to bike such a long way.”

“Shut up, that’s not what I mean.” Mike imitates him, knocking their knees as well. “I didn’t mind it. But, well, it is better that you are close by. I would say the same if I had been the one to move closer to you.”

“You wouldn’t have stood it.”

“Excuse me?”

Will shrugged. “Living in the woods. The faintest of sounds at night and you would have lost your shit.”

“I wouldn’t have!” Mike frowned, but his eyes were shining, no real anger or offense in them. “I mostly survived the Upside Down without shitting myself.”

“The keyword there; mostly.”

“You,” Mike pointed at him, leaning closer, “are messing with me too much.”

Will narrowed his eyes. “That much? Are you getting angry at me?”

A wide smile formed in Mike’s face, as if he just couldn’t help it.

“I think I already spent all the anger I could have against you.”

A year ago that could have been one hell of a loaded statement. When the whole painting fiasco unraveled between Will, Mike and El, the three of them had an argument. It was mostly them all going ‘what do you mean by that?’ at each other as they realized the lies and false truths they’ve all told each other. By the end of it, El said she couldn’t find it in herself to care anymore, her priorities were saving Max and stopping Henry, and she left the room.

Then, Mike had turned to Will, and for the first time in their entire lives, he had nothing to say. Just hurting silence, and he walked away.

After everything (and by everything, Will meant the world ending and then starting again), they both apologized, and they started over as well.

“I’m sure you could find a bit more anger around there somewhere. You didn’t even scream at me back then.”

Mike raised an eyebrow at him. “You want me to scream at you?”

“Not really, but if you need to…”

“No. At all. Even if I thought I needed to, I should not scream at you.”

“Look at you, so grown up and wise.”

“Do you want to scream at me?”

The answer was clear in Will’s mind, but for some reason he stumbled. “What? No, why would I?”

Mike shrugged, looking down and bringing one leg up the bed. They were quite close to each other still, sitting like this. With this change in position, Mike’s whole body seemed closer to the edge, and his other feet rested over one of the wheels in Will’s chair.

“I guess I also gave you a bunch of reasons to get mad.”

“Mike…”

Like this, he remembered the kid he had met in kindergarten and this guy in front of him were the same. So insecure, but also bold enough to defy it.

Mike’s eyes were on him, attentive as always, taking in everything Will had to give.

“Why are you bringing this up now?” 

“I guess I’ve been thinking.” Mike mumbled. “We never really unpacked all that happened. You know, after the road trip back from California.”

“But… I thought you and El talked…”

Mike chuckled. “Yeah, me and El, dumbass. I mean us.”

“What about us?”

Déjà vu, or some shit. 

“Well,” Mike raised his eyebrow, playing with his toes, “you know.”

“Do it?”

“Don’t be an ass.”

“I’m not! I just…” Breathe, Will. “I just don’t know what would have been left unsaid.”

“Really?” Mike looked at him.

“I am sorry about… lying. I thought it was for the better at the time, I guess. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“It was a bit messed up. “ Mike nodded. “To put words into El’s mouth. Especially when she wouldn’t have meant them.”

Will shifted uncomfortably. “I’m really sorry, Mike…”

“But it’s fine.” He stopped him, his head falling to his own shoulder, the same one that was holding him up as his arms extended over the bed. “It was… you know.”

“Do I?” Will tried chuckling, but it came out like a more pained exhale. 

“Well, it may not have come from El, but it made me feel… you know, nice.”

Will breathed in, kept the air there.

“Really?”

“Are you kidding? Will, the way you spoke, what you said… I don’t know, I truly felt—”

But he didn't finish the sentence.

Will’s heart was shaking against his ribs. He wanted to stop the conversation and change the topic immediately, but at the same time, he needed a description of every thought in Mike’s head, his reasoning. There must have been some answer inside his friend’s head. Or half an answer, anything that could get Will to just let it go.

“Well, I’m glad at least it made you feel good. What I said.” Will mumbled.

“Yeah.” 

Mike’s eyes wandered, observing Will in such a way it almost made him uncomfortable. Something had shifted, maybe in the room or in the world, as a sunray filtered through the curtains hitting Mike’s face. His dark eyes suddenly turned a sweet brown, and instinctively, Mike leaned his head forward.

“You are good at that.” He mumbled. “Words, you know.”

“No, you are the good one at that.”

“No way. I always mess it up when I talk.”

“You don’t.” Will said. “I understand you either way.”

Mike’s sweet brown eyes, they looked down, somewhere on Will’s face.

He was about to say something, but instead he fell— or at least that’s what Will thought at first, but he felt a hand on the back of his neck and a kiss on his lips.

A kiss by Mike. Not an accident, but a strong peck that lingered. Will held his breath, he had closed his eyes on instinct, but didn’t know what to do next. He had no idea what to do at all. It had all been another lie, he did not understand Mike.

Wasn’t this what he had dreamed of? Not even dream, because his subconscious knew it would never be possible. This was the sort of stuff Will daydreamed when lying down alone at night, when he truly felt no one could hear him or see the glistening expression on his eyes.

But somehow it was possible. It was happening. Too many seconds had passed, and the only thing Will mustered the courage to do, was leaning his head slightly to the side. 

Maybe it meant something to Mike. His fingers on Will’s neck moved up, as his hand was finding its place on his body, and slightly he opened his lips.

His heartbeat was throbbing on Will’s ears, he could feel his legs start to shake and he tensed them against the chair, but it made it slightly roll back, and on instinct his hand searched for somewhere to ground himself.

On Mike’s knee. Mike sighed against him, and his mouth moved with another kiss. 

Or was it all the same kiss? What did each movement of his lips mean? When did it become a kiss, what made it feel like one? This had started over thirty seconds ago, and Will’s chest was burning without air.

So he broke the kiss, took a deep breath, and leaned forward himself. Mike let out a sigh though his nose, welcoming whatever Will was doing as if it was right. Was it right? His other hand flew to Will’s shoulder, and such contact kept pulling Will forward, which made his hand press strongly on Mike’s leg.

It was sort of forceful, hesitant but exciting. Will felt himself opening his mouth wider with each kiss, his nose bumping into Mike’s, so he angled his head a bit more, raising himself up a bit. 

He felt his chair moving again, but this time forward. Mike, who had been resting his feet on the wheels, had rolled him towards him while his hands grasped on Will’s neck and shoulder. Right hand twitched, his fingers sliding into Will’s hair, and he followed as he repositioned.

It felt like he was about to start floating, the way Mike kept pulling and pulling from him. His hand on the back of his head, his fingers grasping on his shoulder, his legs bringing him closer, it was overwhelming in a way Will wasn’t sure he knew the words to explain. He couldn’t help but to sighed against Mike’s lips again, but this time it came a bit more like a groan, somewhere at the back of his throat. 

Before he could freeze with embarrassment, Mike fully pulled him in. 

Will almost fell out of his chair. His knee hit the corner of his bed, sinking onto the side of the mattress and holding on for dear life to Mike’s knee. His free hand, that until then had been floating lost and in shook next to them, held onto Mike’s collarbone. 

He sat sideways next to him, over his own bed, Will’s knee against his hips as Mike’s hands fell to grab the back of his ribcage, fingers reaching for the thin line of his back. 

Whatever was happening, really was happening. Will had a million thoughts running on his head, but the kiss was giving him such whiplash he couldn’t even find it in himself to let any of them land. So his own hands travelled over Mike, feeling the skin on his arms, the heat, even when he went over his shirt, the goosebumps on his neck right when the hairline started.

Mike sighed— no, not really. He groaned, strongly against Will, almost as if to say he liked it. He wanted it? 

Will rose over his own folded leg; now he was the one pushing on Mike, finding himself towering over his friend. Mike’s hand fell from his back to his waist, finding the beltloops of his jeans and using them to bring him closer. 

Now, Will was nearly sitting over Mike’s left leg, hovering over him and trying his hardest not to fall. This wasn’t a kiss anymore, he didn’t think. This was making out. 

Mike was hugging him, almost, but one of his hands went back up, wide over his spine and flushing their chests together. There was no way Will would be able to keep this position any longer, and something on his head was burning up. It made him dizzy, almost, but he had never been more aware of his surroundings in his life.

He pushed Mike forward, all the way until he was laying on the bed and Will rested above him.

A mumble, maybe a word rumbled on their lips. But whatever it was, Mike didn’t repeat it. Instead his legs intertwined with Will’s, his knee pressing against his hips as his hands made a show of exploring Will’s back, his arms, his shoulders, back against the back of his neck and going as low as the back pockets of his jeans.

Never in his life had Will felt this warmth. Not in the hottest summer, not even when burned alive. Their chests were pressed together so forcefully that the only thing he could do was ground them with his elbows at each side of Mike’s head, and his hand clasping his hair.

He was kissing back, and the intensity of it all had him almost sucking into Mike’s lips. That earned him another groan, so Will committed. 

Slightly, almost scared, he bit onto Mike’s bottom lip. 

It separated them just enough for them to open their eyes and be able to see each other. Under him, Mike was flushed and his lips red and swollen. His eyes were half closed, a mist over them but they focused on Will’s face. They were both breathing hard against each other, their chests rising and sinking together. 

It barely lingered— Mike jumped forward to kiss him again, rolling them over so he was the one above Will, even setting himself between his legs and setting his hands under him.

The sun fell hot on Will’s hands as they grasped Mike’s shirt. Afternoon’s golden hour surrounding them in an orange glow. 

There was Mike all over Will, not a piece of his body didn’t feel surrounded, and it was good. He wasn’t sure if it was just because he was close to someone, or because of the someone being Mike. It was Mike.

Something was building up, Will felt, when he heard Hopper’s truck door closing.

They both froze, lips separating and their eyes opening wide. 

Will turned his head up to stare at the window above him. Not that he could see anything Hopper on their driveway, the view only offered the top of the tree in front of their house and misty gray clouds on the sky, but he recognized his step-dad’s cough and rumbling of his keys as the circled his truck to head for the house’s entrance.

When he returned his eyes to the room, Mike was staring at him already. That mist was still over his eyes, his lips parted. Will gulped, and saw Mike’s eyes following the movement on his throat.

Even if he tried to speak, Will didn’t know what to say. What had even just happened? 

Downstairs, the front door opened and closed. “Helloo, anyone home?”

Will looked towards his bedroom door. It was ajar. That’s when Mike sat up, and the missing warmth and weight made Will want to cry.

Mike sat at the foot of the bed, pressing the back of his hand against his mouth, looking down at the color samples under them. Will hadn’t even noticed they had rolled all over them, leaving them crumpled. 

Will still couldn’t talk. He rose over his elbows, staring at Mike, trying to find some sort of explanation about what had just happened. Trying to calm himself down. He looked away and stood up.

Lots of the color samples had fallen on the floor, and they stuck on his feet as he tried walking. He felt so dizzy, like this were the first steps on a whole new world. 

He made it to the hallway just as Hopper was making his way up the stairs.

“Jesus, you scared the hell out of me, kid.” Said Hop as his hand rose to his chest. “I thought there was no one here.”

“Yeah, sorry, we sort of…” Will’s voice came out thin. “... fell asleep.”

Hopper raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. “We?”

“Yeah, Mike’s over.”

“Right, I don’t even know why I ask.” He knocked on the wall and kept walking. “Afternoon, Wheeler.”

“Hi.” Came from inside the bedroom.

“Decide if you want to stay over for dinner,” Hopper said as he entered the bathroom, “then maybe we can order something.”

He closed the door, and it wasn’t until he heard the shower turning on, that Will went back to the room.

Mike was still sitting at the foot of the bed, carefully flattening the messed up color samples. He looked up quickly and showed them to Will. “Sorry.”

Sorry for crumpling the samples? Sorry for the kiss?

“That’s… it’s okay.”

“My mom will kill me if I’m not back for dinner today.” Mike said. “We haven’t had family dinner in like, a week.”

“Oh, sure.”

“I was gonna invite you over, actually—”

“To your family dinner?”

Mike stared for a moment and then shook his head, standing up. “Right, yeah, sorry.”

“No, no, it’s… I mean your dinners are great.”

“I… I don’t make them.”

“Yeah, but you know…”

Their eyes met for a moment. Will looked for something in Mike, but the boy was still blushed and stiff, his eyes wide. 

Boy. None of what had just happened aligned itself with the idea of a boy. Mike gulped, pressing his lips together.

“Hey—”

“We-ell the south side of Chicago, it’s the baddest part of town-!” Hopper’s voice made all the way from the bathroom to Will’s room, off-key and high-pitched. 

Mike rolled his eyes. “Son of a bitch.”

“He’s just singing.”

“Yeah, but he…” He shook his head. “He’s an asshole.”

Will frowned.

“No, he’s—”

“You better just beware—!”

At the same time, the phone started ringing downstairs.

Will looked back, and then back at Mike before leaving the room.

He made his way down the stairs and grabbed the phone next to the side table next to the sofa.

“Hello?”

“Will, baby!” His mom greeted him on the other side of the line. “Listen, I’m picking up El before heading home, did Hop get there already?”

“Oh, yeah, he just went up to shower.”

“Great, could you tell him to handle dinner? Not pizza, you kids need some vegetables.”

“But we can order it with mushrooms and tomatoes.” Will heard steps behind him, and when he turned, he saw Mike with his backpack over his shoulder.

“No pizza, Will. I’ll be home in about an hour! Love you.” 

The line cut before Will was able to respond. He put the phone down as he stared. 

“Your mom’s on her way?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, yeah, she’s picking El up.”

“We… we lost track of time, huh? It’s almost dinner time.”

Will nodded. “Yeah. Yes, thank you for helping me with the wall.”

“Of course. Well, I mean, we didn’t finish it.”

We can finish another time. “That’s… that’s alright.”

“Right, cool.” 

Mike pursed his lips, looking down again. Will noticed he was still nodding his head, and stopped.

“Oh.” Said Mike, and Will felt himself fluttering. “We are meeting tomorrow at the lake, right?” 

“Yes! Dustin is picking us up, so we’ll meet you guys there.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.” Mike nodded, his eyes never staying put. “Uhm, door?”

“Right, sorry!”

Will turned and headed to the front door, knowing Mike was following close behind. He opened it wide and stood still, giving room for his friend to pass.

And Mike did, but at the door threshold he stopped and turned to Will. They were only two feet apart. 

Mike’s lips were still red. Will looked up to see Mike’s eyes were also wandering somewhere below his face.

“See you tomorrow?” Will mumbled.

“Of course.” Mike’s voice was soft. For a fraction of a moment, it felt like he was leaning in, but then he turned and walked down the porch to grab his bike.

Will stared as Mike sat on his bike and struggled with the footings before quickly speeding away on the street.

There was still an orange tone to him as he made a turn on corner, finally disappearing from Will’s sight. It all looked like a classic summer afternoon. Maybe Will had been wrong about summer being kinder to them this year.

He went back inside and sat on the sofa. 

That had been a fluke, right? It had to be. The heat was messing up with them. Maybe it was some sort of year-and-a-half anniversary effect that made them suddenly act up. That made Mike act up.

No, Will was not stupid. A fluke would be if maybe Mike had tripped and slightly graced his lips, or something. That had been… well, a hot make out. 

Will looked down at his hands. His hands had been all over Mike. Mike’s hands had been all over him.

That wasn’t normal. They didn’t do that. Will had found as much peace as he could with his feelings towards… towards guys, and Mike specially. But he had never even thought about acting out on it. Maybe in the future, after college, and never with Mike.

Mike had kissed him. Why?

“... Will?”

He jumped on his place and turned to see Hopper, shirt half-buttoned and hair still dripping, looking at him with caution.

“You okay, kid?”

“Yeah!” Will nodded, standing up. “Still tired, I guess.”

“Right, Mike left?”

“Yeah, his mom wanted him back. Oh, and mom called, she said no pizza.”

Hopper closed his eyes and breathed out.

“Alright, let’s see what we can invent over here.”

“You napped?” El asked him, her eyebrow shooting up and she raised her fork to her mouth.

“Yes, what’s the problem with that?”

“I have never seen you nap on a normal day.”

“Well, he can take a nap if he’s tired.” Their mom shrugged as she filled her and Hopper’s glasses. 

“You won’t be napping tomorrow at the lake, right?”

“Of course not.” Will cut into his food and quickly started eating.

After everything, dinner was a little bit pizza-like. Hopper and him had prepared potatoes with salsa and cheese to serve alongside chicken, and then added at the last second a side salad when Joyce gave them a look.

“I think it’s good that you nap, you should give it a try, El.” Said Hopper, covering his mouth with the napkin. “You kids need to get back all the sleep you can. Mike as well.”

El’s eyebrow shot even higher, if that was possible.

“Mike?”

“Yeah, he was with Will.”

“And the two of you were napping?”

Will tried to invoke the play-dead panic response that had kept him alive during their fights against Vecna, to keep a straight face. 

“Yeah, we dozed off while listening to music.”

“Like senior citizens?” 

“Senior citizens?” Hopper repeated, staring at his daughter. “What is a senior citizen to you?”

“The age you are.”

“Woah, woah, what is this attack?”

El hid her smile behind her glass of water as her father started bickering, Will’s mom lightly mediating between the two.

And Will also let out a couple laughs. Tried to, at least. 

God, El. Truth is, he had never felt guilty for liking Mike, even when he and El were still together. What was the harm? Nothing was ever going to happen between him and Will, it wasn’t even a possibility. Not even part of real life. And then, when the two broke up after they had all moved back to Hawkins, even less hope and less harm involved all around.

But now… Will didn’t even know what to make of it now.

It had to be a fluke, he kept repeating to himself. He should have called for help, actually, maybe Mike had had a seizure. 

“Will, are you okay?”

He turned to his sister’s voice. El gave him a quietly concerned look; the potatoes he had been holding with his fork for minutes were now cold. 

“Yeah, yeah! Just waiting for it to cool down.”

“Mmhm… maybe naps aren’t good for you.”

Well, she could be right about that. 

After washing the dishes, Will kissed his family goodnight and closed his bedroom door. It was dark now, just his bedside lamp lighting the room. There were still color samples on the floor, the bed a mess. His bed, were hours later not only he had been pressed down by Mike as they kissed, but Will himself had been—

He changed into his pajamas and carefully laid down, as if the bed would explode under him. There was a faint aroma of Mike around him. A black, curly hair strand on the pillow.

Will’s strong heartbeat kept him up most of the night. 

“Helloo! Do you want to take any longer?” Shouted Dustin as soon as they spotted Mike’s car rounding the corner at the lake’s carpark.

The battered car rolled down the entrance and towards Dustin’s own car. They had gotten there a few minutes earlier, so Mike and the others weren’t really that late, but still, it was like none of them could pass the chance to mess with Mike about his driving.

Will, El and Dustin all gave a step back as the car halted thrice before finally cutting the engine next to Dustin’s car, not really parallel to it, but at least in one piece.

It was Nancy’s old car, which had also barely survived the end of the world, but perhaps if it was sentient it would prefer that experience over being driven by Mike.

“We ran over a cat!” Shouted Max the second she was out.

“No I fucking didn’t!” Mike screamed back from inside the car.

El’s eyes widened. “You killed a cat?”

Behind Max, Lucas exited the car, holding their bags and an umbrella. 

“It was a trash bag, but it really did look like an animal from far away.”

And finally, Mike popped up from the driver’s side of the car. “It was not a fucking cat. It was a fucking bag.”

“And you ran over it.”

“But I didn’t kill nothing!”

His face was blushed, probably a mix of the heat and the argument. Will hugged Max and Lucas, as they started chatting with Dustin.

Mike tossed his backpack over his shoulder and slammed the car door closed.

Will just couldn’t help it. “I don’t think it’s a revolving door.”

Their eyes met, and it was embarrassing how much it messed up Will. He didn’t know what to expect. What was going to happen now? Why had happened yesterday?

Mike’s eyes widened as they fell on Will. For a moment they didn’t seem to know where to land, as his lips fell open, but then he shook his head, the previous anger completely dissipating.

“I just hate driving.” 

His voice was almost soft, sort of quiet. Mike took a step towards Will and patted his shoulder before going to greet their friends.

Alright.

It was fine, it had been a fluke. Will was fine with that. He could understand the quiet answer he had gotten from Mike. We are friends, yesterday was whatever, high-five dude!

The six of them made their way down the lake, but then continued past the families and old couples resting by the water. 

The twenty minute walk downstream led them to a little dirt beach that no one else seemed to reach. Will and Lucas had found it a while back, right after they had started their senior year of high school. 

“That’s embarrassing. You said that to him?” Max said to Dustin.

“Well, I didn’t say it to him. He shouldn’t have been eavesdropping.”

“You can’t blame your boss for being in his own store!”

“I’m not embarrassed for him to know his stacking choices are bullshit! He used to stack everything like Robin told him when she worked there, but he listens to none of my advice.”

“Probably because he’s like fifty, and you are eighteen,” Lucas chimed in, “and aren’t a movie freak.”

“It’s scientifically proven that the best way to organize movies is by genre, theme, and year!”

“According to what study, Dustin? Who the hell did a paper on that?”

Will chuckled as he turned back to see his friends’ expressions, Lucas and Max were sideeyeing Dustin as he started a long speech about things that almost made sense, and El just held Max’s arm as she guided her through the path they had taken.

And at the back of their group, Mike. His eyes already on Will.

Instinctively, Will looked somewhere else, almost tripping against a rock on the ground. One second, two, three…

He looked back again, Mike was still staring. His eyes far away but focused, met Will’s and didn’t back down. On the contrary, he lowered his sight a bit, focused somewhere else on Will, and then back to his eyes.

For a moment he felt he was going to faint from the intensity of his stare, the deep black eyes sucking Will in. 

Again, he turned to face forwards. Was Mike angry at him, or something?

They reached their spot and started unloading their things, setting their picnic blankets and tupperwares with food and drinks. The sun shone over them hotter by the minute, as it made its way over their heads.

Chatting as they divided the sandwiches, Will felt eyes on him. Mike had sat opposite to him, the farthest away from him, which wasn’t common. They always shared a blanket, they always sat side by side, Will rode shotgun even if I meant he was most likely to die in the carcrash. 

But now Mike was far away, and staring at him, barely flinching when their eyes met. Like he wanted Will to know he was staring, that he was mad. Was he mad? Will bit his sandwich and listened to Max talk shit about that new game in the Arcade like it was the only thing that existed.

“And it’s not because I can’t see shit,” Max was saying, “I shouldn’t need to see for the controls to work. If I push it up then go up, it’s fucking rigged. Lucas couldn’t do it either.”

“Yeah, it’s like super tough!"

“Maybe it’s faulty.” Said Dustin.

“It’s brand new. If they bought a broken machine then that just tells you the state the arcade is. Complete trash.”

“Wow, wow! They are the only place in all Indiana that has Space Invaders!”

“Where are you getting these facts? No way that’s true, that’s a super popular game.”

Lucas nodded. “She’s right, if our local Arcade was the only one with Space Invaders, they would have come and rescued it when the gates opened.”

Mike loved Space Invaders when they were younger. He wasn’t saying anything. 

They ate and played card games until the sun was so hot the lake next to them was warm as well, and they peeled their shirts and sundresses off and ran to the water.

“Last one dry is a chicken!” Yelled Dustin, and immediately El used her powers to catapult herself to the middle of the lake. 

They all rushed to the water, tripping over the water and almost falling face down. They were all keeping an eye on Max and on their surroundings, but for a few moments it was like they were little kids again. 

Mike jumped over Dustin trying to pull his head under water, as Lucas tried (and failed) to splash El with more water. 

Will had never been a fighter, he stayed closer to shore with Max practising their planks. 

“Asshole!” Mike shouted under Dustin’s whole body weight, both still playfighting in the water. 

It wasn't the first time Will had seen him without his shirt, but the tousle had his muscles tensed up, water dripping from the skin.

Mike wasn’t built at all, but Will could barely take his eyes away. Just like the day before, it felt more clear than ever that he was no longer a boy. They were no longer boys. And what had happened yesterday…

Will had no idea how to justify it.

“Dude, you are barely floating.” Said Max next to him, searching for his arm in the water.

He kicked the water to straighten himself, and splashed his friend.

“I’m going to get some water, you want some?”

“The whole lake isn’t enough for you, Will?” Max joked, splashing him back.

He made his way to the shore and walked towards their things, his weight heavy and water dripping throughout his whole body. 

Will leaned to grab one of their water bottles— Mike’s, and took a sip, looking back to their friends in the water.

Mike was looking at him. Feets away, only his head sticking from the water, Lucas and El had now joined the tugging war and were making a water tornado with Dustin, but Mike was suddenly still, staring at Will. The whole lake it’s just not enough.

By the time four in the afternoon rolled around, they were exhausted. Dustin and Mike had been playing a quiet cardgame, while Lucas and El were had fallen asleep under the sun, Max next to them carefully playing different cassettes on her walkman for them all to hear quietly. 

Will had been right next to Max, the both of them going over what songs and musicians they preferred, but he felt his skin burning under the sun and stood up for a quick refresh on the lake.

His skin was so warm that the lake felt incredibly cold, but Will embraced it. He walked into the water before dropping himself and doing a couple of laps to get to the middle of it.

There was barely any current, just a slight breeze over his head. 

Will turned and tried to do the plank again, his chest raising over the water and he closed his eyes. 

Maybe yesterday had been his imagination. Mike was acting distant, but he seemed to pretend like nothing had happened. Similar to how it had been before the gates had opened, all those years ago.

An itch pinched him at the side, and well enough, when he turned he found Mike’s eyes on his body. On him.

Maybe he was disgusted. Yesterday’s whatever that was could have felt easy to sweep under the rug, but maybe seeing Will was making him realize… something. Something bad. Maybe Will just wanted to be drowned.

He went back to shore after a few minutes and flopped back next to Max, laying his head next to El’s, and closed his eyes.

It didn’t feel like a long time had passed when Will woke up, but the sun was no longer on his face. 

“Let him rest!” He heard from afar.

Will looked sideways; El, Max and Lucas were no longer next to him, but the sun was shining over the places they had been. 

But not on Will, so—

He looked up, and Mike was right there, kneeling at his side, closer than he had been all day. His skin was blushed and plump, probably from the sun, but it reminded Will of the day before. Or maybe he just couldn’t stop thinking about the day before, an all-day-round deja vu. 

It was like an eclipse, Mike’s face right in front of the sun, blinding and divine.

Jesus, Will needed to get a grip.

“What?” He mumbled, squinting his eyes.

“You’ll get sunstroke.” Mike said. “You’re turning red.”

“Oh.”

Will looked down at himself, and found Mike’s eyes doing the same. Suddenly, he felt completely self conscious about not wearing his shirt.

“What?” He repeated, and Mike’s eyes returned to him.

“I just… I don’t…” He gulped. “Don’t like it when you don’t have a shirt.”

“W-what?”

Mike stood up quickly, and the sun fell hard on Will's face again. 

This was the worst case scenario. Mike was completely disgusted by him. He couldn’t even see him in such an innocent scenario like being in his swimwear near a lake. It’s not like Will even had… nothing. Only skin, moles and scars. 

He sat and looked back as Mike went back to their friends, now sitting in a circle under a tree’s shade. 

They all played another card game for a while, but Will could barely pretend to be unbothered anymore.

He wanted to be mad at Mike. He had been the one to start it all, right? His mind was tricking him, changing what the day before had been. Was Will the one to kiss first, and Mike just stood there frozen?

By four in the afternoon they started making their way back. They were exhausted by the sun, the games and the water, their skin red and hair tousled.

Will was the one walking at the back now, staring at his shoes hitting the gravel.

“Did you and Mike fight?” 

El was at his side, whispering but not low enough. Will nudged his sister to tell her to keep it down.

“No, why?”

“You are both being weird today. Lucas said to just let you be, that you two are a bit dramatic sometimes.”

“You all were talking about it?”

“He said to interfere if it keeps going for a couple of days.”

Will pressed his lips together and breathed in. “Everything is fine, El.”

She eyed him carefully, and shrugged.

“It will be fine. You have been friends for years.”

As if that could save it. 

They reached their cars and loaded their things back like when they had arrived, made plans to meet the following day at Will and El’s home, and hugged each other goodbye.

Will closed the back door to Dustin’s car and breathed out. Mike was still standing outside his own car, the door halfway opened as he saw them drive away.

“Well.” Dustin said, but he didn't continue. El and him chatted about their plans tomorrow before they were dropped off.

Their parents were home already, starting to make dinner for them all, but Will excused himself to head to his room.

“Another nap?” El said.

Will chuckled, but he knew it wouldn’t quite reach his eyes and that the moment he went upstairs, their mom would start asking if anything happened.

But nothing had, nothing would. 

He took a shower, washing the lake away from his body and flinching when the hot water hit the sensible sunburned skin. His mom had left them a cream over the bathroom sink, and Will smeared it all over himself. 

The room was stale when he entered, afternoon sun falling on the horizon and a colder breeze making its way through the neighborhood outside. Will dropped himself face down on his bed. The same bed when yesterday—

He turned the pillow and saw the light fade from his window.

When he woke it was nighttime, and something was cracking.

The clock on his nightstand said it was past midnight, and as Will forced himself awake, he realized the cracking was his window. No, something hitting it.

One thing he had learned in the last ten years of his life was to not give himself away. He crouched on the floor and approached the window carefully. Something was being thrown at it, small seeds from the trees in their yard. He peeked slowly and standing there, with a handful of dirt on his hand, was Mike.

Will let his head fall against the glass before standing up and opening the window.

“Mike?” He whispered as loud as he could. “What the hell are you doing?”

He dropped the dirt on the ground and raised his arm. His eyes were wide, his bike forgotten next to him, and no sense of time and place nowhere in him.

“Will, I’m—!”

“Shh! Don’t scream, my parents are sleeping!”

“Can you come down?”

“What? Mike, it’s super late, what are you doing here?”

Despite the distance, Will saw as Mike’s eyes shined with something, and his shoulder fell.

“To talk.” His voice was impossibly soft, barely audible.

Will looked down at him, his heart on his throat and stepped away from the window still. 

He opened his door. El’s was close, no light over the sill and the radio she used to fall asleep to mumbling inside. Still, Will tiptoed his way down the halfway. 

From their parent’s bedroom on the ground floor, he heard Hopper snoring. The house seemed asleep.

Will opened the main door, not expecting Mike to be right there, inches away.

“Mike.” He breathed, almost in reflex, and then reminded himself to frown. “What the hell’s going on?”

“I tried calling on you. On your walkie.”

“What? I have it off.”

“Why?” Mumbled Mike, shaking his head. “What if something happens?”

“What would happen, Mike? The Upside Down is closed. I don’t know of anything that would require me to be woken up in the middle of the night.”

Mike shrugged. “There can be other emergencies.”

“Fine, is this an emergency?”

“And you are not going to let me in?”

“Mike.” Will said, grasping the door handle. “It’s the middle of the night. My whole family is sleeping.”

“I can be quiet.” Mike pursed his lips, eyes almost examining Will’s face. “You’re a bit red, still.”

“Red?”

“From the sun. Blushed.”

“I— just, be quiet.”

He grabbed him from his wrist and pulled him inside, quickly taking him through the dark house and to his room upstairs, whispering Mike to watch his step. 

Will closed the door behind him just as Mike was turning on his bedside lamp. He pointed at the wall.

“You didn’t finish with the color samples yet.”

“Are you high or something?” Said Will, stepping closer. “What’s so urgent, Mike? All day today you barely talked to me, you were distant, and now you come running in the night? If it's because… because of yesterday, then… I don’t know. I don’t get what you want.”

“Wha—? You weren’t talking to me either! You spent all day with Max, and Lucas, listening to music—”

“And did that bother you?”

Mike’s eyes widen, mouth falling open. 

“Yes, obviously!”

It gave Will whiplash.

“What?” He managed to whisper.

“You know, you are my friend. My best friend. I don’t want things to be weird between us again.”

There it is.

“Sure. I understand that.” 

Mike squinted his eyes, taking a step towards Will and shook his head. “I don’t think you do.”

“Well, explain then! Don’t keep me guessing.”

“Guessing? I am the one trying to understand you! You completely avoided me yesterday.”

Will’s chest was about to rip open from how hard his heart was beating against it. “I didn’t avoid you, you left!”

“Because you got all weird!”

“Because Hopper had gotten home!”

“You didn’t say anything, Mike!”

Mike exhaled. “I thought I was clear enough.”

“Clear?” Will shook his head. “Mike…”

“You are my best friend, Will, my favorite person. I’ve lost you so many times, in so many different ways… I can’t let that happen again. I don’t want to lose you, okay?”

“We… we can keep being friends.”

Mike’s expression fell. “Is that all you want?”

Suddenly, Will felt he wasn’t mad at him. He licked his lips, a movement closely followed by Mike. 

“Is there anything else I can have?”

With a deep breath, Mike took another step forward, just a couple of inches separating the two of them. He looked down, and hesitantly reached out for Will’s hands.

“You make me nervous, lately.”

“Why?” Will almost chuckled. “It’s just me.”

Mike nodded, looking up. “I know.”

He grasped Will’s hand, and taking a final step, he kissed him.

Standing up, their height difference was almost overwhelming. Will forgot most times the couple of inches Mike had over him, but now he had to raise his head, his body almost jumping on its tiptoes.

Mike held his hands tightly, slouching a bit and pressing his lips without really moving them before breathing out.

“Is this clear enough?” 

Will blinked at him, and then just raised his hands to grab Mike from the back of his neck and pulled them together. He stood over his soles, pushing their chests together just as Mike hugged his waist.

They breathed into themselves, hurried as if time was running out. Was Will still asleep? He slid his fingers into Mike's hair, his other hands on his neck so his thumb was just over his collarbone.

In response, he felt Mike’s arms on his back slid to the lowest part of his waist to bring him close and up, raising Will a bit on the ground and turning their heads from the impulse.

There was an aroma of sun in his skin, mixed with shampoo and night air. Will wasn’t sure how all that could coexist, but even with his eyes closed he was seeing color. He felt Mike stepping into him, making him walk backwards until his legs were hitting his desk.

Will grabbed into the collar of his shirt, dared himself to let his hands rest on Mike’s chest as he leaned back a bit, making Mike follow.

“Yesterday,” Mike mumbled into the kiss, “you said you understood me.”

He could have laughed. “Sorry, I do now. I do now.”