Work Text:
Mike was standing there, in awe of Will.
This was not uncommon. Will being amazing, that is. Mike had been thoroughly impressed by his endless creativity, his stoicism, his resilience.
Somehow, this was just—different.
He had been floating, for God’s sake. He had fully Chrissy-ed a Demogorgon.
When he finally came back into the moment, Mike felt guilty. He saw him, his dark brown eyes had returned.
It’s not that Mike doubted Will, it’s just that he had thought… that another force was at work. Namely, Eleven.
But seeing blood trickle down from Will’s nose confirmed everything that he didn’t suspect. He also didn’t exactly know what that meant.
Will wasn’t collapsing, like he did when he was seeing through the eyes of Vecna. Instead, he was standing tall.
Mike finally moved, slowly walking to Will while Joyce ran to embrace him. He stopped right in front of him. He would never admit it, but he cautiously made sure to keep a foot of distance between the two of them. Closeness was dangerous, he reasoned with himself, maybe he really was possessed again. This was a half-assed attempt at reassuring his busy mind, especially since their proximity had already threatened Mike.
“Will!” Joyce sobbed into her son's shoulder, “Will, my boy,”
Will hugged her back, squeezing her shoulders. But his eyes were on Mike.
It was like the volume of the buzzing in his head had been cranked up to one hundred. It had been slowly building, ever since they met, really. Mike knew he loved him. In the way that close friends, male friends, should love each other.
Looking into Will's eyes now, Mike was frightened, despite the deliberate distance between them. Not because of his now apparent super powers, but because whatever this was, whatever his feelings were, it was the real danger.
“You just… saved my life.” Mike uttered breathlessly.
Will gave a slight nod, the ends of his mouth quirking up into an exasperated and disbelieving smile.
Mike dared to reach his hand out to clasp onto Will’s left shoulder, the one that Joyce wasn’t crying into. “I can’t believe it. You… you were like… a superhero!” Mike couldn’t help but smile back.
“You were right,” Will said softly, tilting his head.
“What?” Mike questioned.
“You were right before. I’m not a super hero. I’m like Vecna… I-I stole his power, I think. I think I, like, harnessed it.”
Mike shivered. He was a bad person. He was a bad person, because while his best friend was clearly getting re-traumatized, he was… excited? Not in a weird way. It was just—It was as if his eyes had been opened. He loved El. Maybe not like a boyfriend should, but he did. But in this moment, Mike felt like… like Will was actually his super hero.
“Boys, we need to find the others,” Joyce interjected panickedly.
Mike figured his feelings could wait.