I keep looking at you and it feels like

[partypaladin]

The sky rumbled threateningly as Mike ran out the front door, the screen door slamming shut behind him. The air was heavy with the promise of rain and lightning streaked across the sky, cutting through the dark, heavy hanging clouds. Summer thunderstorms weren't uncommon, but since Hawkins had been split open four months ago everything had a more menacing air than before.

He moves to the garage, grabbing his bike and booking it towards the Creel House on the other side of Hawkins. He doesn't know why he picks that gate, he just knows that's the one Will would go to. He can still hear Joyce's voice on the other end of the line, shaky and worried, as she'd asked if Will was there. He'd been there earlier and they'd talked but something had felt off. Wrong.

Mike couldn't put his finger on it at the time, but now his mind was catching up all too quickly. Will had come by to say goodbye. He feels his chest tighten at the thought and he pumps his legs even faster, taking a turn so narrowly that he nearly gets sideswiped by a car. He's downtown now, only a few minutes away from the Creel House, but it feels like he's moving in slow motion. Has Will already gone through alone? What exactly was his plan? Why hadn't Mike seen that last visit for what it was?

He tops the hill and the house, cracked down the middle and looking even more foreboding than it did before comes into view. Will's standing across the street at the playground staring up at it and Mike's heart leaps into his throat.

There's a deep rumble from the sky above and suddenly Mike feels one, then another and another drop of rain hit his head. "Will!" he yells, racing across the playground on his bike before practically jumping off of it and tossing it aside to run the rest of the way. He skids to a stop beside him, his heart beating so fast he thinks it might explode. A flash of lightening flares and the rain starts coming down even harder as Mike tries to catch his breath. He reaches for Will's arm as much to keep him from crossing the street towards the gate, as to keep himself upright. "Don't do this."

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[willtheunwise]

Will didn’t give himself time to second guess or chicken out but he still breathes a sigh of relief when Mike pulls at him instead of pushing him away, when the bone deep fear that Mike wouldn’t be okay with being the boy who made Will realise he’s gay even if he was supportive about him being gay starts to dissipate. What he gets instead is Mikes arm around his waist, which is good because his knees feel a bit weak.

Will is definitely crying a little bit when they break apart but the rain conceals it, there’s a bit of blood on Mikes top lip that he would wipe away if he were willing to move his hands from where they’re resting on Mikes chest. There’s so much he wants to say, that he loves Mike, that he’s sorry for lying, that he’s sorry it took him so long to be brave, that he should have told him the feelings he talked about in the van were his and he should have just owned up to them sooner. He doesn’t get to though because Mike is kissing him again and it’s better than the first one, probably because he’s letting Mike lead instead of blindly attempting to follow his instincts even if it meant it was a little awkward.

They’re both soaked to the skin and Will can still feel the electricity from the storm crackling around them, or maybe it’s just him, it feels like every nerve is sparking. He isn’t even scared they could get caught, nobody is going to be out around the worst, most damaged part of town in this weather anyway.

When they finally part again Will is shivering a little. But this is important, more important than risking a cold. “Just so you know, I need you, and I think you just broke the curse and I’ll always need you and if I do have to go to hell I’m taking you with me,” it comes out rushed, jumbled, but he needs to say it, needs Mike to know. “And I love you. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

[partypaladin]

When they part the second time, Mike is out of breath and there's the copper taste of blood on his tongue. For a second he's afraid that he did something stupid and nipped Will's lip with his teeth, but as he pulls back to look at him, he can't find any marks left behind. Mike's head is swirling with a hundred thoughts at once, but this one is important and he tries to hold onto it as Will finally lowers the walls that have kept Mike out of his orbit for the past few months.

I need you makes Mike feel like he might burst into tears. He hadn't realized just how much he needed to hear it until Will says it out loud between them. Mike feels his shoulders sag with relief, the tension that's been between his shoulder blades, the worry knotted up in his heart, melting away instantly. He feels boneless like he might just float away, at least until Will says the word curse. Mike's expression instantly shifts into one of deep concern, double checking to make sure that Will's eyes are still the warm brown they've always been. He tries to think about where he left the tape player that everyone's been assigned with the mix with their favorite songs on it. It's back in his room at his house, laying uselessly on his bedstand table.

And if I do have to go to hell, I'm takig you with me. He doesn't think that should sound so good. He knows it should probably scare him, but it doesn't. If that's where Will is, then that's where Mike will be, right beside him. If Vecna wants him, he'll have to go through Mike first. Always.

And I love you. Mike's breath stutters to a stop in his chest, the world coming to a stop. Something like wonder crosses his expression as he wills himself to move, to speak, to do anything but just stand there and stare back at Will. Finally, his brain's screams to do something registers with his arms and he pulls Will into a tight hug, burying his nose into his neck. "I love you too."

He's crying now, because this is more than he'd ever dared to hope for, because he didn't think he'd ever get to say those words to Will and mean them the way he meant them. Because they've spent the last year lying to each other. Mike tries to wet his lips because his mouth and throat are dry, despite the rest of him being soaked and he's reminded of the blood.

He pulls back again. "Are you.... bleeding?"