i knew you'd haunt all of my what ifs (st5 rewrite)
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But Mike is still staring at him with something akin to wonder, and Will’s brain seems to be working on overdrive to embarrass him to death as quickly as possible.
(Ah, fuck it.)
“Mike.”
Mike’s expression is so sincere that it hurts Will to look at it. “Yeah?”
“What do you think… when you look at me?”
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In the 18 months between the Upside Down cracking Hawkins in two and their disastrous Crawl, Will starts drawing again. It’s a familiar feeling, sitting in the basement with some paper and a box of crayons, an ever-curious Wheeler looking over his shoulder.
Except, it’s not Mike. No, Mike hasn’t been talking to him unless completely necessary, which sucks, but Will’s gotten used to it. No, it’s little Holly, just as sweet as Will remembers and totally captivated with his art.
It’s refreshing, at least, to have someone look at him with stars in their eyes for once. He just hopes Mike doesn’t find out; it’ll give him another thing to be weird about.
TLDR: Five times Will teaches Holly how to draw, and one time it’s Mike who takes his lessons to heart.
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time slowed down (and he was like, perfect) by mishaeiou
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
16 Jan 2026
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“Oh, this is freaky,” Lucas comments quietly. “And he was okay after this, right?”
“Yeah, if Mama Byers didn’t give me a heads-up, I’d be terrified right now,” Robin says, holding her arms nervously.
It’s not scary at all, Mike thinks, defensive on Will’s behalf. And as the thought enters his head, a quieter but equally bold voice rings in the back of his head.
You think I’m a monster, too.
And Mike realizes with startling clarity that this is why he thinks Will could never be El. He thinks Will can be powerful when it counts, but he's never thought of him as someone to be feared.
Or, Mike Wheeler realizes that he might be in love with Will Byers on the worst night of his life.
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