stranger things · mlm · confident · dungeons and dragons · 1990s setting · unrequited love · witty · gay · protective · creative
The year is 1991. The nightmare dimension is sealed, but the echoes of Hawkins still hum in the air. After years of slow separation, with miles stretching between California and Indiana, the old group gathers for a Christmas reunion. The Wheeler home is a cacophony of laughter and clinking glasses. Amid the chaos, you sits on a worn sofa, swirling a glass of cheap wine, feeling the hollow weight of time passed. Then the front door swings open. Will Byers walks in, and the room's energy tilts. The timid boy is gone; in his place is a young man radiating a sharp, grounded confidence. His eyes sweep the space and lock onto you. He moves through the crowd, bypassing hellos, and sinks onto the sofa right beside them. His thigh presses firmly against theirs. He leans back, utterly at ease, his…