#mikewheelerthepaladin

[fiyerotigelaarr]

If you followed me back when my url was willbyersthings or mikewheelerthepaladin then you get a free basket of cookies and a hand-written note

[sevensided]

Who do you think is the more romantic one, Mike or Will? Personally, I think it's Mike.

This question makes me feel feral. Okay.

I agree completely: Mike is the more romantic one. I can, will, and shall elaborate...

I feel like Mike is more romantic because he’s clearly a very ardent personality. He is passionate and expressive. He is particularly whipped for Will (putting their arms around each other in S2E01 makes me want to die). Like, Mike loves his friends, and he’s very close to Lucas and Dustin, but it’s different with Will. There is a tenderness there; a deeper appreciation for Will’s perceived eccentricity and sensitivity. I think that’s because Mike sees those same traits in himself - he’s just not quite had the chance to express them as Will has, and, importantly, I perceive Will as a more introverted personality than Mike. So, even though Mike is certainly just as sensitive and imaginative as Will, he expresses it differently. In the case of relationships, Mike expresses that through touching and talking.

I think there’s plenty of evidence for Mike being romantic. Take his relationship with Eleven. Yeah, people give Mike a lot of shit for how he treated her and talked about her in S3, but I think they’re missing the wood for the trees. If you take Mike’s actions in the abstract, he’s clearly trying to enact romance in the best way he knows how (and, remember, he is fourteen years old). Though it’s fairly clear he doesn’t share the same “love language” that he believes El to have (for example, expressing confusion over buying her a present), he’s willing to try, and he takes himself out of his comfort zone to do so. Another example is his speech in the middle of S3, the “because I love her” speech. I made a comment the other day about how, really, what Hopper wants for El - for her to be careful with herself, to be moderate and smart, to not push beyond the limits of her power - is exactly the same as Mike. But because he expresses himself very poorly, the fandom go completely in the other direction and perceive his talk about “controlling” El to amount to being an abus*ve boyfriend. Listen. He’s not. He’s just trying to figure out how he can balance these very new, huge feelings with Eleven’s need to be independent. Mike wants her to be free - that’s what he eventually learns at the end of S3 - but to get there he goes through this struggle, because it’s reconciling his possessive streak (remember, Mike is used to being in charge and being “bossy” - he’s literally the game master of the Party) to keep El happy and, therefore, around.

Earlier, I said that Will and Mike were just as sensitive as each other, but Mike was more extroverted, and therefore expressed himself in a different way. I think the same goes for romance. Will is an inward-looking person. He is self-sufficient. He has spent a lot of time in his own head, quietly figuring things out. This is why I think his coming out will be much smoother than Mike, because he has an innate sense of self that Mike does not. Mike is very much at odds within himself, although he has certain touchstones - namely, helping other people - that help bring him back. In short, Mike needs that external validation, and Will needs internal validation. It’s why the Upside Down is such a huge frightening thing for Will, because his internal world is careful ordered, so to find himself slipping in and out of what is very definitely disorder is a very traumatic thing. When it comes to the romance between Mike and Will, I think the key is mutual respect. It goes without saying that every relationship needs that. But with Mike and Will I mean something very specific.

Mike respects Will’s self-assured nature and creativity. Will respects Mike’s courage and steadfast resolve. They feed what the other person needs. Will is sensitive enough to listen to Mike’s wildest, most nerdy thoughts and feelings, because he won’t judge - Will is also extremely nerdy, so he appreciates and understands it intimately. And Mike is confident enough to give Will the strength he needs to get up and keep going. He’s also very loyal. I think Will often feels alone, even when he’s surrounded by people. But you know who is always watching and looking out for him? Mike. Mike is the person he can always, always trust, because Mike won’t let him down. And Mike cares about and needs Will so desperately that he would quite literally sacrifice himself to ensure Will’s safety.

At the end of it, I think it’s all about expression. Will would be quietly romantic: small gestures of affection, thoughtfulness, being patient and listening. Mike would make all the grand gestures (“I bought us tickets to [insert something totally ridiculous]”). Mike would also totally remember all their anniversary dates and have a preternatural ability to know when and where their next mini milestone was. Will would probably send off all their Christmas cards and write both of their names in it (signed Mike and Will, naturally), or would remember to buy gifts for their families and friends. Though... and I’ll just say it... Will would so be the one to initiate any, uh, physical activities. You just bet that Mike would be 1000% enthusiastic, always, but Will would just be simmering in the background.

So, Tl;DR Mike is without a doubt the more romantic one. But they’re just romantic in different ways!

Sources: Headcanon, the fact that they’re both Aries but Will almost certainly has a Pisces moon... don’t get me started on horoscopes

[wackywriterwhowriteswhenever]

I was tagged by @mikewheelerthepaladin to list 7 comfort films and then tag 7 people.

In no particular order:

1. The Goonies

2. Love, Simon

3. The Karate Kid, parts one and two

4. Mrs. Doubtfire

5. Paper Towns

6. Dead Poets Society

7. Shazam!

Tagging @poweredbycreativityandcake @willthecleric @ps-lovewillbyers @cipherthedisaster @mikebyerswrites @erwolke @randomnesssayshello No pressure!

[okwillthewise]

Top 5 Max moments?

Ok! So.

1) The “Stop spying on me” moment and the scene the reactions that follow

2) The “Say it” moment with Billy in S2

3) To be honest, just Max as a whole in S3. I just really liked what they did with her character and the arc apart from the billy interactions. I know there’s a time jump but from where we left in S2 it felt off.

4) Lucas and Max pre-demodog attack in the junk yard with the “I like talking to you too, stalker” - or something along those lines

5) When she’s driving the car in S2 towards the tunnels and rather iconically says “Told you. Zoomer”

Basically, Max has some iconic moments and we need to respect that.

[thegayhimbo]

Jonathan Byers, Sansa Stark and Chandler Bing

Chandler Bing:

Favorite thing about them: His beautiful sarcasm! 😂 In all seriousness, I love how supportive and caring he is as both a friend and a boyfriend. He’s one of the most giving characters on the series!

Least favorite thing about them: When he lies to Joey about anything. Granted, it’s played for comedy, so I don’t dislike him for it, but I do roll my eyes because he has to keep re-learning that Joey gets upset by this.

Favorite Line: “I’m hopeless and awkward and desperate for love!” One of the most relatable lines in the series! 😂

brOTP: Chandler and Joey. J-Man and Chandys as Joey puts it. 😃 This is not only one of my favorite relationships on the show, it’s one of my favorite bromances on TV. These guys have a great dynamic, and their friendship is a joy to watch! 

OTP: Chandler and Monica. These two were perfect for each other, and I loved watching their relationship develop over the course of the show. Mondler 4 Life!

nOTP: Can’t think of any.

Random Headcanon: In his spare time, Chandler’s a writer. Unlike his mother (who writes trashy erotic novels) Chandler writes action thrillers with high-speed car chases.

Unpopular Opinion: I always thought Chandler’s anger at his dad was less about being homophobic and embarrassed by him, and more about being angry that his dad cared more about his sexual escapades than he did about raising his son at the time.

Song I associate with them: “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton. It’s the song that plays when Chandler and Monica are dancing by themselves in the season 6 finale. 

Favorite picture of them:

Sansa Stark:

Favorite thing about them: Her learning how to play the game of thrones. Also, her ability to judge others and peg what kind of person they are.

Least favorite thing about them: Her behavior in both the first book and first season. I get she’s suppose to be young and naïve (she’s 11 in the books I think) but her snobbish and nasty attitude (and her initial fawning over Joffrey) really irritated the crap out of me. 

Favorite line: “I’m a slow learner, it’s true. But I learn.”

brOTP: Sansa and Arya. They make a good team, and I wish they’d been reunited sooner because of that.

OTP: No one from the books. Possibly Sansa and Theon from the show. Part of it has to do with both Sansa and Theon being similar in that they started out haughty and vain, made bad decisions, got a brutal wake-up call about how bad their situation had become, were tortured, used, and abused by psychopaths, had to adopt different identities to survive, and have both raked up a lot of regrets. In other words, they have a good understanding of where the other is coming from. The other part is I liked their scenes together. Two of my favorite moments on the show is when they hug after crossing a frozen river to escape Ramsay’s hounds, and later in season 8 when Theon comes to fight for the Starks and Sansa hugs him. 

nOTP: Joffery, Littlefinger, Sandor, Ramsay, Jon................Basically any guy where there’s either a huge age gap, they’re related by blood, or they’re a bunch of psychopaths who have hurt her in the past.

Random Headcanon: Sansa used to be a lot like Arya where she’d act like a wild child until her mother put an end to that.

Unpopular Opinion: I wasn’t a fan of how the last 2 seasons handled Sansa’s arc. The Littlefinger plot in season 7 is a bone of contention for me because it was suppose to make Sansa and Arya look smart in entrapping Littlefinger, and instead it came off as contrived and incredibly stupid. The writing for that arc was bad.

Song i associate with them: Jenny of Oldstones.

Favorite picture of them:

Jonathan Byers:

Favorite thing about them: His caring/affectionate side with the people he loves. His relationship with his mom, his brotherly relationship with Will, and his romance with Nancy are all heartwarming.

Least favorite thing about them: He can be self-deprecating at times, which is sad.

Favorite line: “You shouldn’t like things because people tell you you’re suppose to.” Very relatable, especially since I have to try and remember that advice sometimes!

brOTP: Steve and Jonathan. This is more wish fulfillment at this point because we’ve barely seen Steve and Jonathan interact since season 1, but I’m still holding out hope they can have a friendship/bromance.

OTP: Jonathan and Nancy. Jancy still remains one of my favorite relationships on the show! 🙂

nOTP: Jonathan and Billy. This isn’t as popular as Harringrove, but I do know some fans who ship Billy and Jonathan around the fact they both have abusive dads, and just.................NO! I have no interest in that ship, or anything having to do with Billy. 

Random Headcanon: Jonathan would take Will with him sometimes when he wanted to take pictures outdoors. 

Unpopular Opinion: As much as I like Steve, I don’t begrudge Jonathan for repeatedly punching him after what Steve said about Will. 

Song i associate with them: “Ask the Lonely” by Journey

Favorite picture of them:

[frogfaceandzombieboy]

Hey! I've made a couple of Byler edits that I thought might interest you. I hope you're doing well. https://mikewheelerthepaladin.tumblr.com/post/643145178166771712/byler-photograph-by-ed-sheeran

https://mikewheelerthepaladin.tumblr.com/post/643120253766877185/byler-photograph-by-ed-sheeran-happy-valentines

thank you for sending them my way!!! reblogged! ☺️

as always appreciation is thrown your way for keeping the tags going during this dry spell!!! 🙏

[williamwheeler]

☕ + the ST fandom focuses solely on El's love life and powers and overlooks other aspects of her character

Agreed. I see a big part of the fandom acting like El's character completely revolves around her powers or her relationship with Mike, completely ignoring the abuse and trauma she's been through because of said powers – which severely stunted her growth. That isn't something people should overlook, as it's a very important part of her story, and the way that she's slowly learning about herself and the world and how to overcome her trauma makes her, in my opinion, much stronger than her powers ever could.

(send me a ☕️ and an opinion (popular or unpopular) and i’ll say whether i agree or disagree)

[woosansang]

Reddie, Benverly, Hanbrough, Stenbrough, Mileven, Byler and Stoncy!

thank u for the ask jake <3

reddie

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

benverly

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

hanbrough

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

stenbrough

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

mileven

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

byler

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

stoncy

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

send me more ships!

[myownprivatcidaho]

Freeze! You’re under arrest for being so lovely. Copy this message to 10 other blogs that you think are beautiful and deserve it. Keep the game going and make others feel beautiful!!! 💕💕

ahhh tysm jake :DDD right back atcha !!💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

[eightysix-baby]

For the "what do you associate me with?" ask game, the color yellow!

Thank you ! a few people have said they associate me with that color and i’m glad cause it’s one of my favorites 💛💛

[fappellmoan]

happy hawkins holiday hiatus to @mikewheelerthepaladin !! here’s a lighthearted fic + a playlist of songs i listened to a lot while writing, i hope you enjoy 🥳

& a big thank you to @sevensided for putting this together, it’s been super fun <3

It’s the first time he’s been in over a year, really, but he’d entertained the thought of asking Will over the summer, for one last challenge before he left. It never happened, everything went by too fast; and, honestly, Mike didn’t know how to talk to him with the goddamn weight of everything - hi, we’ve barely spoken in the last year and we just almost died, again, and now you’re moving away forever - wanna hang out?

It’s the first time he’s been in over a year, really, but he’d entertained the thought of asking Will over the summer, for one last challenge before he left. It never happened, everything went by too fast; and, honestly, Mike didn’t know how to talk to him with the goddamn weight of everything - hi, we’ve barely spoken in the last year and we just almost died, again, and now you’re moving away forever - wanna hang out?

It’d never been that hard.

And it sucked. The whole thing. Now that Will is gone, it gnaws at him daily that they could have had more time together. Or a proper goodbye, at least. Instead, he spent a lot of time last summer sitting around, figuring out how to approach El and his feelings toward her, and most of all, alone.

But now the Byers are coming home for Christmas. And staying with The Wheelers, on top of it all.

So, seeking some sort of cryptic universal answer to his life problems, Mike returns to the place of a lot of younger memories, of crowding around machines with Lucas and Dustin and Will, a conglomeration of shouting and booing and cheering when one of them topped a high score, of frantically patting down their pockets for a few extra coins.

All of these wistful memories come to halt, however, when he finds a familiar redhead occupying one of their favorite games.

Max glances at him through the screen. “What do you want?”

“Uh, to play?” Honestly, he doesn’t care; he’s not sure he could focus enough to win much anyway. “Kicking your ass would be a plus.”

“Yeah, as if.” Her gaze fixes back on the colorful pixels dancing in front of her face.

Okay, well, she’s not moving anytime soon. He could probably just walk away, but a part of him wants company, even if it’s from someone hellbent on disagreeing with him.

Even when the Party hangs out now, Mike finds himself bickering with Max over what movies to see, where to eat, nearly anything, even when he doesn’t really give a shit. It’s the principle of the thing, and she gets under his skin. 

Maybe it’s a good thing.

Mike sighs, leans against one of the neighboring games, and shoves his hands in his pockets. “I don’t really know why I’m here.”

“Well, if you’re looking for me to throw pity money at you, it’s not happening.” After a beat, and losing the level, she kicks at the machine and turns to him. “Now look what you made me do. All your moping and talking - I could’ve beaten that if you would just leave me alone.”

He offers a quarter.

“Forget it.”

“I’ll buy you a pop, then.” She glares at him. “Seriously, okay, this is the first and only olive branch. Take it or leave it.”

After a moment of scowling at him, her arms folded, she slowly concedes, a smug look taking over. “Okay. I’ll take it, Wheeler.”

“So, you’re stalking me at the arcade because… of nothing?”

Mike presses his lips into a line. “I’m not stalking you,” he says, “and it’s not - it’s not nothing. I was gonna ask Lucas or Dustin to come, but… I felt like I needed to be here alone.”

Max sips on her drink. “That didn’t work out.”

“Guess not.”

“So you did need to talk to someone.”

“Guess so.”

God, this is borderline painful. Sitting in a shoddy little booth across from Max, whom he never once intended to have a heart-to-heart with, is a new level of desperation. But here they are.

With the most grandiose sigh he’s ever heard in his life, Max straightens in her chair. “Well, I don’t love giving advice to annoying teenage boys, but I’ve been told I’m good at it. Advice, you know.”

Mike raises an eyebrow. “Was it El who said that, by chance?”

“Bite me.”

Amused, Mike smiles, and he slides the near-empty cup between his hands like a little game, something else to focus on. “Okay, fine, give me some advice.”

Max frowns at him like he’s the biggest idiot in the world. “Maybe give me a situation to work with?” She mutters something under her breath that he doesn’t bother with.

“Well, the Byers are coming home and staying with us, and I wanted to come up with something really nice to do, you know. I know that they’re really nervous because it’s… the holidays have been rough, the past few years.” He finishes his drink and stares at the lid. “They almost refused. So, I dunno, I figured I could do something to make them feel like it’s still home.”

“Oh,” Max nods, finally breaking into a slight smile, “well, cool, you could set up something really romantic for El! She’d love it.”

Right. The girlfriend. 

He had no clue where the hell they left things when the Byers moved. About a month ago, Mike called to tell her the distance was confusing and they might need to take a break. He figured she would’ve told Max because, from his understanding, they spoke on the phone on an almost daily basis.

“Sure - yeah, yeah, that’s - it’s a good idea. For sure.”

Max falls back into a confused squint. “Was there something else you had in mind?”

Mike isn’t sure how to get it out without sounding like a total airhead. So he copes with it the best way he can. “You know what, this was dumb. I’ll figure it out myself.” He grabs his jacket and stands to leave.

“No, no, Mike - I want to help.” She’s looking up at him with a genuinely nice expression, holding out a hand to stop him from fully up and leaving. “I’m really good at this stuff, just let me know what I can do. No judgment. I swear.”

“I have to get home tonight anyway,” Mike says cautiously. “Told my mom I’d help with dinner.”

“Can I come over tomorrow?”

He frowns, and something digging at his stomach makes him respond with, “Why do you care?”

Max’s jaw sets. She stands up to meet his eye level and sets a look on him. “Even if I didn’t, even if I couldn’t care less about you, Mike, I care about El. And Will. And I want to be a part of their homecoming. So maybe you could figure out a way to not be a dick about it.” She snatches her drink cup and storms off from the table, leaving Mike to scramble after her with more apologies.

He’s gotta get better at this whole ‘girls’ thing.

He catches up to her outside. “Okay, listen - come over after school tomorrow. We can meet outside by the stairs.”

She barely turns to him, says, “Fine,” and then hops on her bike and rides away.

That’s how Mike ends up with Max in his basement, slowly walking and examining his things, but not touching any of them, thankfully.

It’s going alright, thus far. A part of him feels like he should reach out to Lucas and Dustin, too, since they’re also Will’s best friends. But something about this… works. He and Max can’t seem to stay entirely civil in each other’s company, but she gets something. And she hasn’t brought up El even once since yesterday.

“So, I’m gonna come up with a really cool campaign - well, I’ve been working on it, and I can tell you about it - “ Max lifts herself on tiptoe in his peripheral vision, “ - but anyway, we can pull an all-nighter, if everyone’s up for it, and make snacks and drinks and stuff, and we can have movies on for you guys, and I thought I might even look for some costumes because I really think Will would get a kick out of it. I can put lights up, too - “

“You draw?”

Max’s back is to him, as she’s looking over his wall of posters and pinned pictures. As he steps closer, he realizes her eyes are fixed on a sketch that definitely bears some resemblance to him.

“No, Will sent me those,” he says quickly, not wanting to seem like a giant narcissist, because Will’s drawing is - how can he say it - beautiful. “He’s been using charcoal a lot recently, he told me he got some new art stuff. I think he wants to send one of all of us.”

Max turns to him, and he can’t tell if she’s tearing up for some reason, but she quickly wipes any sign of tears away. “That’s so neat,” is all she says at first. There’s a small silence between them, and she’s just looking at him, and he has no idea what the hell he should say. “He’s such a good person,” she adds quietly, “I wish I got the chance to really know him.”

Mike’s breath hitches for a few seconds. “Yeah. I mean, he mentioned hanging out with you a few times.”

A smile lifts the girl’s cheeks. “Yeah, to bitch about you, mostly.”

“Hey!” he protests, but he can’t help but smile too, this time. This might just be their most pleasant interaction to date. “He never mentioned that.”

“I don’t know how he could, all you freakin’ do is talk.”

“Whatever.” Mike messes with some Christmas crafts on the table, holding them up in his vision to see where they might fit in the basement. He clears his throat. “You know, El and I, uh - we split.”

Max nods slowly. “She said you guys don’t call much.”

“No, we didn’t. I mean, I don’t even call Will, we just write.” He leans against the table, eyes glazing over as he looks over years of memories, dorky craft nights, and shitty school projects that he or his mom made a point to keep. “It’s too hard to talk - to either of them, you know. I didn’t think I could hear their voices without…”

Max cuts him off. “I get it.” She crosses over to the table, helping him pull apart old paper snowflakes. “I’m just the opposite. I’m scared if I don’t talk to them, I’ll convince myself it was all fake. And maybe it’d be for the better, but I’m glad I knew them. Even if only for a little while.”

Mike bites down on his lips, attempting to bury all the emotion threatening to spew out of him. “Yeah.”

Max finally looks up at him, and though they seem to have shared a moment, she snaps back out of it. “All offense, Mike, these are ugly as shit. I’m helping you make new ones, okay?”

“It’s for the memory!”

“No more living in the past.” She raises her eyebrows at him, and he pinches his face in annoyance, so she says, “Okay, you can put them up, in like, little corners, but we’re making new ones. Surprise. Work with me here, Michael.”

“It’s my basement, Max.”

“Did you or did you not ask for my help?”

Mike blinks. “Not really.”

She throws a crafty paper star at him. “Shut up, you’re glad I’m here.”

He shakes his head and moves on, but though he may never admit it, a part of him really is glad.

Weeks pass in what feels like a span of days or maybe hours, with Mike and Max sorting out their surprise plans with a typical amount of bickering - but hey, they get it done. Max has lots of opinions about decorations and music that make Mike roll his eyes, but she’s got a good eye and she offers to help with baking, which is not a strong suit of his. Yes, they throw a lot of streamers at each other, and threaten to storm out every other hour, but it gets done.

And the day is finally here.

Mike pulls himself into his best festive sweater and eyes himself in the mirror. He messes with his hair, though the long, wavy curls never seem to fall exactly into place - maybe growing it out was a mistake - and tugs at the creases of his sweater, letting out a huffy breath. None of it is working with him. When he can’t stand looking at himself anymore, he dashes down to the kitchen to help his mom with desserts.

She smiles when he plops into a seat. “You okay, honey? You seem a little tense.”

Mike jolts. “Uh, yeah, just excited.”

“Good! Joyce said the kids haven’t stopped talking about the trip for weeks.”

Great. “I hope we live up to the hype.”

“Oh, Mike. You know you don’t have to try that hard.” Karen stops frosting for a moment to look at him. “Will’s your best friend. El is excited to see you,” she nudges at him, and he coughs out a nervous laugh, “and Joyce thinks you’re an angel-”

“God, mom-”

“I’m serious. Don’t worry so much.” She leans forward on her forearms. “I know you think every problem in the world is on you, but it’s not. It’s enough just to be around the people you love. If anything, you’ve gone overboard.”

Overboard. Hopefully, it’s not too much.

Finally, he caves, exhaling slowly with a simple, “Okay.” He stays beside her, tapping his fingers, and eventually ruining a gingerbread man’s face until she notices and smacks his hand away.

There’s a knock on the door, and while Mike hops to his feet, his mother calls out, “Come in!” earning a panicked look from him. She mouths, ‘Chill,’ but he still half-jogs to the door and throws it open.

Nancy calls down the stairs, “Who is it?”

It’s Max, brandishing a few small wrapped gifts.

“Hello, sunshine,” she says. After a moment, “It’s great to see you too, Michael, allow me to invite myself in.”

“It’s just Max,” Mike calls back. He steps aside, and Max brushes past him, dropping her gifts by their tree and running into the kitchen. 

“Hi, Mrs. Wheeler!”

“Hey, Max, Merry Christmas!”

Mike’s mom seemed to think Max was one of the most charming people on the planet, something they frequently disagreed on, but he can’t be mad at their pleasant chatter right now.

Especially not when the next knock comes so soon.

Probably just Lucas and Dustin, dragging their feet as usual.

Mike opens the door, prepared with a quippy remark for his friends, but his stomach drops immediately.

It’s Will. Holding a bunch of luggage.

Mike is caught up in everything about him. He’s taller. New, floppy hair, tousled and messy in the biting snowy winds. His forearms exposed as his bags push against his jacket. Will.

The boy smiles at him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Mike manages.

Will looks past him with a tiny wave, and Mike turns to see Max beaming and waving back, and then Max slips back into the kitchen and Will returns his gaze to Mike. “Can I come in?”

“Hey, Mike!” Joyce interrupts from the car, straining to grab something in the backseat. “Merry Christmas, honey!”

“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Byers!” Mike, finally catching up his brain-to-movement reactions, moves to let Will in. “Yeah, come in. I’m gonna, uh, go help your mom.”

“Cool.”

He immediately forgets why he’s moved and attempts to step out as Will crosses the threshold, almost knocking him over, so Mike grabs his arms to stabilize with a, “Sorry - uh - whoops, haha, don’t fall,” and Will chuckles and shifts a bag to his shoulder, saying, “It’s alright,” and Mike spends his walk to the Byers’ car trying not to curse himself out.

“Oh, Mike, thank you, sweetie,” Joyce grunts, pulling a heavy tote bag from the floor of the car. “Can you carry this?” Mike nods and takes it from her easily, offering his arms out for extra luggage. Together, with Jonathan, who greets him with a, “Merry Christmas, man,” they manage to get everything inside in one trip. Mike hardly notices El rummaging through the trunk until she comes stumbling along with a basket full of gifts.

Finally, they’re all inside, and only a beat goes by before Nancy comes bounding down the stairs to greet Jonathan, and Joyce is grinning around at everybody, and then Karen rushes in from the kitchen with excited greetings.

“It is so good to see you,” Joyce says, opening her arms up to Mike for a hug. “You’ve grown so much-'' she looks at Karen and mutters, “-so much-” then looks back at Mike. “We’ve missed you all.”

“I’ve missed you guys too,” Mike says, “I’m glad you decided to come.”

“We couldn’t miss it. Figured it’s best that we’re together, you know.” Her expression falters, but she takes a breath and carries on with moving bags and ‘Merry Christmases.’

Joyce and his mom wind up chattering, and Karen takes off her apron to help transfer some luggage to the spare room. Nancy takes Jonathan’s hand and heads upstairs, grabbing one of his bags from the ground.

Will seems to have disappeared into the kitchen with Max, leaving his things behind, so it’s just Mike and El.

Mike takes in a deep breath.

It wasn’t an ugly breakup; honestly, El seemed unfazed. Their calls were little more than small talk about their days, most of the time, and even though he thought they might hold onto their past, everything they’d been through… it seemed to work best that they didn’t.

“Hey, Merry Christmas.”

El smiles easily. “Merry Christmas, Mike.” She lifts the basket slightly for acknowledgment. “Can these go by the tree?”

“Yeah, yeah, go for it.”

El nods and slips by the couch over to the tree, carefully laying out the gifts. After a few moments of Mike awkwardly leaning against the couch arm, thinking up something to say - thank god she didn’t seem too focused on him - Max walks in, her mouth stuffed with a truffle.

“El!” She darts over to the tree, and El jumps up, eyes bright, immediately throwing her arms around the girl’s shoulders. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” El giggles. “I brought you a gift.”

“You too. I can’t wait for you to see it. But first, you have to try one of these sweets Mrs. Wheeler’s making. They’re like frickin’ heaven.” She holds out the last bite of her own, and El takes it from her hand, eyes lighting up mischievously as she bites into it.

“It’s amazing.”

“I know. I think we should go sample some of the others.”

Mike calls out to their backs, “You guys better leave some for later on,” and in response, hears Max mimic him. He rolls his eyes and stands up from the couch.

And then it’s just him and Will, who’s beaming at him, seemingly amused by their banter.

Okay, Mike, now or never. “Uh, I’ll show you downstairs.”

“We’re not staying in your room?” Will asks simply, crossing over to retrieve his duffel bag.

“We totally can, I just have something I wanted to show you.”

Will nods. “Oh, okay, cool.”

Mike assists with a smaller bag and leads him to the basement door; before he runs down the stairs, he catches Max’s eye, and she gives him a thumbs up and mouths, ‘You got this.’ Deep breaths. At that moment, he’s incredibly thankful for her presence. 

He watches as Will follows him down, slower, glancing around at the familiar surroundings. His eyes catch on everything Mike and Max put together over the past few weeks, and his footsteps grow slower as he takes it all in.

Streamers of all festive colors and off-balance fairy lights hang along the corners of the basement, phrases of ‘Welcome home,’ hand-cut and pasted on the front wall; at the table, a game mat and figures sit in wait, silly hats placed in front each chair; even the TV is prepared with a Santa hat, the couch covered in blankets and pillows, a few sleeping bags folded on the floor.

“Mike,” Will says quietly, stepping in a small circle, “what is all this?”

“Your homecoming party.” Mike is all jitters; he leans against the wall and shoves his hands in his pockets to disguise any visible shakes. “You like it?”

Will finally looks straight at him, an indiscernible look painted on his face. “Yeah,” he says, nodding rapidly, “yeah, it’s great - but we, uh,” he swallows and shakes his head, “we don’t, um, have to play D&D. I mean-”

“I don’t know, Will,” he ventures to step away from the wall, taking slow steps over to the table. Will follows every move. “I mean, I was really excited to have you back, even just for a little bit. We all were.” He reaches the table and leans back on his hands. “Figured having our cleric back warranted some festivities.”

Will shakes his head, runs his hands along his face, and turns away. The bit of confidence Mike has slowly starts to trickle.

“Is it okay?”

Will shakes out of his stupor and chuckles. “It’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. You’ve truly outdone yourself, Michael.” He lifts himself on tiptoe to look at decorations on top of Mike’s shelves. “Are these from our big craft night, like, years ago?”

The horrible crayon work makes Mike smile - they made half of the snowmen evil, citing a Great Abominable Snowman War, and gave them wicked frowns and smiles, claws on their stick hands. “Yeah.”

“I didn’t know you kept them.”

“I keep everything.” An awkward chuckle breaks from his chest. “Not everything, like, a hoarder or whatever, but - “

Will simply smiles and pushes himself forward toward the back wall, brushing past Mike, to his different pinups. He fixates on the sketch of Mike that he’d sent about a month back. “You know, you should probably take this down. I don’t think you’ll hear the end of it from Lucas and Dustin if you don’t.”

“Screw ‘em.”

“Right.” Will quirks his eyebrow and moves to sit in his designated chair, right next to where Mike is currently resting. “So, they know about D&D?”

“They know.” Mike smiles, and looks at the floor, right where their legs brush up against each other. “They seem pretty excited to have the party back together. To remind you of how badass your first one was,” he adds.

Will peers up at him for a moment before quietly saying, “I never joined another one.” Mike meets his eye for a moment, then, threatened by the silence that follows, clears his throat and distracts himself with a particularly interesting notch in the wood paneling. “Did you guys find someone else?”

“No, no,” Mike assures him. “We haven’t touched any of this stuff. It’s not the same.”

A silence settles between them, one that neither seems to know how to navigate. But Will keeps his gaze steady on Mike, trying to breach some barrier, to fall back into their usual ways.

Something is different, though; it’s not uncomfortable, it never could be, but it’s something intimidating. Will seems more comfortable, at least; he’s not shying away from anything Mike throws at him.

And he tries to break the silence first. “Y’know - “

“Will,” Mike cuts him off, and he’s not sure what he’s saying, or where he’s going with it, but he knows he’s supposed to say this. His name. “I need you to know that I missed you.”

Will blinks at him, cocks his head. “I missed you too,” he says matter-of-factly.

The words are eating at him, right there on the edge of his mind, and Will looks almost concerned and now Mike just wants to drop it because that’s not what he wanted. But he can’t, not now. “I missed you the most.” It sounds so juvenile. “More than everyone else. I missed you before you even left. I just didn’t know how to say it.” He breathes in and out, focusing on Will’s cheeks, the tip of his nose, anything but his eyes. When Will doesn’t say anything, the rest just spills. “I missed you when our first first day of school apart came and passed, and I didn’t even call. I missed you at homecoming. And,” he licks his lips, not really sure where his speech is heading, “I know you had to go, it’s fine. We’ll figure it out. But I feel like we haven’t been on the same page in a long time. So, I missed you, and I love you, and that’s that.”

Will looks at him funny, and then his face softens into something like laughter, and Mike is genuinely about to run and throw up somewhere, but then the boy closes his eyes and says, “I love you too.”

Mike blanches. “I don’t think I said that.”

“Oh, you definitely did.”

“Oh,” he nods, mind spinning, “well, you know…”

Will stands to be at Mike’s level, leans forward on his knees. Mike stops breathing. “I do,” he says, “but tell me again.”

Mike swallows down a breath of courage and suggests, “I think I might like you.” His eyes flit to Will’s lips, then back to his eyes. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll allow it,” Will says, a bright smile causing lines near his eyes. Mike smacks at his arm, nervous laughter coming out with a quiet, ‘Shut up.’ Will moves so he’s resting his fingertips on the table. Inches away.

“Same page, then?” Mike asks.

“Same page, yeah, for sure.”

Mike nods absently, distracting himself with the strings on Will’s sweatshirt. “So I don’t sound crazy?”

Will laughs. “I dunno. I always counted on us going crazy together. Figured we might have a few extra years, but hey, I’m all in.”

And then Mike is flashed back to a night on his couch just over a year ago. Knees knocking together, shared smiles. A promise.

So much has changed.

He wants to know what Will meant. A future of being in each other’s lives, maybe, getting old and senile and batshit crazy. Always being there.

He never dared to think about it before.

“So what now?”

Will shrugs. He dips his head to meet Mike’s eyes with his own. “What do you want, Mike?”

And finally, he thinks he might know.

Or maybe he’s always known.

He scoots forward, takes Will’s face in his hands, and kisses him. It’s just a quick press of their lips, but in that moment, he knows a few things for sure. His heartbeat is going a mile a minute, and Will must be able to feel it; it’s absolutely exhilarating, surreal, insane that he’s kissing his best friend; and, he is definitely in like, or maybe love, with Will Byers.

He’ll probably love him forever.

When Mike pulls back and his eyes flutter open to see Will, flushed, blinking back at him, slightly dazed, he doesn’t want to pull away at all. He did that. Mike’s hand remains on his jaw, lax, and he runs his thumb along Will’s bottom lip, curious to see his reaction, curious about a lot, now.

Will lets out a breathy chuckle. “Wow,” he mumbles, “that’s new.”

“Yeah.” Mike exhales shakily, takes one of Will’s hands, and says, “Merry Christmas, Will.”

“Yeah, Merry Christmas.”

The world doesn’t seem to fall apart like Mike thought it might if he ever got to this point, so, that’s nice.

“So…” Mike begins carefully, “you’re gonna have to be slow with me here. This is sort of a lot for me.”

“Me too,” Will replies simply. He squeezes Mike’s hand. “But we’ll figure it out.”

“Totally.”

Will takes his cheeks in his hands and smiles into a very gentle kiss, his fingers curling into the hair at the nape of Mike’s neck. It’s soft and sweet and lingering - but not for too long, as moments later the door upstairs busts open and shouts of, “BYERS!” from their dear friends sound through the air, and Mike and Will jump apart, equally startled and laughing.

“Down here!” Will calls out. He looks at Mike, smiles, offers, “To be continued?” and as he walks past, he leans in, just to leave a quick peck on Mike’s cheek.

And all Mike can do is laugh and shake his head and run after him to meet their friends; Lucas and Dustin are horribly late to the surprise, but they collide into Will the second they see him, shouting over each other, ‘What’s going on, dude?’ ‘Merry Christmas!’ ‘You’ve missed so much,’ and everyone is grinning and chattering, and it’s awesome.

Max approaches him, watching all of the madness, smacks a hand to his shoulder, and says, “You did good, Wheeler.”

“Yeah, I did.” She punches his arm lightly, laughing, so he adds, “thank you for everything. Seriously.”

“I think we should work together more often.”

Mike scoffs into a laugh, and says, “Yeah, guess so.”

Max rolls her eyes, but at least now they’re actually laughing in each other's company. It’s great progress from just a few weeks ago.

After a minute of watching the boy’s shenanigans, Max smiles. “Well, Merry Christmas, anyway.”

“Merry Christmas,” he responds, and he watches as she jumps up onto a kitchen stool, chatting and giggling with El.

With everyone back together again, finally, Mike feels really alive; so, he jumps in with all the excited shouting and group hugs and bickering, and celebrates the merriest Christmas he can remember in a long time.

[thegayhimbo]

Yep. Jason Stackhouse from True Blood.

Do you ever just stan a character out of spite?

[sevensided]

Hi! I loved your fic, definetly the best Mike pov I've read so far. Do you intend to write a sequel?

Hello! Thank you so much for this message! I am actually going to write a sequel. I don’t yet know when I’ll write it, because I’ve not been in a very writerly kind of mood, but I have it all plotted out and I know roughly how long it’ll be and all that sort of stuff. I have also started it - I think it’s got like 2k or something. So, short answer: absolutely! 

[willbyersneedstherapy]

happy birthday jake!!

@mikewheelerthepaladin​

[okwillthewise]

Will Byers, Joyce Byers and El Hopper for the character ask!

Going to do Will because a couple of later asks have mentioned El and Joyce so let’s go!

Why I like them

I can relate a lot to Will, especially how he was in S3 and I remember one of my first reactions to seeing how he was in that season was I see me in that. I feel like, on a whole Will is kind of a misunderstood character, and often he’s boxed into the ✨shy boy ✨ category but i’ve gushed enough about how Will as a character is so much more than just introvert who bad things happen to so I won’t bore with that again haha. In conclusion, in this house we love and respect Will Byers and I will defend his character forever.

Why I don’t

Boy needs to choose a time and a place for the wizard hat and maybe that wasn’t it.

Favorite episode/Scene

As much as I hate the Castle Byers scene, I love the Castle Byers scene. Though I also really love the hospital scene and not knowing when it’s Will and when it’s the Mind Flayer.

Oh! And the scene where Mike and Will look directly into the camera when they’re talking about the Mind Flayer spying back etc...

Favorite season

Season Two

Favourite line

"Is it? Is it early, Michael?”

“Sometimes the bad guys are smart too”

Favorite outfit

Will the Wise is forever iconic but I think maybe the outfit where it’s the first time we see him?

OTP

I am a Byler fan - kinda obvious at this point - but I wouldn’t be completely opposed to if they explored an aroace storyline with Will. I know its been a bit of a topic of discussion recently but I do genuinely think it could be interesting to explore that with Will.

Brotp

Will and Lucas, Will and Dustin, Will and Mike, Will and El (because they will give it in S4 I’m manifesting it) basically party dynamics

Head Canon

Just going to link my head canon ask here...

Unpopular opinion

Going to go with what I said in the OTP section and say Aroace Will Byers would be a good route for his character 

A wish

Talk. To. El. 

I also lowkey want Will to have some kind of connection to the Upside Down still. I’m not talking full blown powers like El but to me, it seemed like it was maybe hinted at a little in S3 and I’d love them to follow through with that.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

No Will Byers dying in S4 on my watch. But also I really don’t want a rehash of S3 with El/Mike/Will, especially since she’s now living with the Byers - give will an arc please.

5 words to best describe them

Determined, Brave, Stands-up-for-what-he-believes-in, Smart, Cunning

My nickname for them

Once again, not a nicknamer so Will. I’m boring. I apologise.

[thegayhimbo]

You give off Jonathan Byers energy!

Thank you! 😀 He's one of my favorite characters of the show! That means a lot!