Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was the last summer the party would be together.

It had to come to an end sometime. They knew they’d see each other again, anyway. But this was it, the last few months of them here together. It should be a happy thought, considering all the shit that went down in this town just a few years ago. Mike knew that. He knew that even as he paced his basement in shorts and a tee shirt, waiting for Lucas and Max to get back from their road trip.

Will was right there with him. He’d already left Hawkins once, and it had only made him more miserable in the end. It was home here, despite everything. Sometimes, Will still thought of all that as a dream, even though he knew he was in the upside down. He remembered killing Vecna with El like it was yesterday. It was like a movie in his head though. Like it all happened to some other Will Byers in some other Hawkins. He wished he could forget everything.

The two of them had been going through their last two school years in a daze. So much so that when college applications came up, they had no idea where to go. Will wanted to go to an art school. Mike wanted to be near Will. So, they landed in Chicago. It had a great art school, and Will was lucky enough to get financial aid. Mike was going to the University of Chicago, eventually planning to major in English. Joyce and Karen bought bumper stickers for their colleges. Mike and Will had a crappy apartment picked out and everything.

When they graduated, they all promised they’d stay in touch forever, standing in front of their old school in caps and gowns. It didn’t feel real. Just a few years ago this had been a volunteer base. This wasn’t their lives.

“And anyway, we have the whole summer.” Max grinned, holding hands with Lucas.

“Not the whole summer,” Mike corrected childishly. “You guys are disappearing for two weeks.”

He knew that was unfair, that they were driving out to where they were going to be living for the next few years at least. It wasn’t as close to home, and that made a move more complicated. Will nudged him as if to remind him of all this.

“Hey, man. We’ll come back and it’ll be just like old times. Promise.” Lucas spoke confidently, unafraid of change. “One last summer.”

Change was what scared Mike the most. He cried the day El left Hawkins with Kali, even though they’d broken up on good terms a long time before that. He just couldn’t face the fact that someone that had been around for his entire adolescence wasn’t going to be there anymore. He hated when Nancy left for Emerson, hated when Jonathan left for NYU. He secretly counted the days until holidays because everyone would be around again, like before.

Except El, but that couldn’t be helped.

Jonathan took their picture that day, and they all got a print of it. Mike had his stuck in the basement, smiling at the sight of their arms around each other. Him and Will had spent the past two weeks with Dustin, playing DnD and biking around town even though Mike had a car now. For old times’ sake.

Mike sighed and flopped on the couch next to Will.

“Has he radioed yet?” He said impatiently, checking his watch.

“Not yet,” Will sounded apologetic.

“Try him again.”

The crackle of the walkie-talkie filled the room.

“Dustin, do you copy?”

They waited, Mike tapping his foot and Will stifling a laugh. It was easy with them. That’s one of few reasons why Mike thought living somewhere else might not be the worst thing in the world. He would have Will, like always. They would have their own space, without Mike’s parents hanging over their heads all the time. Mike bit back a smile and reached over to grab the walkie from his best friend.

“Dustin, I swear to God if you’re ignoring us- “

He didn’t get a chance to finish that thought.

“I’m literally outside, assholes. Are you gonna let me in or am I supposed to melt out here?”  Dustin’s voice was light as usual, and the boys could tell he was smiling.

Mike raced up the basement stairs to let him in, pulling him into a hug as always. Ted glanced over at them from his La-Z-Boy, scoffing and shaking his head.

“Hey Dustin,” Holly called from her spot on the floor.

“Holly! How’s my favourite Wheeler?” He joked, nudging Mike’s side.

She giggled in response. Mike slapped Dustin’s arm, heading back for the basement. He heard Dustin exchanging pleasantries with his parents for a moment before he followed downstairs.

Mike rejoined Will on the couch as Dustin sat on the floor, grinning up at his lifelong friends. If he closed his eyes, they were all 12 again. He didn’t want to go through the apocalypse again, and he especially wouldn’t subject Will to another week in the upside down, but sometimes he wished they could redo it and grow up normal this time. Without nearly dying before 18.

“Do you guys know when they’re getting back?” Mike asked, desperate to stop that train of thought.

“Lucas called my mom from their motel last night; they should be here in the next hour or so if they left on time.” Will answered, not missing a beat.

Dustin groaned. He looked around the basement, smiling when he saw the old mattress in the corner. The blanket was messed up and there was a set of pyjamas neatly folded on the pillow.

“Did you sleep here again last night Byers? You’re literally living together already! No need to spend all that money after all.” He was delighted at the chance to tease them.

Will shrugged, looking off to the side.

He’d officially moved to the cabin with Hopper and his mom shortly after El left, but most of his nights were spent here. He’d worked in the diner in town over senior year, and logistically it made more sense for him to stay close. That was the excuse anyway. They couldn’t afford another car, and Joyce didn’t want him biking in the forest even years after he disappeared.

Mike didn’t mind. He didn’t have to work, but he would drive Will to work and hang around the diner to keep him company, ordering coffees and studying in a booth. Will had quit after graduation, having saved all of his money for Chicago. He still didn’t sleep at the cabin most nights.

They fell into a familiar rhythm, talking over one another as they waited for Max and Lucas. Karen brought down a snack plate as usual, and the old mini fridge was full of Coke for them. One hour passed, then two. After two and a half hours, the basement door opened and a sunburnt Max strolled down the stairs in cutoff shorts and a stripy tee shirt.

Lucas followed, taking the steps two at a time as usual. Their outfits were the same. They looked like they belonged together. He opened his arms as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Lady and gentlemen. We’re back!”

The boys laughed, and Max slapped his stomach with a roll of her eyes. Maybe nothing had ever changed, maybe it would never have to. Maybe they could stay here in this basement for the rest of their lives. Mike thought a part of him would always be here, that his life had taken place between these four walls with his parents’ footsteps over his head. Everything after was just a footnote.

The couple sat together, hands laced. They’d been touchy ever since Max woke up from her coma all those years back. They got shit for it, but everyone secretly thought it was sweet. They were growing together for the better. Max always thought she’d die before being tied to a man in her teens, but Lucas didn’t intend to tie her down. They were together but lived their own lives. She couldn’t ask for a better partner.

On their road trip, Max took her skateboard and explored their future town by herself. She knew Lucas could entertain himself for a few hours, and they’d meet up again for dinner. When they went out together, it was an activity instead of a chore. She still liked talking with him. She’d been blissfully happy since the end of Vecna, and Lucas was just a part of that. A big part, but not the whole thing. Her life was full. It was beautiful.

Lucas had been feeling lucky ever since Max woke up. He wasn’t going to let her go again. Not permanently, anyway. So last fall, when she’d suggested moving to California he was entirely on board. He even brought back ‘tubular,’ just to make her laugh. Seeing the ocean was great but watching Max take it in for the first time since childhood was even better. He knew he’d miss this basement and these friends, but she was his home now. So was California.

“Did you surf?” Will asked, leaning forward childishly.

“We were going to,” Max smirked. “This guy’s scared of open water, though.”

“Woah, I am not scared. I just… don’t trust it.”

Mike snorted. Will nudged him again, but Mike saw his smile. It made him smile too.

“That’s like. The definition of being scared of the ocean,” Dustin piped up.

“No, it’s not!”

“It totally is!” Mike laughed with Dustin and Will as Lucas sulked playfully.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing, Dustin. You’re gonna have to get used to the subway,” Lucas fired back.

They’d been to New York together once last summer. Nancy joined them, grateful for a chance to see Jonathan around her packed schedule. Steve walked ahead of the group with Dustin, leading them into the subway casually. As if it was an everyday occurrence, which it was for some of the group. Dustin hated it immediately, complaining the whole time and jumping back when trains arrived at the station. They never let him live it down, especially when he announced that he was moving to the city to attend NYU, like Jonathan had. Everyone knew it was so that he could live with Steve, Robin and Vickie.

“Not if I walk everywhere!” Dustin said cheerfully.

The room was buzzing, different conversations splitting off and overlapping. The road trip drew the most attention, but for their part Lucas and Max asked about Hawkins too. They ordered pizza when it got dark and put the radio on quietly when their conversations started dying off. Mike thought they might all sleep in the basement as time ticked on, but Lucas and Max left around 10. Dustin peeled off half an hour later. And it was just Mike and Will again.

“I’ve been drawing our floor plan,” Will said through a yawn.

“Oh yeah? Lemme see!”

Will pulled his sketchbook from the chest of drawers they’d put down here when the Byers moved in. It was still essentially his. He checked the sketchbook before showing Mike, assuring himself that it didn’t have any portraits of Mike in it. He’d never stopped drawing Mike Wheeler, but he had stopped showing him the portraits when they got a bit too old for that to be normal. Even as Will passed over the sketchbook, their hands met and he felt like he’d been zapped.

Mike cradled the sketchbook as if it was the most important thing he’d ever get to hold. He treated all of Will’s drawings like this. He’d never told Will about how much he looked at the binder of art when he was missing. He still looked at it at least once a month. He didn’t really know why.

As he saw the layout of their apartment, the neat labelling of rooms, he felt like he could cry. They’d have to pack their lives up, drive out and unpack their lives into this. It looked beautiful in Will’s careful hand, but it was really just a collection of empty boxes with poor heating. Mike glanced from the page to Will. He wondered if their history in Hawkins was the only reason they were so close. Before he could stop himself, he grabbed Will’s hand from where it lay limply on the couch.

“Mike?”

“I’m excited,” he started. “Excited to be living with you. For real, I mean. Just the two of us. I’m scared to leave here, though. Does that make sense?”

It felt like too much. Too intimate for them. Will didn’t know how to react. He’d spent years trying not to touch Mike’s hand, only for him to reach out again. This must be the first time since the mind flayer that they’d touched like this. His body moved of its own accord, lacing their fingers together.

“Yeah,” he whispered into the basement.

They smiled at each other. Their hands stayed connected. It was bliss.

Will wondered if Mike would still hold his hand if he knew.

The thought made his whole body stiffen and he quickly separated their hands, trying to play it off by scratching his neck instead. If the way Mike was looking at him right now was anything to go by, it didn’t work. Mike being Mike, he didn’t say anything. He just watched Will with those wide eyes of his, eyebrows arching in confusion.

They sat together talking until after midnight. Mike went up to his room with a soft ‘goodnight’ and Will lay on the mattress, wondering how he was going to be roommates, real roommates, with the boy he’d loved his entire life.

Dustin got home to the phone ringing. It was loud against the silence of his house. His mom was already asleep, so he was basically home alone. He rushed into his room to take the call with a bit more privacy anyway. He’d bought himself a phone last summer when he worked at the arcade. The walkie talkie was still his preferred method of communication, so there was a small list of people who would call him.

Steve, Robin or…

It couldn’t be.

He sat on his bed, breathing deeply before he picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Dustin?”

It couldn’t be her. Not after all this time.

“Dustin, it’s me. El.”

He’d given her the house number right before she left.

Dustin and El were friends. They weren’t best friends or anything like that, he wasn’t delusional. But as El was spending one last day with the party, he found his heart dropped each time he remembered it was the last time. She’d been so busy with Mike, then Joyce and Hop, they didn’t have much time to bond. Dustin thought that was a real shame. So, as he walked her back to the cabin, he pulled a scrap of paper he’d prepared earlier that morning from the pocket of his jeans. He slipped it into El’s hand before giving her a huge hug.

“If you’re ever around, or you ever want to talk. That’s the house phone.” He spoke shyly, not able to meet her eyes.

El smiled.

“Thank you, Dustin.”

He never expected her to actually call. He’d waited by the phone for the first few weeks and then felt stupid for the few weeks after that. He had no right to expect anything, but he missed her. He always hoped she was having fun with her sister, experiencing a world outside of Indiana. Now, here she was, on the other end of the phone. Her voice as smooth as he remembered it.

“El! Holy shit, how are you? Where are you? Are you okay?” He rattled off questions as he thought of them.

She laughed. She honest to God laughed.

“Dustin! I’m fine. I really am. I’ve had a good few years. I’m actually,” she hesitated. “I’m actually back! In Hawkins.”

He stood up from his bed, nearly yanking the phone off the bedside table.

“You are?” He couldn’t believe his luck. “Why?”

“I wanted to see Hop. He said it would be safe now. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but I missed you.”

El missed him? The thought made him giddy.

“All of you.”

Oh.

“I don’t know if you all can come to the cabin. I’d like to see you. Not… tonight obviously.” She laughed again, sounding more self-conscious this time.

“Oh totally!” Dustin sat back down, twirling the cord around his finger absentmindedly. His eyes darted around his room, landing on his old Star Wars poster. “I’ll ask the others. Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.”

They sat in silence for a few more moments, as if they were drinking in each other’s presence.

“Dustin?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for giving me your number. I missed you.” El hoped he would catch on.

“I missed you too,” he replied, unable to keep the smile from his lips.

“Goodnight.”

The line went dead. Dustin let his back fall onto the bed, staring at the ceiling in disbelief. He still wasn’t sure if that was real. If he was dreaming, he didn’t want to wake up. El was back.

This summer suddenly looked a lot brighter.

Chapter Text

Dustin woke up earlier than usual the next day. He’d barely even slept after last night’s phone call.

He went through the motions of waking up, getting ready to go out and scarfing down whatever his mother made for breakfast. It was like torture. He checked his watch every possible moment, waiting for it to be a normal time. He still made sure to kiss his mom on the cheek before he left for the day, scooping his headset on and grabbing his bike. Dustin rode in the direction of his friends’ houses before he decided to reach out.

“Does anybody copy?”

He waited. Nothing.

“Hellooooo? Anyone?”

He waited again. He was about to give up when, about halfway to Mike’s house, the walkie crackled in his ears.

“Dustin? This is Will, over.”

Dustin laughed to himself at the etiquette Will still used. They hadn’t been serious about that since they were kids.

“Byers! I have totally awesome news, and I need all of you to get your asses outside immediately.”

It was dramatic, but that was Dustin. Will smiled, watching Mike search for his car keys out of the corner of his eye. Mike stopped, standing up straight. He glanced at Will for a moment, before tearing through the basement all over again. He’d been at this for at least fifteen minutes but Will still found it entertaining.

“We can’t today, remember?” Will tapped his pencil against the sketchbook laid across his lap.

Dustin frowned, unsure of what he meant. He was probably told about it a few weeks ago, but he’d spent a lot of time lately thinking about college and New York so things went in one ear and out the other.

“We’re going shopping,” Mike’s voice had never sounded less enthusiastic. “With Lucas and Max.”

Mike dropped the walkie as soon as he’d said his piece, stomping over to the other side of the room. He lifted up random papers strewn across the desk and swore under his breath when he couldn’t find his prize. He tried to remember the last time he’d had them, but failed to recall anything other than the fact that he did, in fact, have car keys.

“This is why you should put them on the hook,” Will said, trying not to sound like a know it all.

Mike bit back a smile. He’d never do that. He loved this back and forth, and anyway he always forgot it was there.

“My method works. I just need to…”

His voice trailed off and his face lit up suddenly. Will watched as he raced over to the card table, reaching underneath and emerging victoriously. He held the car keys in the air, grinning at Will.

Will just focused on the keychain he’d made for Mike as a graduation gift hanging in the air. An anatomical heart.

“Seriously? You guys suck,” Dustin groaned, startling both of them. “Can’t you reschedule? This is very important.”

Mike sighed, reaching out for the walkie. Will dutifully handed it over. Their hands brushed, but Will pretended not to notice. Mike pretended not to notice too.

“Sorry, man. We have to go today or we- I- won’t ever get to it. Can’t you just tell us what it is?”

Will joined Mike where he was standing, naturally drawn to his side. Mike swung the keys around his index finger, smiling at Will.

“What time are you guys back?” Dustin stopped his bike, getting ready to ride in the other direction.

“Maybe around 5? It depends on what we end up with, and whether we end up buying anything.” Will sighed, scratching the back of his neck. He hated disappointing people.

“Ugh, fine. Whatever. I’ll radio you later. Over and out.”

Dustin rolled his eyes and started pedalling again. They were all moving away to start fresh, and he was moving into an apartment that had everything they would need. All he’d need to do was pack up his stuff and wait for Steve to drive down to get him at the end of summer. It couldn’t be easier, and he loved that. Still, if it wasn’t for El being back, he probably would’ve traipsed around the store with them just for something to do.

When he reached the Hopper cabin, he couldn’t stop the smile from spreading. It was a long ride, but it was worth it. He ditched his bike out front, raced up the stairs and knocked on the door.

Seconds later, it swung open and El appeared. She looked different, of course. Her hair was longer, her style had shifted again, and she might have even bit a little taller. It was hard to tell after all the time apart. El looked happier too. Her smile now reached her eyes.

El threw her arms around Dustin, grinning as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He froze, waiting for his brain to catch up with the reality in front of him. When he let his arms wrap around her, it was like coming home. They lingered, holding on to each other for almost a full minute. When they pulled back, it was only to take each other in.

“I missed you,” she whispered, taking his hand.

Dustin let himself be led inside, sitting on the sofa in front of the TV. El sat cross-legged facing him, pulling a pillow onto her lap. She tapped a rhythm on it absentmindedly.

“Are the others coming?”

“No, they’re busy.” Dustin sighed heavily. “But they actually have a good excuse, I promise. I haven’t, um, told them yet. It didn’t feel like a walkie conversation.”

El nodded. He drank her face in, trying to match it up with the girl he’d known. He tried to memorise it so that when she inevitably disappeared again, he would have something to hold on to. To prove that this was real. He still couldn’t trust his memories from when they first knew each other. There was too much going on. Now things were calm, he intended to make the most of it.

“It’s okay. We have time,” she said simply. “I can tell you all the stories first. Insider knowledge.”

“Yes, please! How’s Kali?”

The conversation should’ve been stilted after all this time, but it was the opposite. They fell into a rhythm, sharing stories and asking all the right questions. Dustin left gaps for her and she left gaps for him. El spoke about her sister and about how they’d been all over the states.

“Even to Alaska!”

“Did you like it there?”

She hesitated before shaking her head with a giggle.

“Too cold. Kali loved it, though. She wants to go back for the winter. I said we should go to Mexico instead.”

Dustin had stories of his own too. They were nowhere near as exciting, but El listened all the same. She laughed hearing about how Mike and Max orchestrated the senior prank. They wouldn’t stop talking about their big plan, made posters and convinced everyone it was going to be the best of all time. But that was the prank. The day came and went with nothing.

“That’s so ridiculous!” El giggled, falling back against the arm of the chair.

“We told them it was stupid. They still talk about it,” Dustin scoffed. “Max said it was ‘counter culture.’ They’re friends now, believe it or not.”

“Are Lucas and Max…?” El asked.

“Oh! Yeah, they’re together. They’re moving, actually. To California, after the summer.”

El smiled at that, remembering how Max loved the ocean. She made a mental note to ask where exactly they were going. Maybe she could convince Kali to let them visit. She wanted to see it for real. They’d been to the state before, but not for long and only to L.A.

“And,” she hesitated, looking away from Dustin for the first time since he’d got there. “Mike?”

“He’s moving away too. Not to California, obviously,” he laughed to ease the tension. “He’s off to Chicago. With Will!”

That cheered her up.

“Good,” she relaxed again, looking back at Dustin. “I’m glad. They’ll have each other. And you?”

“New York. Steve and Robin have a spare room.”

“That’s amazing!”

Amazing? Dustin smiled to himself, warmth in his cheeks.

They talked long past 5, moving to El’s room when Hop and Joyce got back from work. Dustin didn’t want to leave, and El seemed happy for him to stick around. He almost fell asleep on her bed mid conversation, and Joyce finally intervened to ask him to leave. She did it kindly, with a sweet smile on her face, but Dustin knew it was serious. He ambled over to the door, El clutching his arm.

“Dustin? Thank you for coming over,” El said, wrapping her arms around herself as they stood on the porch.

“Oh! Yeah, totally.”

They stood for a few more seconds, just looking at each other. Before he could change his mind, he wrapped his arms around her. It was a quick hug, but she reciprocated immediately. She always loved hugs with Dustin. They were as warm and open as the boy himself. She had to stop herself from nuzzling into his neck.

“Goodnight,” he called cheerfully as he picked his bike up.

“Goodnight,” she replied, waving and watching him ride off into the forest.

Mike and Will should’ve known they were in for a long day when Lucas produced his list of stuff they needed to get. Max grabbed the biggest cart she could and insisted that Mike push it.

“Why can’t Lucas do it?” Mike whined, still following orders.

“Because I want you to do it,” Max answered, skipping ahead and lacing her fingers with Lucas.

Will laughed. Mike shot a look back, which only made Will laugh harder. Mike felt ten feet tall when he made Will laugh like this. They followed Max and Lucas around the store, falling behind naturally and dodging the other customers. Occasionally, they would see something that they liked, commenting that it would be good for the living room or the kitchen. Neither of them made any move to buy anything.

“We are not getting that lamp, Lucas.”

“Why not?”

He was holding up the ugliest lamp any of them had ever seen. It looked like a neon parrot. Lucas grinned earnestly, holding it up like a trophy. Will couldn’t hold back his laughter, which only set Mike off. Max shot an unimpressed look their way, crossing her arms.

“That’s why.”

“No, I think it’s great!” Mike tried to be serious, but Will was grabbing his arm now and he folded. “It would really, um. It would fly under the radar.”

“Mike! Stop it!” Will was breathless now, leaning on his best friend.

They were both red in the face, holding onto each other in the middle of the store. An elderly employee glanced their way with no real malice. It was a stark reminder that people could see them, though. Mike and Will separated by an inch, not meeting each other’s eyes.

“We can put it in the entry way,” Lucas was ignoring them now, turning his attention to Max. “It would be… a conversation starter! That’s a thing, right?”

“What conversation could that possibly start?” Mike laughed.

“Lucas. It’s not happening. We’re getting this one.” Max picked up a much safer option, a basic green lamp, and put it in the cart. She took the list from him and ticked off another box. “Rugs next.”

“We should probably at least look at rugs,” Will mumbled to Mike as they followed Max to the right aisle. His mind was still on their touch, but he was trying his very best to not focus on that. A rug would help.

“Sure,” Mike agreed easily.

He was having more fun than he expected, wandering around a home store with his friends. His mom told him to get at least one thing today, and a rug was pretty unassuming. Mike didn’t really have an opinion on rugs, so he would go with whatever Will wanted, but he was still here.

Will made a beeline for a huge, weaved rug as soon as they got to the aisle. He stroked the fibres, tracing the design. It was mostly blue with a yellow border, their favourite colours since they met. It was actually kind of perfect for them. The thought made Mike smile.

“Mike, can we?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the fabric.

“Will it even fit in the apartment?”

Will gazed at it, trying to figure it out. After a while, he shrugged.

“Probably.”

Mike laughed, shaking his head. He joined Will to get a closer look. It was cool, he thought. And it would meet the quota. He tilted his head, pulling at the edge of the rug. It was a little more expensive compared to some of the other, smaller rugs, but that wasn’t the real issue. He liked it a bit too much which meant another thing to like about moving out. About growing up.

And it might not even fit in the space.

“I think—”

“Mike, please?”

Mike looked at Will and immediately knew his answer. He couldn’t say no when Will was looking at him like that, eyes wide and a soft smile playing on his lips. How did he look that good in these awful fluorescent lights? He felt a stirring in his chest and smiled back, sighing playfully.

“I guess we can make room for it.”

Will grinned, pulling it from the rack. Mike helped him roll it so they could put it in the cart.

“And if not, I can always cut it down,” he joked.

“Mike!” Will sounded scandalised.

Max and Lucas brought a much smaller rug over for their apartment, Max looking triumphant again. They’d debated over rugs as well, but as usual, Max won. It was a simple design, complimentary to everything else they’d already got. Lucas didn’t want to admit it, but he liked picking the stupidest possible option just to get Max fired up like this. Max didn’t want to admit that she knew that, because she didn’t want it to stop.

“Oh, you guys are actually buying something?” Max asked, peeking at their rug curiously.

“Finally,” Lucas said with a laugh, dropping their rug into the cart.

“Yeah.” Mike shrugged, putting a hand in his pocket.

Despite his earlier panic, it didn’t feel as world ending as he thought it would. He’d been trying to resist acknowledging the fact that he was moving out of his parents’ house for months now, avoiding their questions about college and a job. He hadn’t planned on buying anything until they got to Chicago. He was content to kick that can right down the road. But as they kept shopping, Will kept finding things for the place. A clock, a tea towel set, throw pillows. Mike picked out a candle in the line to pay. It was easier with Will there.

Lucas and Max had to get a separate cart for the sheer amount of stuff they had. They wanted a one and done trip, but they were still talking about other things they could get in the line. They’d worked so much the past year that they were never around. Every penny they’d earned went to this, to the road trip and to getting their apartment in the first place.

“We spent a lot, huh?” Lucas mumbled, glancing over the receipt.

Max shrugged before kissing his cheek.

“It’s worth it.”

“I told my mom we’d be getting some stuff. She’s gonna have a heart attack,” Lucas joked.

Mike insisted on paying for their stuff even though Will brought his wages.

“No, save that. My mom gave me like 100 bucks, same as she did for Nancy,” Mike explained. “I’ll let you pay as soon as we’re in Chicago.”

They didn’t talk about the fact that Mike’s parents had already financially helped them with the apartment before they even got to the store. They’d helped with the first month’s rent required to sign for it without batting an eye. Will just thanked him and stood by his side.

They helped each other load their haul into their cars. Mike and Will took less than five minutes with theirs, simply placing the five or six items into the trunk of Mike’s car. They then played Tetris with Lucas and Max’s haul, shrieking with laughter as things fell from their spots. The sun was setting when they slammed the trunk shut.

“We can, um. We can come back in a couple of weeks, if you want?” Mike kept his eyes on the road as he spoke.

“Yeah!” Will cleared his throat, realising he was way too eager. “I think we should. I can make a list, like Lucas did.”

Mike nodded, lips quirking up.

“Cool. Yeah, I think there’s a lot we’re missing.”

“Oh, you mean we’re not just living with one rug, three tea towels, a clock and a candle?” Will teased.

“I think we need, like, a knife set too. Maybe a lamp or two.”

They laughed, letting the conversation die. Will turned the radio on and stared out of the window until they reached the familiar Wheeler house. They unloaded the car, taking everything to the basement. Ted oversaw the ‘project’ as he called it, moving everything from where the boys put it immediately.

As they sat down at the dining table, Holly looked between Mike and Will with a downturned expression. Karen hummed in the kitchen, finishing up dinner, and Ted was focused on the TV, commentating over the news. It was just the three kids in the Wheeler dining room. A hit of nostalgia overwhelmed Will as he remembered drawing at this very table, helping Holly colour before she was old enough to do it properly. The spaghetti smell took him right back.

“Mike?” Holly’s voice was quiet.

“Yeah?”

“Um,” she started, looking at the table. “Can I, maybe, come and visit you guys once you’re… there?”

Mike blinked, as if this question had never even occurred to him. Will was about to cut in when Mike answered.

“Of course, Holly! I’ll call mom as soon as it’s ready and you can come over for a whole weekend,” Mike smiled gently at his little sister. “We can go to some museums and a movie or whatever you want!”

“You promise?”

Will watched Mike. He watched him more openly than he ever had before, eyes tracing the curve of his nose and his jawline. He loved when Mike got like this. When he showed his heart, it reminded Will why they were best friends in the first place.

“I promise,” he said.

Then, he turned to face Will, startled when their eyes met. Will looked away, like he hadn’t just been caught. He hoped the ground would swallow him like it almost had a few years ago.

“Right Will?” Mike asked softly.

He cleared his throat, glancing over at Holly. He smiled, nodded his confirmation and avoided Mike’s eyes for the rest of the night. He would have to get better at hiding before the summer ended. Mike, on the other hand, couldn’t tear his eyes from his best friend’s frame. Neither of them could escape the other.

Neither of them wanted to.