#apart from that scene in the desert when they’re burying the body i can’t recall any moment of him showing attraction to mike Like That

[mirrorballdazai]

explain what do you mean by "sexual attraction" ? how exactly does that differ from "romantic attraction" if there's no implications about sex? i genuinely don't understand how exactly will byers, who is clearly gay and attracted to mike is somehow "asexual" ergo doesn't experience attraction towards anyone ?? unless you're implying something sexual with it, which is, again, irrelevant, because it's a minor and discussing minors sex lives is 💀

i am asexual and since he’s my favorite character i headcanon him as asexual, nothing deeper than that i promise you 😭

[i-read-good-books]

CTC LiS AU because I’m trash

because @velocesmells indulges me way too much and ??? i love them???

The Pool Scene

“I can’t believe you’re actually doing this,” Iris mutters, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“Oh, come on.” Even in his teasing, Lillium is gentle instead of harsh. He takes off his t-shirt near the edge of the pool, kicking his shoes off away from the water. The guy’s grown up in the years Iris’s been away, and it’s not hard to notice. Where they were once pretty similar in body type, Lillium’s gotten about twenty pounds of muscle (well-defined and perfectly lickable, alright), and he’s much broader now.

The translucent blue light reflected in the pool’s surface lights up Lillium’s skin, given it a strange, sickly tone that makes him look ethereal, unattainable, out of this world. It makes Iris’s heart race just slightly.

He’s seen Lillium die too many times to not feel unsettled when he seems out of reach.

“Get in the pool, you coward,” Lillium cackles, throwing his discarded t-shirt at him and winking suggestively.

Iris scowls, “I am smart enough to not have a fervent desire for pneumonia, unlike some other people I could name.”

“You know, I’m hearing all these fancy words, but you’re still standing there.”

Lillium shimmies out of his ripped jeans, whistling a tune like he’s performing a strip tease and waving the trousers over his head before once again launching them at Iris. He rolls his eyes and avoids them with a single step, feeling a smile curl his lips involuntarily.

“Nice try.”

Lillium smiles back, a bit more honestly. It’s awkward, seeing him in his underwear, even though this is definitely not the first almost naked guy Iris has been with. It just - it’s different, with Lillium, because Iris remembers showering together at the end of swimming lessons, or going to the local pool together during summers. He remembers making fun of Lillium because Begonia kept chasing him around when her friend wasn’t there; remembers holding hands as they jumped into the water.

Iris remembers knowing Lillium so well that his every breath had meaning to it that he could decipher, that their gazes were locked on each other’s, knowing and conspiratorial.

Now there’s a darkness to his friend that’s frightening, there’s a distance between them that he isn’t sure he’s going to be able to breach by himself. And Lillium looks so much older.

He’s startled out of his thoughts by the sudden flash of movement in the corner of his eye, and then takes a step back as Lillium gets into the pool. His friend lets out a soft sigh, humming in pleasure.

“Oh, yeah, that’s the stuff.”

Iris snorts, “It’s got a heater, not a dildo, Lillium.”

“Oooh, crass, Iris. I dig it.” Lillium splashes at him playfully.

“Hey!” he whines. “Watch it, asshole.”

“Nope.” Another splash, this time reaching him and wetting his shoes. “What you gonna do about it?”

Iris swallows hard. Lillium looks like he’s having fun now, splashing around stupidly as if they’re just kids. He’s making bubbles in the water by burying his face halfway, snorting air through his nose (gross). And well. Lillium probably won’t let it go if he doesn’t get in, will he?

(It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Iris might really, really want to do it. Might want to behave like a dumb twelve year old in a deserted school, making a ruckus and playing with fire. Might want to kick Lillium’s legs under the water and feel his bare skin.)

Taking off his clothes in under 30 seconds is easy - and, for once, Lillium doesn’t whistle obnoxiously at it, just stays quiet and looks away - and then it’s just a matter of shutting his eyes and refusing to acknowledge the possibility that the water might be cold. Nope. Not even touching that.

Fortunately, warmth welcomes him, followed shortly by Lillium clapping excitedly and splashing more water at his face in greeting. Seriously, the guy’s like a very confused puppy sometimes. Iris makes a face.

“I feel like this is a huge victory,” Lillium jokes, waddling over to him. “I still recall that when we were 14 you went all emo and stuff -”

“I was not emo!”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Lillium sing-songs. “Anyway, you started to stop going to the beach with me. It took me hours to get you into the water.”

“Yeah,” Iris mumbles, shivering slightly. “Well, I had a very limited budget, and waterproof nailpolish wasn’t included.”

“Cute,” Lillium murmurs, a soft breath that heats up Iris’s cheeks. His friend leans back on the water, letting it support his weight. He’s silent, for a few minutes. Iris lets him be.

“I wish Begonia were here,” he finally whispers, after what seems like forever. There’s a raw edge to his voice, caught between regret and resentment, flavored by the salty aftertaste of helplessness that sometimes comes through. “She doesn’t like pools that much, but she loves the sea.”

Lillium always speaks about Begonia in the present tense. Iris doesn’t correct him. It’d be useless to do so, anyway.

“You’d like her,” Lillium’s voice breaks at the end of the sentence, shattering in a charged silence.

Iris bites his lower lip, “Yeah, I’m sure.” He hesitates, but then swims over to Lillium, clasping their hands together. His friend stares at him, mouth open slightly and eyebrows raised, but he just squeezes reassuringly. Lillium needs it, right now. “Begonia sounds amazing, from what you’ve told me.”

“Oh, she is,” Lillium smiles again. Iris can breathe, finally. “I don’t know, Iris, I’m starting to think everything’s connected. And your power is changing so many things…”

“Tell me about it,” he mutters, his fingers tracing the back of Lillium’s palm tenderly. He finds a familiar scar in the webbing between his index and middle finger, a short white line. Lillium got it the time they tried to chop onions as kids. “It keeps giving me headaches.”

“Not just that.” Lillium’s voice is husky. “You’ve always been incredible, I’ve known that since we were kids. But now? Now, you’re a… you’re almost a force of nature, in itself.”

Iris snorts. “Cheesy much?”

“Sometimes,” Lillium gets closer, dropping his pose where he was being held up by the water, and moves until they’re standing in front of each other. His eyes are dark. His eyelashes are dripping. “The cheesier it sounds, the truer it is.”

Iris looks away, swallowing. He leans his forearm on the edge of the pool, resting his forehead against the cool, white tiles. “My powers failed today. I’m just stumbling through time like an idiot, Lillium. Don’t make it sound cooler than it is.”

“You didn’t stumble when you saved me,” Lillium replies softly.

“What if I had?” he can’t help but ask, turning his head desperately. He bites his lower lip. “What if I had, Lillium?”

“You didn’t,” Lillium reminds him, and puts his arm over his shoulders, warm and reassuring. It’s a familiar weight on his back, a presence that’s been taking care of him since he was old enough to have memories, and now it carries a new sense, something that makes his mouth run dry and his thoughts crumble apart before they’re coherent. “You didn’t, and I’m still here.”

Iris doesn’t say anything, just leans into him. He’ll be embarrassed about this tomorrow, when there’s a chasm separating them again, but right now he seeks refuge more than progress in their bumpy relationship.

“I’m not leaving you, Iris, not ever,” Lillium whispers into his hair, gentle. “If you don’t know anything, at least you can remember that.”

Iris shuts his eyes, and lets the pool wash away his worries.

Fin

(might make this a multichapter thing if people like it?)