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The music rang in his ears as the air buzzed with electricity around him. Will looked down at his hands, where he was nursing a now-empty glass. The taste of malt liquor lingered on his tongue, and he tried not to grimace.
He looked around for Mike, spotting him standing in the corner with Max and Lucas, who had an arm around Max's shoulders. He seemed to be in a heated one sided debate with Max, who was smirking in amusement, clearly enjoying riling him up. A soft smile graced Will's features as he took in the view. His eyes lingered on Mike, fondly watching him as he got more and more heated as the conversation drew on. There was a lot he loved about Mike, and one of those things was how animated he got when passionate. As Will walked up to the trio, he caught the conversation going on.
"- and that literally doesn't even make any sense! Doc had pieced Marty's note back together and he was wearing a bulletproof vest, there's no debate about it!"
Will walked up to Mike's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. Mike instantly stopped talking, his attention solely on Will as the apples of his cheeks flushed red.
"Will, hi." He murmured, eyes flicking all over his face before lingering on his mouth. God, Will won't ever get over the buzz he got whenever Mike did that."Hey.."
"God, Wheeler, I can practically see your tail wagging." Max gave a fake look of disdain to Mike, resting her head back against Lucas' shoulder.
"Shut up, Max." Mike whipped his head to snap at her, but there was no real bite behind his words. His cheeks remained flushed, a gorgeous shade of red dusting his freckled cheeks.
Will looked down, trying to stifle his own flush. Even now, 15 years since they first met, Mike was still the most gorgeous boy Will had ever laid eyes upon. A year and a half ago, the day they defeated Vecna and the Mindflayer, was also the day he and Will started dating. And if he was completely honest, that gave him more of a rush than defeating Vecna and the Mindflayer. Everyday that went by, he fell more and more in love with Mike, if that was even possible. The fact that he ever thought Mike was his Tammy made Will laugh. Mike wasn't his Tammy, he was his Mike, and he told as much to Robin while playfully chiding her one day.
Clearing his throat, Will raised his empty glass, gesturing towards the bar with his head. "I'm gonna go get some water, the liquor here tastes like piss."
Mike nodded, his doe eyes glittering under the club lights. "Should I come with you?" His 'Will Voice' (as Max and Dustin had coined it) came through once again, but this time it had a tinge of protectiveness to it.
Mike had always been protective of Will, to an 'almost concerning level', as Lucas had put it, recounting the Halloween incident from when they were 12. ("It was like you were his guard dog or something. Genuinely scary shit.") Being likened to Will's dog was nothing new to him, and for the past few months, he'd really started to internalize that role- due to a different problem. 'A problem,' he thought solemnly, ' way more serious than Vecna or the Upside Down.'
You see, Mike knew Will was attractive, although he didn't think 'attractive' even began to cover how gorgeous Will was. Mike would honestly describe him as a variant of Aphrodite, or an angel sent to the Earth to bless undeserving humanity with his beauty. He genuinely believed, with every fiber of his being, that Will could make even the most debauched, reprobate man drop to his knees and beg for salvation. But that wasn't the problem.
The problem was that- other people also thought this. Maybe not to the same, all consuming degree to which Mike did, but they had fully functioning eyes. They could see Will, and that was enough. And that, that was the bane of his existence. He, along with the rest of the party, knew right from their childhood that Will got the most girls out of any of them, and that continued well into adulthood. That hadn't changed, but now even a few cautiously brave men were thrown into the mix.
Now, Mike knew Will loved him, and he trusted Will with all his heart and soul. But the small insecure part of him still demanded to make his 'claim' on Will known- albeit in a subtle way. So, that is what led to Will's locket. It was a locket-
("-with a lock." "A bit on the nose, no?" Will teased him at his attempt at a pun,giggling at the sensation of Mike's fingertips brushing against his neck. Mike's brows were furrowed in concentration as his lean fingers fumbled with the clasp. "Shut up, you laughed didn't you?" Will scoffed, trying to suppress the shiver that went down his spine at Mike's warm breath fanning his skin."Yeah, cause you're tickling me! What's taking so long?" Mike finally stepped back, victorious in his struggle. He took Will by the waist and turned him around so they were face to face. "Oh, that tickled huh? What about this?" Will's eyes widened as his body shook with laughter, his hands flying to remove Mike's from where they were tickling at his waist. "Mike-stop-sto-Mike! Mike!")
Will shook his head, intertwining his fingers with Mike's, bringing him back to reality. He gave their joined hands a reassuring squeeze. "No, it's fine. I'll be back in a few minutes." With that, Will turned and made his way over to the bar, taking a seat at one of the high chairs. Mike kept an eye on him as he went, watching as he signaled the bartender for some water.
Mike noticed a curly haired ravenette sitting next to Will, and instantly felt a sour taste dance along his tastebuds as he watched the guy give Will a once-over. He was definitely checking him out. Mike squinted at the sight, face morphing into a frown. He felt that familiar burn in his face and chest, the kind that makes your fingers numb and your skin all tingly. He knew this feeling all too well, it was the same feeling he'd felt all those years ago at the Snowball as he watched Will dancing with...whatever her name was. Jealousy, back at it again as it crawled all over his skin, making its presence known by pricking at him and lapping at his heart until a red hot flush went up to his neck and ears.
Oblivious to his boyfriend's stares, Will looked around patiently as he waited for the bartender. Suddenly, he locked eyes with the guy sitting next to him. The curly haired man gave him a crooked smirk, leaning in slightly so Will could hear him better. "Hey."
Will leaned back, clutching at his glass as he glanced away. "Um, hi?"
The man didn't falter, bumping his elbow against Will's in an attempt to flirt. "What's your name? Mine's Carlton."
"Uh..Will." Will looked straight ahead, not wanting to make eye contact with him.
"Will, huh? Cute, fitting for a cute guy like you." The man, Carlton or whatever, was egregiously, blatantly flirting with him now, even going as far as brushing his foot against Will's. He let it slightly caress Will's, slowly inching up his trousers when Will suddenly moved his foot away.
"Uh, I'm not.. interested-" Will was just barely done saying when he felt a familiar hand come and rest on his shoulder.
"Will, there you are. I got you your water." Mike stood next to him, one hand resting on Will's shoulder with a firm yet gentle grip as the other hand held onto a glass of water. Mike had a strained smile on his face, one that definitely didn't meet his eyes. He looked past Will, to Carlton. His eyes instantly hardened, a flicker of irritation showing on his face before the smile returned. "Oh, hey man. Didn't interrupt something, did I?"
Carlton looked at the hand on Will's shoulder, before his eyes trailed down to the locket he was wearing. His eyes glinted in recognition, before flushing in embarrassment as he realized what was going on. "Uh, no, nothing. I-uh- I just remembered, I actually have somewhere I need to be, right now. So I'll just, I'm just gonna-yeah." Carlton just got up and shuffled away, the tips of his ears red. Will chuckled softly as he watched him go, until his attention was back on Mike, who took the seat Carlton was sitting in.
"Thanks for the water. And for driving him away." Will accepted the glass graciously, raising it up to his lips to hide his smirk as he took a sip. Mike rolled his eyes softly as a reluctant smile creeped onto his own face. "Please, you already had it in the bag when I stepped in. I just..gave it a push."
Will shook his head, returning his smile as he bumped his knee against Mike's. Mike blushed at the action, before discreetly interlocking their pinkies under the table.
'Other people,' Mike thought to himself, 'can want Will all they want. But I'm the only one who gets to do this.'
And that, that gave Mike all the conviction he needed to go against the line of people vying for Will's affections, to push past the line of suitors and claim his place by Will's side.