𝙣𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 - byler oneshots ☆

𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣

   "Hey Will?"

Will was jolted from his haze of concentration by the raven haired boy's voice. He placed down his pencil, and met Mike's eyes.

"What's up?"

Will was sitting on the sofa in the cabin with his sketchbook in his lap. Pretty beams of light shone through the small window above Will, bathing the paper in a gold glow. He was drawing little things, not really putting too much effort into his drawings. Flowers, cloudy skies, and stars filled the page, all shaded with graphite from his pencil. They were all painfully half assed, messy and borderline scribbled. Unlike the drawings of a certain boy on other pages of Will's sketchbook. But of course, no one knew about those, so it didn't matter how detailed or impressive those were.

"Can I...ask you something?" Mike scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Sure." Will went back to his drawings, listening, but not really expecting what Mike said to be all that serious.

"Why did you lie?"

Will paused. He put his pencil down again, and looked at Mike skeptically.

"I didn't lie to you Mike."

"I know Eleven didn't commission the painting."

Will froze. Shit.

"Ha...what? Of course she did Mike, what do you-"

"She told me herself that she didn't. That she thought the painting was for a girl you liked. She never even saw it. Why did you lie to me?" Mike sounded...angry. His voice sounded scarily reminiscent of it that day at Rink-O-Mania, and the night in the Wheeler's garage. Were they about to fight again?

Will didn't know what to say. I mean, he knew what the answer was to that question was. It was the same thing that kept him up at night, begging the universe to make him normal. He knew exactly why he lied, and exactly why he could never tell Mike-or anyone-his secret. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle the change, the rejection. He couldn't lose all of this-the carefully constructed "normal" identity, his whole relationship with Mike-just because he had lied, could he? He had a good reason to lie, and he was sure Mike would've done the same thing if he was in the position Will was in. But Will couldn't just tell him that. What would he even say? Mike, the truth is I'm hopelessly in love with you and I have been since kindergarten. No. He couldn't. Will would say something vague. Secretive enough to not give anything away, but definitive enough to keep him satisfied with the answer.

"I just...didn't want you to know the truth." Shit, that's not good enough. He's gonna ask questions, isn't he?

"...What? The truth? What's the truth, Will?"

Will could suddenly feel tears welling up in his eyes. He really didn't want to cry in front of Mike, but he couldn't help it. Mike was about to find out the secret Will had successfully kept for what, 9 years? All because he was caught in a stupid lie? This was pathetic.

Mike's face suddenly turned panicked and he quickly sat down next to Will.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Mike took both Will's hands in his own, "What's wrong?"

"I didn't...I didn't want you to know..."

"Know what? Will, you know you can tell me anything."

"That..." Will took a deep breath, and found himself meeting Mike's eyes with a sharp gaze "Mike. I'm gay."

Mike's gaze turned from one of concern, to shock. Just shock. There were no decipherable undertones to Mike's expression, not anger or disgust or...relief even. Just shock. What was Will supposed to do with that? He could counteract everything else, he knew he could handle this if Mike reacted badly, but Mike was giving him nothing. What do you say to nothing? Maybe you just keep talking.

"And- and that's not all. Mike, I-" Will bit his lip nervously, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he realized what he was about to say "Mike. I love you. I have for years and- that's why I painted that for you. It had nothing to do with El. I'm sorry I lied, but- you couldn't know. I couldn't let you know. I'm- I'm sorry Mike. I'm so sorry."

Will could feel tears welling up in his eyes again. He glanced up at Mike to try and gauge his reaction but...nothing. Just shock. Mike was making an already impossible task that much harder.

Will turned away from Mike, now genuinely expecting him to react badly. Mike still hadn't said anything, and if he was gonna blow up at him, he didn't want to see what his face looked like when he did. It pained Will so much to see Mike's pretty features contorted in such a way. His pale, freckled face, his pointed features, all glaring at him when he got angry was something Will never wanted to see again after their fight in the rain.

"Will?" Mike's voice pierced through Will's thoughts, interrupting his hazy overthinking "Will, please look at me."

Mike reached out, taking both of Will's hands again, and Will slowly turned around and met Mike's eyes.

"You probably hate me right now." Will said, laughing in spite of himself

"Will." Mike's voice was firm, his grip on Will's hands was tight, like he was afraid someone might take Will away from him "I could never hate you."

Will waited for a response, and Mike seemed to be searching for words, grasping for answers.

"I- Will. Recently, I've been...thinking a lot. About...things. My feelings have been so complicated lately, I...I don't know. But I've been...questioning? Things? Does that make sense? I just-"

"Mike."

"Right, sorry. I just- I broke up with El-"

"What?? Why??"

"Oh my gosh Will, stop interrupting."

"RIGHT, sorry- continue."

"Yeah, so I broke up with El. Because...I don't think I ever loved her. I mean, of course I loved her. Love her. But...not the way she wanted me to. Not romantically. I've...been thinking. I think I might...like a boy."

That caught Will completely off guard. A boy? As Mike spoke he seemed to be leaning closer. Will's hands were still neatly folded in Mike's and he could feel his face heating up, as Mike slowly inched closer.

"What...what are you saying?" Will asked quietly

"I'm saying...I'm saying I'm about to do something really stupid." Mike paused, before quietly mumbling, "Can I kiss you?"

Will stared at him. Shocked. And before Will could give it another thought, his lips were on Mike's. Mike seemed a little surprised, but after a moment, he brought his hands up to Will's neck, kissing him back. It wasn't a very long kiss. But it was messy and desperate, something both had wanted for years, a secret desire they would never dare let leave the inner depths of their minds, a fantasy they both would turn to when they were alone deep into the night and couldn't make themselves fall asleep. Neither wanted to let go. But begrudgingly, Will pulled away first, out of breath. Mike's heavy breathing mirrored Will's, as he just...looked at him. Will wasn't quite sure what to say.

"...woah" Will said, still out of breath. Mike laughed in response.

"Will...I love you too." Mike cupped Will's face in his hand, and Will found himself laughing

"Can I kiss you again?" Will asked tentatively

Mike grinned, before pressing his lips to Will's again, perfectly content.

*

GUYS. I POSTED. ITS BAD AND I HATE IT BUT I POSTED. EVERYONE CELEBRATE X3