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“Mike…Mike you’re doing it wrong-”
“I got it, Will-oh fuck-”
“Give me it!”
Will snatches the half rolled joint from Mikes bony fingers and finishes rolling it properly. Mike pouts from his spot on Wills bed, arms crossed as he leans his back against the wall.
“I had it.” Mike insists. Will doesn’t answer because he definitely didn’t have it.
As soon as Will is done rolling it, Mike snatches it from him instantly. Will glares at him slightly but Mike just smiles cheekily, “You got first hit last time.”
Will rolls his eyes, “You weren’t with me last time.”
Mike ignores him. He takes a hit and coughs for a few seconds before passing it back to Will. He snorts as Mike flops back dramatically and takes a hit himself, barely coughing as opposed to Mike.
“You know,” Mike rasps, “I started smoking before you.” Will raises a brow and lets Mike snatch the joint from him.
“Did you?” He questions as he snatches it right back.
Mike pouts but lets it go, “Yeah. Took a few cigs from Nancy.”
Will blinks, “Nancy smokes?” Mike snatches the joint back.
“Yeah,” He interrupts his sentence to take a longer hit before passing it back, “She started after Vecna.”
Will hums and nods. He definitely gets it, if he could’ve started smoking after every traumatizing thing he went though he’d definitely do it.
He lets himself drift from his thoughts to watch Mike with a smile, who’s currently hogging the joint but he doesn’t care because Mike is so pretty.
Mike smiles at him lazily, “You’re pretty too.”
Will blinks slowly, “Can you hear my thoughts?”
Mike shakes his head, black curls falling into his eyes, “Said it out loud.”
“Oh.” He snatches the the joint back from Mike who doesn’t even put up much of a fight.
They fall in to a rhythm of Mike practically hogging the joint and Will snatching it back whenever he realizes Mike is hogging it.
Will zones back out as he takes in their surroundings. Laying on his bed, passing a joint back and forth, letting the sunset beam into his already dimly lit room. It feels almost unnatural for them to be at this much peace because the last few year’s were anything but.
His eyes find themselves back at Mike. Mike who’s trying to make an ‘O’ with the smoke and failing. He’s almost mad at how good Mike looks right now, completely blissed out and relaxed. He hadn’t bothered trying to tame his hair and let his hair curl and grow wildly. He wants to run his fingers through his hair.
He’s violently brought out of his thoughts when Mike suddenly shoots up. Mike turns to him with a smile, “Can you paint on me?”
Will blinks slowly. What is wrong with him, is the first thing that comes to Wills mind before he’s moving to grab his paint that Mike had tossed to the floor when he came over a couple of hours earlier.
When he returns back to his bed Mike is sprawled out, starfish style. His head turns and he stares at Will through half-lidded eyes. Will fights the blush that wants to crawl on his face. He dumps the paint and brushes on the bed and stares at Mike for a second longer.
“Where am I painting?”
Mike blinks like he’s trying to comprehend the question before he answers, “My chest?”
This was a horrible idea, Will thinks as a dull panic shoots through his body.
“You sure?” Mike nods sluggishly.
Will takes a deep breathe and climbs back on to the bed. He pauses as he looks down at Mike, “How am i supposed to paint your chest? Where do I sit?”
“On m’lap?” Mike offers.
Will opens his mouth to say something but decides against it. He gingerly swings his leg over Mikes and sits lightly on his thighs. He fights to the urge to scream when Mikes hand immediately find his waist.
“What am i painting?”
Mike hums, “I have a suggestion but its kind of strange.”
“With all the shit we’ve seen i think we’re past things being strange.”
Mike snorts, “That’s true.”
They’re both silent while Will waits expectantly for Mikes answer. Mike goes to take another hit and Will snatches it from him, “Mike, what am i painting?”
Mike purses his lips before he sighs, “Yknow how like, red and freaky the sky was when Vecna put a crack in the ground..”
Will nods slowly and Mike continues, “Can you paint that?”
Will pauses, part of him wants freak out and say no, but Mike is staring at him like he just hung the fucking stars so -
“Yeah I can paint it.” He takes a long hit from the joint and lets Mike hog it for the remainder of the painting process.
“Is it gonna tickle?” Mike asks as he trails Wills movements, watching as he sets up the paint.
Will shrugs, “It can. Are you ticklish?”
Mike frowns petulantly, “You know I am.” Will snorts because he does know that.
Mike flinches as soon as the cold paint hits his skin, jostling Will. Will laughs but continues painting even as Mike squirms around.
After a few minutes Mike finally relaxes and they submerge into a comforting silence.
Will doesn’t know why the sudden silence makes him emotional but it does. He hasn’t seen Mike this calm in months , with stressing over Vecna and El - Mike was practically anxiety if it was a person.
So seeing Mike so at peace, especially in his presences, makes his heart hurt in a good way.
“You’re so good at painting.” Mike babbles, eyes closed.
Will smiles, “Thank you, Mike.”
“You’re good at everything.” He continues. Will stays silent because he has a feeling Mike is gonna continue speaking.
He does.
“Why’re you so good at everything, Will? And i’m like…” He trails and lazily waves his hand around.
Will pauses momentarily before continuing, “You’re like..?”
“I suck.”
Will snorts at how abrupt Mike says it, “You don’t suck, Mike.”
“Yes I do.” Mike insists.
“Okay then, why do you suck?”
Mike thins his lips, “Well cause I don’t do anything. Dustins got science shit, You paint, Lucas had his basketball bullshit,” Will ignores how bitterly Mike says that, “Max has skateboarding, and El is good at almost everything and I…” He sighs, “I don’t have shit.” He finishes.
Will frowns slightly, “I thought you write.”
Mike snorts bitterly, “Not anymore. Mom threw away all my old writing shit, said something about growing up.”
‘Did you think we would spend the rest of our lives in my basement?’
“That’s bullshit.” Will snarls.
Mike blinks up at him before he shrugs, “I guess she’s right. I do need to grow up.”
“Growing up doesn’t constitute getting rid of the things you enjoy, Mike.”
Mike doesn’t seem convinced, “Either way, Will. Whether I write or not I’m just like, useless.”
Will immediately drops the paintbrush to roughly grab Mikes chin. Mike looks up at him startled but Will doesn’t care, “Take that back right now, Mike.”
“Will-”
“That’s bullshit, Mike. Who helped me get out of the Upside down?”
Mike goes to interject but Will barrels on, “You were there to calm me down when i freaked out about the Mind Flayer, you were there on halloween - Jesus Mike, you were there when i was fucking possessed! Just because you didn’t go around swinging a fucking nail bat like Steve doesn’t mean you’re useless.”
He lets Mike go and picks up the paint brush, he looks back at him one last time, “Don’t you ever say you’re useless again, Mike Wheeler. I swear i’ll hurt you.”
He goes back to painting and its silent for a few seconds before Mike is speaking again, “You really think that?”
Will swears he could audibly hear his heart break, “Mike, of course I think that.”
Mike is silent for a second, face contemplating before he speaks again, “That was my Vecna curse.”
Will feels his blood go cold, mind flashing back to when Mike was possessed and how he refused to tell anyone what he saw.
“You don’t have to-”
“I want to.” Mike cuts off, “It..It felt so normal y’know? We were talking about a plan. I put my two-cents in and…and you gave me the nastiest glare i’ve ever seen.” Mike laughs sadly, “You said…’Why are you even here, Mike? It’s not like you can help. You’re useless.’ I just…it got..worse. But I don’t think i can..” he trails off.
“Don’t force yourself Mike.”
Mike sighs sadly, “Yeah…I didn’t even realize i was under his spell. It felt real.”
“Well it wasn’t.” Will says sternly, “Because I would never say that to you, Mike. You can help, you did help. You are so much more important to us - to me , than you think, Mike.”
Mike gives a shakily smile, “I think the high wore off.”
Will snorts and gets off of Mikes thighs, “Whatever, dick.”
Mike sits up, face flushed and a shy smile gracing his face, “Thank you, Will. Genuinely that..meant a lot to me. You’re super important to me as well.”
Will smiles, “I know, Mike. I’m finished by the way.”
Mike brightens, carefully scrambling off the bed to stand in front of the mirror. Will crawls off the bed after him.
Mike is silent as he stares at the mirror, Will anxiously stands behind him, “Is it good? It’s not the best. I had to do it from memory so it probably doesn’t-”
“Will.” Mike cuts off, turning around slowly.
“Yes?” Will says just as slowly.
“Can i kiss you?”
Will blinks. Then again. “Excuse me?”
Mike blinks back, “I said it looks great.”
Will furrows his eyebrows, “That’s definitely not what you-”
“Are you hungry?” Mike cuts him off, grabbing his shirt and throwing it on, “I’m hungry. Let’s get pizza.”
Will watches stunned as Mike quickly rushes out of his room and into the kitchen. He slowly follows after him, still too much in shock to do anything as Mike orders pizza.
He’s only brought out of his thoughts when he hears Mike put the phone back on the hook and smiles at him, “They said 30 minutes.”
Will nods slowly and Mike plops himself on the couch, looking back at Will expectantly, “Are you gonna sit?”
Will moves silently and sits down next to Mike who’s fiddling with the remote and flipping though channels.
Theres no fucking way he imagined that, Will thinks to himself.
Mike side eyes him before focusing back on the TV, “Are you okay, Will? You’re like, super tense.”
“Yeah…yeah I’m fine.”
Mikes face pinches slightly, “You clearly aren’t. What’s wrong?”
“Did you mean that?”
Mike pauses, “Mean what?”
Will scoffs as he fully turns to Mike on the couch, “The shit you literally said like, 5 minutes ago.”
Mikes lips thin but he adamantly stares forward, “I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
Will gawks at Mike before he glares, “Don’t play that shit with me, Mike.”
Mike flinches slightly but stays silent, so Will continues, “You’re a piece of shit y’know that, right?” Will moves to stand up but Mike catches his wrist.
“Please don’t leave.” He begs, tightening his hold on Wills wrist.
Will stares down at Mike before sighing and sitting back down.
Mike fidgets before sighing, “I don’t know how to put my feelings in to words.”
Will nods quietly, curling further into the couch, chin resting on his knees.
Mike takes a deep breath, “I hated you for the entirety of your stay at California.”
Will goes still and goes to speak but Mike continues, “I was so pissed at you and I didn’t even know why. Every time someone asked me ‘how’s Will?’ I got so angry.” He pauses for a second before speaking again, “I didn’t have a reason, or - at least I thought I didn’t have a reason. But I did.”
“What was the reason?” Will asks quietly.
Mike smiles sadly, “I hated you because you weren’t here. I was angry because you left me.”
“I didn’t want to leave you, Mike-”
“I know. I know you didn’t. But I couldn’t help but feel kinda betrayed that you just..left me behind.”
Will doesn’t know why the sudden confession makes him kind of angry, but it does and before he knows it he’s speaking before thinking, “That’s not fair.”
Mike winces, “I know but-”
“That’s so not fair, Mike. You - you don’t get to leave me behind and then get upset when i leave.” Will spits.
Mike flinches slightly, “Will i didn’t-”
“I spent months begging you guys to hang out with me, but you were too busy. You didn’t wanna hang out with me. You left me!” Will doesn’t know when he stood up but he’s now pacing back and forth.
He stops directly in front of Mike, “You left me.” He roughly pokes Mikes chest, “Not the other way around. I never left you Mike, I was always here.”
Its silent between the both of them so when Mike suddenly bursts into tears Will is startled.
“Mike-“
“I know!” Mike sobs, “I know! Goddamnit Will, I know! I know it isn’t fair! But I can’t help it.” He roughly throws himself back against the cough, aggressively rubbing at his eyes.
He takes a shaky breath, “I know it sounds bad, Will. It does but I can’t help it. It made sense to me, y’know? We were Mike and Will, we weren’t…” He chokes on a sob, “We weren’t supposed to be separated.”
Will sits down next to him, “I get it, Mike. But I didn’t separate us - I tried, Mike, I tried. I wanted us to be Mike and Will. You didn’t.”
“I did!” Mike wails, “I swear I did, Will. I just…it was hard.”
“What was hard, Mike? What was so hard that you left me behind?”
Mike bites the inside of his cheek, lips wobbling as a fresh set of tears rush down his face, “It was your fault.” He whispers.
Will flinches, “Mike-”
“It was your fault!” He says louder, “You were so- you were too much!” He stands suddenly, “Being around you hurt, Will! I couldn’t do it!”
Will stands too and now they’re face to face, “That’s not my fault, Mike!”
“Yes it is!” Mike aggressively grips his own hair and starts pacing, “It’s your fault, Will.”
“Whatever happened wasn’t my fault, Mike.” Will gasps out between tears.
“You don’t get it!” Mike cries.
“Then explain!”
“I-“ Mike chokes on a sob, “I fucking can’t. I can’t because I don’t know how to. I don’t know how to explain how insane you drive me. How much I don’t feel normal around you.”
Will sobs silently, hand tightly covering his mouth as Mike continues, “I don’t feel human around you. I feel like i’m going fucking insane, Will.”
Will sniffles, “Is that a good or a bad thing?”
Mike laughs wetly, “I don’t know. A good thing? You just…you throw me for a loop.” He sags back on to the couch, Will following shortly after.
Mike shuffles, letting his head drop onto Wills shoulder. Will rests his head on Mikes and sighs, letting his body relax.
It’s silent before Mike is finally speaking again, “I’m gonna say something.” Will hums, “But if i say it. You can’t run.”
Will pauses before nodding slowly.
“I never loved El. I mean I did, but romantically at least, i didn’t…” he trails off before sighing, “I had a list. Of all my friends, You, Lucas, Dustin and Max.”
“A list?”
Mike nods, jostling them both, “A list. I listed all the reasons why I loved you guys.” Will ignores the flutter in his heart, “But when I got to you i was so confused. I was confused because i knew why i loved you but it felt different .”
Wills heart races, “Different..how?”
Mike shuffles, “I loved you in a different way. Different than Lucas, Dustin and Max….different than El. I loved you…I love you like I was supposed to love El.”
Will short-circuits.
“You…what?”
Mike snorts, “I know it’s weird and all but-”
“No no no-“ Will sits up and turns to Mike, grabbing his shoulders, “You love me?”
Mikes eyebrows furrow, “I just said that-”
“You aren’t fucking with me?”
Mike blinks before an offended look crosses his face, “Will i just sobbed my heart out to you why would i be fucking with you?”
“I don’t know!” Will exclaims, not able to fight to the huge smile crawling its way on his face, “You love me!” He shakes Mikes shoulders lightly.
Mike smiles confusedly, “Uh..yeah, i do.”
Will doesn’t fight the giggle that leaves his mouth, “Mike!”
“Will-”
“Mike, i’ve always loved you.”
Mike freezes, blinking slowly, “You…what?”
Will shakes him again, “Mike. I’ve been in love with you since i was like, 12, dude.”
Mike blinks again, “I beat you.”
Will pauses, “What are you talking about?”
A huge smile spreads makes its way onto Mikes face, “I fell in love with you when we first met.”
Will snorts, “Love at first sight.”
Mike smiles brightly, “Yeah, definitely love at first sight.”
They both smile at each other stupidly before Mike suddenly frowns, “I didn’t mean to be an asshole by the way.”
Will shakes his head, he pushes Mike back slightly and shuffles them around until Mike is laying on the couch and Will is laying on his chest. He can feel Mike physically relax underneath him and it warms his heart.
Mike sighs, “I really like you.”
Will smiles into Mikes sweater, “I really like you too.”
They’re both silent before being violently startled by the doorbell ringing. Mike snorts, “I forgot about the pizza.”
Will giggles but moves so Mike can get up and answer the door. He listens to the short conversation he has the with the pizza guy, watching as Mike sets the pizza box on the table before shimming his way back under Will.
“Mike,” Will says, voice muffled by Mikes sweater, “We can’t eat like this.”
Mike shrugs, “Don’t care.” He wraps his arms around Wills waist and tightens. “I’ve wanted to do this forever and now i get to. The food can wait.”
Will blushes and lifts his head up to stare at Mike. Mike smiles down at him, “What’re you staring at?”
Will smiles, “I’m staring at you.”
Mike blushes, “Well stop. You make me nervous.”
Will fights the urge to squeal loudly and squirm around, “I make you nervous?” he says giddily.
Mike pouts at him, “Why do you sound so happy about that?”
Will shrugs to the best of his ability, “I like that I make you nervous. You make me nervous.”
Mike smiles down at him, “Really?” Will nods and Mike laughs slightly, “I guess we make each other nervous.”
Will smiles and smothers his face back down into Mikes chest. They’re both silent while basking in each others presence before Mike is shifting nervously. Will lifts slightly, “What’s wrong?”
Mike smiles nervously, “I have a question but I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”
Will rolls his eyes, “You rarely make me uncomfortable Mike, just ask me.”
“Can I kiss you?”
Will blinks, “You want to kiss me?”
Mike furrows his eyebrows, “Why would I not want to kiss you?”
Will shrugs, “I don’t know.”
Mike shakes his head, “Of course I want to. So can I?”
Will pauses before nodding and sitting up, allowing Mike to sit up with him.
They faced each other, Wills legs rest over Mikes. Will laughs awkwardly and Mike blushes, “I can lead if thats fine.”
Will nods, not trusting his voice at the moment. Mike takes a deep breath and slowly cups Wills cheek. He smiles at Will before leaning in and gingerly placing his lips onto Wills.
It wasn’t the best kiss ever but it was Will’s first and it was Mike . It was Mike kissing him and it was the best feeling ever. He leans more in to it, and feels also euphoric when Mikes hands find purchase on his waist. Mikes grip on his waist only tightens when he pulls back, slightly out of breath, smiling widely.
Mike beams, his hands finding purchase on his cheeks. He squishes slightly and leans forward to pepper kisses all over Wills face. Will giggles and squirms but doesn’t pull away. The kisses continue for awhile before Mike is smushing their lips together again. The kiss definitely better and Will can’t help but lean more into it again, letting Mike shift him around until they were pressed against each other.
Mike pulls back and rests their foreheads together, breathing heavily, “I fucking love you.”
Will smiles widely, “I fucking love you too.”
They stare at each other and kiss every once awhile for the next few minutes before Will pulls back completely with a shy smile, “You’re my boyfriend now, right?”
Mike squints, “Of course, Will. I’m your boyfriend and you’re mine.”
Will smiles, “I’m yours.” he repeats softly.
Mike grins widely, “And i’m yours.”
They kiss once more before Will is pulling back and smiling apologetically, “Sorry but i’m like, really hungry.”
Mike snorts, shifting them around so they’re laying pressed against each other, grabbing the pizza box and setting it on their legs. Will snatches the biggest slice, smiling innocently when Mike glares at him.
“There a problem?” Will grins as he takes a bite.
Mike squints, “You took my slice.”
Will shrugs innocently, “I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about.”
Mike huffs, poking Will in the side before grabbing his own slice. They continued to eat silence, eating until at least 3 slices were left, after Will forced Mike to clean the pizza boxes up and put it away, they cuddled together on the couch.
They watched TV in silence before Mike snorts, “We never finished the joint.”
Will blinks, “What?”
“The joint. It’s still burning.”
“Shit.”