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It was Saturday night the first time someone found out.
Will and Mike were on Will’s bed, with Mike lounging between his boyfriend’s legs, hands on Will’s face, lips on Will’s lips. Their math homework was cast aside, and they forgot to lock the door in case someone were to walk in.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened.
“Oh,” Jonathan says, causing the two boys to spring apart immediately, eyes wide and locked on Jonathan’s face. The older Byers boy was standing in the doorway. There was a long moment of silence as all three boys didn’t know what to do. Jonathan kept looking between them awkwardly. “Um.. It’s.. time for dinner.”
“Cool,” Will replies, feeling incredibly embarrassed. Jonathan presses his mouth together, and promptly walks away. Will and Mike stare at the doorway for a moment, before turning to stare at each other in shock.
Mike quickly turns a bright red. “So he knows now,” He whispers, eyes scared.
Will gives him a smile, taking Mike’s hand and squeezing it reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Jonathan already knows about me,” He says, making Mike blink. “He’s cool.”
“Right. I know that,” Mike responds, sitting up straighter. His posture melts after a moment, brow furrowing in slight worry. “He won’t tell anyone, right?”
The other boy laughs, finding Mike’s little pout genuinely adorable. “No, he won’t tell anyone,” He promises, and the worried pout disappears from Mike’s face. Will gently pinches Mike’s cheek, causing the pout to return, in a more unamused way. Will just grins, pinching Mike’s other cheek as well. “Don’t worry.”
“We should go to dinner,” Mike says, his voice slightly muffled as Will pushes Mike’s cheeks together, causing the boy’s lips to turn out like a fish.
“Yeah,” Will states with a sigh. “You’re right.”
He steals one more kiss before they both roll off the bed, heading to the dining room. The entire dinner, Mike didn’t make eye contact with Jonathan at all, while the older boy didn’t say a word about it. Jonathan didn’t even give Will a look.
Mike’s luck ran out when it was time for him to go back to his house. After he and Will had a private goodbye in Will’s room, Jonathan pulled him aside to talk.
“So,” Jonathan says plainly, and Mike gives him a strained smile. “You and Will.”
“Yup,” Mike coughs out, looking anywhere but the older boy’s face. Jonathan crosses his arms, looking Mike up and down. “I should… probably get home?”
Jonathan quirks an eyebrow. “Yeah,” He says passively. “You should.” Mike gulps, nodding slowly. Where was this going? Mike was already sweating nervously. “I really love my brother,” Jonathan states easily, and Mike nods again. “I’ve known for a while, which is why I’m not going full older brother on you.”
“Yay?” Mike breathes out, hoping to leave already.
Jonathan’s eyes narrow. “But let me be as clear as I possibly can,” He says in a low voice, almost a growl. “If you ever dare to hurt Will in any way,” Jonathan pokes Mike in the forehead, causing him to flinch. “I will not hesitate to hurt you back.”
Mike’s heart dropped into his stomach, sweating more now. “Of course,” He agrees, nodding a few times again. Jonathan stares at him for another moment.
“And with that said,” Jonathan continues, his voice normal now, making Mike tense again. Jonathan smiles softly. “I’m happy for you guys, you’ll make a good pair.” Mike relaxes entirely, eyes widening as Jonathan pulls him into a tight and warm hug. He reaches up and clings to the back of Jonathan’s shirt, blinking back tears of relief.
The two of them walk back to the doorway, where Will was waiting impatiently, arms crossed and feet tapping the ground. “What did you do?” He says pointedly at Jonathan, crossing the room to grab Mike’s arm, looking accusingly at his brother.
“Nothing, he just said goodbye,” Mike answers for Jonathan, giving Will a soft smile to calm the boy down, and the brown haired boy lets his eyes soften. Jonathan watches as the two boys say goodbye again, smiling to himself.
Yeah, they’ll be a good pair.
~~~~
It was a month later when Nancy found out. To be honest, they should’ve expected her to find out sooner, with how smart and detail-oriented she is.
The way she found out was a similar situation, except Will and Mike were at Mike’s house instead of Will’s. It was late morning, and the two boys were in Mike’s room, thinking nothing of it when Will declared ‘I love you’ between his kisses.
“I love you too,” Mike says immediately, trying not to blush too badly. Will laughs.
Karen called them down for lunch, and Will tried to ignore the way Nancy was staring at him, her eyes narrowed, like she was trying to discover a mystery.
After lunch, Karen told Mike to pick up Holly from her friend’s house, so Will and Nancy were left alone in the living room as the older girl worked on a college assignment and Will read a book. It was silent for the most part, until Nancy let out an exasperated sigh, looking up from her paper, staring at Will again.
“Are you dating anyone?” She states plainly, making Will choke on his spit.
“W-What?” The boy stutters, looking over at her with a slightly nervous expression. Nancy raised an eyebrow. “No. No, why would you think that?”
Nancy raised her other eyebrow, looking at the doorway, to where the dining room was, which branched off into the kitchen where Karen was. She looks back at Will, pulls out another piece of paper, uncaps a marker, and writes two words.
She lifts the paper and Will’s eyes widen. ‘ I know ’ was written in Nancy’s handwriting. Nancy crumples the paper up and stands, walking over to the couch and sitting at Will’s side, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“You probably don’t know this,” She says quietly, her intense eyes never leaving Will’s. “But I’ve kissed a few girls.” Will’s jaw drops to the floor, eyes widening even more. Nancy nods matter of factly. “Exactly. Anyway, I have no problems with you and Mike.” Will blushes, opening his mouth to question how she knew, but Nancy continued without even needing to be asked. “I walked by his room earlier.”
“Oh,” Will mumbles, looking down at his hands, his face getting rosy.
Nancy just nods again. “I have no problems with you and Mike,” She says again, making Will look back up at her. “You two have been friends for forever, and I kind of suspected something was off when Mike started dating El.”
So did Jonathan . Will thought to himself, trying not to smile as he thinks of the similarities between Nancy and his older brother. They’re the same in that way.
“But,” Nancy starts sharply, narrowing her eyes at Will, and he suddenly feels an icy glare. “Mike is my only brother, and no matter what I say, I cherish him very dearly.” Will starts to smile again, only to be met with a larger glare. “ Do not tell him that.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Will mumbles, trying not to look too amused.
Nancy huffs indignantly, then her icy glare returns. “So if you even dare hurt a strand of hair on his stupid head,” She places her hand on Will’s shoulder, squeezing a bit. Will goes pale as Nancy gives him a terrifying smile, a cloud of darkness starting to surround her. “I will rip your throat out with my bare hands,” She hisses.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Will says quickly, no sarcasm in his voice now.
“Good,” Nancy says, letting go of Will’s shoulder. She dusts it off, before looking Will in the eyes again, now more concerned than threatening. “Please keep him safe,” She whispers. “I know he doesn’t look it, but he’s.. fragile.”
Will’s eyes softened and he took Nancy’s hand, squeezing it. “I will,” He says sincerely, and the worry on Nancy’s face fades somewhat. “I promise.”
Nancy sighs, and smiles. “I know,” She replies, before getting up, leaving the room.
A few seconds later, Mike bursts into the house with Holly at his side, plopping next to Will with a big grin on his face. “Do you want to hear the elementary school gossip Holls told me in the car?” He questions in a low, dramatic voice.
“I said not to tell anyone!”
“But it’s Will, Holls!”
“...Fine, you can tell Will.”
Will laughs, and pays close attention as Mike starts to ramble, watching Mike’s face with an expression most people would consider.. What’s the word? Deeply in love.
~~~~
To be honest, neither of the two boys could’ve expected who would figure it out about them next. Will’s money was on El, while Mike’s money was on Max.
So imagine their surprise when it’s Lucas who finds them making out in Mike’s car, before hopping inside and starting up a conversation like Mike’s hair wasn’t all messed up and Will’s shirt was half up his chest. “Do you want to DM tomorrow?” He asks Mike, who was awkwardly trying to smooth out his messy hair.
“Um, yeah, sure, dude,” Mike says, before clearing his throat and coughing.
Will straightened his shirt and moved into the driver’s seat, turning the car on. “So are we going to the lake or the pool?” He questioned, glancing at Mike.
“Lake,” Lucas answers, an amused smile on his face. “Max and El are already there.”
“Is Dustin meeting us or are we picking him up?” Mike asks as Will gets out of the parking lot. Lucas was sitting in the back while Mike was in the passenger seat, so the first was leaning between the seats to be in the conversation.
“I think he’s meeting us,” Lucas says, looking between his two friends. Finally, he cracks a wide grin. “..Jeez, you guys, maybe lock the doors when you bang?”
Mike coughs wildly into his arm while the car swerves to the side, Will’s grip tightening in the wrong way, causing Lucas to jerk sideways as he bursts out laughing. “We weren’t banging !” Mike exclaims loudly, making Lucas laugh louder.
“How did you know?” Will questions, straightening the car. “You weren’t surprised.”
Lucas rolls his eyes. “Dude, I’ve known since grade school when Mike had me officiate your wedding by the playground,” He answers with an eye roll.
Mike turns beet red while Will sputters. “When did that happen?” Mike questions, his voice still loud and more than slightly panicked. “Did I really do that?”
“Yup,” Lucas says with a nod. “I wrote about it in my diary and everything.” He leans into Mike’s space, grinning mischievously. “So? Is Will a good kisser?” Will gives him a nasty look as Mike rolls his eyes, scoffing. “Come on! Tell me, please, please, pl-”
“Yeah, he is,” Mike answers, making Lucas burst out laughing again, fall back into the back seat. Will raises his eyebrows at the road as Mike crosses his arms.
They arrive at the lake after lots of teasing from Lucas, who won’t stop grinning. Mike spots Max sitting by the beach, narrowing his eyes with a grumble when he notices she was using his towel. “ MAXINE !” He shouts as he jumps out of the car, running towards the lake as Max starts diabolically laughing from the sand.
Will chuckles, moving to get out, but Lucas grabs his bicep, making the boy turn with a frown. Lucas gave a smile, but it was a little threatening now. “We’ve known each other for a while, right?” Lucas says sweetly, and Will nods slowly.
“Um, what–” Will started, but Lucas was already talking again.
“If I find out you hurt Mike somehow I’m going to run you over with my car,” Lucas says darkly, his smile dropping for only a moment before it was back. “Anyway, race you to the beach!” He jumps out of the car as Will freezes from horror.
Will does not win the race, but he does win the cannonball contest afterwards. Later, when Dustin arrived, everyone went into the water to hang out except for Mike, who was putting on more sunscreen with a concentrated look.
Lucas walks over to him. “Yo,” He says, sitting down next to Mike on the towel. Mike mutters a ‘hey’, moving to his legs. “I need to tell you something, I already told Will.”
Mike blinks, looking up innocently. “Yeah?” He questions, tilting his head to the side.
“Just,” Lucas smiles, clapping his hand on Mike’s shoulder, making the boy jump slightly. Lucas gives him a closed eyed smile. “Don’t hurt Will. Got it?”
“Got it,” Mike says, blinking a few times as Lucas removes his hand from Mike’s shoulder, grabbing the sunscreen bottle and putting some in his hands. Mike looks over at the water as Lucas starts applying it to Mike’s back, where Will was.
Almost immediately, Will was suddenly right there, giving Lucas a forced smile. “I think Max was calling for you,” He said through gritted teeth. Lucas snorts and nods, standing up and jogging over to the water. Will sits down, checking over Mike’s back, and rubs the sunscreen into the spots Lucas missed.
“Your freckles are adorable,” Will says as he massages the sunscreen into Mike’s back. The other boy smiles and loosely pulls his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around said legs. Will presses a soft kiss to his shoulder. “Smells nice.”
“Thanks,” Mike breathes out, leaning into Will’s touch. “I like the smell of sunscreen.”
“Same,” Will responds, and they look at each other with matching smiles.
“Yo, idiots!” Max shouts from the water, and the two boys look down to see El waving wildly to get their attention while Dustin and Lucas are wrestling each other. Max cups her hands over her mouth and continues shouting so the whole lake hears her. “Come down to the water or you’re both cowards!”
Will and Mike laugh, standing up and jogging to the shore.
~~~~
The next one, it didn’t come like the others.
It was after Will and Mike decided to tell the whole Byers family at once, in the middle of the Byers living room. Both that they were gay and that they were dating. Joyce nodded along the entire time, Jonathan smiled the moment Will asked if he could say something, and El asked what gay meant.
That was a fun conversation between El and Joyce.
Hopper was confused, and Will had to explain the concept of two boys dating a few times before the man seemed to understand. He was a little cautious around the two boys the rest of the night, like he was worried he’d scare them, but seemed fine.
Then, close to the end of the night, Joyce and Hopper pulled Mike aside into the kitchen. Mike started fiddling with his fingers, already nervous for the conversation.
“We don’t have to say it, do we?” Joyce says with a warm smile.
Mike immediately nods his head. “No, I got it,” He replies, giving a shaky smile and a thumbs up in return. “Keep Will safe and don’t do anything to hurt him.”
Joyce smiles wider and nods. “Keep yourself safe too,” She says, raising a finger as she speaks. “Safe sex is important,” Mike turns deep red, eyes widening. “If you ever want to ask me for condoms or anything of the sort, don’t be shy–”
“Oh– Oh my god, Miss Byers, no, no, me and Will aren’t like that, we– we haven’t done anything like that, oh god don’t say that!” Mike flounders in his words, making all sorts of wide gestures with his arms as he becomes redder and redder.
“Good, or I’d have to kill you,” Hopper states clearly, and Mike sweat drops.
“What are you guys doing?” Will asks carefully as he walks into the kitchen, one eyebrow raised. He moves over to Mike’s side, taking hold of the boy’s arm, then looks at his parents. “You’re not interrogating him, right?”
Joyce smiles. “Nope, just telling him the importance of safe sex,” She says brightly.
Mike turns away from Will, his hand covering his face, as they both turn red. Will forces out loud laughter. “What? That’s– that’s crazy,” He says very loudly. Hopper and Joyce raise an eyebrow in unison. “Why would you– that’s not– we’ve never –”
“Yes, Mike has already explained that,” Joyce responds with a soft chuckle. Will lets out a few more bits of forced laughter before dragging Mike away from the adults.
A little later that evening, Joyce found the two lounging on the couch, both dead asleep. Mike’s arms were wrapped around Will’s middle, and Will’s arm was draped on the other boy’s back, both of them snoring softly. Joyce smiles warmly and grabs the nearest blanket, pulling it over the two and kissing their heads.
When she walked into the other room, Hopper was looking through the doorway, unimpressed. “I still have a shovel,” He mutters, making Joyce glare at him, smacking his leg. “Hey! You’re the one who wants to keep ‘em safe.”
The woman huffs. “That does not include killing my soon-to-be son-in-law.”
“They’re both far from marriage age,” Hopper points out, before frowning a little. “If they could.” Joyce sighs at the statement, moving to start the dishwasher.
“He’s still basically my child,” She says indignantly.
Back in the living room, Mike lets out a little sneeze in his sleep.