s5 rewrite/post canon fics
the end is here
author: bookinit @bookinit02 | (T&U)
word count: 121,032 | chapters: 19/19
“We have to kill him,” Mike finishes fiercely, and for a second, Will pictures him in full paladin gear, making the same speech in a castle, or a magical forest, or a dark dungeon. He’s every bit the boy Will’s always known, the one who stands up for his friends and his principles and never, ever backs down. Even when the odds are against them. Even when they’re impossible.
Will swears that he can feel electricity crackling in the air, Mike’s last sentence settling on the group like a physical weight. Everyone looks impressed: Jonathan, Hopper, even Owens. Will knows the look on his own face must be incredibly obvious, incredibly stupid.
He doesn’t care. That’s the Mike he knows. That’s the Party’s leader.
That’s the boy Will fell in love with.
Stranger Things re-telling, but make it byler.
(Season 5 of 5)
the night is long but you are here
author: IrisCandy @queeleronwheels | (T&U)
word count: 87,597 | chapters: 26/26
“I want you to tell him why you're so upset," Vecna says, and Will swears he sees the curl of a smile in the webbed scars of his face. “I want to watch you lose him.”
(Or, Will is forced by Vecna to confess his feelings to Mike, with a slow burn aftermath. Alternate Season 5.)
The Concept Of Normalcy
author: Eternalistic (Telemnara) | (E)
word count: 149,786 | chapters: 31/31
Mike Wheeler spends years trying to be “normal.”
Normal son, normal friend, normal boyfriend, normal boy.
But growing up with Will Byers — through disappearances, monsters, trauma, high school, and finally college — makes “normal” feel less and less like something he actually wants.
This is the long, messy, painfully slow journey of Mike figuring himself out, losing himself, finding himself again, and realizing that the only thing that ever made sense — the only thing that ever felt right — was Will.
a circle of eternity(the cycle of fate)
author: GloriousSarcasm @gloriouslygone | (M)
word count: 129,072 | chapters: 13/13
He recoils in shock and terror when he sees its limbs – twisted and wrong. Its skin is torn open in places and hanging down, he can see the whiteness of bone beneath the torn flesh. A thick spurt of blood wells to the surface and splatters onto the floor between him and the sink.
The creature snarls and Mike screams.
It drops to the ground, twisting in mid-air to land on all fours. Its head is twisted in the wrong angle, its spine is sticking out from its back. More blood falls as the flesh is jostled. A thick, rotting smell fills the air.
The handle jangles again, harsher this time. Will’s voice filters through, he sounds panicked. Mike can’t make out the words over the sounds of his own screams.
The creature titters, skittering forward, and Mike stumbles back. He hits the door with a loud thud. He’s still screaming.
answers you seek will never be found at home
author: miwiheros @miwiheroes | (T&U)
word count: 196,702 | chapters: 20/20
Will’s not supposed to be hiding in corners, forcing a fake smile when Mike asks him if he’s okay. He’s not supposed to brush off insults like they're jokes. He’s not supposed to vanish for six hours during a school day, leaving Mike feeling like he’s slipping away all over again.
Whoever said that beating Vecna’s going to fix Hawkins’ problems, Will’s problems, Mike’s problems—they deserve an earful. They deserve to feel this weird, hollow dissatisfaction chewing away at their chests.
aka mike begs will to escape their small town after too many run-ins with homophobic small-town bs. he knows will's meant to find himself elsewhere, but he never expects to find an answer to the age-old question of his own fate. prom, gay bars, sleazy hotels, train stations, two lesbians and their not-so-legal marriage - they aren't the traditional sources of wisdom, but he can't complain.
let me steal this moment from you
author: smoosnoom @smoosnoom | (T&U)
word count: 13,785 | chapters: 1/1
Mike moves in his bed, and Will's eyes stay firmly on the ceiling. "I feel like we barely know each other anymore."
And Will can't argue with that, so he replies, "What do you want to know?"
There’s a long lapse of silence, and then –
“Can you come up here?”
In the wreckage, Mike and Will spend a series of nights together.
