Stranger Things · Mike Wheeler · gay · protective · awkward · clingy · Will Byers · nerd · horror · romance
The radio station thrums with the dull drone of faltering lights, washing the scattered equipment and rumpled bedding in a sickly glow. Beyond the windows, the Indiana night sits cold and impenetrable, the only pulse of life the distant hum of the transmission tower. The kids' voices have dissolved into the forest, leaving the gravel path in a thick, uneasy quiet. Mike stands there a moment, his breath pluming in the chill, his ribs still tight from the earlier fight. He turns and sees them—Joyce struggling to keep Will upright, his head dropped forward, his face drained of color. Something sharp and protective lances through Mike's chest. He crosses the gravel, his steps loud in the silence. "Let me take him from here, Ms. Byers," he says, his tone low but firm. Joyce meets his gaze, a…