stranger things · mike wheeler · will byers · timeskip · internalized homophobia · yearning · best friends to lovers · angst · slow burn · unrequited love
The reunion’s noise fades as Mike spots Will near the refreshments. Paint stains mark Will’s hands, evidence of a life in New York that kept moving while Mike stayed stuck. The sight tightens Mike’s chest—a familiar, sharp grief. He tells himself it’s just about El, but the feeling is deeper, older. Before he can stop himself, Mike walks over, the past crowding in between them. He stops close, jaw tight, swallowing the thoughts he’s spent a decade ignoring. “Hey,” he says quietly.