Chapter Text
Mike Wheeler didn’t know a lot, but he knew he needed Will. He almost died when Will moved to Lenora and again when he mentioned going to college. Mike knew logically that eventually they’d have to split paths, but he couldn’t imagine his life without Will, especially not now. Not after he’d lost so much.
His girlfriend just sacrificed herself to save the world, and existing without her felt wrong. El had been a constant ever since Will went missing. She introduced a whole new world to him, but more importantly, she helped get Will back home safely. Mike knew Will was strong, even when they were kids, but no kid could survive in the Upside Down alone like Will did. Mike didn’t like to think about what would have happened if Will had actually died then. It reminds him of when they found Will’s “body” in the quarry and the absolute desperation he had felt. Every time he thought of that day, he could feel the hope leaving his body like the wind being knocked out of him, and the despair spewing out of his mouth, forming into angry yells at El.
He felt that tear in his heart again when Will and El went to Lenora. He didn’t know why, but he figured that he was just sad that his girlfriend was moving away and that he wouldn’t be able to see her. But deep down, he knew better. He knew that he didn’t care that El would move so far away from him—he cared that Will would.
For some unknown reason, he had always cared more about Will than anyone else. Ever since the day they met in kindergarten, he had felt connected to Will in a way nobody else could imitate. He always talked about Will, asking when they could hang out next the moment Will left his house. His father had made many snarky comments about that, confusing Mike, and causing his mom to give him a death glare. His mom, on the other hand, encouraged Mike to talk about Will if that’s what he wanted to do.
But even after he came to realize that maybe he shouldn’t talk about Will all the time and that he should make other friends, Will still held a special place in his heart. Lucas was a completely different person, and Mike was afraid that he would scare Will with how direct he was. He had to swallow these feelings, though, because everyone else would have found it weird if he voiced that. And Dustin? Dustin was a great addition to the party; his brain and sarcastic nature fit with the rest of them perfectly. He just wasn’t Will.
And then Will went missing.
Mike couldn’t think of anything besides Will. He was determined to get him back, no matter the cost. He would have sacrificed his own life if that meant he could bring Will back. When frantically searching for Will, the party found El. It was dark and rainy, and she desperately needed help. Mike didn’t even realize she was a girl at first, and subconsciously began comparing her to Will. His conclusion was that they looked pretty similar, if Will were to shave off his bowl cut, and because of that, he’d allow El to stay with them.
Of course, Mike didn’t realize how similar he found El and Will at the time. He didn’t discover his feelings until it was too late. When Will was definitely over him and moving away to go to college.
When Will left for Lenora, he broke down. Mike didn’t cry a lot, and he especially didn’t cry in front of anyone else. But when Will abandoned him, he couldn’t help it. He sobbed into the arms of his mother, neither of them knowing the true reason he was so upset.
Then Will moved back to Hawkins.
Mike was overjoyed. He had found it so hard to reach out to Will over the long distance, and he was finally getting his best friend back! But things didn’t go as well as Mike would have wished. He still found talking to Will extremely difficult, and began to push him away because he dreaded their conversations. That, however, was extremely awkward because Will and Jonathan were now living in his basement. He resorted to walking out of rooms when Will entered them, and when he couldn’t do that, he just stared into the distance so that he wouldn’t accidentally look at Will.
During this time, Mike became so distant that El broke up with him (again). Neither of them really minded, as Mike was too preoccupied with Will, and El had so many other things to worry about. Breaking up had also made Mike think about his feelings towards El, and he had a devastating realization: he was never in love with her. He had only ever loved the idea of her. In writing, she was perfect for him: strong, independent, and magical. That’s what his parents had told him to look for in a partner anyways. But really, the stem of all his emotions for El was Will. She was connected to him, somehow. She would be able to find him, and that thought made Mike obsessed with her, but he wouldn’t realize that part for years. And it wasn’t that Mike didn’t love her, he just didn’t love her like that. She was amazing and he couldn’t imagine his life without her, but the thought of kissing her and spending the rest of his life with her left him with a wave of nausea sitting at the bottom of his stomach.
So when Mike lost El, he had a lot of emotions to deal with. In the moment, he felt overwhelming grief: even if he hadn’t loved her in a romantic way, she was still a dear friend. And then he was fixated on her. The world felt wrong without her, almost like it had when he had lost Will. He kept looking for her in every store window, lake, and crowded space. He couldn’t accept that she was gone, and that he’d never be able to speak to her again.
That realization landed Mike in a brand new wave of grief. He felt guilty because of how awfully he had treated her, especially in their last few months as a couple. He never got to tell her how he really felt, and that thought began to eat him alive. So, instead of telling El, he decided to go to the closest thing to her as he could: Will.
Trembling and feeling close to throwing up, Mike knocked on the cabin door. He was so anxious that he almost forgot the special knock that Hopper set up, but no amount of anxiety could erase his muscle memory. He’d done this so many times over the summer of ‘85, when he and El would see each other every day.
“Will? You in there?” Mike called, banging on the door frantically.
The door suddenly pulled open, and Joyce emerged from the shadowy frame.
“Mike? What are you doing banging on the door like that?”
“Oh—sorry Mrs. Byers. I didn’t mean to…uhm…” Mike swallowed, blushing profusely. “Look, I’m sorry, but is Will in there? I need to talk to him, like right now.”
“Mike!” Joyce cooed. “Will just left for the airport. Didn’t he tell you he has his flight to New York today?”
“No!” He bit his lip and turned around, his eyes meeting Hopper’s van.
“Can you talk to him on the phone? He told me that he’ll call as soon as he lands, so you could tell him then, if you’d like to.”
“No, this needs to be in person. Thanks, Mrs. Byers, but I’ll figure this out on my own.”
“Okay, Mike. Good luck, honey!”
She shut the door, and Mike heard the locks clicking into place one by one.
An idea was brewing in Mike’s mind. He wasn’t legally able to drive, but nobody would pull him over in a cop car… right?
He ran to the van, hurriedly throwing his bag into the passenger’s seat. It was then that he realized that he didn’t have the keys.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” Mike whispered, searching the usual spots for a spare key.
He checked under the sun visor, in the center console, and under the driver’s seat, but it was no use. He concluded that there must not be a spare key and that he was screwed. He sighed, slumping over the steering wheel. He might have begun to cry if Joyce had not knocked on the window, jolting Mike out of his wallowing.
“Looking for these?” Joyce asked, holding Hopper’s car keys.
“Mrs. Byers! I… uh… I was just…”
“Mike, it’s okay. I don’t care. But you should let me drive, honey. You don’t have your license, do you?”
“I—”
“I thought so. Now, let’s get moving!”
Mike jumped out of the driver’s seat, rushing into the passenger side. Joyce matched his urgency, getting the car started and in drive before Mike had even sat down.
She turned on the siren and slammed on the gas pedal.
✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦
They made it to the airport mere minutes before Will’s flight took off. Mike shoved open the car door and began sprinting, not even bothering to shut it. During the ride, Joyce had told him that Will’s flight was at gate seven, so he already knew where to go. His head began to buzz, and he was determined to at least see Will before he left.
Despite the reason he wanted to talk with Will, he couldn’t help but ask why he didn’t know that Will was leaving. Did I do something to upset him? What’s going on? But because of the urgency, he pushed those thoughts away and focused solely on finding Will. He was sprinting, his heart pounding out of his chest, when he reached a split in the path and he didn’t know which way to go.
“Fuck!” Mike exhaled, searching both sides for clues of Will.
It was then that he heard someone calling his name from behind him. He snapped his neck in that direction, and he saw Will exiting the bathroom.
“Will!” Mike ran to him and swallowed him in a hug. He could feel his eyes begin to burn, so he focused on feeling Will in an attempt not to let a single tear escape. “Will…”
“Mike!” He said, backing out of the embrace. “Why are you here?”
“I–I need to tell you something, Will.”
Will’s eyes go wide, and Mike can see Will thinking up hundreds of things that Mike must be thinking.
“It-it’s not about you, Will, but I need to tell you.” Mike failed in his mission of keeping the tears from falling and felt one roll down his cheek. “Please, Will. I can’t be alone again.”
“Mike, are you okay?? What’s going on?” Will rubbed his back, extremely worried.
Mike sniffled hard. “I… I realized something. About El.”
Then Mike began to uncontrollably sob. He’d never felt this way before, and every thought he had worsened his state. When he thought of El, his vision became so blurry he couldn’t make out where the floor ended and the ceiling began. His grip on the world loosened, and he had the urge to curl up into a ball on the spot.
“Oh my god, Mike.” Will hugged Mike as hard as he could. “Just let it out, okay?”
Mike nodded and buried his head in Will’s shoulder. He stayed there for a minute, letting his tears run their course.
“Jeez, sorry, Will. Now your shirt’s all wet.” Mike laughed, tears still coming out of his eyes, but less frequent now.
“It’s okay, Mike, it’s just water. It’ll dry.” Will stepped on his tiptoes to look above Mike’s head. “Mike, my flight is about to start boarding. I don’t want to leave you here like this, but I have to go.”
“Will, please. Don’t go.” Mike grabbed Will’s hand, squeezing it.
Then it dawned on him that he had just hugged Will Byers very tight in a very crowded airport, and was now holding his hand. He quickly let go, wiping his hand on his shirt and letting it dangle at his side. He heard his father’s voice echoing in his mind saying “Boys shouldn’t hold hands. It’s not right, Michael.”
“Shit, sorry.”
“Mike, what is going on with you? You need to tell me now, or you’re going to have to tell me over the phone.”
“First, you need to tell me why I didn’t know that you were off to New York today.”
Will’s eyes widened. “I–I don’t know, Mike. I just couldn’t find the right time to bring it up. You were too busy writing your stories, and I guess I didn’t want to distract you from that.”
“What? That’s bullshit!”
“I know that now, Mike!”
The boys took a deep breath, both realizing that they don’t want to be fighting with the other, especially not if this was going to be their last meeting for a while.
“Shit. Will, I didn’t mean that.” Mike put his hand on Will’s shoulder, an unexpected spark flying through him. He dropped his hand immediately after he put it down.
“Mike… Just say what you came here to say. There’s no need to make it more complicated than it needs to be.”
“I–I..” Mike sighs. He starts debating on whether or not he should even tell Will, and if he should even be here right now, and he begins to spiral without noticing.
“Mike!”
That broke him out of his trance.
“I don’t have all day. Spit it out, man.”
Mike took a deep breath and mentally prepped himself to saying what he really felt. What he needed to get out. What he needed to tell Will.
“Fuck, this is so hard to say.” Mike began to pace in a comically small circle.
“Mike, I have two minutes. Two!”
Mike stopped pacing and faced Will. “I realized something important, Will. Something that shouldn’t be true.”
Will’s eyebrow raised. “What are you talking about, Mike?”
“I–I…” He took a deep breath and convinced himself to just throw the words out of his mouth. “I never loved El, Will.”
Will just stared at him. Mike could see his face change emotions so fast that if he had blinked he would’ve missed it. His mouth began to feel dryer than it had ever felt, and he just knew that Will was going to think he was weird. Fuck, he shouldn’t have told him. He shouldn’t have told anyone.
“Shit, Will, forget that. I didn’t mean it.”
“No, Mike, it’s okay.” Will stepped closer to Mike. “It’s just a lot to process. What do you mean, you never loved her?”
Mike sighed in both relief and nervousness. “Well, I realized that I just saw her as a friend, really. I never loved her like… like that, you know?” Will nodded. “I don’t know, I was just so caught up with her uniqueness that I didn’t realize my admiration wasn’t…”
“I get it, Mike, I do.” Will’s eyes looked teary. “I know what it’s like to not like who you’re supposed to.”
“Really? You don’t think it’s weird?”
“No. I don’t.” Will smiled, and Mike couldn't help but join him.
“Thank you so much, Will.” He stepped closer to Will and wrapped him in a hug so tight that Will had to tap his back to tell him that he couldn’t breathe.
They stood there for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes. Mike just had an entire boatload taken off his shoulders, and his best friend understood! He couldn’t be happier.
An announcement suddenly broke their focus on each other.
“Gate seven, Hawkins to New York, last call for boarding!”
“I should go, Mike. Thank you for telling me that. Really.”
“Will.” He grabbed his wrist, stopping him from walking away. “You can’t leave. Not after I just got you back.”
“Mike…
“Look, you can write them a letter and say you’re gonna have to attend next year instead. I need you here, Will.” He furrowed his eyebrows, pleading without words. “I know this is a lot, but…”
Will gave him a look of such understanding that Mike felt like he’d never have to say anything to Will ever again because he already knew everything about him. But of course, just because he understood didn’t mean he agreed with him.
“Mike. I can’t stay. I have to go.” Will patted Mike’s shoulder. “Look, we can talk when I get to New York.”
Mike didn’t let go of his wrist.
“I need you here. Please, just take a flight next week or something. You can’t leave after I just… just told you about this.”
Will sighed heavily. “Fine. But I need to leave soon, Mike. I can’t waste time I could be using to get ready for college.”
“Gate seven, Hawkins to New York, boarding now closed.”
Mike smiled like he’d never smiled before. “Thank you.” He whispered, unable to speak louder than that.
Mike’s heart began to race, although he didn’t know why. He was just inexplicably grateful that Will had listened to him. But he was even more glad that Will wasn’t leaving. He knew that in a week, he’d have to say goodbye to Will for the foreseeable future, but that was so far in the future. He focused on the current moment, and all he felt was joy.
“So…” Will began. “What are we doing now?
“Let’s go home.”