Chapter Text
Mike might as well have stayed up all night, he spent so much time trying to perfect his note to Will that he lost track of time. By the time he was done, the sun was creeping over the horizon and he could hear birds chirping and car engines starting.
He stretches and rubs his eyes, looking around the room and taking in all the balled up papers with all of his failed letters. His hands are smeared with blue ink, but his letter is finally done and Mike can't wait to give it to Will. He's determined to confess this time, no matter what.
He takes the finished letter and carefully folds it into thirds, tucking it into his backpack. He checks the clock and sighs when he sees that it's 6:34am, not enough time for him to take a nap. He gets up and grabs some clothes to take into the bathroom before he starts getting ready for school, getting done 15 minutes later and racing down the stairs to find something quick to eat. In the kitchen he finds his mom preparing breakfast and when she spots him, she puts her spatula down and places her hands on her hips.
"Did you not care to say anything to me last night?" Mike tries his hardest to not roll his eyes, putting a couple slices of bread in the toaster and turning around to lean against the counter. "I already said sorry, mom, what else am I supposed to do? I'll call you next time if I don't come home when I'm supposed to." He taps his foot impatiently on the floor until the toaster dings. Karen sighs heavily and goes back to her eggs, "You better, otherwise you're grounded for two weeks."
Mike gapes, body halfway out the door with toast in hand. "Two weeks? For being an hour late? That's crazy!" Karen gives him a stern look and turns towards her husband who is at the table with Holly. She silently gestures for him to say something. Ted glances over and then looks at Mike, covering half his face as he speaks into a coffee cup. "Listen to your mother, kid." Mike just rolls his eyes and waves goodbye, "Whatever, I'll make sure to call."
... -.-. .... --- --- .-..
Mike puts his bike into the rack and races into the school building. He heads to his locker first, grabbing his neccessary books and then takes off to find Will. He's not sure when exactly he should give him the letter, but Mike just wants to see him anyways.
He finds Will hanging out with the rest of their group, standing around his locker. He walks up as casually as he can and announces his presence. "Hey, guys." All eyes on him, but once he meets Will's, it feels just like the two of them are there. There's distant murmurs that greet Mike, but he can't focus on it when he looks at the way Will's eyes start shining just a bit brighter.
"Hi, Will." He can't help but say, smiling wider. Will smiles back and greets him softly, hands tightening around his backpack straps. The rest of their friends look at them like it's an intense tennis match, heads moving side to side.
"Wow, you guys are just in your own little world, aren't you?" Max's teasing voice rings through his ears and he finally breaks eye contact with Will, turning his attention to Max with a blush on his cheeks. Dustin chips in, "They've been like this since the beginning, you get used to it at some point." Will rubs his neck awkwardly while Mike sputters out a messy excuse.
The bell ringing saved them from further embarrassment. They bid each other goodbye and go separate ways for class, some sticking together for shared classes.
Throughout Mike's whole physics class, he thinks about the letter in his backpack. He doesn't know when he should give it to Will, but he's getting antsy thinking about it. Maybe he'll take the chance during lunch.
He tries to focus for the rest of his class, mind racing with all the outcomes of his confession.
-
Lunch comes by quickly, maybe too quickly, Mike thinks as he walks into the cafeteria, his letter secure in his front pocket now. His eyes search for his friends, finding them at a table by the window. He notices quickly that Will isn't there yet, his shoulder fall a little. He sits at the table without grabbing lunch, too nervous to eat yet. "Where's Will?" He asks, mostly towards El since she was closest. Dustin and Lucas are arguing about something that happened during their chemistry class, and Max has her walkman on. El looks over and gives a smile, "His art teacher asked him to stay behind for something, he should be back soon." Mike nods slowly, tapping his fingers on his lap. He tries to tap out a few sentences that he remembers while he waits, things like '.-.. --- ...- .,' '.-- .. .-.. .-..,' and '.... ..' since those are freshest in his memory. Will comes rushing to the table not long after, sitting down across from Mike and greeting everyone. Mike grins, giving Will a little slip of paper he had. Will looks at Mike with a confused smile on his face and grabs the paper to read it, only for his smile to grow and a laugh slip through his lips. "You've been practicing! That's good." He says and folds the paper, slipping it into his jacket pocket. The little note was just a greeting '.... .. --..-- / .-- .. .-.. .-..' but the smile Will gave brightened his face beautifully.
"Of course, I studied a lot last night." Mike says, not giving away how much time he actually spent studying. He sits and wonders if he should ask now, before he loses his chance again. "Hey, also-uh, do you have time to talk?"
Will tilts his head, "We are talking, though?" Mike huffs a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right, no, I meant-like.. somewhere else."
"Oh, I mean, yeah, sure..?" Mike nods, slowly getting up from the chair and waiting for Will to do the same. "Cool, cool."
El watches with a knowing grin, nudging Max in the ribs to get her attention. "Max..!" Max grunts and rubs her side, glaring at El as she pulls her headphones down. "Ow! What-" El points to Mike and Will walking away from the table, Mike nervously rubbing his hands behind his back. "Oh, shit- are they..?" El nods, shaking Max's arm.
"Yes! I think they're finally gonna do it!"
Max smacks her forehead in disbelief, "Okay- that's really great, but never say it like that again." El just laughs and takes one more look back before turning towards her food.
-
Will guides Mike to the tree that he frequents, far enough from the school and away from any wandering students. "Is this okay? You mentioned that you didn't want to be around anyone." Mike nods and leans against the thick tree, stuffing his hands in his front pockets and fiddling with the letter.
"Yeah, this is good.."
Will stands next to him and stuffs his hands in his jacket pockets. He expects Mike to talk, but as he waits, Mike continues to stay silent.
"Is there.. something you wanted to talk about?" Will asks carefully. "I expect that it's important if you need to be alone.. are you okay with your parents? After last night.." Will doesn't finish, too embarrassed to bring up the assumption from Mike's mom about the sleeping issue. Mike shakes his head, "No, it's fine. She just threatened me with a two week grounding if I don't inform her again." He rolls his eyes when thinking back to it.
Will nods, biting his bottom lip gently. "So, what did you need to talk about?"
Mike swallows thickly, eyes flickering from ahead of him to Will's before looking away. He clears his throat and nods, patting his pocket to try and build up he courage to actually grab his letter. "I- uh, I wrote something for you last night- or, well- this morning, I guess."
Will raises his eyebrows in curiosity, cheeks flushing. "You wrote something for me? Like.. for a game campaign?" Mike snorts and smiles awkwardly. "No, just-just for you. I tried my best, so.. don't judge too much if I messed something up." He takes a deep breath and reaches into his pocket to grab the letter. He hands it to Will quickly to avoid doubting himself and immediately holds his hands together, squeezing and twisting his fingers. His heart feels like it's about to jump out of his chest and he feels like the temperature had risen about 20 degrees.
Will holds the letter and takes a look at Mike's demeanor, body shivering with nerves as he thinks about what Mike could've written. He looks down at the letter and slowly opens it, revealing a full page of carefully written lines and dots. He smiles before he even reads anything, too happy to see the progress that Mike had made overnight. "You wrote this yourself? This is amazing!" Mike smiles and nods, "Yeah, I might've spent the whole night perfecting it but.. yeah, I wrote the whole thing."
Will mumbles to himself as he looks back down, his praise for Mike slowly coming to a halt as he reads over the letter carefully.
-.. . .- .-. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. --..-- / .. / .... --- .--. . / - .... .. ... / .-.. . - - . .-. / ..-. .. -. -.. ... / -.-- --- ..- / .-- . .-.. .-.. .-.-.- / .. / .-- .- -. - . -.. / - --- / - .- -.- . / .- / -- --- -- . -. - / - --- / . -..- .--. .-. . ... ... / -- -.-- / ..-. . . .-.. .. -. --. ... / ..-. --- .-. / -.-- --- ..- / .. -. / .- / ..- -. .. --.- ..- . / .-- .- -.-- .-.-.- / .- ..-. - . .-. / - .-. .- -. ... .-.. .- - .. -. --. / -.-- --- ..- .-. / -- . ... ... .- --. . / ..-. .-. --- -- / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . --..-- / .. / -.-. --- ..- .-.. -.. -. .----. - / -.-. --- -. - .- .. -. / - .... . / --- ...- . .-. .-- .... . .-.. -- .. -. --. / .-.. --- ...- . / .. / .... .- ...- . / ..-. --- .-. / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.- / .. / .-. . -- . -- -... . .-. / - .... . / ..-. .. .-. ... - / -.. .- -.-- / --- ..-. / -.- .. -. -.. . .-. --. .- .-. - . -. / .-- .... . -. / .. / .-- .- .-.. -.- . -.. / ..- .--. / - --- / -.-- --- ..- / --- -. / - .... . / ... .-- .. -. --. ... .-.-.- / - .... .- - / -- --- -- . -. - / .... --- .-.. -.. ... / .- / ... .--. . -.-. .. .- .-.. / .--. .-.. .- -.-. . / .. -. / -- -.-- / .... . .- .-. - / -... . -.-. .- ..- ... . / .. - / .-- .- ... / - .... . / -... . --. .. -. -. .. -. --. / --- ..-. / .- / -... . .- ..- - .. ..-. ..- .-.. / ..-. .-. .. . -. -.. ... .... .. .--. / - .... .- - / .... .- ... / .-.. .- ... - . -.. / - .-- . .-.. ...- . / -.-- . .- .-. ... .-.-.- / .. / .... --- .--. . / -.-- --- ..- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -.-. --- -. - .. -. ..- . / - --- / ... - .- -.-- / -... -.-- / -- -.-- / ... .. -.. . / ..-. --- .-. / - .... . / .-. . ... - / --- ..-. / --- ..- .-. / .-.. .. ...- . ... .-.-.- / -.-- --- ..- / -- . .- -. / - .... . / .-- --- .-. .-.. -.. / - --- / -- . --..-- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. .-.-.- / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / -- -.-- / ... --- ..- .-.. -- .- - . --..-- / -- -.-- / .-. --- -.-. -.- --..-- / .- -. -.. / - .... . / .--. . .-. ... --- -. / .. / -.-. .- -. / .- .-.. .-- .- -.-- ... / -.-. --- ..- -. - / --- -. .-.-.- / -.-- --- ..- / -- .- -.- . / -- . / .- / -... . - - . .-. / .--. . .-. ... --- -. --..-- / .- -. -.. / ..-. --- .-. / - .... .- - --..-- / .. / .- -- / . - . .-. -. .- .-.. .-.. -.-- / --. .-. .- - . ..-. ..- .-.. .-.-.- / .. / .--. .-. --- -- .. ... . -.. / .. / .-- --- ..- .-.. -.. / -- .- ... - . .-. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . --..-- / .- -. -.. / .... . .-. . / .. / .- -- --..-- / ..- ... .. -. --. / .. - / - --- / -.-. --- -. ...- . -.-- / -- -.-- / -.. . . .--. . ... - / ..-. . . .-.. .. -. --. ... / ..-. --- .-. / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.- / - .... .- -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- / ..-. --- .-. / -... . .. -. --. / ... ..- -.-. .... / .- -. / .- -- .- --.. .. -. --. / ..-. .-. .. . -. -.. .-.-.-/ .. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..- / -- --- .-. . / - .... .- -. / .-- --- .-. -.. ... / -.-. .- -. / . -..- .--. .-. . ... ... .-.-.- / .-.. --- ...- . --..-- / -- .. -.- .
Will whips his head back up, eyes shining with tears. Mike looks terrified at the moment, uncertainty obvious in his features. "M-Mike, you-you mean this? Y-you really feel that way?" A slow nod, Mike frowns at the tears, wanting to reach out and wipe them away. "Of course," he says softly, not breaking eye contact to show that he's serious. "I'd never lie to you. I meant every word, Will." Will can't stop the flow of tears as he hiccups. He doesn't even think before he's wrapping his arms around Mike's shoulders and pulling him into a tight hug, crying into his neck.
"Y-you have no idea how much this means to me. I'm- fuck, I don't even know what to say." Will squeezes harder, eyes shut tightly as his mind races a thousand miles a second. Mike ignores the way his own eyes sting with tears, and wraps one of his arms around Will's waist tightly while the other finds its way to Will's neck, squeezing gently. He ducks down slightly to press his head into Will's neck, "You don't have to say much," his speech is muffled, "I just wanted to let you know h-how I feel."
Will takes in a couple trembling breaths, pulling away just a little and taking one hand to pull Mike's face from his neck so he can look him in the eye. "Y-you are unbelievable." He says shakily, tears having slowed down but still shining in his eyes. "I-I love you, too, so much it hurts. Everything about your letter was wonderful, and so you." They laugh at that, noses brushing softly. "Meeting you on the s-swings, saying yes, and getting to grow up with you is the best thing I've e-ever experienced. Of course I-I want to spend forever by your side." Will sniffs and strokes Mike's cheek carefully when he sees a few tears slip down. "You're it for me, Mike."
Mike laughs wetly, happy. "You're it for me too, Will." He presses his forehead against Will's and take a deep breath. "God, I really wanna kiss you right now." He mumbles, his nose presses into Will's and he nuzzles closer. Will giggles, craning his neck to glance at their surroundings before he turns back. "Well, I don't see anyone around." Mike grins and wastes no time in leaning down to connect his lips to Will's, bringing his hands up to cup Will's jaw. Will sighs, holding the front of Mike's shirt tightly with one hand and gripping the letter with his other as he leans further into Mike's hold. Their lips glide together a little clumsily, a little salty from their tears, but to them it's perfect.
They stand there for an unknown amount of time, kissing and holding each other close. They mumble a couple words and laugh between kisses, not wanting this moment to end. However, just as Mike sucks Will's bottom lip between his teeth, the school bell goes off, causing the two boys to jerk away from each other quickly, worry about getting caught filling their minds. They look around to make sure there's no one close by before relaxing. Will purses his lips to try and contain his grin, "We should probably get back inside, don't wanna be late for class." Mike nods, rocking on his heels but not making a move to leave their spot. He keeps his eyes on Will, who bites back a smile and then they're moving forward and pressing multiple kisses to each others lips once again, ending with one more longer lasting kiss before they pull away for real this time.
Will tucks his letter carefully into his pants pocket and tugs Mike's wrist as they head towards the school building, "C'mon, let's get through the last few classes and then we can talk more at my house." Mike grins and hurries alongside Will. "Let's do my house instead, I don't want El to try and barge in at some point." Will blushes heavily but adds on, "And what do you expect she'll barge in on?" Mike just turns back and smiles, "Follow me home and she won't have to find out."
-
Will's heart feels like it might just fly out of his chest as he mounts his bike, he's been thinking about Mike all day. His confession at lunch was completely unexpected, but Will couldn't be happier, he never expected for this to happen to him, to actually have his feelings reciprocated. He can't help the smile that sneaks its way on his face as he waits for his friends to all get ready to leave. He glances at Mike, who is next to him, and smiles even wider when he sees Mike looking back.
"We're all meeting up at the arcade tonight, right? 7 o'clock?" Lucas chirps up, hand around Max's waist. He gets a mixed confirmation from everyone and shoots a thumbs up. He, Max, and Dustin all get ready to leave together and wait for the other three.
El looks at Mike and Will, already knowing, but still asking anyways. "Are you coming home, Will?" Will bites his lip and shakes his head, "No, I'm gonna hang out with Mike at his house until we go to the arcade tonight." El grins cheekily, nodding and guiding her bike out of the rack.
"I'll hang with you guys for a bit, then." She motions to the other three. They bid Mike and Will goodbye, Max wiggling her fingers at them in a teasing wave. Mike purses his lips to try and hide a grin and Will blushes, focusing on pushing his kickstand back.
He feels Mike's fingers gently pull at his jacket. "Let's go?" Will nods and they set off towards Mike's house.
-
They go through the front door this time, greeting Mike's younger sister who is playing with a lite brite in the living room while Ted is watching tv. They ignore the kitchen, where Karen is, but Mike just heads straight for the stairs and pulls Will along into his room before closing the door with a sigh. "Sorry," he apologizes, leaning against the door and dropping his backpack. "My mom annoyed me this morning so I didn't want to say hi, especially since she'd probably fake her emotions with company around." Will nods, understanding, and slides his jackets off to lay it over the chair at Mike's desk along with his own backpack.
"It's alright, I mean.." Will glances over and smiles lightly, cheeks burning a little. "I would like to just be with you for now, before we have to leave again." He walks over to stand in front of Mike, leaving a few inches of space in between them as he fiddles with the hem of Mike's shirt. Mike grins and grabs Will's waist to pull him closer, he tilts his head down just a little so he can look Will in the eye. Will brings his hands up to hold Mike's neck gently, knocking their foreheads together and taking a deep breath as he closes his eyes.
"I think I'm still in shock about this whole thing." He laughs breathily, he brushes their noses gently. "I feel like I shouldn't believe it, that this is real. It seems too good to be true." Will murmurs, pressing just a bit closer, their bodies nearly flush with each other. Mike hums, squeezing Will's waist in reassurance. "Me too, I've dreamt about this too many times to count, honestly." He's quiet as he speaks, the atmosphere that they created in the room not needing much more. "But, I can promise you right now, that this is real. We are real. I'm so in love with you, Will, it makes me crazy."
Will takes in a shaky breath, "God, you really enjoy making me cry today." They huff out a laugh, faces staying close. "Me too, Mike, I love you so much. I'm crazy about you." Mike grins happily, feeling a small lump form in his throat but he just swallows it down to the best of his ability, "Crazy together, huh?" He whispers before leaning down the rest of the way to press his lips to Will's. Will slides his palms from Mike's neck to his jaw, fingers slipping into the curled hair as he kisses back, tilting his head a bit to press deeper into the kiss.
Mike's arms wrap tighter around Will's waist, holding him tightly as if he never wants to let go, and honestly that's not far from the truth.
Will pulls away and presses slow, lingering kisses to Mike's lips. Mike catches Will's bottom lip with his teeth at one point, giggling when Will makes a sound of surprise. Mike pulls Will's lip in and sucks on it gently before he's pulling away with one last kiss.
"Lay down with me?" Will nods and lets himself be pulled to Mike's bed, laying down on his side and letting Mike pull him into his arms. He sighs, closing his eyes and nuzzling his face into Mike's neck with an arm wrapped around his waist. They lay like that for probably 10 minutes, letting the silence take over them with only the sounds of their soft breathing to listen to before Will speaks up, just as quiet as he was earlier.
"El told me that she talked to Max yesterday, when you were at our house. She mentioned how Max said you were going to confess to me then, but you changed your mind."
Mike nods, "Yeah, I've relied on Max a lot recently when talking about my feelings for you." He says, a hand coming up to gently run through Will's hair. "She actually figured it out before I even told her anything, which led to me nearly panicking on her floor." A laugh, and then a heavy sigh. "I was being kind of stupid, honestly. I was worrying over you not telling me about the morse code you were using when we were hanging out, and she just kind of pieced it all together in that moment." Will nods, sliding his fingers along Mike's back and, with a quick thought, begins tapping on it.
Mike notices, quicker than he would've a couple weeks prior, "That's what you were tapping before..! I never got to translate it after we last talked about it, I forgot most of it. I'm not the greatest at morse code when it comes to listening." He laughs and Will smiles softly, pulling his face away from Mike's neck to look him in the eye. "I'm telling you that I love you." Mike stares, eyebrows gently furrowed and pointed up, his eyes glisten slightly. "God, and you say I'm the one that makes you cry." Will giggles and wipes a stray tear.
"You've been telling me all this time, right under my nose." Will nods, fingers stopping their tapping and beginning to stroke up and down the span of Mike's back. "I did it a lot subconsciously, and when you started pointing it out, it made me realize how often I actually do it without realizing."
Mike grins and pushes Will flat against his bed, leaning over him and peppering his face with kisses. Will laughs and grabs Mike's face to stop him, and guides their lips to meet instead. "I love you." Mike mumbles against Will's lips, giving him little kisses before he slows down and gives Will one last kiss and then slides his lips towards Will's jaw, leaving a kiss there and then moving towards his cheek. He moves across Will's face, leaving a kiss in each spot he lands on while Will just smiles and wraps his arms around Mike's shoulders. "I love you." He whispers back, sighing when Mike makes his way back to his lips.
They get caught up like that, tangled up on Mike's bed and sharing slow kisses until they're interrupted by Mike's mom yelling for him.
Mike pulls away with a groan, sitting up on the bed. "I'll be right back." He sighs and begins to scoot towards the edge of the bed before Will is wrapping his arms around his shoulders from behind and leaning over him to press one more kiss to his lips. "Sorry, I couldn't help it." He giggles and lets go, leaving Mike flustered and stuttering.
Mike leaves and returns within a couple minutes, rolling his eyes as he falls back onto the bed. "She just wanted me to get the mail for them, as if I'm the only person with hands around here." Will chuckles and brushes Mike's hair away from his face. "We could go to my house? Promise my mom won't make you start doing the dishes." Mike smiles and laughs. He gets up and pulls Will with him, holding onto his hand until they reach the end of the stairs. Mike yells out a "We're leaving!" before closing the front door, giving Will a second to speak his own goodbyes, just to be polite.
-
Upon reaching Will's house, they see Joyce's car, which is expected, but they also see Hopper's, which makes Mike nervous. "He's so intimidating." Mike would always say.
They head inside, finding Will's parents in the kitchen. "Hi, mom. Hi, Hopper." Will says and steps closer to give his mom a hug. Mike follows but just gives an awkward wave, "Hey."
Joyce smiles, "How are you, boys? Where's El?" Hopper glances over, nodding in acknowledgement. "She's hanging out with Dustin, Lucas, and Max for a bit before we're gonna all go to the arcade."
Joyce hums, head tilted. "And why aren't you with them?" Mike freezes while Will tries to stutter out an answer. "Uh- um, we-we'll be right back, I forgot I had to share some homework with Mike, it's super important!" He drags Mike down the hall quickly, rushing into his room and closing the door. "Fuck."
Mike shakes his hands out, nerves building. "God, that was so obvious. She totally knows." Will takes a breath and goes to hold Mike's hand, squeezing gently. "Hey, it's okay. I don't think she immediately thought that we were together together. We're just overthinking because it's a scary thought, your parents knowing about something like this." Mike frowns, not saying anything for a while as he looks at Will. A few seconds pass, and Mike's hesitant voice comes out. "Do you.. think she would ever accept us? Hopper, too?"
Will pauses, head turning towards the closed door. "I like to hope so. I think she would just want what's best for me, and for you, too. I always think about coming out to her, but it's hard to do it alone." Mike nods slowly, biting his lip with furrowed eyebrows. "I think.. I think I want to tell her, do you?"
Will's eyes widen, mouth falling open slightly, "R-really? You'd do that?" Mike smiles, although Will can see how nervous he is. "Of course, I've known you guys for twelve years now, I love you, and your mom is totally cool. I want to be able to have a safe space, where we don't have to hide our feelings. And here is like home to me, I think it's perfect. And El already knows, too." Will grins, eyes shining and he can't help but pull Mike into a hug. "You're amazing, I'll be right here with you. I'm kind of scared, too, but I have hope."
They take a deep breath together, trying to calm the anxiety they're feeling, and walk out of Will's room. Going back into the kitchen, they see Joyce and Hopper still there, now sitting at the table. Will glances at Mike and is given a slightly wobbly, reassuring smile. They take a seat in the empty chairs and Will clears his throat, "Um.. we have something that we'd like to say." Now with the attention of his parents, Will feels the words get stuck in his throat. "U-um, well, uh.. I-" a hand comes down and grabs his own trembling one, holding on tightly. Will gratefully holds Mike's hand, taking another deep breath, and with a shaky and worry filled voice, he says, "M-Mike and I are to-together.. as in, w-we're dating. And I-I love and trust you guys enough to hope t-that you'll accept us, I really love Mike a-and I hope you accept h-him, too."
Joyce gets up from her chair and walks around to Will, opening her arms as Will watches with hope and tear filled eyed. "Oh, come here, baby." Will stands up immediately, wrapping his arms around his mom and hugging her tightly. "I love you, sweetie, so much. Of course we accept you. It's okay." Will cries, breath hitching as he thanks her repeatedly, body trembling.
Mike watches silently, tears blurring his vision while he smiles. He turns his gaze to his lap, sniffling, until he hears movement to his right and looks to see Hopper standing from the table as well. "Come here, kid." Hopper opens an arm and motions Mike to come in for a hug. Mike's lip quivers as he stumbles to stand up, falling into Hopper's arms and crying into his shoulder. "It's okay. You're okay." Hopper says and rubs Mike's shoulders.
Joyce and Hopper hold onto them until Will and Mike are the ones to pull away, eyes and noses red. They all move to sit back down, chests lighter and hearts happier. Will leans his head on Mike's shoulder and Mike immediately turns to hug him. "I love you." He says, voice hoarse but his tone happy. Will nuzzles into Mike's shoulder, smiling and sniffling. "Me, too. Thank you, Mike."
Mike pulls away and shakes his head, wiping the rest of Will's tears from his face. "No, I should be thanking you. You make me feel so much braver and stronger than I think I am, I never could have done something like this without you, Will." He says quietly.
Will bites his quivering lip, "I could say the same to you, though. You gave me the courage to do what I did, you made me feel safe enough to tell my parents. You helped me so much, I can't thank you enough." Will whispers, leaning his forehead on Mike's and closing his eyes. "I love you."
Mike smiles and tilts his head up, pressing a kiss to Will's head and bringing him into a tight hug again. He strokes Will's back gently, fingers moving to tap against his spine.
-- . .----. / - --- ---