Chapter Text
When Mike awoke, he was in a white room with very loud machinery. His migraine burned. His legs and arms were strangely painless.
It took him a minute to realize he was in the hospital.
He turned his head as much as possible. Will was sat on a chair, along with Nancy, Ted, and Holly. They all were, or at least had been, crying: puffy eyes, red noses, the works. They were all asleep (except for Ted, who was invested in a crossword).
“Will?” Mike said softly.
The chaos that ensued at that word could've knocked him unconscious again. Within a millisecond, Will was at his side and had almost tackled him.
“Mike,” he whispered. “I thought I lost you.”
Memories came flooding back to him. Of Vecna, of Uno…
But Will was holding him, so it didn't matter.
Holly was at his other side. She tried to crawl on the bed but Karen stopped her, setting her back on the floor before pushing her own forehead to Mike's.
“Oh, baby,” she sobbed.
Nancy stood at his feet. She didn't say anything, but she smiled at him with tears in her eyes.
Even his dad was emotional. “I'm glad to have you back, son,” he said with the remnants of a smile.
Mike's heart tugged. You wouldn't if you knew me .
Will had yet to let go of his hand. Mike's heart thumped and he didn't say anything about it. The warmth of his best friend's body was keeping him sane.
His mom was still running her hands through his hair.
“What happened?” Mike asked quietly.
Will and Nancy shared a glance.
“You got attacked again,” said Nancy. “You're mostly fine physically, just a little banged up. You were tranced for over an hour and music didn't get through. El got you out. But then you were unconscious.”
“How long?” Mike feared the answer.
“A little less than two days,” said Will quietly.
Oh, not too bad.
The group fell into silence.
“I'm going to go call Joyce,” said Karen after a moment of silence. She gave Nancy a glance and Nancy nodded. “Let everyone know they're awake.”
“Let's go get something for Mike to eat, huh?” said Nancy, taking Holly’s hand.
They all three walked out.
Ted, who clearly looked uncomfortable, mumbled something about the newspaper and stepped out following them.
“That was… weird,” said Mike.
Will shrugged and then buried him into another hug, his elbow pressing into Mike's side. Mike squeaked.
“Oh my God, did I hurt you?” said Will, pulling away.
“No, no, it's fine.”
Will went to go grab a chair, but Mike grabbed his forearm. “No, come up here.”
Will didn't try to argue. Mike scooted to the right, which was difficult, and how he noticed that he could not move his right leg.
“Broken,” Will explained.
Mike nodded, and his cheeks flushed as Will laid down next to him.
“So,” Will said.
“So,” Mike responded, his voice cracking. It hurt to speak.
“How are you feeling?” Will asked. “Relatively, at least.”
Mike searched for the right words to describe his pain. He settled on “Like death.”
Will nodded. “I figured so.”
The two fell into silence.
Mike was pushed up against his friend, their points of contact all too obvious to Mike. It was like electric shocks all over his body.
His stomach lurched. He felt wrong for noticing these things.
He was gross.
“We should talk,” Mike said slowly. “About the other night.”
Will looked at him with false confusion. “What about?”
“You know...”
Will gulped. Suddenly their bodies burned against each other. Mike would've run away, had he been able to use his legs.
But he had to stay brave.
“What did you mean?” Will said quietly. “When you said… what you said.”
“What, when I accused you of being homophobic?” Mike said with a joking tone, but he was not joking. But he knew the answer without Will having to say anything.
He sighed and buried his face in his hands.
Tons of emotions hit him like a brick wall. Suddenly he started to cry.
This was his own fault. He had exposed himself. Why had he done that???
“ God, I was not going to tell you like this,” said Mike quietly. “I wasn't gonna tell you at all to be honest, because you would hate me-”
Will rested his hand on Mike's arm. “ Mike .”
Mike glanced into Will's eyes.
This was the boy who he’d met at the playground in kindergarten. This is the boy who's introduced him to Lucas and Dustin and urged him to give them a chance.. This is the boy who’d stayed with him through thick and thin. This was the boy who'd gone his whole life being accused of being queer. This was the boy who was his best friend .
Will wouldn't hate him, Mike realized as he stared at Will's beautifully kind face.
Mike’s eyes drifted to the wall in front of him.
“I don't… like … girls,” he whispered over the beeping of the heart rate monitor. He fiddled with the hem of his lime green hospital gown. “I like boys. I always have, but I don't think I really realized… it… until that summer before you left and I started feeling like shit. This might be… like… weird for you to hear, but… the reason I was so rude that summer was because I was really fucking scared.
“Like, I said, ‘it's not my fault you don't like girls,’ because it was your fault that I didn't like girls. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that. I just didn't want you to find out about me and I guess I thought that if you were the one that was… that was queer , then I could take the blame off myself. I was just really, really, scared.”
He shuddered, tears starting to fall, but he kept going before Will could speak. “I pulled away from everyone because I had all these feelings that I shouldn't have been feeling because they were… you know… unnatural , and- it's why my relationship with El was always rocky at best. It's why all I did was kiss her , because I hoped that it would fix me. But it was just gross. It's why I couldn't ever say I loved her until you told me to. It's why I was sad when I found out about the painting because…” he took a sharp intake of breath. “Because I wanted it to be from you, and I wanted all those things that you said to be from you , because… because…”
Tears kept falling. “I'm sorry Will. I've been in love with you for years, and it ruined everything. I'm a freak. I'm so fucking sorry.”
A tear rolled down his cheek.
“And I know hearing about all of that is probably all weird and icky, and I mean, I just... I get it. If you... if you don't want to.. you know, be around me anymore."
Will took Mike's hands in his. Fireworks ignited in Mike at the touch.
“Mike,” he said softly. “It's okay.”
He looked up at him. The look in his best friend’s eyes made him want to melt .
“It's okay?” Mike said softly, hope filling his heart.
Will smiled and laughed a little. Tears were falling from his eyes now. “It's more than okay, actually.”
He looked at him with confusion. But Will just smiled, reaching up and wiping some tears from Mike's cheeks.
Mike's heart fluttered. But before he could react, Will leaned forward, and he kissed him.
Mike was shocked.
He was bewildered, and there were a lot of questions running through his head, but everything left him and the only thing he was thinking was Will Byers is kissing me. Oh my God, I'm kissing Will Byers.
When they pulled apart, Mike believed he was floating.
“I’m gay, Mike,” said Will, staring into his eyes. “And I’m in love with you.”
Mike just stared at him. His mouth dropped. “You are?” he said with wonder.
Will laughed at Mike's expression. “What, are you on anesthesia or something? I kissed you, Mike.”
“Well, yeah,” he said dumbly, stuttering. “But it- could’ve been, like, platonic or something-”
“ Mike ,” his best friend said, and his tone made Mike want to cry with joy. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
And then Mike leaned in and kissed him again.
For the first time, a kiss felt right . It wasn't awkward or strained or forced like it had been with El, it was, just… right .
Mike was over the moon. When they separated, the two of them readjusted so that both boys were under the covers. Mike's head rested on Will’s shoulder.
“Not homophobic after all, huh?” said Will.
“Thankfully,” Mike muttered.
All of the sudden, he was tired. Despite the fact that he'd just woken up after a two day long coma, he was exhausted.
He yawned.
“I love you, Will,” he said again, before his eyes drooped and he fell asleep.
Before Will opened his eyes the next morning, he felt happy. He heard the sound of Mike's soft snores, he felt the warmth of Mike's body as his head rested on Will’s chest.
So it wasn't a dream , he thought with overwhelming joy.
Suddenly, the hospital room door creaked open and he heard soft footsteps. He opened his eyes.
“Mike! I’m here!” Holly Wheeler announced as she practically ran to the bed. She looked up from the ground and made eye contact with Will. Her voice softened. “Oh. Hi, Will!”
“Good morning, Holly,” Will said with a soft smile. He gestured to his… Friend? Boyfriend? He wasn't sure. “Mike's asleep.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Why is he sleeping on you?” she asked.
Panic rose into Will's throat. “Oh, um, it was an accident-”
But some sort of understanding must have reached Holly, because she looked at Will very seriously, patting his arm and said, “It’s okay. I won't tell.”
Will was confused. Carefully, she stepped over a couple of pillows that Mike had thrown on the floor and sat herself down on the edge of the bed scarily close to Mike’s broken leg.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Holly asked.
Will nodded, not sure where she was going with this.
“Mike told me that he like- likes boys,” she said softly. “He told me not to tell Mom and Dad. Did you know that?”
Will didn't know how to answer. This was weird.
“You shouldn't be telling other people’s secrets,” Will told Holly after a moment of silence.
“You like- like boys too, don't you?” asked Holly as she leaned in slightly, ignoring Will's advice.
Slowly, Will nodded. “I do.”
Holly sat up straight, clearly satisfied.
“You should marry Mike,” she said finally. “You both like boys.”
Will just smiled. “That's a good idea,” he said.
He didn't have the heart to tell her that wasn't possible- because they were only seventeen, and because love like theirs was still illegal.
Mike stirred. He opened one eye.
“Holly?” he said groggily.
He rubbed his eyes and took in his surroundings. Will stared at him and his ruffled hair, sticking up from drying during the night.
Mike smiled. “Holly, don’t interrogate Will first thing in the morning,” he said, playfully reaching out and messing up her hair.
“We were just having a little talk,” she said in her signature serious tone.
Mike looked up at Will, who was smiling down at him. “A little talk, huh?”
“Shove off, Wheeler,” Will teased. “Not everything is about you.”
Holly stood up and said, “They said it’s time for you to go home. Nancy’s gonna come get you in a minute.”
“Thanks, Holly,” said Will and Mike almost simultaneously before she smiled satisfactorily and skipped out the door to her mother.