Mills

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Who am I?

You can call me Mills!

I use they/them

I am asexual and bi! (I think I'm just a long for the ride)

I am a part of the tickle community, if you're uncomfy with that, its not shameful to leave :)

Not all of my content will be tickle related.

I plan on posting headcannons, fics, or general little facts or things like that.

I do not do art, unfortunately.

I don't charge for anything, just request :)!

The tag for my writing is on all the fics I have (at least the ones I care about) and its "Mills knows how to write? 0-0" if you would like to take a look!

If you support dream, leave, and leave now.

Wilbur soot fans please leave.

Boundaries:

No NSFW, I am a minor and if you are creepy or post NSFW, I will block you.

No one over 25 please! I'm literally a sophomore in high-school so please keep that in mind

I am not comfortable with role-playing

You can request prompts or anything like that if you want, but if I am uncomfortable with it, can't do it, or just generally do not want to do your request I won't.

I do not do foot tickles

I will not do y/n or self insert stories

If you request, please don't rush me. I get easily overwhelmed

Fics may take awhile, I do not intend on overworking myself

Anything I forgot will be added later.

Fandoms:

About this, I will make my boundaries on certain fandoms clear.

Genshin impact - I will write for it, just don't ask for anything weird. I can do ships, but if I'm uncomfy with a ship, I won't write it. Please don't do child x adult things. I'll do stuff for Aether and Lumine as CHARACTERS, not as an x reader type thing.

mha - lll write for it. I will not do ships unless it is ADULTS ONLY. That means no bakudeku or anything like that.

dsmp - there are a couple people who used to be involved with it that I definitely still pay attention to, so if you're interested in anyone, you can ask and we'll see if I'm okay with it!

the owl house - I'll write for it as well as do ships, just don't be weird. I will not write anything involving odalia, belos/Phillip, or any of the head Witches (excluding Darius and raine).

red white and Royale blue - I won't really do anything with it, but I'd love to discuss it with people!

Hazbin Hotel - I'm not super interested in it anymore but im still somewhat knowledgeable with the plot and characters!

The Outsiders - Now I know its a book that not a lot of people on here have read but I love it so much! I don't think I'll really do ships except Canon relationships <3!

Epic The Musical - AHHHHHHH give. Literally anybody. Well, mostly everybody, but yknow, within reason!! I'm sorry but I also don't write for the gods! So so soooo sorry

K-pop Demon Hunters - I need this and I need to write for it. Especially Baby or Bobby.

stranger things - I swear. BYLER specifically but literally anything. Omg please

Project Hail Mary - I love this movie so much! I'm working on reading the book, so I'll have more context when I'm done with that! I've decided that I will write for it, so go right ahead and request :)

Posts and/or fics + indicators

Genshin Impact - I use ♡~~~♡~~~♡ as the seperator.

Genshin Masterlist! - You can find all of my Genshin fics here!

Dsmp - I use ♧~~~♧~~~♧ as the separator.

How they'd react

On The Road Again! - Switch! Tommy, Ranboo, Tubbo

RWRB - I use ◇~~~◇~~~◇ as the separator.

Luna & Alex HCs

HxH - I use ○~~~○~~~○ as the separator.

Jealous much? - lee!killua ler!gon

Epic - I use. ☆~~~☆~~~☆ as the separator.

Epic: The Musical Masterlist! - You can find all of my Epic fics here!

KPDH - I use ♪~~~♪~~~♪ as the separator.

Tickletober day seventeen! - Lee!Baby Ler!Romance and Abby

Tickletober day nineteen! - Switch!Mystery and Jinu Lee!Baby Ler!Romance

Stranger Things - I use ✪~~~✪~~~✪ as the separator.

Watermelon - Switch!Mike/Will

Request #1 - Lee!Mike Ler!Will

Drunk or Dumb? - Lee!Will Ler!Mike

Project Hail Mary - I use ⌂~~~⌂~~~⌂ as the separator.

Have Some Respect, Grace - Lee!Grace Ler!Ilyukhina and Yao

Tickletober 2025 List!

Anything else

My mind is blanking, so if there's anything else you want to know about, please ask!

I'll do non-tickle content, all you have to do is ask for either no tickles or tickles.

Said man raised an eyebrow at the cockiness. “Really? You’re going to say that to your commander?”

“I mean, it’s not like I’m wrong. From what I remember, it’s not a result of the coma,” he doubled down, further sealing his fate. Ilyukhina snorted and sat up.

Yao balked, making a face at the woman. “He can’t remember his name on his own, but he can remember the state of my hair before we left?”

“Ryland Grace, master of ragebait. Even with amnesia,” Olesya joked, finally bringing down her laughter. 

He immediately recognized the word, his students having used it to describe him many times. He shrugged slyly. 

“I shouldn’t be surprised, that’s exactly like you,” the captain confirmed. “You jerk.”

Grace smirked. “I’d rather be a jerk than balding.”

Ilyukhina barked out a cackle, pointing at her captain and managing to say, “Ohhhh shit! Thahat is rough, man!”

Yao lunged at the scientist, who shrieked and dropped to the floor against the wall. He landed next to Ryland on his knees, shoving his hands into his ribs and drilling. “This disrespect will not be tolerated, doctor.”

Grace yelped, grabbing at his hands with much more urgency than he would’ve back on Earth. “Wahait! What is thihis?”

Li-Jie reared back, retracting his hands in confusion. “Do you… not remember what tickling is?”

The bewildered face answered his question. 

“No fucking way!” The engineer threw in her two cents, jumping up and making her way over to the pair. “This is gold! We have to reteach him.”

A grin overcame both of their features, while a face of faux fear took over Ryland’s. He had a vague feeling of ‘run the fudge away’, but his own curiosity doomed him. “W-what? I mean- it sounds familiar but- AH! No!”

Olesya had sat next to him, poking his side experimentally. “I would hope it sounds familiar, this used to be Carl’s favorite thing to do.”

Grace shook his head while trying to inch away from her hands, which were threatening to grab his sides. Yao put a stop to this by planting himself on his other side, sending a hand into his neck to scribble. He got some giggles from the action. (see this post, third picture <3)

“Noho! Ihi’m juhust an amnesiac, cuhut me sohome slahack!”

“Oh, we have got a poet over here. I thought you majored in biology, not English?” Ilyukhina teased, grabbing one of his arms and pulling it over her shoulder and out of her way. She then clawed into his underarm, earning a short yell and cackling. 

“Thihis ihisn’t fahair! Cohome ohon! Wihill yohouhu at leheast explahain it first?”

Ilyukhina halted and nodded, which Yao took as a sign to do the same. “Okay, sure,” she started. “Tickling is defense mechanism – or at least that is how you described it – which evolved most likely from the need to identify when bugs or plants were touching you. Eventually, it just turned into something we do not need as much, so it is now more of a social action. A type of play. Got that?”

He nodded, signaling her to continue explaining. 

“Different types of touch can produce reactions from people who are ticklish, like you. You happen to be very bad, so very small touches make you laugh – like this!” She softly dragged her nails across his stomach, eliciting a bout of giggles and a snort. She kept going, having no more explaining to do. “However, I do not remember you having that reaction.”

Yao had one of his rare, soft smiles as he stared at his crew, resuming his scribbling on his neck. “You seem to be more sensitive now than before. Any theories on why, Dr. Grace?”

“Ihi aham NOHOT dohoing thihis wihith you!”

“But you are a scientist, no? What happened to your experiment brain?” Yao seemed to realize what he’d said immediately after he finished. He puffed out his cheeks and looked away, hoping neither of them had clocked it.

“Ahamnehesiaha! Yohouhu buhully!” Grace yelled, playfully whacking his arm with his free hand. Olesya leaned on his shoulder and joined him in laughing. 

Yao nodded, closing his eyes. “That was fair. Apologies, bad phrasing.” 

“Noho, thahat wahas SOHO ohon puhurpohose!”

“I can assure you it was not, but if you need this to fuel the victim mentality in this situation, be my guest.”

The engineer found this to be the funniest thing in the universe, and she certainly let them know this fact with the boisterous laughter that followed. “о боже,” she managed.

“WHAHAT? Thahat’s nohot whahat this ihis!” Grace squawked. “Whahat hahappened to mahatuhurity?”

“You tell me. I did not start this,” he said, trying to sound flat, but the amusement was not concealed well in his tone. He distracted him from it by pinching his hip – a well known, much worse spot.

Grace nearly screamed, his free hand shooting down to hold Yao’s. “WHY IHIS THAHAT WOHORSE?”

He snickered at the question. “Right, teaching. I do not know the exact science, but I’ll try my best,” he stated, going back to pinching despite Ryland trying to stop him. “Obviously, touching someone in certain places – do not make that weird, Olesya! – causes them to laugh. People have different places that they’re ticklish, like how Olseya’s sides are really bad-”

“Hey! You cannot mention me without mentioning you!”

He rolled his eyes and continued with an extreme amount of sass,  “Yes, of course. Like my knees. Happy now?”

She nodded smugly. “Yes.”

“Anyway, you just happen to be bad all over. But especially right here,” another pinch to his hips, “here,” a quick squeeze to the top of his kneecap, “and here,” a skitter over his back. 

“OHOKAHAY! IHI GEHET IHIT!” Grace hollered, giving up on fending off the captain in favor of hiding his face.

Ilyukhina beamed. “And now he hides his face. Everytime.”

“Like clockwork.”

Grace blushed. “HOHOW OHOFTEHEN DIHID THIHIS HAHAPPEN?” He paused to think about what he asked. “Doho nohot ahansweher thahat!”

“Often,” Yao replied, ignoring the second statement.

“Ihi shahid dohon’t!” Grace wheezed, shoving at his hand with more urgency. “Ohohokay! Ihit’s beehen ahawhihile, ehenohough!”

The other two backed off immediately. Olesya repositioned to give him a hug, which he reciprocated. “We are so doing that again. Just warning.”

Polites had a point. They’d been out since early morning sparring, courtesy of Odysseus, and he hadn’t taken a break since they started. As a result, Polites was extremely tired, his muscles were screaming at him to stop, and his lungs burnt with every breath of the chilly  late-morning air. 

Not only that, but they had plans to meet up with Eurylochus after they were done sparring. He would be expecting them soon.

“But- Poli, look. I need to be prepared. My father won’t be King forever, and I need to be ready for when it’s my turn.”

Polites tried to hold a glare, but melted almost immediately. His expression softened and he sighed before standing up. “Odysseus,” he walked over to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re already plenty prepared. I totally understand why you’re stressed, but you don’t need to be. I know you’re ready. If it would make you feel better, we can do one more round. But that’s it.”

Ody took a deep breath and nodded before picking up the wooden sword. “Only one?” He said with a teasing tone. “Why? Scared I’ll win again?”

The other rolled his eyes. “I’m not feeding into this.”

“Scaredy cat.”

In the blink of an eye, Polites disarmed Odysseus and stole the sword for himself, pointing it at him threateningly. “Nope.”

Odysseus grinned, kicking the hilt of the sword and knocking it out of Polites’ hands, sending it onto the grass. Polites dove for the sword, but Ody kicked it away before jumping to grab it himself. When he had it secured, he turned it towards Poli, who had moved to be kneeling. Ody laughed at the shocked expression on his face and his stance faltered.

“Come on!” He complained before lunging towards the Prince, grabbing him round the waist and pulling him to the ground. There was a yelp and a slight cackle and the sword went flying away from the pair. Ody wrapped his arms around his ribs and curled up.

Polites paused, afraid that he just hurt his friend. “Ody- I’m sorry, are you-” he reached out to touch his arm and the Prince flinched.

“Dohohon’t!”

Oh. 

Right.

“Don’t what, Ody?” He said, pretending to be clueless. He tried to grab him again, this time landing a squeeze on his hip. 

“Noho! Yohohuhu knohow whahat!” 

Polites smirked, grabbing at his hips again and relishing in the boyish shriek and frantic giggles. “Little giggly, huh? Afraid I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Yohohou dohoho, yohohou jeheherk!”

He gasped, finally pushing Ody onto his stomach and sitting on his back. “Jerk? That’s just rude.”

“C’mohohon! Pohoholihi! Wehe’re gohonna behe lahate!” He tried to reason, trying to ignore how he was willing to forget that fact earlier.

“Hypocrite!” Polites yelled, digging roughly into his back ribs as a punishment. “Why do you only care once you get something out of being on time? Rude.”

Ody screamed out, banging his fists on the grass. After his short scream, he gave into loud cackles. His legs kicked behind Poli, yet nothing happened to prevent the tickling.

“Wow, if I knew that all I had to do to get you to stop was tickle you, I would’ve done it  hours ago!” Polites teased, focusing more so on his upper ribs, since that seemed to get more of a reaction. 

He nearly jumped out of skin, yelping a quick ‘no!’ to hopefully gain sympathy from Polites. Obviously though, nothing he could say could get him sympathy. Which the other made extremely clear by trailing a finger down his spine, eliciting a squeal that was not very becoming of a royal.

Polites erupted into cackles at the noise, pausing his fingers to give him a break. “Wohohow, oh gohods, Ody! That wahas adorable!” He said, leaning forward on his back to give him a hug. “How did I not know about this? Have you been keeping secrets, Odysseus?”

“Noho!”

“So would you have told me eventually?”

He hesitated, folding his arms under his head to hide his red face and ears. “Noho…”

“So then it is a secret! You weren’t gonna tell me!”

He shook his head slightly, giggling into his forearms. He’d fully expected for Polites to start yelling at him – jokingly – and go back to tickling him. Which may or may not have been the reason for bringing his arms up, but that’s not the point. 

But that was not what happened. Instead, he sat up and crossed his arms, staring daggers into the back of Ody’s head. When a couple seconds too long passed, the prince briefly glanced back at his friend with a red face and muffled giggles.

“Whahat are you dohoing?” He asked.

Polites frowned. “Waiting.”

“Fohor what?”

“An apology,” he answered, poking his shoulder blade teasingly. “And maybe a rundown of any other spots I don’t know about.”

“What?! No way!” He yipped, hiding his face again.

“Then I guess we’re gonna be here awhile.”

He giggled out a whiny ‘no!’, kicking his legs slightly. 

Polites shrugged, despite the fact that his friend couldn’t see it. “You gotta say something, bud. Eurylochus will understand if we’re late because of this.”

“Fihine! Ihi’m sorry for nohot telling yohou!”

He raised his eyebrows, leaning forward slightly. “And?”

Odysseus mumbled out a response that the other couldn’t hear, which he was not satisfied with. 

“Say it with your chest, your highness.”

“Thahat’s nohot thehe rihight teherm!” He yelled before giving in and fully answering the demand. “Thihihighs…”

Polites visibly lit up, reaching behind him to pinch the back of his thigh, eliciting a genuine scream and a very violent jolt.

“Ohoh my stahars, Ody! You’re so ticklish!”

“Noho!”

He snickered, skittering over his thigh. “What do you mean ‘no’? You’re scream-laughing because I’m barely tickling your leg!” 

“IHIT’S NOHOT BAHARELY!! QUHUIHIT!”

Polites shook his head. “You’re so dramatic!”

He then let his hand wander to the back of Ody’s knee, which earned him a snort and a very quick kick. “You snort? Why have you been keeping so much from your best friend?” 

“IHIH’VE NAHA *snrk* POHOHOLIHI!” 

“I mean, I guess you should’ve stopped training when I asked…”

Okay, that was enough. Odysseus was his superior and he was getting way too cocky. And yeah, he maybe could just ask him to stop, but that’s no fun. So, he unfolded his arms and pushed up. Polites immediately stopped tickling to try and steady himself, bewildered at the fact he could do a push up with the younger on his back.

“Woah! Ody, no!”

He flipped over, resulting in Polites being on the floor with Ody laying on top of him on his back. Polites groaned at the sudden force, trying to shove the other off of him. This only worked in his favor, because he rolled off of Poli to turn around before quickly climbing back onto his legs to get him down. He grabbed his sides and squeezed a couple times, but it backfired when his arms shot out and latched onto his ribs.

“Gehehet ohoff ohof mehe!” Polites giggled, trying to pull the prince to the side. But damn it he was solid, and he couldn’t get him to move. “Stohop wohorking ohout, thihis ihisn’t fahair!”

“Noho! Yohouhu gohot mehe fihirst! Ihit’s ohonly fahair!” Ody gave up on tickling him so that he could grab his arms and pull them away from his torso, only to shove his wrists to the grass and pin them with his knees. 

“Cohould you hahave done that this entihire time?” Polites complained, tugging lightly on his arms. 

Odysseus ignored the question, clawing at Poli’s stomach. “All I wanted was one more match, but you just had to tickle me. Truly, this is your own fault.”

He shook his head and fell into loud, boyish yelps and squeaks, not really quite laughing yet. “No! Come on, O-ohody!”

“Hm… no! Why aren’t you laughing yet?” He questioned, moving to pinch his hips and getting a stronger reaction. Polites bucked and started actually laughing. Unlike Ody, he didn’t hide his face or muffle his laughter, nor did he even make a fake attempt to get away.

“Ohohody! Wehe’re gohonna be lahate! Thahat’s the whohole reheason Ihi staharted thihis!”

“Yes, but you started this, so I’ve gotta finish it. Especially since you attacked the prince,” he rationalized. They were most definitely late for meeting Eurylochus, but to be fair, it was partially not his fault. They could have just done one more match, they would’ve been done and – at the very least – on their way. But nooooo.

“Noho, lihike wehe hahave to lehehEAHAVE NOHOW! OHOHDY NOHO!” His laughter pitched up at the end due to one of Odysseus’ hands moving to spider his knee.

“Should’ve thought of that earlier then, hu-HEY!” He squawked at someone grabbing him under his arms and pulling him off of Polites and pulling him against their chest. “Let go!”

Polites sat up slowly, looking up at his ‘savior’ thankfully. “Thahanks, Eheuhury! I could’ve hahandled it thohough!”

Eurylochus shrugged, softly squeezing Ody and getting a yelp and a few titters. “Yeah, well, you were late for the 3rd time this week. So I came to get you. Though, it’s hard to be upset when this is what you were doing.”

“Ohokahay! Wehe gehet ihit! Lehet goho!”

Eurylochus listened and dropped him, and he ended up sagging down in his lap. “Are you both okay now? I would still like to hang out, since you both were – uh, sparring (?) – without me.”

Polites raised his eyebrows at the sad tone. “Awe, is someone jealous?”

Odysseus immediately caught on to his implications, leaning his head back to look at their friend. “Do we need to include you before we leave?”

“What? I never said-!” He paused, suddenly recognizing the grin on the youngest’s face. “No guys-”

Are you really late if the person you were supposed to meet was with you?

Ody and Poli would say ‘no’.

So he spent most of the night ignoring the friend group clustered around the pool table in the corner. Instead, he opted to get way too drunk and flirt with some people for funsies. But alas, you can’t avoid certain situations forever.

“Holy shit, Mike? Is that you?” Will Byers said in astonishment, gently touching his shoulder to get his attention.

Mike turned around and smiled too wide, eyes half-lidded and already slurring over words he didn’t speak yet. “Willlll~!” He started, throwing a friendly arm over his shoulder. “How ya- hic -been, dude?”

Will stepped back, not expecting his childhood best friend to be blackout drunk at 11:30pm. “Um, I’ve been good. Are you – uh – doing okay?”

“Yessss! I’ve been so -hic- great!” He stumbled, holding Will’s arm for support. “God, the drinks here are so good! You gotta get ‘em!”

“Mike, how much liquor have you had tonight?”

He stopped for a second, holding up his hands and counting his fingers. “Um. More than I’ve counted,” he admitted, dissolving into drunken giggles.

“Maybe you should stop,” Will suggested, grabbing him by the shoulders when he almost fell once more. “How are you gonna get home tonight?”

“I… don’t know. I’ll find a way, don’t worry Byersss~!”

Will took a deep breath and forced Mike to look at him. “Do you wanna just crash with me tonight? I haven’t had any drinks and I live close.”

Mike lit up and haphazardly hugged Will. “Yes~! It’s been so long since we’ve had a sleepover…” He trailed off and stared at Will expectantly. “Your eyes are prettyyy.”

Will looked taken aback, not expecting the random compliment that, two years prior, would’ve sent him into a frenzy. “Thank…you?”

“Take a compliment, Will,” he joked, sloppily poking his side a few times and giggling when he jumped away with a yelp. “You’re still the same,” he said through hiccups. 

Will blushed, grabbing Mike’s hands and holding them away from his torso. “Right. Let’s leave, Mike.”

Mike continued laughing as Will pulled him towards the door, apparently finding Will’s concern very funny. He snickered as he turned Will towards him, “You’re so cute when you’re mad~!”

“What?” 

Sober Mike never would have been so bold, even as a joke. So it was quite jarring when the ‘stoic’ (which everyone knows he isn’t, but he tries his best) boy started showering him with compliments.

And, being fully honest, Mike didn’t know why. Or at least that's what he tried to think.

Yes, he was absolutely hammered, so his thoughts were not to be trusted. However, he couldn’t help but wander back to his childhood. More specifically the way he felt and acted around Will.

He’d always had a special soft spot for him, even before everything happened in Hawkins. People always told him that he was nicer to Will, had a softer voice, playfully whacked him much lighter than any of their friends would. He didn’t understand what they meant because it was just a thing he always did subconsciously. He never considered his natural kindness to Will could ever be more than a friendly thing. But here, in his mixed-alcohol drunken mindstate, it suddenly made sense that the pit in his stomach when he went around Will meant more than that.

And, apparently, the liquor took over his brain and mouth, causing him to say things he normally would not. The small part of his brain that was still functioning cringed every time he said something, but the alcohol chose to ignore it. So he continued to giggle as Will stared at him in astonishment. 

“Okay, have you been responsibly drinking at all tonight?” Will questioned, gingerly grabbing his wrist and finally getting him out the door. 

“Yesssss~! I had been doing great, but you make me-” He hiccuped and cut himself off before bursting into laughter again.

Will winced and opened the passenger door to his car to get Mike in. “Okay, hun, we need to go.”

Mike lit up. “Hun? Oooooo~ forward, don’t ‘cha think?”

The younger rolled his eyes and internally called him a hypocrite. “Whatever you say, I guess.” 

Will gets in on the driver side, only to be met with wiggling fingers at his ribs before he could even get his seatbelt on. “Mihihike! Nohot whihile drihiving!”

“You’re not driving yet~!” He justified, leaning forward to reach his other side before Will pushed him away.

“Gehet your seatbelt on, you jerk!” He joked, finally clicking his own seatbelt and starting the car.

Mike listened, figuring that it wasn’t safe to continue while he was driving. “Fiiiiiiine.”

They drove mostly in silence to Will’s apartment. Will turned up the radio and blushed while staring at the road, and Mike smirked while staring at Will. Once the car stopped and was safely in park, Mike fake lunged at Will. And, despite both of their seatbelts still being on, he flinched hard and fell into giggles.

“Mihihike! Enohough!”

“I’m not doing any -hic- thing! That’s ahall you!” He pouted, snickering at the groan Will let out. 

Will playfully shoved his shoulder. “Dude, I haven’t seen you in so long, and the first thing you do is bully me. You need to go to bed and drink electrolytes, your hangover is going to be horrible.”

“Shhhh that’s tomorrow 's problem…” Mike protested, leaning back in his seat. Will shook his head and got out to help Mike into his apartment. He fought with the seatbelt for a second before finally pulling the other out of the car, carefully walking into the building.

Will grabbed a hold of Mike’s hand and led him to the door of his apartment, fiddling with his keys for a second before opening the door and helping the drunk man inside. He stumbled in the door and plopped on the couch, laughing hysterically. 

The younger blinked at the other’s clumsiness, shutting the door in disbelief and making his way to the kitchen to grab him water. He finished adding the electrolyte packet and made his way back to the living area, placing the cup on the side table. Mike was sat in the far corner giggling to himself. 

“What’s so funny?”

“Yohouhu!”

Will looked offended and gasped at him. “Woah, what?”

“You’re just reheally cute when you’re laughing. It’s funny.”

Will didn’t have time to process before he was lunged at and pinned to the couch. Which really didn’t make sense because Mike was drunk as hell. “Mike! Nohot agahain!”

Mike sloppily gripped his sides and squeezed sporadically, laughing maniacally at the giggly shriek that followed. Will’s hands shot down to grab his wrists, not doing anything about the tickling though.

His laughter pitched when Mike trailed his fingers up to his ribs, dangerously close to a spot they both knew would kill Will. His eyes widened before slamming shut, and he bucked his hips. “MIHIKE!”

“Whahat? Too close to your weak spot~?”

Will flushed, why was he being so teasy? “Noho! Nohot truhue!”

Mike snorted – which normally would’ve been embarrassing for him, but being under the influence really changed his confidence. “Nohot true? Will, you used to scream! Jonathan thought you were dying so many times!”

And suddenly he became more red. How is it that even when he’s blackout drunk, Mike can still remember enough purely to embarrass him. Insane, truly. 

“Awe~, you’re so red!”

Will bucked again, halfheartedly shoving at his hands. Being fully honest, he didn’t care that things had gone this way. Not that his college friends didn’t satisfy this want of his – unknowingly, because that's extremely embarrassing to him, but regardless – but it just wasn’t the same. It wasn’t Mike. And most times, that’s what he craved. Which was ridiculous considering how he’d acted after Will, well, you know.

Mike, on the other hand, was the happiest he’d been in a long time. He’d really missed his old friends, and all the regular activities they’d partake in. Especially this kind of playfulness. He’d missed tickling Will to shreds, and annoying Dustin with soft scribbles to the back of his neck, and ragebaiting Lucas into tickling someone in the group (usually him or Will) because it was funny. Mostly he’d missed Will, but that wasn’t for him to think about right now. 

Instead, his job was to figure out how to drag Will’s laughter out for as long as possible.

“Your laugh is soooo cute, Will! Cuter than I remember, honestly~.”

He withdrew one hand from Mike’s wrist to cover his face. “Shuhut uhup!”

“That’s not very nice, Byers,” Mike tried for a frown, but the alcohol had other plans. He ignored the painfully obvious smile through his fake anger, inching his hands up a rib as a threat. Will squeaked in response, not doing anything to stop it.

Mike took the hint and shot his hands up to his underarms, relishing in the scream that came of it. His judgement must not have been too bad, because Will was seemingly having the time of his life. At the very least, he was acting the same way he did when he was twelve, when Mike knew without a doubt that he didn’t mind this kind of play. 

The shrieking laughter that followed the thought may have briefly made him second guess himself. “Woah, are you okay?” He asked with concern, pulling his arms back.

Will took a second to breathe before looking at him with a dopey smile. “Just out of practice, I guess. Been awhile since I’ve had the Mike Wheeler after me.”

Mike smirked sloppily. “Out of practice? Shocking.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, you’re the most ticklish person I know, who wouldn’t take advantage of that all the time?”

He gaped at him in faux offence. “That’s so not true!”

“It so is!”

“Nuh uh! You were worse than me!”

Mike furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. “You’re remembering wrong.”

“You’re the drunk one here!” He yelped, tweaking Mike’s rib and getting a very exaggerated reaction. 

“Alright, enough! I’d rather it if you were laughing right now,” he said, jumping back into kneading his hips and getting an aggressive buck along with bubbly giggles. “Much better.”

“Nohoho ihit’s nohot!” Will barked out, not doing much to stop it despite his protesting. 

Which Mike did not let go unnoticed. “I swear, you’re all bark and no bite. You have just as much of a problem with it now as you did when you asked me to do this.”

Will flared a bright red, opting to cover his face rather than fight him off. 

“And now you’re just proving my point,” he teased, giggling along with his friend.

“Ohohokay! OHOKAHAY! Ehenohough! Stohop!”

Mike listened immediately, knowing that’s exactly what made this so safe for Will when they were younger. “Wow, okay, you weren’t lying. You are really out of practice.”

“Ihi knohow! Shuhut uhup!”

“Ugh, how can someone so cute be so mean~?” He slurred, sending a quick poke to his stomach and climbing off of him. He turned to grab his water and finished it off. He had to admit, the water was helping with his sobriety. But he was going to keep using his drinking as an excuse to speak his mind. If it went wrong, he could just later claim he didn’t remember, that he was too drunk to be taken seriously.

Will yawned, choosing to ignore the tease. “You need more water.”

“Ever the worrier, huh?”

He rolled his eyes, grabbing the cup and walking to the kitchen. He made another water for Mike and grabbed a glass for himself. He then went back to the couch and handed the cup to Mike again before taking a sip of his own water and putting it down on the side table.

When he looked up, Mike had pivoted towards Will, sitting crisscross like a preschooler.

“You doing okay over there?” he asked. Mike was staring at Will with an enamored look from his spot. 

“Can I.. help you?”

“I should’ve appreciated you more,” Mike cheesed, somehow still grinning widely at his friend. He was just hoping he had enough alcohol to brush this off later. Maybe not even remember it.

Will nearly jumped out of his skin. “Mike-!” He stopped himself mid-freakout to point at the second water and make a confused face. “Drink. You’re not thinking straight.” pun intended fight me

“Clearly I’ve already drank,” Mike sassed, grabbing the water anyway and downing half of it in one go.

Will raised his eyebrows and sat down. “Clearly. Seriously though, are you okay? I didn’t peg you as an alcoholic.”

Mike’s eyes glossed over and Will immediately felt bad for joking around, but Mike spoke before he could. “‘M not usually. Just haven’t seen you in awhile and I- I was scared, man.”

“Oh.” Oh. He hadn’t realized why Mike had stopped reaching out. Were they not cool after they graduated? Had he ruined their friendship by coming out? And making it obvious that Mike was who he’d liked? 

Mike seemed to realize what he said and jumped to clarify. “I’m sorry, that’s stupid. I’m not scared of you, I swear. I guess I’ve just been thinking about… well us, and I dunno. You know how I get.”

Okay, fair. But still- “What about us?” He blurted out before he could think about it. 

Mike followed in suit, any self-control out the window already. “How I felt about you. I know it’s useless to think about now, but I can’t help but think I was wrong. A lot.” He shrugged, taking a sip of the water to not have to look at the other. 

“...What do you mean?” He wished for some of Jonathan's weed. 

Mike wasn’t drunk enough for this. “I dunno. I’m sure it’s stupid, I don’t know.”

“It’s not, please?” His mind was racing. Did he hate him?

He hesitated for a second, the stress sobering him up a little – although this was much to his dismay. The water had already done too much for his liking. “I think.. We felt similar ways.”

Will stayed silent. Neither of them had addressed Will’s feelings for Mike. They’d barely talked about him being gay, and even then it was clearly a difficult topic for Mike. So that must’ve been a hard pill to swallow, assuming he understood what he was implying when he came out.

“Are you upset?”

“Oh no! No! Just…uh shocked? Confused? Could you.. Clarify?”

Mike took a deep breath. “Will I really fucking liked you.”

Will’s eyes snapped open and he fixed his posture. 

“I was just stupid. Everyone was pressuring me and saying that I liked El, like, to the point where I felt like I had to date her. And I really thought that was right, you know? I guess I was wrong. Will, I didn’t love her. I wasn’t what she needed and I didn’t understand her. I couldn’t even tell her that when-” He choked up, quickly scrubbing away a stray tear. “When she was dying. I just couldn’t-”

He cut himself off, taking a deep breath and trying to move on. But Will stopped him for a second, on the verge of tears. “Mike please don’t-!”

Mike held up a hand to tell him to wait. “Just- please let me finish. This is the only time I can say this. Will, you’ve met my parents. You know how they are. They’re the whole reason Nancy developed drinking problems. I mean, hell, look at me! I’m blackout drunk sitting in your house after avoiding you for years, Will. They hated anything different, or not what they thought was normal. Which is stupid because, goddammit, how can you say that while living in Hawkins? Or while emotionally neglecting your children? Or, even worse, when your son is obviously gay and in love with- well, with you.”

“Mike, I- is that true?”

Mike hesitated. “Yes.”

Will blinked and Mike swore he saw tear marks on his cheeks, which made his heart burn. He should’ve stayed quiet. “Mike, you’re drunk. Maybe it would be different if you were sober, but- Dude I haven’t seen you in years. Why all of the sudden would you be telling me this? Why not when I came out in sophomore year? Why would you wait so long? It’s just hard to believe.”

He feared this would happen. And now he was stuck with a choice; admit that he’s not as drunk as he’s been letting on, or just drop it and pretend to not remember tomorrow. His mind was made up before he’d even confessed, though. “What do I have to do or say to make you believe me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe answer me a few questions?”

“Of course!”

Will breathed, shoving down any doubt he had. “Why didn’t you say anything when I came out?”

Right. “I was scared. I was still dating El- Jane. I didn’t think it would be okay to do.”

“Did you…know? That I was talking about you?”

He almost laughed. It’s not like he was subtle about it. “I’m not that dense, Byers. Of course I knew. I knew before you came out. I just… I dunno, didn’t know what to do about it. I’m sorry for being a dick about that.”

He shook his head and flipped him off. “Wait, for how long?”

“The painting,” he answered cheekily. He was glad a conversation as serious as this was taking a playful turn. He wasn’t sure he could handle it otherwise. 

“What? How?!” 

“Will, oh my god. Jane wrote to me almost every day, she talked about you a lot. She told me you were working on a painting, and that she thought it was for someone you liked. I know she didn’t commission that painting.”

Will gaped at him once again. “You’re joking! I was so proud of that cover up!”

“I’m not stupid, man.”

“Okay, sure,” he teased, shoving him playfully. “Why didn’t you say something though? If you knew? Y’know, like, why didn’t you reject me?”

Mike groaned. “Dude, why would I reject you? Besides, I was kinda hoping you’d tell me yourself. Say it with your chest. I realize now that was stupid, but 15 year old me thought it was the better option.”

“God, you are stupid! Why would I tell you? You were dating my sister!”

He dropped his head to his hands and mumbled a response. “I know, I know. I’m sorry.”

Will laughed at him before his face hardened slightly. “Are you really being serious?”

“I don’t have a reason to lie now.”

He stared at him intently, seemingly trying to work up the nerve to ask something. “Do you- still, like, um-?”

“Dammit, Will-!” He rushed out, scooting over to kiss Will, who initially jumped but quickly relaxed and hugged around Mike’s neck.

When they finally backed away from each other, Mike smirked teasingly at Will.  “And I’m the stupid one?”

Will shoved him down on the couch and climbed on top of him. “Oh shut up!” He joked, digging into his sides.