WILL POV-

---- 11:59 AM ----

The brunette had awoken late, his groggy eyes opening to reveal an empty space beside him; Mike was no longer there. Will started to panic; was yesterday just an illusion? Something made up by his pure mental state due to his rollercoaster of emotions?

He wanted to shout, that wasn't fair; just when he thought everything would be fine, it turned out to be some stupid dream. He sat up in shock, but realising there was a note on his nightstand. His brows knit, picking the note up, muttering every word under his breath.

Hey, Will the Wise, Sorry I had to leave early; I was going to wake you up, but you just looked so cute I couldn't. There's just something I had to do before we meet up and of course I have to look my best for our date.

I hope you're excited as I am, be ready because I'll be picking you up at 1:30 pm

Paladin- (Mike)

The brunette reread the note, so... everything that happened yesterday was true? It wasn't all some cruel dream that would get split from him when he awoke. He gleamed, his smile never ending as the realisation dawned on him; he... had a date! His first date!

He felt nauseous but in a good way; what does one do on a date? Where are they going? What should he wear? Is this a casual date? Or something fancy? Would Mike be annoyed if Will wore the wrong outfit? What do they even talk about?

Will felt on edge overthinking to himself. He slowed his breathing; his panicked state would do no good for him right now; how could he go on a date with Mike if he was hyperventilating the whole time? 

First clothes! He decided it was best to get the most difficult thing out the way, so he doesn't stress himself out later. He walked over to his closet still in his pyjamas, opening both doors before him.

He scanned his clothes, mumbling to himself, not liking any of the choices before him. He winced in disgust as he shuffled clothes around, trying to find ones that weren't too obvious he dressed fancy, but showed he put the effort in. He didn't want to turn up in a suit; he didn't want to scare Mike away on the first date. His closet merely consisted of shirts, jumpers and the occasional t-shirt.

He grew more frantic, pulling clothes out his closet, throwing them onto the bed and all around the room, not deeming them good enough, "Flannel! Flannel! Flannel! Why do I own so many flannels!" He exclaimed, a little angry at himself for not having anything that was 'date-worthy'. He grumbled to himself after each shirt, not knowing which would be the best to wear despite being his everyday clothes, they started to look ugly to him when looked in this new lens; they all looked too casual. He just...didn't know what to do!

Pulling out a box from under his bed, he whined when nothing of use to him currently was inside. He groaned, throwing the box back where he found it.

The commotion seemed to attract his mother who knocked on the door concerned, "Honey? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is just fine!" He said a tad agitated.

"Can I come in?" she questioned.

"Yeah," Will replied as the door opened revealing Joyce, her motherly smile dropping to utter confusion upon seeing the absolute chaos her son's room was in; clothes thrown in every direction, books knocked over in the process; a shirt even dangling from the ceiling light.

"What... happened in here?" She asked concerned,

The brunette looked at her, his eyes full and bright. He didn't know how to respond to that; he just wanted to find the right clothes, "Mum what would you wear... on a date?" He asked, mumbling the last part.

"What?" Joyce questioned, not hearing clearly due to the brunette's mumbling.

"What would you wear to a date?" He asked again in the same hushed manner, clearly embarrassed asking his mother of all people.

"What?" Joyce repeated again, still not being able to hear.

"A date!" Will admitted loudly, "I... have a date!"

"Aww honey!" She exclaimed, walking over to him and pinching his cheek, "My baby's first date!" She cooed

The brunette shuffled away from her touch; embarrass by this playful display, "I've been on dates before!" He lied

"A school trip to the museum with your secret crush does not count." Joyce joked.

"It does to me." The brunette huffed in a hushed tone, sad.

"Of course, honey," she said, sympathetically patting his head. "Let's look for clothes together, okay?"

The brunette nodded as Joyce continued, "First let's clean this up! We can't find anything in this pigsty!" 

"Okay," the brunette nodded as he picked up clothes, placing them onto hangers. His mother retreated to the other side of the room, picking up shirts, folding them as quickly as she could.

"You know, this reminds me when El had her first date." Joyce blurted, attempting to alleviate the pressure from her son.

"Why?" Will questioned, not looking away from the clothes he was sorting.

"She was stressing so much over her clothes too; she didn't like the specific shade of blue her dress was." his mother smiled.

"What was wrong with it?" the brunette questioned.

"She said the blue of the dress made her look like a garbage bag!" Joyce placed a hand over her mouth to chuckle, "But she insisted the purple eye shadow pulled the outfit together."

"What about Johnathan? Was he this panicked?" Will questioned

"Oh, he was worse! He was running around the house trying to find his lucky tie." She chuckled, "And then he complained for an hour over how his hair was acting weird."

"Your kids are weird," The brunette mocked.

"Just like their mother!" Joyce added, "What I'm saying is, it's okay to be nervous; I'm sure whoever it is will just be glad you turned up?"

"You sure?" The brunette questioned.

"Of course!" she smiled, turning back to the clothes she was folding, picking up a grey sweatshirt, "How about this? You never wear this anymore." she suggested.

"Hmm, maybe," the brunette pondered, just wanting to make a good impression on his date with Mike, but he felt calm with this choice. It was the best thing he could wear in this mountain of clothes; he hadn't worn it in a long time so hopefully it still fit, "Okay, thanks mum."

Joyce then began tidying up the brunette's room, setting the clothes thrown around from his earlier frenzy; she was genuinely curious of her son's date, "So who's this special person you're going on a date with?"

The brunette's face turned a bright red as he hesitated, on the brink of revealing something important about himself; his sexuality. He wanted to do it; it was his mother, and he knew she would always love him for it; Jonathan was a lot like his mother, and Jonathan accepted Will. The brunette sighed, not turning around as he whispered, "Mum, I..."

But in that very moment, Joyce's attention was drawn to the note on the bedside table; the one from Mike, her curiosity got the better of her as she spoke, "Ohh, what's this? Is this the love note?" she cooed.

Just as she was about to read it, Will's panic shouted, stopping her in her tracks. "No, Mum, don't! It's nothing, just a silly note. Really don't read it!"

Startled, Joyce looked at her son who was clearly flustered, recognising her son's distress as she decided not to press the issue, "Alright, I won't. But if you want to talk about anything, I'm here for you."

Will nodded seeing his mother's genuine concern, but his guilt crept in, immediately replying, "Read the note,"

"What?" She questioned

"I... want you to read the note," he muttered; it was now or never.

"Oh, um, you sure?" Joyce questioned and upon seeing her son nod, she picked up the note, reading the whole thing. Her smile grew with each passing word; her eyes welling with tears. She immediately rushed over, embracing her son into a warm and tight hug. She knew her son just revealed something so deeply personal to her.

"Thanks for understanding Mum," the brunette slightly sniffled, his heart swelled with a mixture of relief and gratitude. He had been worrying about sharing this part of himself to his mother, but her love and acceptance was everything he needed.

Joyce continued to hold her son close, "You'll always be my baby boy no matter who you like. I always want you too just be happy. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel as if you couldn't tell me."

Will shook his head, quickly reassuring her, "No, mum, it's not your fault. It was just hard for me to talk about it; I'm just glad you know now."

Joyce ruffled his hair, whispering, "You're an amazing young man Will, and I couldn't be prouder of you."

The pair held each other tight for a few seconds until they pulled back. Joyce had a twinkle of mischief in her eyes as she held on to his shoulders, "Alright sweetheart, you better get going to the shower or you're going to miss your date with your special someone," she giggled with a wink.

The brunette smiled with a nod, a tad embarrassed, "Okay!" he said, walking over out the room,

"Love you," Joyce added

"Love you too," Will replied.

MIKE POV-

Meanwhile, the ravenette stood outside the familiar Mayfield residence, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he knocked on the door, anxiously awaiting the door to open. His date with Will was later but first, he needed to speak to his ex-girlfriend. She was here as yesterday, she and Suzie had a 'girls' night' at Max's.

The redhead was the one to open the door, perplexity etched on her face but giving way to concern, "Hey... How you doing?" she questioned quietly,

"I'm doing great! Never been better!" He exclaimed,

Max furrowed her brows, confused as to Mike's chipper mood as last when she saw him, he was wallowing in self-pity. "What are you doing here then?"

"I wanted to speak to El!" Mike explained with a grin.

"Is it urgent? You're kinda messing up girls' day!" she exclaimed, passing an annoyed look on her face.

"I know and I apologise for barging in like this, but I really need to talk to El about something, I promise it won't take long." The ravenette begged,

The redhead noticed the intensity and seriousness in his expression, decided to give in, "Fine, I'll call her." she said, then turning behind her to yell, "El! You have a visitor!"

"I'm not supposed to be picked up until-" The doe-eyed girl rushed over to the door in her pyjamas with a blanket over her shoulders. "Oh Mike..." she said, closely followed by Suzie who merely watched the exchange.

"What are you doing here?" El asked, crossing her arms gently over her chest.

"I wanted to talk to you... can we? In private." Mike requested.

El furrowed her brows with a shrug, "Sure!" following him out the door, closing it behind them, although she was sure Max and Suzie were listening closely from the other side; with their ears pressed against the door.

"So, what do we need to talk about?" She questioned, "If it's about getting back together then I really don't-"

"No, it's, it's not!" Mike cut off, his voice slightly shaky, "I actually wanted to talk to you about something else important. I kinda have feelings for Will and I wanted to ask your blessing... but I'm only just realising that I already asked him out, so I might have been a bit backwards."

"You've already asked him out? And you're coming to me now?" El teased, squinting her eyes, "Why do you want my blessing anyway, isn't that for marriages and stuff? Please tell me you are not going to propose!" she exclaimed,

"I'm... I'm not gonna propose. You know, it's just... I wanted to make sure I had your blessing considering our history and all. Will is an amazing person and I feel such a strong connection with him, but I get if you're not comfortable with this, because I'm your ex and he is your brother, and I-"

"Mike," El smiled soft, cutting him off, placing both hands on his shoulders, "I understand... I don't care who you date! As long as you're both happy who am I to stop that, huh? Of course, you have my blessing!" she chuckled.

"Wait, really? You're not upset?" The ravenette asked relieved.

"Not at all. You both deserve to be happy and if it's with my brother then so be it!" she laughed, finding the situation almost comical; she was more excited to how her brother would be feeling. She knew of all the love Will carried for Mike and now he had his chance.

"I kinda feel guilty though," Mike scratched the back of his neck, "For the way we left things."

"We both weren't fully invested in the relationship to be honest; I think I've realised that I was also distracted by someone else too... maybe that's why I was so eager to suggest a break." she admitted reflectively looking over her past actions.

The ravenette's eyes widened, "Wait? Are you saying you also have a crush on someone?"

El nodded, "I think I do, and she's amazing."

"It's a girl?" Mike questioned, his jaw dropping.

"Yes!" she exclaimed; a fake offence in her voice, "If you can like a guy, I can like a girl,"

"I didn't mean it like that! I just meant I didn't see that coming," Mike panicked, hoping his tone didn't come off disrespectful, he was just shocked, that's all.

"I'm just teasing you!" El giggled, "But I do think she likes me back."

"How do you know?" He asked,

"Well, she always seems interested in what I have to say, and she's being texting me a lot lately. Plus, she's given me some really nice compliments recently and sometimes she grabs my hand during art class since she is left-handed!"

"Woah! It sounds like she really does like you," Mike exclaimed "So who is it?"

El looked both ways, tiptoeing to the ravenette's ear whispering "Jennifer Hayes!" before returning to her normal hight.

"Shit! That's amazing! I never would have guessed; I think that would be a very cute relationship!" Mike exclaimed,

"I plan on telling her we broke up on Monday; I want to see how she reacts, then I'm gonna put the moves on her." she winked

"How smooth!" The ravenette jokingly smirked.

"Thanks Mike..." El smiled, her voice becoming serious for a second, "And I genuinely hope things work out for you and Will!" she repeated one last time,

"Same here," the ravenette smiled, "I hope everything goes well between you and Jen."

"It will..." El laughed with a surprising amount of confidence, "I'm gonna go before Max claws your eyes out for wasting our time."

"Okay, see you," Mike smiled.

"See you," The doe-eyed girl waved entering Max's house.

Mike smiled, feeling renewed optimism as he walked away; who knew, he and his ex-girlfriend, both going their separate ways and yet still intertwined? And yet, now all he had to do was get ready for his date with Will.  

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2594 Words

Did I cry while writing Will's coming out to his mum?

Yes, yes I did

Stay Safe <3