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Will kicked his legs as his mom drove him to his new best friend's house.
It was a rainy day and Mike had invited him to have his first official sleepover with him. His mom had made him pack a small bag with his essentials– pyjamas, toothbrush, and an extra outfit. He was pretty sure that he didn't need any of those because Mike's house was huge and he bet he had plenty of clothes and toothbrushes he could borrow. But his mom had insisted that he should be polite and have his own things for the night and not bother Mike and his mom with these things.
Will was buzzing with excitement.
As they rounded the corner to the Wheeler house, his mom slowed down, looking down at Will.
“You remember what I said, right Will?” she asked, her round eyes focused solely on him.
“Be polite to Mike's parents. Call them Mr. And Mrs. Wheeler. If I want to use the washroom, ask Mike or Mrs. Wheeler. Don't stay up until it's late.” Will parroted at her.
Joyce smiled down at him, ruffling his hair.
“That's great, baby. I'm so glad you have a friend like Mike,”
And just like that she had switched on his little Mike-box, a word Jonathan said instead of chatter-box. He said it whenever he talked about Mike, which was honestly two thirds of his talking time, and Will didn't know why he hated it.
“Yes mommy, the other day, Mike had a really cool watch. He let me wear it the whole day,” Will said. “He said that he'll get one for me for my birthday,”
“That's great sweetie,” Joyce muttered, parking the car.
Will hopped out of the car before Joyce and ran towards the front door.
He had come here before. But a sleepover was a whole new thing. He had never had a sleepover with anyone else before in his whole life.
Joyce walked over towards him and took his hand. She smoothed his jacket and hair, holding his little duffel bag in one hand.
They walked towards the front door together. Will waited patiently until Joyce rang the bell. His heart was thudding in his chest, vibrating excitedly to meet Mike.
The front door opened to reveal a stern faced man.
Mike's dad.
Will didn't like Mike's dad very much, but he had once bought them ice cream when he had picked them up from the park.
He was kinder than Will’s dad anyway.
“Mike's upstairs, come inside,” he said, walking inside.
Joyce pushed him lightly.
Mrs.Wheeler, Mike's mom, came to welcome them with a pretty smile.
She always looked like a barbie to Will. He longed to have one to play with but he was too scared to ask from his dad and he knew his mom didn't have enough money to buy him one.
Mike's mom bent down and patted his head, “Mike's playing tea parties with Nancy, honey. They'd love for you to join too,” she said, smiling down at him.
Will stared at her shiny lips, painted red, rosy cheeks and beautiful blond hair that cascaded past her shoulders in bouncy curls. She wore a little pink dress that reached her knees and a flowery apron.
Will smiled at her and nodded his head.
“Aww, what a sweet baby you have Joyce,” she cooed, taking Will’s tiny wrist in her hand. She took his duffel from his mom. “Thank you so much for bringing him here, Joyce. Mike won't stop talking about him. You can pick him up tomorrow,”
Joyce nodded. “I'm so glad Will found a good friend,”
After exchanging goodbyes, Mike's mom led him upstairs.
She took him towards a door that had a sparkly pink sign that read, ‘Princesses only’.
She knocked twice, smiling down at Will.
A girl, a few years older than him, opened the door.
Will stared at her fascinated.
She looked exactly like Mike's mom, her features sharp, eyes wide and hair curled. The only difference was her hair colour and height. Her hair was a brown colour that imitated Will’s and she only came up to Mike's mom's shoulder.
She looked like a barbie too.
Behind her, a familiar voice screeched.
“Will!”
Will snapped his head towards the sound, his face already erupting into a wide grin.
But as soon as he spotted Mike, his greeting died in his mouth.
Because it was not Mike. It was a real life-size barbie that stared back at him from the girl's room.
The barbie bounded towards him and tackled Will into a hug.
And Will got a whiff of his best friend's familiar scent, and, “Mike!” He said finally, hugging him.
Mike pulled back, staring at him with a wide grin.
“Will! Me and Nancy were playing tea parties!” He exclaimed.
Will stared at him.
Because Mike was wearing a dress, with a glittery purple sash and a silver tiara. His cheeks were pink and his mouth was painted red.
He looked pretty.
Will blushed.
Mrs. Wheeler left them waving goodbyes.
Nancy, Mike's sister, stood by her bedroom door looking at Will and Mike.
“You can join us too, Will,” she said, looking down at Will.
“Wow really? That's so cool, Nancy,” Mike beamed, his chubby cheeks etched in a smile.
He's really pretty, Will thought.
“Only if you two behave. If you two are good, I'll come and play DnD with you too,”
“Yay!” Mike punched the air.
Mike led him inside Nancy's room.
It was a pretty room, with pale pink walls and light blue curtains for windows. They had arranged a small table and two tiny pink chairs. The table was filled with real snacks like sandwiches and biscuits in fancy looking saucers and a tiny teacup set with a beautiful flower design.
Mike pulled a chair for him.
“Sit, Will. Nancy, shall we make Will the Prince of North, or shall we make him a princess too?”
“I think we'll need a Prince. He could be your Prince,” Nancy said, smirking at them.
Will could feel his cheeks grow hot.
Because as much as he wanted to be a Princess with Nancy and Mike, the idea of being Mike's Prince was thrilling.
He nodded at Nancy.
“He likes it!” Mike screeched, jumping up and down. He twirled around, “I have a Prince!”
Will watched as his dress moved with him, the glittery purple sash swaying with the speed.
He was so so pretty.
“Mike, sit down. Let's start,” Nancy scolded.
She turned to Will.
“Welcome to the Palace, Prince William. Care to join us for tea?” Will nodded, his hair bouncing with enthusiasm.
“This is Princess Mitchell, my sister. And I'm Princess Nancy. Serve yourself some snacks, Prince William.”
Will could feel Mike vibrating in his chair with excitement.
“Prince William, did you know that there was a goblin attack on our kingdom yesterday?” Mike, or rather Princess Mitchell, asked him.
Will looked at him.
He was smiling at Will, while pouring an imaginary tea for him. Will hadn't picked anything from their little snacks collection, so Mike was already arranging him a plate.
Will shook his head, answering Mike's question.
Mike hummed and picked a Reese's Piece from the nearby plate.
“You like these right?” He said, dropping it on his plate.
Will nodded again.
He had told Mike the other day that the perfect Christmas gift would be a box of Reese’s Pieces.
“The goblins were vicious, me and Nancy charged into battle and destroyed them all,”
Will smiled at him.
Mike smiled back, a smear of sauce on the corner of his painted lip.
He looked pretty, just like one of the barbies Will had seen in the glass window of the toy shop in the corner. He had longed for a barbie doll for almost a year since he'd first seen it.
And now he had a friend who looked like a barbie.
And his sister and mom looked like barbies too. Real life barbies, with a pretty doll house.
“Will, later we have to go on a treasure hunt to find the lost treasure,” Mike said, his eyes wide as if he was telling a huge secret to him.
“Do you have your weapon? I have my sword in my room,”
Will stared at him, and suddenly an idea formed in his head.
“I have my wand!” He said.
Nancy looked at him.
“Oh, you can talk. I thought you–” she smiled, stopping herself.
Mike whipped his head towards her.
The silver tiara on his head was askew and his eyes were flashing.
“What do you mean he can't talk?”
“I have never heard him talk, Mike,” Nancy said. She also had a tiara, far more prettier than Mike's. Her lipstick wasn't smudged like Mike's, it was neat and nice. She looked older and way cooler than them.
But, when he looked back at Mike, with his little frown and smudged lipstick, Will would agree with anyone that Mike was the prettiest in the room.
“He can talk,” Mike said haughtily, crossing his arms over the pink bodice of the dress. “He talks to me all the time! He’s just being a polite Prince,” Mike insisted, a tiny pout forming on his red-stained lips. He leaned over the table, his pink sparkly dress rustling, and looked right at Will. “Tell her, Will. Tell her about the wand.”
Will felt his cheeks burning hot again, but looking at Mike’s big, protective eyes made him feel brave. He nodded quickly, his hair flopping into his face. “It’s in my duffel bag,” he whispered, leaning in so Nancy could hear. “It looks like a toothbrush so the goblins don't steal it, but it’s actually a magic wand.”
Mike gasped, his whole face lighting up with absolute triumph. He whipped back around to Nancy. “See! I told you! He can talk!”
Nancy chuckled, shaking her head as she took a neat sip from her teacup. “Alright, alright. I believe you. And Princess Mitchell has a very powerful wizard Prince.”
Hearing Nancy call him Mike’s Prince made Will’s stomach do a funny, happy flip, like the feeling he got when he went down the big slide at the park.
The rain kept pattering against the blue-curtained windows, making the inside of Nancy’s room feel incredibly warm and safe. Will’s dad would have thrown a fit if he saw this. He would have screamed and used those heavy, mean words that always made Will want to shrink into the floorboards. But here, in the Wheeler house, nobody was screaming. Mrs. Wheeler had just smiled, and Nancy was playing along, and Mike was just... Mike. Only prettier, and happier than Will had ever seen him.
If only Will had a piece of paper and a pencil to draw Princess Mitchell now.
He sighed, as Mike launched into another discussion about planning his treasure hunt.
He spotted a notebook on Nancy’s desk, along with a few colour pencils.
“Do you want to draw, Will?” Mike asked suddenly, eyes huge as he followed his eyeline.
Will nodded, stealing a glance at Nancy, checking if she’d be mad that he wanted to draw on her notebook.
But she smiled at him kindly.
“I will give you a piece of paper and my pencil, wait,” she said, standing up and tearing a piece of paper from her notebook. Will flinched slightly at the sound, looking at Mike, who was grinning at him fully. She returned with a pencil that had a strawberry shaped eraser attached at the end, the colour mimicking the exact colour of Mike’s lips.
“Nancy would never give me that,” he said, grinning widely at Will.
Will blushed, basking under the attention of the Wheeler siblings, his tiny heart jack rabbiting when Nancy placed them in front of him.
“Wait, draw me!” Mike said, leaning on the table, his tiny hand under his chin.
Will smiled at him, taking in the light pink blush on his cheeks, his messy black curls with the tiara perched on top and his pouty lips with red lipstick.
Pretty.
He bent over the paper, sketching Mike’s face, and then his dress, looking under the table to see his tiny Barbie heels that Nancy had given him from her collection.
He was truly Princess Mitchell indeed.
Mike and Nancy continued to talk, spinning tails about the Lost Treasure, how securely it was hidden and how hard it was to reach it.
Will kept drawing, listening to the siblings chatter.
He felt at peace, as he added eyes on his Mike, and a tiny mouth. He didn’t have colours, and he was a bit scared to ask again for something from Nancy. If they were in Mike’s room, he knew Mike would’ve given him anything, he didn’t even have to ask.
Nobody understood him like Mike did.
Not even his mom.
He finished his sketch and tapped Mike on the shoulder.
Mike turned his head and gasped.
“Nancy, look! It’s me! It’s so pretty! I look so pretty!” Mike screamed, shaking the paper in front of Nancy’s face.
Nancy grabbed it from her brother’s hands and examined it, a slow smile on her face.
“It’s beautiful, Will. Far more prettier than Mike actually is–”
“Hey!”
“You should draw yourself too. We can then name this drawing, ‘The Prince and Princess of Hawkins’,”
Mike gasped again.
“Yes!” he screamed, his voice shrill with enthusiasm. “I can hang it in the basement!”
Mike danced around the room, his dress making a swish, swish sound as he twirled.
Will took the drawing back and started a rough sketch of himself.
It didn’t even take him five minutes to complete himself, with the magic wand and an imaginary crown, with a cape that hung from his shoulders past his ankles. He erased one of Mike’s hands and redrew it, entwined with Will’s own.
It was them.
The Prince and The Princess of Hawkins.
Holding hands and protecting the kingdom.
He felt Mike lean over his shoulder, his hot breath hitting his neck. He smelled like chocolate.
“It’s so beautiful, Will,” he said, eyes wide and mouth stretched into a pretty smile. “You’re the best, Will,” he said again softly, his voice dropping to a happy whisper.
Will stared up at him, turning around his chair.
Mike shut his eyes and leaned closer, his red lips puckered like a tiny fish. He leaned closer and closer, until Will could smell the strawberry lipstick and the chocolate on his tongue. He grabbed Will’s shoulder with his hand, steadying himself as he leaned impossibly closer.
Mike’s eyes were squinched shut, his head tilted just a little bit so his dark curls brushed against Will’s forehead, and—
Smack.
He pressed a quick, loud kiss right onto Will’s cheek.
Will felt his cheeks grow hot, as soon as Mike pulled back, his face still containing a bright smile. Will froze, his eyes as wide as saucers, his heart playing a drum roll in his tiny chest.
“Thanks for the portrait, Prince William,” Mike said, bowing deeply, holding the corners of his dress with his hands, he could hear Nancy’s soft giggles behind him. “Your talent is amazing,”
“Thank you, Princess Mitchell,” Will said, playing along, as he stood up from his chair. He reached for Mike’s hand, and gave him an equally deep bow, bending from his waist, and still holding Mike’s hand. He gave a tiny kiss to Mike’s knuckles, as he watched his cheeks redden under the fake blush Nancy had smeared on him earlier, turning the exact shade of red on his lips.
He was so pretty.
His heart was thundering in his throat as he straightened up.
Nancy stood up from her own chair, clapping and beaming at them.
“That was so cute! I want mom to take a picture of you guys!” She exclaimed as she bounded down the stairs.
They both looked at each other and erupted into a fit of giggles, Mike’s hand still trapped in Will’s.
–
The rain was pattering against the windowpane, a low, soothing rhythm that sounded exactly like it had fifteen years ago.
Will adjusted his weight, shifting slightly on the couch to let Mike rest his head more comfortably against his chest. They were cuddling on the couch, under a throwblanket, Mike half draped over Will to conserve heat.
They were looking at a photo album, one from the extensive collection of Mrs. Wheeler, which she had forced on themselves during her last visit. Well, not exactly forced on Will, because he had eagerly taken the book when he had seen the photographs with Mike in diapers in it.
It was currently flipped to a picture that contained the two of them, five-years old, smiling proudly at the camera. Mike was wearing a pink dress with a purple sash around his waist, one of Nancy’s old dresses. On his head was a silver tiara, placed askew on his mop of curls, his lips glaring red contrasting with the pink on his cheeks.He was holding Will’s hand, who was clutching a toothbrush– a wand back then, and a stain of red visible on Will’s pale cheek.
“Oh God,” Mike groaned, hiding his face in Will’s chest, “I forgot this existed,”
“You look so pretty in this, Mike,” Will said, a teasing lilt on his voice.
“Shut up,” Mike grumbled, as he tried to flip the page. Will caught his hand and pulled it away from the album. Mike groaned and slumped against Will.
“And you gave me a kiss too. That was my first kiss from someone who was not family,” Will said, freeing Mike’s wrist and touching the lip-shaped stain on his cheek in the glossy photo. His other hand was wrapped around his waist, slipped under his sweater to touch his warm bare skin.
“You were so tiny back then,” Mike said, entirely ignoring the kiss comment.
From this angle, his face was hidden by his curls for Will, but he could tell that he was blushing deeply. He slipped his hand higher, touching Mike’s smooth skin, his warm hand splaying against his ribcage. Mike curled in closer, pressing the side of his face onto Will’s neck, snuggling into him.
“We were both so tiny,” Will said.
“I was taller,”
“You were cuter,”
Mike huffed, pretending to be annoyed.
“So I am not cute now?”
“You are beautiful now,”
Mike felt the blush spread deeper on his cheeks, his ears and neck burning. He needed to change the subject now.
“We couldn’t even do the treasure hunting afterwards because mom called us for dinner,” he said, ducking his head, hoping Will didn’t see his blush.
Will ducked his head too, his lips pressing briefly against the crown of his head.
“I didn’t even need to go treasure hunting because I had found my treasure then and there,” he said into his hair.
“Will, you are embarrassing me,” Mike said, pressing his whole face into his chest.
Will curled his fingers into the back of his neck and pulled his face away from his chest ever so gently.
Mike was red, chewing furiously on his bottom lip.
“I’m just telling the truth, Princess,”
Mike rolled his eyes, but the effect was completely ruined by the massive grin breaking through his stubborn pout. He swat half-heartedly at Will’s chest before giving up entirely, letting his hands rest flat against Will's collarbones.
“You’re terrible,” Mike mumbled, though his fingers subconsciously curled into the fabric of Will’s sweater, anchoring him close. “You’ve been waiting fifteen years to use that line on me, haven't you?”
“Maybe,” Will murmured, his thumb rubbing a soothing, slow line right along the warm skin of Mike’s jaw.
His features had gotten sharper, the baby fat on his chubby cheeks had molded into structured cheekbones, his lips fuller, the pout thicker and his eyes were long and slanted now.
He was pretty.
Will remembered having the same thought when he was five, in Nancy’s bedroom, fifteen years ago.
And still, even after fifteen years, his brain worked just the same when it came to Mike.
“Kiss me,” he muttered, slipping his hand back under Mike’s sweater, wrapping it around the narrow waist. “For real this time,”
And Mike did, leaning in, his breath smelling like the hot chocolate they drank earlier and strawberry chapstick, reminding him of his childhood memory of the innocent kiss Mike had given him. He pulled Mike up, letting the photo album slide on to the couch, and pulling Mike fully onto his lap. He felt the soft brush of his lips, the smooth buttery texture because of the chapstick, strawberry flavour exploding on his tongue as he licked the seam of his lips. Mike opened his mouth instantly, licking the tip of his tongue with his own.
He sighed into the kiss, holding onto Will’s shoulders, his entire body weight acting like a heavy warm blanket for Will.
Will’s heart did that familiar, heavy thud against his ribs—the exact same drumroll it had played in Nancy's pale pink bedroom all those years ago. He squeezed Mike’s waist, his other hand coming up to hold his face, gently cupping the soft cheek of his.
Will Byers had gone through a lot in his short twenty years of life. He had fought interdimensional monsters, got possessed, had fallen in love with his best friend of fifteen years, and was currently pursuing an art degree. His life was a jumble of precarious scenes piled up together, some far more traumatic than the other. But right now, he felt at ease, having Mike in his arms like this, kissing him thoroughly and promising him a lifetime of happiness. He knew life would not be easy for him, it had never been before, but he knew with Mike by his side, he could face it braver than he would alone.
Mike was truly the treasure in his life, his sole purpose of living, after all these years.