Chapter Text
Hawkins, Indiana 2003
Will leaned all his weight forward onto his hands, pressing down firmly to try and force his stubborn suitcase closed. He grunted with the effort, muscles straining as he pushed harder, but the lid stubbornly refused to budge. After several tense moments, he sighed in frustration and gave up the fight, opting instead to sit down heavily on the damn case, hoping that his weight would seal it shut. Even then, it wasn’t easy. He twisted awkwardly over his side, reaching for the zipper with one hand while trying desperately to keep the lid from popping open with the other. The suitcase creaked under the pressure, but despite his best efforts, the zipper wouldn’t catch, leaving him stuck in a frustrating standoff with his overloaded baggage.
“Need some help?” a teasing voice called down from above him.
Will looked up to see Mike casually leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed and an amused smirk playing on his lips. Mike’s eyes sparkled with quiet amusement as he watched Will struggle with the stubborn suitcase, clearly enjoying the moment. The playful tone in Mike’s voice made it obvious he was savoring the small victory of seeing his friend defeated by such a simple task.Will shot Mike a look of mock annoyance but couldn’t hide the faint smile tugging at his lips.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” he grumbled, shifting his weight to stand up and step aside. Mike stepped forward, easily grasping the stubborn zipper and giving it a quick, decisive tug. The suitcase finally gave way with a soft pop.
“Well, it's a good thing I’m here, then, ” Mike said, grinning as he handed the suitcase back.
Will rolled his eyes but nodded in thanks. “Next time, I’m packing lighter.”
Mike just laughed, shaking his head. “You say that every trip.”
Will adjusted the strap of his backpack and gave Mike a grateful nod. “Seriously, though, thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you sometimes.”
Mike shrugged, a casual grin still on his face. “That’s what I'm here for, right? Besides, it’s not like you’re going to stop overpacking anytime soon.”
Will laughed, the tension in his back from earlier easing away. He hauled the suitcase up onto its wheels with a great, mortifying struggle. Mike chuckled beside him, a fond smile on his face that absolutely destroyed Will's heart.
They walked out into the main room of their apartment together, stepping into a lively scene. The place was bustling with family—both their parents and siblings had gathered, filling the space with warmth and noise. Will’s mood dipped slightly as the absence of Jane settled in his mind.
The whole party was there, too, adding to the mix of chatter. Lucas and Max were piled together on the couch, with Lucas gently rubbing the back of his sobbing girlfriend, offering her comfort. Will made a mental note to say goodbye to them last, so he could savour every second of their hugs and kisses. Platonic kisses, of course.
In the kitchen, Dustin and Suzie were deeply engaged in animated conversation, their voices rising and falling as they shared stories. Nearby, Steve and Robin stood pretending to understand the rapid exchange, exchanging amused glances as they nodded along, clearly enjoying the moment despite their confusion.
Will’s mom came rushing toward him, her face lighting up with relief and joy. Hopper was close behind, his expression softening as he watched her approach. Without hesitation, she engulfed Will in a fierce hug, pulling him tightly against her. She squeezed him firmly, rocking his body gently from side to side in a comforting rhythm. Will responded by patting her back slowly, though her grip only tightened with emotion.
“Mom—I—I can’t breathe,” he choked out, his voice strained beneath the pressure.
Her eyes brimmed with tears as she finally pulled back, searching his face with a mixture of love and worry.
“Just– promise me you'll be safe?” she said, eyes flicking over to Mike.
“We’re only going for 3 weeks, you're acting like I'm moving to London!”
She sighed and moved to hug Mike.
Will looked over to his Step-dad, and smiled. Hugs with Hopper were amazing. His strong arms feel so secure and safe, that Will often left his hugs with a newfound fury that he didn't get those hugs as a kid.
He and Mike moved around the room, saying their goodbyes to each person who had gathered.
They made the decision to go to London as their “honeymoon”. While they didn't actually get married, they lived together, had a cat, called each other stupid things like “dear” and “sweetheart” and they very much acted like a married couple. They had had a whole romantic dinner in their apartment. Mike burnt the food, and Will spilt wine over himself, but they both knew what it meant.
It was their "engagement".
They told their friends and family that they were planning to spend the rest of their lives together- married or not.
And Will loved London.
Everything about England really. They had visited Brighton a few years back, to scope out the gay culture there. It wasn't quite what Will envisioned- rainbows and sequins everywhere- but it was fun.
And, look, he wasn't stupid, he knew that it won't be so fun in London, but he couldn't help the desire to look around the city.
Sitting in Hyde Park, feeding the pigeons, going around in the Thames on a little taxi-boat, the London Eye, too!
He had dreamed about London for years. Ever since Jon had shown him that Beatles album.
Speaking of Jon, he was currently sobbing into Will's shoulder.
“Jon, I'm only going for a few weeks! I'll be back soon!” he chuckled, but hugged back with equal tenderness. Jon pulled back, wiping his nose on his sleeve, getting snot all over him.
“Yeah,” he said, voice thick, “yeah, I suppose.”
He walked over to the kitchen, navigating through the crowded room, when suddenly Robin appeared by his side. Before he could react, she slipped her arms around his waist, leaning into him with a warm, familiar ease. Almost instinctively, he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. The gentle weight of her presence grounded him amidst the noise and chaos, offering a quiet moment of connection. For a few seconds, the world around them faded, leaving just the comfort of shared space and unspoken understanding between them.
“Hey,” he says, pulling back and looking into her eyes, “i wont be long, i swear. We can have a massive gossip night when I get back to catch up.” She smiled through her tears, and laughed wetly.
“Fuck you, Byers” she said, her grin only growing.
“Alright, my turn,” Steve said softly as he appeared behind Will and Robin. His voice trembled slightly, clearly struggling to hold back tears. But the moment Will wrapped his arms around Steve’s middle, the tears began to fall freely.
Their bond had grown much stronger since everything had happened, strengthened by countless hours spent sharing movies and music. Steve’s taste had improved dramatically, thanks to Will’s thoughtful recommendations, and their shared interests had, rather unexpectedly, brought them closer than ever.
Will’s smile softened as he met Dustin’s eyes, the lively atmosphere around them fading into the background. “I guess this is it,” he said quietly, the weight of the goodbye settling between them.
Dustin nodded, a hint of sadness in his smile. “Yeah, but it’s not really goodbye, right? Just… see you later.”
Will reached out, clasping Dustin’s hand firmly. “Yeah, I'll be back, don't worry,” he echoed, feeling the warmth of the moment despite the impending separation.
Suzie stepped closer, giving Will a gentle squeeze on the arm. “Take care of yourself,” she whispered.
He moved on through the Wheeler family, and eventually found himself being picked up by Max, her string arms wrapped around his waist. She spun him around, peppering kisses to his face, wailing about how she couldn't bear to see him leave.They were both ugly sobbing by the end of their hug.
Lucas was next. Fuck.
Just before he and Mike got together, Max and Lucas had proposed a throuple situation. He was constantly round their house and acted like their third more than was probably normal, so it would just be a formality, along with moving in and, well, sex!
oh the sex!
And, okay Will would never admit this to anyone, he was so into it. And he had considered it- nearly agreed -but then Mike had kissed him at a party and the idea was thrown out the window. was he allowed to regret saying no?
His and Lucas' hug was long and tender, and Will even felt Lucas press a gentle kiss to his cheek.
“I'll miss you,” Lucas said, his lip wobbling. Will smiled and sighed. He became suddenly aware of the fact that they were still pressed together when Max coughed rather loudly from the couch, an amused smirk plastered on her face, despite the tears.
“I can't believe you're actually leaving us,” Lucas said, finally letting a tear dance down his face. Before Will could say anything in response, his boyfriend yelled at him.
“Will!” he turned to see Mike across the room, bags in hand. “We are gonna miss the flight!”
“Shit!”
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
London, Surrey 2003
Will plopped down, face first onto the soft bed in the apartment they rented for their stay. The cool sheets felt like heaven against his jet-lagged muscles.
“I saw a coffee shop down the street,” Mike said, gazing down at his Boyfriend with a goofy grin.
“Fuck yes. ” he replied, but mad no move to get off the bed.
He felt Mike press a kiss to the back of his neck, soft and warm.
“We get coffee, stay awake till it's dark and then we can start to reset our sleep schedule, okay?” Will was both fond at the way Mike explained everything slowly for him to take in and rather upset at the condescending tone Mike said it with.
He hauled himself up off the bed, and fell into Mike's arms, pressing a kiss to Mike's cheek. He smiled, and sighed.
“Alright,” he said, “lets go,”
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
The coffee shop was gorgeous.
Vines cascaded up the walls of the outside building, and the coffee was all fresh and Will could already feel himself waking up. They ordered and sat down at a small table by a window.
Will had, apparently, underestimated how hot London's summers would be, and he slurped his Iced Coffee with the hopes to cool off a bit.
“Harry!” a large ginger man entered the shop, the bell above the door jingling with his entrance. A man to Will's right stood up. He was.. Well Will didn't know.
There was… something about him. Not familiar, but somehow like Will knew him. Like a magnet pulling Will's attention away from Mike. He wasn't ugly, but it definitely wasn't any kind of sexual attraction he felt. Just this strange pull.
The ginger man sat down with Harry and they started whispering animatedly, like some sort of juicy gossip was being shared between them.
Will couldn't help staring at the pair.
Harry lifted his hand, seemingly to reach for his coffee, but his hand paused a few inches away, and the cup travelled the extra space, into his hand.
Will felt his mouth drop open.
There were other people who could do this?
Harry and his ginger friend both turned to look at Will, expressions of oh shit on both their faces.
Needing to prove himself for some reason, Will pointed his index and middle finger over to his cup, and subtly he centred his focus on the cup, moving it across the table, just a few centimetres, with his mind.
Ginger man and Harry both looked at each other, and shared a firm nod. Harry looked at Will and gestured with his head to the door. Will nodded.
“Hey, Mike?” he said, turning back to his Boyfriend, "I'm just gonna go do something ill be right back okay?”
He didn't let Mike respond, he just stood up and followed Harry and His Ginger out the shop. As they rounded the corner and entered a small alleyway down the side of the main street, Will felt his face split into a grin.
“You can do it too!” he said, happy to have found people like him. But they didn't smile or celebrate, they just exchanged a strange glance.
Harry pulled out what looked like a police badge but in red and dark golden shades, a serious frown on his face.
“Harry Potter, Head Auror and Leader of the DMLE, may I see your wand?”
“M-my what?!” Will exclaimed,
“Your wand” Ginger said, pulling out his own badge, “Ron Wealsey, Deputy Head Auror”
“I-I just met you!” he said, baffled at the audacity. Being an officer does not give the right to see such personal things!
“A-and I have a-a partner!” He hated how he stuttered over all his words.
Disgust spread over Ron's face and Harry let out a chuckle, both of them putting away their badges.
“Not what we meant,” Harry said, “we both have partners, too.”
Hot shame flooded wills entire existence, and he was suddenly longing for lucas and max to save him from this hellhole-
No, he also wants Mike. obviously.
“Ron, I think we should take him to the ministry,” Harry continued, “I think we have another abandoned Muggle born”
“He's also American,” Ron said, like being American was a bad thing.
“Oh my boyfriend! He's still in the shop I need to-” he made to go back and get him, but he felt both Ron and Harry grab his arms, pulling him back.
“Don't worry,” Ron said, "we've sent for someone to get him”
“Oh”
“We have a lot to talk about. ”
Harry handed Will a small pound coin.
"Hold tight"