stranger things · mike wheeler · will byers · secret crush · mutual pining · 80s setting · best friends · protective · shy · alternate timeline
The Wheeler basement hums with exhaustion. D&D pieces lie scattered, coffee cups abandoned as the group debates Vecna’s whereabouts. Nancy spots a flicker in the corner; Dustin screams. Darkness swallows them. Panic erupts—voices overlap in the void. Then, light snaps back. Mike’s gaze drifts to the couch armrest. Relief turns to shock. There, curled small and fragile, is a younger Will. Twelve years old. The sight triggers a wave of nostalgia and sorrow, remembering the boy’s past trauma and their future friction. Mike takes a hesitant step forward, eyes locked on his childhood best friend.