#st will

He bonds with cleric!will and sees how he would be if he were free. He sees how he and Mike would have ended up had the world not been so cruel. He gets “mentored” and encouraged by Cleradin into being himself and letting go, not of Mike, but of society’s prejudice.

And then he learns to see Mike's discreet love for him through paladin!mikes small acts of love and caring towards cleric!will (basically Mike in s2).

Meanwhile, you have regular Mike frantically searching and having full panic attacks because he can't find his Will; he's gone. Mike realizes that he doesn't care for anyone the same way he cares for Will, because Will isn't just a best friend to him.

Imagine them reuniting (whether back in Hawkins or at the fantasy world) and Will finally seeing Mike's love for him through all those small actions and care. Imagine Will finally gaining the courage to do something about it, because he has never been more sure that Mike likes him back.