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“Your friend, Eleven, disrupted your assimilation,” Vecna explains, so close Mike can see his crooked, rotting teeth. “The others were gone in a moment, absorbed into my psyche, but you… linger.” His expression darkens on the word, bitter that things didn’t go as planned. “But no matter. It won’t last long. You are simply an echo of a dying mind. You’ll lose yourself soon enough. Lose yourself… to me.”
Dread settles in Mike’s stomach. Unlike the others, he doesn’t even get the privilege of a proper death.
This hell is just for him.
Or: Trapped in Vecna's mind, Mike tries desperately to hold onto a fading sense of self. Meanwhile, the Party in Hawkins struggle to pick up the pieces and prepare for their final confrontation with the evil that has overtaken their town.
This is a continuation from my s4 rewrite in which Mike never made it to California, covering the 18 months between s4 and s5. Read Part 1 first!!
Series
- Part 2 of Come Sleep
Bookmarked by vertigrove
05 Jul 2026
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Morning Coffees And Shared Evenings by GhoulSanderson
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
26 Mar 2026
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Mike laughs, something warm and fuzzy filling his chest. He flips over so he can face Will and throws an arm over his shoulder, his fingers fiddling with the chestnut hair shimmering as honey gold sun seeps in through the curtains. Will’s cheeks are flushed, a light sheen of sweat dampening his forehead and glistening over his bare shoulders, and Mike stares in awe at what he has.
Will takes his hand, entirely serious and waiting patiently for an answer, and Mike snorts. “At this point, why don’t you just ask me to marry you?” He jokes.
Suddenly, Will goes quiet and takes his hand, his fingers finding Mike’s ring finger, his eyes gazing at it almost contemplatively, and Mike’s jaw drops.
Will’s considering it. He wants to.
Series
- Part 35 of Mike Wheeler suffering
Bookmarked by vertigrove
04 Jul 2026
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Was…was Mike’s heart reacting to Will?
Mike isn’t looking at him. He’s staring hard at his cards as if he hasn’t seen them before, biting his inner cheek, and accentuating his dimple. As Will looks closer, he notices the pink shade spreading over the shell of Mike’s ear, the red emerging from the black curls like a rose sprouting from the earth.
Was Mike still nervous around him? Hadn’t they resolved that?
Will decides to test it. He leans onto the bed and rests a hand on Mike’s uninjured thigh, his thumb swiping side to side over the covers, and waits.
Mike's leg twitches into his hand, and barely a moment passes before the beeps speed up again, a rapid climb from steady to sprinting, and when Will looks, the blush has spread to Mike’s cheeks, his eyes unmoving and glued to his cards.
Oh. Will gapes at the monitor, the green spiking line. That's not discomfort.
Oh. He can have some fun with this.
Or: Mike, while protecting Will, gets attacked by a demogorgon. Guilt-ridden, Will stays with him in the hospital, forcing them to resolve the awkward air that has surrounded them for months, and, along the way, uncover some truths.
Series
- Part 32 of Mike Wheeler suffering
Bookmarked by vertigrove
04 Jul 2026
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Mike smiles into the kiss, and carefully brings his tongue to Will’s swollen lips, swiping it across once as a way of asking permission. Will allows the kiss to deepen, and–
A sharp intrusion of rapid knocks breaks the moment almost instantly.
“Mr. Will! Mr. Will are you in there? Mr. Will-lll!”
The superglue that had just held Mike and Will impossibly close, practically inseparable, has now been dissolved by the rude, abrasive acetone of their childcare responsibilities.
Mike and Will are working as summer day camp counsellors alongside the rest of the party to make some extra cash before university.
Kids are, of course, challenging to say the least, but the even bigger challenge is hiding a secret relationship from everybody when you're completely and irrevocably in love and want to shout it from the rooftops.
Especially when the kids keep catching on.
Bookmarked by vertigrove
04 Jul 2026
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Join Mike and Will alongside the rest of the party for a week of summer employment as they experience the epic highs and lows of teenage lifeguarding and relationships.
Bookmarked by vertigrove
04 Jul 2026
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Mike sneaks to Will’s room in the middle of the night to confess his love.
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Mike and Will have been dating for a while and it's their 6 month anniversary. They still want to keep it a secret, but they're also very handsy with each other after finally getting the boy of their dreams. Will usually initiates the kisses and Mike's happy to receive, but it seems like every time things get going and good, their makeout session gets interrupted. The universe can't let them be in peace.
Edit: Y'all want a part 2 so I'll make another chapter then. More sloppy makeouts between our lover boys Byler
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 14,568
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Comments:
- 125
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- 1,946
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Bookmarked by vertigrove
28 Jun 2026
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“Max is a girl on our school’s softball team,” Lucas explains, since Mike’s statement is severely lacking. “Jane wants to woo her, so we're helping her learn how to play before the tryouts.”
Dustin gestures at the two of them, as if to say: there you have it.
Jane isn’t quite sure what “it” is supposed to be- but judging by the expression on Steve’s face, he doesn’t seem to think that they have much of anything. She tries to picture what they must look like; the five of them, with their school backpacks, silly graphic T-shirts, and hand-me-down flannels. Not like a promising softball team, certainly.
“Thoughts?” Dustin prompts.
“And prayers,” says Steve.
Jane has a crush, and the boys try their very best to act as her wingmen.
Bookmarked by vertigrove
28 Jun 2026
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Will blinks. Mike is looking at him with an amused look on his face, wide-eyed and a little pink across the bridge of his nose, and God, okay, Will wants to–
“Um,” he says instead. “Huddling? For warmth?”
“For warmth,” Lucas echoes, and then looks back at Dustin again. “Huddling. For warmth.”
“Like penguins,” Mike offers, and then rests his head on Will’s shoulder like this is supposed to be helping, or something.
Will Byers and the harrowing experience of being snowed in with your mom, your almost-stepdad, all of your friends, and your (kind of) (secret) boyfriend.
- Language:
- English
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- 13,803
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- 1/1
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- 162
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Bookmarked by vertigrove
28 Jun 2026
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torn between two roads (i’m the jealous type) by wisingheart
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
09 Jan 2026
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“Lucas,” Mike starts, already getting angry at the possibility the rest of his answer is putting in the air. “Would you date him?”
Will adjusts his position so he can sit cross legged while facing his boyfriend.
Will shrugs, a gentle smile on his face, “I mean, he’s pretty hot.”
The teasing edge in Will’s voice isn’t enough to keep Mike’s eye away from twitching.
Bookmarked by vertigrove
28 Jun 2026
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Mike clears his throat loudly, dragging Will’s attention back from his thoughts. He snaps his eyes up to him, observing the look on his face which lies somewhere between a ‘I’m ready for a gate to the Upside Down to open and swallow me right now.’ and ‘I’m deeply sorry for what I’m about to do next.’
Oh no.
He’s about to do something really stupid.
Or, Mike kisses Will in front of the Party. Naturally, he has to kiss everyone else.
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Compared to his friends, Mike Wheeler has had it easy. What reason does he have to wake up screaming? To feel like he's got the weight of the world strapped to him like a backpack? And now his heart flutters every time Will comes near him and he just can't look him in the eye and smile honestly anymore.
So he runs, and he avoids his friends because it's easier than lying through his teeth.
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In which Mike Wheeler has no coping mechanisms and I project onto my favourite characters.Series
- Part 13 of Mike Wheeler suffering
Bookmarked by vertigrove
28 Jun 2026
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The Paladin, the Bard, and the Ranger by GhoulSanderson
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
19 Oct 2022
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Mike falls apart when Will moves away, he thinks he'll die from the pain, and when their paladin is in trouble, Lucas and Dustin come running.
Platonic Henwheelclair fluff
Series
- Part 10 of Mike Wheeler suffering
Bookmarked by vertigrove
28 Jun 2026
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Seeing you grow is seeing you change (I just hope you know I am right here) by Duuu_RDM
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
14 Feb 2026
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Joyce had no clue what to expect, but she certainly would never have barely considered to be met with who she was believing to see, the person wasn't facing her just yet, so she still had her hopes — a very selfish, ugly, hope — to not be met with pale skin and short raven hair that featured the very unique face she always felt herself smile since getting to know him before this.
It was a tall figure, but he looked younger, he was lanky and heaving and there were wet curls glued to the pale white skin, Joyce hated how she just knew there were freckles covering his cheekbones. Her whole body stilled, maybe her knuckles were already whitening with how strongly she was grasping her flashlight. Seeming to notice the trail of light, a haunted pair of eyes met Joyce's brown ones. Time stopped. Joyce froze.Mike Wheeler.
The silence felt eternal despite the soothing sound of raindrops filled the small town.
— I promise I'm not going to kill myself.
Or
Joyce visits Lover's lake hoping to face her fears from November 1983, she doesn't expect to see Mike there. They talk.
Bookmarked by vertigrove
28 Jun 2026
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The snow won't melt in mid-december by GhoulSanderson
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
09 Nov 2023
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"I-It was so loud... in my head. I just needed to quiet the noise. I-It was the only thing that would make it 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥."
Mike's teeth are chattering so hard they hurt. He's shaking, his voice is shaking, and everything is spinning. The world ripples like murky water through his tears and blotchy vision, but Will is still. He focuses on him, on the fingers trickling soothingly down his spine like they're strumming a harp, and the smaller hand wriggled into his own, on the warmth of the body beside his own.
"I-I thought I-I could just stop whenever I needed to..."
"But you can't?" Will whispers. He sounds anguished, and it floods Mike with more shame than he can stomach. He gulps loudly, and at the nauseated look, Will looks slightly alarmed before Mike manages to reel his sickness back.
"No..." Mike echoes. It's horrific to admit, "I can't."
---
Please read the tags <3Series
- Part 23 of Mike Wheeler suffering
- Language:
- English
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- 39,193
- Chapters:
- 4/4
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Bookmarked by vertigrove
27 Jun 2026
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Mike sniffled. Something warm dripped out of his nose, and he frowned. He didn’t have allergies in the fall, and his nose didn't feel very stuffy anyways, rather it felt dry. He wiped it with the back of his sleeve, planning on turning around to wipe his nose properly. Instead, when he lowered his hand, he froze.
Ms. Byers turned to him, confused as to why he stopped, but she took in a sharp breath as well when she saw the deep red stain on his sleeve, and the droplets of blood leaking out of his nose.
“Oh shit.”
After returning from the MAC-Z, Mike's resolve slowly crumbles after processing the last week of his life. After a breakdown and a terrifying vision, it's revealed that Vecna has possessed him, and he only has one day left.
Series
- Part 7 of mike wheeler having mental problems
Bookmarked by vertigrove
17 Jun 2026
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Through the intense ringing in his ears, Mike registers footsteps pounding down the hallway. The door slams open and the light is flicked on. Someone crashes to their knees beside Mike, pulling him away from the ground and into their arms. Mike thrashes weakly, chest still hitching with sobs, but it’s more painful this time.
He just has to purge himself of his sins.
Yes yes yes. Purge himself. He has to- he has to purge himself.
-- OR --
Vecna's Curse doesn't leave Mike once he gets to California. He's suffering, but hey – at least he gets kissed.
Bookmarked by vertigrove
17 Jun 2026
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You Never Cried to Them, Just to Your Soul by princessglittertiger
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
09 Dec 2025
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It happens when he gets a phone call. It’s around 10:30 at night. El is asleep on the couch, and Jim is nearly there himself when the phone starts to ring. He picks it up, clearing the sleep from his throat. "Hello?"
“Oh thank god,” He hears Nancy sigh. The relief is nearly palpable through the phone. “It’s Mike."
Goddammit.
Bookmarked by vertigrove
16 Jun 2026
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friend of my brother is my enemy (or something like that) by rosesgf
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
07 Aug 2022
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Jonathan would never hear the end of it if Will found out what he’s doing, so he needs to be subtle. Just enough to get Mike to treat him better. Just enough to redirect things.
He settles on a stern, “Mike, I think we need to have a talk.”
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,599
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- 1/1
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- 206
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- 6,088
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Bookmarked by vertigrove
16 Jun 2026
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Mike Wheeler is a coward, he always has been. No matter what anyone says, no matter what anyone does, Mike Wheeler has and always will be a coward. He hides behind Eleven, a girl he doesn't even love, because he's to scared to admit his feeling for his best friend. He writes letters to said best friend but never sends them because he's to scared to see their reaction. He avoided Will because he was scared that he would figure it out somehow. He got possessed by Vecna because he was scared of his feeling.
Every brave act he does is a product of adrenaline, he's a coward. It's worse when El breaks up with him, because now he can't hide. It's worse when Dustin spills that he jumped off of the quarry, because now the Party won't leave him alone. And it's worse when Will confronts him at said Quarry because he was stupid and scared enough to run. Now what does he say? Does he tell the truth? Or does he lie?
Bookmarked by vertigrove
16 Jun 2026