That Strange Thing Called Love ~ a Byler fanfiction

Mike and Will are best friends. They haven't seen each other since both started their student lives, miles apart from home. When Mike visits Will in New York City, both are excited to reunite, but especially Mike could never have foreseen how their relationship would develop this snowy December of 1989.

Between the impressively high buildings of Manhattan's Lower East Side and adventures of tattoos and breaking into cinemas, Mike soon realises how much Will has changed. And what that makes him feel.

In the creative writing task he has to work on during the holidays, well-known characters are revived in Mike's desperation. While confusing emotions are plaguing the young author's mind, the Paladin is experiencing quite similar feelings.

So apart from a black eye, a story that needs finishing and those letters he has been getting for a few months, it is his heart that truly makes him nervous. With each passing day spent in Will's presence it gets harder to deny. But who to ask for help, when one is falling for his best friend?

Follow the story that takes place a few months after the last episode of Stranger Things season 5 to fix that disappointment. All events of season 5 are canon in this story, only their further developments are newly imagined. Mike's imaginations in the end are canon as well. Anything we didn't actually see on screen didn't happen, so yes Robin and Vickie are still going strong. I guess you could see this as episode 9, sort of? Also this is more of a very slow slowburn story because Mike has exactly one (1) braincell and putting everything right takes so much time (I underestimated the plan but hey writing is fun).

Many of the characters mentioned, including the main characters, are from the Netflix Series "Stranger Things" which was written by the Duffer brothers (ew).

Coverart was drawn by me hehe :))