Work Text:
“Sorry, I’m sorry, can you just explain it one more time?”
Lucas sighs, but they look affectionately annoyed instead of real annoyed. “Since we won the semi-finals yesterday, we’re having another game tonight. Those are the finals. If we win that, we win the whole thing.”
Will nods along slowly, but can’t keep track of all of these little rules. Lucas has been explaining it for half of lunch now, and he has retained none of the information. “Yeah, sorry, I have no idea what’s going on. I’ll be there though!”
Lucas smiles bitterly. “Yeah, you and no one else.”
Will blinks. “What do you mean? We’re all going.”
“First I’m hearing of it, then.”
“Of course we’re all going, Lucas! This is your big game! We’d be crazy to miss it.”
“Yeah, except Mike and Dustin are blowing it off to go to the last Hellfire meeting.”
Will’s mouth opens, closes, opens again, closes again. His stomach flips and makes him feel empty and sick all at once. “Did they say that to you?”
Lucas groans, throws their head back. Will is livid. “Not really, but they might as well have. I overheard them talking at Mike’s locker earlier about how they’ll have to find a replacement for me. I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter.”
“Are you serious? Of course it matters. Who gives a shit about stupid Hellfire? Eddie’s a dick anyways, and you’ve been our friend for, like, ten years. You take priority, Lucas, always. They’re crazy if they don’t get that.”
Lucas is smiling at him, a warm smile full of admiration, care, and something else that Will can’t quite pinpoint. “Thanks, Will. So are you coming then? Even if they don’t?”
Will wants to laugh. He doesn’t. “Of course! El will come too, obviously, and I’ll make sure Max does too, even if they hide in a corner the whole time. We’re your family, Lucas, and we’re gonna be there no matter what.” Okay, that may have been a bit cheesy, but a part of Will feels like he’ll die if Lucas doesn’t understand how much their friends care about them.
Lucas just keeps smiling at him like this is the first time anyone has ever said that to them. “Okay, then I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
Will grins. “I guess you will.”
They pack up their lunches once the bell rings, and go their separate ways down the halls of Hawkins High. Will is smiling the whole way (his daily lunches with Lucas always make him feel so good), but it drops once he walks into his math class and sees Dustin there. The thought of Dustin telling Lucas that they won’t be at their game makes him feel slightly ill.
When he sits down next to his friend, he ignores him. Dustin says hello, and Will says nothing. He doesn’t press too much, seemingly assuming that Will isn’t in much of a social mood right now. Which, on a normal day, he would appreciate. Today, it just makes him angrier.
Oh, Will is gonna give his friends a piece of his goddamn mind later.
Once school lets out for the day, Will walks with Lucas to their practice before the game. He squeezes their shoulder gently in good luck before walking off to find his other friends.
He spots Mike and Dustin sitting on a bench outside and huffs a bit before walking up to them. Mike spots him first, and smiles.
“Hey, Will! We were just about to—“
Will shakes his head, and Mike pauses. “I’m not interested in what you have to say,” Will says, pushing through his nerves and embarrassment, “I’m mad at both of you right now.”
“What? Why?”
Will laughs a little hysterically. “You know why! You told Lucas you wouldn’t go to their game because of Hellfire! As if Hellfire is more important than one of your best friends!”
Dustin and Mike look at each other like they know they’ve been busted. “We didn’t say that exactly, we just said that Hellfire was that night and we’d have to try and reschedule.” Dustin offers. Even he seems to know the argument is flimsy.
Will crosses his arms, feeling more confident now. “And did you? Reschedule?”
His friends look at their shoes. “We tried, but Eddie said no. We’re looking for a replacement for Lucas now.”
God, Eddie. Will hates him. He doesn’t know what his friends see in him. “I can’t believe you. Both of you. Picking some asshole and his stupid DnD club over your best friend? And thinking that was okay?”
Mike and Dustin don’t say a word. Will sighs.
“Fine. You can look for a replacement for tonight for me too. Assholes.” When his friends just stare at him (looking sheepish, at least), he sighs and walks off to find El and get a ride home from Jonathan.
El is the easiest to convince to come with him.
(“Do you wanna come to Lucas’ basketball game with me?”
“Sure.”)
Max takes some more effort.
(“ Please, Max, stupid Mike and Dustin abandoned them and they need us.”
“I don’t care. I’m mad at them right now.”
“I’ll be mad at you if you don’t at least try and come.”
“Ugh. Fine.”)
In the end, all three of them go, Jonathan driving - he was coming anyways to help with the school paper - and they rush in to get seats together.
Will spots Robin in the band and gives her a little wave. Robin smiles around her instrument and tips her fingers up in a wave as well. Will loves her. She was a big help when he was figuring himself out. He feels forever indebted to her. And at least she showed up to the game.
Even Steve did. Steve, who graduated last year, still came to the game. To support Lucas. Will’s heart soars at the implications.
They end up with a seat vaguely in the middle of a set of bleachers, not that it matters. Will can see the bench clearly from here, which, unfortunately, is all he really needs to see.
After a few minutes, the team runs out onto the court. Will thinks he might be cheering the loudest of them all when Lucas shows up, dressed in their Hawkins Tigers jersey that looks so good it should be illegal. Will’s heart may or may not skip a beat.
He sees Lucas searching the crowd until finally they settle on Will, El, and Max. Their grin from the excitement of the crowd grows even bigger, and they wave right at them. Will waves back, an equally massive grin on his face. Lucas looks so happy. How could Mike and Dustin be missing this?
After standing for Tammy Thompson‘s frankly embarrassing rendition of the national anthem, Lucas makes their way to the bench, as they have for every other game, but they still look happy to be there. When they first joined the team, they had told Will that they were happy to even be on the team. Bench or otherwise. So, while Will might wish Lucas could get the chance to play for real, he’s proud of them nonetheless.
Once the game begins, Will absently wishes they had sat next to Steve, because he has absolutely no idea what’s going on. Basketball isn’t the most complicated sport in the world but he’s still confused. All he knows is that people are scoring, and that Hawkins is losing. The scores are fairly close, but Hawkins always seems to be a few points behind the other team. Despite not fully caring, Will is full of nerves for Lucas.
If Lucas was playing, Will thinks, they’d have already won.
The game continues, and while the scores change, the ratio stays the same; Hawkins just the slightest bit off.
If he’s being honest, Will isn’t watching most of the game. He’s looking at Lucas, standing by the bench, looking absolutely ecstatic. Even though they haven’t played a game all year, they still love being there, and Will loves that about them. Finding the bright side in everything.
Will is so preoccupied thinking about Lucas, he barely registers someone on the team telling another player to stay on ‘em! However, his attention is brought to the court when the ref blows the whistle, and a player from Hawkins is helped off of the court. He must have been injured. But now the team is down a player…
“Sinclair! You’re up!”
Will blinks. He looks over at Max, who is staring wide-eyed at the court. He looks at El, who is looking at him with owlish eyes. He looks down at Lucas, who is possibly the most confused of all. They point to themself, and when the ref nods, they look at their bench mates, who push them onto the court. The crowd cheers politely, but Max gives a loud whistle with their fingers, and Will cups his hands over his mouth so his cheers are amplified.
Lucas still looks confused, but they huddle up with the rest of the team as the game continues. There’s not much left now, so Lucas won’t be able to do much, but at least they’re on the court. Will could not be happier for them.
By the end of the game, it does not look good for Hawkins, and by extension, for Lucas. They’re behind by one point, and the captain’s (Jason?) last shot doesn’t go in. Will is preparing his condolence speech for Lucas when he sees that someone has caught the ball.
Lucas. Goddamn. Sinclair.
Will watches with bated breath as Lucas maneuvers behind the people gathered around the net, and shoots. He cannot breathe. He doesn’t think anyone can. If this goes in…
It fucking goes in.
Will might be the first to jump up and cheer. He doesn’t even know. All he knows is that Lucas Sinclair, his best friend Lucas Sinclair, shot the winning shot of the season.
And Lucas. God, Lucas. Will doesn’t think he’s ever seen them so happy. The grin on their face can never be recreated. Their face is the face of someone who feels on top of the world.
Lucas is being carried by their teammates when they look into the crowd. They search frantically, and finally make eye contact with Will. Their grin grows, and they point at the net and then at him. And Will understands. He points right back.
That was for you.
Later, when all is said and done, Will is waiting outside the school for Lucas. El and Max went home earlier, with Jonathan and Nancy, but Will wanted to be with Lucas. So he sits on the bench and waits.
He hears a door open and thinks it’s the basketball team, but it’s the goddamn stupid Hellfire club. Will feels hot all over.
Obviously something went well. Everyone seems happy about the outcome. Will sees Mike, Dustin, some guy from the computing club, and Erica Sinclair.
Even Erica missed Lucas’ game.
Will stares at them as they jump around and cheer. As they get closer to him, he does not avert his eyes. He stares right at them until Dustin looks over at him and they make eye contact. Will doesn’t say anything, doesn’t change his expression, just looks at him. Dustin seems to take the hint. His smile falls, and he sighs, then looks away, embarrassed. The club walks further into the parking lot. Will does not follow.
The basketball team emerges shortly afterwards, to the cheers of everyone on campus. Will grins as everyone claps Lucas on the back. His Lucas. The star of the evening. Will cannot even begin to describe his elation.
Vaguely, he hears someone on the team say, “You coming with us, Sinclair?” He watches Lucas scan the parking lot, then watches as they look right at Will.
“Sorry, Jason,” they say, smiling, “I’ve got plans.”
Lucas says goodbye to their basketball friends and walks towards Will. The walk turns into a jog, and within seconds Lucas is fully running towards Will. When they get to him, they scoop him up in their arms and spin him around, laughing breathlessly. Will can’t help but laugh too as he squeezes them tightly.
“God, Lucas, that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. You should’ve seen yourself! You were like a proper NBA player!” he exclaims as he buries his face in Lucas’ neck. Lucas laughs harder.
“Oh, Will, it felt cool. I felt fucking amazing out there. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life. I feel amazing.”
“You are amazing,” Will says, once Lucas has set him back down on the ground. “You are fucking amazing, Lucas. The most amazing person I know.”
Lucas grins, then looks down at Will’s body. They seem to suddenly realize that Will is in a t-shirt, and that it is quite chilly. “Geez, Will, aren’t you cold?”
“I’m fine,” Will says, but Lucas is already unzipping their Hawkins jacket and handing it to Will. “But then you’ll be cold,” Will points out. He still puts on the jacket.
“I have a hoodie in my bag,” Lucas says. They look Will up and down and smile. “And I’ve always wanted to give someone my sports jacket. Even if it’s not varsity. And you look cool in it.”
Will smiles, zipping up the jacket. “Do I?”
“Yeah. Or you just look like you’re best friends with someone on the basketball team.”
Will laughs, shoves Lucas’ shoulder a little. “Shut up. You wanna get out of here? I was thinking the diner. Celebration dinner?”
Lucas grins. “That sounds amazing. Lead the way, Byers.”
Will does.
They end up biking to Benny’s diner, where Benny welcomes them with open arms. He congratulates Lucas on their “stellar shot”, claiming that he heard about it on the radio. Will absently wonders what sort of radio station reports high school level basketball games.
They order milkshakes (chocolate for Will, strawberry for Lucas) and fries, and pick at them while they talk.
“I’m really glad you came, Will. It felt way better being on that court and knowing I could look up and see your face. I was really nervous.”
Will smiles, takes a sip of his milkshake. “If you were nervous, nobody could tell. You looked so effortless out there, shuffling and dribbling like nobody’s business.”
Lucas lets out a quick, sharp laugh. “Look at you, pulling out all of that basketball lingo like it’s nothing.”
Will shrugs. “I had a good teacher.”
Lucas chuckles and tosses a fry into their mouth. They’re quiet for a minute, then they softly ask, “Did they end up showing up? At all?”
Will’s smile falls slowly. He guesses that Lucas didn’t really see the stands too much while they were on the bench, so they really do have no idea whether or not Mike and Dustin showed up. He sighs.
“No,” he says simply. He doesn’t mention Erica. That will only make it sting more, he thinks. At Lucas’ heartbroken expression, Will adds, “But…I’m sure they wanted to. I know they did. Eddie is just…scary.”
Lucas scoffs. “Yeah, but you risked the wrath of Eddie Munson to be there.”
Will doesn’t really know what to say to that.
“If it makes you feel better,” he starts slowly. Lucas looks at him. “I got really mad at both of them. Practically yelled at them in front of the whole school after class earlier. Called them assholes and everything. They looked really embarrassed about what they did. Sort of made me feel a bit better.”
Lucas stares at him, blank faced, then slowly starts to smile. They chuckle a little, press their lips together, laugh harder. Will can’t help but start laughing too.
“Yeah, actually,” they say, “That does make me feel better.” Their laughter dies down, and they clear their throat. “God. I can’t even imagine little Will Byers going up to two of his best friends and yelling at them and calling them assholes. You really did that?”
“I’m as surprised as you are! I don’t even know what happened to me! It was like I left my body and suddenly I was shouting at them and being all mean. I felt crazy.”
Lucas is looking at him as he speaks, a soft sort of expression on their face. Will can’t really describe it. They look happy, and impressed, but there’s something else there.
Will has seen it before, he thinks, but never like this. That odd expression that makes his stomach flip and his cheeks turn pink. There are times when Lucas looks at him like he’s the last man on earth, and Will never really knows what to do in those moments. He doesn’t know what to do now.
So he clears his throat, stirs his milkshake around, and says, “I never thanked you for your jacket by the way. It’s very cozy. And soft. I might have to keep it.”
Lucas grins, shrugs. “That’s fine. I can always get a new one. Besides, I think it suits you.”
Will ignores the blush he feels high on his cheeks and scrunches up his nose. “Guess you will have to get a new one, then. If it looks so good on me.”
“It does,” Lucas says, and Will is surprised by how serious their tone is.
He coughs slightly and picks up a fry to distract himself from the conversation. “So!” he says, “What’s the deal with Jason and that cheerleader?”
Lucas throws their head back in laughter. “I thought you’d never ask. Let me tell you, it is messy as hell .”
When they’ve finished their fries and shakes and have exhausted all points of conversation, they pay their bill (discounted, Benny says, because of Lucas’ excellent play during their game) and head out.
Lucas is quiet as they walk to their bikes. Will is a little worried, but doesn’t think much of it. He’s about to unlock his bike when he hears Lucas speak. “Hey, Will?”
Will turns to them curiously. They look…nervous. Uneasy. “Yeah?” he says cautiously.
Lucas looks at him. Really looks at him. Looks at his legs and his hands and his torso with that goddamn Hawkins Tigers jacket. Looks at his face. His eyes, his nose, his cheeks.
His lips.
Will feels mildly uncomfortable under Lucas’ hard gaze, but he also doesn’t want them to ever stop looking at him like this.
Lucas inhales deeply, pauses, then reaches forward to pull Will into the tightest hug he thinks he’s ever experienced.
Lucas holds onto him for dear life, one hand on his upper back, the other in his hair, face buried into his neck. Will hesitates before wrapping his arms around Lucas’ lower back, resting his chin on their shoulder.
They stand there, hugging tenderly, for around a minute in complete silence. All Will can hear is Lucas’ steady breathing and the gentle beating of their heart, which reverberates into his own chest and makes his heart skip a beat.
Finally, Lucas whispers, “Thanks for coming to my game, Will.” They squeeze a little tighter. Will feels like he can’t breathe, and not because of the pressure.
“Anytime, Lucas,” Will says, and he tries his best to ignore the rapid beating of his own heart.