Will and Mike (Stranger Things) Byler Fanfic

Snow Seasons (6)

Will rubbed his eyes with numb fingers, awaking gently from the bench he was sleeping on. Opening his eyes, Mike stood over him. Mike's face was red, and his hair full of white snow.

"Oh good. You're finally awake." Mike said, in his shaky voice.

"W-What happened to you?" Will asked, sleepily.

"It fucking snowed. It's only fucking December and it snowed. Take off your jacket for a sec." Mike said.

It was actually Mike's jacket. Will got up and unzipped it off, giving it to Mike. Locking eyes with him, Mike shyly looked down.

"Thank you." Mike whispered, as he slipped it over his shoulders and zipped it up.

Will looked around. There was a blanket of snow all over the ground as far as he could see. It looked like a few inches. The snow covered the trees in a beautiful and delicate fashion, and Will would've enjoyed the view more if he didn't feel like a block of ice.

"C'mere." Mike said. Will did, and then Mike took his hand, which surprised Will, as this wasn't something he did normally.

Mike took off, holding Will's hand tightly, speed walking.

"Where are we going?" Will asked.

"Closest indoor place with heating we can find. The plan is to warm up for a bit, and then we'll try and find some place to take shelter for the day."

Will had already knew this. He just enjoyed hearing Mike's voice.

As Mike continued to trudge through the snow, he held Will's hand as tightly as he could, even though it was numb. They kept walking for another 5 minutes, until they exited the empty area with just a park, and started to find a street with many stores lined on it.

Happy Furniture

Mike took Will inside, and they parked themselves on some random chairs they found inside. Will was shivering as he hadn't had a jacket. Mike noticed and gave his jacket back to Will to help him warm up. The heaters warmth felt heavenly against the skin of them both, and Will gazed off in the distance, as Mike stared at his watch, ticking and ticking.

Will examined his surroundings. A few meters away from him, were some couches on display, and some on the window display, where they came in from. To the right of that, there were dining tables for sale, and in the farther distance, a checkout counter.

Eventually, they both regained their strength. They were finally back at a normal temperature, but they weren't in a hurry to leave just yet.

Turning to Mike, Will said, "Hey, Mike."

"Yeah? What's up?" Mike said.

"Are we going to talk about last night?"

Mike shifted in his seat and let out a nervous laugh.

"What? What do we need to talk about?" Mike said, slightly turned away with a flustered expression gathered on his face.

"C'mon Mike, don't do this." Will said, rolling his head back in the chair, staring up at the empty ceiling. "You can't act clueless."

"Look, it was a mistake. I'm loyal. To El. I don't know what happened back there, and I don't want to bring it up further... I'm straight, that was a mistake, and that's it."

"Mm..." Will mumbled slightly uncomfortably, not turning to look at Mike.

Mike continued to ramble.
"Once I meet El, I'll prove to her what a good boyfriend I am to her. You have to promise me that you won't tell her what happened last night. It won't happen again. I bet El really misses me right now..." Mike said, drumming his fingers on his thigh.

"I won't." Will murmured.

"Good." Mike said. With a start, Mike stood up. "Good!" Mike said, with a little energy this time. "Okay, come on, let's get a move on."

Will got up, and followed Mike as he zipped out of the store.

Mike practically dragged Will along with him, as they slowly got colder and colder out again in the snow.

Will noticed the determined look on Mike's face, seeming like there was something he was sure about. Will thought about how long it's been since them and the crew got split up. One month ago. It felt like eternity, but Will and Mike are toughing it out.

A few minutes later, they found a clothing store which they swiftly entered.

As Mike finally let go of Will's arm, Will let himself walk around the shop a bit, wandering and observing his surroundings.

It was a winter clothing store, so around he mostly found winter jackets, tuques, boots and other things.

Will stopped at a light blue jacket, and he examined it. His fingers caressed the soft, white fur lining of the coat, and then he flipped the hood over to see the price tag.

$129.99

Will winced. THAT much for a coat? He didn't question it any further, and he just walked away.

Will looked at Mike just a little further away, as Mike looked at jackets. As Will stared into Mike's face, flashes of memories from last night poured into the center of his thoughts. That was when Will felt really warm, and he didn't need a jacket. But now he does, but not only for the cold outside, but for the coldness Mike gave him as well.

On the side of the wall, Will found a ledge in the store. He sat there, as he waited for Mike to finish whatever he was doing. Earlier in the month, Will agreeded to give Mike all of the rest of the money he had to hold on to, so Mike had the shared funds between them. But he definitely knew it wouldn't be enough even for one jacket here, with how overpriced they were.

Mike strolled up to the register stand. Will watched him.

"Hey, what's the price for this jacket?" Mike said, giving a black parka jacket to the cashier.

The cashier looked at the tag.

"$89.99."

"That's expensive. What makes it so expensive?" Mike says.

"The quality of the material is very good, and the making of it was difficult, requiring precise expertise." The cashier explained.

"I don't think a jacket would need to cost over 50 dollars for that. Why don't we negotiate?"

"The price of the jacket is fixed. 89.99. You can pay up or leave."

With a cocky smile, Mike said, "Nothing in life is fixed. There's always something that can be changed. I promise you, if we can negotiate a lower price, I'll never come back here again."

"Wanna know another fixed thing we have here?" The cashier asked.

Mike cocked his head to the side.

"Security." The agitated cashier said. "Now, I'll say this one last time, the price here is non negotiatable. So you'll pay up or leave."

Mike grumbled and trudged off, coming near Will. "We're leaving."

Will followed him out, and the walked along the sidewalk, their sneakers in the snow.

"Fuck that guy. 'Fixed price' my ass." Mike bitched.

He took a sigh and continued to stare down at his feet as he walked.

"I really need to get a job so I don't have to make a fool outta myself." He spoke softer this time, and he kicked a rock he found.

Will walked beside him in silence, not even knowing where they were going to go next.