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Mike didn't know when his and Will's friendship had turned into something more. Maybe it was the not-so-subtle glances, lingering touches, or nights spent wrapped around each other in bed (not in that way!) that led up to their mutual confession and first kiss. That felt like ages ago, truly, even though it was just after graduation. Now, they were in a whole different world. New York City.
By some miracle, more than half of the party had gone to school in New York. Mike was really happy about this. He probably wouldn't have survived living in this new, big city with out them. Jane got into Julliard to pursue acting, Max was a journalism major at Fordham, and Mike and Will were at NYU, both in the Tisch college and majoring in creative writing and art, respectively. Dustin was less than a day's drive away as a physics major at MIT, and Lucas was studying business at Penn State. The two living outside of the city tried to visit at least once a month.
When they first moved, Will and Mike were already in their secret relationship. They weren't scared of how the public would react to an out gay couple, they were living in the 21st century in New York of all places. What made them hesitant to come out was what their family and friends would think. Will was openly gay. He had been since sophomore year of high school. It was Mike that was still closeted. He had realized that he might not be straight junior year, when he found himself looking a little too intently at Sodapop shirtless in the Outsiders when they watched it at school.
Mike was happy with their life now, though. They might not be able to hug and kiss in public, but Will was still his in private. And that's what mattered the most- having the boy he loved by his side every night.
Except it wasn't every night. And when they did get to spend nights together, they were very secret and quiet. Why? Because their dumbasses had decided to not be roommates, in fear of it raising too much suspicion. Will had a shared off-campus apartment with Jane, and Mike shared a room with Max. Max was his best friend, and the only person he trusted to know that he was gay. He had told her after she had come out to him as lesbian last year, and they had been inseparable ever since. Will and Jane, of course, were twins, so sharing came natural to them.
~~~~~~~
Flash forward to current day, where Mike and Max were watching a movie on the couch. Nothing out of the ordinary for them. They tried to have their movie nights at least twice a week, and even though neither of them admitted it, they both spent the entire movie trying to come up with a shitty Letterboxd one-liner better than the other's. They were in the middle of (re)watching Challengers when Mike's phone buzzed with a text from Will.
10:48
my cleric<3: hiii I'm home alone
my cleric<3: do u wanna come over;)
is that even a question
give me 30 min me and max are finishing this movie
my cleric<3: okkk
my cleric<3: what are you guys watching?
.....u have to promise to not make fun of me
my cleric<3: it can't be that bad, mike
my cleric<3: lol
....... challengers
my cleric<3:BAHHAAHAHA
my cleric<3:you literally only like watching that movie to watch mike faist and josh o'connor make out lmao
god forbid a gay guy wants to watch a homoerotic friendship
my cleric<3: hmmm homoerotic friendship......
my cleric<3: remind you of anything?
:|
my cleric<3: lol i love u
my cleric<3: maybe if you're good we can recreate that scene you love so much when you come over ;)
Mike almost dropped his phone, and his cheeks went red.
Max looked at him and smirked. "Something wrong, Wheeler?"
"N-no, nothing," Mike said, silently cursing Will.
"Sure. Dude, pay attention, this is one of the best parts!," Max said, her attention drawing itself away from Mike's flustered demeanor and back to the TV screen.
Mike glanced up to see the closing scene, where Art and Patrick are playing against each other in the Challenger.
Whatever. Mike's seen this movie at least ten times. He opens his phone to reply to Will, seeing new messages pop up.
11:00
my cleric<3: did i scare you off lol
11:02
my cleric<3: mike
11:03
my cleric<3: oh shit sorry i forgot you were watching a movie
my cleric<3: enjoy:) ill see u later
will.
that text made me drop my phone and turn red in front of max
she's never letting me live this down is she
my cleric<3: BAHAHA
my cleric<3: i wasnt joking
my cleric<3: i'll see you in a few;)
see you, will
i love you
my cleric<3: i love you:)
The movie finally ended. Usually Mike and Max would be talking for hours on end after watching a movie, discussing what they did and didn't like about it. They had a special bond over their love of cinema.
But not today. Both of them seemed to have other plans.
Max turned off the tv and got up to grab her coat. "I'm going out. Don't wait up, I might be home late."
"Where are you going?," Mike asked.
"...on a date," Max said, reluctantly.
Mike gasped and stood up. "Are you seriously meaning to tell me that Max Mayfield is actually putting herself out there? I told you there were wayyyy too many girls in New York for you not to make a move on someone! I'm proud of you, Max," he grinned, hugging her.
Max pulled away from Mike, smiling. "Yeah, it's a date with J.....just this girl I met the other day at a bar. She's pretty and cool, and we're getting drinks."
"Good luck! I'm also going out tonight, so don't wait up either."
"And just where are you going, Michael?"
"Well, Maxine, if you really have to know, I'm visiting Richie," he replied cooly. Richie was his almost-identical cousin from Maine, who had also moved to New York with his boyfriend after graduating. If only Ted Wheeler knew that his only son and only nephew were gay.
"Okay.... see you!," she called out, slightly hesitant, while walking out the door and locking it shut.
Mike waited five minutes after she left, just in case Max was still out there and saw him going in the complete opposite direction of Richie and Eddie's apartment.
~~~~~~~
Mike made a quick pit stop on the way to Will's, at his favorite chocolate shop. Will loved chocolate, especially milk chocolate with caramel. Mike grabbed a heart-shaped box full of those along with a teddy bear. Anyone seeing him walking in the street probably thought that it was an early Valentine's Day gift, or something.
When he finally made it to Will's apartment and knocked on the door, Will took no more than 5 seconds to open the door and kiss him breathless while closing it. Mike dropped the chocolates and teddy bear to cup Will's face.
When they finally pulled apart, Mike bent down to pick up the teddy bear and chocolates while Will watched, smiling.
"God, Wheeler, you're such a dork."
"Shut up, you love it," Mike said, grinning and holding his boyfriend's hips in place.
"No. I love you, which is altogether different."
Mike smiles widely at this, locking lips with his gorgeous boyfriend once more.
Will deepens the kiss, slotting his tongue in between Mike's lips.
Mike pulls away for a brief moment, earning a low whimper out of Will. Mike presses his forehead against Will's, voice deep and soft. "You really weren't kidding when you said we would recreate the Challengers scene," Mike pants.
Will smiles. "I've always kept my promises."
Mike picks Will up, strong arms carrying the shorter boy with his legs around Mike's torso, and kisses him with intent. Like every other time, Mike carries Will to his bedroom, next to Jane's. They had to be careful, just in case Jane would be home soon.
When the two reach Will's room, Mike sits on the bed, Will's legs still tightly wrapped around him. Then, Will pushes Mike onto the bed, straddling him. The kiss was never broken. Mike rushes to get his shirt off as Will does the same, the two's tightening pants getting all the more unbearable. Mike toys at the zipper of Will's jeans, lifting him up slightly to take off his jeans while Will removed Mike's.
Now the two were laying in Will's bed, breathing heavily, the only thing keeping them apart from each other being the thin layer of their boxers. Will starts to move his hips in a way that drives Mike utterly insane, and Mike hooks a finger into Will's waistband, sliding the boxers down, when they hear a noise coming from the front of the house. Jane.
Mike's eyes go wide in terror. Will's reaction is more delayed, he takes a moment to actually process what is happening.
"Will?," Jane calls out. "Are you in your room?"
Will closes his eyes, stabilizing his breathing. "Y-yeah, I'm in here. Don't come in, though, I'm... changing."
"Convincing," Mike whispers facetiously, and Will rolls his eyes and places his hand over Mike's mouth to shut him up.
"Oh, okay. I'm gonna go to bed now, okay? Goodnight!," Jane said from the other side of the door.
"Goodnight Janie," Will replied, breathing a sigh of relief that his sister didn't ask him any more questions.
Mike pulled Will pack down by the neck to kiss him again. "Close call, huh?"
"Shut up, dork," Will said, smiling into the kiss.
"That kinda..... ruined the mood," Mike said.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Do you just wanna cuddle and watch something? You can sleep over, if you want," Will offered.
"I would love that, actually. Do you have extra pjs?"
"Of course," Will replied, getting off of Mike and walking to his drawer, where he pulled out two pairs of pajama pants and two hoodies.
As Will grabbed the clothes, Mike's phone buzzed. It was Max.
12:36
MADMAX: hey, wheeler
MADMAX: don't wait up
MADMAX: date went well, i'm staying over ;)
MADMAX: catch u tmr. debrief?
oh shittttt she's got game
yeah, don't worry about it, i'm staying over at richie's
so excited to hear all the details! :) love u
Will came back with the clothes, handing it to Mike.
Will's pajama pants were a little too short and loose on Mike, but he didn't mind. He always felt the most comfortable in Will's clothes, wrapped in his arms.
The two boys changed in silence. When he was done, Will walked back to the bed, where Mike was already in his designated spot.
Will climbed into Mike's arms, propping up his laptop in between them.
"What should we watch?," Will asked.
"I don't know. You can pick," Mike said, planting a soft kiss in Will's hair.
"Really? But you love picking movies whenever we watch something," Will says, incredulously.
"Yeah," Mike says, shrugging it off. "Anything for my pretty boy."
This makes Will blush. "I love you so much, Mike."
"I love you too, Will the Wise. Now, are you gonna pick a movie or what?"
Will ended up picking Juno, and they went to sleep wrapped up in one another with the end credits rolling. Truth be told, the pair were so exhausted that they had fallen asleep about 30 minutes before.
~~~~~~~
3:37 AM
Mike woke up needing to use the bathroom. Will was fully on top of him, so he gently moved him off.
"Mike," Will whispered. "Don't leave," he said, in a low and sleepy voice. So cute.
"Shhhh, go back to bed, baby. I just have to go to the bathroom, I'll be back soon," Mike reassured him, kissing his forehead, which elicited a content sound from Will.
Mike slowly opened the door, looking left and right down the hallway to make sure that Jane wasn't outside of her room. When he approached the bathroom, though, his heart dropped. The light was on, and someone was opening the door.
Ohshitohshitohshitohshit
Mike started to prepare an excuse to give to Jane. He could say that Will had a nightmare and called Mike over. Or that he had been there all night and fell asleep before Jane got home. Or, he could say that he was stalking Will and Jane and snuck into their house. Anything would be better than telling the truth at this point.
The door finally opened, and much to Mike's surprise, it wasn't Jane. It was.....
"Max?"
She froze.
"Mike?"
"What the hell are you doing here?," Mike hissed, extremely confused.
"I could ask you the same thing! You told me you were staying at Richie's. This is on the other side of the city!"
"And you? What happened to your date? Or is it- no it can't be-," Mike's eyes widened in realization.
"Are you dating Jane?," Mike asked, grabbing Max's shoulders and staring at her, eyes wide and gaping.
".....yes."
Now Mike was freaking out.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?!?," he whisper-shouted, making Max cover his mouth with her hand.
"Why did I not know about this? When did this start? Does Will know?," he asks, in complete shock.
"Jane's not out, we've been together for 5 months, and no, Will does not know. And we intend on keeping it that way for a while. You're the only person that knows, Mike. Don't fuck it up for us, please," she begged, looking up at Mike with a frantic look on her face.
"Hey, hey," Mike said, hugging Max and soothing her. "Remember I'm a closeted gay man," he laughs. "I would never do that to either of you. I love you both too much."
"Thank you, Mike. Hey, we still haven't covered the fact that you're also here at 3 in the morning, sneaking out of one of the twins' rooms to use the bathroom. Unless- no. Tell me it's not true," Max says, the same look of realization that Mike had moments ago plastered all over her face. Except hers was different. She had a slight smirk of satisfaction. And Mike was dying to know why.
"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then yes. Me and Will are together. Have been since graduation night. And- hey! Why that face?," Mike frowned.
"Oh nothing. Jane owes me $50."
"WHAT?," he whisper-shouts again, louder this time. Max's eyes widen in fear at Mike's noisy demeanor, and tries to cover his mouth with her hand. Unfortunately, her attempts prove to be futile as Will exits his room, groggy voice calling for Mike.
"Mike? Where are you, it's been like 10 minutes," he says, searching around the dark for him.
"Oh. There you are. Hi, Max. MAX?," Will's eyes widen in horror. "This isn't what it looks like at all, I swear. Mike and I were just having a movie night and we got sleepy and then he fell asleep over here and we weren't even sharing a bed he took the floor and-"
Max cut him off with a gentle laugh. "It's okay. I know. Mike didn't tell me, I just figured it out."
"Oh," Will said, seemingly satisfied with that answer.
The three heard a doorknob twist, turning around. Jane.
"Max? Come back to bed, it's so cold," she said, groggy voice matching Will's from a few moments ago.
Her eyes go wide as she sees the scene in front of her.
"Mike? Will? Max? What the hell is going on?"
~~~~~~~
4:26
After they explained to Jane what was going on, she couldn't help but laugh. They all did, actually.
"How the fuck did we all manage to keep this under wraps?," Mike wheezed.
Max was laughing just as hard.
"We're all such idiots," Jane giggled. "We were quite literally living under each other's roofs and getting away with this.
Will nodded in agreement, laughing.
The four had spent the last 40 minutes or so laughing about the events of this night and those prior.
They talked and fantasized about the countless double dates they could go on, and the massive sleepovers they could have.
They talked and talked and talked until the sun came up, when they decided to go to sleep for real this time. As Mike followed Will into his room and Max into Jane's, the two looked at each other and shook their heads, smiling. They had so much to debrief when they got home.