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Soft, squeaking moans pulled Jonathan from his sleep. At first, he thought he might have imagined it, just a remnant of a dream blurring into reality in his half-awake state. But, just as he was about to roll over and pull the blankets up to his chin, he heard it again, louder this time.
His eyes snapped open and his heart dropped into his stomach.
Will.
He ripped the blankets from his body in a rush of panic, swinging his legs around the corner of his mattress and placing his feet firmly on the ground. The lack of friction between his socks and the hardwood floor almost made him slip as he hurried out, worry carrying his feet quicker than usual across the hall to his little brother's room.
The door was cracked open ever so slightly, as it had been every night since the Mind Flayer had been expelled from Will's body. Jonathan remembered that night, the way Will had been inconsolable, shaking and trembling and begging not to be left alone. Jonathan had curled up next to him and lulled him to sleep with shushed words whispered into his hair. The next night was the same, and the one after that. It took two full weeks of Jonathan petting his hair and holding him tight before Will finally felt safe enough to sleep on his own again.
And even then, the nightmares just wouldn't stop.
It broke Jonathan's heart. If he had been there to protect him, if he had been able to save him– If he hadn't been so caught up in his own problems, in some stupid girl, he could have prevented everything.
But he hadn't, and now he lived with the consequences.
The soft mews grew louder as he pushed the door open. Will was sprawled across the bed, covers kicked off and his body covered in a thin layer of perspiration. The hem of his star wars themed pajama shirt had pulled up, revealing the flesh of his stomach to the dim moonlight coming in through the window. His chest heaved up and down, his body desperately trying to fight off the monsters in his head.
Jonathan sat softly against the edge of the bed, laying a hand gently against his brother's shoulder, shaking it softly and trying his best not to startle him.
"Will?" He whispered.
The pained moans subsided slowly, but the labored breathing continued. Jonathan pursed his lips, his palm finding it's way to Will's cheek, fingers brushing against the signs of distress in the boy's face. His thumb trailed from Will's temple, across his cheek bone, and down to the corner of his lips, stopping to smooth the soft skin there.
The tension finally faded from Will's face and he hummed as he began to wake, his full lashes fluttering open. For a moment his eyes were cloudy, disoriented.
"J-Jonathon…?" His breath hitched suddenly as the realization of his dreams hit him. He jolted upright, clinging to Jonathon's broad frame and burying his face in the cotton fabric of his shirt with heavy breaths.
"Hey buddy. I'm here," Jonathan whispered against his brother's golden brown hair, rubbing his palm flat against Will's back and placing a chaste kiss on the top of his head. "I'm here, it's okay."
He felt wetness against his chest as his brother began to tremble viciously. Will was crying. It wasn't anything new and it definitely wasn't the first time Will had buried his face in Jonathan's shirt and sobbed, but it pulled at his heart strings nonetheless and he hugged the boy tighter still against his body.
"Hey," he called to him. "You're safe. You're safe," he soothed. "I'm here and I won't let anything hurt you okay? You know that right? I would never let anyone or anything harm you."
There was a sniffle, then a nod. Will pulled away slightly, small arms still clinging around Jonathan's waist, and looked up at him, face red and puffy, his eyes shining, flushed, brows pulled together. "I'm sorry, Jonathan."
"No no no," he soothed. He placed his hands on either side of Will's face, his cold palms feeling clammy against the red heat emanating from Will's flushed cheeks. "It was just a dream, Will. You have nothing – absolutely nothing – to apologize for." He thumbed away the tears that ran down his face.
Will was so close, so vulnerable and open, staring up at him with doe eyes and heavy lashes, it took every fiber of his being not to crush him into a bear hug. It took every ounce of strength not to pull his face closer and kiss the tears away – to plant his lips softly against his forehead, his cheeks, his lips. A terrible knot grew in his stomach.
He loved Will so much, maybe too much. Brothers weren't meant to kiss the way he sometimes wanted to.
It was a thought always lingering in the back of his head, but he shut it out. Because more than anything, he wanted Will to be happy, safe. He wanted to take away the nightmares, the pain, the fear. He wanted Will to have the life he so rightfully deserved. If he could just give Will that, Jonathon wouldn't need a damn thing else.
"I'm sorry I woke you up," Will sniffled once more, rubbing the snot from his nose with the back of his sleeve as kids often do.
Jonathon smiled at the sweet ridiculousness of the sentiment.
"Don't be," he said. "I'm glad you woke me up. Do you have any idea how horrible I would have felt if I found out you were in here, all alone, having nightmares all night? I'm just glad I was here to wake you."
Will's crying had finally subsided and a small smile danced across his lips. "Yeah?"
Jonathon could feel his heart taking root in his chest. It swelled until he was worried it might burst. "Yeah."
He ruffled his hair, heart jumping at the sweet sound of his brother's soft giggles, and pulled him into one last hug.
"Are you gonna be alright?" he asked.
Will's smile faded just as quickly as it had appeared. He looked away and nibbled on his bottom lip with a guilty look on his face.
"Hey, hey. Look at me." Jonathon placed a finger under the boy's chin and lifted it until their eyes met. "It's okay if you need to stay with me again tonight. I don't mind. Besides, my bed is much too big for one person anyways."
The smile that spread across Will's face now was brighter than the moon outside and highly contagious too. Jonathan could feel warmth seeping from his heart, heating up his whole body.
"Well?" he said, scooping his little brother up and out of bed. "What are we waiting for?" He stood up straight, holding Will up with his arms around his lower back. Will wrapped his arms around Jonathan's neck, legs locking around his waist, giggling madly at his older brother's sudden show of strength. Jonathon touched their noses together and shushed him with a small grin. "Hey, quiet, you don't want to wake up mom, you know how she worries."
He rolled his eyes knowingly, "I'd never hear the end of it."
With that, Jonathan carried him back across the hall to his room, where they would have enough space for the both of them to sleep comfortably. Once inside, he nudged the door closed with his foot and made his way to the bed, gently setting Will down and pulling his arms from around the boy's waist.
They had been through this enough to have a routine, which Jonathon followed instinctively by flicking on the dinosaur shaped night light he had placed across the room just for Will. It bathed the room in a dim yellow hue, barely enough brightness to see each other through the dark.
He returned to the bed and fit himself under the covers, Will excitedly shuffling up close to him and laying his head against the older boy's strong shoulder.
"Jon?" Will whispered, he had propped himself up on one elbow and was watching his brother with a soft smile.
Jonathan blushed a bit at the nickname, thankful that the dark would hide the heat in his cheeks. Will was the only person in the world who called him that. Not that he was complaining though. If he was being honest, he actually liked it, but only so long as it came from Will. It was a name reserved solely for his little brother and he planned to keep it that way.
"Yeah?"
Will began as if he was going to say something, but quickly flushed and looked away, biting down on his lip in contemplation.
"What is it?" Jonathan asked.
Their eyes connected again – Will's warm and round and bright like a puppy, Jonathan's soft and gentle and loving.
"It's just…" His eyes flickered away shyly one or two times before he gained the confidence to speak. "I love you, Jon."
The words were soft and sweet and innocent. Jonathan could feel butterflies fluttering around, trapped inside his chest. He wanted to pull him close and hold him tight and never let go. He wanted to tell him he loved him too – wished he could tell him how much he really loved him – and that he always would. But he didn't get the chance.
Because right at that moment, Will leaned in and placed his lips firmly against his brother's.
Jonathan's eyes were wide with shock, but he didn't pull away, instead watching Will's lashes flutter closed with bated breath and a suddenly quickening heartbeat.
He hated himself at that moment. He loved Will so fucking much , but he hated himself for the way his body reacted to such a simple touch. His heart was going a mile a minute, but judging by the way his sweatpants tightened around his waist, it wasn't pumping any blood to his brain.
He forced himself, ever so reluctantly, to gently push Will back. Brothers weren't meant to kiss this way.
"Will??" he asked, his voice a breathless whisper. His palms came to his sides as he slid himself up into a sitting position. "Why did you do that?"
It was a stupid question, considering he himself had fought the urge to do the exact same thing countless times.
"I-I'm sorry!" The boy sounded like he was about to cry, a look of absolute desperation and fear on his face. "Did I do something wrong??"
"What? N–" he cut himself off. He couldn't really say no, but he couldn't bring himself to say yes. He deflected instead. "You're just… You're not supposed to kiss me on the lips."
He could see the hurt in Will's eyes and the pain in his face.
"But why not? You kiss Nancy on the lips all the time."
Jonathan nearly choked. "That's different, Will!" He spoke his words in hushed whispers.
"How?"
"She's… she's my…" Girlfriend? No, that wasn't entirely true. He started again, "…that's just what people do when they love each other. And I– uh– I love her very much." It didn't sound very convincing, even to his own ears.
Will pouted. "More than you love me?" he asked softly, barely a whisper.
Jonathan couldn't pull the reins on his racing heart. "What? No! Of course not! It's just– it's different, okay?"
"Different how?"
"It just is. Me and you, we love each other, yeah, but being in love with someone is different." He hated what his words implied. He wasn't in love with Nancy and honestly never had been.
The younger boy contemplated for just a moment, disappointment still evident on his face as he replayed the words in his head in an attempt to better understand them. "What's the difference? How do you know?"
Jonathan pinched the bridge or his nose, a slight twinge of frustration building in the back of his throat. "You just know, I guess. It's hard to explain." Will was watching him intently, gaze flickering from his eyes to his lips, then back. "It's like when you want to spend all your time with that person, when they're all you can think about all day and you never get bored or sick of them…" He realised suddenly he wasn't talking about Nancy at all. He wasnt talking about any stupid teenage girl. "And you feel like something is missing inside you when they're not around. They get you like no one else does and you want to spend the rest of your life with them, sharing everything. Memories, dreams, experiences, thoughts and laughs and…" He trailed off, worried that maybe he was revealing too much of his own feelings, even to himself. Then under his breath,"and other stuff…"
"...what other stuff?"
The older boy groaned silently in his head, trying to convince himself that he wasn't going too far with this. If this was what it took to get his point across, to get Will to understand he shouldn't kiss his brother that way, then so be it. He sighed, audibly this time.
"Remember a few weeks ago, when I heard you making noise and I came to your room because I thought you were having a nightmare?" He watched Will flush violently at the memory. He sat up uncomfortably and looked down at his hands. "Thinking about that person will make you want to do that sometimes."
There was a second of heavy silence before Will replied in a soft whisper. "But if that's true…" His eyes held fast in defiance of the blush of embarrassment on his face. "If that's true, Jon… then I guess I really am in love with you…"
All the blood in Jonathan's body ran cold in a split second. "W-what?"
Will wouldn't turn his eyes away, they were big and bright and painfully honest. His words were so quiet, so low, the older boy could barely hear him. "Thinking about you… sometimes it makes me want to touch myself… and I don't know why."
Jonathan Byers had never gotten so painfully hard so fast in his entire life. He hastily pushed himself up straighter on the bed, his hands darting between his criss-crossed legs in an attempt to cover his sudden erection.
He stared at Will incredulously, knowing full well that his face was an alarming shade of red.
"T-That's not funny, Will. You can't just j-joke around like that," he said, desperately trying to keep his voice calm. He couldn't help his breath from quickening, his blood pounding in his ears, and rushing straight down to his dick. He swallowed hard behind pursed lips, unable to break his eyes away from Will.
Will who was now looking completely lost and disheartened. "It's not a joke, Jonathan! I-I'm sorry… " he whispered. "For being in love with you... And for being such a freak. No wonder you don't love me back, why you don't even want to kiss me."
The words shot an arrow straight through Jonathan's heart, he couldn't bear to let his baby brother think that. After all he had been through, after all the sleepless nights he endured, with headphones blaring music to stifle the sound of his own sobs. After the way his stomach clenched and tightened, aching with pain from being curled in a tight ball for hours on end. After thinking he had lost Will for good and wanting to lose himself the same way – to disappear. The nights after they found Will's 'body' that he spent standing at the edge of that same quarry, gazing down the cliff at the rocks below– voices in the back of his head telling him to jump as the gravel at his feet gave way.
Before he realized what he was doing, his hands shot up to cup Will's face. He leaned in halfway, guiding the boy closer to him, and placed a chaste but hungry kiss against his soft lips. He resisted the urge to deepen it, to taste his brother and drink him in. But he relished in the feel of his brother's soft lips. They were warm and so alive . He thanked god he even had a brother in front of him to be so selfishly obsessed with.
He pulled away slightly with hazy eyes, hardly believing he had just given into the same temptation he had fought against for so long. It was exciting, electrifying, everything he had dreamed of and more. He wanted more and more, he wanted to drown in the feeling of Will's lips against his own. But still, it wracked him head to toe with guilt.
"That's just not true, Will," he said breathlessly, defeated, like the truth had just been tortured out of him. His eyes flickered back and forth between his brother's, searching, pleading desperately for him to understand. "I want to kiss you all the fucking time." He could feel the pain of those words twist the muscles in his face. "I could kiss you over and over again, every day, for the rest of my life and I'd still never get enough of you." In all of his 16 years, Jonathan had never felt so painfully broken. The truth spilled out of him like water from a faucet, he couldn't get it to stop. He just couldn't stop."If anyone's a freak, Will, it's me. I'm the freak. I want to kiss you all the time but… I just can't. We just can't."
He hung his head low, feeling sick to his stomach for loving Will so much in a way he knew he shouldn't. He was a freak, that was for sure. But he wouldn't let Will get hurt. No, not in the same way Lonnie had hurt him years ago. Will didn't deserve that, not after the horrors he had already been through. Will was an angel, a kitten, a puppy dog, an innocent boy who only deserved to be touched only with kindness and love.
Will, however, seemed oblivious to the root of Jonathan's pain as he crawled ever closer, pulling one leg over Jonathan's hip and straddling him. He hadn't noticed the bulge in the teen's pants even as his leg brushed against it. Jonathan's breath hitched and his heart hiccupped at the contact.
"Why not, Jonathan…?" Will whispered, his eyes firm and pleading and refusing to look away. "Why can't we kiss…? If you want it… and I want it… Why can't we?" He brought his hands down to the hem on his older brother's shirt and dipped his finger beneath the fabric, ghosting lightly across the teen's waistband.
Jonathon couldn't help but let out a heavy, shaky breath. Even through his emotional turmoil, he wanted to lean into the touch – wanted to buck his hips up and press his needy cock against Will's ass, to throw Will off balance and feel the boy's slender fingers fall further beneath his shirt, pressing against the skin of his abs. He couldn't hide it anymore, he felt like he might just be going crazy.
With Will hovering above him, straddling his hips, his dick had swollen to full mass and was impossible to hide now, as it stood at attention, lightly poking against the boy above him.
It was incredibly hot watching the way Will's eyes lit up in surprise, his face turning red all the way up to the tips of his ears. He tentatively relaxed down onto Jonathan's lap, feeling his brother's stiff member pressing hard between the two of them, and causing his own dick to twitch in response.
"W-Will…" The moan Jonathan let out was heavy and thick and laced tightly with overwhelming lust. His little brother had no idea what he was doing to him.
He brought his hands up to rest on either side of Will's hips, holding the boy in place as his thumbs rubbed circles into the sides of his stomach. He resisted the urge to dig his fingers into the soft flesh and rock him back and forth, grinding Will's little ass against his big, aching cock. Precum leaked against the cotton fabric of his sweatpants at the thought, and if his hips moved ever so slightly, he swore it wasn't on purpose.
"Please, Jonathon." Will leaned in closer than ever. " Kiss me ."
If there was one thing Jonathon could never do, it was deny Will of something he wanted. And if he was going to kiss Will, he decided, he was going to show him what a real kiss felt like.
One hand slipped up his back slowly to his neck, fingers slipping through the soft, brown hair that fell against the base. The other hand slipped down slightly, grabbing hungrily at Will's ass, making sure his small frame was kept firmly in place against his throbbing hard on.
And then he leaned in, brushing noses with his baby brother before tilting his head and pressing their lips together. Except this time, he didn't pull away, he didn't tell him they should stop. Instead, he pushed deeper, taking Will's bottom lip in his and tasting the sweet, pink flesh.
God, he tastes better than fucking candy. He could feel himself getting drunk off the sensations. The head of his cock pleaded to be inside of Will, pleaded to be enveloped inside his tight, wet hole as they kissed – to be shoved inside, deep, to the hilt.
Will didn't seem to be faring much better. One hand had stayed flat against the warm skin of the teens chest, the other had slipped down his shorts and wrapped around his hardening boy cock, pulling it free from his pajama pants and pulsing his palms up and down its length slow and rhythmically.
He pushed back against his brother's mouth, inexperienced but oh so eager to learn. His lips parted, allowing Jonathan's tongue to slip inside. His big brother's taste made him moan and he had to squeeze the base of his four inch cock to keep himself from blowing his load all over Jonathon's white t-shirt. Precum leaked from the head, dripping a sticky mess onto Jonathan's belly button.
"Jon– hnn, uhh ahh —" Will's thoughts were jumbled in the haze of their kiss, which had begun to spiral out of control, turning hungry and messy and wet.
It went on for what seemed like forever, neither boy wanting to pull away. They pushed back and forth, taking turns tasting and exploring each other's mouths. Teasing, tasting, biting and pulling at lips until they were both ready to bust.
Will was the first to pull back, a thin string of saliva connecting them like the proverbial red thread. His eyes were clouded with lust and love and pure neediness . He could hardly catch his breath.
Jonathan took this moment to notice what his brother was doing with his hands and caught sight of the throbbing, slutty cock that had been pulled from the boy's pants. It was red and swollen, glistening with a thick drop of precum at the tip.
He reached out and swiped his thumb against the slit, earning a soft kitten-like mew from the young boy. Will watched with half-lidded eyes, hypnotized, as Jonathan brought his hand up to taste the sticky sweet substance.
The only thing sweeter than Will's pretty little mouth was his boy cum, and Jonathan was determined to swallow the whole load.
"Do you trust me, Will?" he asked, breathlessly.
The boy was so flush and drunk on his own building euphoria, he could barely comprehend the question. He swallowed hard and simply nodded.
Jonathan gripped Will's chin and brought him into a hard kiss before quickly flipping him over so he was lying on his back.
Seeing Will layed out against the bed with messy hair and flushed cheeks drove Jonathan absolutely mad. His hard little cock poked against his smooth stomach, already beginning to leak again.
Jonathan had never felt this way with anyone else. He'd never seen anyone or anything as beautiful as his baby brother at that moment. His heart felt full, complete, like nothing could go wrong, like everything was finally right in the world.
He spoke without thinking.
"I won't see Nancy anymore."
The sudden confession threw Will off guard about as much as it did Jonathan himself, but he couldn't help it. When he was with Will, things were different. He wasn't the weird, shy kid that people saw him as at school. He wasn't the freak, the loser, the creep that everyone told him he was. With Will he could breath, he could be himself. He could just be Jonathan. He could be unequivocally himself – without the trauma, the pain, the bullshit.
The words fell from his lips effortlessly, feeling like the very first truths he'd spoken in his entire life.
"I've been pretending my whole life, you know? Pretending to be normal, pretending that things don't fucking hurt , pretending to love someone I don't even like . And maybe…" he hesitated, not from lack of conviction, but from the relentless, nervous drumming of his heart. "Maybe I'm sick of pretending. Maybe I'm sick of lying." He leaned in, eyes moving between his brother's eyes and his lips, until their noses nearly brushed. "And maybe, if I'm being honest, Will…" he whispered the words against soft, pink lips, "maybe you're all I ever wanted," and kissed him, hard.
The fire between them reignited hotter and brighter than ever before.
Will tried his best to speak through the tangle of lips, teeth, and moans. "Mnn– ahh– Jon–" he moaned and licked and bit at his brother's lips. "I love– mmnn–" He could feel his heart swell with pure, heavy-weighted happiness until it crushed against his ribcage, threatening to burst through his chest. "L-love you –" he gave a hiccuped gasp as Jonathan moved to his neck suddenly, licking and sucking at the sensitive patch of flesh there. " –so much!"
Jonathan grinned like a madman at the way his brother twitched and whimpered under him as he kissed his way down Will's thin body, pulling his shirt up and off completely, and tasting the skin along his collarbone. He trailed kisses like wildfire down the boy's chest and the middle of his stomach, only stopping for a second at the head of Will's needy cock.
He looked up, catching Will's gaze as he took the tip of his dick in his mouth. Will's eyes rolled back, as he let out a strangled cry and arched his back up and off the bed.
Jonathan was too busy teasing and tasting and revealing in the mousey squeaks that fell from his brother's lips to notice that two small palms had come up to cup his face until they had tangled their way into his hair. He nearly choked when those fingers curled and tugged his head down, forcing the cock in his mouth all the way down his throat. He stood there for a moment, in shock, trying his best to catch his breath through his nose although it was pressed harsh against Will's stomach.
He let a low growl vibrate along the length of his throat, making Will buck his hips wildy, desperately trying to nudge deeper and deeper into Jonathan's warm, wet mouth. Jonathan could feel and taste the slick precum gathering at the back of his throat as his brother dripped for him, and he swallowed it greedily before finally beginning to bob his head up and down in slow, rhythmic waves.
If Will's poorly suppressed moans were anything to go by, he was hitting all the right spots. Of course, Jonathan knew his way around a cock all too well. He dragged his tongue along the bottom as he pulled up, twisted and sucked as he pushed down. He let Will grab his hair and force his dick down his throat till he couldnt breath. He let him hold it there, shaking and squirming and writhing in pleasure, Jonathan only pulling back when the need to gasp for breath overcame him.
They were both in heaven, flushed and drunk with outright ecstasy. Will's voice had risen higher and higher, starting off soft and shy and breathless, and turning slowly into near feral, howling moans of encouragement, his brother's name getting choked inbetween his slutty cries. It was music to Jonathan's ears as he stroked his own dick, pleasure rising and tightening in the pit of his stomach.
He pulled off Will's cock with a loud, wet pop before hungrily lapping his tongue along the tip and devouring it to the hilt once again. He could feel the boy meat suddenly swell in his throat. He could see the signs, Will had sucked in a breath of air and held it in his chest. His body trembled, his brows knit together and he bit his lips near hard enough to make it bleed. Only seconds later, with a throb of his cock, he was shooting hot ropes of boy cum against the back of Jonathan's throat and screaming in pleasure.
Jonathan held himself there, swallowing every last sticky sweet drop his brother gave him.
The feeling of his little brother releasing inside his mouth and the adorable squeaking moans that fell from his lips were enough to send Jonathan over the edge. He cupped the tip of his cock in an attempt to keep his own cum from ruining the bedsheets. There was so much, however, and he came so hard, that it spit and sputtered through the cracks in his fingers.
He pulled his mouth from Will's little cock slowly, leaving it licked clean and shiny with saliva, before taking his shirt off and using it to clean the spunk from his hands.
"J-Jon…" Will's voice trembled slightly and Jonathan looked up to find the boy flushed and sweaty, beautiful as ever, with swollen red lips and half lidded eyes.
Jonathan tucked his spent dick back into his sweatpants and helped Will do the same, sliding the hem on the boy's pajamas back up over his cute little ass. He leaned up after, staring down lovingly at his little brother, on hand softly stroking his cheek. "Yes, Will?"
"I love you, Jon," he whispered, voice tired and rough from his orgasm.
"I love you too, Will." He leaned down and pressed one last, soft kiss against Will's lips before falling against the bed beside him. He pulled his brother close, throwing the blankets around them, and nuzzled his nose against Will's hair.
They both fell asleep in a matter of minutes, feeling warm and endlessly loved. There were no more nightmares, just yellow tinted dreams of stolen kisses and light touches.
Joyce woke up first the next morning, which came as a surprise to her. She was used to waking to the smell of Jonathan making breakfast, but this morning was quiet, no sound of clanging pots and pans or the hiss of eggs on the stove. For a moment she was worried, until she tip-toed her way to Jonathan's room, quietly turned the knob, and peered inside.
Her two angels were still fast asleep, both looking more well rested then they had in ages. Will was snuggled tight against Jonathan's chest, wrapped in his brother's arms with his messy head of hair tucked under the older boy's chin. He had a small smile on his face, even in his sleep.
She smiled softly at the sight, her heart warming at their simple, innocent affection, and closed the door again. She would let them sleep in just a little bit longer, and maybe this time she would give Jonathan a break and make breakfast for him instead. He was, after all, such a great big brother.