-Wassup? So I just finished watching Stranger Things 2, like, 30 minutes before I started writing this, and I reeeeaaaalllllyyyyy ship Mike and Will. It's just so perfect! The way Mike holds Will's hand to calm him down, the way he tears up when he recalls how they met (he even says that asking Will to be his friend was "the best thing I've ever done"), the fact that they're always staring into each other's eyes, and even the fact that the only one Will trusted to tell about his experiences with True Sight into the Upside Down was Mike.
So I'm writing this fanfic set about a month after the end of Stranger Things 2 that's kind of a romance between them. I have an idea of a real plot, though, so people who don't ship Will and Mike may enjoy this too. But fair warning that I'm only writing this because I really ship it, I'm fanboying super hard (hi, I'm gay), I'm young enough that it's not creepy, and I can't sleep. Anyway, enjoy!
P. s. Just because I ship Byke or Mill or whatever the frak Will and Mike's ship name is, doesn't mean I don't ship Mike and Eleven. I actually ship them a lot, it's just that since I'm gay, I don't know how to write a straight relationship, and I relate more to Mike and Will.
"SHE CAN'T DO THAT! TELL HER SHE CAN'T do that!" Dustin shouted, shaking his head so fast that his blue and white baseball cap threatened to fly off his curly hair.
"Calm down, dude" said Lucas, the corners of his lips twitching slightly. "Just because we haven't done it before doesn't mean it can't be done."
"Oh, that's right, stick up for your girlfriend" Dustin huffed.
Mike was watching them bicker patiently. He knew it wasn't a big deal. Those two always argued during DnD.
Mike ran a hand through his relatively short black hair, and leaned back to examine his party.
His eyes first sought out Eleven, the Mage of their party, and Mikes not-so-secret girlfriend.
She hadn't had much time in the real world. For most of her life, she'd been "raised" (if you could call it that) by scientists who poked, prodded, and tested her 24/7 at Hawkins Lab in the middle of the woods.
Because Eleven, or Elle as her friends called her, had superpowers. She could move things with we mind, locate anyone, wherever they happened to be, and even seemed to have the power to open and close gates to the Upside Down, an alternate hell dimension where monsters prowled in search of a way to our world.
Elle had escaped from the lab around a year and a half ago, maybe less. She had met Mike and his friends, and fought with them against a Demagorgan- one of the monsters from the Upside Down- but in the process of defeating it she had been sucked into that parallel world.
She hadn't been there for long, though. She had managed to escape from that place, too, almost as soon as she'd arrived there, and had spent the remaining part of the last year hiding with Police Chief Hopper.
And now she was enjoying (well, hopefully enjoying) her first ever game of DnD. Mike was fairly certain she was cheating. The only thing she seemed to understand about it was that when you needed to roll a die, you needed to roll a high number. And roll high numbers she would! When they weren't outright critical rolls, they were in the upper teens. What was more was that Elle kept wiping her nose suspiciously with her sleeve.
Mike's best friend Will caught his eye and winked, signaling he had caught Elle at it too. Mike smiled warmly back to him.
Will was short and skinny as a matchstick. He had brown hair that fell around his head in a bowlish shape. He had piercing eyes, and a face that was somehow both sharp and soft at the same time.
Will had gone through more than anyone. He had been trapped in the Upside Down for what felt like years to everyone involved. And when he finally escaped, it was only to become an involuntary spy for the Mind Flayer, a massive shadow monster that began to manifest itself and the Upside Down in Hawkins (until Elle stopped it), thanks to it infecting him with some sort of virus.
Neither Mike not Will would tell anyone about Elle's cheating. Mike didn't want to get his girlfriend angry or frustrated, and Will was too quiet these days to purposefully point out something that would spark a fight.
Lucas, an average-sized dark boy with very short hair, cleared his throat, and Mike was pulled back into reality. He looked over at his friend, who raised an eyebrow and nodded his head across the table at Max.
"So, Mike. You're the DM. . . is she allowed to do that?"
Mike blinked in surprise. He hadn't paid attention to the argument, and had no clue what it was Max had done.
Max was the newest member of their party. The red-haired girl had arrived in Hawkins around three months ago, and immediately caught Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin's attention. Not only was she impossibly good at arcade games, hilariously sarcastic, and very smart, but she was perfectly capable of handling herself, was relatively nerdy, and could drive a car. In other words, she was a geeks dream girl.
"You just going to stare at me, Mike, or are you going to make up your mind?" Max said with a hint of sarcasm as she crossed her arms.
"Oh! R-right! Sorry, I was just thinking. Ummm, could you walk me through what happened again?"
Max rolled her eyes, but Mike could tell it was just a mask. She was glad to finally have a group of friends to hang out with. . . Like a normal person.
"So we're facing those three Gorgons, right? And since you can't look into their eyes-"
"Actually, Gorgons don't have stone sight, just Medusa" Dustin interrupted.
Max turned and looked at him. "Alright, since I THOUGHT you couldn't look at them, probably due to the fact that when I asked what a Gorgon was, some nerd with a baseball cap told me they were 'basically like Medusa', and since you guys were cornered by them, I used my lasso, caught all of you, and started driving away on my horse."
"But she CAN'T do that!" Dustin insisted. "Because we got dragged half a mile over rocks, and since for some reason I was on the bottom, I have to roll for an armor damage check, and I'll need to roll at least an 18 because of how far I got dragged! And I just bought this armor! It's enchanted and everything!"
Mike blinked. "Ummm, I mean, even though it's clear this was a misunderstanding, she already rolled for the lasso, and we all know that the rule is once you role, you can't undo."
"But who said she could drag us along like that anyways? And how would she be strong enough to pull all of us?" Dustin wined.
"Um, hello, I'm your Zoomer, remember? Plus, I have excellent strength without the magical pendant that doubles it. And this is the game you told me had 'limitless possibilities', right?" Max said, adopting somewhat of a lisp. "This is the game where 'you can do basically anything', yeah?"
Dustin scowled, but didn't press the subject anymore. He instead morosely picked up a D20 and rolled it across the parchment-covered table.
"Aw, shit! Son of a bitch!" He moaned. "A 16! I was so close!"
He picked up a pencil, and began erasing his armor from his hand-written character sheet.
"Why don't any of you have to roll?" He asked grouchily.
"Because we were safe and sound laying on top of you while you took all the damage!" Lucas laughed.
"Alright, but we still failed the campaign. We got no gold, the Gorgons are still out there, and now I need new armor, because some son of a bitch didn't pay attention!"
"Mouth breather" said Elle unexpectedly, staring at Dustin before giving Max a small smile. The two girls had grown closer once Elle realized that Max wasn't trying to get with Mike.
Dustin rolled his eyes, checked his watch, and jumped in surprise.
"Oh, shit! It's 10:00! I'm supposed to be home, let's see, in five minutes!"
Lucas nearly spilled the drink he was taking a sip of. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?! I have to be home by 10:30!"
There came the sound of a car honking from outside Mike's house. Nobody knew who's car it was, so everyone but Will, who was spending the night at Mike's house (they had tried getting Mike's parents to let more people stay over, but they said only one was allowed) and Mike stood up and began cleaning their spaces and packing away their things.
Lucas ran over to the window and peeked out into the driveway.
"Elle, that's your ride. Hopper's here. And so's you brother, Max."
Max swung her bag over her shoulder, and walked over to the door.
"See you at school on Monday, Stalker" she said to Lucas before smiling and pulling him to to a quick kiss. Dustin groaned somewhere behind Mike.
Max waved at the rest of them, called "bye, guys", picked up her skateboard, and ran out the door. Lucas and Dustin quickly followed her, picking up their bikes from the front lawn, and riding off towards their respective houses.
"Mike" came Elle's hushed voice from behind him. The black-haired boy turned around and looked at her. She had let her hair grow out somewhat, but Mike knew she would cut it if it got too long. Right now, her curly locks were hanging just above her shoulders.
She had put all her DnD stuff in a small tan bag resting on the floor by her feet.
"Hey, Eleven!" Mike smiled as he stood up and walked over to her, taking her hands in his. "You sure you have to leave?"
She nodded, then gestured toward the door. "My ride is here."
Mike nodded too, then leaned forward and placed a gentle, precious kiss on her lips. She put her hands on his waist, and smiled as they pulled out of the kiss.
"Did you like playing Dungeons and Dragons with us?" Mike asked.
"I think so. . . I wasn't sure how it worked. . . But isn't it basically what we do all the time?"
Mike grinned. "Yeah, I suppose it is. And we've used stuff from DnD to fight against the Upside Down a few times."
"I remember. The Demagorgan, true sight, and the Mind Flayer." Elle grinned. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Hopper honking again.
"I have to go" Elle whispered.
"I know. . . Safe drive. . . " Mike mentally slapped himself at how lame he sounded. *safe drive?*
But Elle giggled slightly, leaned in, and kissed Mike again. He closed his eyes and held onto her tight.
Hopper honked again, and Mike's dad shouted "is someone gonna get that?" From his room.
Elle pulled away from Mike. "See you at school Monday?"
"Yeah, definitely!"
Elle smiled, picked up her bag, then hurried past Mike and out the door. Mike listened to the sound of the car door opening and closing, and then to the car pulling out down the lane.
Mike sighed and turned to face Will. The brown-haired boy was staring curiously at Mike, as though he had been watching him and Elle, and wanted to say something.
Will cleared his throat, and Mike's muscles tensed up.
"So. . . What so you want to do?"
Mike relaxed. He was imagining it. There was no conflict, just his best friend.
"Star Wars marathon?"
Will jumped up. "Hell yeah! I'll pop popcorn! You get the blankets!"
"Dude, you need to lay off Max" Lucas said as he peddled down a dark street next to Dustin.
"What do you mean?! It's not like I'm purposefully treating her bad. I just got pissed because she broke my brand new armor. We could totally have taken those Gorgons!"
"That's not what I mean, man. I know why you were mad. Hell, I would've been pissed too. But it's so obvious that you still like her. And I'm fine with that. I've known you longer than her, and I don't want anything to get in the way of our relationship, but Max can tell too, and it's making her uncomfortable."
A flash of anger went through Dustin. Yes, he still liked Max, but he had actually been trying to make sure she didn't know. He had been trying to prevent exactly what Lucas said was happening.
The two boys rode silently for a minute. When they were less than two minutes away from Lucas's street, the black boy sighed and spoke again.
"I know you're not doing it on purpose. . . Just. . . Try not to groan or roll your eyes every time we kiss, OK?"
Dustin nodded.
"Don't worry, man. You'll find some beautiful girl who likes you. I mean, it's like you said. Who can resist those pearls, eh?!"
Lucas chuckled slightly, and a grin rose on Dustin's face too.
"Thanks, man. I'll keep all that in mind."
Lucas nodded, waved goodbye, then turned and rode his bike down his street, leaving Dustin alone with his thoughts and the night.
People kept telling him that some girl would realize how cool he was, and yet he was still the only party member without a girlfriend or boyfriend. Eleven and Mike had each other, Max and Lucas had each other. Even Will seemed to have some sort of on again/off again thing with the girl he'd met at the school dance last month.
Even Dustin's new cat seemed to prefer his mom. His old cat had liked him well enough, but it was long gone. Dart, the Pollywog-like creature Dustin had found maybe 2 1/2 months ago, then nurtured until it molted and revealed itself to actually be a baby Demagorgan, had eaten the last cat.
Of course, Dart turned out to not be all bad. He had trusted and liked Dustin enough to spare him and his friends when they were cornered by him after burning part of the Upside Down's tunnels that had manifested under Hawkins.
As Dustin road uphill towards his house, his thoughts took him to the thing he had stashed away that could solve all of his problems.
Dart had grown into a doglike adolescent Demagorgan that Dustin had termed 'Demadog'. And Dart wasn't alone. Only a couple of months back, the Mind Flayer had sent a pack of Demadogs to kill Dustin and his friends, but Elle had showed up after almost a year of being missing, killed the Demadogs, saved everyone, then gone and thwarted the Mind Flayer's plans.
And Dustin, seeing the possible fame and glory of a "new" scientific discovery, had snatched up one of the dead Demadog's bodies and put it into a freezer.
The freezer had perfectly preserved the Demadog's body, leaving it untouched by the effects of the Mind Flayer's defeat, which had caused the other Demadogs to rot and die.
Dustin had transported the carcass into the deep freezer in his storm shelter, and it was still there, waiting to make him famous!
So caught up in his dream was he that Dustin nearly rode right past his house. He dimly became aware that he was passing the driveway, and turned his bike sharply, and rolled up to the front door.
Dustin had barely opened the door before his mom came running up, her curly light brown hair bouncing, and her new kitten held tightly in her arms.
"Oh, Dustin! There you are! You were supposed to be home 20 minutes ago!"
"I know, mom, I'm sorry. I just lost track of time."
"Well, I have a couple of chores for you to do before you get to bed, ok hun?"
Dustin nodded. "What d'you want me to do?"
"Take out the kitchen trash, then run down to the deep freezer and bring up a few of those boxes of pancakes and waffles we bought a few weeks ago. We've run out here, and if you want any breakfast. . . " she trailed off.
"No problem, mom" Dustin said, turning to the kitchen garbage can, and heaving the trash bag out. He was just glad not to be grounded for being late.
"I'd go get them myself, but I really don't trust my balance on those steep steps at night" called Dustin's mom as she headed into the living room.
"It's fine, mom!" Dustin called back as he headed out the front door to the trash bin, which had been the place where he'd originally discovered Dart. He quickly tossed the trash bag inside, then ran back into the house to grab a flashlight.
He found one in the kitchen, then hurried out the back door, down the steps, and over to the doors to the storm shelter. . . The already open doors, that is.
"What the hell?" Dustin muttered, turning on his flashlight and pointing the beam into the woods past his backyard.
Dustin peered through the dimly lit branches, but saw nothing and no one.
Shrugging, he turned back to the doors of the shelter, and began to step down into it, descending the stone steps to the suffocatingly dark bottom.
His footsteps echoed hauntingly through the shelter as he walked to the light hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Dustin pulled the cord, and the light sputtered on, filling the room with a dim, flickering yellow light, and bringing the dusty shelves lining the wall into view.
Dustin turned and looked at the deep freezer, which was really just a normal freezer but bigger, pushed against the left wall. It was a white rectangle laying on its side with a door on the top running its entire length. It was only half the length of the wall, and half the height of Dustin himself. The door was closed, but Dustin approached it with caution anyways.
From just beyond the doors to the shelter in Dustin's backyard, there came a loud *SNAP* like a branch being stepped on. The sound split through the silence so absolutely that Dustin felt as though it had come from within *himself*.
Dustin froze, his heart leaping out of his chest. He listened for a minute, but heard nothing else. Dustin slowly stepped toward the freezer, eyes darting around the room, flashlight held high in case he needed to hit. . . *something*. . . with it.
Dustin reached the freezer and tentatively reached out a hand. He placed it on the door and lifted it up slowly, moving the flashlight so it's beam was cast inside the freezer.
"Oh, shit!" Dustin breathed as a wave of cold air and dread washed over him. "Shit shit shit shit shit! God damn son of a bitch!"
He lifted the top all the way up and rested it against the wall. Dustin stared in disbelief at the contents of the freezer.
When he had moved the Demadog into the freezer, he had removed everything from the interior, placed the Demadog at the bottom, covered it with a plastic tarp, and stacked everything back on top of it.
He had been so sure it was dead! What could survive an encounter with Eleven and then two months in a freezer with no air, food, or water?
But as Dustin looked at the shredded boxes of waffles and chicken and ice cream, and the torn ribbons of the plastic tarp, he remembered how Dart had hated the heat lamp above the cage he had been kept in. He remembered how fire and heat had been one of their main weapons against the forces from the Upside Down, how they had burned the parasitic virus that was part of the Mind Flayer out of Will.
And Dustin recalled words Will had spoken from when he was possessed by the Mind Flayer. Not words Dustin had heard personally, but ones that had been repeated to him enough times.
"He likes it cold".