Note: This chapter is dedicated to my lovely ladies violetoleff- and coreyshain_ , there's nobody I'd rather cry over Timmy and chopsticks with. I love you guys!
I thundered downstairs, muttering angrily to myself as my useless father continued to ignore the gentle but desperate knocking on the front door despite the fact that he was sitting only one room over from it and doing absolutely nothing.
"Lazy son-of-a-bitch. May as well not even be here. The most unaware, absent, pathetic excuse for a fath-Will!" I cried in astonishment as I opened the door to reveal an anxious looking, out-of-breath Will staring back at me. "Did you leave something behind when you left or-"
The boy I loved cut me off mid-sentence in the most unexpected yet glorious way imaginable: by hurtling himself towards me and bringing my lips to his own in an emotion-filled, passionate and long-awaited kiss. The taste of Will's mouth thawed the freeze that had overcome me and I melted into the kiss, hungry for more yet afraid of what would happen once it had ended. My heart soared as I reached towards his face and placed one hand on his cheek and the other on his jaw, pulling him even closer than we already were. I made a mental note to forever remember the incredible sensation of Will's lips against my own once more and how his scent washed over me like a tidal wave but, of course, the moment eventually came to an end.
Will and I parted and I witnessed his heavy pants, mirroring that of my own. "Will..." I whispered breathlessly, unsure of what to do or say but I found I had no need to go on when the boy standing before me began to shake his head.
"No, no, Mikey, please. Please, I need to say something. I want to ask you something." Will began, his words doused with anxiety but I watched as he courageously fought it and continued on.
"Michael Wheeler, would you do me the greatest of honours and grant me the pleasure of being able to call you my boyfriend?"
"Wh-what?" I stammered, completely and totally convinced I must have misheard him.
"Mikey," Will whined, "Will you be my fucking boyfriend or not?"
"Holy shit, Byers. Holy shit, yes of course I will!" I practically screamed, my voice echoing through my whole house as I picked him up and span him around, both of us giggling like the protagonist lovers of some cheesy romance novel or something. I vaguely heard my father shout something about "language" from the other room but ignored him completely - the way he has done to me my whole life - and kissed Will once more as soon as I had set him down on his feet, wholly immersed in him. My true love. My Will.
"But...but are you, you know, sure? Are you sure you're ready for this? If you need more time, I promised you I'd wait and that still stands." I begged of the boy who had been through terror after terror, heartache after heartache, worried that he was about to enter into a relationship he wasn't ready for.
Will caressed my face softly with delicate movements as he gazed deeply into my eyes. "I'm ready, Mikey. I promise you I'm ready. I love you and I need you in my life and I'm done denying it. I've denied you for so long starting with the first moment I ever planned to tell you I loved you and then lost the nerve: when I returned from the Upside Down and I saw your face, the face of the person I'd closed my eyes to imagine in the most terrifying moments who calmed me and gave me the courage to survive that week...but then you told me about Eleven and I stopped myself from saying a word. I denied you when I wanted to tell you less than a year later when you vowed to go "crazy together" with me but then I told myself you were just being polite and, again, I didn't say anything. When...when you told me that making friends with me was "the best thing you've ever done", I swear to god the power your words gave me was what finally allowed me to remember myself and overcome the Mindflayer and tell you to close the gate. I'll never regret anything as much as the lie I told you when I told you I was gay. I said my feelings were past tense and that was just as much a lie to myself as it was to you and I tried to force myself to believe I was over you so that I could move on but it never worked. God knows, if I'd have been strong enough to tell you in even one of those times and not denied you, I would have been with you and not Alex as I was only ever with him because I thought I could never have you. We could have been everything we've ever been meant to be but I am ready now. I'm ready to be with my soulmate."
"Will, I love you so much. So fucking much." I voiced solemnly, my voice cracking with emotion as I took my boyfriend in my arms and held him close to my chest in one of the tightest embraces known to man, never wanting to let him go. I buried my face into his shoulder to hide the tears of pure love and joy that had started to fall from my eyes but my staggered breathing and heaving chest were evidence enough for Will to know that I was sobbing.
Will ran his fingers through my hair with a gentle touch, playing with my curls as he hummed into my ear, "I love you too, baby. I do. I always have."
"Hey, Mike! Holly couldn't sleep so I've brought her downstairs for a bit...Shit, I didn't know you had company." My older sister called as she and my little sister came up behind us.
"Hi, Nance, Holly!" Will replied, beaming as he separated our bodies and turned towards the brown-haired girl and the little blonde trailing behind her.
Nancy blinked awkwardly in our direction, obviously unsure of what to say as she was clearly aware she'd interrupted another of our private moments but my little sister had no similar struggle as she ran forward and hurled herself into Will's arms. "Will, Will!" She giggled merrily, "I'm happy you're here again. I like it when you're here."
The love of my life bent down to the little girl's level and responded to her cuddle with enthusiasm. "And I like coming here." Will lowered his voice, as if to whisper only to Holly but Nance and I could still clearly hear what he was saying, "I don't really come here to see Mike, you know. I come everyday for you, Holly Bear." My heart threatened to explode in my chest as I watched my baby sister's eyes light up with glee and a bright, proud smile wash over her face as she spoke with my boyfriend who grinned affectionately back at her. How has my life suddenly become so perfect all at once?
"Hey, you!" I teased, "Holl, don't you be stealing my boy...best friend, now."
"Wow, Mike. Are you jealous? Just because she's cuter than you." Will winked at me with a wicked grin plastered all over his face as he stood back up whilst ruffling Holly's hair.
"Come on, Will. I want to show you something." My little sister squealed as she grabbed Will's hand and dragged him into the living room that had since been finally vacated by my father, Nancy and I following behind at a slower pace. When my older sister and I had finally caught up, we found Holly joyously showing her new dolls' house to Will that my mom had bought her only a day previously and her first thought had been that she wanted to show Will but I hadn't allowed her that pleasure earlier in the day by keeping my best friend all to myself in the basement during his time at our home.
Nancy and I collapsed side by side on one of the couches and I observed in total adoration as the boy before me listened to every word my little sister said and looked truly interested, making the little girl extremely happy.
"He's really good with her." Nancy announced.
"I agree," I responded, blushing furiously, "He's insanely perfect. Everything about him just blows my mind, how can one person be so incredible?"
"God, you're so whipped." My sister laughed at me, playfully hitting my arm.
Leaning my head back against the back of the couch, I covered my face with my hands and groaned heavily. "Shit, I know. I can't even deny it."
"I think it's sweet, Mike. He makes you the happiest I've ever seen you and, even though I can never keep up with whatever is going on with this complicated relationship of yours, I couldn't be happier for you. He's a great person, I've always thought that. Ever since I first met him the first time you brought him home, I could tell he was one of the sweetest and most caring people on this whole planet. He's generous and selfless and he's also incredibly strong."
"So...so it doesn't bother you that he's, you know, a boy? Would you not rather me be with a girl, someone like Eleven?" I asked, my heart beating faster as anxiety gnawed at my stomach like some grotesque parasite.
Nancy desperately shook her head as if the idea had upset her and I let out a sigh of relief. "Of course not! I honestly believe Will is perfect for you and if I could choose anyone in the whole world for you to be with, it would be him. Time after time, I'd choose him. I was never quite sure what it was until recently, but there was always something about you and Eleven that I didn't think was quite right. I could always tell that there was something off about your relationship but I couldn't put my finger on it. You were in love with Will, weren't you? Even back then."
Silently, I nodded in acknowledgment that Nancy's predictions about how deep my feelings run for Will and for how long they have done so for were correct and then the two of us fell silent, just observing Will and Holly playing together and we remained this way for at least ten minutes until my mother entered the basement.
My mother scolded my sister and I for allowing Holly to stay up past her bedtime and then she took her upstairs to sleep but not without a fight as my little sister refused to leave Will's side.
"It's okay, Holly Bear. I'm pretty sure I'll be back tomorrow and you can show me the rest then." Will stated, bending down to give my sister another hug. Nancy and I left the couch to join them as we also bade goodnight to our little sister, embracing her as well.
As Holly finally left, she glanced back at Will and said: "You're my favourite of all of Mike's friends." and then she was gone, Nancy also heading off to her room tittering about how she wanted to give us some "alone time".
From my position, now standing next behind Will, I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned closer to him so my teeth grazed gently along his ear and I whispered to him in a low, husky voice: "Mine too."
I could feel as my boyfriend tensed up in my arms and I suddenly became terrified that I had frightened him or made him uncomfortable but then he span in my arms to face me and I witnessed how dark his eyes had become. "Good." He replied simply before jumping into my arms, wrapping his legs around my waist and kissing me desperately in a way that could only be described as lust-filled.
I brought the two of us over to the couch where he continued to straddle me and kiss me deeply. Will and I remained locked in our close embrace, connected with one another for god knows how long afterwards and when we finally broke apart, I pushed a damp strand of Will's long hair behind his ear so that I could look into those infamous eyes. "What was all that for, huh, Byers?" I ventured, my voice soft and playful as my boyfriend still remained settled in my lap.
"Because you finally impressed me with your flirting." He replied and starting laughing.
"Hey!" I complained, feeling slightly wounded by the backhanded compliment.
"Oh shush, we all know flirting isn't your strong point and that's not necessarily a bad thing. We can't all be natural-born flirts like me."
"Well then, what are my strong points, Mr. Romance?"
"Hmm, you're pretty good at this." Will closed off the small distance between us and kissed me passionately which I responded to without haste and, due to the proximity of our lower bodies, I had to force myself to remain calm so the boy in my lap couldn't figure out just how excited I really was.
"Damn, Byers." I practically moaned as he drew back, "You're not wrong when you say you are a good flirt, you have some serious talent in that department."
"Oh, I know." Will told me simply before burying his face in the crook of my neck and I tightened my arms around his waist. "But I should really be getting home now."
"You could always stay?" I offered, not even entirely sure myself what I was implying within that statement due to my head still reeling from the intense sexual tension Will had stirred up mere seconds before.
My boyfriend raised his head once more but looked downwards sadly rather than meeting my eyes, "I can't. My mom went to bed before I left and if she woke up and saw I wasn't home she'd definitely freak out. I don't want to worry her."
"I guess that makes sense." I said, feeling slightly down-hearted but understanding as Will crawled out of my lap and into a standing position. "I'll ask Nancy to drive you."
"Don't worry, baby, I'll walk."
"William Byers," I began as I raised myself to stand in front of him, "I am not letting you walk home at this time."
"It's not like I haven't done it before." Will shrugged.
"And that's not always worked out well for you in the past, now has it? I'll ask Nancy."
"Thank you, Mikey."
"Anything for you, Byers."
*
There are so many different levels to this chapter, even I couldn't keep up 😂
AH BYLER ARE CANON!
AH WILL IS ADORABLE WITH HOLLY!
AH NANCY IS A DIEHARD BYLER SHIPPER!
AH WILL AND MIKE ARE VERY, ERM, INTERESTED IN EACH OTHER!
Okay, but I totally love the idea that Will and Holly get along really well and Holly completely adores him. This is a personal headcanon but if the Duffers are feeling this for Stranger Things 3, I'll totally give them the rights to it. LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN, GUYS!
Not a necessary fact but I thought I'd let you know: idk if any of you noticed but I stopped the whole "My Will" thing many chapters ago and BAM! it's back for this one. Pretty sure the last time I used it was XI, I brought something similar back in XV with "Mikey, but not my Mikey". It's supposed to have been a very subtle recurring theme of Mike accepting that Will would never be his leading to this chapter but hahah I'm a bad writer so it probably didn't work out right.
And that is all from this bitch who took 28 chapters for Byler to finally become a thing.
- Nimah.
Who?
- Niamh.