Chapter Text
If you told Mike just a year ago that he’d be in Los Angeles studying English and literature at USC of all places, the first thing he’d probably ask you is how he even managed to get in.
Life works in mysterious ways and fortunately the government compensated all of them with free scholarships and rent fees to any place to carry out their tertiary education or start out their lives for the next six years only. All they had to do was keep their mouths shut about everything and they’d continue to receive the financial support. It was a great deal. Mike wasn’t complaining. It’s not like he was exactly keen on airing out their dirty laundry anyway or rehashing that intense trauma with anybody ever.
After a long time spent deciding, Mike settled with LA. The creative arts department and sports vicinity there were praised enormously and it would give him an opportunity to be with Will. And Lucas, Max and Jane of course. Dustin didn’t waste the chance he was given and picked MIT within a heartbeat. He probably would have managed to get in anyway. They were all proud of him and the fact that he so vividly knew what he wanted since he was little. The rest of them decided on USC together. Jane wasn’t going for college though. More so just for the experience of living in the big city. That was that. Everything seemed to be getting back to normal in Mike’s life, or at least what he thought normal looked like.
They finally got to live life like people their age. They went out and partied (which Mike wasn’t the biggest fan of). They ate crappy meals, they got minimum wage jobs. They even played DnD sometimes during game nights. Sometimes Mike did think about Hawkins. He got dark thoughts. He tried to remind himself of the life he was currently living and most of the times, it worked.
His favourite new activity they did was go to the beach every so often. Hawkins wasn’t exactly know for its vast and beautiful beaches. It was a small town with only a few communal pools. Having beach days in hot June weather wasn’t on the roster of activities. Now, living in a beautiful and beach prevalent city like LA, there was no reason not to. Mike kind of dispised it at first because it meant he had to wear swim trunks and expose his pale lanky frame.
That wasn’t something he particularly enjoyed, especially when every other guy had an amazing tan and solid body. It did however mean he got to see Will shirtless in a higher frequency and more casual manner. For reasons Mike didn’t want to think too deeply about, that thought excited him. It was a fun life he started to live and he finally began healing his own outlook on life and his relationships with other people. He did get the occasional panic or PTSD attack but it was all in a day’s work for him.
Mike and Will ended up sharing a room which, Mike didn’t particularly hate. Far from it. He was kind of ecstatic. It was fun having a sort of endless sleepover with his childhood best friend. It was the kind of thing he always dreamed about. He and Will would spend hours just talking about all the things in the world. It made Mike feel extremely warm and fuzzy everytime he would hear Will’s deep and raspy voice calm in the dead of the night. Sometimes, when either he or Will got nightmares, they’d share a bed. Sometimes they would even cuddle. They never brought it up ever the next day but Mike remembers all the time.
The only problem came when Will started changing. It was kind of gradual at first but then it became like whiplash. Mike wasn’t dumb, he didn’t expect Will, or any of them for that matter, to stay the same. He wished they would, but he knew change was an essential part of growing up. One that he wasn’t very fond of.
The change Will went through was one Mike never saw for his best friend, he’ll tell you that much. All of a sudden, he got a gym membership. And okay, whatever, Mike didn’t care that much. It was somewhat in those days to be physically fit and have muscles. He and Lucas would hit the gym together every other day. Mike felt left out and tried to join them once.
“Dude, you’re doing it totally wrong.” Lucas looked at him in disappointment as he crossed his arms. “I’m trying my best.” Mike grunted out as he lifted the weight again, a sheen of sweat trailing down his face. “Maybe try, like, spreading your legs apart a bit more.” Will said walking over to him and holding his hips, moving them apart. Mike gasped at the sudden pressure. “Yeah, alright.” Will said holding Mike’s hips to help steady him. He felt that familiar warm feeling in his abdomen, just like every time Will would ask Mike for help to put sun screen on his back at the beach.
“Okay, okay. I think I got it.” Mike breathed out signalling for Will to let him go because he wasn’t able to concentrate on a single thing with the placement of Will’s warm and strong grip. It’s safe to say Mike hasn’t made their acquaintance to the gym any time after that.
Mike noticed that Will evidently began to bulk up a bit. Not in an unbearable body builder fashion, but in a way that was enough that you could tell the difference. His biceps were now almost 2 times larger when he clenched his arms and his chest was way more defined than before. His calf’s were also noticeably bigger. Mike never took Will for the kind of guy who would care about muscles or fitness. He was always a small and scrawny kid, never really had much of anything on him. Mike felt a little solidarity in knowing that he may have issues with gaining weight, but at least he had someone along side with him.
That changed incredulously over the course of the first few months in LA and things just never turned back.
For some reason, this new attractive and tan body Will had going on made it harder for Mike to live with him. Harder in the sense that every time he saw Will changing shirts and spotted a glimpse of his rack of abs, or every time Will carried in something heavy and he saw the flexing of his biceps, Mike could only imagine those arms on him, wrapping him tightly into a kiss and guiding they’re bodies further into one another. He usually stopped it there but it got harder and harder each day because Will just got hotter and hotter.
If that wasn’t hard enough already, Will got a cursive tattoo on pelvic bone, really low on his hips that looked like the kiss of an angel with the beauty it added to his now deep v-lines. He went in for another tattoo, much bigger and more artistic, on the sleeve of his arm this time. “I actually drew it myself.” Mike remembered Will saying and he wanted to roll his eyes because, if the tattoo wasn’t hot enough, he just had to make it hotter.
Then, like a big cherry on top and one last big ‘fuck you’ to Mike’s self control, he got a shaggy mullet. Mike was just getting used his side part and swoop thing going on and then he changed it to something sexier.
He also persistently wore this key necklace that Hopper handed to him and Jane before they left. It was some sort of sappy family symbolic bullshit that Mike would never say out loud but he actually found endearing.
Beach trips became sort of a nightmare for him. It kind of reminded him of the earlier days when he was scared of them but now it’s for a completely different reason.
Will was now surrounded by different women and men. He barely spent time with them during the beach hang unless they were actively doing something all together. Mike scowled as Will sat far away and a guy with blonde curly hair, ocean blue eyes and the perfect tan spread sunscreen all over Will’s back, smiling brightly as he did.
“Looks like somebody’s been replaced.” Jane said jokingly from beside him. His jaw clenched. “It’s about time he finally flirted and let people flirt back. That guy has been eyeing him for like 2 weeks now.” Max added as she spat out the seed of a cherry she’d been eating. “I wouldn’t go as far as to call it flirting. I mean, he just applying lotion on Will’s back. I used to do that.” Mike defended. “Yeah but it’s like, totally different now.” Lucas said as he pulled Max into his laps. “Totally. You and Will are friends so obviously it means nothing when you do it. When he asks that cute blonde guy to do it however, it means everything.” Max pops another cherry into her mouth.
Mike scowled once more. ‘It didn’t feel like nothing to me.’ He wanted to comment but saved it in his own embarrassing thoughts. “I’m happy for the guy. He deserves some love after all that shit we went through.” Lucas said as he lay his head on Max’s shoulder. “Yes. He seems happier these days. ” Jane agreed. Mike felt a pang of something ugly flash in his chest as he watched the blonde man message Will’s bicep and laugh sweetly. “Poser.” Mike let out a breath.
“What was that?” Jane asked. “I’m calling him a poser. The blonde guy. He doesn’t even know what Will is really like.” Mike lamented. “Yeah, so?” Max asked. “So, it doesn’t even count.” He turns onto his stomach. “No, I’m pretty sure it counts.” Lucas responded as Will approached.
“What are we talking about?” Will asked as he sat down on the sand. His chest was exposed as usual and his swim trunks were just low enough to expose his tattoo. “Mike was calling your new boyfriend a ‘poser’.” Jane told him. “Why?” Will scoffed choosing not to address whether the man really was his boyfriend.
“Because! He doesn’t really know you. I mean, now that you’re hot or whatever, everybody is all over you, but they wouldn’t be acting the same if they met you like a year ago.” Mike complained and Lucas raised a questionable brow. “Wow, real confidence booster.” Will replied monotonously. Mike winced and shut his eyes, only then realising how bad that sounded. “That came out wrong. Bottom line is that, they don’t know the real you.” Mike tried to amend.
“Yeah, so? This is all for fun anyway. Loosen up Micheal. Since when do you care about traditional standards?” Will asked smirking. The new little naughty smirk he developed over the past few months. It was incredibly annoying and all Mike wanted to do was kiss it off his stupid pretty face. That, he wouldn’t even admit to himself.
A few days later while Mike and Will were doing their usual shift ending at 7pm because of course they worked at the same place, the door rand open. Mike wanted to groan. It was 6:30pm, a few minutes before closing up and he hated serving people close to closing time because he really just wanted to leave that place as soon as possible.
He put on his usual customer service smile though as he looked up from the counter he was wiping. He saw a familiar man with blonde curly hair and blue eyes staring right back at him. “Welcome to the taste cafe, how may I help you?” He said in the most delightful tone he could fathom at the moment. “Hi.” The man replied in a sweet and smooth tone. “Is Will here?” He continued. “Umm, yeah. He’s in the back.” Mike replied. “Well, do you mind calling him up for me?” The man asked.
Mike forced a smile. “Not at all.” He replied as he turned around and walked towards the general area. “Will! Somebody’s here for you!” He exclaimed. After a few moments, Will came out. His hands were covered in flour and his hair was slightly sticking to his forehead.
“Oh, hey.” Will said a smile appearing on his face. The man’s face equally brightened. “Hi babe.” He replied as Will crossed over to hug him. The man was only slightly shorter than Will as he looked up at him with a smile as bright as the sun. “Did I catch you at the wrong time?” He asked in a sultry tone. “No, not at all. I was just finishing up with the final checks of the day. It’s almost time to close up anyway.” Will replied. They whispered more things into each other’s ears and giggled at whatever they were talking about.
Mike pretended not to care as he continued to wipe down the counters but deep down, he could feel a burning sizzling jealousy rise up to his throat. It must have translated to his face as the man’s mutters to Will, “is he safe?”
“Oh, don’t worry. That’s my best friend. He knows I’m gay.” Will responds and something about that sentence makes Mike want to internally cringe. “Oh, by the way, Mike this is Tom, Tom, that’s Mike.” Will introduces them. “Hi.” Tom says to him, leaning into Will’s body. “Hello.” He tries for it to sound as nice as possible.
“Hey, so, sorry but me and Tom have like, plans. I hope you don’t mind closing up?” Will asks him with a pleasing look in his eyes. Mike wants to be the jealous prick he is and say he does mind but honestly, when has he ever been good at denying Will anything? “Sure. Go have fun.” Mike replies. “Thanks man. I’ll return the favour.” Will assured before the two walked out.
Mike was left alone in the cafe. He finished wiping the surfaces and turned the sign to show ‘closed’ as he went out back and did the rest of the checks and balances. He was covered in flour and his hands ached as he carried the heavy bags. Will was better equipped for this job. After a longer time taken than necessary, he completed the job and cleaned himself off the best he could.
He passed by Lucas’ dorm because he didn’t really want to go to bed just yet. “Hey man. What’s up?” Lucas asked as he entered the room. “Where are you going?” He asked seeing Lucas all dressed up. “Party up north. Wanna come?”
The music was too loud for Mike’s liking and the kaleidoscope lighting was almost blinding. “Let’s do shots.” Jane suggested as she pulled Max with her towards the shot stand. “Okay but only a few.” Max replied as Lucas and him followed. They downed a few shots and Mike’s face scrunched after every one of them. He hated the taste and the burn of the alcohol but he loved the feeling afterwards.
The party was chaotic and somewhat enjoyable. Mike was more than drunk at that point and just danced around. He probably looked crazy because he was bad at dancing but that was the least of his worries. He felt a pair of strong muscular arms pull him in to dance. If he pretended they were Will’s, that’s between him and the gods.
After a long night, they were finally headed home. “See you guys.” Mike bided his friend goodbye as he stumbled forward to his dorm. He tried to open the door but it wasn’t budging. He used his key to unlock the door and only pushed it open halfway before stopping.
Will had Tom’s legs resting on his shoulders. Mike could hear whimpering and moaning but wasn’t sure who it was coming from. Will gripped Tom’s waist and pushed his body into him. Sweat run down his abs and his strong arms flexed, his tattoos on full display. Mike gasped and the two turned to look at him. “Shit.” Mike said in a panicked tone before slamming the door shut.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” He continued to mutter to himself as he speed walked to Lucas’ dorm. He knocked frantically and Lucas came to open the door in nothing more than boxers. “Dude, what the hell?” He questioned sleepily. “Can I sleep here?” Mike asked his heart still beating fast. “What, why?” Lucas asked confused, eyes still adjusting to the light. “I- I walked in on Will….. he was-“ Mike couldn’t utter the rest of the sentence but by the panicked look on Mike’s face and his franticness, Lucas got the gist. “Come in.” He moved aside for Mike to enter.
Mike tried to get the mental image of what he saw out of his mind the whole night but he couldn’t quite stop imagining himself in the blonde man’s position, encaged and trapped within Will’s warm and solid frame. The next morning as the birds chirped, he felt something sticky within the blanket. He lifted it up and threw his head back on the pillow in disappointment. He used the pillow to hide his face in embarrassment. Maybe he did have a problem.