Byler one shots I found on AO3

The agony of being between. - byler(angst)

Made by: RahmaO

Summary: A byler angst one-shot.

Mike Wheeler and Will Byers had been best friends since kindergarten. They knew each other better than they knew themselves, and they had always had something unspoken between them. Something more than just friendship. And now that Will had come out to him as gay, they both knew that what they felt was more than just affection.

But things were complicated. Mike was dating Eleven, the love of his life. Will was still struggling to accept his sexuality and figure out how to navigate it in their small, conservative town. And, to top it all off, the Mind Flayer was back and threatening to destroy everything they held dear.

One night, as they sat together on the roof of Mike's house, sipping stolen beers and staring up at the stars, Will finally worked up the courage to tell Mike how he felt. "Mike, I'm sorry," he said, his voice trembling. "I think I'm in love with you."

Mike was taken aback. He had never expected this. "Will, I don't know what to say," he said, his heart racing. "I feel so guilty."

"Guilty? Why?" Will asked, his eyes filling with tears.

"Because I love her," Mike said, his voice barely above a whisper. "And I don't know what to do."

The two of them sat in uncomfortable silence for a long time, the only sound the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and the crickets chirping in the distance. Will started to shiver, and Mike wrapped an arm around him to keep him warm. His hand rested on Will's back, and he could feel the steady rise and fall of his friend's shoulders as he tried to hold back his tears.

This should have been the perfect moment, but instead it felt like everything was falling apart. They were best friends, but they were also rivals for the same girl. And now, their feelings for each other had made everything even more complicated.

As the school year began to come to an end, Mike and Will both found themselves struggling to keep their thoughts and feelings under control. Will was still dealing with the Mind Flayer's return and the threat it posed to Hawkins, while Mike was grappling with his feelings for Eleven and the knowledge that she was the only one who truly knew him inside and out.

They had both been keeping a close eye on each other, trying to gauge how the other was feeling, but neither of them had the courage to confront the truth of what lay between them. They danced around the issue with half-hearted jokes and awkward silences, but the tension was palpable.

One day, as Will was walking down the hall between classes, he noticed Mike sitting by himself at one of the picnic tables. He hesitated for a moment before approaching him. "Hey," he said, feeling his heart race.

Mike looked up from where he was picking at the edge of the table, his face unreadable. "Hey," he said simply, his voice just above a whisper.

The two of them sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, neither one knowing what to say next. Finally, Will spoke up. "Mike, we need to talk," he said, his voice low and solemn.

Mike's eyes widened, and he knew what was coming. He had known for a while that this conversation was inevitable, but he had been putting it off, hoping that it would never come to this.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Will took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Mike, I love you," he said, the words spilling out of him before he could stop them.

Mike's heart soared and plummeted in the same instant. He had known deep down that Will felt the same way, but hearing the words come from his friend's mouth was something else entirely. He felt a mix of joy and fear, but mostly, he felt anger towards himself for letting the situation get out of control.

"Will, I can't do this," Mike said, his voice shaking. "I can't be with you. I love El."

Will nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. "I understand," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I love her too."

Despite the intensity of the emotions running through their veins, Mike and Will found themselves laughing almost as soon as the words were said. The tension between them had been building for weeks, and finally, it had burst. They sat there, their shoulders hunched forward, their foreheads almost touching, each of them trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from their eyes.

"I'm sorry," Will said, his voice shaking. "I didn't mean to put you in this position."

"It's not your fault," Mike replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "I knew what I was doing when I started dating her."

"You don't think-" Will started to say, but Mike cut him off.

"Will, please," he said, his voice firm. "Don't start thinking about the what-ifs. We both knew what would happen if we got together, and we both knew what would happen if we didn't. There's no use dwelling on it now."

Will nodded, letting the tears fall freely from his eyes. Mike wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer. In that moment, they had no secrets, no fears, no shame. They were just two friends, with the weight of the world on their shoulders, trying to find their way through the darkness

Despite the pain and confusion of their feelings for each other, Mike and Will remained friends. It wasn't always easy, but they both knew that they needed each other in their lives. And as they struggled through the ups and downs of their sophomore year and the continued threat of the Mind Flayer, they found solace in each other's presence.

Will, for his part, had been working on coming to terms with his sexuality. He had been seeing a therapist, trying to work through the issues that came with growing up as a gay teen in a small, conservative town. And though it was far from easy, he had begun to accept himself, even with the uncertainty of his feelings for Mike hanging over his head.

Mike, on the other hand, was struggling with his own issues. Despite loving Eleven with all his heart, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something between him and Will that he couldn't explain. He tried to push it aside, to bury it deep within his heart, but it kept coming back, haunting him like a shadow he couldn't shake.

It wasn't until the end of their junior year that things finally came to a head. The Mind Flayer had been defeated, but its legacy lived on in Hawkins. The town was in ruins, and the people were struggling to rebuild. And in the midst of all that chaos, Mike and Will found themselves face to face with a decision they had been avoiding for far too long.

One night, as they sat together in the ruins of what used to be Mike's cabin, the moonlight filtering through the windows and the wind howling outside, Mike finally built up the courage to speak. "Will, I can't do this anymore," he said, his voice shaking.

Will's heart leapt to his throat, and for a moment, he thought Mike was talking about their friendship. But then Mike continued, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I love you, Will. I always have, and I always will. I know it's wrong, I know I shouldn't, but I can't help the way I feel."

Will's heart swelled in his chest, and he felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He had known this would happen, had known it was only a matter of time, but he had never been ready for it.

"Is it really wrong?" Will asked, his voice almost a whisper. "To love someone?"

Mike shook his head, tears trickling down his cheeks as well. "No, it's not wrong," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's just... complicated."

Will nodded, understanding what Mike meant. Complications are what they did best, and if anyone could handle it, it was them.

"I love you too, Mike,"Will said simply, the words spilling out of him without thought. "And I don't care what anyone else thinks. We'll figure it out."

Mike smiled through his tears, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. He took Will's hand, and the two of them sat there, watching the stars, their hearts full of hope for what the future held.