#strangerthings mike

Darkness began to fall on the quarantined Hawkin’s. Dinner was long since had and cleared away. Holly was already in bed, Karen and Ted debating in the kitchen, Joyce out with Hopper and El, and Nancy and Jonathan still out at the WQSK. Which left Mike and Will downstairs in the basement of the Wheeler house. The couch and floor made up into the two single beds that Jonathan and Will had been sleeping on the last few nights.

To not disturb them, they both sat doing their homework at the small table they usually reserved for DND.

Mike tapped his pencil aggressively on his algebra homework, his other hand in his jet black locks, twisting deep within the strands. He wore his black Converse, black jeans and long-sleeved blue striped shirt with a yellow collar.

Will sat across from him, his white sneakers against the floor, his brown pants baggy on his legs, his brown plaid button-down flush to his skin, with his deep blue fleece sweater over the top, and his primary colour block jacket over that too. But even still, his knee bounced, and his shoulders shivered.

It didn’t take long for Mike’s gaze to separate from his papers, and he fell directly to Will,

“You okay?” Mike asked,

“Yeah,” Will said dismissively, “I’m fine,”

“Will.” Mike pushed,

“I’m cold,” Will admitted, “I always feel cold these days.”

Mike sighed, “Come on,” he said as he got up from his chair, tossing his pencil and leaving the homework abandoned.

“What? Where are we-” Will began.

But Mike didn’t even give him time to finish the sentence before he grabbed him by the hand,

“Whoa- Okay-” Will gulped, his cheeks flushed bright red, as he gripped Mike’s hand and followed him up the basement stairs,

Mike led Will all the way up the basement stairs and up the living room stairs without a word, all the way up to his own bedroom. He opened his door and closed it firmly behind him. “Lie down.”

“Mike, are you sure-”

“Will. Lie down.”

“Okay,” Will nodded, as he nervously sat himself on the edge of the bed, and slowly lay his back flush on the sheets.

“… I didn’t mean like a vampire, but if you're comfy.” Mike shrugged as he kicked off his Converse. His hands immediately went to his jeans, undoing them in a fast and efficient pull.

Will watched as Mike’s legs were exposed as well as his bright blue boxer shorts. He gulped very secretly and averted his gaze.

Mike climbed into his bed, getting under the covers and his head against the pillow. He then tapped the pillow beside him,

“What?” Will gasped,

“Come on, come cuddle. It’ll warm us both up.”

“Ohh uhh… are you sure?”

“Yeah, come on.”

Will blushed but nodded, and he kicked off his sneakers and came to lie his head on the pillow. His eyes met Mike’s, and he struggled not to react to the feeling of his breath against his face or just how close their noses were.

“You sure you're warm? You can get under the covers?” Mike suggested, his voice lower and more gentle than before,

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, course I am.” Mike nodded, pulling the covers up to give Will space,

Will gulped again but nodded, as he slipped into the covers, the heat of them both under them making his shivers begin to fade, “Thanks,” He said, keeping his own voice.

“You’re welcome, I wanna make sure you're warm and comfy. Okay?” he said as he wrapped the covers as tightly around them as possible, ensuring everything but their heads was covered,

“Okay, thank you, Mike,”

“It’s okay.” Mike smiled, batting his nose softly on Will’s, “You’re warm enough? Or do you need a cuddle?”

“I… I think I want the cuddle,”

“Do you want it or need it?”

“Want it.”

“Okay.” Mike smiled, “I’ll be slow,” He said as he began to close the gap between their bodies, until his hands found Will’s waist. He slid his hands over his hips and began to shuffle them closer,

Will smiled and rested his own hands on Mike’s chest, his fingertips finding little grips in the wrinkles of his shirt. He let out a long breath as all of Mike’s body from shoulder to toe was against his own, nothing more than an inch between them.

“Is this okay?” Mike whispered,

“Yeah… it’s nice,” Will agreed, keeping his voice matching Mike’s own, batting his nose on Mike’s, “You’re warm,”

“Thanks,” Mike laughed, “It’s a skill of mine, I work super hard on it.”

They shared a laugh, but their voices were barely audible beyond the soft covers.

“It’s appreciated.”

“Do all these layers help you feel warm?” Mike asked, his hands sliding across Will’s back,

“Yeah, but… I don’t feel like I need them right now.” Will panted,

“Do you… Want my help? Taking them off?”

“…Yes,” he gasped,

Mike smiled and nodded, his hands moving slowly and tenderly. He first pushed off the colour block jacket off his shoulders, tossing it out of the bed and onto the floor. He chuckled softly as his hands worked down the fleece, fingers dancing across the soft material, before he grabbed the bottom hem and worked it off, tossing it out of the bed. “You want this too?”

“Yeah… go on.” Will nodded, unable to hide his smile.

Mike nodded and began unbuttoning the plaid button down, working his way up until it was completely undone and pushing it off his shoulders, leaving his chest bare, but not for long, as Mike immediately smiled, “I feel overdressed now.” he cooed as he tossed off his own shirt and pulled Will flush against his chest, their warmth intermingling and their hearts beating together.

Will gasped and blsuhed but his smile was so wide. He wrapped his own arms around Mike, happily resting his head in Mike’s neck. “I feel overdressed now,” he repeated,

“Yeah? These?” Mike asked as his hands slid down over Will’s bare back until he found the brown pants,

“Yeah.” Will agreed,

Mike nodded and happily undid Will’s pants, helping him to kick them off, leaving them abandoned somewhere in the sheets, and revealing Will’s yellow boxes. “Perfect.” Mike cooed as he pulled Will closer and rested his head on top of his.

Will blushed and nodded, “Yeah, perfect.” He agreed, as he curled up as tight to Mike as he could, nuzzling his nose into his neck, “I feel… nice and warm now.”

“Good, maybe you should just… come up here and cuddle up with me every night, since you're so cold?”

“I’d like that,” Will cooed, “Hummmm… goodnight Mike,”

Mike yawned as he sat at his desk. The black office chair was beyond uncomfortable, stiff and cheap with plastic pieces that dug into odd places. His fingers danced across his white keyboard without much of his mind being involved. It wasn’t a complicated task after all, copy numbers from the paper page and input them into the green and black screen of the computer. Hardly rocket science.

His leather shoes against the carpet, his black suit pants stiff against his body, his white shirt a little too big for him, with a yellow and blue tie around his neck.

His cubicle was grey with sparse items, given that Linda from HR could be a real bitch about anything she deemed offensive or tacky. And frankly, Mike had just given up fighting with her over coffee mugs and calendars. So everything was grey or white, his carpet, his chair, his filing cabinet, his cubicle and his computer. The only things he had of personality were his bright blue mouse pad, and a single pinned polaroid of him, Lucas, Max, Dustin and Will on their trip to Arizona last year.

“Hey Wheeler,” Simon laughed as he came and leaned on the edge of Mike’s cubicle, coffee mug in hand, straightening his red tie,

“Hey,” He nodded, forcing a smile for only a few seconds, barely turning away from his work,

“Nothing quite like that Friday feelin’,”

“Yeah… yeah… It’s good.”

“Almost just wanna stay here and work, the wife’s got me a list of chores to be doing all holiday weekend, gutters, lawn, garage and shuttling the kids back and forth, god makes me miss the numbers.”

“Haha, Yeah…” Mike fake laughed, but he finished the last page, so he didn’t have an excuse to ignore him anymore, even if he did keep messing with lines and formatting just to look busy for the rest of this conversation.

“You got plans for the holiday weekend then?”

“Ohh, not really just the usual.” Mike shrugged, “Walkin’ the dog, doing some housework, might take my honey out for dinner somewhere. Depends on how the days go, I guess.”

“Cute, when are you gonna introduce us to this sweet thing of yours anyway?”

“… Soon, they’re shy.” He lied,

“Well, have a nice weekend.”

“You too.”

Simon headed off to shut down his computer and head home, as almost everyone else was.

Mike saved and sent his work, making sure he had like nine back-ups since he had never trusted this place and their system. Once everything was booted down, he gathered his stuff, tossing his grey jacket on and his bag over his shoulder as he began to head out of the office.

“Ohh, Michael, did you get a chance to-” His boss began as he walked past his office,

“It’s in your inbox, Terry.”

“Ohh- Yes… Carry on.”

Mike nodded and left as quickly as he could. He scanned out of the building and made his way down the darkening city streets. He pulled out his pass as he walked down the subway steps, scanning on and trying not to breathe in the piss-coated tunnels. He got on the first train that came, standing room only, of course, but he wasn’t going far; four stops later, he hopped off onto the platform.

He walked a little faster as he headed for the street, luckily catching the small flower cart that waited outside the station stairs just before she closed up for the day. The woman spoke no English, but Mike knew her well and only needed to wave at her as he grabbed his wallet.

She smiled widely as he approached and instantly grabbed her last bouquet from her cart, having saved it for Mike as usual. It was a mixed bouquet, usually of whatever she had left, daisies, lilies, roses, and tulips. They wouldn’t last, but that wasn’t the point.

He paid her for them, along with a little extra tip, which she thanked him for over and over as she handed him the flowers. Before he gave her a small wave and headed down the street.

It was around a ten-minute walk home, but it was quiet and dark, so he didn’t mind much. He knew which streets to avoid and whom he couldn’t make eye contact with.

He finally arrived at the apartment building he called home, punching his code in to unlock the door. He was quick to make sure the door closed and locked behind him before he moved in through the second door. He stopped at the post boxes but saw that the one for apartment 4C was empty already, so he continued to the elevator, punching his code in for a second time before he was allowed to select the fourth floor.

The elevator trembled and groaned as it lifted him, the doors opening with a whine. He quickly exited, almost scared to stay inside too long, and he hurried himself down the hallway to apartment 4C, unlocking the door and heading inside.

The second he closed the door, he let out a long exhale as all the stress and concern of the world melted out of his body as soon as he was home.

He turned and smiled as he leaned against the door. He locked the door and made sure to bolt it and put the chain over too, just in case. He kicked off his black leather shoes and placed them on his half of the rack, tossing off his bag and placing it on the hook along with his jacket. He pulled his lunch box from his bag and headed deeper into the apartment.

He placed his empty lunchbox on the kitchen countertop above the dishwasher, ready to go in the next load. He saw the kitchen was almost exactly as he’d left it when he left that morning. He rolled his eyes a little and laughed softly.

He headed across the living room, his socks moving across the soft rug to blow out the vanilla candle that had been burning almost all day, stepping over to the fire escape to close the window, sealing the night air away. He tipped the remains of a glass of water into the large fig plant by the window and went to the radio, turning the soft music down.

He chuckled as he pushed open the wooden sliding doors into what was supposed to be a dining room, but the walls were covered in paintings and sketches, and the floor was covered with paper to keep the wooden floor clean. The gentle glow of the salt lamp in the corner and a few sweet candles. The scent of paint in the air, brushes and various drinkware all over the place, mugs of tea, glasses of water and soda cans, none fully consumed and left abandoned. The easel in the centre has a sweet landscape in mid-construction.

And there Will was, his green canvas shoes against the paper, his fluffy socks poking out the top, his baggy blue jeans against his legs, at least two t-shirts under a large woollen jumper of browns and yellows, his sleeves rolled to his elbows, paint across his forearms and hands. His brown hair was freshly trimmed from his eyes, as his gaze lay on his paintbrush and painting.

Mike smiled widely as he stepped over, careful not to disturb him. He waited till he went to clean his brush off before he closed the gap and kissed his neck softly. “Honey, I’m home.”

Will melted instantly, dropping his brush to tug on Mike’s jet black curls, “I missed you,”

“Did you barely look like you knew I left?”

“I knew you weren’t around to make my tea.”

“Hey! Is that all I am to you? A tea machine?”

“Maybe.”

“Ohh?! So you don’t want these, then?” Mike asked, offering the flowers,

“Awwww, Mike! You didn’t have to.”

“It’s Friday,” He shrugged, “I always get you flowers on Fridays.”

“Thank you,” Will smiled,

“You’re welcome,” He cooed,

The two shared a soft and loving kiss, pulling back to rub noses,

“You think you can make time away from your painting for me?”

“Of course, for you.”

“Have you eaten?”

“…No,”

“Have you had water?”

“… a few hours ago.”

“Come here, you.” Mike laughed, tugging Will away from his work and into the kitchen with him.

Will, of course, began work trimming and arranging his flowers, clearing out the ones Mike got him last week from their favourite vase.

Mike instantly made Will some water and started work on their dinner. Just whipping up some quick creamy chicken pasta while they talked about their days.

Once dinner was done, they sat down on the couch and watched some TV, eating their pasta and drinking a couple of glasses of wine. But it didn’t take long for Mike to start drifting off.

“Mike? Mike…” Will cooed as he gently shook him,

“Ummm?”

“You wanna head to bed?”

“Ohh… yeah… probably a good idea.”

“Come on,” Will smiled as he took Mike by the hand, and led him to the bedroom.

They both tossed their clothes into the hamper and got ready for bed. Will put on his fluffy socks, his long blue pyjama pants, and a long-sleeve grey t-shirt. And Mike put on his black ghost-busters’ T-shirt and a pair of yellow shorts. They shared the sink and mirror of their bathroom as they both brushed their teeth, Will doing some skincare and Mike taking out his contacts.

“Ready?” Will asked,

“Mhm… be there in a sec.” Mike answered, as he headed into the bedroom and leaned on the door frame, “Hi, handsome.”

“Hi.” Will laughed as he got into the bed, “You coming?”

“I don’t know? Am I?” Mike smirked,

“I thought you were tired?”

“Maybe I was just trying to get you in bed?”

“Mike,” He rolled his eyes,

“Fine,” Mike sighed as he climbed into bed, too. “Hey,” He smiled as he wrapped his arms around Will tightly,

“Hey,” Will smiled up at him, “Ummm… I missed you,” he whispered as he nuzzled into Mike’s shirt,

“I always miss you.”

“Goodnight, Mike,”

“Night Will,”

“Love ya.”

“Love you more.”

With the distraction of the game gone, Will's gaze drifted to Mike. He took a moment to absorb the details of his friend: Mike’s tall, lanky frame was draped in faded grey socks that had seen better days, paired with black jeans that hugged his slender legs. A blue and green striped t-shirt adorned his torso, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing slender, freckled forearms. His hair was an unruly mess, slightly falling over his forehead, a sign that it was overdue for a trim, which he dreaded, recalling how a misguided haircut last time had left him feeling far too exposed.

Feeling Will's gaze, Mike glanced over, his eyes meeting Will’s. Glancing over his cargo trousers that were comfortably worn in, front bulging with something he had yet to notice, and a soft brown jumper. “Yes?” He smirked something, “Something you wanted?”

“Uhh, no, nothing… just uhh nothing.” Will scrambled to cover his staring, glueing his eyes to the TV.

“Sure,” Mike scoffed, “You got something in your pocket, Man?”

“Humm? Ohh!” He gasped, finally realising what Mike meant, as his eyes met the bulge. “No!”

“Then where’d you get that?”

“It’s nothing-”

“Come on, Will,”

“It’s nothing- just the uhh- just the vibration from the controller.” He glared, grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch to conceal his obvious excitement,

“It's fine,” Mike smiled, grabbing the remote to flick the TV to the music channel, “Not like it doesn’t happen to me too.”

“Yeah, but you… handle it.” Will blushed,

“Skinny jeans,” He shrugged, “Not a lot of space for stuff to be obvious, kinda… forces it down.”

He chuckled a little, “I guess that helps,”

“I can go upstairs if you want? Or you're welcome to go to the bathroom, I’ll turn the TV up?”

“No, uhh no, I’ll be fine,”

“You sure?” Mike asked, “Isn’t it gonna hurt?”

“It’s fine.” Will shrugged, unable to meet Mike’s eyes, “I uhh…” He began deciding in that moment to be vulnerable with Mike, “I uh, my hand always cramps up, I can’t ever actually…”

“Shiiiit…” Mike nodded, “Fuck yeah, that sucks.”

“Yeah… It’s a shitshow,” he sighed, rubbing his neck a little,

Silence lingered between them longer than either would really admit, before the words came tumbling from Mike’s mouth. “I could… uhh… you know…use my hand if-”

“Yes.” Will snapped faster than he meant to, “Or uhh whatever.”

Mike smirked a little, his eyes flicking over Will much slower than before, “You sure?” he chuckled,

“Yeah, like… why not right… just uhh just -”

“Helping out.”

“Exactly,”

The two silently nodded to each other, eyes falling to each other’s belts.

“You gonna help me out?” Mike asked with a slight chuckle,

“Yeah, right, right, yeah.” Will nodded, moving his hands below the blanket, undoing his cargo trousers and pushing them down a little, he tentatively gave his stiff cock a stroke through his boxer shorts,

“I won’t look, and I’ll go slow,” Mike said gently,

Both kept their eyes forward, watching the TV screen as the music video played. Mike’s hand slowly and carefully closed the gap between them, his hand slipping under the blanket on Will’s lap. He was slow and tentative at first, gliding his fingertips over his thigh.

Will’s hair seemed to stand on end, his hip almost bucking from the soft tickle of Mike’s fingers, his breath hitching a little as his hand moved higher.

Mike couldn’t hold back a small smirk as he ran his fingers over the soft cotton of Will’s boxers, tracing the stitching until his hand met the stiffness of his cock. “This-”

“Yep.”

“Okay…” He nodded, unable to hide his smile, as he slowly stroked his hand over Will’s stiff cock. He made sure to move slowly, gently, expecting him to be tender even through the cotton.

Will bit his lip hard not to let his moans and groans fall as freely as they seemed to be forming in his throat. “You… uhh you can go a little faster, Mike,”

“You sure?”

“Yeah… I’m sure,”

Mike nodded, moving to fully wrap his hand around Will’s cock, his nails pushing into the cotton of the boxer shorts, palm against the heat of his shaft, slowly stroking up and down.

Will began to tremble, finding it hard to breathe when his focus was so much on the pleasure bubbling up inside him. He whines slightly, feeling his cock pulse hard, almost throbbing in Mike’s hand.

“Whoa… how long since you uhh?”

“A month, maybe more.”

“Shit,” he nodded, “Well, just relax, I don’t imagine it taking too long.” he winked,

Will nodded, doing his best to relax, but he felt so strange with someone else's hand on him. He was loving it, of course, even more so than Mike. But it was hard to relinquish control, his hands felt like they itched for something to do. “Can I uhh…”

“Yeah?”

“Can I do you… too?” Will asked, “I uhh I feel bad that you're not getting anything,”

“You don’t have to do anything for me,”

“I want to,”

Mike smiled widely and nodded, he grabbed the blanket, pulling it over his lap too, it took a moment to undo his belt and jeans one-handed, but he managed. Okay, come on.”

Will blushed but nodded, shuffling himself closer so they sat with their thighs brushing under the blanket, his hand slowly and nervously came over, unable to meet Mike’s eyes, before he took firm hold of his half-hard cock over his boxers.

“Whoa! Hey!” Mike laughed, “You don’t have to grab me so hard, I’m not going anywhere.” He smirked,

“I know I just uhh… like a firm grip.”

“Yeah?” Mike raised an eyebrow, gripping Will a little firmer, “That better?”

“Uhh!” He moaned before he had a chance to stop himself,

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckled,

Will didn’t answer, putting all his focus into moving his hand on Mike, trying to stay slow and gentle but not react to how he felt Mike harden in his hand,

“You don’t need to be so gentle with me,” Mike cooed, his voice a little more hushed and sultry, “Trust me, it’s used to a little more… intensity.”

“Ohh uhh okay.” Will nodded, gripping Mike’s cock a little harder through the rough cotton of his boxers,

“Umm… yeah, that's better.” Mike nodded,

Both were doing their best to keep the rhythm and pace the other liked, while slowly getting more intense, faster, and more ruthless. Both became breathless, gasping softly, sweat forming on their skin, the soft shifting of fabric sound drowned out by the TV. Truly, it was obvious it was only going to be a matter of time until someone snapped.

And as it happened, it was Mike.

“Fuck it. Come here.” He growled, using his other hand to grab Will by the neck and pull their lips to meet.

Will immediately melted, kissing back hard. His other hand pushed the blanket further down their legs as he parted his lips,

“Yeah… fine,” Will lied,

“You sure? No… tingles?”

“No tingles. I’m good.”

“Alright, just keep me posted, okay.” Mike smiled, his hand tapping softly on Will’s knee,

The feeling of Mike’s warm, heavy hand against the brown fabric of his pants sent electricity running up Will’s thigh, his hips wanted to squirm, and his body wanted to tremble. He choked down a moan, keeping his bottom lip between his teeth as he nodded, unable to rip his hazel eyes from Mike.

But the door to the cabin opened, and the connection was instantly broken as Mike pulled his hand back, a smile cracking across his lips as he saw her. “El! There you are!” he cooed as he stood and wrapped his arms around her waist,

Will looked away, unable to watch as the two shared a brief kiss, all the excitement and joy that had been building suddenly dying in the bottom of his stomach.

“Come on, let’s get you out to Hop.” Mike told her, “You’ll be okay here, right, Will?”

Will wanted to scream, to beg him not to go, to demand that El could go alone, to grab him and kiss him a thousand times to explain all he wanted them to do together before he left. But he didn’t, he just forced a smile and nodded, “Yeah… I’ll be fine.” He lied,

Mike smiled and didn’t even give Will as much as a wave as he headed out to take El to the track to do her training with Hop.

Suddenly, Will was alone in the drafty cabin. His mind flooded with panic and sadness, so many tears began to flood his eyes. But he shoved his body up from the couch and marched into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him and leaning his quivering fists against it. He sniffled back tears and did his best not to make too much noise, even if he was alone in the cabin.

“Why… why can’t it be me…” Will whimpered, leaning his forehead against the cold wood as he choked on his tears.

‘My Cleric, why is it that you cry?’ The softest of voices whispers in his ear,

Will shook his head, trying to resist falling back to the comfort of his own fantasies, but he couldn’t help it as he imagined the feeling of warm leather gloves against his waist,

‘Speak… if you can, tell me where lies the root of such sorrow.’

“What’s the point…”

‘So that I may end the breath of whoever caused such distress in you… My Cleric.’

Will sighed through his nose, “You’re not real… you’re just my own lies…”

‘I am as real as you long for me to be,’ the voice whispered in Will’s ear, ‘And if you desire me now… I am here.’

“You know I desire you,” Will panted as he turned, expecting nothing to be there but… There was. “Mike…” He gasped,

The tall body loomed over him, knee-high black leather boots, red skin-tight leather britches laced with matching ribbons at his waist, a black cotton shirt with billowy sleeves open across his chest to reveal the crystal he wore on a cord, a tight vest of red and blue patterned with soft hearts and laced with corset ties up the back, with a red cloak over one shoulder baring the embroidered sigil of The Party. Silver sword at his hip, and red gloves tight against his hands. His long, jet black hair in sweeping curls down to his shoulders, a humble but soft smile across his lips, freckled cheeks and bright eyes marked by the slightest hint of black below them.

He bowed low and smiled, “Sir Mike The Brave, at your devoted service, Will The Wise.”

“Oooh…” Will whispered,

“Would you permit me to dry your tears, My Cleric?” He offered his hand,

“I would,” Will smiled as he allowed his hand to be taken, and his body pulled flush.

Mike smiled as he pressed his body against Will’s, “Speak it,”

“Speak what?”

“The name of whom was that caused these god-forsaken tears.” He asked firmly as he removed his glove and wiped away Will’s tears with his warm skin.

“You know whom…”

Mike nodded, “That imposter, who believes he holds my name. But not my heart… You know this to be true, My Cleric. He and I… we are not the same,”

“You are an invention of my imagination… and he’s real.”

“…I am a memory, of the boy he once was, become the man he should have been. Not this broken, empty shell of a man you are forced to see before you all these days. I am the truth that he forces concealed.” Mike explained, “You know my utter love and my unequivocal devotion to you. So I beg of you, allow me the grace to kiss away these tears, before they shatter my very heart, William.”

“Yes…” Will panted,