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It's late. It's dark out and it's dark in the cramped and sweaty apartment. The music is a little too mainstream for Will's liking but he endures it because he knows he needs to get out of his dorm and make some new friends. Not that there's anything wrong with his current friends, but most of them go to other schools several hours away so a couple more couldn't hurt. Mike is the only one who's still close, since he's also going to college in New York.
Will is sipping on a beer he didn't even really want but he figured he would need some liquid courage. You see, the main reason he's even here tonight is because Carlton invited him. Carlton is Will's english class - the two got to know each other when discussing the book they were reading for said class - and then a few weeks later Carlton's asking if Will is "coming to Rachel's party tonight?".
Will definitely hadn't originally planned on going, hell he doesn't even know this Rachel girl, but Carlton is cute and kind, and it feels like he's been flirting with him, and that was enough persuasion to get Will to go this stupid party.
Will and Carlton have been talking about anything and everything since they got here. The music keeps getting louder and louder by the minute and it gets harder for them to hear each other over the volume, so Carlton leads Will into the hallway where it's quieter, less crowded, and the lights are dimmer.
They talk and talk and Carlton moves closer and closer. At first Will doesn't mind, I mean this is the whole reason why he's here in the first place, to flirt with a cute guy and just be a normal teen for once. They're giggling, teasing, their arms brushing and eyes locking. But then the beer starts to work its magic, and it's actually not as magic as Will had hoped.
The alcohol makes the bottle in Will's hand start to smell like his dad. More specifically like when his dad would get too drunk, and angry, and rough, and he would yell at his mom, and Jonathan, and him. The names he would call him and his too tight grip all comes flooding back.
The alcohol makes Will feel like he's not in control of his own body anymore - like he's just one of the mindflayer's vessels again. He vividly remembers how it took over his brain and his body completely, and the terrible things it would make him do, and how he didn't even feel like he was his own anymore once it had taken control.
Carlton gets closer to Will and suddenly he's not Carlton at all anymore. His face is distorted as he pins Will to the wall. Will is frozen in both senses of the word. He's still and he feels like he can't move, and he's cold and shivering despite the high temperature in the apartment and the alcohol in his system. He feels a shiver down his spine and goosebumps on his neck like when he would connect to the hive mind.
Carlton raises his hand and caresses Will's cheek and in Will's eyes his fingers grow long and veiny like Vecna's. Will feels like he's stuck to the wall. He feels his heartbeat all the way up in his throat and he starts to feel like he's about to throw up. Carlton leans in to whisper in his ear and before he knows it he's shoving Carlton away.
He grabs his jacket and heads straight out the door without a word, leaving the cursed beer bottle behind.
He thinks he might hear Carlton yelling after him but his senses are too blurred for him to be sure. He runs down the stairway and out the door, frantically putting on his jacket, zipping it all the way up and using his sleeve to soak up the tears that start streaming down his face.
He barely makes it down the block before he leans over into the nearest trash can and throws up. It feels awful, it reminds him of the pollywogs he would throw up left and right as a tween. It also feels good to let it all leave his body.
He wipes his mouth on the tear stained sleeve of his jacket and stands up straight. He keeps walking with no other thought on his mind other than wanting to go home.
He takes the subway. The smells and the tight air and the wobbly cart are enough to make him nauseous again. Thankfully he gets off at the next stop and gets to breathe the fresh air again. His feet carry him to a familiar dormitory and when he's not far he hears someone speak.
"Will?!" Says a voice from behind him. He turns to find Mike on his way to the dorm building. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at- holy shit, are you okay?" Mike asks and jogs up to him.
Will only shakes his head in response.
"Let's get you inside. Come on." Mike wraps his arm around Will's shoulder just like he used to when they were kids and Will lets himself lean into Mike as he takes him inside.
They get up to Mike's dorm, which is thankfully free from any roommates. Mike sits Will down on his bed before shrugging off his jacket and pouring him a glass of water.
"What happened?" Mike asks and sits down next to Will, holding out the glass to him. Will takes it and chugs it all in one go. "Do you want to talk about it?" Mike continues.
Will shrugs as he stares at the floor.
"You don't have to. But if you want to I'm here." Mike says and rubs circles into Will's back and Will just collapses into him, leaning into his chest like a little kid. Like the same little kid who had to go through all those terrible things. Mike immediately gets the memo and just holds Will in his arms.
They stay like that for a while until Mike's eyelids start to feel heavy.
"Hey, Will, why don't you stay here with me tonight, yeah?" Mike whispers softly and Will can almost imagine that both of them are kids again.
"Yeah." Will whispers back.
Mike kicks off his shoes and jeans and gets under the covers. Will removes his jacket and shoes and does the same. Mike wraps the covers tightly around them to make them as warm as possible.
Will shuts his eyes but he can't quite fall asleep, still tossing and turning beside Mike until he finally has had enough and wraps his arms around Will to get him to stop moving and just fall asleep. And he does. After Mike reaches out and holds Will it doesn't take long until they're both asleep.
The next morning Will wakes up sweating. Mike stirs awake next to him, rubbing his eyes lazily.
"Morning." Mike smiles at Will with tired eyes.
"Morning." Will says and squints at the sunlight pouring in from the window. Mike notices and reaches out to close the blinds, then he leans over Will to get into his bedside table to pull out a painkiller. Will smiles and whispers a thanks before he takes it and gets up to pour himself a glass of water.
When he turns back around he sees Mike looking up at him from amongst the pillows and blankets, his hair pointing in all possible directions. Will wishes he could wake up to that view every morning. He swallows his pill and goes to sit back down on the bed.
"Do you wanna talk about last night?" Mike asks.
Will nods. It takes a moment for him to collect his thoughts but then he takes a deep breath.
"I guess I had an episode. Or whatever it's called, I don't know. It was like I was back to being twelve again. It was scary." Will says and Mike's eyebrows knit in worry.
"Did something trigger it?" Mike asks, looking at Will patiently.
"This guy, Carlton, he- I'm sure he had only good intentions but-" Will takes a deep breath. "He pinned me to the wall and touched my face just like how Vecna did and it was like I was there again." Will says.
"Back where?" Mike asks. "The MAC-Z?"
"No. The upside down." Will says. "When I went missing and he took me and he-" Will cuts himself off as his voice starts to tremble.
"What?" Mike asks. It's in that moment Will realizes that he never told Mike about this stuff. Or anyone for that matter. "What are you talking about?"
"Vecna. When I went missing he took me, and he-" Will squeeze his eyes shut. "He pinned me to this wall with those vibes so I couldn't move, I was barely conscious. He caressed my face and whispered to me and he forced the vines down my throat and-" His voice breaks. "And the vines were used to pump me full of those slugs or pollywogs - like dart." Will admits, fidgeting and sniffling.
"He what?" Mike looks at Will in horror. "Why haven't you told me this?" Mike asks frantically.
"I didn't know." Will's tears start to shed. "I blocked it all out for years. I guess my brain didn't want to deal with it so it pretended it never happened in the first place. Then after I reconnected with the hive mind - you know when I stole his powers - he got to me and he made me relive all of it and it all came back to me. And I- I didn't want to tell you what he'd done because..." Will shakes his head. "Because I didn't want you to think that what he did to me turned me gay." Will chokes on a sob. Mike's previously horrified face falls into a sad frown.
"Will, I would never think that." Mike grabs Will's shoulders to turns Will to face him. "Never in a million years would I ever think that. Okay? What he did to you was fucked up and wrong. So wrong. He violated you and used you, and you are not who you are because of him." Mike says and wipes Wills tears off his face with his thumbs, searching in Will's eyes for a sign that he's getting through to him.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Will says quietly.
"Don't be." Mike shakes his head. Will leans on Mike's shoulder.
"It was terrible. He filled my body with those disgusting things and they were growing inside of me for months. I was used like- like a machine and- and I felt more and more connected to the things growing inside me and bit by bit the mind flayer started taking over me. It was like I wasn't in control of my own body or even my mind. It shoved me into the back corner of my own brain while it used me for its own benefit. I never want to feel like that again. I never want to lose control of my own body like that again." Will says quietly.
"And you won't." Mike reassures Will and wraps his arms around his shoulders. "I'll personally make sure of that. I will." Mike says and Will huffs out a chuckle through his tears.
"Yeah?" Will asks and sniffles his tears away. He lifts his head again and Mike looks in his eyes.
"Yeah." Mike smiles softly and Will feels at home.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I remember how scary it was to watch you disappear from your own body, I can't imagine how it must've been like for you. And the thing with Vecna, I-" Mike says. "I'm glad he's dead." Mike states. "I'm glad you'll never have to deal with him, or any of that, ever again."
Will nods and smiles gently like a silent thanks.
"I meant what I said. I'll make sure you never feel that way again. I want to be there for you." Mike says. "I want to be the one you come to when you struggle like that."
"You are." Will says.
"Promise?" Mike asks, extending his pinky finger.
"Promise." Will responds and locks his pinky around Mike's. Mike leans forward and presses a kiss to his own hand to seal the promise. It's painstakingly slow and his eyes don't leave Will's for even a split second.
Mike waits for Will to do them same but he doesn't move back. When Will finally does the same Mike can feel the heat radiating off Wills face from how close they are. Their intertwined pinkies fall into Will's lap and Mike's free hand start to inch closer to the back of Will's neck.
"Is this okay?" Mike asks.
"Yes." Will whispers. Mike's hand is warm on Will's skin. His nape tingles, but in a good way.
"How about this?" Mike asks and moves to stroke his knuckles against Will's cheek.
Will nods. With Mike the gesture feels less scary than it had last night, or that night all those years ago. Will even finds himself leaning into his touch.
Their eye contact only breaks when Mike glances down at Will's lips, and for once Will doesn't act like he doesn't notice, but instead he does the same. Mike's lips part slightly.
"Can I..?" Mike starts and the rest of the words slip into Will's mouth as he kisses him. Will's hand comes to rest on Mike's jaw while Mike's slips into Will's hair. Mike's pinky squeezes Will's before he lets go to reach around Will's back and pull him closer.
Will's arms wrap around Mike's neck as Mike leans Will down onto the mattress. Will makes a protesting noise against Mike's lips and moves Mike off him. Mike breaks the kiss and looks at Will.
"Did I do something wrong?" Mike asks and Will shakes his head before rolling himself on top of Mike whose face turns bright pink. "Oh." He whispers and Will leans down to kiss him. Mike happily wraps his arms around Will who smiles into the kiss.
Mike's hand once again comes to rest as the back of Will's neck but this time he pulls him closer, so close that their noses start to squish against each other's cheeks and Will can't think of anything but Mike.
"Stay here with me today?" Mike asks between kisses. "We could stay in bed all day reading comic books like we used to." Mike says and looks up at Will.
"I thought you were too grown for that stuff." Will teases and gives Mike another ki
"No. Never." Mike shakes his head while keeping his eyes firmly locked on Will. Then he reaches behind his head and pats around on his desk blindly until he finds a stack of comic books. He looks between them and hands one to Will. "I think you'll like this one."
"Ha! I've already read that one!" Will smirks.
"What?! When?! It only came out like two weeks ago?!" Mike gasps, leaning up on his elbows.
"I just finished it the other day." Will says.
"You are such a nerd!" Mike groans and flops back down on the bed.
"Says you!" Will replies.
"I never claimed not to be!" Mike lifts his hands in the air defensively.
"Neither did I!" Will half laughs half scoffs.
"Read your comic then, nerd!" Mike tosses the comic to Will.
"I will, loser!" Will grabs the comic book and gets off Mike to lean himself up against the wall and then he opens to the first page.
"Wha- hey! I never called you a loser!" Mike scoffs and leans over toward Will.
Will looks at Mike, hiding a smirk behind his comic. Mike stares back. He reaches out and pulls down the comic with his finger to give Will one last kiss.