Hello, everyone! I just wanted to apologize for the big wait with my latest fanfiction of stranger things, i've just been really busy with school, and a lot of things going on at home. But, for now until i can have more free time to actually continue that fanfiction, here are some byler one-shots for now!


The sound of rain echoed against the roof of the Wheeler house, a steady drumming that mirrored the weight in Mike's chest. He sat cross-legged on his bed, staring out the window as the storm soaked the autumn leaves, casting shadows across the dimly lit room. His fingers fiddled with the edges of a Dungeons Dragons book that lay open on his lap, though he hadn't turned a page in over an hour.

It wasn't the game occupying his mind.

Will was supposed to come over. They'd planned it for weeks—a campaign, just the two of them, something they hadn't done in years. Mike had missed those simpler times, before everything with the Upside Down, before everything got complicated.

Before he started feeling… different about Will.

A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts, and before Mike could answer, the door creaked open, revealing Will. His brown hair was damp from the rain, droplets still clinging to his jacket, and his face lit up with that familiar smile that always sent Mike's heart racing.

"Hey," Will said, his voice soft, almost tentative.

"Hey," Mike replied, pushing the book off his lap and standing up. "You're soaked. You could've waited until the rain stopped, you know."

Will shrugged, stepping inside and shaking his head like a wet dog, sending a few droplets scattering across the room. "I didn't want to wait."

Mike chuckled, but inside, his chest tightened. Will didn't know—didn't know that every little thing he did was making Mike's mind spin in ways it never used to. It was like the rain outside—inevitable, unrelenting. And Mike was standing in the middle of it, letting himself get drenched.

"Let me grab you a towel," Mike offered quickly, heading for the bathroom down the hall. As he returned, handing it to Will, he stole a glance at him. Will was staring at the rain outside, his eyes far away, like they often were when he was lost in thought. The towel hung limply in his hands, untouched.

"What's on your mind?" Mike asked, leaning against his desk.

Will hesitated, then sighed, running the towel through his hair distractedly. "I was thinking… about everything. Hawkins, the Upside Down, what happened to Max, and…" His voice trailed off, and he bit his lip.

Mike felt a pang of guilt. Of course Will was still carrying the weight of everything. Mike had been so lost in his own head, he'd forgotten Will always had his own ghosts to face.

"Yeah, me too," Mike said quietly. "It's hard to move on, especially when things feel unfinished. Like the Upside Down is always lurking, waiting for the right moment."

Will nodded, but there was something else in his eyes. A sadness. No, not just sadness. Loneliness. Mike knew that look. He'd seen it a thousand times in the flicker of Will's smile, the shadow in his eyes when everyone else wasn't looking.

"Will," Mike began, unsure of how to phrase the question. He wanted to ask if Will was okay, but that wasn't enough. "Are we okay?"

The question hung in the air between them, thick and heavy, as if the room itself was holding its breath.

Will turned to face him fully, his eyes wide with surprise. "What do you mean?"

Mike swallowed, his pulse quickening. "I don't know. You've been… distant. Like, not just with me, but with everyone. It's like you're still stuck in the Upside Down, even when we're all here. Even when I'm here."

Will looked down, his hands clutching the towel tightly. "I don't want to be distant," he murmured. "It's just—sometimes, it's hard. Being here, with everything. With you."

The room seemed to tilt for a moment, and Mike's breath caught in his throat. "With me?"

Will's cheeks flushed a little, but he didn't back down from the truth hanging between them. "It's just… different now. We're not the same kids we used to be. You're not the same."

The words cut deeper than Mike had expected, and suddenly, everything he'd been bottling up rushed to the surface. His hands clenched at his sides. "I'm still me, Will. Just… maybe not the version of me you remember."

Will looked up at him, his eyes soft but sad. "And I'm not the version of me you remember either."

The silence between them grew heavier with every second. Mike's mind was screaming at him to say something, to break the tension, but he didn't know how. All he knew was that the air in the room felt charged, electric, like they were standing on the edge of something huge, something neither of them could fully comprehend.

"I'm sorry if I've been weird," Mike blurted out, his voice shaky. "It's just, I—"

He stopped, swallowing hard, but Will was watching him with such intensity that it made finishing the sentence impossible. So, Mike did the only thing he could do.

He closed the gap between them.

In a heartbeat, Mike's hand found Will's, and for a second, everything else disappeared. The rain outside, the darkness looming over Hawkins, the Upside Down. It all faded into the background as their hands intertwined, fingers trembling but steadying with each passing second.

Will looked down at their hands, then up at Mike, his eyes wide with something unreadable. "Mike…"

"I didn't know how to tell you," Mike whispered, his voice barely audible over the rain. "I didn't even know how to admit it to myself. But it's always been you, Will. Since the beginning."

Will's breath hitched, and for a long moment, he just stood there, eyes locked on Mike's, his face unreadable. Then, slowly, a small, almost disbelieving smile tugged at his lips. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that."

The tension melted away in an instant, and before Mike could say anything else, Will wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Mike buried his face in Will's shoulder, the weight of everything finally lifting as they stood there, together, listening to the rain fall outside.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Mike felt like things were going to be okay.


AN: I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of this fanfiction/one-shot! Chapter two will definitely be coming tomorrow, or as soon as i can! Also, who else is excited for season five?? I'm so excited for it to come out already! But, it's also sad because after season five comes out, there's no more stranger things. UGH, i don't even want to think about that. Well, I've done WAYY too much talking. I hope you all enjoyed!