1 - 20 of 383 Works in Pining Mike Wheeler
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You were the best, but you are the worst by theweirdoseth
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
12 May 2026
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Summary
Then, in the most obvious way possible, his eyes rake over Will’s figure, lingering on the way his shirt hugs his stomach, and over the muscles in Will’s arms.
And then, to Mike’s absolute mortification, his younger-self flushes, cheeks growing impossibly red and eyes darting to the floor. Not in an obvious manner either, because Will immediately levels Mike with a questioning stare and a teasing smile which makes him want to crawl into a hole and die.
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Post s2 Mike and Will travel to the future. It ends dramatically.Part of a writing challenge tackling specific issues in the 1980s, check chapter 1 notes for more details.
Series
- Part 1 of Miwi Time Travel fic
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Summary
Then (1989): Mike and Will yearn for each other from afar while navigating life after Hawkins.
Now (1996): They fake being each other’s date to a wedding Will’s toxic ex is attending after not speaking for years.
Forever (2016): They prepare for their wedding day.
This fic jumps between three different times in Mike and Will's relationship.
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in every life i find you (this time i choose you) by secretxgardensinmyxmind
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
11 May 2026
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Summary
After a fight with Will, Mike Wheeler finds himself in a universe that isn’t his.
Then another.
And another.
Across countless different lives, Mike sees how things between him and Will could end: the worlds where they never meet, the ones where they drift apart, and the ones where he realizes too late what Will meant to him.
The only thing that remains the same in every universe is the version of Will guiding him through them.
And somewhere between those worlds, Mike begins to understand what this journey is trying to teach him.
Or: Mike Wheeler travels the multiverse and finally gets the hint
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a circle of eternity(the cycle of fate) by GloriousSarcasm
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
11 May 2026
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Summary
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.
Mike keeps screaming.
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.
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You can't start a fire without a spark (and I'll be your lighter) by thel0serst4rr
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
11 May 2026
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Summary
The group is taking their annual summer trip, and after that incident three years ago, Mike and Will have been..distant, to say the least. From petty fights to big ones, their relationship has been complicated ever since then, and everyone has collectively decided (without them, obviously) that it needs to change.
FEATURINGGG: Lumax AND Henderhop also tons of suffering Mike Wheeler
TWS:
SH
ARFID
also blood mention because Mike has hemophilia type COH. I ALSO HAVE A PLAYLIST:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3SBGfMY3PHv5xUUQhn7xWl?si=7tQO0TaTTq-dzffd11g18Qit has byler songs but also like some songs I think that fit the vibe
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After Will moves to Montauk, Sunday night calls become the only thing holding the distance between them. But the dream won’t leave Mike alone.
He returns to the same beach night after night, a place he’s visited too many times before. This time, instead of running, he crosses the water.
Will is waiting. Close enough to touch. Close enough to kiss. And when Mike wakes, the feeling doesn’t fade.
The next morning, alone in an empty house for three weeks, Mike tries to convince himself it was only a dream.
Then a pale yellow envelope arrives in the mail.
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‘And I know that’s silly, because we call on Sunday nights. But it’s not the same. It’s never just you and me anymore. I mean, obviously I like talking to Dustin and Lucas, but they don’t get me. Not like you do.’It’s almost frightening how closely their thoughts mirror each other. Every Sunday he wishes, quietly, that the calls could just be them. No interruptions. No overlapping jokes. Just Will’s voice and the space between them.
He’s never said it out loud.
And now here it is, written plainly in ink, resting between his fingers.
‘I can’t say things to them that I would easily say to you. No one knows me like you do, Mike,'
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Summary
It's the summer after graduation and Hawkins is plagued by a heatwave. As Mike whiles his days away at the pool, he tries to figure out why he no longer feels normal about Will - and why he can't stop staring at his abs. But when lights start flickering and kids are talking about strange things happening at the Creel mansion, Mike soon realises that his identity crisis isn't the worst of his problems. His obsession with keeping Will safe makes him confront some traumas of his past - and feelings he hasn't been able to name.
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I Need to Be Loved (Just Like Everybody Else Does) by BellaAbby
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
09 May 2026
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Summary
Will scoffed. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“Cool.”
“Cool.”
“Cool…Except you’re not. You’re not.”
Will smiled then, slow and tight, tipping his head back on the couch. He closed his eyes in a drawn-out blink, his long eyelashes kissing his cheeks and he let out a laboured breath before looking over at Mike. “Why wouldn’t I be OK, Michael?”
Wow.-
Mike and Will are having problems. Mike would argue they started graduation night. Will would say it started the summer of '85. But if Mike was honest, for him things got weird, on Halloween '84 when he'd said 'crazy together' and meant it.When Will looks back on their relationship, he sees all the times he suffered heartbreak. Mike sees all the times he realised that they had something special. Now Mike needs to figure out how to get Will on the same page as him, how to stop him from seeing things so differently. But he can't do that if Will refuses to talk about it.
When the Party comes across an article in Cosmo on some newfangled psychology called Love Languages, Mike formulates a plan. All Mike has to do is figure out how Will needs to be treated, then he'd give Will the friendship he deserved. Perfect. Right?
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Summary
In the summer of 1989, after a beer fueled night at the quarry, Mike impulsively kissed Will Byers.
Overwhelmed by grief, old heartbreak, and feelings he couldn’t face, Mike fled Hawkins for Chicago to chase a career in journalism. He thought he could outrun the town, the upside down’s shadow, and that kiss. But some things can’t be outrun.
Three years later, in summer 1992, 21 year old Mike returns home for the break, tired of hiding. On his first night back, Lucas, Max & Dustin drag him to the local bar, where he later reunites with Will, back from New York for the summer. Old friends banter easily, but between Mike and Will the air thickens with everything unsaid. What will the summer bring between them?
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Mike’s back in Hawkins and can’t keep his eyes (and eventually his hands) off Will. Mike is confused, jealous, and hopelessly fawning, pushing down any thoughts about his sexuality before they can settle. Will, trying to stay loyal to his boyfriend, finds Mike’s mixed signals impossible to ignore, leading to heated nights, confessions, and plenty of angst.
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Your blood, your bones (the star and the heart) by luanaris_black
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
08 May 2026
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Mike finds an interesting, old book and is pulled into dozens of different parallel universes, all of which have one thing in common: Michael Wheeler and William Byers are completely in love and together. Between the different worlds and variations of their relationship, Mike finally discovers what he truly wants.
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A year and some change after college graduation, Mike Wheeler is living in his parents' basement.
It isn't as pathetic as it sounds - he's also got a publishing deal, and he's putting the finishing touches on his debut novel.
It's even more pathetic than it sounds - he's got nobody left to hang out with in Hawkins except his ex-girlfriend and his sister's ex-boyfriend, and his best friend isn't returning his calls. The Wheeler house is a pressure cooker and he’s newly terrified that he might be identifiably bisexual. He's totally not spiraling. Everything's hunky dory.
Really, it's ideal timing. Will's due in Hawkins for Thanksgiving any day now, possibly with his beloved sack of hair gel, the ur-yuppie, Country Club Carlton. Mike definitely still knows how to exist in a room with him.
OR:
Mike goes through a late bi awakening, crashes out, comes out, grapples with Catholic guilt, and pines over a Will Byers who might no longer have a place in his life for him - not necessarily in that order.
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“We haven’t done this since middle school,” Will says, voice barely above a whisper.
“Huh,” Mike whispers back. “Yeah, guess not.”
A couple years ago, Mike read a National Geographic article about a phenomenon called the polar night. In the farthest north and south regions of the globe, there are weeks, sometimes months depending on how close you are to the poles, where the sun does not rise above the horizon, plunging the world into a perpetual nighttime. Living in such conditions, the article had explained, can affect one’s circadian rhythm, heighten issues with concentration and energy levels, and cause a spike in depressive symptoms among local populations. Some resort to using light therapy lamps to mimic the daylight.
It was only after the Byers moved away, all those years ago, that Mike began to understand what the prolonged absence of the sun can do to a person.
The Upside Down is gone, and everyone has made it out unscathed. In the aftermath of the not-so-end of the world, snowballs turn into avalanches. Sometimes it just takes time.
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Signed with a kiss (book 1 of the byler birthday duology) by Tinytina01
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
07 May 2026
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"Tell me I imagined it all, tell me I'm crazy."
A gift signed with a kiss changes everything.
Will Byers spent eighteen months convincing himself he imagined it... every lingering look, every gentle touch with Mike Wheeler.
But on his 18th birthday, Mike gives him a gift that makes ignoring the truth impossible.
And this time, Will demands answers.book 1 of the byler birthday duology
published - 22nd March 2026 -
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He flipped open the yearbook and slid it across the table.
"Every junior and senior at Hawkins High is in this book. I need you to go through the photos and find out which guys could be interested in Will."
El stared at him. "You want me to look into people's heads to find out if they are gay?"
His face lit up. "Yes! Exactly. I knew you'd understand."
"Mike. I can not do that." El frowned at him, looking genuinely let down.
Mike's smile dropped. "What? Why not?"
Determined that Will deserves someone who loves him, Mike enlists El to use her powers to scan the Hawkins High yearbook and identify every gay guy in school. She gives him three names. Mike gives himself a week to find Will the perfect boyfriend.
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Mike Wheeler was so fucked.
The lasagna on his plate was cold, but he didn’t notice. He was too busy looking at Will. Wondering what Will was thinking. Wishing he could be alone with Will.
Will. Will. Will.
Stop thinking about Will.
He tried, but it wasn’t working. It never worked.Or
Immediately after the Stranger Things finale, the party eats lasagna and Mike decides there is a very important conversation he needs to have with Will. Story takes place in one night with memories and flashbacks interwoven.
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Mike closed the space between them in one step, chest flush to Will’s back. One of Will’s hands was still holding the key; it clattered to the floor with a metallic ping as Mike grabbed both of Will’s wrists and pinned them to the door on either side of his head.
“You’re such a tease,” Mike growled against the back of Will’s neck. “You can’t do that in front of Lucas and Max. In my ear like that? You knew what you were doing.”
“Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?”OR
Just before college, Mike devises a five-step plan to make Will his boyfriend, but as the Party spends their last chaotic summer together, Mike finds himself in a weird friends-with-benefits situation with Will, as it continues Mike starts to spiral emotionally.
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Mike Wheeler is a famous writer now, living in his Chicago apartment. But no matter how successful he is, his mind always wanders back to one person.
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Mike sets Will up on a date and realizes he doesn’t actually want Will with anyone else.
or
Will’s face turned beet red and he looked like he might cry. “I-what if, what if it goes well?”
“Huh? That would be good right?” He laughed.
”I-I’ve never, uh.” Will was blushing hard
“ooooh, I mean I think lots of people are virgins still- I am. I don’t think that’s a big deal” he said confidently
“Wh-wha- No Mike! I- I’ve never even kissed anyone! I’m 21 don’t most people know what they are doing by now?” Will was sitting on his bed now head in his hands clearly melting down.
”Oh.” He softened. Of course Will had never kissed anyone he grew up in Hawkins.
He cleared his throat, he had to cheer him up. “Listen, kissing is easy. If you can fight interdimensional monsters before 18 you can definitely kiss someone.” He patted his back.
None of this seemed to soothe Will’s worries so he pressed on determined to calm him down.
“I can show you how if you want.”
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Throughout The Seasons I Have Loved You by thatforestfae
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
03 May 2026
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Summary
He hates how he treated Will in those years.
Mike saw how others hated people like him and he knows how all their stories end up because of them. Will was a victim, and Mike became the bully. He didn’t mean it, he wanted Will to stay close to him.
Too close.
Knowing that his escape out of those feelings was gone made him panic. When El broke up with him the first time, he knew that he couldn’t hide anymore. He thought he did everything right, they kissed, they hung out everyday, they kissed even more; typical boyfriend stuff.
But he was scared.
Scared of who he really was, about what people would think. What Will would think.
Or
The months of the year with Mike Wheeler's feelings through its ups and downs.
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In which Will wins a years supply of lollipops - well... 52 boxes to be exact. And from the moment they are delivered to his and Mike's apartment, things start to.... Suck... for Mike.
Or
Will Byers has a fixation with putting things in his mouth and almost drives Mike completely insane in the process.