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It’s been three years since Mike and Will have last spoken. Ever since Will moved to New York City for art school and Mike stayed in Hawkins, getting his own apartment, they’ve grown distant. At first they would mail each other letters and have the occasional phone call, but Mike slowly started to drift away after a year. He stopped answering the phone all together and his letters got less and less until they just ended. A month after he stopped sending letters he was still getting letters from Will and a phone call here or there. He never answered the phone or read the letters, discarding them in a drawer at his desk to be forgotten about. But he never did.
The only times he’d hear about Will was from someone in the party, or Nancy would sometimes mention Will during one of their monthly phone calls. Even though he was the one who broke contact with Will it still hurt to hear how great it seemed he was doing. He seemed happy, and Mike was glad don’t get it wrong, but he wished Will could be happy with him.
The party was well aware of how much Mike had been struggling since Will left. They assumed it was mainly due to El’s death. While that was part of it, it was mainly Will. He loved El and never wanted her to die, he wished she was still here, but he didn’t love her like he loves Will. Mike couldn’t love El like that no matter how hard he tried, and he tried very hard. Will was special; no one could replace him. Now that Will was gone he felt lost without him.
Most nights Mike would drink and think about reaching out to Will again, ask how he was doing, anything just to hear his voice. He never did. The closest he got was actually calling Will, hearing that familiar soft ‘hello’ on the other line just for Mike to hang up immediately after. He had a feeling Will knew it was him but he could never be sure.
Tonight was another one of those nights, finishing off his third beer of the night. The empty can was pushed aside on the counter as he opened the fridge to grab another, cracking it open and listening to the hiss that came from it. This night felt worse than the others, mainly since he was missing Will more and more as each day passed.
Mike took a sip from the can, leaning against the counter as he stared down at the floor. Tonight was the night. He’s thought of it for a while but could never decide on when; that was until now. No one knew and he wanted to keep it that way.
Minutes went by as he finished off the beer he was holding, the empty can sitting on the counter. It was a little after midnight at this point. Mike went off to his room and grabbed the flip phone off his desk. He shouldn’t be calling Will, but if he was really going through with this he wanted to hear his voice one last time. As he dialed his number he could only hope that he would be awake and would actually answer him.
The phone rang for a few seconds and Mike was about to hang up, assuming Will was asleep and wasn’t able to answer. That was until he heard a soft voice answer, one that sounded sleepy and gentle. “Hello?” Will mumbled.
Mike felt his chest tighten at the voice, eyes beginning to water. He slid down against the wall of his room until he was sitting on the ground with his knees pulled to his chest. One hand was gripping the phone tightly and pressing it against his ear as the other was holding his calf. “Will. Are you there?” He sounded breathless, sniffling as a few tears slid down his cheek.
“Mike? What are you doing? It’s late, you should be sleeping.”
“I get it now. I wanted you to know that I love you, and I always have. I need you and only you. I was too stupid to realize it back then, but I realize it now, even if it’s too late. I love you and it will never change,” Mike paused as a sob escaped him. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Goodbye, Will.”
Will was beyond confused, and that was clear from the noise he made from the other line. “What are you talking about? Have you been drinking?”
Mike fell silent as a hand reached up to wipe away his tears with the sleeve of his sweater. “No.” A lie, but he couldn’t stand lying to Will, “Yes. I’m sorry.”
“How many?” Will sounded a bit concerned at this point, even if he was trying not to show it.
“It doesn’t matter.” Mike stood up from the floor, staring at the rope that was hung from the ceiling; he set it up earlier in the day and hadn’t looked at it since.
“Why did you call me?”
“Wanted to hear your voice one last time,” His voice broke into a sob as he took a deep breath and stepped up onto the chair that sat below the rope.
“What do you mean?”
When there was no answer from Mike, Will got up from his bed, flipping on the light switch as he walked out into his apartment’s kitchen. “Mike? Mike, hello?” There was now a clear worry tone to his voice.
Mike placed the rope around his neck as tears streamed down his face, hearing the faint voice of Will calling his name through the phone. This made it hurt more, and maybe he shouldn’t have called Will, but he wanted to hear his voice one last time.
“Wheeler, I swear to fucking god. Answer me right now!” Will was panicking at this point, throat feeling tight as he choked back sobs. He wasn’t stupid, he knew what Mike meant now. If he wasn’t in a different state he would be on the way to Mike’s apartment in a heart beat. But that wasn’t possible now.
As Mike stood on the chair he hesitated; hearing Will like this was breaking his heart. He was so close to going through with it, all he had to do was kick the chair out from under him. This was what he wanted, right? So why was he struggling to go through with it now?
“Mike, Please! Fuck- please don’t,” Will couldn’t hold back anymore and started sobbing, wrapping his free arm around himself and looking down. His eyes were squeezed shut.
The line fell silent aside from Will’s muffled cries and pleads.
“I’m sorry. I’m such an idiot, Will. I’m so fucking sorry.” Mike’s voice was quiet, barely audible, but nonetheless it was there. The rope had been removed from around his neck and he was back on the ground, crying as he held himself.
Will breathed out in relief, wiping away his tears as he tried to get himself back together. “Mike,” he breathed out. “Mike, you’re okay. Everything's okay.”
Mike was sniffling and letting out broken sobs. “I’m so stupid. I didn’t mean to make you worry, please, I’m sorry.”
“No no, stop it. I’m not mad, just worried.” Will paused for a few seconds. “I’m coming over. It’ll take a few hours, but I’m coming. Stay put.”
“Will, no. You don’t have to, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t care. I’m not leaving you alone through this. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I love you, Mike.”
The call ended right after that, giving Mike no time to say anything. He stared at the phone in his hand, mouth opening slightly as tears continued to stream down his cheeks. Will said he loved him. He had too many emotions happening all at once, but he couldn’t help but smile a little. This wasn’t the way he wanted to hear those words from Will, but he’d take it.
Mike let himself cry for a while on the floor, not bothering to take the rope down from the ceiling; he could do that in the morning. Eventually he had fallen asleep, exhausted from how hard he had been crying.
The morning came and the sun shone through his bedroom window and lit up the room. Mike opened his eyes slightly, stretching with a loud groan. His head was pounding and the events of last night rushed back to him. He felt pathetic and embarrassed. Part of him couldn’t believe it all actually happened.
As he got up from the floor he was greeted with the rope still hanging from the ceiling. Last night he was supposed to die – he didn’t plan on waking up again. But he did. With a sigh he stood on the chair and took the rope down. He grabbed the chair and pushed it back to his desk, dragging himself to the kitchen and throwing the rope in the trash. He glanced at the clock on the wall. 12:16pm. God, did he really sleep till the afternoon?
Before Mike could do anything else he heard loud knocking on the front door. Right, Will was driving down last night. He rubbed his eyes as he walked to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it.
In front of him stood Will, seemingly somewhat put together besides the clear eye bags and messy hair. Will looked better compared to him. Mike was wearing sweats and a sweater he hadn’t changed out of in days; hair was a mess, tear stained cheeks and eye bags.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Mike broke down and started sobbing, wrapping his arms around Will and holding him tightly. It didn’t take long for Will to start crying as well, arms holding Mike close as if he would disappear if he let go. The door was still open but neither one cared at this moment.
After a minute or so Mike pulled away, stepping aside for Will to come in. His apartment was a bit messy, the left over beer cans on the counter and a few random items across the floor that he had yet to clean up. The door was closed and locked.
“Hey uh, I’m sorry. About last night,” Mike said, wiping his eyes and sniffling. It felt a bit awkward to be face to face with Will after what happened. “I don’t even know what I was thinking.”
Will came closer to Mike, grabbing his hands and looking him in the eyes. “Don’t apologize,” he paused. “I don’t know what you’re going through to get to that point. But, I’m here for you. Even if we haven’t spoken in years. I will always be here for you, Mike.”
It was hard to hold back the tears but Mike managed to, nodding his head. “I know, I know. Everything just- I just missed you.” He squeezed Will’s hands, glancing down at the floor. “When you left I guess I just didn’t know what to do anymore. I felt lost, nothing felt right. I thought distancing myself from you would help but it made everything so much worse.”
“Mike, you could’ve reached out again. I stopped writing and calling because I thought you hated me. But I would’ve answered you in a heartbeat.”
“What? No, I could never hate you if I wanted to.”
The two fell silent once again. Mike leaned his head against Will’s, sighing quietly. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.”
“Mike, if you apologize one more time I swear I’ll- I don’t know but I’ll do something.” Will couldn’t help but smile, thumb rubbing Mike’s hand.
“I’m sorry.” Only this time Mike was smiling, doing this to just tease Will.
Will brought a hand up to Mike’s face, grabbing his chin and tilting his head up slightly. The sunlight pouring in through the windows lit up Mike’s face, allowing him to see him more in detail. He looked different from the last time they saw each other; his hair was longer, stubble on his chin and above his lip. But he still had the same chapped lips and beautiful eyes. “Can I kiss you?” His voice was barely above a whisper, eyes flickering to Mike’s lips then back up to his eyes.
“Yes please,” Mike said breathlessly.
That’s all Will needed before he tilted his head a little to the side and closed the space between them. The kiss was a bit hesitant at first but they both ended up melting into it, Mike’s hands moving to hold Will’s waist. The hand holding Mike’s chin moved to his hair, threading his fingers through the strands as their lips moved together.
After a few seconds Mike was the first to pull away, Will attempting to chase his lips before pulling away as well. They both were smiling and Mike couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head.
“Holy shit,” Mike whispered. Just last night he planned on dying and now he was kissing the boy he’s been in love with for years, he was just too dumb to realize it. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that.”
“I think I’ve wanted it longer,” Will teased Mike before leaning in and kissing him again.
This time it was filled with more passion, tongue swiping at his lower lip. Mike got the hint quickly and opened his mouth, allowing Will’s tongue to enter and intertwine with his own. A soft whine left Mike at the feeling, face heating up. It was embarrassing but he didn’t care. He pulled Will closer so their bodies were pressed together, nails gently digging into his back through the thin fabric of his shirt.
Will couldn’t help but moan into Mike’s mouth, pulling on his hair and listening to the sweet sound that came from Mike. Before things got too heated he pulled away, breathing heavily as he stared at Mike and his kiss swollen lips. “You’re so beautiful.”
Mike rolled his eyes, smiling. “Says you.” He placed a quick kiss on Will’s lips. “Thank you for driving all this way, it means more than you know.”
“It’s really nothing. I would do anything for you,” Will’s other hand reached up to cup Mike’s cheek, thumb rubbing the soft skin. “I love you, Mike Wheeler.”
Mike felt his chest tighten, mouth hung open slightly. He could hardly believe it but he knew it was real. A soft breath escaped him, leaning into the hand on his cheek. “I love you too, Will Byers.”