1 - 20 of 151 Bookmarks by willowingaway
Navigation
List of Bookmarks
-
Tags
Summary
Mike Wheeler is thirty years old, three years married, and incredibly unhappy. After an unexpected AOL Instant Messenger group chat with the Party, Mike reconnects with Will after several years and realizes that maybe his life doesn't have to be so bad.
Or: A 2000s epistolary fic in which Mike falls in love with his childhood best friend and cheats on his wife.
Bookmarked by willowingaway
15 Apr 2026
-
[podfic] no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin by pods (gothicbyler)
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
12 Apr 2026
Tags
Summary
“You… um, smoke?” Will asks before he can stop himself, swallowing as he watches a boy lean against the dusty, cracking brick wall.
Will doesn’t know much about the boy, except that his name is Mike and his father is the pastor.
“What?” He replies, pulling the cigarette from his lips and lightly blowing the smoke from his mouth. “Just because my dad is the pastor, you think I can’t enjoy a cigarette?
OR:
Will Byers is no stranger to religious guilt. He carries it everywhere he goes, and it’s starting to weigh him down.
When he meets Mike Wheeler, the pastor’s son, he realizes there is more to life than just fearing God, and it’s much scarier.
Podfic of no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin by bridgetobyler.
Bookmarked by willowingaway
13 Apr 2026
-
Tags
Summary
“Just saying, if you’re taking another hit, you should share it with me,” Mike says, and Will slowly tilts his head, drinking in every word. “It just makes sense. Like, mathematically.”
Will’s reddened eyes narrow, bewildered. “Mathematically?”
“If there’s two hits left, we’d each only get one,” Mike explains. “But if we shotgunned, we’d both get two.” God, this is the best idea he’s had in ages. He should’ve stolen Will’s weed, like, months ago. “That’s like, bang for your buck. This is simple math, Will Byers. Keep up.”
In which it’s well past midnight in New York, Will can’t sleep, and Mike feels like they barely know each other anymore.
So, they get a little high. Mike is very normal about all of it.
Podfic of cottonmouth by lightsflicker
Bookmarked by willowingaway
11 Apr 2026
-
Tags
Summary
"Have you talked to him today?" Jonathan asked, gesturing to Will, who was now approaching the sink. Mike didn't need Jonathan to explain who he was talking about.
"No, he's been in the basement all day. I thought he was just painting or something," Mike replied, shaking his head before lowering his voice. "I think he's having an episode."
Jonathan nodded. "I mean, maybe, but he hasn't had one in a long time," he said, voice growing softer.
Mike knew Will was still recovering from everything, still adjusting to being back home. Everything that had happened in the past couple of years certainly hadn't been great, but Mike thought things were getting better, or at least easier.
"I know," Mike whispered, looking back to Will, making sure he hadn't left the kitchen yet. Will was finishing up rinsing off his plate. Mike turned back to Jonathan. "What should we do?"
"I don't know. I mean, you were always the one that he wanted. You always knew how to talk to him and knew what he needed," Jonathan said, pausing before continuing. "Honestly, I think he would probably just want you."
or
Will had an episode, and Mike was there to help.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 32,106
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 56
- Kudos:
- 514
- Bookmarks:
- 149
- Hits:
- 5,266
Bookmarked by willowingaway
10 Apr 2026
-
Tags
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.
Podfic of Supervoid by maximumtrash.
Bookmarked by willowingaway
09 Apr 2026
-
Summary
Three unconnected stories, all with the same intro, where the universe is sick of Mike and Will dancing around each other and pulls some supernatural bullshit to force them to sort it out.
[It’s me. I’m the universe.]
- Words:
- 46,473
- Works:
- 3
- Bookmarks:
- 56
Bookmarked by willowingaway
09 Apr 2026
-
Charisma Check (DnD is just an excuse for flirting without consequences) by Rogue_Mercury
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
31 Mar 2026
Tags
Summary
In one of their summer 1989 campaigns, Mike includes a mysterious, recurring NPC. A male tower guard who appears to be interested in Will. Will is confused and a little apprehensive at first, while Lucas, Dustin, and Max are very much intrigued.
The guard seems to be hiding something crucial to unraveling the mystery of the cursed river he watches over. Yet Will turns out to be the only one who can get him to talk... by charming him.
(Inspired by that one post “Was playing DnD and started flirting with the tavern keeper to get some info and at a certain point I realized I was just dirty talking with my buddy Ben.”)
Bookmarked by willowingaway
05 Apr 2026
-
In the Back of My Mind (I Still Think About You) by Sparks521075
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
19 Apr 2026
Tags
Summary
Mike finds a journal entry of his best friend, Will Byers, detailing explicit feelings about him.
Bookmarked by willowingaway
02 Apr 2026
-
Two Moms and a Sexless Eldritch Shadowparent by Anonymous
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
27 Mar 2026
Tags
Summary
“Just let me help!” Michelle says. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.”
“You don’t even know what you’re offering,” Willow says through gritted teeth.
“Then tell me! Let me decide for myself!”
“It wants me to fuck you, Mich!” Willow jolts upright, pushing herself up from the ground so she can glare directly at her. A few strands of hair fall across her face, and her eyes are dark and furious. “It’s making me insanely horny because it wants me to eat you out and breathe all its nasty polluted shadow monster particles right through your cervix so I can infest your uterus with our gross hybrid monster baby! And obviously neither of us wants that, so forgive me if I’d rather risk the alternative!”
That stuns Michelle into silence. Huh. Okay. Interesting concept.
Very interesting concept.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 30,866
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 41
- Kudos:
- 244
- Bookmarks:
- 45
- Hits:
- 3,036
Bookmarked by willowingaway
02 Apr 2026
-
- Words:
- 99,254
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 65
Bookmarked by willowingaway
01 Apr 2026
-
Tags
Summary
A month in a half after the events of "My Will Is Good," Mike and Will spend a weekend in Montauk, get closer than ever, and navigate life as a couple. Mike grapples with the idea of coming out and what it means to be gay in the 90s.
Or: Mike and Will have fun in Montauk, do it without condoms, and are really nerdy and in love.
Series
- Part 2 of Nirvana
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 28,156
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 269
- Kudos:
- 1,880
- Bookmarks:
- 497
- Hits:
- 23,952
Bookmarked by willowingaway
30 Mar 2026
-
Tags
Summary
Mike grins so widely that he displays each one of his baby teeth. "Open it," he says. "It's a card. I made it for you."
When Will gingerly peels the birthday card open, Mike’s uneven handwriting is displayed across the page.
The p’s in happy are backwards, the y wobbly and curled at the end, and the k in Mike is also flipped the wrong way. The word birthday is etched in their kindergarten teacher’s steady print, and it seems like she'd also added the punctuation for him.
Happy birthday, Will!
Love,
Mike WOr: Will Byers' birthdays from age six to adulthood, told through cards from Mike.
Bookmarked by willowingaway
29 Mar 2026
-
Tags
Summary
NOVEMBER 6TH, 1986
In the three years since Will Byers went missing, the town of Hawkins has been under constant threat of the creatures from the Upside Down. But now, eight months after Vecna has ruptured a giant rift through the town of Hawkins, that threat is about to reemerge. Unaware of Vecna's true plans and trapped under a military quarantine, our heroes will not only be forced to face the greatest evil from the Upside Down, but also overcome impossible odds, in order to save their town, and each other, one last time.
Written in a SCREENPLAY format, this fic operates as a diverging conclusion for the final season of Stranger Things.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 90,622
- Chapters:
- 4/8
- Comments:
- 409
- Kudos:
- 1,830
- Bookmarks:
- 712
- Hits:
- 54,917
Bookmarked by willowingaway
27 Mar 2026
-
Tags
Summary
“I was scared,” Mike says abruptly. Will looks up. “To tell you. About the, um, liking guys thing.”
He stares at one of Will’s older drawings on the far wall. It’s the two of them, Mike the Brave and Will the Wise, facing off against some formidable beast. Mentally, he scoffs. He’s never felt less like Mike the Brave than he does right now.
“Not like you’d have reacted badly, obviously. But I felt like I’d missed some kind of metaphorical window, and the longer I didn’t say anything, the harder it felt to bring up. So I just… never did.”
“And that’s why you stopped writing?” Will asks hesitantly.
“It’s part of it,” he admits. “The other part is that I was pretty miserable, and I didn’t want to put that on you.”
After losing touch over the fall semester, Mike comes face-to-face with Will for the first time in months while home for winter break, forcing him to confront a number of things he’d rather avoid. Naturally, they end up sleeping together. Repeatedly.
Bookmarked by willowingaway
26 Mar 2026
-
Tags
Summary
“I need like– actionable steps. ‘Act normal’ is too vague.”
Will sighs and reaches over to turn the radio down even quieter.
“Ok for one, stop staring at my mouth,” Will says.
Mike glances over at him automatically.
Will laughs. “See? That’s exactly what I mean. You’ve been doing it for years, but now it’s like…it’s a lot, Mike. People are gonna notice.”
“But I wanna kiss you,” Mike whines.
It’s been a week since Mike and Will got together – one blissful week, like a honeymoon before the wedding. Now they’re in Montauk for Joyce and Hopper’s, surrounded by friends and family, and trying to fly under the radar. Somewhere along the way, Mike realizes he doesn’t want to hide anymore.
Or, two horny idiots in love struggle to keep their relationship hidden.
Series
- Part 2 of don't dream it's over
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 41,268
- Chapters:
- 4/4
- Comments:
- 404
- Kudos:
- 1,948
- Bookmarks:
- 529
- Hits:
- 42,851
Bookmarked by willowingaway
20 Mar 2026
-
Tags
Summary
Mike is spending the last urgent summer days with Will in Hawkins. He’s also writing in college. Somehow, these two things are always happening at once.
Or, ‘Funny how there’s a face underneath my face.’
Bookmarked by willowingaway
19 Mar 2026
-
Tags
Summary
Mike is waiting for Will in the basement, a look of suspicious, nervous excitement on his face. He cleared the table and laid out upon it are two card games.
"Now, I know you’ll resist," Mike blurts out, stepping toward him. "But I think this will be good. For both of us! For when we... you know,” Mike trails off, “When we get partners.”
Will scoffs, stepping closer to inspect the titles.
Spill or Sip and Truth, Dare, or Strip.
Or: Mike suggests a spicy card game to help Will loosen up before college. It works a little too well, and suddenly they’re gambling with unresolved feelings, and clothes, that were meant to stay in place.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 122,521
- Chapters:
- 18/24
- Comments:
- 4,639
- Kudos:
- 12,932
- Bookmarks:
- 2,719
- Hits:
- 418,179
Bookmarked by willowingaway
18 Mar 2026
-
Tags
Summary
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.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 30,013
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 142
- Kudos:
- 3,731
- Bookmarks:
- 1,260
- Hits:
- 65,115
Bookmarked by willowingaway
16 Mar 2026
-
hey sugar, what you got to say? (it started with a whisper) by pocketzful
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
11 Apr 2026
Tags
Summary
What initially begins as Mike and Will calling each other exaggeratedly cheesy pet names to mess with Max and Lucas starts spiralling into something a lot more intimate and dangerous. Will isn't really sure where they managed to lose the plot, or how far they can go before there's no turning back.
Or: Max and Lucas go through a late honeymoon phase. It's excessive. It's gross. Mike and Will (well, mostly Mike) decide to engage in exaggerated bouts of PDA to demonstrate how disgusting the couple are being. It starts to get out of control pretty quickly.
Bookmarked by willowingaway
06 Mar 2026
-
Tags
Summary
Mike and Will get summer jobs as lifeguards at the Hawkins Community Pool during college break. Will just wants to forget about his first failed relationship. Mike wants to make it an unforgettable summer.
CPR training gets complicated when you're hot for your "straight" best friend and he keeps wanting to practice his mouth-to-mouth technique.
"Should we… practice again?" Mike said finally. "Now?"
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 107,051
- Chapters:
- 22/25
- Comments:
- 10,726
- Kudos:
- 36,714
- Bookmarks:
- 5,453
- Hits:
- 982,674
Bookmarked by willowingaway
06 Mar 2026