prom dress

oo3 | 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶

It was a chilly, late November night in Hawkins, and ominously matching the setting a howling wind echoed outside. Snow fell in flurries to the ground, almost sticking. Mike had been at Will's virtually all day, reading comics and taking turns drawing each other when Ms. Byers surprised them with by buying a Christmas tree practically a month early.

All three had carried it inside and nearly killed themselves and each other in the process, but after a lot of ornament stringing, light wrapping, and a lot of fooling around, they had finished. Now the two were curled up together on the couch, nestled in comfortably with a warm blanket Joyce had draped over them before calling it a night.

Will's head nuzzled into Mike's chest and his arms wrapped in a fond embrace around his middle. Mike rested his chin gently on his boyfriend's messy brown hair, playing with it in his fingers every now and then. Will always felt safest in Mike's arms.

At some point, exhaustion had finally overtaken Will and slowly but surely his breathing steadied out into an even pattern. And every so often, Will would snore softly, causing Mike to have to try really hard not to chuckle. And though he had the urge to lean down and kiss Will's forehead, he was a light sleeper—it might wake him.

Mike just stared down at the sleepy boy in his arms (with the biggest puppy dog eyes you ever saw). He loved him, and he knew it. He loved him more than anything else in the world. And to him, Will Byers always came first. First and foremost. In any universe or any lifetime, he would always choose Will. But... how to tell him so? That would be a tooootally different story.

For weeks he had shied out of confessing, and it was starting to drive him crazy. Well, crazier. And even though they considered themselves to be dating, some days he just felt so distant from Will. Like it was the Upside Down all over again—he knew he was there, he just couldn't reach him. Any nerve he built up was crashed back down every time they began to get really honest with each other, every time Will looked into his eyes. He couldn't tell him—and he hated himself for it.

"Hey, Will," —Mike's voice was hesitant and quiet; more of a whisper— "are you asleep?" he inquired gently, though he was pretty sure he was.

Seconds passed, and then Will's eyes fluttered open, revealing his obscure hazel eyes that blinked incessantly before settling up on Mike's. He rolled his eyes with no real annoyance. "I was," he mumbled, lacing his sleepy tone with sarcasm, shutting his eyes again and cuddling back into Mike's warm chest.

"What's up, darlin'? You make a very nice pillow, by the way, babe."

Darlin'? Babe?? He had said it so casually and yet, it still managed to make Mike's heart skip about five beats in a row. Stupid pet names meant way too much to him and he made a mental note to shut off his heartstrings. How was he so fucking good at this?

Mike suddenly felt weak, and vulnerable, and... foolish.

"I, um... I don't know. I guess." He yawned and scratched the back of his neck gingerly. Another nervous habit.

"I-I'm sorry for, y'know, waking you up. It was stupid," he resolved, letting his shining, dark eyes drift on to their glittering Christmas tree that lit up that part of the room with lights of every color. It was a perfect, yet futile diversion from where this was heading.

Will tilted his head to one side. This wasn't the first time he'd seen Mike act up like this, and it only happened when he was sure he was hiding something. That was just how he worked. Mike kept things in, concealed them until they all eventually ended up spilling out in one big jumble of emotions. Will felt like he knew him so well, yet Mike turned out to be so many people wrapped in one. It kept surprising him all the time.

He had Will's full attention now, and he wasn't going to let this go. Not again. Will shifted his position in his boyfriend's lap so that he could cup Mike's chin in his small, thin hands, forcing him to look at him. His fingers caressed Mike's freckled cheeks as gently and softly as possible, but every touch still burned like a spreading fire on his raw skin.

"Mike. Hey, hey. Baby," his hushed voice murmured gently. Will's fingers ruffled his dark hair, his thumbs still running over his crimson cheeks splotted perfectly with just the right amount of freckles. Will's eyebrows furrowed in concern but his eyes showed love.

"It's gonna be alright."

His look tinted with worry that screamed out 'please tell me what's going on' was enough to make Mike completely lose it. Tears were nearly bursting from his dark eyes that he tried so hard to control. His gaze looked anywhere but Will, fearing he might break if he dared.

"I love you."

Dead silence filled the air. Will's eyes widened. He was sure he was hearing things; like this was another episode or something. There was no way this was real. It couldn't have been. He would open his eyes and the dream would be over. A really, really good dream, he thought.

"...What? Wait wait wait. What?"

Mike's choked up laugh filled the silence. "You heard me. I love you, Will Byers. I-I've loved you since the first day I met you on the playground in kindergarten. I loved you the day you were taken, and the day you came back. I've always loved you, even though I might not have known it.

"The thing is... y-you're amazing. Your art is, like, so cool. I know you'll be the best artist there is someday. Geez, you have the weirdest taste in music—b-but that's not a bad thing! I just... I-I think you're great. And I am so glad you're in my life."

Will was staring at Mike with his mouth slightly agape and his usually pale cheeks burning and his eyes brimming with hot tears. He noticed then that Mike was crying too; tears were streaming down his freckled cheeks. He wanted to say something but the words wouldn't come.

Mike suddenly inhaled sharply and sniffled, wiping his eyes with his sweater sleeve. "Jesus, what the hell is wrong with me—"

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence because Will had already leaned in to kiss him; his fingers still cupped around his chin as he felt his hot tears pressed up against Mike's cheeks. The kiss was short and chaste, but it wasn't anything like from the past. It felt right.

Will pulled away from him and lingered, hovering slightly, before pressing one last kiss to his soft lips. He gazed up at him with a wistful smile and shook his head.

"You are absolutely crazy, Mike Wheeler."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Mike laughed. A real laugh, as he hugged the smaller boy to his chest possessively before leaning in to kiss him one last time.

"Only for you, Will. Only for you."