Chapter Text
Will knew this was a little embarrassing as a 45-year-old man, but no one was there to judge him. The 2000s have come and gone, bringing along the internet in a way that he could never have expected as a kid. People were using it to start businesses, connect with family, and influence the world. Will Byers used it to post gay fanart on his Tumblr blog.
It wasn’t always gay fanart; sometimes it was just updates on his life or the new show he was watching, but it was mostly gay fanart.
He barely contained his laugh, thinking about his legacy. A popular and sought-after comic artist by day and a secret Bilbo and Thorin fanartist by night. Scrolling through his feed, his eyes caught on a notification. Clicking it revealed that he was tagged in a new post from one of his mutuals. His favourite mutual. Because every time Will was tagged in his post, it meant Heart had written a new fic based on Will’s art.
Heart, properly known as Armour_Heart, has been Will’s Tumblr mutual and friend since Will joined the hellsite in 2014. They bonded over their love of fantasy novels, horror movies, and the fact that they were both queer men in their 40s. Though they’ve had very different experiences with that. Will has been out since his teenage years, and Heart didn’t even realize he was queer until a few years prior. Apparently, he had grown up in a small town and had never shaken the fear of being seen as different. Will assured him he understood and could relate to the small-town mentality. It had been the first time Will really took in that there was a person on the other side of the messages; it made him a little giddy.
One of the younger women he worked with made a joke about him “e-dating” Heart. Will had shrugged her off and told her to get back to work. He was a grown man. He did not “e-date”. That doesn’t stop Will from flushing slightly whenever Heart loves his artwork enough to need to write something based on it.
Once he finished reading the new fic, he reblogged it and rushed to his and Heart’s messages.
Wise.Zombie: HOLY SHIT!!!!
Wise.Zombie: HEART!! IT’S SO GOOD THANK YOU!!! AHHH!
Armour_Heart: Woooooow wise, if I didn’t know better I’d think you liked the fic lol
Armour_Heart: But seriously, your art was so good I couldn’t resist, you’re like my own personal muse
Wise.Zombie: If it makes you write that well, then I’ll have to keep it up
Armour_Heart: Cute
Armour_Heart: Is the plan for next week still on?
The plan for next week. One that had Will grinning from ear to ear and also so nervous he was going to throw up.
He and Heart were going to meet.
Heart’s daughter goes to university in New York, and Heart was planning to visit her for a week. After beating around the bush for far too long, he asked if Will would want to meet. His daughter will be in class for part of his visit, and he’ll be wandering on his own, or as Heart phrased it, “I’ll be lost, stumbling around until a nice man comes to save me”. Will had laughed and agreed, suggesting a local cafe/game shop he frequented, since it’d be a public place that would let them get to know each other with less pressure.
Wise.Zombie: Of course! Are you sure your daughter won’t mind you hanging out with me during your visit?
Armour_Heart: She’ll want me out of her hair by day 2 lol
Armour_Heart: Besides, she knows I have a friend in New York, so she expected this
Armour_Heart: Though if things go well and we hang out again, she may want to meet you, she’s nosey like that
Wise.Zombie: lol takes after her father then
Amour_Heart: Hey!
Armour_Heart: She actually looks so much like my sister, it’s uncanny, maybe that’s where she gets it
Wise.Zombie: I don’t think journalism is genetic, sorry
Wize.Zombie: Being an asshole, however…
Armour_Heart: Nevermind, we can’t meet, you’re a bully
Wise.Zombie: Oh nooooo, how could you ever forgive me
Armour_Heart: Send me a wip?
Wise.Zombie: Was going to anyway
Will sent his current work-in-progress piece to Heart, a smile carving his face as he watched the typing bubble appear, disappear, and reappear repeatedly.
Armour_Heart: Have I ever told you that you’re incredible?
Wise.Zombie: I thought I was a bully
Armour_Heart: I was being sensitive, you’re the best person ever
Armour_Heart: God, I cannot wait to see you, I need to see your art in person
Armour_Heart: I need to see you in person.
Will shoved his face in his hands, red creeping up his face quickly. Despite being in his 40s, he didn’t have much experience with this sort of thing. Flirting. If you could even call it that. He had a few boyfriends and flings when he first moved to New York. Guys he would kiss at bars and forget to call in the morning. It wasn’t really intentional; it was just that no one in New York could really understand him. Understand the night terrors, the way he choked up when it got too cold, the way he goes quiet every November 6th.
He didn’t know if it was just the distance through the screen or some weird form of projection, but it felt like Heart would. Like Heart would know to hold him as he shook, to turn up the heat without being asked, to speak softly even when Will couldn’t.
He knew Heart had previous relationships, hell, the man got married, had two kids, and gotten divorced before 40. But dating women is very different from dating men. Not that they were dating.
Will Byers was not in Love with a faceless man he had only ever messaged through Tumblr.
He had been in love before, of course, the drawings in his sketchbook of a black-haired boy with defined cheekbones would not let him forget. It had been painful, leaving him achy and sore. He snapped at his friends more. Jealousy rising in his throat like acid.
Then Jane died.
All that pain and anger had disappeared, or maybe it had just been replaced by sorrow. His unrequited feelings suddenly felt so small, so silly. He had been so caught up in his own pity that he didn’t even realize the change in his sister. He should have. The way she wouldn’t look him or Hopper in the eye. The way she had silent conversations with Kali. The way she seemed to fight like she had nothing to lose.
Then that sorrow turned hot. Mike had told them her final message, and Will was so, so angry. Why had she chosen Mike? Why had Mike not begged for her to stay? Had he been such a bad brother that he didn’t get a goodbye? What about Hopper, who had to lose a daughter twice? What about Max, who had just gotten her best friend back? The Upside Down had taken so much from Will, how dare she let it take another?
In the 30 years since, Will had moved on. Or at least as much as he could. He still bought waffles for her birthday, visited her grave every year, and still told everyone he was a twin. But over time, he forgave her.
He forgave Mike.
It was in a strange sort of way, as he hadn’t spoken to the man since leaving for New York. His mind had settled on a nostalgic fondness. It was bittersweet to think back on the boy who had shaped so much of Will’s life. That boy was a stranger now, and all he could do was wish him the best.
All that to say, Will Byers knew love was hard and painful. He knew it was not worth it.
It didn’t feel like that with Heart at all. It was shockingly easy, the way they opened up to each other, sharing their works. It was gentle; it made his chest swell. The line between friend and something else blurred. They hadn’t explicitly talked about it, but Will felt confident that Heart felt the same. He hoped that it wouldn’t stop when they met.
So while he liked Heart, he refrained from calling it Love.
He did often wonder what Heart looked like, forcing his thoughts to still when the face became too familiar. Max always joked that he’d turn out to be ugly, and Will would be too nice to turn him down, and they’d have an unfufilling marriage and ugly kids. Will always points out he can’t give birth, which then leads to a smirk from Max and a crude comment about Heart wanting to try anyway.
Will was pulled from his thoughts by a ping on his computer.
Armour_Heart: Was that too much?
Armour_Heart: I’m just excited
Armour_Heart: Sorry
Wise.Zombie: No! You’re ok! I was just distracted for a bit!
Will paused, fingers stalling on his keys. Taking a deep breath and a great amount of courage, he typed.
Wise.Zombie: I need to see you too…
Armour_Heart: God, you’re so sweet
Armour_Heart: I have to go now, I need to take Elias to soccer practice
Armour_Heart: I’ll talk to you soon?
Wise.Zombie: Oh yes, the exciting time of watching teen boys kick each other and miss the goal
Wise.Zombie: I’m going out with my brother tonight, so I probably won’t be back on until tomorrow
Armour_Heart: I always hope he magically becomes better at soccer overnight
Armour_Heart: He never does
Armour_Heart: Have a good night, Wise
Wise.Zombie: Good night, Heart
Will purposefully waited a few minutes, until Heart would assumedly be off the computer and in the car.
Wise.Zombie: <3