Work Text:
“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” In this moment, Will lost touch with his hold on reality. Mike has just said the thing he knows would hurt Will the most. He isn’t aware of what he’s saying until he sees the look on Mike’s face.
“Yes it is!” The raw anger in his voice knocked Mike back. Will immediately regretted saying that. Mike said the thing that would hurt Will the most so on instinct he said what would hurt Mike the most. This isn’t who he’s supposed to be, he’s supposed to take the hits and wait for time to heal his wounds. He’s not supposed to blow up on the people he loves. He’s supposed to be the nice one. The “good” one. The shy one. He was not supposed to be the gay one. He was supposed to get over his overwhelming and unnatural feelings for Mike and live and marry a girl he doesn’t love and live a normal life and forget about the week he spent in Hell. He was gonna leave Hawkins forever and leave his feelings with him. Everything is fucked now.
“Will I-”
Shit shit shit .
Before he could mess up anything else he got on his bike and rode home. When he got to his house, instead of going in, he decided at that moment that he would run away. He made sure no one was home before packing everything he needed and taking the extra money he knew his mom kept in her closet for emergencies. It wasn’t much but it was enough to get him started until he got a job. He needed to go as soon as possible, but all he had was his bike and he didn’t know how to drive, so he resolved to sleep in Castle Byers for the night. No one was going to go looking for him until at least the morning, but he’ll be gone by then. He’ll get a restart in Ohio, or maybe New York. He got all his essentials and headed for Castle Byers, fully preparing to leave Hawkins forever. The last thought he had leaving his house was of what he said to Mike and what Mike said to him. So stupid . When he got onto his safe haven, Will tore down all the pictures with Mike in them. No need to have anymore reminders of what happened not even an hour ago. All he felt now was fear. Fear of what just happened. Fear of what Mike is gonna do. Fear of the unknown. Fear of living to see what’s next. Suddenly he felt an even more intense rush of fear, one that doesn’t belong to him, The Mind Flayer . He feels goosebumps rise along his body, ending in his neck.
He hears rustling in the bushes and goes outside.
“Mike?”
-0-
“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls.” Mike’s words escape his mouth without his permission and sees something on Will’s face that’s never been directed at him.
Rage.
That was the worst thing Mike could have ever said to Will.
“Yes it is!” Will yells so passionately Mike backs up.
No
No
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no…
“Will I-”
Will’s on his bike before Mike can even process what just happened.
In the back of his mind all Mike can think of is Will’s last words.
Mike goes inside and tells Lucas to leave.
“But Mike,”
“Leave!” He didn’t mean to shout, but it gets Lucas out the door so it doesn’t matter.
Mike goes through every single thing he’s ever thought and said about Will, some of the more romantic type things that were pushed aside because he knew that it wasn’t how he was supposed to be. But Mike has always thought Will was the most perfect person he knew, and if Will felt the same about Mike then, how could it be wrong? How could he be broken for this reason if Will felt the same way? How could anything about Will be broken?
Then he left for Will’s house.
-0-
“Will, what’s wrong?” Mike immediately sensed something was up.
“What’s wrong? He laughs sarcastically. Will was fuming. Mike hated being the reason for Will’s rage. “What’s fucking wrong Mike? Did you just forget about the fight we had two hours ago?”
“Will,-” He tries.
“Shut up Mike! I do not have the time to deal with you right now.” Will had never said that to him before.
“Will-” He tries again.
“Did you not just fucking hear me Mike?” He’s starting to cry now, “I do not want to hear what you have to say. I don’t want to hear how disgusting you think I am. I don’t want to hear about how I’m some broken, useless-”
On impulse he grabs Will’s face. “Will.” He tries one more time, more firmly this time, and whispers while making eye-contact;
“You are not broken, Will.”
-0-
All of Will’s anger dies out with one sentence. Will kicks himself for the thought that Mike might feel the same. But the thought lingers on as Mike’s hands linger on his face. Mike closes his eyes, looking like he’s about to do something and takes a deep breath in. Slowly Mike leans forward and places a soft and brief kiss onto Will’s lips.
Oh, this is a nightmare.
Will thought.
Mike’s gonna be killed right in front of me after he confesses his feelings for me, classic.
But when he opens his eyes again Mike’s still there and the world hasn’t turned upside down.
-0-
Mike can’t look Will in the eye while saying this. “I love you Will.”
“Mike-” Will sounds surprised.
Mike immediately backs away and trips on a twig.
Will laughs at this and quickly goes to help him up
“You express your emotions one time.” He teases. “I don’t know how it took El 6 months to break up with you.
Mike feels both a rush of relief and pain. Everything was going to be alright .
-0-
“Wait.” Mike suddenly turns serious.
“What?” Will responded with a very concerned look.
“What happened?”
“What do you mean Mike?” He tries to relax.
“Something was wrong when I got here. And I know it wasn’t about our fight.”
“And how could you possibly know that Micheal?” He tries to deflect the question.
“Because you have deflected the question both times I’ve asked.”
Will rolls his eyes at how much his best friend(?) knows him. “The Mind Flayers back.”