#ao3 writier

Summary of The Fic

Will hates acting normal.

Ever since the "earthquake", the party is trying their hardest to live a normal teenage life. They play games, read magazines they aren't supposed to, and get girlfriends. And Mike, his best friend, hates it. Erica tells Mike it's because he's chronically single, but he couldn't care less about romance. Unfortunately, his friends don't agree on that sentiment. And Mike is left all alone, dealing with the end of the childhood he so desperately wanted to leave before.

Chapter 1/20 (spontaneous updates for now)

Tags: Fake Dating

Jealous Mike Wheeler

During the 18-Month Timeskip Before Stranger Things 5 Vol. 1

Art Student Will Byers

Period-Typical Homophobia

Period-Typical Sexism

Because st doesn't mention it enough

Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment

Erica Sinclair is a Little Shit

Slow Burn

Mike Wheeler Has Issues

Mike Wheeler Loves Will Byers

By the time I made my decision and turned towards where Luffy was, he was nowhere to be found. “Fuck. Ten seconds of inattention and I’ve already lost him.” I looked around, desperately trying to see where they had gone. I did not even have a map of the place, the only one I had seen was Bepo’s badly done one that Law showed us on the ship. Even if the map was ‘good’ in theory, my memory wasn’t. Sighing, I walked out of the restaurant, making sure to pay for what had be consumed by the loud pirates and samurais. “There better be gold at the end of this stupid suicidal-mission because they cost more than they’re worth.” I mumbled to myself as I walked down the streets, dolls, puppets, and plushies were walking the same street I was.

 Those usually inanimate objects made a huge part of the population, it was a strange sight but there was probably something grimmer behind all of this. Their eyes looked almost… human. A shudder ran down my spine, I had to pride my eyes away from them to avoid being suspicious. “It looks like a huge amusement park, there should be a map somewhere, right?” I stopped by some sort of souvenir shop and asked if they had maps, the seller stared at me in awe, then back at something under the counter. When he looked back at me, he smiled and nodded, handing me the map.

 I was going to take it when his wooden hand gripped mine and brought me down closer to him, “It’s you! The King- I heard that the King wants to see you but…” He trailed off, his eyes gazing around in panic.

“Who’s the King? How does he know who I am?” I asked, snatching the map from his hand.

“King Joker, but it’s only a rumor… he says whoever finds you has to bring you to him, there’s bounty on your head,” then out of nowhere a knife was pulled from under the counter and planted in my arm, I grabbed the man/doll by the arm and threw him across the room before running out of the shop, the knife hit the ground and I scrambled to get it as I made my escape.

 I made a short detour to run by a stand outside and grabbed a black drape to cover my head better than the cap Robin had given me. I thought I was the only one of the whole crew who wasn’t known, but for some reason Joker wanted something with me. But I was not going to let him catch me. For a second I thought, maybe Law was right and I should have stayed on the ship, then I got back to my senses and ignored that thought.

 I was teleporting from places to places, to get off those streets and was now on the rooftop of a high building. “Right, maybe I overreacted. Maybe I could have just walked out of the shop, and play it off…” I pondered out loud, “But I didn’t, it’s alright though, I’ve got the map, I have-“ I looked at my right arm and saw the blood trickling down the stab wound that turned partially into a cut as I had pulled back from the puppet.

 “And I have a stab wound, nice. I’ll just,” using the drape, I cut a part of it with the knife and wrapped it tightly around the wound. I was no doctor, maybe it was a bad thing to do but I did not care. At least blood wasn’t dripping on the ground anymore, which means they couldn’t follow me.

 The building was not a high enough vantage point, so I opened the map and looked at it; Green Bits was across a long bridge that I could see from where I was, but it was very far away. Tucking the map away, I sighed and started making my way to the bridge. I had to pause every time to recharge, I was expecting to use my power a lot more than I used to but not for such things. I thought I’d be helping people out not running around like an idiot, but things never went as expected. I couldn’t begin to imagine Law’s face when I’d tell him I lost Luffy. He’d probably beat my ass then beat his, but, all in due time.

 I had this strange feeling in my guts at each of my jump. The closer I was getting to the bridge, the heavier the air seemed to be. The fact of the matter was that if anything was happening there, I couldn’t be of much help considering the lack of items around me. I had not taken any weapon with me, except the knife the seller had used one me. It wasn’t the sharpest but it would do the damage. The plan was to trade off Caesar to the Marines at Green Bits but anything could wrong from there one. If I knew something from experience it was to never trust Marines nor pirates, all were crooked and while one of them claimed to be working for the government, the latter was corrupted to the core. I had yet to come across a truthful Marine.

 Except that one guy that helped Law when he was younger, but once again… he was a spy among the pirates and I don’t know how I felt about that. I don’t know how I’d feel if one of my crewmates was actually a Marine. Maybe thinking the Marine would enroll a spy was giving our crew too much credits, we weren’t war criminals or anything… I think…

 I was brought back to reality when I heard a loud crash. Looking ahead of me, I saw the bars on each side of the bridge get cut off, then four big animals jump of the water to loom over the two miniscule forms on the ground.

 I hurried, recognizing Law’s fighting, he wasn’t meant to turn it into a fight just yet. He wasn’t meant to fight with Joker just yet, the plan wasn’t going as expected and I could see it from the desperate attempt to keep the Warlord at bay. Once I was close enough, I managed to get out of the large cut the blonde made, the fishes were cut in pieces and fell into the water with a loud plop. I looked from afar, needing the gauge if I could help, if help was even needed.

 Law was running head on onto the man in front of him, he wasn’t thinking straight, he wasn’t running he was rushing. The grin on the Warlord’s face did not put me at ease, and soon enough he blocked Law’s attack. A huge explosion ensued, I was left speechless, staring at where my Captain used to be. For second my stomach did a flip at the thought of him dead, then I saw him running away from the rubble and sighed in relief. He must have seen me since his eyes widened and he screamed my name, telling me to get out of here. I yelled back, telling him I’d teleport him but he told me to go, now.

 “What’s the matter Law, I thought you wanted to kill me?” Said the Joker. It made Law pause, and so did I, I watched. I observed how it’d end up, although I believed in Law, I could still very much notice he was at the limit of his capacity. He was out of breath, exhausted and clearly unable to continue. And yet he did, he tried to attack the blonde with the metal debris, only for him to slash them in pieces. I was going to sneakily grab him and get him away when he desperately went for another strike, I could see the bubble around him grow as he summoned his power.

 I was just as surprised as the Warlord, I did not know how he could continue to go past his limits over and over again, but I could easily tell it wasn’t good.  He exchanged places of Joker with a huge piece of metal and struck down with his sword, but once again he was blocked by the strings.

 Grinning, the tall blonde man sneered, noticing that Law’s power was at its limit. I was surprised to hear he had faced a lot in the little time we were apart, a meteorite from one of the marine, rescued Sanji when they fought the first time? What was going here, how long had he been fighting? I couldn’t think more, they kept exchanging hits, only in vain. Law’s attacks were all blocked, and when he was catching his breath, the maniac shot him down with string bullets which sounded ridiculous but that thought only lasted half a second before I saw my Captain on the ground.

 “Law! Let me-“ I cried out, but he raised his fist.

“Get out! Leave, it’s not safe!” My heart clenched at his attempt of fighting back once again, he tried to summon Room but it didn’t work, I looked away, fearing the worst but a phone rang. I turned around and look as Joker picked up his den den mushi and talked casually on the phone. There was another attempt from Law but he got taken down just as easily as before. When the call was done, he strutted towards Law, his walk more threatening than his outfit.

 He started explained how annoyed he was with this little plan of ours and mentioned that if he didn’t trust the Straw Hat, perhaps as friends even but that was left unsaid, then he couldn’t have planned something this big. When he mentioned me, I was startled and looked at him in shock, he was staring right back at me but Law ignored it and said he trusted the will of D. That was the words too many, Joker turned into a full berserk mode and raised his fist and was about to strike down Law.

 Seeing his state, I didn’t think, I reacted out of instinct and teleported closer to finally reach the blonde’s man back and try to hold his arm. He laughed manically and made cuts on my skin, making me let go of his arm but I was still holding tight onto him. It hurt a lot, but the adrenaline made me ignore it for now as I gripped his other shoulder tight.

 “Let him go! You fucking psychopath, you’re not fit for a King, you’re not fit for a Leader- You’re barely a man as it is!!” I rambled as I grabbed the knife from my back and was about to shove it in his throat when he laughed some more in response and took if away from my hand forcefully. I say forcefully but it scared me, the ease with which he used his power to open my hand.

“You talk too much, I should finish you just like I’m about to finish him.” He raised his arm once more, but this time made sure I couldn’t move mine.

 He did not hesitate a second more and started hitting Law over and over again, blood spurting around, grunts of pain following each strike. I wanted to throw up from the sight but did not let go of the Warlord. I couldn’t teleport away; I was gripping him tightly but if I let go there was no chance to find Law again. “You’re insistent, can’t you see he’s already dead?” Joker spat as he kicked Law into the air and followed the strings to get closer and closer, kicking my Captain further away at each kick.

 “Fuck off, I don’t care if I have to strangle you myself-“ His laugh interrupted me, but it quickly turned into the deadliest expression. I couldn’t see it full well from my place on his back but he wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Guess I’ll kill you both, the traitor’s bastard and you.” He scoffed and gripped one of my wounded arms, lifting me off his back with ease before slamming me into the ground. I let out a painful groan and swore the best I could, this was not ending here.

The air got knocked out of my lungs, I had a hard time breathing but I tried hard to roll onto my stomach to look at the still ongoing fight.

 The Warlord was stepping closer to Law’s body that was lying on the ground, motionless. The ground under him was crushed, I couldn’t imagine the pain he must be in. Slowly, Joker raised a gun and aimed it at Law.

A screech ripped out of my throat, I tried to teleport closer to him but I couldn’t. For some reason I couldn’t, I was fucking helpless. “Don’t! He’s-“ I coughed some dryness, maybe even blood, and placed my hands on the ground to steady myself. The Marine was there, I couldn’t stay here, but I couldn’t leave him there either. The so called ‘King’ ignored my attempt and cocked the gun. I could hear Luffy’s voice somewhere, he did not know what was happening but he tried hard to get any sort of information.

 “You’ve pushed it too far, kid.” Joker said as he aimed the gun well, before shooting one bullet. My breath hitched inside my throat, then I cried out Law’s name in utter horror. He couldn’t be dead, right? One bullet was alright, the King doesn’t look like he’s a good shot- but two other gunshots rang. I looked at the scene in horror before collapsing on the floor, my arms too weak to carry my weight anymore. I covered my mouth to muffled the sound of my sobbing but couldn’t tear away from the scene displaying in front of me. “Law…” I gasped, pushing myself up to go up to him. “Don’t … die” my voice was weak; I could barely hear it.

 He couldn’t hear it either, people were talking, arguing. A Marine stepped up in front of Doflamingo and was about to strike down Law when Zoro stopped it with his sword. I was silently thanking him with all my heart. After managing to stand up, I tried to take a step but fell to my knees. How hard have I been slammed into the ground? I’ve taken worse beatings, now is not the moment to be fragile. I scolded myself, pushing way over my limits and getting up once more. This time I was able to take a few steps but had to hold onto a nearby wall when the Admiral used his power and the pressure was back. I looked around; I couldn’t see Law on the floor anymore.

 My heart was already beating fast in my chest, I felt it hammer against my ribs, I was exhausted from so little and scared, scared for Law’s life and mine too. Perhaps Law’s more than mine. I heard Doflamingo’s voice in the air and saw him floating, thanks to his strings, along the Admiral. The King was carrying Law like a grocery bag, I wanted to get up there and beat him up but I had no energy. I felt pure hatred towards the man, and except for being the worst kind of scum all he did was beat up my Captain... for now. I hated being so emotional and tried to force myself to calm down, but my hands were shaking.

 I think the blonde said something that must have angered the Marines or maybe were they working together? Whichever it was, they started shooting at Zoro and Kin’emon; I was going to sneak away and hide when one of the civilians grabbed me by the arms and lifted me off the ground, “It’s the one!! It’s exactly like the picture- The king said we should-“ I mustered all my strength and got rid of them before teleporting myself to the roof on top of them, I barely made it through and was hanging on the edge. I had to bring myself up and doing so made it hurt everywhere. My throat was sore, my breath shallow and my arms wounded all over. But I made it and was now sitting securely on the rooftop.

 “Fuck this, I knew it’d end bad…” I huffed, rolling up my sleeves to look at the multiples cuts on both my arms. It was more sore than painful, kind of like a cat’s scratches but when I touched it hurt a lot more. Hitting my head against the chimney I was resting against, I groaned. “I fucking knew it’d end up bad, but I promised everyone I’d look over him…” I’m a failure, I scoffed dryly, my hands gripping my thighs tight. I was trying so hard to keep the tears in but I was alone, I was horrified, I didn’t know what to do. “Always making stupid promises… if you can’t even keep them, what’s the point?” I wondered rhetorically, feeling the tears roll down my cheeks silently.

 Hearing footsteps echo nearby I stood up quickly and jumped on another roof. I have to stay on the move, I can’t relax, I need to find the others. Wiping the tears away, I tried to hype myself up, even though I did not believe the words that left my mouth, I kept repeating them over and over again, “Maybe he’s still alive, maybe I can still save him, maybe he’s still alive…” But what if he’s dead? If he’s dead, I get over it. I’ll have to, the fighting is not over. Should I finish what he started? I’m not strong enough for that… I could become strong enough, I could come back later and finish Doflamingo. The thought made me giggle nervously, who was I kidding? If I came out of this alive, I wouldn’t come back here, I would never ask the Heart Pirates to follow me.

 I cared too much about them to force them to join me- Stop thinking that like that, Law is alive, get to him in time and he’ll be fine! He won’t be fine though he’s on the verge of dying- but that’s okay, he’ll come through he went through worse right? I let out a frustrated groan at the mix of thoughts in my mind, I did not know if I should be realistic or optimistic so I kept moving towards the castle. I had seen both the Admiral and Joker make their way towards that building, chances were that Law should be there too.

 After a while, the castle was finally in my reach. I was weary, drained and bloodied up, I no longer had the drape around my knife wound. When Doflamingo use his strings on me, he made sure to cut that too and now I had and open wound and tons of cuts all over my arms. Still, it seemed to be taking care of itself enough since no blood was dripping which was the bare minimum I was hoping for.

 Stopping at one spot in the shadow, I looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone. It reminded me of Punk Hazard which immediately threw me off, I was very bad at sneaking around on Punk Hazard, maybe I was just as bad here. Out of the blue, I remembered something, Law’s vivre card. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I tried to find it amongst other things in it, soon enough I found it and looked at it, it was halfway gone but very slowly gaining back some of its life. A nervous breath of relief escaped my lips as I stared at the blank paper in front of me.

 I felt relieved but couldn’t waste more time, tucking it away, I kept my back against the wall and peeked inside the room through the window. I could see someone sitting on the ground by the door as the man from earlier, the Admiral, stepped in and seemed to be talking calmly to Joker. They weren’t paying attention to anything else, but the blond had a victorious grin on his face. But perhaps was his face always adorned with such expression? Since I couldn’t hear them, I looked around some more and realized that someone was sitting on one of the four seats in the middle of the room, at the heart-shaped one… it was Law.

 He was handcuffed to the seat, his head hanging low, beaten, bleeding, knocked out. I hated that a part of me thought he was still handsome like that, but the most logical part was anxious, how long could he stay alive in that state? I’m sure those handcuffs weren’t simple one either, they were made for fruit user. I was startled when Doflamingo tried to kick the Admiral, and moved to rest against the wall once more, I would rather not get caught.

 After a moment, I looked back and there were more people inside the room. Law seemed to be awake and from what gathered, they were interrogating him. When he didn’t answer, the girl in the maid dress slapped in head, I felt my fingers tingle at the thought someone laying a hand on him when he was in that state, but gripped the wall tighter. I saw something move the back and realized Luffy was there with two other people, one of them being a doll soldier. Relief coursed through my body at the thought of not being alone if I was discovered, not that I was aiming to be.

 My legs were starting to get weak from staying on the tip of my toes, on the edge of the wall. It wasn’t made to be walked on, but I was trying my best to stay balanced. I was careful not to look down, I was very high above the ground; One wrong move and I could fall down, which almost happened when Doflamingo slammed opened the window to overlook the city. He was mad, he was angry, he was more than infuriated. And I love it. I don’t know what had happened to make him mad like that but I was living for it, perhaps the plan was still ongoing and things weren’t as bad as I thought they were.

 Things kept happening, one after another, I had no opportunity to get off my spot until a large man with a missing leg jumped out of nowhere and ‘heroically’ cut Doflamingo’s head off. But it was useless, it wasn’t the real him, and yet I took that opportunity and leaped back inside, the thumping of my feet on the ground made Law turn his face towards me. When our eyes met, I felt all the frustration that had built up since then melt away and I stood there, holding onto the edge of the window. “You’re alive-“ I was interrupted when Luffy came crashing in with a woman in his arms, “Torao!! You’re alive!!” he screamed.

 That was supposed to be my line, but yeah sure go off, I guess. Luckily, they had the key to the handcuffs but the adrenaline and their over enthusiasm made it hard for it to fit the keyhole. And they said so, I was going to suggest I’d do it but Doflamingo’s double came back and everything went to shit. I heard him mention a birdcage, a grin spreading on his face, which was a huge contrast to the horrified look that painted Law’s face. The soldier raised his sword once more, but the Warlord was faster and was quick to get behind him and raise his foot, ready to kill.

 I threw myself over Law’s seat and pushed it to the ground as Luffy threw himself on the man, I heard his name being screamed by the Straw-Hat Captain and learned it was Kyros. While Luffy was fighting with the blonde maniac, I scrambled to my senses a tried to find the key to Law’s cuffs. Stress was getting the best of me as my hands were shaking, it didn’t stop me from patting the ground to see if it was around. I stopped when I heard Law say my name, his voice gruffy and filled with worry.

“I’m trying, I’ll find it, I swear I’m trying-“ Why was my voice so uneven? Why was I getting so emotional, it was just a key, I had to take a breath and calm down… But it was mixed with elation from knowing Law was alive too, and I had a hard time getting myself under control.

He said my name again, but even though I heard it, I didn’t really hear it. I overheard it, I was too focused on the blood pumping in my ears and my hands on the moving ground.

 “Look at me!” He said a bit louder this time, I looked up and met his gaze with panic. “You have to go, you can’t stay here, Joker he-“ Law bit back his words and gulped, it almost looked like he was getting emotional but I think it was his exhaustion that was getting the best of him.

“The birdcage, I know what it does. You have to go back to the Sunny-“

“I’m not leaving you behind,” I grabbed his hands, avoiding the cuffs knowing full well its effects. “I promised Bepo, I don’t care if I’m not part of the crew. I just…” His eyes were fixed on my arms, horror in his eyes. I pulled my hands from his and kept searching around the room, continuing in a lower tone, “I need you alive, that’s all.”

 Before I could find the key, the ground started moving once more. It was guiding us towards the open part of the castle, towards the edge, towards a big fall. “Fuck-“ I tried to reach out for something, anything to grab to avoid falling, in vain. We were all free falling, Violet was screaming, Luffy was falling head first, Kyros and Riku were scared shitless too, but Law could not see what was under him. As much as he tried to keep his composure, there was terror in his eyes and I couldn’t help him. I was useless.