#willtouch

She smiles gently as he mentions not minding lending a hand, her gaze returning to the apples she was cutting into near perfect slices. When he came up beside her to the second cutting board to begin working on the oranges and strawberries she was sure they'd settle into a comfortable silence. But then he's speaking up and her head turns to look at him, listening with a small grin that widens slightly as he finishes, "You don't have to thank me, Will," she assures gently. Yes, it's a lot. Yes, it can be exhausting. But no, she wouldn't send them away or have it any other way. She loves Joyce. She loves the boys. She's known their mother since high school and has seen those two boys raised from babies. What kind of person would she be if she turned them away?

"We're," she says to include her family, "happy to be here for all of you. I know if it was the other way around and Joyce had the same space, it'd be returned." She looks back down at what she's doing, sighing contently, "It's been a bit of a mad house," small laugh, "but I truly think it's been good for all of us."

featuring: jonathan byers and will byers

‘I don’t like girls. 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐔𝐘𝐒 𝐃𝐎.’

Will’s sudden revelation had hit like a meteorite crashing into Earth. Mike hadn’t foreseen it coming.. and yet, somehow? It all made sense. Keeping a secret like that for years must’ve been mentally exhausting. Worrying about losing the people he held dearest for being his true self— Mike couldn’t even begin to imagine how 𝐒𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 that must’ve been. But Mike wasn’t going anywhere, because no matter who Will crushed on, girl or boy.. that was still his 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃. Always had been and always would be until the very end.. an end that might greet them sooner than they anticipated if their new plan 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃.

“Hey. You.. got a minute before we walk head first into Vecna’s hellhole?” Seeking Will out where he was currently recovering from Vecna’s brief hijacking, Mike scooted himself down into the empty spot beside Will on the couch, shoulder lightly bumping with his to let him know they were 𝐎𝐊𝐀𝐘 in case of any lingering doubts he may have had.

While he’d already given Will the assurance he needed, Mike wanted to speak to him one-on-one to better reiterate it. “I just wanted to say that I think it’s really brave what you just did. And I’m not just talking about what you did with the Demos, or Vecna, or your powers.” Bringing his hands together in his lap to prevent himself from fidgeting, Mike continued, clearly not used to getting this 𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏 in a conversation. It was something he’d always struggled with.

“Opening up like that? It takes guts.” Offering Will a smile, one of his hands then moved up to rest atop his best friend’s shoulder, giving it a light 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐙𝐄. “Guess you’re not just Will the Wise anymore, huh? More like Will the fuckin’ Bold.” Seemed more suitable for him as of late.