This one was inspired by AM by One Direction, which I completely adore.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the title.

Will Byers tipped his head to the side, looking across at Mike Wheeler. Mike pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and pursed his lips together, releasing a stream of hazy smoke into the air above them.

Will's eyes were glued to Mike's mouth.

It was just after two in the morning, a few days after Christmas, and they were back in Hawkins for the break. Mike didn't want to stay at his house, his parents were spiraling towards a divorce and it wasn't as though Nancy would be there to act as a buffer, she was on holiday with Steve Harrington and Jonathan Byers, so he would be there with just them and his little sister. He stuck it out two nights, and had then come to the Byers house. Joyce Byers was more than happy for him to come and stay with them, just like he had when they were in primary school and then at high school.

Mike and Will hadn't done much in the past day, laid around and played playstation, helped Joyce around the house and had gone with her to dinner at Sheriff Hoppers house. Joyce had decided to stay the night there, ignoring Mike and Will's playful eyebrow wiggles, and so Will had driven the car back to their house.

"I can feel you staring," Mike stated with an upward curl of his lips as he raised his arm to put his cigarette back between his lips. Will didn't respond verbally, although there was a small smile on his face as he turned his head back to looking up at the ceiling.

They weren't...Together, exactly.

But they were getting there.

Will had had a thing for Mike, pretty much as long as they were friends. It hadn't blossomed into love until they were in high school, when they were about fifteen, but after talking with his mother multiple times, he knew that he needed to focus more on himself that Mike. He found himself getting swept up in Mike far too often, and he needed to make sure that he wasn't letting it consume him. He spent a lot of time with Hopper after school, becoming incredibly interested in the forensic side of police work, and he expanded his friends group and even dated a couple of guys as well, which had been fun. Mike had been dating Jane Hopper, and there had even been a couple of double dates, which hadn't made Will quite as nauseous as he thought it would be.

Jane and Mike had broken up in their senior year, a few months before graduation, and Will and his boyfriend at the time, Callum Rogers, had decided to end things at the beginning of summer break because they were both going to different colleges, and in all honesty, it had been more about fun than anything else.

Will and Mike had been going to the same college though.

And they put in requests to share a room together, which had been accepted.

They had always been close; but sharing a room, sharing frustration over studying, sharing the last couple of noodle packets when they were out of money, sharing first experiences like trying weed and getting drunk to the point they would black out—it had brought them even closer.

And two months before now, before they had come home for Christmas break, partway through their second year of college, they had kissed.

More than kissed, really.

They had been sloppy drunk and stumbling home from a party at a frat house, and Mike had tripped as Will had managed to unlock their door and they had fallen inside. They had both been laughing as they tried to find the light switch, and they had ended up going for the lamp, which they managed to turn on, but then pushed off the desk between their beds. There was more laughter, and then Will had fallen onto his bed and pulled Mike with him. Mike hair had started going crazy in the past few months, because he had stopped going for such regular hair cuts, and the curls were incredible around his face, they were so soft and pretty, and Will couldn't help but reach up and tug at one of them, his fingers brushing over Mike's cheek.

Mike had stared down at him, his eyes suddenly so wide and clear, and then he had leaned down and brought his lips to Will's.

It had been tentative at first, and it had dissolved into awkward handjobs which weren't really in sync and nowhere near experienced, but had gotten them both off quickly because it was them and then they had giggled and laid next to each other, and talked in hushed tones until they fell asleep.

There had been kisses and touches exchanged since, but they hadn't gone much further.

It was the talking that made Will fall even more.

The talking when they were both done with the day, and ready to sleep, but their brains just weren't ready to switch off yet. They would open the window of their little dorm room, sometimes sit on their beds, sometimes sit on the ground, sometimes cuddle together on one bed, and only have the dim light of their lamp on. The night would be silent outside and most of their floor was quiet, and things just felt calm in the world during the early hours of the morning.

They talked about everything.

It felt strange that they had known each other since they were kids but there were still things to talk about—to learn about one another.

But there was.

Mike admitted that he was glad his parents were getting a divorced.

Will whispered that he wanted his mother to get together with Hopper, because he made her happy.

Mike said that he and Jane had never had sex, and Will had responded that he had lost his virginity in the back of his brothers car when he was sixteen.

It wasn't just heavy topics, it was Mike singing the lyrics that he was currently working on, and Will blabbing on for hours and hours about the latest thing he learnt in his forensic classes. Mike would sometimes play his guitar, and Will just liked staring at his fingers moving over the strings. Will would sometimes sketch, and Mike just liked to watch pictures form on the paper.

Will didn't think he had ever fallen out of love with Mike, but it felt different. It felt more solid, not like something that was consuming him and threatening to take over his life.

It also felt reciprocated.

Even though neither of them had said the words out loud, it felt mutual.

Will knew that Mike had loved him before, back when they were in primary and high school, but it had been in a friendship way, not as something romantic.

He knew in his bones that it was different now.

"Will?" Mike asked, and there was something in his tone that made it seem as though he had said his name a couple of times. Will blinked, looking back over at his friend, and he realized he must have zoned out for a few minutes, because Mike was now sitting up, his cigarette stubbed out and his legs crossed, the yellow and blue hoodie he was wearing engulfing his body, making him look younger and smaller, despite the fact that he towered over Will.

"Yeah?" Will asked, not bothering to move into a seated position. Mike shuffled closer so that his knees were pressed against Will's arm, which was flat against his side. Mike picked up Will's arm and stretched it over his knees, his long fingers wrapping around Will's wrist, his fingertips pressing against the inside of his wrist, stroking against the soft skin there. It sent shivers through Will and his eyes fluttered closed for a moment. When they opened, Mike was smiling at him, his red lips curling upward as he leaned forward, tipping his whole body forward, folded legs curling so that Mike could roll all the way forward until his forehead was pressed against Will's.

"Hey," Mike smiled, his eyes wide open, nearly going cross-eyed to meet Will's eyes and Will couldn't help but let out a laugh, which came out a little breathless.

"Hey," Will responded, feeling Mike's breath play over his lips. Mike twisted his head to the side slightly, his forehead shifting against Will's.

"Do you have any New Years resolutions?" He asked.

"Not really," Will replied with a half-hearted shrug. "Do you?" Mike was still staring down at Will, and then he leaned forward and pressed his mouth gently against Will's. Will's eyes closed and the hand that Mike wasn't holding reached up to wrap around the back of Mike's neck, holding him in closer. Mike pulled back just a little bit, so that their lips were still touching slightly, and Will could feel them move and shape the words that Mike said next.

"I do," he murmured. "It's you." Will's eyes widened and he tried to make out the expression on Mike's face, but it was hard, given that he was right there.

"Me?" He managed to choke out, but give his lips were still so close to Mike's, it came out more like 'mff?'. Mike kissed him properly again, their lips firmly together and lasting longer than the brief kiss that they had shared before. Then he pulled back, rocking back on his legs and tugging at Will until Will was sitting as well. Mike's fingers were still wrapped around his wrist, and he kept on pulling until Will was in his lap, and Will couldn't help but huff out a laugh as he settled himself between Mike's thighs.

"I want us to...Give us a go," Mike looked nervous, Mike could tell in the way that his fingers tightened around Will's wrist and the way he kept swallowing, his throat clicking.

Will felt his heart melt in his chest.

"I know that we've been talking and kissing and...Stuff," Mike chewed down on his lower lip. "But I want to...Do it properly, you know?" He licked his lips and rubbed them together and Will could barely keep a grin from breaking out across his face, and he settled for throwing his weight against Mike's torso, catching Mike off guard and sending him toppling to the ground, Will landing firmly on top of him.

"Yes," Will stated, his voice breathy. "So much yes." Mike let out a relieved laugh, and was then cut off abruptly as Will's mouth came down on his.

Let me know what you think x