Ashi

“It’s such bullshit!” Mike threw his book bag to the floor before throwing himself onto Will’s bed with a huff.

“You’re seriously gonna say the best way to study is to review notes from a completely different class?” Will seemed to be vaguely paying attention to Mike’s wild gesticulations, but as always, he carried on uninterrupted, “A class we took almost four years ago?!”

Their first calculus test of the school year was coming up, and the two of them were painfully, hopelessly lost. Them and anyone with the misfortune of being stuck in Mr. Constantino’s class. He spent most forty-minute periods rambling about who knows what, while most students either fell asleep, passed notes, or did homework for other classes. Mike was almost certain he taught his parents when they were in high school; the man was ancient.

“It’s just not fair.” Mike continued, watching Will open his notebook at his desk, something he should probably be doing, but complaining comes first, “You know, Dustin said Ms. Evans is basically a human calculator. She gave them a whole study guide!”

The only other teacher qualified to teach calc in the entire school, Ms. Evans, was a supposed genius and one of the nicest teachers ever. And, most importantly, not a thousand years old. If you couldn’t get out of taking the class entirely, she was the one you wanted.

But as luck may have it, Mike and Will were the only ones in the party to get stuck learning the hardest subject a senior can take at Hawkins High from a literal fossil.

“Okay, but you know we’re all gonna study together tomorrow night, right?” Will finally spoke up, not even looking at Mike. Rude. “And El takes great notes, we can just ask to see them when she gets home later.”

Will’s tone said he thought Mike was being dramatic. And maybe he was, but even though they would likely be fine, the whole situation was-

“It’s still bullshit…” Mike grumbled, turning over into Will’s pillow. He completely missed the fond little smile directed at him from the room’s only other occupant.

After a few minutes of wallowing—he swore Will’s bed was so much softer than his own—he begrudgingly sat up. “Did you find your Algebra I notes?” The supposed best way to study was to relearn basic Algebra.

“Huh?” Will looked like he was actually studying. Mike couldn’t say what, considering every time he looked over at Will’s desk in that class, all he saw were doodles or responses to notes Mike had passed him. “Oh yeah, it should be under my bed.”

The only saving grace was that Will literally never threw his old notebooks away. Always wanting to be resourceful and turn any blank pages into space for rough sketches or whatever he claimed they were good for.

As soon as Will stood to search, the phone rang downstairs.

“Hold on a sec.” Will headed out the door, peering back into the room for just a second, “Try to stop moping while I’m gone.”

Mike frowned, left listening to the gentle thump of Will heading down the stairs. He was definitely not moping. He was merely responding as any concerned citizen would. And like a concerned citizen, he was going to lie face down in Will’s pillows until the other got back in a few minutes.

…

…

Okay, Will was taking too long.

He groaned, sitting up and shuffling onto the floor by Will’s bed. Will liked to organize his subjects by color, and if he remembered correctly, math was always blue (it should obviously be red, but they could disagree on one thing).

Sifting through stacks of green history notebooks, then the sciences: biology, chemistry, and physics, each a deep red. A couple of purple Spanish books and yellow English ones. Finally, he found the blue notebooks tucked away underneath old, used paint kits and dried-out brushes.

Dragging them all out into the light, Mike searched for the one they needed, mentally thanking Will for being so organized and labeling all of his notebooks for each class. Unlike Mike, who one year took notes for every single class in the same unmarked book (it saved time going to his locker between periods).

On his way to the bottom of the stack, something jumped out at him. A solid black notebook in a completely different style than any of the others. All of Will’s notebooks for school had metal spirals holding the pages together. This one was a small softcover book, with rounded corners, almost like the sketchbooks Will would use.

It couldn’t be a sketchbook, though, unless maybe Will just dropped it under his bed and forgot about it. He usually took such good care of these—something about the paper being better than regular notebooks. Mike gently cracked it open and-

He honestly wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at.

The drawing was obviously old, resembling Will’s skill level and art style from when he was still in middle school, maybe. It was also of Spider-Man. As far as Mike knew, Will didn’t really draw comic book characters often anymore, mostly opting for real-world inspiration (outside of when they needed help bringing a campaign to life, of course).

From what he could tell, Spider-Man was in his suit, trapped in his own webs, while robotic hands extending from the edges of the page came out and…tickled him?

It was a good drawing, Will’s always were, but Mike wasn’t quite sure he understood.

He flipped the page to see a very similar scene. Spider-Man, again, this time hanging upside down, mask off, arms dangling below him as a woman—oh, that’s probably meant to be Mary Jane. Will did not care to give her face a lot of detail—scribbled pointy nails under his arms.

Mike held the book closer to his face for a moment, studying the clear attention Will put into the lines of Peter Parker’s huge smile. And he obviously spent more time on Mary Jane’s wiggling fingers than on any other part of her.

It was a little strange, sure. But the only thought in Mike’s mind at the moment was mild offense that Will had a whole sketchbook full of fanart that he didn’t know about.

He kept flipping through it, innocent curiosity guiding his way. Every page was more of the same, if not Spider-Man, some other comic book character Will had really liked at some point. Always laughing. Always being tickled by someone or something.

It wasn’t until he saw a glimpse of a bright purple wizard hat that he stopped at a page again.

Will the Wise, in the middle of what looks to be an enchanted forest, held against a tree by vines. Vines that wormed their way underneath Will’s cleric robes and left his cheeks pink and grin toothy.

Only then did it occur to Mike that maybe he was looking at something private. Maybe Will had wedged this secret sketchbook between his old math notebooks for a reason.

But- he was already so far in, and his hands were already turning to the next page and-

Oh.

Mike couldn’t fight the stupid smile off his face if he tried. He always liked it when Will included him in his artwork and, well. This was no exception.

It was a continuation of the last scene, Will the Wise, still trapped in the same enchanted forest. Only, Mike the Brave had come to his rescue! Or really, his betrayal, the paladin assisting the vines in adding to his cleric’s ticklish torment.

It was…odd. If it were anyone else this might be weird. Instead, it was so painfully endearing simply because it was Will.

Flipping the page again, it looked like an ability chart. The kind the party used to make for their DnD characters when they were kids. An easy way to show what their characters were best at: stamina, strength, things like that. Only this one had different body parts labeled around the sides of the pentagon, another drawing of Will the Wise having a giggle fit to accompany it.

Mike had been about to get a closer look at the chart when the bedroom door creaked open.

“Sorry, my mom called. She’s gonna be home late tonight.” Will sighed, closing the door and rounding his bed to head back over to his desk. “She wants me to warm up dinner and-“

Will paused, staring at the mess of notebooks currently spread out over his rug, Mike right at the center of it. A small, amused breath forced its way through his nose, clearly about to comment on the state of his room. He completely stopped, though, when he saw the small, black book in Mike’s lap.

For a second, the two boys just stared at each other. Mike cringed, kind of expecting Will to be mad at him for going through his stuff. Then, almost like magic, Will’s face flushed red, so quickly Mike was worried his blood vessels might pop.

“H-How- Why- W-Where did you find that?!” Will actually looked mortified, like this was the most embarrassing moment of his whole life. Mike could only look between him and the sketchbook, wondering if maybe they were seeing different things.

“Um- I was looking for the Algebra notes.” He started gently. Will honestly looked like he might run away or attack him based on his answer. “And I found it under your bed.” His hands raised, placatingly. “I know! I know, I promised never to look through your sketchbooks without permission, but I didn’t even know what it was until I opened it!”

In a blink, the book was out of Mike’s reach, firmly shut and held tightly against Will’s chest. Will was quiet for another moment, trying to calm himself down, before he mumbled, “How much…did you see?”

Mike thought back to all the pages he haphazardly flipped through. The lines of crayon and shading he’d carefully studied. The last couple of pages he saw near the back of the book, dedicated to Will’s own character, “Not much.” He shrugged.

Will barely nodded, shifting awkwardly where he stood and refusing to look in Mike’s direction.

Mike stood from the floor, lowering himself just slightly to try to meet Will’s eyes. “Hey. I don’t really see why you’re so embarrassed. The drawings were pretty good. Not as good as your current stuff, but, you know.” He gave a small, hopefully encouraging smile.

Will slowly dragged his eyes over his friend’s face before turning away once more, Mike frowning as he did so.

“Yeah, well-” Will cleared his throat softly, “We should just forget about this and um…” He looked down at the notebooks scattered around the floor, as if one of them held the key to avoiding this moment entirely.

Mike wasn’t having it, though. He reached out a hand towards Will’s shoulder, “Hey, Will-”

But before it could make contact, Will flinched. Away from him. What the hell?! It’s like he unknowingly contracted some sick zombie virus, and Will was trying to think of the best way to break the news.

Mike frowned, watching Will’s eyes flit over him nervously once again. “Dude. You…good?”

Will merely nodded again, lip wedged between his teeth. Maybe he would look normal if he wasn’t still gripping that sketchbook like his life depended on it. Or if his face wasn't getting redder every second. If he wasn’t standing in front of the person he spent the most time with outside of his own family.

Taking a hesitant step forward, Mike’s brows furrowed as Will took an obvious step back. Mike stepped even closer this time, and again Will quickly shuffled away. Another step forward, another two steps backwards, and another and another, until Will was inches away from pressing up against the wall of his bedroom.

If Mike didn’t know Will so well, he would almost think he was scared. That face, though, a dizzying shine in his hazel-green eyes that crinkled slightly at the corners, and the tiniest sliver of teeth poking out over his lip. Will was obviously trying very hard not to smile.

Suddenly remembering the contents of the book that seemed to make the other so nervous, Mike chuckled softly, shaking his head, “Will, calm down. I’m not gonna tickle you.” But stiffening shoulders and a blush that finally reached his neck had Mike reconsidering his words.

“Unless…” Mike tilted his head slightly, “You want me to?” Will didn’t react as strongly this time, so he quickly added, “Tickle you, I mean?”

“Uh-“ Mike watched in awe as the smile Will had been fighting off broke out across his face. It was a little shy, definitely nervous, but still toothy, and…and. Mike wasn’t quite sure how to describe it, but knowing he caused it made his insides feel a bit funny.

“I- that’s not-” Will took a deep breath, steadying himself. “We’re supposed to be studying.” He nodded with finality, and yet, he still couldn’t meet Mike’s eyes.

Mike hummed, "That wasn’t a no, though.” And he took one last step forward, smirking as Will’s back finally hit yellow walls.

Will couldn’t possibly hide his goofy grin if he tried. At least, that’s what Mike thought before he covered it with that damn sketchbook. He huffed softly, a tiny smile betraying his fake annoyance, “Are you gonna answer the question or not?”

Unhelpfully, Will just shrugged, a small giggle slipping out as Mike rolled his eyes. “It’s a yes or no question, Will! You could literally nod your head.” But Will continued to pick non-options, raising the book higher until it covered his entire face.

In another world, Mike would snatch the sketchbook out of Will’s hands and shake him by the shoulders. In this world, Mike tried to be a good friend when he could, so he only thought about doing that as he pressed a gentle hand against Will’s elbow.

Thankfully, that seemed to be enough. All Mike heard was a quiet squeak before Will was shrugging him off, “Okay! Maybe! I don’t know…kind of? Who cares?! Just back up!” Then a shocked laugh escaped him as Will swatted him away.

“Why didn’t you just say so?” Mike grappled with Will’s still-moving hands, managing to grab hold of his wrist to pull him away from the wall. Will really looked like he wanted to run away now, especially as Mike led them over to sit on his bed.

“B-Because!” His eyes were wide, like he couldn’t believe what Mike was even asking him, “How do you even ask something like that?” The look of absolute disbelief only grew as Mike simply shrugged.

“Not sure. But I mean, these drawings make a pretty good reference.” Mike gently plucked the small book out of Will’s grasp, ignoring his frantic sputtering, “I’m sure I could’ve figured it out.” Flipping through the drawings once more, he only paused to look up at Will, “Lie down.”

“Wha- Huh?” Despite his obvious confusion, Will went down rather easily when Mike pushed him towards the bed, his head hitting the pillow with a little thump. “Why?”

“What do you mean why? In a lot of these, you drew the characters lying on the ground or on a table while they get tickled. I’m not gonna ask you to lie on the floor.”

“You mean- You’re gonna- right now?”

“Yeah, why not?”

Will was looking up at him with that same nervous smile. Mike decided he liked it.

“Shouldn’t we be studying, though?” Since when was Will such a stickler for school? He didn’t even like math!

“Aren’t you the one who said the whole party is going to study together tomorrow night?” Mike raised a brow, only continuing when Will opened his mouth to speak again, “And! That we could borrow El’s notes later.”

Will glared at him, but being watched by an angry puppy might feel more intense. Kinda hard to take him seriously when his cheeks were still furiously pink. “Don’t use my words against me.” He mumbled. And that was that.

Mike sat beside Will, flipping until he finally found the page he was looking for. The ability chart next to a picture of Will the Wise. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the cleric was being tickled by tiny enchanted feathers. Huh. It really should’ve been obvious this is what Will wanted.

“Look.” He held the open book in front of Will’s face, “You made a chart and everything. Are these the spots where you’re most ticklish or something?” It was starting to look like Will squirmed every time he said some variation of the word ‘tickle,’ but he wouldn’t point it out. Will was already so embarrassed as it is.

Will shrugged, hands gently gripping the fabric of his t-shirt, “Um…I don’t really know. I think I just kinda…guessed?”

“Okay.” Mike nodded, “Okay. Let’s find out then.” He shuffled lower on the bed to sit beside Will’s legs, completely ignoring the squawk-like sound the other just made. “We’ll go from the spots you colored in with the lowest level to the highest and see if it’s accurate.”

It looks like knees were first on the list, only one notch filled in with red crayon, carefully colored between the lines of the pentagon.

Leaving the sketchbook open beside him, Mike let one hand hover over Will’s knee. He was suddenly thankful for the final days of warm weather at the end of September, leading Will to decide to wear jean shorts.

“Okay. Ready?”

Will did not look ready. But he nodded, and that was good enough. Mike immediately lowered his hand, pushing up underneath blue denim to properly squeeze at the top of Will’s bare knee.

“Mmpf-” As soon as Mike touched him, Will covered his mouth with his hands, cutting off what might’ve been a small yelp. His legs jolted beneath Mike’s fingers, seemingly trying very hard to stay still while firm pinches and squeezes wrecked whatever composure he had left.

That would explain why all those drawings had characters being held down with some form of restraint. Will had already been a bit squirmy at just the idea of being tickled. At just hearing the word, even. Now he was practically looking to escape his skin, twisting from side to side and ruffling the carefully made sheets underneath him.

“To be honest, I don’t know why you put your knees last. They’re pretty bad from what I remember.” Mike looked up at Will’s face for a moment, choosing his next words carefully, “Unless you’re just ridiculously ticklish all over?”

Just like he thought, a short squeak slipped past Will’s hands. He was so obvious, Mike had to laugh. Will’s only response was a tiny shake of his head and a few more sounds muffled behind his hands.

As fun as it was to watch Will embody a worm, he did want to get him laughing eventually. Mike added his other hand to the mix, giving a few harsh tweaks to both knees.

“AH-“ That only made Will flip over onto his stomach, though. His shoulders shook slightly, like he was laughing quietly into the pillow, but Mike wouldn’t count anything he couldn’t hear.

“You asked for this. I didn’t realize I’d have to fight to keep you still.” But he was already following after Will, taking a seat on the back of his calves instead.

A loud groan sounded into the pillow before a smiley and flushed Will unburied his face, “I can’t help it!”

“Yeah, well.” Mike smiled, watching Will tuck his face back into the pillows as he trailed his short nails up the sides of shaking legs. “I think this’ll work pretty well.”

Fingers slowly crawled their way to the backs of Will’s knees before quickly skittering over the skin. It wasn’t long before the seal broke and muffled giggles floated their way to listening ears, like a song pleasantly drifting from the radio.

The sheets bunched together in Will’s tight grip, all he could do to stay sane now that Mike had him secured. The light scratching behind his knees was so much worse, a tingly feeling that was just a step away from unbearable.

Mike was in a bit of a trance, studying each little reaction to his movements. If he fluttered his fingers lightly over the knees, Will’s whole body seemed to jolt, but if he dragged his nails up and down Will’s legs, a low whine interrupted the muffled giggles. A squeeze at the knee made him yelp—not unlike a dog’s chew toy—while a single swirling finger behind both knees had his shoulders shaking, laughing into the pillows. It was sort of mesmerizing.

Even with a whole person on top of him, Will still finds a way to squirm, his feet wiggling nonstop behind where Mike sat. It did make him wonder, though. A curious hand reaching behind him, fingers curling gently into a knitted sock and-

“No!” A sudden shout startled him, hands pausing as he blinked at Will. “Dohon’t!”

One half of Will’s face was obscured by the pillow, quiet giggles still leaving him despite Mike not actively tickling him anymore.

“Oh, yeah? Why not?” He dug his nails into the arch of Will’s foot, laughing as the small touch made Will shriek.

“Just dohon’t! Mihihike!” Will’s feet were kicking again, with a little added urgency.

Mike’s grin might’ve been a little evil. “You didn’t write this spot on the chart you made. Is there a reason for that?”

Rather than answer, Will hid his face in pillows once again. Mike crawled off, deciding to leave him alone, if only for a moment.

“I guess it doesn’t matter. My theory is, you’re stupidly ticklish everywhere.” A muffled squeak was Will’s very intelligent rebuttal. Mike sat back against the headboard, staring at the sketchbook in his lap. “The next spot is your neck. How is that worse than knees?” He looked at the boy still lying face down on the bed, poking him in the back when he didn’t respond.

“Whahahat?” When he rolled over, Will was still giggling somehow. Still pink, and looking up at Mike with little crescents for eyes.

“Um-” Mike paused for a moment just to stare before shaking his head and moving on, “You- I’m gonna touch your neck now.” Why did he say it like that?

Surprisingly, Will shimmied a little closer, just watching Mike expectantly, “Mm-kay.”

Mike bit his lip softly before pushing himself up to squeeze behind Will, “Actually- It might be easier if I-” He adjusted Will gently, helping him sit up before carefully lowering soft brown hair onto his lap. “There. Better, right?”

Will looked up at him—how did his lashes look so long from this angle—and simply nodded, a happy little smile seemingly glued onto his face.

Ignoring the fluttery swoop in his chest, Mike reached for Will’s neck, not surprised when shaking shoulders immediately hiked up to block him.

“Ihihit looks lihike you’re gonna strangle mehe.” Will flinched, immediately descending back into giggly bliss when long fingers wormed their way to scribble at the sides of his neck.

Mike snorted, “Maybe I should. Could say you giggled to death. It’d be the perfect crime.”

Gently wiggling fingers pulled nonstop noise from their subject. Mostly light, airy laughter, but a good few squeaks and squeals too. Will was more twitchy than squirmy this time, kind of like he was being very gently electrocuted. His legs did not stop moving, though. It reminded Mike of some weird workout their PE teacher would have them do. Butterfly kicks or something.

At some point, Will grabbed Mike’s wrists, not really pulling him away, just loosely hanging on. Like that was the only way he could withstand such a gentle sensation.

Mike couldn’t say for sure that Will’s neck was worse than his knees, but he certainly seemed to enjoy it more. He’d have to remember to take advantage of this, taking a mental snapshot of Will’s gummy smile.

Slowing to a stop, Mike sat back and watched Will calm down. When his giggles slowed and his eyes reopened, Mike quirked a brow at him, “You done?”

He was genuinely asking, but Will seemed to think he was teasing, swatting Mike in the chest, “Leave me alone.”

“What- Will,” Mike tried not to laugh at Will’s disgruntled face, “What did I do?”

“What didn’t you do?” Well, now he’s just being difficult on purpose.

“You can’t even say it, can you?” Will turned away with a pout, and Mike grinned, leaning down to whisper in his ear, “You can’t say tickletickletickletickle-“

“Mihihihike!” Will shoved at Mike’s chest, jittery and uncoordinated. “Stahap!”

A perfect distraction to reach down to Will’s sides, the next stop on the list, and squeeze.

Will yelled, trying to roll over onto one side, but Mike didn’t let up, keeping his movements quick and sporadic. Just like when they were kids, having tickle fights on grassy playgrounds or dusty basements. Sides were the obvious choice for any of their friends, but especially Will, who always curled up into a helpless ball until he begged for it to be over.

Although he never actually did any begging, did he? Mike really needed to pay more attention—to life, in general, not just Will. Probably. Definitely. Maybe.

Either way, Will’s usual tactics were futile against his oldest friend. He was trapped between Mike’s legs with no real direction to turn to and still weakened by the prior attack.

“Still want me to leave you alone?” Mike smirked, “Or are you enjoying yourself again?”

“Shuhuhut up! Yohoure soho lahahame!” Will tried to seem unaffected. Little did he know Mike got to watch the tips of his ears turn pink.

Noodle-like arms uselessly chased after spidering fingers, a captivating dance that twirled around and around Will’s sensitive torso. That is, until slender hands leaped to a new stage, taking position before digging into shaking ribs.

The sudden switch-up shocked a loud snort out of Will, Mike laughing at him while he tried to hide his face in the fabric of Mike’s cargo pants.

“Mehehahahan! You’re MEAN!” Will could barely get the words out, fighting for his life under evil hands and a downright sinister grin.

“I’m only doing what you asked me to. What? You made all those drawings, now you can’t handle the real thing?”

“Sh-Shhhahahahaha!!” Will couldn’t even talk back to him. It was looking like Mike would be winning all of their future arguments from now on.

Will wasn’t even trying to cover himself anymore, completely melted under Mike’s hands that plucked away at the space between each of his ribs. Eyes squeezed shut by his wide-open smile.

Using two fingers on each hand, Mike tasered Will’s sides again, zeroing in just below the ribs. When Will screamed he stayed right there, pushing and pushing until-

“ST-STAHAHA- AAHHAHA!! STAHAP!”

Pulling away immediately, Mike stared wide-eyed and concerned at a still laughing Will. Arms wrapped around himself like the feeling was still there.

“Was that too much?” Mike’s hands hovered fretfully, “Oh shit, Will- Are you-”

“Ihihit’s fihihine! Ihi'm fine! Just- Dohon’t tohouch mehehe!” Shiny green eyes held his gaze for just a moment before they blinked shut again. A small reassurance.

Will eventually calmed down, taking slow, deep breaths. When he opened his eyes again, Mike smiled, only to frown in confusion when Will’s giggle fit started up again.

“What the hell?” Mike wasn’t sure if he should still be worried or offended. “Did I break you or something?”

“Nah.” Will sighed like he had just heard the funniest joke, “Your face is just dumb.” Okay, so, offended.

“Are you really in a position to be making fun of me right now?” An empty threat, really. Mike had no plans of continuing anything without Will’s okay.

Will only shrugged, though, a kind of dopey smile on his rosy cheeks.

It looked like they were both waiting for something, neither properly communicating what.

“So…” Mike looked around, eyebrows furrowed slightly, “Are you gonna move?”

Another shrug, “I’m working on it.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Might take a while. I don’t know, I’m kinda tired for some reason.”

“What am I supposed to do then?!”

A third shrug, accompanied by a barely withheld giggle. “Read a book, maybe?” And if Mike still didn’t understand what he wanted, Will oh-so-subtly looked over to where Mike left his sketchbook.

Mike sighed, picking it up with a small smile, “So demanding.” Will’s quiet, “Hey!” only made his smile widen.

“Okay.” Looking at the semi-filled pentagon, he found his next target, “Next you have, tummy.”

Will scrunched up his face, “Don’t say that.”

“What, tummy?” He nodded, and Mike threw up a hand, “You wrote it!”

“Yeah, when I was like- twelve.” Will rolled his eyes, trying not to smile again, “Grow up.”

“You know,” Mike threw down the notes, immediately poking wiggling fingers into Will’s stomach, “You’re less annoying when you're laughing. Maybe I’ll just keep you like this forever.”

But before Mike had even fully reached him, Will was already laughing, a combination of Mike’s reaction and the anticipation buzzing inside him.

This time around, Will was a little bit better prepared to keep his hands to himself, gripping onto Mike’s shirt just slightly over his head. Mike smirked, wondering how quickly he could get Will’s arms lowered.

He vibrated his fingers against squishy flesh, Will’s band tee of the day offering very little protection. Still, he wasn’t nearly as frazzled as he had been earlier, laughter fizzling out to more of a noisy giggling once the initial excitement wore off.

Mike kinda felt like he was giving a massage, squishing and squeezing, up and down. A very tickly massage. Will would probably love that actually. But at the moment it wasn’t what he was going for.

Impulsive and mildly frustrated, Mike made a decision, “I’m gonna lift your shirt.”

“Wha- Wahait! MIKE!”

Will’s shout didn’t even process in Mike’s mind, laser-focused on his personal goal. He shoved Will’s shirt just slightly, skittering his fingers over the sliver of exposed skin. Despite his protests, Will made no move to stop him, twisting from side to side as his giggles became a bit more frantic.

Whenever Mike scribbled his fingers over Will’s lower stomach he jerked away with a yelp, so he aimed there. Quick bursts of movement became slow and purposeful, using his nails to rake across the skin. He placed ten fingers down by Will’s hips, gently dragged up to just below the ribs, and repeated.

“Mihihikehe- Aabhahahaha!” Will’s whole body was shaking, hands somehow still clinging to Mike’s shirt. It honestly sounded a bit like he was crying, but his pink cheeks were perfectly dry, so Mike didn’t stop.

“Are you…speaking?” Mike laughed, “Can you even understand me?” Will, blearily nodded. “Good, cause I’m not done.”

The second his blunt nails scratched around Will’s belly button, wobbly arms shot down to cover it.

Mike’s eyes narrowed, “Move your hands.”

Will could only shake his head, waves of giggles trapped behind bitten lips.

“Will,” Mike tapped his fingers along Will’s lower stomach, “Move your hands.”

“Nohohohoho!” Not even a second passed, and the giggle fit bubbled out of Will, kicking uselessly at the light touch, “Stahap beheing weheheird!”

“I’m not being weird. You’re hiding something.” Mike laughed softly, feeling a little silly, but continuing anyway, “Will, it’s for science.”

Will threw his head back, hair brushing against Mike’s shirt, “Whahat the hehell ahahare you tahalking about?!”

Mike scoffed like it was obvious. “Figuring out all of your worst spots. That was the whole point.”

“Mihihike.” Will forced himself to take a deep breath, “You’re soho stupid.”

Mike’s jaw dropped, his annoyed face setting Will off again.

“Fine. It’s fine.” He shrugged, “Don’t move your hands. I’ll just tickle your sides again until you do.” Mike’s hands barely grazed Will’s sides, but it was enough to make him flinch, arms clenched tightly against himself.

“It really is your choice.” Mike hovered his hands in the air, fingers wiggling tauntingly.

Will seemed to be trying to sink into the mattress as his hands slowly lowered. Mike kind of liked just watching him squirm without even touching him at all, green eyes watching his every move with nervous excitement.

When Will was sufficiently defensive and giddy, he shot out a hand to lightly scribble along Will’s neck. Not expecting it, he yelped, shoulders scrunching and hands rushing to push Mike away. Of course, Mike quickly used his free hand to wiggle fingers around and inside Will’s belly button.

He practically screamed, trying to push Mike away again, but Mike was perfectly capable of keeping hold of both wrists with only one hand.

Mike slowed to gently scrape the sides of Will’s belly button with one fingernail, eyes widening as Will yelled so loud it probably echoed through the whole house. It was a good thing no one else was home, especially not Hopper. Ever since he and the Byers got a place together, Mike’s frequent presence was barely tolerated on a good day.

The same finger swirled around and around, until Will lost it, yanking his arms free at the same time he twisted harshly to one side, finally managing to curl into himself.

Of course, Mike was stubborn. Will knew that. So he really shouldn’t have been surprised when he felt a light skittering over the back of his neck.

“Will,” Mike leaned over the bundle of twitching limbs, “I think your chart was labeled wrong. It’s not your tummy that’s bad, it’s just your belly button.” He informed, purposefully using the word Will claimed not to like.

Will didn’t seem to notice. He didn’t seem aware of much of anything, actually. Outside of the few fingers still forcing incoherent babbling out of him. Will leaned as far away as he could from the feeling, pressing an open-mouth smile into Mike’s leg, and Mike let him go.

Quietly waiting for him to recover, Mike honestly still couldn’t believe Will liked this. It felt like a weird dream, the kind he’d have during a really bad fever as a kid. His best friend wants nothing more than to be tickled stupid, coming back for more each time he stops. And the weirdest part about it is that Mike liked it too.

Biting his lip, Mike hesitated, then carefully touched a hand to Will’s messy brown hair. At first, he flinched, startled out of his steadying breaths, but he eased into the touch just as quickly.

“Looks like you’re still alive,” Mike sighed, “Rats.”

Will chuckled, the soft sound strange after so much sunny laughter, “You thought you could get rid of me?”

Mike shrugged, smiling as Will slowly blinked his eyes open, “It was one of my theories.”

Then he was giggling all over again, rolling onto his back, “Mike! Stop!”

“I’m not doing anything!” He held up the hand that wasn’t mussing up Will’s hair.

“Stop theorizing about…about-”

“How ticklish you are?” Mike tilted his head.

“Yes! It’s weird!” Will covered his face with his hands, “Oh my god, I made those drawings so long ago. Why are you taking it so seriously?!”

Mike huffed, shaking his head, “You can’t say you didn’t have fun. And it’s good to know for next time.”

Will was quiet for a moment before peeking up at Mike through his fingers, “Next time?”

“Yeah? You thought I would find out my best friend likes being tickled and I would never make use of that information?” He grabbed one of Will’s hands, uncovering his face, “You’re going to be so sick of me.”

That smile was there again. That nervous little grin. “I’m already sick of you.”

“Good. That means I did a good job.”

Will groaned, tugging at his wrist still in Mike’s grasp, “I should push you out the window.”

“You’re just mad I know your secret.” Mike paused, “Why is it a secret anyway?”

Will spluttered, “B-Because! It’s embarrassing!”

“See, I still don’t really get why you’re embarrassed about it. Or why you like it all.”

Mike stared at Will, still mindlessly pushing through his hair. Will nibbled on his lip before sighing, always giving in to Mike at the slightest nudge.

“I don’t know. When we were kids, I just kinda thought it was fun?” He shrugged, “I knew I liked laughing and I liked being close to my friends and my family, so- It made sense, I guess.”

“So you like it because it’s fun?” Will nodded, but Mike was still confused, “What’s wrong with that?”

Quiet for a second, Will glanced between Mike’s patient expression above him and the sketchbook, still open atop his bed.

“It’s so stupid.” Will mumbled, looking away, “When I was, um, taken and then the year after, when the Mindflayer…you know.”

Mike trailed his thumb over the back of Will’s hand that he was still holding, pressing their palms together.

“It was like. My body wasn’t my own. And it was awful, and I just- I didn’t know how to handle it. But there was no way to forget what that felt like.” Will fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. Mike felt a bit guilty for making him talk about this now, but he carried on.

“I think- I got really fixated on…”

Mike smiled, “Being tickled.”

Will huffed softly, lips twitching, “Yeah. That. Because it’s kind of similar? I know that doesn’t make any sense.”

Mike shook his head, “It doesn’t have to make sense.”

“But it’s like. A nice feeling. Like I can’t move, and I’m not in control, but it’s okay because I know for sure that I’m safe.”

Will the Wise, pinned to an enchanted tree. Vines crawling under purple wizard robes. A smaller Will’s representation of the vines that kept him trapped in the upside down. The pieces were slowly clicking together.

“And when everything is too much.” Will took a deep breath, letting it out gently, “I can always ask for it to stop.”

“Will,” Mike said gently after a moment, “I’m sorry.”

Will looked at him again, a small smile appearing, “For what?”

“I don’t know.” He laced his fingers with Will’s, swaying their hands, “I feel like I should’ve known or something.”

Will shook his head, “I didn't want anyone to know about it. I mean, it helped me, but I also felt ashamed, I think. I didn’t want anyone to treat me like a baby, but I craved something so childish.”

“It’s not childish!” Mike defends, “It’s just- Stop making that face! It’s just like all the other stuff we liked as kids and still like now. Like video games and comic books! Maybe they’re technically for kids, but who cares?”

With a sigh, the skepticism slowly melted from Will’s face, “I guess…”

“Why was I in your drawing, then?” Mike knew it was probably time to change the subject, but he just had to know, “Why me specifically?”

Will looked away from him again, a sudden hint of pink coming back to his cheeks.

“Will!” He laughed, “How are you still embarrassed?”

“You already know the answer. Why do I have to say it?”

When Mike only blinked dumbly down at him, Will sighed dramatically, throwing his free arm over his face.

“You make me feel safe.” He mumbled. And, oh. Mike felt like a character in one of those dumb soap operas El and Will liked to watch together. Or like a children’s cartoon character, heart comically beating out of his chest. All warm, fuzzy, and gross. How could Will do this to him?

His face felt warm, biting the inside of his cheek gently, “I don’t think I knew that.”

“Well, you always have. It felt like you knew.” Now Will was trying to kill him.

Wanting to ignore the rapid thumping of his heart, he looked away for a distraction. “There’s still one spot left on your chart.”

A smile bloomed just below Will’s arm covering the rest of his face, “Absolutely not.”

“Will, come on!”

“I think I’d rather study for calculus.”

“You’re that tired?” He nodded, and Mike relented, finally moving away from being Will’s pillow, lying beside him instead.

“Well, your arms are definitely the worst anyway.” Mike smiled, poking Will’s cheek to get his attention, “Remember? You always used to scream so loud, and one of our moms would rush in thinking you died.”

It took a moment, but Will rolled onto his side as well, a tiny pout on his lips, “Yeah, and they’d tell you to leave me alone, but less than ten minutes later you’d do it again.”

“You liked it, though.”

“You didn’t know that!”

“Maybe I did.” He felt himself inching closer, like Will was drawing him in, “I didn’t really know, but maybe I could tell.”

Will smiled at him, something soft and sweet, “Yeah, maybe.”

Mike stared. His hands twitched. He wanted to reach out. To touch.

“Maybe you should take a nap.” He offered, “It’s still early, we can study later.”

Will chuckled, “Are you gonna watch me sleep?” His smile fell when Mike didn’t respond, “Mike, I was joking!”

“I wouldn’t mind.” What a weird thing to say. He was lucky Will only rolled his eyes.

“You’re so weird today.” A fond smile on pink lips, “Maybe Max was right when she called you co-dependent.” Will giggled at Mike’s offended face.

“Yeah- Well-” Mike felt caught somehow. His body didn’t seem to care, hand finally reaching towards Will, “What she doesn’t know can’t hurt me.”

Mike’s hand lay face up in the short distance between them, waiting, hoping. Will, of course, understood him and laced their fingers with a gentle squeeze.

“Don’t worry.” He whispered, shuffling closer to Mike this time, “I won’t tell her anything. We can keep our secrets.”