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Sunday Night — Joyce
Hawkins has been different lately. Joyce isn’t so much sure she can trust it.
After the defeat of Vecna, things went fairly back to normal. Sure some roads were extremely unsafe to drive on and the middle school was mostly used as a hospital now but things were… okay.
Some things were harder to explain than others; Hopper’s “death” was the hardest but Eddie’s “death” was even harder since no one really liked him before or after he died. But they got through it. The sleepy, quiet town of Hawkins finally knew the whole truth about the lab, about Eleven, about what really happened to Will Byers that fateful day, about the Russians; truly they knew it all.
And they moved on. Very easily in fact. There was a curfew in place but not much was new.
The families involved were paid fairly handsomely by the government to keep quiet about this whole kerfuffle. So much so, Joyce bought her house back. Hop and her got married and now she mostly stays at home, thinking about her kids.
Like right now.
It’s senior year for the Heroes of Hawkins High (they hate when she calls them that but she can’t really help it; they had been 15 and they saved the world, she was gonna get emotional no matter what!) and she can feel something is amiss. Will has been pulling away from her for a while now, ‘teenage hormones’ he always claims but she calls BS. Will was her baby, her very youngest and she had known so much about him and his character for so long this shift hurt her deeply. But she wasn’t going to pressure him at all. Nope, she could wait. She was patient.
She, actually, really wasn’t. At all.
“Hop, I think I’m going crazy!” She whisper-yelled to him late one night.
Hopper sighed in return, “Joyce, he’s 18, it’s normal, alright? Weren’t you telling me this not even three years ago?”
She looks at him exasperated, “It’s different…”
He’s incredulous, “How so?”
Joyce has to roll over in the bed to face him, “Will he… he’s my baby! He would tell me everything from the moment he got up to the moment he went to school then in the car then on the drive back and once we got inside he would stand next to me while I cooked and just… tell me things! And now…” she sighs. “He won’t say anything! I mean, nothing Hop. That’s not normal, it can’t be!” some tears are stinging her eyes so she turns away. Hopper sighs and holds her from behind while she’s faced away.
“I know it’s hard, Joyce. Believe me, I almost lashed out on El because she wasn’t talking to me. But guess what? I didn’t. Even though I knew I wanted to, I knew it would hurt her even more than anything. So I waited and gave her space. And we’re closer than we’ve ever been.” He places a kiss on her shoulder and she sniffles against it.
“I just… I don't want anything to happen to him and he doesn’t tell me… I would never forgive myself if something happened to him and I wasn’t there to help,” she admits in the moonlight and Hoppers nods. He knows, God, he definitely knows what she’s talking about. They hold each other in an understanding silence, slowly drifting to sleep.
When she wakes up Monday, she’s ready to start breakfast. The sun is up and she’s gotten some good rest in, much like she’s been able to get for the past year or so. She wants to ignore the pain in her stomach so bad, the pain that something is wrong, but her feeling of something being wrong proved guilty the minute she saw a folded paper on the table downstairs.
It starts with a letter.
It’s in Will’s handwriting so Joyce knows he’s okay because those are the first words after ‘Dear Mom and Hop’.
It’s actually quite vague — the letter. “We left. Just for spring break, though. We’ll be safe and back soon, I promise. Love you! -Will (and Mike)” Once he’s downstairs, Hopper groans something unintelligible, something along the lines of, “These goddamn kids,” and rubs his head. Joyce looks at El who’s just smiling along.
Ah. So she knows.
Wait. She knows?
“El, sweetheart… Do you know something I don’t?” She puts on her mom voice best she can because it’s been a minute since she’s used it.
El was trying to act oblivious, “Will and Mike ran away,” she shrugged.
“Yes… that much is obvious. Where did they go, Eleven?” The mom voice is kicked up to a Tee and Joyce can tell it’s working because El looks nervous.
“Umm.. just to the city… for a week they told me. That’s all they said though.” Joyce sighs, feeling faint and Hopper stands up and groans. He’s barely mastered having El and he’s for certain these boys are going to kill him.
Jonathan is downstairs no moment later, the three look at him expectantly. He looks as if he knows what’s happening.
Joyce looks at him, “Jonathan. Where’s Will?”
He squints (probablys still high) and sighs. “Okay before you get mad, they me told they had a whole plan and would be back before you know it.”
“Jonathan!”
Last Week Wednesday — Jonathan
Jonathan really, deeply, truly loves his brother, but what the fuck is he thinking sometimes.
He knows Will is in love with Mike. He’s known probably longer than Will knew. He knows Mike loves him back, maybe just as much as Will loves him, and he knows they’re together. He loves his brother and he likes Mike so he’s not against their relationship at all. He just.. wishes Will thought things through sometimes.
“Okay, let me get this straight. So you two, you two barely legal adults want to go into the city, take my car, get a hotel room under my credit card, and spend spring break there and you expect me to be able to cover for you for the whole week? Will, you’re gonna give mom a heart attack,” The three of them are at a small milkshake shop so he’s trying to subtly hide his feelings.
“Well, every idea sounds bad when you say it like that…” Mike sneers, already ready to go ask Nancy instead. His patience is thin and Jonathan knows this; it’s funny to make him upset.
“Mike…” it’s whispered softly and Will gives him a pleading look and Mike completely falls for it, God they’re so obvious, Jonathan thinks, and falters back into silence. Will speaks up, softly.
“Look, I know I’m asking a lot but Mike and I wanna spend some time together, away from Hawkins. Is that so bad? People are constantly watching us here, y’know. And it’s not just because we’re the ‘Heroes of Hawkins High’, either.” Will looks solemnly at the fact. Jonathan does know. He’s picked Will up from school on more than one occasion with bruises on his knees and his nose red and eyes still leaking. He knows what Will has gone through and the people in the city don’t really care, at least not to your face and no physical assault so he gets Will’s idea but…
“Okay.. just… What about mom? El? Or Hop? Like who all knows and who is gonna find out? Because if I get grounded for a year or whatever, I’ll literally never forgive you.” He’s joking but he notices Will takes it seriously.
Mike speaks up once he notices Will’s face, “El already knows. She said would do her best to cover for us. Nancy and Robin know too. And Eddie and Steve definitely know because they helped us plan it. Oh, and of course, the rest of the party. And you.”
Will chimes in, “That’s really it. And we’d leave before sunrise so no one can bombard us with questions or whatever. Oh, and—!” Will digs through his bookbag — where’d he get that? — and pulls out a map. “We have everything mapped out and timed. With your car, it’ll take us an hour and 10 minutes to get to the first pit stop. With Nancy’s car, about 45. And with Steve’s car, about 1 hour and 25 minutes.”
Nancy’s car is faster than mine? “Okay sure but how will you be safe? If anything happens to you guys —“ Will looks proud for a moment and so does Mike.
“Nancy gave me her sawed off shotgun.”
Excuse me?! “What the fuck?!” it’s the loudest thing he’s said in the diner so people look over. Jonathan smiles awkwardly and sips his milkshake while Will and Mike look at him incredulously.
Will leans closer to his brother whispering, “What’s the big deal always! I’m 18 and plus, I know how to shoot it!”
Mike laughs, “Yeah, he does,” and his leg is slapped underneath the table. Jonathan doesn’t want to think about the implications of that.
“Okay, one, it’s illegal to own a sawed off shotgun, Will! Did Nancy forget to tell you that? Two, you’re 18 like three days ago so it’s gonna be real interesting if the police question you and find out you’re supposed to be in Hawkins and that Nancy Wheeler sawed off a shotgun then gave it to you!” Jonathan gasps out, feeling confident his point has been made. They’re definitely not going now.
Will looks disappointed. He sighs and looks down at the table, “Okay.. I guess we’ll go ask Nancy for her car then.”
What?! “Will, what —“ His younger brother looks up, determined and much older than he actually is.
“I want to do this, Jonathan. I need to. With Mike. We haven’t been alone together in forever and I feel like with all the shit that I’ve been through, I think I deserve one week alone with my boyfriend. Mom will be fine and so will you because I’m not fucking dying! I’m going for a week. And then I’ll be back. So if you don’t wanna cover for me, fine, but… I'm going.”
He shares a look with Mike that says, Holy shit, he cursed! Jonathan sits for a while. Huh. Will is already wrapping up his map to put back into his book bag. Mike is following behind him, looking like a lost puppy dog Will found off the side of the road.
Will doesn’t get too far before he hears Jonathan chuckle and looks back. Jonathan smiles, “Okay. Go take Nancy’s car. I’ll cover for you. But, only if you walk me through step-by-step of everything you two are going be doing,”
Will smiles, deep and true, before Mike quips in and says, “Are you sure you wanna know about everything we’re gonna be doing because—“ and he’s promptly slapped in the stomach.
Last Week Thursday — The Party
It isn’t the first time Mike and Will have been late to a campaign. Hell, this was the fourth one that’d been late to this week alone.
Eddie didn’t mind though. He didn’t mind a lot of things really ever since coming back from the dead, but he hated photos now for some reason that even Dustin didn’t know. He didn’t want to pry.
When the cafeteria gates finally burst open and Will and Mike walk in giggling and holding hands, the rest of the party groans. Even if they were just late, everyone knows that look. Will and Mike are going to be distracted the whole game. Will is going to use all his HP points and spells to save Mike once Mike loses anything higher than 29 damage. Which often kills Will off way too fast because Mike can’t dodge to save his life. It’ll cause the Sinclairs to lead the charge but Lady Applejack had caught the flu and Tina couldn’t sub for her. So it was really left to Lucas and Dustin to defeat Eddie and Steve. A power duo Dustin didn’t know he should’ve been afraid of, honestly.
But something was different. The guys could tell.
Mike spoke first, “Okay, so uhhh.. As you guys know, spring break is next week and me and Will, or uhh.. Will and I, yeah there we go, we umm. We’re gonna be together. For break. Yeah,”
It’s silent for a while. Even Will looks embarrassed because Mike obviously didn’t say the full story or didn’t tell it correctly. Eddie’s the first to break it with laughter and Steve hits him on his chest but has a small smile on his mouth. It’s both encouraging and expecting.
Lucas speaks up, “Uh, yeah Mike. We know you and Will are together. That’s like… really old news.” Eddie chortles even harder. Dustin is still confused.
“No! No, no no, like we’ll be together, together, y’know?”
“No,” say both Dustin and Lucas.
Steve sighs, “Jesus christ, Wheeler, we practiced this in the bathroom how many times? Guys, basically, they’ll be alone for break, like cut communication and everything for a whole week in a whole different city, too. So, yeah, there.”
Will nods and sighs, “Yeah what he said.” Lucas and Dustin finally get it and laugh along with Eddie.
“What?! Is that so funny?” Mike is a little red, Steve and Eddie laughed at him too when he pitched the idea.
“No, no, no, it’s just.. Well, duh, Mike we could’ve told you that for fucks sake! I mean you came in here about to shit yourself like we’re the fucking council or something,” Dustin says it between pants of laughter and holding his stomach.
“Yeah,” Lucas chimes in, “We really don’t care, just be safe, I guess.”
Will perks up at this, his main fear was disappointing anyone, from his brother to the party, he didn’t want anyone to say that he couldn’t put his happiness first. “You guys really don’t mind?”
“Nahh, we don’t care! Go have fun, I guess. Let me know if you see any hotties, though,”
Mike and Will share a look, “Dustin… we wouldn’t know if they were hotties, you do know that right?” Will says slowly.
Dustin sighs because everyone is looking at him now, “Yes! Obviously, I know that, that was joke, whatever let’s just get to the campaign, fucking Christ.”
Eddie laughed once more, “Yeah. Let’s start the campaign!”
Last Week Friday Night — Nancy
Nancy is really happy to see her brother so in love, but fuck, he’s really annoying.
“Okay, and the tank is full right? Because I have like $400 total from my allowance but I really wanna spoil Will so I don’t wanna spend too much of it on gas y'know?” Mike is pacing back and forth in her room, once again this week, which makes this Will Meltdown no. 4.
She sighs, “Yes, Mike. My car has a full tank of gas. Y’know how I know? Because I filled it up and you begged me not to drive it for the past week! Jeez!” She’s exhausted, Mike can get so worked up about Will and take everything and everyone down with him. Wonder where he gets that from…
Mike plops on her bed, exasperated, “I’m nervous, okay! We’ve been planning this spring break for like, months! And I want — no, I need everything to go perfect because if it doesn’t I’ll die! I just know it, I’ll die of embarrassment and Will is gonna be a widow and you’ll be brotherless, which I’m sure is your dream.” He sighs dramatically, his very favorite way of being, and looks at her waiting and ready for a rebuttal.
They have this conversation nearly every time Mike and Will go out. Even if it’s riding bikes together, he’s panicking and running to Nancy for help.
And she’s always willing to give it.
“Okay, Mike, for one, Will can’t become a widow because you guys aren’t married.” Mike frowns at her and she laughs, “Im kidding, dummy, jeez, lighten up okay? Look,” She turns Mike so they’re sitting criss cross and looking at each other.
“Will, he loves you okay? And you’ve fucked up before and what happened? You guys talked and he forgave you, right? Right. So just… remember that. He wants to do this with you, Mike. And I bet you he’s just as scared as you are right now.” Nancy is really good at giving Mike this speech because she’s done it nearly thirty times a month.
Mike’s expression softens again and he sighs. He’s looking down again, about to admit something Nancy is sure he hasn’t admitted before. Maybe not even to himself yet.
“I just… I really love him y’know? And I really want him to see that like… this one week between us — just us in the city being happy together, could be our forever… And if he wants to do it again or do it when we’re older, I want him to know… I want to, too… and that he won’t have to even ask, we’d just… go. And be together.”
Nancy smiles; it’s so sweet to see Mike like this, so smitten and in love that it makes her sick. She grabs his shoulders and makes him look at her. His eyes are glossy and she’s sure a few tears will slip if he blinks.
“Like I said. I can promise he wants the same.”
Last Week Saturday Night — El and Max
“You’re doing what?!” Max is always so loud, Mike regrets telling her.
“Max… shhh,” El says patiently but there’s a look on her face that shows she’s been there before, Max being loud. Mike sighs and explains it again.
“Will and I are running away, but just for spring break. Just me and Will at a hotel in the city just for a week, okay? We’ll be safe, Will has Nancy’s shotgun and I have a knife so… So if your parents or my parents or Will’s parents ask where we are, that’s where, got it?” Max still is gaping at him while El is nodding along; he’s sure she doesn’t truly understand but he trusts her judgment.
Max scoffs, “Wheeler, when’d you get romantic? I seem to recall you not knowing how to pick out a decent bracelet…” And El laughs. Mike gets red, “Oh my god, haha, okay, yeah, I was gay and didn’t know it so I treated my only girlfriend badly so now it’s surprising that I could be a decent partner, are you done now? Because, if we’re gonna be honest, El is just as gay as me so! What does that say?”
“That she came to her senses,” Max retorts and El rolls over on the floor. Mike groans. “Okay, fine whatever. It doesn’t even matter, I knew you wouldn’t care anyways.” He starts for the door and picks up his book bag but when reaching for the door he can’t open it. He sighs.
“Okay, El you can let go.” and when he turns, Max taps her on the shoulder and wipes her nose. El smiles and Max gets up, obviously feeling bad.
“Alright, I’m sorry. I know this is important to you so I’ll tell whoever asks within reason. But you owe me one, paladin.” He accepts with a sly grin.
“Please what could I possibly owe you?”
“All those moments you stole from me and El, if we’re being honest.” And El is on the floor rolling again.
Monday Morning — Mike and Will
It’s really warm when they enter the city.
Will is wearing his favorite shorts, some blue jean cut offs, and a nice yellow polo. Mike is wearing shorts too but he has on his favorite blue sweater that has a small sun in the right chest pocket. (He’ll often point to Will and say it’s him since the sun is right over his heart and Will will blush and everyone around them will groan in agony because they often do this in public.)
The city is full of people, teenagers, adults, and kids alike and none of them notice Mike and Will. Will and Mike. Standing there together and holding hands.
Will feels his heart in his ass. He’s holding Mike's hand! He’s holding Mike's hand! He’s holding Mike’s hand! No matter how he phrases it in his head the statement is still true — they’re holding hands. In public. And no one has said anything. They’re crossing the busiest street but Will glances over at Mike and sees him beet red, just as excited (maybe even more?) as Will is to be here.
Their hotel is a nice size, stuck between a pizza shop and a gas station. Will sighs heavily as they cross the street and Mike squeezes his hand, a subtle and non-verbal “You okay?” He looks over and Mike is staring intently, his eyebrows furrowed and deep concern in his eyes before he sees Will smile and nod with earnest. Mike smiles and squeezes twice.
I got you.
The room is under Jonathan’s name per it being his credit card and the hotel receptionist doesn’t say much other than “Name. Date of booking. How long will you be staying with us. To your left, level three, here’s the key. Enjoy your stay at the Havington Hotel, NEXT.” She doesn’t even notice them. Will and Mike. Mike and Will. Together holding hands. She doesn’t question why they got a single room with one bed. She doesn’t sneer when they walk past her and she sees the small kiss Mike plants on Will’s cheek. She doesn’t call a manager up front to have them removed from the building.
She doesn’t care. Will may just burst.
They get to their room, 305, all the way at the end of the hallway. The space is big, a nice big TV, like the one in Mike’s living room, a queen size bed with a weighted blanket, two pillows, and a nice nightstand. The walls are a sepia type orange but Will doesn’t really care; Mike drops their bags and tackles him into a kiss and slams the door behind them.
It’s so overwhelming but Will finds his balance, fisting his way into Mike's hair just the way he likes while their teeth clash. He loves this dance; Mike so controlling and Will so giving, the perfect balance of each other just as they’ve always been. They part to breathe but Mike is back on Will in an instant, mouthing at his neck because he knows Will is sensitive there.
He gasps sweetly, softly, “Mike, the — the bed, please, we shouldn’t… not against the door.” and he feels Mike nod but little effort is made to move them. Will bucks to move and gasps, he feels Mike against himself, not as if he hadn’t before but before they were in Mike’s basement or rushing in Will’s room, hoping the lock would hold since his house was so old. Here, Will realizes, they can take their time with each other, deepen everything they’ve felt for the past two years and then some. The thought alone makes him moan, grasping at his boyfriend's shoulders and bucking against him like an animal trying to break free.
Mike groans, “Fuck… okay, okay,” Will doesn’t know what he’s agreeing to but they’re moving, Will still bucking against him and trying to get Mike’s stupid sweater off while the latter tugs at Will’s shorts and grips on his thighs. Will’s come off first and suddenly they’re both sitting on the bed, Will practically in Mike’s lap who still has his shorts on.
“Off, off please…” Will whines into Mike’s mouth tapping on his thigh to emphasize his shorts. Mike nods, keeping his lips occupied and traveling his hands down Will’s back. The shorts pulled down and Will starts, they’re boxers moving against each other and the heat of the other pooling in both of their stomachs. They moan into each other’s mouths, quite literally not able to remove themselves from the other.
Will isn’t keeping track and neither is Mike but their boxers are off and they are rubbing against each other, bare and raw, as much as they can. Will is whining loudly, always being the louder of the two, but he can hear Mike, deep groans feel like they’re in the back of his throat and they both get louder when Mike’s cold hand wraps around them both and moves ever so slowly up and down. It’s so rough and it’s so much and it’s perfect and Will feels the tears pool in his eyes because he doesn’t want it to end, but his hips and spasming and his breathing is getting heavy and he starts clawing at Mike’s scalp like it’s his life line.
They part for a moment, “Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike,” and Mike takes it all in, groaning into his mouth and keeping the spit between them. Will feels it first, as is standard in Mike's book, and his legs start trembling. He’s stopped kissing Mike completely, head thrown on Mike’s shoulder and eyes shut tightly, moaning with reckless abandon, the fear of getting caught leaving his mind completely.
Mike’s encouragement tips him over, much like it always does. “Go ahead, Will, I got you, baby, I got you.” and it’s just enough, and he’s lost. Will’s mouth hangs open, eyes tight, and Mike feels him spasm in his hand, hip jerking and thighs quivering with the shock. It’s always so intense with Mike.
Who, to Will’s surprise, isn’t that far behind him. Will’s breathing starts to regulate again when he feels Mike thrust up and hears a loud groan, somewhere deep inside of Mike that Will makes sure he keeps in his brain to remember he definitely wants to hear it again. It’s a small call of his name that makes Will shudder and pull back.
He looks deep into Mike's eyes. His Mike. His paladin, his true love, his one and only soul mate.
Will feels the tears leave his eyes but he truly doesn’t know what he’s crying for. He’s the happiest he’s been in all his life. Mike is staring back at him with the softest smile in the world, collecting his breath. Will leans forward and connects them again, breathing deeply and sighing sweetly when Mike’s hands start to trace over his back and he leans them down so they’re laying on the bed.
When they break, Mike says it first. “I love you,” and Will laughs, feeling high and bubbly.
“I love you too.”