#dustin has dad issues dont even try to change my mind

[moony-is-a-sassy-bitch]

Dustin: This may come as a shook to you, but I have Dad Issues with certan people.

Robin: Eddie and Steve.

Eddie and Steve: Us.

Vecna, in the upside down: Munson and Harrington

Dustin: Yeah, but it's not just them. It's every male authority for my entire life.

[coyoteweird]

How Hopper Adopts Mike Wheeler: Part 5

Wow I was going through my drafts and realized I forgot to post this. Well here it is.

Hey guys! This is part 5/? of The “How Hopper Adopts Mike Wheeler” Series written with my son @lgbtchee

Warnings: mentions/implied eating disorder, that’s it bc it’s all fluff 

Hope you enjoy!

Hopper didn’t cook. It was just a fact. He lived off of greasy takeout and microwave meals. He never thought that he’d be in Joyce Byers’ kitchen making a birthday cake and planning a birthday party.

It was Mike’s sixteenth birthday and that night they were having a party. Hopper wanted to make it good. He knew that Mike was feeling the absence of his parents worse than ever. Nancy had taken Mike out to celebrate together, and to distract him. The entire party was planning a surprise party for Mike. The girls were out getting decorations for the party. The boys were out getting tapes from the local video rental store for the sleepover that night. Steve was getting food for the party. Jonathan was picking up a few last minute items they needed. All Joyce and Hopper had to do was make a birthday cake.

If only Hopper knew how to make a birthday cake. At this point, Hopper had no idea what he was doing. It was taking way too long to make a simple cake and Hopper was worried they wouldn’t have it done in time.

“How much longer do we have to get it done?” Hopper asked, looking at the clock while joyce put the cake in the oven.

“We have enough time, Hop. Don’t worry” Joyce said.

“But I want this to be just right for him, after all the shit that’s happened. He deserves this at least.” Hopper said. “He’s practically my kid now, I want to do this right.” Hopper pauses.

“What if it’s not good enough for him?” Hopper said, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Hop, please, anything you do for that boy will be amazing to him. He’ll love it either way. He looks up to you.” Joyce said. “Plus, even if the cake doesn’t come out right I doubt he’ll mind very much, kind of worrying though...” Joyce said.

“What do you mean?” Hopper asked “Is something going on?’

“Well… I did notice that he doesn’t really eat a lot, sometimes not at all.”

“What?” Hopper asks, clearly out of the loop.

“Oh well, I could be wrong. I just noticed when he eats dinner at the house, he doesn’t really eat much or makes an excuse not to.” Joyce answers.

“El and Mike usually eat dinner before I get home from work. She hasn’t said anything to me…” Hopper says, brows furrowed.

“Again, I could be wrong, it’s just some things I’ve noticed. It could just be my cooking.” Joyce attempts to lighten the mood.

Hopper just sighs, dragging his hand down his face.

“I worry so much about that kid that I feel like I’m going to explode.” Hopper says, mixing the batter.

“I get it, when I’m away from Will, all I do is worry about him.” Joyce says.

“I don’t know what I’m doing with him. I feel like every step I take is a wrong one. He’s so different from El in every way. They have completely different issues and lives and personalities. I’m still figuring El out, now trying to figure him out is like trying to speak french and german with no teacher.” Hopper says with a huff.

“Hop, you’re doing your best. You’re doing way better than Ted and Karen have.  He has a lot of issues, it’s gonna take more than a day to heal. Give him time.” Joyce says, grabbing his upper arm.

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the kitchen shifted. The air was thicker, almost electrified. Neither Hopper nor Joyce realized the way they were slowly leaning into each other. Like magnets, the two were drawn together. Both were mesmerized by the other. Just before the two became one-

“Mom, we’re back! We got a bunch of Mike’s favorite movies!” Will says, slamming the door. Hopper and Joyce jump apart.

“Okay hun! Go set everything up in your room, we’re almost done in here” Joyce says, her cheeks a light pink.

“Alright?” Will asks, a little confused but he walks back to his room, Lucas and Dustin following.

There was a slight tension in the room after that.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do that when we’re expecting the kids back soon.” Hopper said, laughing a little.

Joyce joined in. “Well you do have a point on that one. Now let’s get the cake done before Nancy gets back here with Mike.”

Soon after, they had everything set up. The entire house was decorated, the cake was done and everyone was in place. Now they just had to wait for Nancy and Mike to get there.

They heard the two of them walking towards the door right then.

“Are you sure anyone’s here? All the lights are out...” Mike asked Nancy. All he honestly wanted to do was go to sleep and forget the day entirely.

“Yes I’m sure Mike, don’t worry about it.” She said, smiling and opening the door.

“I just dont-” Mike was cut off by walking in the house and the lights flickering on.

Everyone shouts, “Surprise!”

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t almost cry because, holy shit, he was so happy that they’d done all this for him. He looked around, seeing his friends and people he cares about, there to celebrate him. It made his heart swell.

“Oh, wow! Just, wow!” Mike says, completely speechless.

“Happy birthday, Mike!” The party yells, rushing over to Mike.

Lucas wraps an arm around Mike’s shoulder. Dustin wrapped his arms around his waist, his face pressed against Mike’s stomach.

“Dude, happy sixteenth!” Max exclaims.

“Happy Sweet Sixteen! We didn’t forget, like the movie!” El yells, the biggest smile on her face.

“Happy birthday, little dude!” Steve says, ruffling Mike’s hair.

“C’mon, guys, the pizza will get cold!” Joyce says, laughter in his voice.

Mike was still stuck as everyone went to the kitchen, just looking around at all the decorations.

Will came over to him and grabbed his hand. “C’mon, Mikey,” He said, smiling. “Let’s go eat okay?”

Mike seemed to snap out of it then, nodding. The biggest smile on his face that he’s had in forever. “Yeah, okay” he said, following Will into the kitchen.

They were all sitting around the kitchen eating pizza and talking. God Mike had never felt so fucking grateful in his life. Mike sat up on one of the counters, will right up there beside him as he ate his slice of pizza, without Will even having to convince him to try.

“Thank you guys for all of this, so so much.” Mike said, after everyone had finished eating.

“Don’t worry about it, you deserve it Mike.” Jonathan said. “After everything that’s happened recently, you do.”

Mike just smiled, and Will was just glad that he was happy in the moment. He’d missed Mike’s smile so much.

“C’mon now, time for cake.” Hopper said, lighting the candles.

Mike was practically beaming as everyone sang happy birthday, and when he blew out the candles, he wished for everything to stay just like this. For nothing to ever go wrong or change.

“What’d you wish for?” El asks, Max throws her arm around her shoulders.

“He can’t tell you or it won’t come true! That’s why you don’t say you’re wish out loud when you make it!”

El smiles, a small blush on her cheeks. Max has a large grin on her own face. Mike smiles at the interaction.

“I hope the cake’s okay. I asked El and Will what you’d like, and they said that this was your favorite.” Hopper says, cutting into the buttercream frosting.

Mike’s smile only widens. Will and El had gotten it right. Hopper cut a large piece of pink strawberry cake with buttercream frosting.

“Thanks! It’s my favorite!” Mike says, taking a huge bite. “It’s amazing! Thanks so much!” Mike says, mouth full of frosting.

Will stared at Mike warmly, a large smile on his face. Mike shoveled cake into his mouth, enjoying the cake. Mike catches Will staring and pauses, fork hovering above his mouth.

“What is it? Is there something on my face?” Mike asks, confused.

Will doesn’t answer, instead leaning over and wiping a glob of frosting off of Mike’s face. The pad of Will’s thumb dragging across Mike’s lower lip. Mike blushes a deep pink.

“There.” Will smiled softly, leaning forward pecking his lips gently, making Mike’s cheeks just go pinker.

The party watched the scene play out, Dustin and Lucas always knew that the two of them would end up a thing, they were always so obvious. Everyone else had moved into the living room.

“Hey, do you wanna go watch a movie with everyone before the sleepover tonight?” Will asked suddenly, Mike nodded.

“We’re having a sleepover too?” Mike asked.

“Well of course we are. Now c’mon, you get to choose” Will said, grabbing his hand, pulling him into the living room.

Dustin, Lucas, El and Max followed behind them, El and Max holding hands, sitting right next to each other on the floor in front of the tv.

If Will was being honest, he was trying to keep mike distracted. The longer he was distracted, the less time he had to think about things that Will knew would just make him upset.

They all sat around the tv, watching one of Mike’s absolute favorite movies, The Shining.

Mike always got so into horror movies when watching them. He loved to theorize who the killer was or who was next to die, even analyze the meaning behind the stories. Most people would find his excited chatter throughout the movies annoying, but Will thought it was endearing. Mike had a sort of obsession with stories. He loved planning their D&D campaigns, taking time to perfect the details and plot lines. Will also knew that Mike wrote his own stories, but he was much more hesitant to share those. Will had yet to read one.

“What’s this one about again?” El asks, still confused.

“Okay, it’s about this family, right? They go up to this hotel in the mountains. The dad’s a writer so they move there so he can focus on it more and still make enough money to take care of the family. And the hotel’s like, haunted somehow. Well, the little boy, Danny can like, see things? Not ghosts per say but he has visions. He’s a ‘shiner’, That’s what they call it in the book, and while they’re there Danny starts seeing worse and worse stuff. Jack like, investigates the hotel and finds out how messed up it is and he goes nuts and tries to kill his family.” Mike says, not taking a full breath the whole time.

“Jesus, this is based off that Stephen King book, right?” Steve asked.

“Yeah! There’s a lot more details in the book though. I don’t think they mention the shiners in the movie though.” Mike responds.

By the time the movie was over it was starting to get late. Dustin was passed out on Lucas’ shoulder, Lucas leaning his own head on Dustin’s. El and Max wear also asleep, El with her head in Max’s lap. Jonathan and Nancy had gone to bed halfway through, Steve going home soon after. Hopper had gone home just before the movie started. Will and Mike were the only ones awake.

Will and Mike had been sitting with their backs against the couch. As the movie progressed, Mike and Will were drawn closer together, ending with Will’s arms thrown over Mike’s shoulders, Mike’s arms wrapped around Will’s waist, face pressed to his chest. Neither boy was asleep, both too happy to sleep just yet.

“Mike, can I give you my gift?” Will whispers.

“You didn’t have to get me anything. This was more than enough.” Mike responds, looking at Will in the eyes.

“Come?” Will asks, and Mike nods.

Will stands and holds his hand out to Mike. They walk down to Will’s bedroom hand in hand. Will shuts the door behind Mike, not moving further into the room. Mike pauses, leaning against the shut door. Will is silent, staring at Mike with a warm gaze.

“What is it?” Mike asks.

“This isn’t your gift, but can I kiss you?” Will asks, making Mike blush and nod.

Will cups Mike’s cheek, thumb brushing across Mike’s cheekbone, before sliding down to Mike’s neck, cupping the back of his head. Will leans in, lips connecting with Mike’s. The kiss is slow, but passionate. Mike’s arms were wrapped around Will’s back. Mike thinks he can feel all of Will’s love in that one kiss. After a few minutes, Will pulls away from the kiss with a smile. In the back of Mike’s mind, he notes that’s the longest kiss the pair has shared.

“Now for your real gift.” Will says, pulling away after kissing Mike’s cheek.

Mike was still a little breathless from the kiss, his cheeks still flushed light pink. “Really, Will. You didn’t need to get me anything.” He said.

“I wanted to, after everything that’s happened you deserve it.” Will said, holding Mike’s hands, giving him a soft kiss yet again before going over to his closet.

Mike thought that he could live on just that for his whole life.

Will pulled out a small, wrapped box from his closet, bringing it over to where Mike stood. He handed him the box. “Here, open it.” Will said softly, giving mike the box.

“Will you really didn’t need to” mike said.

“Mike, hush and open it, please?” Will responded.

“Okay, okay fine.” Mike said, sitting down on the floor, will sitting right in front of him. Will watched as Mike unwrapped the box, lifting the flaps that kept the contents hidden.

Inside the box was a small stuffed bear, a walkman, and a tape that had ‘For a Rainy Day’ written on it. Mike was quiet. For a second, Will thought that he didn’t like it.

“If you don’t like it, I can return it and you can get something different.” Will says, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Suddenly, Mike surges forward and wraps his arms around Will’s neck. Will was stunned for a moment, but quickly returns the hug, wrapping his arms around Mike’s waist.

“It’s perfect, Will. I love it!” Mike says, pecking Will.

Will smiles brightly, tightening his arms around Mike’s waist.

“I’m really glad you like it. I was nervous you wouldn’t.” Will says, pulling back a bit to look at Mike’s face.

“Will, it’s amazing. My parents have my old one so this is absolutely perfect! It’s actually too much, you didn’t have to spend all this on me. The bear would have been more than enough. I really love it.” Mike says, thumb caressing the back of Will’s neck.

Will shakes his head. “No, it’s more than okay,” He says, smiling. “Like I said, you deserve it. Okay?” He said, kissing Mike’s nose.

Mike started to argue, but stopped himself. He was sure that Will wouldn’t let him win this one

“Okay, okay, fine.” Mike says “I’ll agree with you on this.” He added, leaning his forehead against wills

“Wanna watch another movie and go to sleep?” Will asked, standing up and pulling Mike with him.

Mike nodded “Can we watch Halloween?” he asked softly, following will back into the living room, carrying the small stuffed bear with him.

Will nodded. “How about that, then 16 Candles?” He asked.

“You only want to watch 16 candles because I’m finally 16 now.” Mike pouted.

“Oh, come one. It’s one of my favorites! It’s romantic.” Will teases, making Mike blush.

“You’re such a sap, Will.” Mike teases back.

“Oh, so you’re telling me I have to reenact the birthday cake scene all by myself?” Will smirks.

“You’re too cheesy to handle.” Mike swats at Will’s arm, but melts against his chest when Will throws his arm over his shoulders.

After the third movie, the pair was asleep, loosely entangled in each other’s arms.

The next morning Mike woke up to everyone talking.

“Guys, shh! You’ll wake them up!”

“They’re probably already are awake!”

“I am! Be quiet so you don’t wake Mike up!”

Mike groaned softly, burying his face in Wills shoulder “What time is it?” He mumbled.

“Nine in the morning.” Lucas laughed. 

“Why the hell are any of you awake” Mike complained, sitting up.

“Because, we have more planned for today! We’re going to have an all weekend thing for you, Mike. So get up!” Max said, smiling.

“You guys didn’t have to! Yesterday was more than enough!” Mike exclaimed, but a bright smile on his face.

“This is ‘The Weekend of Wheeler’, okay? One day just isn’t enough.” Dustin says, pinching Mike’s cheeks.

“Up and at, ‘em, Nerd. We got things to do and places to be. So start getting ready!” Max exclaims.

“Where are we going?” Mike asks, grabbing his bag.

“It’s a surprise! Get ready and you’ll see.” El says, clasping her hands together in excitement.

Mike rushes to get ready, showering and getting changed in record time. He wore an oversized sweater with a muted pattern that El bought him that Max said would “suit his coloring”, whatever that meant. When he finished getting ready and entered the living room, everyone else was ready and eating the breakfast Joyce and Hopper were making, scrambled eggs, toast, and some bacon. Mike smiled.

Mike took the seat next to Will. “Why can’t you guys just tell me where we’re going?” He whined, taking a few bites of the eggs.

“Because it’s a surprise.” Will said. “You have you wait until we get there” Will whined back.

Mike pouted, pulling his sleeves up a little so they don’t get messy. “That’s not fair though.” He says as he finished what was on his plate. Will squeezed his hand slightly.

“Well you have to deal with it.” El says, smiling “If you wait it’ll be a better surprise.”

“Fine,” Mike pouted. “Can we go now?” He asked once everyone had finished eating.

Just then, a horn sounded from outside, causing Mike to furrow his brows but the others to jump up.

“Fine, fine! Let’s roll out!” Dustin yells, grabbing his bag.

“Who is that?” Mike asked, but he was just pulled by the hand by Will.

“We already told you, it’s a surprise!” Will says.

Outside, Steve leans against the police cruiser. Hopper follows the kids outside, a scowl on his face.

“Be careful with her, okay.” Hopper barks, Joyce pats his shoulder.

“Be careful with the kids, okay. You know to call of anything happens, alright. And have fun!” Joyce says, bringing her hands to her mouth in anxiousness.

“We’re taking the cruiser?” Mike asks Hopper.

“Yeah, you got a long drive ahead of you and I don’t want you all crammed and on each other’s laps. That way you all fit.” Hopper says, ruffling Mike’s hair.

“A long drive? Where are we going?” Mike asks again.

“It’s a surprisee!” Will says again, drawing out the E and dragging Mike to sit next to him in the car.  

“Why can’t you guys just tell me.” Mike pouts. “You could be dragging me to my death.” He says, leaning his head on wills shoulder.

“We aren’t dragging you to your death, oh my gosh.” Will says, laughing a little.

“Don’t worry too much, Mike.” Nancy said from the passenger seat. “We wouldn’t do that to you.”

“I know, I just wanna know.” Mike said, yawning a little.

“Well you gotta wait a few hours, we’re going all the way to Indianapolis.” Steve laughed.

“That’s so far.” Mike says, “What’s in Indianapolis?”

“Nope! Surprise.” El says. “Now, shhh.”

Mike ended up sleeping a majority of the car ride, still tired from staying up later the night before with Will. The others were happy about that, knowing the surprise would be even greater when he woke up. The ride was a little over two hours, Mike spent the entire time curled up by Will’s side, drooling slightly into the collar of Will’s flannel. The others were already thinking of all the ways they could tease Mike, but Will simply smiled and leaned his head on top of Mike’s. Mike stayed asleep until Steve finally parked.

“Mike,” Nancy dragged out. “Mike, we’re here.” Nancy leaned closer to Mike.

“Hm?” Mike brought a balled fist up to his eye to try and rub the sleep out. “Already?” He yawned.

“Yeah, only took like three hours. Enough time for you to create a small ocean of drool on Will’s shirt, doofus.” Max’s chin rested in El’s shoulder, shaking for trying to hold in her laughter.

Mike’s cheeks turned bright pink. “I don’t drool.” Mike swiped at the corners of his mouth to try and hide any dried spit before the others spotted. “Where are we? A parking lot?” Mike’s brows furrowed.

Lucas snorts. “Yeah! We drove all the way to Indianapolis to hang out in this parking lot. Happy birthday!” He smirked, leaning against the seat in front of him on his bent elbow.

Nancy smiles at the interaction. “You’ve been asking to come here since you were like, eight. So, I thought now was as good a time as ever.” Mike’s eyes lit up and he sat up straight immediately.

“No freaking way! You guys didn’t!” Mike couldn’t keep the ear to ear grin off his face.

“We freaking did!” Dustin’s hands shot out, narrowly missing Steve’s face.

“Then, what are we doing waiting in the car? Let’s go!” Mike couldn’t wait for the others to get out, so he started crawling across Will’s lap and opening the door. “Guys, come on!” Mike tumbled out of the car and onto the asphalt, an excited laugh leaving his mouth.

“Sometimes, he baffles me with how much of a nerd he is, I swear.” Max says, holding out her hand to help El out of the car. El just gave her a half-smile in return.

“It’s cute how excited he is though” Will said, getting out of the car.

“Guys hurry up!”

“Mike, we literally have all day calm down.” Steve said, laughing a little.

“Oh hush, he’s excited, leave him alone.” Nancy said. “Let’s just go before he runs off and gets lost.”

Will managed to catch up to mike, who had already gotten to the entrance and was pretty much bouncing in his spot. ”Excited?” Will asked him, smiling.

“Definitely! I’ve always wanted to come here, I love all the animals so much!” Mike said, grinning.

“What’s your favorite?” Will asked, turning to face him.

“Ooo uh, either the koalas or the lions or the penguins, I can’t choose.” Mike says

“I think mine are the elephants. They’re so big but so sweet and smart. And obviously cute.” Will grabs Mike’s hand, lacing their fingers. “But, yours are all great ones.”

“There are so many animals here! I can’t wait to see them! We need to find out everyone’s favorites so no one gets pissed!” Mike was practically vibrating.

“I want to see the snakes.” El leans her arm on Will’s shoulder.

“The snakes? I want to see the tigers.” Max says.

“I just don’t want to lose any of you shitheads. I’d like to avoid Hopper killing me for at least another day.” Steve interjects, biting his lip.

“Drama queen.” Nancy lightly shoves Steve. He barks out a laugh. “I’m being serious! He might actually kill me if any of you disappear”

“We won’t get lost.” Will said “Now, lets’ go before Mike falls over.” he said laughing.

The group walked in, Mike immediately dragging Will over to the first animal he saw, being the meerkats “Guys! Guys, look.”

“What are they?” El asks, face practically pressed against the glass.

“Meerkats! Aren’t they cute?” Mike’s face was pressed up against the glass.

“Says here that their groups are called gangs. That’s adorable.” Steve says, the others roll their eyes.

They watched the meerkats play for a few minutes, before moving on to the next animal. Mike leading the group, pulling Will by his hand.

“Come on! We gotta try and see as many animals as we can!” Mike is practically skipping.

They stayed most of the day. The zoo didn’t close until 10pm, and Mike had begged to stay until it closed, even though he was dead tired by the end of the day. They got back to the car finally and started heading home.

The party was quiet in the car. El and Max were asleep with their heads resting on top of one another. Lucas was sleeping with his head resting against the window; Dustin had his head leaning all the way back, snores escaping his lips. Mike’s head was against Will’s shoulder. Mike hadn’t fallen asleep yet, but he could feel his tired eyelids getting heavier. Mike thought that Will was asleep until he quietly broke the silence.

“Did you have fun?” Will’s chest vibrates softly as he speaks.

“Yeah, I did. It was great. I’m really glad we all went.” Mike tilts his head to look at Will. A sleepy smile painting his face.

“I’m glad we went together, too. We really wanted your birthday to be special,” Will’s rests his right hand in his lap, almost brushing Mike’s own hand. “You always go above and beyond for our birthdays.”

Mike figures out that Will is quietly asking if he can hold his hand, and interlaces their fingers. “That’s because you guys deserve it. You guys are the most important people in the world to me.” Mike’s thumb brushes across the back of Will’s hand slowly. “It’s nothing.” He finishes.

“It is too a big deal. It means a lot to all of us,” Will squeezes Mike’s hand, leaning more into Mike. “And, you know, you mean the world to us. To me.” Will blushes at his own words.

Mike’s cheeks turn a bright pink, but he has a wide smile and his eyes shine. “Thanks Will. You mean the world to me too.” Mike tilts his head up and kisses Will’s cheek.

“I love you” Will said softly, Mike froze for a second, biting his lip. He didn’t know what to say for a moment, it made his heart stop. He had to admit that it still made him anxious, even if it was Will.

“I love you too.” Mike said after a moment, a small smile on his face.

“You don’t have to say it back, you know.” Will stares out the window, pink dusting his cheeks. “I just want you to know.” He adds, his left hand scratching the back of is neck.

“I’m saying it because it’s true. I do. Love you. I love you.” Mike says, his own face just a pink as Will’s.

“Good” Will said softly, leaning down to press his lips to Mike’s. The kiss was soft and sweet, just like every other kiss they’ve shared. And to mike, every kiss was better than the last.

When they pulled away, the kiss lasting just a couple minutes, will leaned his forehead against Mike’s, smiling softly. “You should sleep, Mikey” he said, bringing their hands up to softly kiss the back of Mike’s hand.

“I’ll wake you up when we get home, alright?” Will said.

Mike nodded “Okay.” He said softly, nuzzling his head into Will’s shoulder “I love you.”

“I love you too, Mikey.”

Mike hadn’t expected there to be more when he passed out in his bed in the cabin later that night. He hadn’t even expected any of this, but he really hadn’t expected to be woken up the next day by Will, instead of Hopper yelling breakfast while the smell of coffee filled the entire cabin.

Mike had been in his bed, sleeping soundly. Well, as soundly as Mike could. He was sprawled across the entire bed, lanky limbs going every which way. His hair was incredibly messy and curlier than he would like. He had a small pool of drool wetting his pillow next to his open mouth. A stranger looking in would probably wrinkle their nose, but Will thought Mike looked beautiful.

“Mikey?” Will sits on the bed gingerly, pushing hair away from Mike’s forehead. “Wake up.”

Mike groaned quietly, still not opening his eyes. “Five more minutes.” He mumbled, flipping over and burying his face into the side of Will’s leg.

Will smiled, his heart seizing at the sight. “Mikey, it’s already twelve in the afternoon. You can’t sleep forever.” Will chuckles.

“Watch me.” Mike retorts, but opens his eyes anyway and balls his fist to rub the sleep out of them.

“Will?” Mike said, blinking and sitting up. “When... When did you get here?” He said, blushing, maybe a little embarrassed.

“Just about an hour ago.” Will said, squeezing Mike’s hand. “Don’t worry, alright?” He said, just sensing the other boy was embarrassed. “You’re cute when you’re asleep.”

Mike just blushed again “Wait, why are you here? I thought you went home last night?” Mike said

“Well, I did, but I came back this morning, Today’s just gonna be you and me alright?”

“What do you mean?” Mike furrows his brow, head tilting to the left.

Will smiles gently. “I mean, the last two days have been with everyone, but I wanted to celebrate, just me and you.” Will places his hand on Mike’s knee.

“These past few days have been amazing, but I did miss spending time with just you. Sometimes being with everyone is exhausting.”

Will took in Mike’s appearance. His smile was tired and his skin was pale. The circles under his eyes were a deep purples and filled with bags. But his eyes were bright and Will knew he was happy. That was all he needed.

“Well, I don’t have any excursions planned.” Will pats Mike’s knee and then leans against the iron headboard behind him. “We can just lay here for awhile. Hopper’s at work and El is at the arcade with Dustin and Lucas and Max.” Will finishes.

Mike blushes a deep red, his gaze shifting. He didn’t think Will was interested in doing anything like that, and Mike didn’t think he was ready just yet. Will was confused at Mike’s expression. The others weren’t there so they didn’t have to be too careful on being too affectionate before they became officially together to everyone. Mid-thought, the implication of his wording caught up to him and he became as red as Mike.

Will’s eyes widened. “Oh my god! That’s not what I meant! I’m so sorry! I meant that we don't have to police ourselves! Because they don’t know everything. Not that, definitely not yet. We are so not ready for that!” Will scrambles to apologize; praying to whoever is out there that Mike isn’t uncomfortable.

“No! No! It’s okay” Mike said, leaning his head against Will’s shoulder. “i just thought, you were saying no one was here and everyone was busy so I figured..” He trailed off, blushing bright red.

“No, no, not until we’re both ready, alright?” Will said, running his fingers through Mike’s hair. They fell into a silence then, Mike’s cheeks still red.

“Do you want to get up and get something to eat?” Will asked slowly. Mike shook his head. “Ate too much this weekend...” He mumbled to himself, probably hoping Will hadn’t heard him.

Will debated on saying anything, he knew he probably should, but he didn’t want to risk upsetting him. He wanted Mike to be happy. He really didn’t want to ruin the mood of the weekend by arguing with him over food.

“Alright, what do you want to do?”

“Can we just lay down for awhile. I’m still really tired.” Mike’s shoulders starting to sag.

“Of course.” Will smiles and lies down fully in bed. “Nothing I’d enjoy more.” Will goes in to press a kiss to Mike’s lips but Mike pulls away.

“Let me brush my teeth before you kiss me. Morning breath.” Mike smiles and leaves the room for a few minutes. When he finishes, he climbs back into bed with Will cuddling up into his chest.

“I like this. I like that we don’t always have to be doing something.” Will starts to play with Mike hair, resting his chin on the crown of his head.

Mike throws his arm around Will’s waist. “It’s relaxing.”

Will presses a kiss to Mike’s forehead. When he pulls back, Mike tilts his chin up and looks him in the eyes quietly for a moment. Before Will could think of what to do next, Mike leans in and kisses Will. It started off how they usually do, untll the air seemed to change and something shifted.

Unlike their normal kisses, this one lasted longer. They usually were content with short and soft and sweet kisses. But this one seemed to go on for longer. It was lazy and still soft, but there was more behind it. There still was no expectation of going anywhere beyond this, but it was a nice change. They had only kissed like this once before, the night of Mike’s birthday party. It was nice.

“Wow,” Mike said softly when they finally pulled away. “That’s better every time.” He says softly, his forehead against Will’s.

“It does.” Will says softly, smiling.

Mike moved so his head was back on Will’s chest. “It’s nice to just be...us,” Mike said softly. “It’s quiet, I like quiet.” He mumbled.

“It is.” Will says, twirling one of Mike’s curls around his finger, tugging slightly. “Quiet is nice, after being so loud the past two days.”

Mike nodded. “This weekend has been so much fun.” Mike says, “I’m not ready for it to end, to have to go back to school tomorrow”

Will pulled Mike a little bit tighter. They could all see how much the shit at school was getting to Mike. He tried so hard to hide it and push it deep down inside, but they knew him too well to not see it. This weekend they were completely detached from all that. No one had batted an eye when Will and Mike held hands or were close. No one said anything remotely negative to Mike. School was not so kind.

“I wish we could just stay like this.” Will continues to run his fingers through Mike’s hair. Mike stroked Will’s back softly. “Stay in here, keep it all locked out there and just stay here.”

Mike’s head falls forward and rests on Will’s chest. “That’d be nice.” Mike mumbles.

“But it’s just not like that,” Mike continued. “We have to deal with all the shit, with people being assholes about everything.” He said quietly.

Will nodded, his hand on the back of Mike’s head “Yeah, we do.” He said softly. “I wish we didn’t have to though.”

They went silent after that, Mike closing his eyes, listening to Will’s steady heart beat. “I love you” Will said softly, resting his chin on top of Mike’s head.

“I love you too.”

“I like saying that. I love you, it’s nice.” Will whispers, twirling one of Mike’s curls with his finger.  

“I like saying it too. It feels nice, feels right.” Mike mumbles, eyes closed.

Will hums in response, too tired to even respond properly. Mike thinks he could spend the rest of his life, right here, half asleep curled up next to Will. He doesn’t think anything could be better.

Well, there you go! We hope you enjoyed this part! We know that the last few parts were pretty heavy so we wanted to have so fluff too. 

Taglist: @theliteraltrash @shqipshqip @kanewsies @birdy-boy-uris @lvsrs @thescaryflower @neiboldupsidedown @lo5ver @missingstanleyuris @kaspbrakseggo @starynightozier @gnope @trashforwillbyers @elliekathrynx @damienhaasmyheart @riverswolfhard  @sassyclassysatan @theres-no-going-home @samanthador1205