#mike's bf

[serendipitous-magic]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

For a while, Emmett tried to forget it. Really, he did. And he was doing pretty well for a while. Christmas came and went, and then New Years, and then they were back in school and he had new classes and new classrooms to figure out, a new schedule to memorize.

But lately it’s been worming its way back into his brain.

Which is really damn annoying. Because now he’s conflicted. Now he knows about the kiss. He knows that Will wants Mike in some way - and Emmett likes to think he knows Mike fairly well. He can say with some certainty that if Mike hadn’t wanted that kiss, it wouldn’t have happened. Mike is stubborn. He’s not afraid to make a scene. He would have pulled away.

But Mike did want the kiss. Emmett knows that. Something in him has suspected nearly since the start. He’s seen the way the two of them exist together. Two halves of a whole. And now that Will told him - damn it, why did Will have to tell him? - the pieces are falling together. The little touches and smiles. Mike’s mouth on the lip of Will’s thermos, Will’s flushed cheeks in the moment before Mike got off his hips.

How unlucky. How inconvenient that Will chose to tell him.

Ignorance is bliss. And now that Emmett knows, Will has robbed him of the privilege of inertia. He can’t just continue along the same track anymore, blithely forging ahead, eyes on the prize. Only a year and a few months left of high school. Just carve out a routine and let the current carry you there.

Only, not anymore. Because that kiss? It changes things.

-_-_-_-

... Yeah I’m really blazing through this. Not even gonna apologize lol. With my writing it’s either feast or famine, you get nothing for 6 months and then you get like 4 chapters in the space of two weeks. I do not control the rate at which lobsters die muse.

[serendipitous-magic]

Would it be possible to have a sneak peak or moodboard for the next chapter of roll for strength? If not that okay. I hope you’re doing well:)

So I’ve had this in my inbox for... months? 😅 And as of yesterday I started working on the new chapter (I know, I know. Life throttled me and then 12 other creative projects were higher up on my to-do list). 

But here’s a bit from Ch 5, which should be out later today

-_-_-_-

“Emmett!” It’s El, waving from the front door. “You got a hand?”

“Yeah,” Emmett calls back, loping away to help. “What’s up?”

“I just need someone to help carry blankets. They’re bulkier than...”

Their voices have barely retreated into the house before Lucas mutters, “Should we tell him this isn’t a runway?”

Mike stiffens a degree. If he wasn’t standing close enough to Will for their arms to brush, Will might not have noticed it. “What do you mean?”

“C’mon.” Lucas smiles conspiratorially, like they’re all sharing a joke in class when they’re supposed to be working quietly. “The jacket? The pants? We’re going out in the middle of nowhere, buddy, there’s nobody out there to impress with your gay little tight pants. Maybe chill out a little.”

He says gay the way people usually say stupid, so Will can’t tell if he actually suspects or not. Either way, Mike is... not taking that comment well. Will can feel him tensing up and wilting at the same time, shoulders hunching uncomfortably under his jacket as he opens and closes his mouth. His face is red - redder than the cold-flush it just had a moment ago.

And something in Will, some small little thread, snaps. He may not exactly like Emmett - well, that’s not true, he’d like him fine if it wasn’t for the whole Mike situation - but... they are on the same team, after all. 

“Hey, lay off.”

All heads turn to him. Lucas blinks, startled by how sharp the words were, and Will can see Mike staring at him in his peripheral vision.

He can feel himself going hot under the skin, so he looks down at his thermos to try to appear nonchalant. As if he could play off casualty after that tone of voice. “What do you even care what pants he wears? They’re pants. Maybe you’re just jealous that he always looks cooler than you do.” 

The last statement is lighter, teasing. An attempt to lighten the mood and move on, after that abrupt change of tone.

There’s a beat or two of quiet, and for a moment Will’s fingers start shaking, afraid that Lucas is about to pursue the issue and come dangerously close to a topic Will isn’t ready to discuss. Why are you defending him? Why do you care? You have a personal investment in this or something? Is there something we need to know about you? What are you hiding, Will?

But then Lucas lifts a hand to his chest. “You insult me. I’m cooler than all of you.”

And just like that he wanders away. The moment has passed. Will lets out a breath.

The feeling of being watched draws his attention, and when he looks, his eyes meet Mike’s for a split second. It’s just a flicker, a flash of time before Mike’s gaze skips away, but in that second Will could have sworn he saw a smile.

[serendipitous-magic]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Emmett pets the dog and pretends to watch the TV as Will slinks onto the couch next to them. He starts pawing at Mike’s arm, making a play-sad face, eyes fixed on the apple. Mike holds it out with a grin and an eye roll and Will brightens theatrically. Slipping his palm over the back of Mike’s hand to hold the fruit steady while he helps himself to another bite.

Emmett is starting to understand why the Party - Max in particular - calls them “lovebirds” sometimes. If this is how they normally act - if they’re finally thawing to Emmett enough to be themselves around him, and this is their normal - it’s no wonder the Party raises eyebrows sometimes.

But, he reminds himself with a little smirk as they draw him into conversation, Will isn’t the one getting into bed with Mike.

[serendipitous-magic]

Is it possible to give a hint on what going to happen in the later chapters for roll for strength

Why, yes.

Here are a few things that occur in RFS, in chronological order, but without any context.

-Will is a bit of a jealous jerk

-Will Loses It A Little

-There’s A Confrontation. Both people involved have wildly different interpretations of what just went down, but it wasn’t good for either of them.

-The school play happens. Mike is in it. Something important happens around the same time.

-Will and Mike have a rather intense conversation over the phone (it may not be what you’re imagining though...)

-Snowstorm.

-That important thing happens for the second time

[serendipitous-magic]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Why did he agree to this?

He feels stupid. He looks stupid.

Actually, he thought he looked pretty good, all things considered. It’s a last-minute costume, cobbled together out of what he had in his wardrobe, but it came together well, if he does say so himself. He even spent a few minutes at home standing in front of the mirror, admiring his handiwork from different angles.

His chest puffed up just the slightest bit when Mike opened the door, looked him over, and smiled big enough to show teeth. “Hey,” Mike said, stepping back to let him in. “That looks great.”

He felt great. It was shaping up to be a fun evening after all... that is, until he registered what Mike was wearing.

-_-_-_-

You may think that I gave Will my own Halloween costume. But no, the truth is much worse. I had planned this Halloween costume for Will months ago, and then copied it for myself in real life. That’s how much of a nerd I am.

Special thanks to @the-angry-pixie for being my costume department and soundtrack coordinator for this chapter. 

(Minor spoilers under the read more line)

Furthermore, thank you to Pixie for letting me borrow her OC Theo - if you guys haven't read There's A Starman Waiting In the Sky, go read it!! It's kind of the mirror image to Roll For Strength, and getting to work with her for this little mini-crossover of sorts was so much fun. Love ya Pix! 

Also, here’s an aesthetic board I made for this chapter, just for funsies.

[serendipitous-magic]

Imminent Update: Roll for Strength, Chapter 3

Why did he agree to this?

He feels stupid. He looks stupid.

Actually, he thought he looked pretty good, all things considered. It’s a last-minute costume, cobbled together out of what he had in his wardrobe, but it came together well, all things considered. He even spent a few minutes at home standing in front of the mirror, admiring his handiwork from different angles.

His chest puffed up just the slightest bit when Mike opened the door, looked him over, and smiled big enough to show teeth. “Hey,” Mike said, stepping back to let him in. “That looks great.”

He felt great. It was shaping up to be a fun evening after all... that is, until he registered what Mike was wearing.

-_-_-_-

... I have nothing to say for myself.

Yes, I know I said I’d update The Unmarked Mixtape next... But this chapter of Roll For Strength grabbed me by the hair and yelled “WRITE ME RIGHT NOW!” into my ear, and now I’m 5,6000 words into it and it’s looking like it’ll update tomoorrow-ish (tonight...???).

So like consider this my upcoming-chapter-announcement slash burst-of-inspiration?? 

[serendipitous-magic]

AHEM so Roll for Strength. I'm still hoping you do a Will/Mike/Emmett story line, dunno if that's your plan, but I was thinking about how E has that attic bedroom that he and Mike make out in, and how E picked up on Will flirting at the cabin party, and now I'm imagining him coming up with a Scheme (tm) and inviting Will and Mike over to his house to "play video games" in his attic, and neither of them know that the other is gonna be there. then when they get there and they've been playing for a

(p2) (warning: explicit lol) while and Will has the controller and E starts making out with Mike, and Mike is a little hesitant at first (but maybe this is at a point where they already all kind of know about each other? idk) but he thaws out to it when he sees that Will isn't grossed out by it, and Emmet's plan is to escalate it as mugh as he can with Mike and then pull Will into it (maybe he gets Will to kiss Mike first since they're comfortable with each other) and initiate a little threesome

(p3) (okay I lied, THIS one is explicit, the last one was fine lol) Something something, im bad at writing smut. but they go from making out to E encouraging Mike to touch Will, and eventually Emmet ends up fucking Mike from behind while Will kisses him and Will and Mike can jack each other off or something, idk, how do u write smut. Point being I just want the three of them together and also Mike has had A Bad Few Years and deserves to be in the middle of a gay sandwich 🙏🙌🙌

Um, anon, your MIND.

Here’s the thing: won’t spoil anything, but... Actually, no, that’s it. If I say anything else I’ll be spoiling things. So I’ll just shut my mouth why don’t I.

But I will say, since Emmett is a little more comfortable with his identity/sexuality than Mike or Will right at the moment, of the three of them he might be the most likely to initiate something like that.

(Also, because I’m suddenly remembering the fandom I’m in: they’re aged up, people. Okie dokie? Okie dokie. No running to me yelling about how they’re children, because obviously in this scenario they are absolutely not children. They are aged up. Okay let’s continue.)

I will say I like the idea of Emmett, at a vague point / in some alternate timeline after Mike realizes that Will knows about them, making out with Mike in front of Will. And Will is kind of sulking and pretending to ignore it because he figures Emmett is kind of rubbing it in his face, like, ha ha, I get to make out with him and you don’t. But then Emmett pulls the controller out of Will’s hands and pulls him over next to them on the battered old loveseat that’s in his attic bedroom and is like, “You wanna try?” and Mike is like “um” and Will is like “UM,” and Emmett is just like, “What? It’s not fair that you’re over there on your own, I thought we should include you. Is that okay?” And the two of them are probably so surprised and flustered that they aren’t thinking straight enough (ha) to say no.

In reality I don’t think Emmett would be nearly that bold or confident XD He is a bit of a shy boi. But it’s a good imagine.

Also, anon, don’t we all deserve to be in the middle of a gay sandwich. Don’t we all.

(... listen, this is quarantine. And I have more projects going than I should anyway. If people want me to write this as like an alternate timeline oneshot or an outtake or something, there’s a good chance I’d do it. Just saying.)

[serendipitous-magic]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

He’s in shock for about the next twenty four hours. 

 It’s only that night, lying in bed, that the shockwave loosens its hold. Over the day, he almost could have forgotten about everything. It felt like a different world, a  different life. Those two things couldn’t possibly have happened in the same existence. Standing in line at the grocery store, tearing a hole in his math homework with a hard eraser, playing fetch with Chester and getting muddy paw prints on his shirt - these things couldn’t possibly coexist with a world where Will had been standing in the prickling-cool night air, gazing through a lace of leaves in shock at his best friend pressed up against another boy.

-_-_-_-

This fic be like

... anywho sorry that took six months lmao