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"Will?" Mike's voice rang through the basement of the WSQK, shattering the silence that Will had buried himself in after finally letting everything out. Well, almost everything. He didn't mention him by name, but considering Mike now stood in the door way, arms awkwardly by his sides as though not knowing what to do with them, it seemed pretty clear to Will that the message had gotten across. Mike continued. "Can we... Talk?" It definitely had gotten across.
"Yeah... Sure." Will hated how timid he sounded. The fear was meant to be gone, vanquished, but in this moment it quickly resurfaced like an unwatched pot left on for too long and slowly reaching its boiling point. Mike seemed accepting. He had joined in the group hug, and he didn't make any negative comments. Perhaps that was only because they were in a large group though. Maybe one-on-one, Mike would tell him how disgusting he actually is, or how he's a living breathing sin. Maybe he'd tell him they can't be friends anymore. Will wanted to shake the worries away from him, but one phrase stuck in his head to torture him on repeat and fill his mind with doubt.
"It's not my fault you don't like girls!"
Will had forgiven Mike for that fight years ago, but that didn't make it sting any less. An open wound can still bleed with stitches in, and Will's heart had been torn open one too many times.
"It's about what you said earlier..." Mike spoke. He slowly paced towards where Will sat, and Will could see the hesitation to sit down next to him. It seemed that his heart would need to bleed some more. He did sit, but the space between them stood out. "Look, I'm gonna be honest... I don't know-- How to talk about this. I-..." He sighed. "Earlier, you said you had a crush. Was it...?" One day the darting of brown eyes racing between Will's eyes and lips would prove to be too much. Right now though? Right now it was a lifeline tethering Will to any semblence of hope or even just a genuine conversation.
"Yeah... Yeah, it was." He didn't need Mike to finish the question. They both knew what he was asking. The silence returned as quickly as it had immediately left, and the two of them stared at each other, unsure of how to talk despite having known each other for so many years.
There was something captivating about Mike's face. Not in the way that his sharp features looked sculpted as though to create the perfect muse for Will's art, and not in the way that his hair could fall so perfectly so as to frame his face with softness to contrast against those harsh edges. Instead, the elements of Mike's face that Will found captivating all lie in how he used those features. How with a simple movement of his eyebrows, he could express even the tiniest of emotions, and even convey the fact that he was trying so hard to subdue them. It wasn't always easy to read though, and Will knew that. Mike didn't want to be easy to read, and Will knew that too. This time it felt impossible though.
He looked at him with those big round puppy dog eyes, eyebrows furrowed in that small sympathetic way he does, and his lips slightly parted as his chest subtly raised and fell in a pace faster than his average. His jaw would clench the tiniest bit, and he'd swallow the access saliva in his mouth, causing his adams apple to bob in a way that always drew Will's eyes down to his throat. He looked perfect.
"Had..." The word was spoken so quietly that if it weren't for the rest of the room not containing even a hum of sound, Will doubted he would have heard it at all. "So, you don't-- feel that way anymore?"
"I'm trying not to..." He couldn't lie to him. Not anymore. After years of hiding this part of himself, he had to be honest and open. He had to.
"What if I don't want that?" Mike asked, a slight waver to his voice. "What if I don't want you to... Not-- feel that way anymore?" he continued. What?
"Why would you-?"
"Look, I keep-- trying to be brave. I keep trying to be Mike the Brave, but I'm not. I'm just not and I know that now." He shuffled closer to Will, the soft pressure from their knees now touching not going unnoticed. "But you? You're so brave. Like, insanely so."
"I'm really not-"
"Yes, you are." Mike paused, searching hard to find the balance between the right level of courage and the right words to say. "You're the bravest person I know. You told a whole room of people about- about who you are, including Murray of all people!" At that, Will let out a small chuckle, a gentle smile slowly crawling onto his face, but the sparkle that came with it only really showed in his eyes. "I... I wouldn't have been able to do what you did... To tell every one..." Mike diverted his eyes, from Will. "I can barely even admit it to myself." And then his eyes darted back up, locking onto Will and the new found shock evident just from the subtle raise of his shoulders and the slight widening of his eyes. What Will found then was a glimpse of hope scattered and buried amongst layers and layers of fear. Mike was terrified. "I said recently that I don't want to have any regrets," he said. "I meant it. i really meant it." His eyes flickered down to Will's lap and he abruptly placed his hand on Will's thigh, glancing back up with a swallow. "I don't want to be scared anymore." It was intimate. It was awkward. And it was so perfectly Mike. The hand rushed up to Will's face and Mike's lips crashed into his in a quick panicked kiss, and when he pulled away, his hand remained, his thumb gently caressing Will's cheek and catching a loose tear in its path. "Was that bad?" Mike asked quietly.
"Not at all," Will replied with a heartfelt smile contrasting against the watery eyes Mike gazed so deeply into.
"Then why are you crying?"
"Because I'd almost given up hope."
"Well, never do that." The two let out small chuckles before Will rested his forehead against Mike's and they both shut their eyes. They simply breathed, soaking in the moment and allowing the soft touches of skin on skin to be felt. Maybe, after all this time, Will was allowed to be happy and feel loved, even if only for a short moment of time before reality kicked in and the fate of the world took over their priorities once again. "I really want to kiss you again," Mike whispered, a hint of fear still present in his voice but mostly covered by longing and desperation.
"Well, I'm not gonna stop you." This time it wasn't rushed. This time Mike appreciated Will's beauty up close and stroked delicate fingers along the outline of his face. He'd always wanted to do this; to just admire Will. His hand trailed down to Will's neck, the touch so slight that Will's breath hitched just for a second. The hand became firm, settling just under Will's jaw and pulled him in for a much more deliberate kiss with moving lips and heavy breathing through the nose as they refused to separate. Will's hands found their way to Mike's shirt, grabbing at the fabric to hold him close despite Mike making no effort to add any distance between the two. If anything he kept moving even closer on his own volition. Will's hands released and moved up to cradle either side of Mike's neck as he shifted positions, changing to kneel on the couch to get better leverage, and he could have sworn he heard the most subtle of whines escape from Mike's lips as they pressed against his. Mike tried to move into a similar position but did so with much less grace and ended up more half-on, half-off, the couch, but he wasn't complaining by any means. It meant that Will had a height advantage over him, causing his head to be tilted upwards as hunger grew between the two. Something about Will taking control of the situation was not only relieving in that it reduced the pressure to perform well, but it also felt safe, like he was in good hands and being fully taken care of. He was allowed to simply embrace the affection and not feel as though he was doing something wrong or dirty. His hands found their way into Will's hair and tried to pull him closer, resulting in a slow decent downwards as he leaned back, quickly followed by a sudden loss of balance as he misjudged where to place his elbow and fully smacked into the cushions with his head hitting the arm of the couch.
"Ah! Fuck!" He winced in pain as he clutched his head for a moment.
"Oh my God, are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine, I don't care." His words were desperate as he went back to clutching at Will and pulling him closer.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, just keep kissing me." He sounded breathless and it was part-adorable but also part-hilarious. Who knew Mike Wheeler of all people would become such a mess over something as simple as kissing? Will couldn't help but laugh at the situation. "No, stop laughing, just kiss me," Mike insisted.
"Jesus, are you always this desperate?" Will laughed again, fully teasing as Mike made a face of complaint.
"No, just... I've been wanting this for like... I dunno, like, three years now or something." At that, Will pulled back slightly.
"Three years? Wha- Weren't you dating El during that time?" He took a second. "Wait, aren't you still dating El?!"
"What? No! Why would you think that?!"
"I don't remember you guys ever breaking up," Will easily explained.
"Well, we did. I mean. We never said the actual words, but... We're definitely not together now. At some point we both just kinda... Drifted apart? I think she knew that there was something going on with me and-" Mike sighed at his own memories. "It doesn't matter. Just..." He grabbed at Will's shirt. "Kiss me." Despite Will rolling his eyes, he did as told. He could get used to this. Mike fully melted into the kiss and even fucking whimpered when Will pressed his body closer towards him, a deep craving for more starting to take over.
With sounds like that? Yeah, Will could definitely get used to it.