Archive of Our Own

“Will!”

Mike couldn’t believe his eyes. His childhood friend, his best friend , the boy he ( refused to acknowledge that-)  loved more than life itself.

Will, his heart, was about to sacrifice himself.

“Will, please!” He was screaming, and Mike knew uncharacteristic tears were running down his face. But for once in his life, he didn’t care what people thought of him.

Will looked back from where he was calmly walking to the newest monster; a Lich with unique control over electricity. They all named it Lich, but Mike felt it was more.

So did Will if the boy’s solemn face had anything to go by.

“Will,” Mike whispered, but it was practically a shout in the silence of the battlefield -town square. “Please don’t go.”

The boy had tears in his eyes as he mouthed to Mike, “I’m sorry.”

And by the time Mike realized what he’d said, Will had already sprinted to the Lich. It shot a red lightning bolt at Will, who took it head-on to throw a knife into Lich’s necklace.

While Lich stumbled, screeching as it grabbed its shattered necklace, Will disappeared with a shout.

“No!”

Mike jumped up, ignoring Nancy’s yell to come back. 

“Come on, come on,” Mike shuddered as he slid onto his knees where Will once was.

“Will?!”

But there was nothing there except scorched earth.

“Will!”

That was the only thing he could say. After that, nothing else was on his mind except the kind-hearted boy.

Hearing a dark yet pained chuckle, Mike looked at the trembling figure of Lich.

“I’ll be back, Michael Wheeler.”

In a flash of lightning, Lich was gone. And Mike was stuck in the place where his best friend had disappeared again.

~~~

They congregated in Mike’s house, not that he cared. He was stuck staring at his hands.

He could hear Joyce crying into Jonathan’s shoulder, El being comforted by Max, Lucas pacing the floor and ranting to Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Nancy discussing something in the corner, but none of it mattered.

Nothing mattered anymore now that Will was gone.

It was a familiar feeling; when the Demogorgon took Will, when he was possessed, when he moved away. Nothing else mattered except for the empty space where Will once was.

“Guys-”

Dustin’s panicked voice filtered through one ear and out of the other.

‘What do I do now? What’s the point if Will isn’t here-’

“Mike!”

Mike startled as Max yelled into his ear. 

“Wha-”

“Look!”

Mike looked at where Max was pointing, where everyone else was watching with wide eyes, the tv.

It had turned on by itself, flashing red static until it settled on a picture.

Clear as day on his parents' new tv was Lonnie Byers.

“What the fuck?” Mike heard someone, probably Max, whisper.

“I didn’t ask for a fag for a son!”

Lonnie roared, raising his belt high and hitting the newly revealed five-year-old-looking Will on screen. Tears overcame his wide, innocent eyes, red-palm-shaped marks decorated his face, and Mike felt his heart break as the belt hit his back, throwing him to the floor. 

They watched as Will curled into a tight ball, crying out whenever Lonnie lashed him.

Mike only turned away to watch as Joyce sobbed, covering her mouth as she hiccuped, “I had no idea.”

On-screen, as Will was hit again, a singular word in bold, white text popped up.

Pain.

Just as quickly as it showed up, the scene faded into another.

It showed Will, looking around 10, surrounded by 3 older boys, one Mike recognized as Troy Walsh.

“Looky here, it’s the fairy boy. Come to the real world before returning where you belong? With all the other freaks,” Troy spat the last word, grabbing Will by the collar of his plaid shirt.

“I-I just want to go home,” Will whimpered, the tears in his eyes causing Mike’s breathing to stutter.

“Look!” Troy laughed, “He’s crying! The fairy’s crying like a baby.”

The three bullies laughed, and as one punched Will in the stomach, causing him to double over, another word flashed on the screen.

Embarrassment.

“Are the words his feelings in these scenes?” El asked, clenching her fists tightly.

“Not scenes,” Dustin murmured.

“Memories,” Mike finished his sentence for him, the first actual words he’s said in hours.

The screen changed to a scene that was familiar to Mike.

It was him and Will standing outside his house, Will wearing a set of clothes that had been burned into Mike’s and everyone else’s memories.

“Is that the night he-”

Mike didn’t let Robin finish her sentence.

“Yes.”

“The Demogorgon. It got me.”

They all watched as Will rode off into the night, the beginning of the end.

Mike remembers that he went to his room that night and thought about how pretty Will looked when he got excited, the gleam in his eyes and the bright smile on his face as he cheered when their party beat a particularly hard enemy.

Now, he watched his best friend fight for his life against the Demogorgon. As Will picked up his father’s shotgun and fired into the darkness, the screen blanked as his screams echoed.

Only a single white word remained on the screen.

Fear.

It was quiet for a moment, the screen frozen on the word before Steve broke the silence.

“Do you think we’re watching only his worst memories or just memories that shaped him in general?”

Dustin, the resident nerd, grimaced.

“I don’t know. We don’t have enough evidence for a conclusion yet.”

“But why is this happening in the first place?!” Nancy broke out, pointing at the screen.

Max sighed, slumping on the couch and groaning into her hands as she whispered, “Why is it always Will.”

‘Why does it always have to be him,’ Mike thought, watching everyone with a numb feeling.

He turned back to Dustin’s explanation.

“So, really, the electricity basically pushed Will into the tv signal, and because the Lich specializes in dark magic, I think we have to finish watching Will’s darkest memories in order for him to escape.”

No one spoke as the screen finally changed to the next scene. 

~~~

A sickly-looking Will laid in a hospital bed, his hair matted to his forehead with sweat. A worried Mike sat beside the bed as Will panted with his eyes closed.

“Come on, Will,” the younger Mike grabbed Will’s hand, giving a light squeeze. “You can do it. You can do anything.”

Will opened his eyes lazily, half-open and hazy, as he gazed at Mike’s kind eyes.

“You’re braver than anyone I know; I know you can beat him.”

Though Mike didn’t see it, turning to face the hallway, Will’s breathing calmed down, and he got a look in his eyes that only a few people in the room could recognize.

Filthy.

“Hold on, what does that even mean?” Max broke everyone out of their trances, Jonathan and Nancy sharing looks.

“I think it’ll show us,” Jonathan sounded guilty like he knew something the rest didn’t. Mike narrowed his eyes, about to interrogate him before the scene changed.

Will was tied to a chair, thrashing and screaming.

“Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!”

Joyce stood in the corner of the cabin, a determined yet sad face as she watched her son struggle. Next to her stood a grief-ridden Jonathan and a grave Mike.

Mike on the couch slumped, not wanting to watch yet unable to turn away as he watched his younger self pour his heart out.

“Do you remember the first day that we met? It was... It was the first day of kindergarten. I knew nobody. I had no friends and….”

Everyone, minus Joyce and Jonathan, looked at the screen in shock as tears dripped down Mike’s face.

“I just felt so alone and so scared, but...I saw you on the swings, and you were alone, too. You were just swinging by yourself. And I just walked up to you and...I asked. I asked if you wanted to be my friend. And you said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done.”

The Mike on screen looked down, eyes closed as he cried and unable to see Will. But Mike, on the couch, sat up, watching as Will’s eyes cleared for a moment when his eyes shined with life and an unknown emotion.

‘Mike…’

They all startled at Will’s voice, his mouth not moving.

“Are these his thoughts?” Robin asked shakily, “are we gonna be able to hear his thoughts now?”

No one said anything as the word came on screen. Except, it looked different. It wasn’t white, it was yellow, and it wasn’t as bold.

Crush.

“Crush? Crush what?”

Except Mike couldn’t hear Steve, the blood was rushing to his ears.

~~~

The next scene had Mike cringing in his seat, groaning quietly, and laying his head on the couch to watch the ceiling instead of the fight in front of him.

“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”

Will froze, his breathing stopping for a moment before coming out faster than before. His eyes were wide and quickly filled with tears.

Self-disgust.

The word kept flashing on the screen as Will rode away in the rain, stumbled to Castle Byers, sobbed over old pictures, and ripped them apart.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Will sobbed while the screen flashed self-disgust, self-disgust, self-disgust.

Lucas picked up the tv remote and paused it, and miraculously it worked. The tv was frozen as it started to change, becoming a blurry mess.

But Mike didn’t care. He just continued staring at the ceiling, cringing, until Max hissed at him.

“What the fuck, Mike?”

With a sigh, Mike lifted his head and faced the room of angry people.

Robin was next, an acidic glare directed right at him, not that he didn’t understand.

“That was unacceptable, Mike.”

All he could do was rub between his eyes.

“I know, god I know. I’ve already apologized to Will so many times and I still don’t understand why he forgives me.”

Everyone seemed to settle down at that, though Jonathan still looked ready to throttle him.

“As long as you’re aware of your mistake, dear, then that’s all I ask,” Joyce smiled at him lightly, and though she was trying to reassure him, it only made him feel worse.

El unpaused, though not before giving Mike a look , one he interpreted from his ex-girlfriend as ‘we have a lot to talk about.’

The next scene started out strangely, with a yellow glitch showing Will putting his DnD board into a box.

“Woah, dude. That’s the donation box,” Mike said. Will just sighed and said, “I know. I’ll just use yours when I come back.”

He looked down awkwardly for a moment before continuing, “I mean, if we still wanna play.”

Mike looked disheartened as he said, “Yeah, but what if you want to join another party?”

Will smiled fondly, letting a breath from his nose as he said, “Not possible.”

The yellow text popped up as Mike chuckled, a grin on his face that matched Will’s .

Yearning.

At that point, Jonathan, Nancy, Robin, Max, and Joyce seemed to get it. Their eyes lit up, and they shot over to Mike, who was looking elsewhere.

‘He really…’

“What?” Dustin asked, yelping when Max smacked him in the shoulder, shooting him a glare. “Fine then,” he huffed, sharing a look with Lucas.

~~~

The next memory showed Will, a current-looking Will crowded against the wall by a boy with black curly hair, brown eyes, and freckles dotting his face.

El gasped, sitting up in her seat. “Gregory.”

“Who?” Steve asked, pointing at the screen, “the Wheeler look alike?”

“Yeah,” El nodded at the screen she had paused, “he and Will got close, but suddenly, one day, they just stopped talking.”

Looking at the boy on screen who looked so much like him, crowding in ( the space that should be his) Will’s personal space, Mike couldn’t help but feel something bubbling under his skin.

“You’ve really never had a boyfriend, Byers?” The boy, Gregory, asked. His voice was higher than Mike’s, cocky in a way Mike’s isn’t.

Everyone stopped, although most suspected this was the most confirmation they’d ever get. Dustin’s eyes shot over to Mike, who glared at the screen.

Will looked a little nervous, averting his eyes to where his fists clenched Gregory’s jacket.

“Obviously,” Will’s chuckle is sheepish, somewhat self-pitying, “I mean, who would want me?”

‘I do,’ Mike wanted to desperately scream, but he could only sit and watch as his copycat on-screen grabbed the bottom of Will’s chin and tilted his head.

“Well, I can give you a little taste,” Gregory smirked, pulling Will closer. There was a close-up of Will’s face, his hesitance before it was replaced by resignation.

“Fine.”

They watched as Gregory placed his lips on Will’s, and something in Mike shattered. He clenched his teeth as the word flashed on the screen.

Desperation.

Will’s eyes were still closed as Gregory pulled away, a smirk on his lips until Will breathed out, “Mike.”

At that point, everyone knew. Nothing Mike could do or say could stop the inevitable from happening, and all he could do was watch the scene and wait.

“Really?” Gregory scoffed, “here I am, real and actually wanting you, and all you can do is still think about that dick from Indiana?”

Will said nothing, staring down at the floor beneath Gregory’s feet with stiff shoulders.

“Typical,” he scoffed, walking away.

Max paused the memory, glancing at Mike’s slumped form. He had his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, his face hidden by his hands. Then, taking pity on him, Max decided to unpause the screen.

The next video was quick, just Will looking at El as she read her letters from Mike with the word Jealousy.

From the corner of his eye, he saw El looking guilty.

“It’s not your fault, El,” Mike spoke quietly, his voice blanketing the room in a hush. “You don’t need to feel guilty for his feelings, just like he shouldn’t feel guilty for his.”

The screen unpaused by itself, glitching yellow as it showed Mike walking into Will’s room, Will kneeling before his dresser.

“You’re packed already?” Will’s voice was light and airy.

“Yeah, I mean, I never really unpacked,” Mike grunted as he sat on Will’s bed.

Though it didn’t feel like it at the time, watching himself now, Mike can clearly see himself checking out Will. His eyes roamed up and down Will’s frame three times .

Mike hid his burning face away from the others.

“Thanks, by the way.”

Will didn’t turn around, though he shot Mike a confused look.

“For what?”

“For knocking some sense into me. I was being a total self-pitying idiot.” Mike watched himself smile silly at Will and wondered how he had never questioned himself.

‘How did anyone else not question me? I’m so fucking obvious it’s embaressing.’ Mike groaned to himself, ignoring El’s amused glances.

Will smirked, casually shrugging his shoulders as he teased, “I didn’t say it.”

The way he smiled, all cheek and tongue, made Mike’s stomach flip, and he felt himself copy the way he moved on the screen.

Mike gave a sideways smile, his eyes warm as he looked at Will with something in his eyes.

“You didn’t have to.”

He gave a broad, closed-mouth smile, and Will stared for a moment before turning away quickly. His eyes flickered, and Robin swore he was looking at Mike’s lips.

Love.

A memory played in front of Joyce’s eyes.

I’m not gonna fall in love.

‘Oh baby,’ she smiled tearfully as she looked at Mike’s lovesick expression, ‘you already have.’

 “I think the yellow is Will trying to break through the Lich’s powers,” Lucas murmured, continuously shooting glances at a catatonic Mike.

“No shit,” Max scoffed.

“Mike…” Nancy didn’t know what else to say.

“Let’s just keep watching,” he muttered, staring at the screen as it changed to inside a van.

Mike was looking down at his lap, and Will looked uncertain. His face flashed too quickly before settling on positive.

“We're gonna make it, Mike. She's gonna be okay.”

Mike just sighed, “Yeah, I know. I… I know she is. But… But what if after all this is over, sh-she doesn't need me anymore?”

Will just scoffed.

“No, of course she’ll still need you. She’ll always need you, Mike.”

“I get the feeling they’re not talking about El,” Steve pointed out, hissing when Robin smacked his shoulder.

“Shut it, Dingus.”

Mike smiled weakly from his place on the couch, watching the scene intimately.

“I keep telling myself that, but I…I don't believe it.”

Will looked with somber eyes, silent as Mike monologued.

“I mean, she's special. She was born special. Maybe I was one of the first people to realize that. But the truth is, when I stumbled on her in the woods, she just needed someone. It's not fate. It's… It's not destiny. It's just simple dumb luck. And one day, she's gonna realize I'm just some random nerd that got lucky that Superman landed on his doorstep. I mean, at least Lois Lane is an ace reporter for the Daily Planet, right? But…”

Mike ignored Max’s comment of “Superman?” as he sneaked a look at El. She had already been looking at him, and he saw the pity in her eyes. Mike gave her a quick smile to show that he was okay, and inside, he knew he was.

It was his insecurity talking, him masking his love with someone else's face.

“Can I show you something?”

Will took out a rolled-up and placed it in Mike’s lap. Mike unrolled it and gave a wide smile.

“It’s amazing!”

The painting was beautiful, and Mike still smiled at it.

“He’s so talented,” Dustin whistled, followed by Lucas’s nodding.

“See how you're leading us here? You're guiding the whole party, inspiring us. That… That's what you do. And see your coat of arms here? It's a heart. And I know it's sort of on the nose, but that's what holds this party together. Heart.”

Mike stared at Will with half-lidded eyes. They flickered up and down as Will spoke.

“Wow, Wheeler, you’re really checking him out right now,” Max teased, and something in Mike relaxed.

“Shut up,” he groaned, though he could tell that Max got his appreciation.

“Because, I mean, without heart, we'd all fall apart.”

Will paused before continuing quickly, “Even El. Especially El. These past few months, she's been so lost without you. It's just, she's so different from other people, and… …when you're…when you're different, sometimes…you feel like a mistake.”

His voice was thick as he stared out the window, breaking on the word ‘mistake.’

They all watched as he broke down, his eyes wet as he encouraged Mike.

‘Because that’s what he does,’ Mike thought bitterly as his past self remained ignorant to Will’s crying, ‘He puts others first.’

“But you make her feel like she's not a mistake at all. Like she's better for being different. And that gives her the courage to fight on.”

Mike watched as Max leaned her head on Lucas’s shoulders, and suddenly he was overcome with the feeling of loneliness.

‘There’s a hole where something was.’

“If she was mean to you,” and wow, Mike was obviously checking out Will’s lips at that moment. Present Mike slid down in his seat with a burning face, ignoring everyone’s knowing looks as they tried to ignore the heaviness in the air.

“Or she seemed like she was pushing you away, it's because she's scared of losing you, like you're scared of losing her. And if she was going to lose you, I… I think she'd rather just get it over with quick. Like ripping off a Band-Aid. So, yeah, El needs you, Mike. And she always will.”

Everyone remained silent as Will turned out the window, his hand muffling his sobs as the tears ran down his face.

Shattered.

No one spoke as the scene changed to inside a pizza place. Mike recognized it as the one they drove to after picking up El and on their way back to Hawkins after they heard about the Lich.

Will turned to look out the kitchen window, watching Mike and El cheerfully speak, laughing about something he didn’t know.

Unbeknownst to Will, it was the conversation between Mike and El where they spoke about their true feelings, how El admitted that she didn’t actually feel romantic love, and Mike said he just didn’t love her .

Jealo-

The text stopped, causing everyone to freeze.

“That hasn’t happened before.”

“We know, Steve.”

It had stopped when Jonathan called Will’s name, breaking him out of his trance.

The two worked in silence, Will looking down dejectedly as Jonathan came up with something to say.

“Do you remember that time you told me you had a Lego stuck up your nose?”

“What?”

Jonathan ignored everyone’s looks, smiling softly at the screen.

“What?” Will breathed out a laugh, giving Jonathan a small smile.

“Yeah, Like, it was like a…It was like a construction guy. You'd call him Larry. Come on! You don't remember? He had the high viz jacket and removable hat?”

His voice was high as he spoke, putting on a big grin as he laughed at Will’s confused face.

“Yeah, vaguely.”

“Well, I remember it like it was yesterday. Man, I was… I was freaked. 'Cause… 'Cause this Larry… I mean, Larry was way, way up there.”

Joyce smiled as Will laughed, smiling at Jonathan’s attempt to cheer him up. She looked over and gave her son a squeeze on his shoulder before leaning over to kiss his temple.

“Mom,” he whined, ignoring her amused giggle.

“I’m your mother, Jon, let me kiss you.”

“I don't even know how you got him that far up. I had to do surgery. I… I had to get tweezers to pull him out.”

“Bull,” Will chuckled.

“No, no, I swear on my life.”

They continued working silently until Jonathan spoke up again, more serious this time.

“I don't know, I just…I feel like you used to come to me more for help. Or to just… talk, you know? 'Cause, like, you don't do that anymore. Not like before. A lot of that is probably my fault. This last year…I know I've been distant.”

“Or stoned.”

Jonathan winced as both Nancy and Joyce glared at him.

“Stoned?”

He chuckled awkwardly, “let’s just keep watching.”

“But that has nothing to do with you. And that's me dealing with my own shit. Hiding from my own problems. The truth is, I miss talking to you. I, like, really miss it. And I think, right now, we need to talk more than ever. Because things are getting just complicated. A lot more complicated than Legos up the nose, you know?”

Will shook his head while chuckling.

“I just…I don't want you to forget that I'm here. And I'll always be here. No matter what. Because you're my brother. And I love you. And there is nothing in this world, okay, absolutely nothing, that will ever change that. You got that?”

Will sniffled, his voice shaking as he said, “yeah.”

“You’re a good brother, Jonathan,” Steve said, wiping his eyes.

“Thanks, Steve,” the two smiled at each other, Jonathan keeping his smile until he turned back to the tv. When he saw what was on the screen, his smile dropped as he looked confused.

“Hold on, that didn’t happen.”

Instead of Will replying with what Jonathan knows he said, Will looked around, confused.

“This already happened,” Will muttered, looking around until he looked right at the screen where everyone was.

“Will?” Mike sat up straight, staring at the tv with wide eyes as the Jonathan on the screen froze, unmoving, unlike Will, who was slowly moving closer and closer to the screen.

“Wait, guys?”

“Will! Will we’re here!” Mike shouted as he fell on his knees, crawling to the tv and placing his palm on the screen right where Will put his own.

Will’s eyes hardened, and he suddenly started punching the glass, ignoring everyone’s shouts and his own bloody knuckles until the screen, the one they were all watching, started cracking.

They were cheering him on, calling his name and telling him he could do it as he broke the screen.

With one last punch needed to break him out, Mike called out.

“I love you!”

~~~

The lights flickered as the tv broke, glass shattering and flying everywhere as the room was plunged into darkness. Finally, only a second later, the lights turned back on.

And standing in the middle of the room, in front of the broken tv with bloody knuckles, stood Will.

“Will!” Mike was the first to stand up, running to Will and grabbing him in a deep hug.

“Mike,” Will breathed, hugging just as harshly. Soon, he felt everyone else come in for the hug. His mom on his left, Jonathan on his right, and El jumping onto his back. Everyone else found their own place, but he was content with Mike in his arms.

They took solace in each other for what felt like hours, but it was probably only five minutes. Soon, everyone broke apart. They all looked worried, mouths opening and closing with silent words Will didn’t want to hear.

“Come on,” Mike took Will’s hand and dragged him up to his room, which everyone knew was off-limits.

“Won’t they be upset?” Will asked, sitting down on Mike’s unmade bed and taking in his messy room.

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Mike postured, earning a laugh from the other.

They were silent as Mike sat next to Will before Will sighed.

“You saw everything, you know how I feel.”

“I did,” Mike answered, watching as Will paced the room.

“So you know what a mess I am.”

Mike frowned, shaking his head.

“You’re not a mess, Will. They’re experiences that have shaped you into who you are. We all have them.”

“I just don’t know how you can put up with all of,” Will gestured to himself, “this!”

“I don’t see the problem.”

“I’m too broken. You watched it, I’m all broken pieces.” Will swallowed thickly.

Mike just smiled gently, moving forward like a breeze and slipping his hands into Will’s trembling ones.

“You can’t fix me,” Will breathed, unconsciously inching closer.

“There’s nothing to fix,” Mike licked his lips, staring at Will’s, “you’re perfect, Will.”

Mike was surprised that Will was the one to seal their lips together, but maybe he shouldn’t have. Will had always been the braver of the two.

After a moment, Mike broke apart with a deep exhale from his nose.

“I love you, and nothing will ever change that. If you’re broken, then I’ll put our pieces together to make a mosaic.”

Will chuckled wetly, running a hand through Mike’s somewhat matted hair.

“You’ve always had a way with words,” he murmured, pressing a feather-like kiss to the edge of Mike’s lips.

Mike just smiled ruefully, leaning to peck Will’s neck.

“And you’ve always been the best person I know.”