heartonsleeve
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Summary
Mike Wheeler spends years trying to be “normal.”
Normal son, normal friend, normal boyfriend, normal boy.But growing up with Will Byers — through disappearances, monsters, trauma, high school, and finally college — makes “normal” feel less and less like something he actually wants.
This is the long, messy, painfully slow journey of Mike figuring himself out, losing himself, finding himself again, and realizing that the only thing that ever made sense — the only thing that ever felt right — was Will.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 149,833
- Chapters:
- 31/31
- Comments:
- 668
- Kudos:
- 1,135
- Bookmarks:
- 306
- Hits:
- 27,286
Bookmarked by heartonsleeve
22 Jan 2026
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“I want you to tell him why you're so upset," Vecna says, and Will swears he sees the curl of a smile in the webbed scars of his face. “I want to watch you lose him.”
(Or, Will is forced by Vecna to confess his feelings to Mike, with a slow burn aftermath. Alternate Season 5.)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 87,597
- Chapters:
- 26/26
- Comments:
- 1,242
- Kudos:
- 6,708
- Bookmarks:
- 1,656
- Hits:
- 133,036
Bookmarked by heartonsleeve
21 Jan 2026
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time can't stop me quite like you did by agustplz (shout_out_lou)
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
06 Nov 2022
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Mike’s been waiting 737 days for this exact moment, always too intimately aware of every single second that’s passed him by since he disappeared. “You’re alive,” he tells him, stupid and reverent. This time, it seems to get through to Will. He watches the hard exterior recede, exposing the gentle warmth that Mike has always admired
“I’m alive,” Will repeats. “I’m alive.” He lets out a hysterical giggle and suddenly he’s the one falling into Mike, limbs tangling and hands clutching at each other until he can’t tell where one of them ends and the other begins. “And you’re here. You came for me.”
Will’s fingers dig into his forearms. Mike swallows the instinctive I would always come for you on the tip of his tongue.
OR: Even after watching Will get trapped in the Upside Down for good, Mike never stopped believing he was alive. After stumbling upon a gate two years later, he takes a chance and learns to finally follow his heart.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 25,933
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 115
- Kudos:
- 1,583
- Bookmarks:
- 367
- Hits:
- 16,411
Bookmarked by heartonsleeve
13 Jan 2026
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Will knew something was wrong back in Lenora. He just didn't know how to confront everyone. How do you even begin telling your mom, brother, and estranged best friend that they had missed your birthday?
A story in which Will is being forgotten by those he loves.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 199,453
- Chapters:
- 24/24
- Comments:
- 748
- Kudos:
- 1,923
- Bookmarks:
- 552
- Hits:
- 46,414
Bookmarked by heartonsleeve
07 Jan 2026
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we all have a hunger (tell me what you need) by papenathy
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
03 Jun 2025
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“Looks like I bit you.” Will tilts his head to get a better look. All Mike can do is stare at him. His fluffy hair at the front, clumped pieces at the back where he’d slid his fingers in a mere few minutes before. His pretty green eyes that look hazel or even brown in this light, the dark circles he gets when he drinks framing them like intricate paintings. A satisfied, bloody smile.
Mike isn’t satisfied. He swallows thickly, choking down the words 'don’t you want more?'
Or: Will dresses as a vampire for a college halloween party, but Mike thinks his costume isn’t bloody enough. Will lets him fix it. Mike goes into a crisis.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 34,403
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Comments:
- 1,121
- Kudos:
- 27,949
- Bookmarks:
- 6,057
- Hits:
- 406,204
Bookmarked by heartonsleeve
31 Dec 2025