all i know is it's not the way it used to be. nothing is anymore.
nothing’s been the same for a long time, really. it was something mike had tried time and time again to ignore. even when they were kids starting to go through puberty and mike tried to force himself to grow up, a part of him still wanted to ignore how much things were changing.
he thinks, perhaps, things between will and himself have changed the most. a lot of their dynamic stayed mostly the same, only changing in brief ways, but others had changed drastically. to put it simply, mike didn’t want to make out with lucas, dustin, or max. he didn’t let thoughts of them consume him for days on end. they weren’t the ones he was most thrilled to share his newest work-in-progress d&d campaign notes with.
and though all these changes weren’t anything negative, mike understands where will’s coming from all the same. growing up was hard—harder still when your childhood was stolen from you; riddled with trauma you still don’t quite know how to process—and now with them having graduated and on the countdown 'til college, well, mike truly does understand all too well the anxieties will feels—hopes he does, anyway.
“ i know, ” he sighs while his hand reaches out, finding purchase on will’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “ it sucks… and… i know we aren’t… exactly what we used to be either, but… i’m still here. i’m not going anywhere. ”
