14 Bookmarks by bensforce
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Mike can't sleep. It's raining, it's cold, and Will is shivering in his sleep again. He can't do anything about it. At least, that's what he thinks.
Will hasn't had a good night sleep in years. First it was the Mind Flayer. Now, Vecna is always there, right behind his eyelids, tormenting him with images he'd rather keep safely tucked away in the recesses of his mind. With the Upside Down bleeding into the Rightside Up, his sense of what's real and what's all in his head is getting harder to decipher.
OR
A getting together fic laced with insomnia.
Bookmarked by bensforce
01 Nov 2025
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answers you seek will never be found at home by miwiheroes
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
19 Jan 2026
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Will’s not supposed to be hiding in corners, forcing a fake smile when Mike asks him if he’s okay. He’s not supposed to brush off insults like they're jokes. He’s not supposed to vanish for six hours during a school day, leaving Mike feeling like he’s slipping away all over again.
Whoever said that beating Vecna’s going to fix Hawkins’ problems, Will’s problems, Mike’s problems—they deserve an earful. They deserve to feel this weird, hollow dissatisfaction chewing away at their chests.
aka mike begs will to escape their small town after too many run-ins with homophobic small-town bs. he knows will's meant to find himself elsewhere, but he never expects to find an answer to the age-old question of his own fate. prom, gay bars, sleazy hotels, train stations, two lesbians and their not-so-legal marriage - they aren't the traditional sources of wisdom, but he can't complain.
- Language:
- English
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- 196,702
- Chapters:
- 20/20
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- 538
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- 1,415
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- 682
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Bookmarked by bensforce
26 Oct 2025
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something's wrong with the morning by meadowlarkutility
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
28 Dec 2025
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Will’s expression didn’t change. Only the far off reflection of their bodies, knees pulled to their chins, rocking in the water opted for change. Long, fearsome shadows tangled up over the lake. And for the first time, Mike thought he saw something writhing gently just below the surface.
He whispered brokenly, “How are we gonna get you out of here?”
or, a year and a half after the earthquake, Mike knows normal is starting to feel like a pipe dream — and Will has just discovered something inside him is different.
Bookmarked by bensforce
26 Oct 2025
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Love is a fickle thing.
At least, that’s what Mike’s dad had always told him. So Mike assumes his love for his best friend will fade away and disappear into the deep recesses of his mind until he ultimately forgets it ever existed. Except it doesn’t, and it won’t.
Love is a fickle thing.
Just not for Mike.
or
After a thoughtful talk and subsequent breakup with El, Mike has to renavigate his friendship with Will and the overwhelming feelings that come with it.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 68,051
- Chapters:
- 4/4
- Comments:
- 213
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- 3,478
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- 914
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Bookmarked by bensforce
26 Oct 2025
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a halfway decent friend by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy)
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
15 May 2023
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From somewhere in the house, floorboards creak, and Nancy freezes, grip on her water glass tightening. She holds her breath, counts to ten three times over, and then, when nothing jumps out of the (albeit limited) darkness to attack her, she relaxes, taking another steadying sip of water and shaking her head, annoyed with herself.
“Nancy?” a voice asks from the doorway, and she drops the glass.
Nancy is a little intimidated by Will, even though she has approximately zero reasons to be.
Bookmarked by bensforce
25 Oct 2025
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To be fair, Will’s costume is great, now that Mike knows what it is. And, okay, wait-
“Oh, this is so good. This is so good.” Max points at Mike, wheezing. “Because you’re dressed as-”
Will’s still looking straight up at the sky. The length of his neck is very, very flushed. Mike can feel his entire face going redder than Vader’s lightsaber. He clenches his hands into tiny little fists, and says, around a groan: “I’m not Han Solo, guys.”
In which Lucas has a thing for Bowie, Will has a thing for Han Solo, Mike has a thing for Will, and El should never be allowed to watch Star Wars again.
Bookmarked by bensforce
20 Jul 2025
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"Will... please," Mike said again, more quietly, with a hope that almost hurt. "Come home with me."
Silence fell. Stretched. Stifling. Taut as a line about to snap.
Only the lake roared softly. Only the air quivered with the presence of something unnameable. On the other side.
Will lowered his head.
He still hesitated.
He hadn't taken a step forward yet. But he hadn't left yet either.
He hadn't let himself disappear yet.
Bookmarked by bensforce
19 Jul 2025
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“Hey, hey, it’s Mike. Um, sorry, is — is Will there?”
There is no answer for a minute, drawn out so long that Mike almost thinks the call somehow disconnected despite the lack of a dial tone. He pulls the phone away from his face, looks at it as if that’ll give him any clarity on the matter, and lifts it back to his ear. “Hel—“
“Uh,” Jonathan finally says, somehow more awkward than Mike, “It is Will.”
Mike nearly drops the fucking phone.
Five times Mike and Will shared a phone call throughout the years, plus one time they didn't have to.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 18,961
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
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- 98
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Bookmarked by bensforce
14 Jul 2025
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“Say something,” murmurs Mike, pleadingly. “Or kiss me back.”
Bookmarked by bensforce
12 Jul 2025
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Bookmarked by bensforce
12 Jul 2025
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i'll kidnap all the stars (and i will keep them in your eyes) by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy)
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
10 Oct 2023
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Will blinks again. Their noses bump. Mike is so close. “I, um. What?” he hisses out, voice hoarse. It can’t be- there’s no way Mike means-
Mike looks mortified, but he’s also not moving away. “Do you think there's a universe,” he repeats, slow and shaky, “where you and I are- you know.”
“Mike,” Will says, verging on exasperated, but too shaky to fully accomplish the tone he’s going for. He can feel Mike’s heart racing where it’s pressed against his own. “Use your words.”
“I want to kiss you,” Mike blurts, dazed and harried. A strand of hair falls into his eyes, and it tickles Will’s cheek with their proximity.
Bookmarked by bensforce
28 Jun 2025
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In the end, it doesn’t matter. None of it fucking matters. Because what’s really in control is the tension. This elusive string tied between their chests that’s always changing length. Right now it’s so short and taught and strong that Will can’t imagine resisting it. So really, it was never a matter of if he would. Just when. When will he fold? When will he let go and let himself follow Mike into the water?
He dares to glance down at his knees, where he can see Mike’s fingers peeking out from behind his calves (as if he needed that visual reminder that they’re touching), and then back up to meet Mike’s expectant gaze.
He’s going to do it. He’s such a fucking idiot.
OR
Mike & Will have a long overdue conversation on the way back to Hawkins— by, in, and around a random motel pool.
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“What?” Derek breathes, and the glint in his eye that Mike had mistaken for mischief looks a lot more like panic now. “Are you kidding me—I swear I'm like, the only one who gives a shit about Holly.”
Mike’s eyebrows rise high on his head. Maybe this kid is annoying, but sometimes annoying people just…have to be that way, for their own reasons. And there are many good reasons.
aka holly's missing, and her friends are determined to find her and bring her home. one person in her friend group in particular is more passionate than the others about finding her, and soon mike finds out why that is. and why he felt so different about will to his other friends when he was a kid.
(set after the mike clip from the recent teaser)
Bookmarked by bensforce
05 Jun 2025
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She looks to make a joke, something about how he doesn't know just how husband material he is, especially in a suit, but he has a seriousness to his eyes, dark and unwavering. Tentatively, she asks, "What changed?"
It's simple: "You. When I'm with you, I see everything. And marriage happened to be a part of that." His hand finds hers once again.
(or, donna and harvey and life in seattle.)
Bookmarked by bensforce
19 Jun 2024