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Won’t You Ever Know (I’m In Love With You)? by AttentionDealer (Nearell)
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
26 Nov 2025
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Summary
“Guys, Mike’s not like me, he just can’t name characters.” They both give him a pointed look, clearly not believing a word. “I’m serious, every character is a reference to someone we know.”
“Are they now?” Dustin raises an eyebrow at him.
“Yes!” Will is perhaps a bit exasperated, “Stephen and Jay are clearly Steve and Robin, and James is Hopper,” at the blank look they give him, he clarifies, “his first name is Jim.”
This somehow only makes Lucas seem more unimpressed, “okay, but you do see how that’s more suspicious right?”
“What? That Mike can’t come up with names?”
“No,” Lucas shakes his head and clasps Will in the shoulder, “that the first name Mike thought to cannibalize when coming up with a boyfriend for you was his own”.The party grows closer after Will moves in with the Wheelers, picking up D&D again. It all goes well until Mike introduces a new character, Sir. Gabriel Whepler, whose sole purpose seems to be flirting with Will.
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"They called you Zombie Boy after I took you," Henry murmured, "didn't they? You came back from the dead, and left something in the dark, in the grave dirt. Something that made you healthy."
Slowly, Will's outstretched hand cupped Mike's jaw. Henry made Will hold him lightly, hardly grazing the skin. He stretched one of Will's fingers out to trace his nail through Mike's face, and though Will had imagined holding Mike an endless amount of times, none of them had gone like this. He'd never wanted to hold Mike like this.
"Let him go," said Will, voice thick with emotion. "You can take what you want from me, you don't need him—"
"But you do," said Henry. "You need him."
When Henry starts to visit Will in his dreams, Mike starts getting inexplicable injuries. The stranger Mike acts— the more time he spends with Will, the more Will catches him staring, the more Mike dismisses the bruises and cuts scattered across his skin— the more Will starts to wonder whether Henry is right about him.
Maybe Henry did give Will a disease, back in the Upside Down. Maybe, as he dreams, Will passes that disease on to Mike, too.
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"Chance bit the inside of his lip. Truthfully, part of him believed Jason’s Hellfire theory was a desperate story fueled by the grief of losing Chrissy, but the more Chance watched Hawkins fall apart, literally, the more he felt his old logic snap into place. Maybe Jason had been right, the town had a wound and something crawled out of it, something that hid in plain sight. Chance didn’t believe in revenge, the Bible says justice belonged to God or the law. But, if there really was an evil in this town, wouldn’t it be just as evil to do nothing about it? To let it happen?"
OR
After losing two of his friends in the Hawkins “earthquake,” Chance joins a church grief group that believes Will Byers is the vessel for Satan. To prove them wrong, Chance agrees to befriend Will, but the closer he gets, the more the lines between faith, fear, obsession and love start to blur.
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Summary
1989. Senior year.
It took nearly three years of growing apart, but Will Byers has finally gotten used to life without Mike Wheeler. He has El, he has Max, he has his art, and, as of two days ago, he has a full ride to art school in Chicago, so things are good. Right? So when Mike climbs through his window one night and stumbles back into his life, Will’s not prepared for the resurgence of old feelings—and even less prepared for the possibility that they might not be as hopeless as he always thought. With the expiration date of graduation looming, Will has to figure out not only his future, but what exactly he and Mike are to each other.
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I'm Finding it Hard to Believe (We're in Heaven) by mioakem
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
22 Feb 2026
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Summary
“I’m just so proud of you, baby.” He feels a weight lifted off his shoulders- which is ridiculous, he’s ridiculous for thinking that she would be anything but proud. Nonetheless, he feels relieved. He smiles, fiddling with his fingers again.
“It’s really nothing.” He says, “Mike keeps talking about how they’re innate but…but they’re not. They’re siphoned, from Vecna.” The mention of his name makes Joyce’s eyes go wide.
“Well, last I checked no one else can do that.” She shrugs, her eyes still wide. Will chuckles, looking at the floor, “Hey, all I’m saying is that I think you need to have a little more trust in yourself.” She leans forward, putting a hand on his cheek. He leans into it, into the warmth of her hand, “You didn’t fail, okay?” She says, and he nods, even though he doesn’t really believe it, “You saved Mike- all your friends. You did that, baby.” She shakes her head, “Not Vecna, just you.”
Will can feel himself tearing up for about the millionth time that night, “I can make it right.” He settles on, “We just need a new plan, a better plan.”
Right, a better plan. Easier said than done.
or: season 5 vol 2 and 3 complete rewrite
Series
- Part 1 of We're in Heaven
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Summary
Mike pushes into his hands, but Will keeps him still.
"Ask again," he says. Because he's greedy, and he wants Mike to want him.
He stares at Will's mouth. "Please."
"Again."
El is gone.
Will tries to figure out how to move on in New York, and Mike follows him. Their apartment is haunted not by ghosts, but by the two of them.
Or: Catastrophically traumatized boys cling to each other and accidentally figure out how to be close—too close—while moving through their grief.
Series
- Part 1 of Supervoid
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spit swear by poorlittlegreenie
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016), IT (Movies - Muschietti)
15 Feb 2026
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Summary
Will bites his lip and nods, looking down at his shoes again so Richie won't see how hard he's holding back a giddy smile.
Everybody in the party knows everything about him. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to keep a secret from Mike for a little while.
It's kind of exciting. Sneaking in a boy Mike hates.
Will shakes his head, trying to clear Mike from it for the night. Only when he looks back up at Richie, Richie has this conspiratorial smile on his face, like maybe Will isn't the only one eager to piss off Mike Wheeler.
OR: the concept of Richie Tozier being Will Byers' dirty little secret and Mike Wheeler being so jealous he can't breathe. Byler endgame.
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Mike opens his eyes against the water droplets hanging off his eyelashes. Will hasn't stopped walking away from him, and he’s far enough now that Mike can no longer really see the details of his jacket. The rain feels like needles against his skin, and a frustration builds in his gut. Mike can't stand this anymore.
He breaks off into a run.
or Mike and Will finally confront each other about everything. It's raining, and things get messy.
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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.
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“And if you were-” Mike swallowed hard, the words ripping out of him, painful, slurred, and honest in a way he’d never let himself be sober, “I just wish you were a girl.”
Will froze.
Mike kept going, unable to stop himself now, like the admission opened the flood gates. “It’d be so much easier if you were a girl. Everything would make sense. No one would question anything. I wouldn’t have to feel like… like I’m wrong.”
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Mike and Will have kept their relationship tightly locked behind closed doors. But when they decide to start a youtube channel with Lucas and Dustin, fans notice how close the two seem to be. And the spotlight on the relationship Mike isn't ready to be public deepens a crack between them.
Series
- Part 1 of Fear and Acceptance
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Ever since he was six years old and ducked into the cupboard beneath the sink to avoid his father’s fury, Will Byers has known he’s good at hiding. Mom and Jonathan used to hate it, used to fuss and worry. Over the years, Will has only gotten better, crafted the skill into something of an art.
He hid when his dad screamed and broke things. He hid the truth when bullies at school slung terrifyingly accurate, harsh words. He hid when the Demogorgon stalked him through the Upside Down for a week.
Will Byers is good at hiding. It’s what’s kept him alive this long.
(or the one where vecna is dead and will is trying to enjoy the normalcy of growing up, while also wrestling some important, decidedly not-normal discoveries. and his relationship with mike. there’s that, too.)
Series
- Part 2 of darker in the day than the dead of night
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Summary
What if Joyce stopped believing Will was alive?
*
Will had been stuck in the Upside Down for the past three years. They hadn't believed he was alive and El closed the gates, locking him with the monsters, with Vecna. It is only when the events of season four begin, Vecna begins to open the gates, that Will is able to escape, go home. But how does a person go home when their entire world has been turned Upside Down? Literally...
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An exploration of 16/17 year old Will coming back home, dealing with the trauma he went through, and also whatever the fuck Vecna is trying to do. Like take over the fucking world? Who even knows?
*2026, have returned and am locked tf in -
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Summary
There’s something wrong with Will.
It started three weeks ago, almost four. Will had woken from some sort of nightmare and, instead of seeking comfort in Mike the way he usually would, he’d rolled out a sleeping bag from the closet and chosen to sleep on the floor.
No one believes Mike, except for Joyce. But even she doesn’t understand the full extent to which something is wrong with Will.
Mike understands, though. Mike has been paying attention.
Series
- Part 1 of eye of the beholder
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A charged silence hung between them, the only sound being that of Will sketching. Mike had a tendency to fumble through moments like this, finding comfort in little quips to shift the vibe. It's expected of him, really, he can't help himself.
Mike's suggestion this time, however, was completely unexpected. Before Mike could even decipher it, the thought had reached his lips and just tumbled out.
"You'd look good as Luke Skywalker."
or
Mike asks Will to dress up as Luke Skywalker for Halloween for totally normal reasons that aren't linked to Mike's huge gay crush on Mark Hamill—or his huge gay crush on Will, but he doesn't need to know that yet.
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“We are more similar than you realize, Will. Both of us were...sensitive children. We were different. Seen as freaks. But we are special. You are special.”
Will takes a shallow breath, tries to swallow his nerves. He speaks flatly. “And?”
Henry blinks, seemingly surprised by Will’s coldness. “I chose you that day, you know.”
And Will sees himself, small and alone, riding his bike through the darkness. He sees the silhouette of something tall and not-human. He sees himself crashing his bike. Running home. But the creature unlocks the door. It follows him into the shed. It gets him.
“It was you,” Will whispers, a hand coming up to the back of his neck. The monster that took him. The possession. The visions. “It’s always been you.”
(or the one where will’s connection to the upside down is a crucial part of season 4 instead of him getting sidelined, and how it changes everything)
Series
- Part 1 of darker in the day than the dead of night
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“Tell me,” he says, softer. “What are you so afraid I’ll do?”
William’s breath stutters, chin dipping, then lifting, barely a movement, barely consent to anything at all. Michael notices, and for a moment he looks almost confused by it, by him, by the way William’s body answers even when his mouth won’t.
“Are you worried that I’ll kiss you?” Michael asks.
William looks away, but Michael follows the small dip of his chin, tracking the heat blooming up his neck.
“You are,” he says quietly, sounding like he’s finally understanding something that’s been in front of him for weeks. His gaze flicks to William’s mouth again, unmistakable, before he drags it back up. “And you’re worried I won’t.”
or what mike wants is so devastatingly simple and so impossibly out of reach: for will to choose him. for will to admit mike is the one he’s been waiting for
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Will and Mike become friends with benefits. Which is a totally reasonable arrangement that they’re both completely content with, obviously.
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Mike really just wants to take care of Will, in every way he possibly can.
Series
- Part 1 of i can't be without you
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Brand me with your hands so everyone can see. by sundollop
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
18 Feb 2026
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Summary
Max arches a brow. “Carlton, though? You two are dating and you don’t even kiss? Is it just a preference thing?”
Will sighs, resigned. He drops his hands. “Okay. Honestly?” He hesitates, then shrugs. “He was a bad kisser. And I just… couldn’t get excited around him. At all.”
The reaction is immediate and merciless. Dustin makes a dramatic gagging noise. El gasps like she’s been handed gossip gold. Lucas high-fives Max, shaking her hand in his.
Mike doesn’t say anything. He just watches Will, watches the way he shrugs it off, the way he laughs a little too loud, the way his ears go red.
Or, Will's new boyfriend is a bad kisser. Mike thinks it's a crime that no one has kissed Will properly. He's on a goal to change that, Carlton be damned.
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Summary
What if Will was not found in season one.
What if Will was found in season five.