byler oneshots to feed your soul

emotion issues au

a/n: au where mike doesn't really express emotions ig

you'll get it when you read it

also their ages are like 14-15, probably freshman in highschool lmao

it's a tiny bit angsty

~

"We'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?" Will waved to Dustin and Lucas at the front lawn of the high school.

He felt his hand being tugged. Will looked next to him to see Mike, who was holding onto Will's hand for dear life.

"Where do you want to go?" Will smiled. Mike shrugged.

"My house?" he asked quietly, playing with Will's fingers to avoid anyone's burning gaze.

Will nodded. "Yeah. Lead the way," he let Mike pull him along the sidewalk and to his house, which was a good ten minutes away.

"How was your day?" Will asked the taller boy as they walked, breaking his hand away to push a strand of curly black hair behind Mike's ear.

Mike shrugged. "It was okay," he said plainly, wrapping an arm around the brunette's shoulders. "I think Troy got suspended for a few days, though,"

"Well deserved." Will's arm went around Mike's waist.

Mike glanced at him with a questioning look, which Will took as the same thing being asked towards him. "My day was good. I actually got to see you a lot today," he grinned.

Mike put a small smile himself, something very rare and yet still made Will's heart flutter.

There was a period of silence, something not unusual between the two boys. Silence worked for them, and it was nice.

Suddenly, Will felt Mike's arms grip around one of his, hugging it tightly with a firm hold on his hand.

People were approaching them.

Well, two were.

One was malicious, dragging the other boy along with him as they got closer to the teens.

Troy Walsh, and his most praised minion, James.

Every inch of Will froze, his heart starting to pound. Fuck.

"Queers." Troy snarled at them, advancing from meters away to just a few feet. "Why the fuck are you trying to infect my neighborhood?"

Will stumbled back a little, Mike still holding that firm grip. "We weren't — we were just heading to, to..." He gulped, the words scrambled in his head and his throat suddenly dry.

"We're heading to my house. Fuck off." Mike stated simply, pushing past the two shorter boys as he gently brought Will close to his side.

Troy was seemingly pissed by that, raging like a bull as he pushed Mike down to the hard concrete.

~

The fight wasn't terribly long, to say the least.

After ending up with some minor bruises himself, Will threw a final punch to Troy's face, who was tired and let himself take it without urging to fight more.

He hoisted a badly bruised Mike up to his shoulder, walking the two of them back to the Wheeler's household with withering stares following them as they did.

~

Mike flipped the toilet seat down, sitting on it with his head dizzying more and more.

Maybe it was the spilling blood from his nose and lips, the metallic taste all over his tongue, or it was the way Will looked in his bathroom's crappy lighting.

As Will kneeled in front of him with alcohol wipes, Mike took the chance to observe the bruises on Will's face quietly.

Mike himself felt like everything hurt. But he didn't care about that. A mere scratch on Will was enough to freak him out.

Across Will's tan skin, a shallow scratch on his cheek; and a purple-turning-green bruise on his cheek bone.

Mike lifted his hand to Will's face, letting it hover around the marks.

Oh, Will thought immediately. He's asking if I'm alright.

"I'm fine, don't worry. You look so much worse than I do," Will reassured with a small pat on Mike's arm, bringing the alcohol wipe closer to his face. "This is gonna sting a little, okay?"

He nodded. Will gently pressed the wipe to the multiple scratches on Mike's cheekbone, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut with a low hiss of pain.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Will whispered, a small, sheepish smile forming on his lips. Mike shook his head, letting Will continue with the painful process.

~

When Will came back with an ice pack for Mike's black eye, he found the teenage boy crying into the long sleeve of his shirt.

There were tear stains all over the green cloth, his eyes a little red and puffy.

Will immediately kneeled in front of him again, keeping their eye contact at the same level. "Mike, what's wrong?"

He held his hand gently as the other teen took a deep breath.

"Why... why do people need to be so fucked up?" he whispered. Mike's face scrunched up as he went on. "I mean, is loving you really that much of a problem?"

Will didn't know what to say, in all his honesty. Mike has never spoken so much in so little time. "What do you mean?"

"I mean the literally purple bruise on your face, Will! You shouldn't be getting hurt because of me!" Mike looked down at their intertwined hands. "Maybe, maybe I'm just... bringing you down..."

Will felt guilt weighing his stomach.

He tucked a lock of black hair behind Mike's ear.

"You're not, Mike. You never have."

Maybe the sincerity meant a lot to Mike, because seconds later Will felt his collar being pulled and the taste of Mike's lips against his.

It was sloppy, but sweet. The butterflies erupted in both boy's stomachs as Mike pulled away with a tomato red face.

"S-shit, I'm sorry Will, I shouldn't have done that, I, uh, fuck," He rambled, not noticing the slight smile playing at Will's lips.

"Shut up." He mumbled, before pulling Mike back in for another one.

~

a/n: you're an L