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dwobbitfromtheshire · 7 months

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Eddie never got to band practice on time, but he did it for the first time today. He pulled into the driveway of Gareth's driveway and politely knocked on the front door. He exchanged pleasantries with Gareth's mom, someone he always got along with, and bounded up the stairs to Gareth's room. He knocked obnoxiously on the door.

"Oh, Gareth the great, Eddie the Banished has arrived on time for once to seek audience with your greatness," Eddie said.

He tilted his head to hear what was going on inside. There was the sound of scrambling like there was more than one person in there, then the closing of a door.

"You may enter, Eddie the Banished!" Gareth exclaimed.

When Eddie came in, Gareth was relaxing casually on the bed, reading a comic book upside down. Eddie chose to ignore it and pulled up his desk chair close to the bed. He stared at his best friend for a while, and Gareth sighed as he tossed the comic aside.

"What's up?" Gareth asked.

"Did you always know you've liked guys?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Gareth replied.

"So, there were never any doubts about it? Maybe you liked girls at first?" Eddie asked.

"Uh, no," Gareth said. "I've always been strictly into dick."

"Oh," Eddie said softly.

"Is this about Steve?" Gareth asked.

"What? No!" Eddie scoffed and then paused. "How'd you know?"

"Man, I've seen the way you look at him. I wasn't sure if you knew or not, and if you did, then you would come to me when you were ready," Gareth said. "Which is why I went to Indie for some zines. I figured I should probably study up on any questions you might have. Do you still like girls?"

"Yeah, definitely," Eddie said.

"You ever look at guys the same way you look at girls?" Gareth asked.

"Yeah. I didn't really think about it much at the time," Eddie said.

"I think the results are in. Keep in mind that you don't have to label yourself. But you might just be bisexual," Gareth told him.

"Bisexual. Bi-sex-ual. Bisexual. Bisexual? Bisexual! BISEXUAL!" Eddie yelped. "Hey, isn't Bowie bisexual?"

"Yeah, Eddie, he is," Gareth laughed.

Eddie grinned. Yeah, that definitely felt like him. His grin dropped.

"Now what?" Eddie asked.

"Now, you go get your man. If you're ready for that, I'll let the others know that practice is canceled," he told Eddie.

"Okay, but what if he doesn't like guys?" Eddie asked.

"You've got to ask yourself if he's worth the risk, man," Gareth told him. "Is he worth the risk?"

"Yeah, he definitely is," Eddie grinned.

"Okay, then. . . Eddie, I love you and I'm happy for you, but please get the fuck out now," he said.

Eddie cackled and started to leave but paused at the door.

"Hey, Baby Byers?" Eddie called out.

There was some startled movement from inside of Gareth's closet.

"Yeah?" Will called out meekly.

"You don't tell anyone what I said here, and I promise that I won't tell anyone that you hid in Gare-bear's closet. Okay?" Eddie asked, not unkindly.

"Okay!"

Eddie winked at Gareth before leaving. He saluted Gareth's mother before skipping out of the house. As he drove off, he started to get nervous. Maybe he should give himself more time to think about this? Nah, he didn't need any more time. He knew without a doubt now that this was who he was, and he knew what he wanted. Eddie pulled into Steve’s driveway and stumbled out of the van. Without even knocking or bothering to check to see if Steve was actually home, Eddie stormed into the house. He followed the sound of the TV and found Steve sprawled out on the couch watching TV.

"Eddie?!" Steve exclaimed and turned off the television. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"Nothing bad, I swear. I know who I am now! Isn't that great?" Eddie asked.

"Oh God, at what point did you get temporary amnesia?" Steve asked, and Eddie laughed, plopping down next to him.

"No, silly, that's not what I meant," Eddie laughed. "I know for a fact that I'm bisexual. I like men and women. Isn't that fucking fantastic?"

"Yeah, Eddie, that's great! Thanks for telling me," Steve said with a pause. "Is there something or anyone that might have made you realize this?"

"Well, I came to this realization because I was starting to develop feelings for a certain someone," Eddie said.

"Oh, yeah, tell me a little bit about this someone," Steve said. "If you can."

"Well, he's got a great personality, great hair, and he looks devilishly handsome in my vest," Eddie said coyly.

"Didn't know you were so narcissistic, Eddie," Steve smirked.

"I was talking about you, big boy," Eddie laughed.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Steve said.

Steve cupped the back of Eddie's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Eddie kissed back eagerly and crawled into Steve’s lap. His lips were as soft as Eddie had been imagining, something he no longer had to fight to ignore. He slid his fingers into Steve’s hair, curling gently into it. God, his hair was softer than he thought it would be. Steve smiled against his lips, his fingers moving to slide under the hem of his shirt. Eddie suppressed a shiver as Steve’s skin made contact with his. Eddie pressed his tongue against Steve’s lips. Steve’s mouth opened, allowing Eddie's tongue to slither in.

"I told you he likes you!" A voice yelled out.

Steve and Eddie broke apart rather quickly. Eddie would have fallen off the couch had Steve not gripped his hips tightly. Robin was sitting on the couch next to them, munching on popcorn.

"Popcorn is done. Are you finished making out with your boyfriend?" Robin asked. "Can we watch the movie now?"

"Boyfriend?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Steve replied.

Eddie moved to sit between him and Robin, grabbing a fistful of popcorn.

"Hey! I was here first!" Robin exclaimed.

"What movie are we watching?" Eddie asked.

"I don't know, Robin picked it out," Steve replied.

"I'll let you join just this once because you just got together with Steve, but you should know that Saturday evenings are reserved for me and Steve," Robin said and then paused, making her voice soft. "I'm glad you figured things out."

"Me too," Eddie replied.

He settled into Steve’s arms. Yes, he was quite glad he had it all figured out.

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sundaynightlive · 10 months

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Fresh Night Air [Book was there, it was there…](Greatwise)

Disclaimers: No age gap shit. They’re 16 and 17 respectively.

Also: I do not hate Mike or any of Will’s friends—I’m just exploring the way they might tip toe around him after all the shite he’s been through.

Realistically: I ship Byler. But I like healthy love interests MOST and whatever’s going on in ST right now is not that, so why not throw a Gareth in there?

If it’s not your thing, I get it :) I only wanted to write a sweet little happy-Will fic with LIGHT angst for like two seconds. If you’re going, have a good rest of your day <3 peace and love darlings.

If you’re staying, enjoy :)

“Gareth Emerson,” the boy introduces, and Will shakes his hand over the table. He’s still a little pissed about his friends joining another party while he was in California, but when’s the last time Mike took anything Will said seriously, ever?

He shouldn’t be surprised.

They sit back down—across from each other, no less—and turn their attention to Eddie now that they’ve all been decently acquainted. The DM claps his hands together and rubs his palms excitedly—despite Will’s initial annoyance at being completely and utterly betrayed, he actually really likes Eddie, fangs and all. He’s cool, he’s nice, and he’s the only Upside Down monster that doesn’t wanna kill or eat any of them, save for the occasional half-cup of blood that seems to satisfy him completely.

They had all been astounded at the convenience of that—blood being so filling.

Or maybe Eddie’s affliction hadn’t fully taken by the time they got his body out of the Upside Down and a troupe of federal scientists pumped him full of drugs—they aren’t totally sure.

Either way, he’s a sad excuse for a vampire, and a completely awesome dungeon master.

“Good evening, intrepid heroes, and welcome to my eighth,” Eddie pauses, as if he’s in awe of that number himself, “And best campaign yet. Drumroll, please!” Will starts a little as the boys around him (plus Erica) begin to pound on the table with their fists. Will joins them after a moment, allowing himself to grin both at the nerdiness, and the undeniable giddy excitement that’s filling his chest and shoulders.

Eddie uses his hands to push his feet up on his seat—his throne, really—and then stands, throwing his arms out wide—

“Plight of the Hellwalkers!” A cheer rises up from the table, as if any of them know what that means other than tieflings and devils and the sort. Maybe something celestial, if any of them are feeling particularly combatant. Will’s already got all these ideas forming in his brain—he’s known for being pretty creative when it comes to PC’s. Will the Wise hadn’t exactly been the height of ingenuity, but Mike hadn’t always wanted to DM a complicated character—he just wanted to run impossible dungeons and make his players sweat.

Eddie’s a different story.

Will’s running all kinds of characters through his brain when he notices Gareth looking at him. Will would’ve thought he’d be chatting with all the other boys, or even with Eddie since the two of them seem to be pretty close—but no. He’s looking at Will.

Hesitantly, Will makes eye-contact with him. Gareth doesn’t seem bothered about getting caught staring. Will’s brows furrow—this is… weird. They just met not even five minutes ago.

What? He mouths.

Gareth holds up a finger, like he’s gonna tell Will in a second. Will’s confused by this (because when are they gonna have a second?) until Eddie announces today’s session is all about working on PC’s, and in order to keep the campaign interesting and fun, he’d like them all to leave the room and come back in one by one so he can get a brief idea of each character, by the end of today, and hopefully by next session, have everything ready to go.

And then he says—

“Gareth, you first. And then Mike. And after that I don’t care who goes when—figure it out.” Gareth gives Will one last glance. He raises an eyebrow. Then, he absentmindedly looks over at Eddie, and finds he’s staring daggers into the side of Gareth’s skull.

What is happening?

Still perplexed, he leaves the auditorium with his friends, unable to shake the feeling that he’s being discussed in the room they left behind. He picks at his clothes—his nice, plaid button-down and his khakis. He feels kind of stupid—everyone else has a Hellfire t-shirt of some sort—all his friends in a baseball tee, and some of the older members in what are probably older t-shirts. All Eddie’s school-allocated budget must go towards them—Will’s certain they probably don’t get more than fifty bucks, if that.

“So?”

Will starts as Mike throws an arm around his shoulders, completely oblivious to how that affects him.

“Isn’t it fucking awesome?”

Will snorts at the profanity—Mike’s been cussing more and more since he started tailing Eddie like a lost puppy. Will assumes he thinks it makes him sound cool—not that he has anything against cussing, it’s just a little funny to him that Mike never talked like that before.

“Totally,” Will says, letting a little sarcasm seep into his tone, “You just couldn’t resist breaking your promise, could you?” Mike’s eyes widen—deer caught in headlights.

“I–it’s—you never said anything about extracurriculars!” Mike tries, and Lucas and Dustin burst out laughing at the lame attempt at an excuse. Will rolls his eyes, shrugging off Mike’s arm.

“Asshole,” he mumbles. Lucas and Dustin roar with more laughter as Mike looks for other excuses—Eddie this, Dustin that—

“Dustin didn’t promise me anything,” Will points out, and Mike groans.

“Dog house!” Erica is teasing, “Mike’s in troooooubleeeee.”

Truth be told, Mike’s not in trouble. There was certainly an initial sting—the only thing Will had asked of him had not been honored—but beyond that, Will’s not fond of holding grudges, especially given he knows full well how quickly life can go from bad to worse.

It’s just fun to watch Mike squirm.

“I’m sorryyyyyy,” Mike whines, “But Eddie’s just so cool and I couldn’t say no!” He puts both hands on Will’s shoulders, shaking him lightly. Will bites his lip to stifle his grin—the way Mike is pouting at him for forgiveness is equal parts adorable and hilarious.

“Forgive me?”

Will shakes his head, still biting back that grin.

“Figure out how to make it up to me—then we’ll talk.”

Mike straightens up, puts two fingers against his forehead, and dramatically salutes. Will loses the ability to stifle his grin and fully laughs at this ridiculousness.

They’re alive, they’re friends again, and Will’s desperate crush is dwindling by the day seeing how happy his sister is. Will couldn’t stay mad at his best friend for anything, and he won’t go on liking him, either.

Things are okay. Things are on their way to good, again.

“Wheeler—get your bony ass in there.”

And that’s Gareth.

“You—” he points directly at Will, exactly like Will figured he might, “Can I steal you for a second?”

Will stands. He doesn’t miss the confused look that Mike gives him, but he does choose to ignore it, mostly because he’s equally as confused. Gareth motions for Will to follow him outside, and sensing no danger or malintent, he decides there’s no point in saying no, especially since he’s not certain how long he’s gonna be sitting bored on this bench otherwise.

“Okay,” Gareth says, once the doors are shut firmly behind them. The night air is cool and nice on Will’s skin. He wants to take a deep breath—relish in all this comfort of being home, of being able to breathe—but he doesn’t know if Gareth would clock that weird reaction to just stepping out. So he tells himself he’ll take that moment later. “I had a crazy idea, and I wanted to know if you’d be down.”

Will raises an eyebrow.

“I’m listening.”

“So, totally shoot me down if you have a better idea, but I think it would be sick to play as angels—you know, since it’s a hell campaign—but specifically an Angel still in line with Heaven’s order, and a fallen one. So, they like, know each other super well, but also are at odds with each other, and like, one’s trying to convince the other to fall and vice versa.”

Gareth looks at him expectantly. Will stares back, trying to comprehend how Gareth even…

Gareth must have read his mind.

There’s no other explanation for how spot on that idea is compared to all the concepts he’d had running around in his own head mere moments ago. And not only that, but Gareth is looking at him like… how did Will not notice he looked like that, before? Why is it only now that—

“Hello? Earth to Byers?” Will starts. Right—he has to answer.

“Yeah—I mean, that sounds awesome,” he manages, cheeks growing pink in embarrassment. He looks away from Gareth’s cool gaze, unsure how to handle the feelings he’s feeling at this moment. Excitement, anxiety—and a myriad of other things he doesn’t feel right naming yet.

“Awesome,” Gareth repeats, slugging him lightly in the shoulder. Will’s whole stomach jumps into his throat.

This cannot be happening.

“So, if you’re down, I’m free tomorrow night. We could kick it at my place and talk background and logistics and shit.”

That’s a terrible idea.

“Sounds great,” Will says, and in his mind he’s repeatedly kicking the shit out of his own kneecaps. He wishes he were a stronger man, but the idea of playing a character that’s not only complex in his own way, but has a strained relationship to another PC? It’s too good to pass up. Plus, Gareth already talked to Eddie, so Will get’s to play under a DM who’s capable of managing that kind of storyline—it fills his chest with something downright palpable.

“Fuck, I’m excited,” Gareth says.

“Me, too.”

Will wonders briefly if his internal criticism of Mike’s cussing was spoken way too soon.

Gareth’s bedroom is a dream—Will would call it a loft, but that’s not exactly what it is. It’s adjacent to the attic, an alcove that sticks out from the roof and makes the house look both magical and completely ridiculous. All sides of it are fitted with windows, and in between those, the walls are a deep, navy blue. For the most part, it’s immaculately clean apart from misplaced shoes and a sock or two.

The slivers of walls which are not windows are covered with intense shelving that holds both an extensive collection of cassettes and vinyls, and books. Will wouldn’t have guessed Gareth was a reader, but by the looks of it, he’s practically a library.

The carpet is soft, the bed is big and covered with an enormous quilt. There are soft white Christmas lights hanging throughout the space, creating an inviting glow. Gareth tells Will to drop his bag anywhere, so Will finds the most out-of-the-way corner he possibly can, and sets his stuff down gently. He’s absolutely enamored with the space, but he’s trying not to show it. He could only imagine the teasing that would ensue if he told Gareth the bedroom he spends every night in is like Will’s own personal heaven.

To Will’s further dismay, Gareth plops down on his bed and pats the space next to him. Never in his life did Will expect to be sitting in bed with a cute boy who’s also basically a stranger, but here he is, swallowing his own nervousness and settling down. It’s unbelievably soft. Will let’s his mind wander to what it must be like to sleep there, and then quickly snaps himself out of it.

That’s creepy, he scolds himself. Stop.

“So, did you think of anything in the last 24-hours, or do you wanna start with just the general idea I had?” Gareth asks—and it’s so impossibly normal for how abnormal Will feels. He’s so stiff he might as well be made of wood. Jesus—even his fight or flight is starting to act up.

“Well,” Will says, deciding he’ll force himself to relax by talking, “You know how angels are, like, usually a patron of something? Like, they have a specific purpose, or whatever? I thought we could use something like that to determine our proficiencies, and stuff. I was also thinking that I could be the straight-edge angel and you could be the fallen one? But that’s totally up to you—your idea, your rules.”

Will fidgets nervously with his own hands. Gareth is… actually listening to him. His expression is attentive. Will’s not used to that—so he keeps rambling.

“Also—I like the idea of a sibling dynamic but I thought it would be better if it was strictly a best friends thing? I feel like a lot of D&D overdoes the, like, “you were my brother” thing but meaningful friendships or whatever can be so much more impactful because you choose your friends and stuff, and for a character to choose their person and then lose that person and find them again but still be at odds is just—Sorry, I should shut up. I just realized I’ve been talking for way too long.”

Will wants to melt into the bedspread—hell, he just might.

Gareth grins at him, shaking his head.

“No, totally keep going. You’re brilliant.”

Yup. Melted. Absolutely a liquid. Will doesn’t think he’ll ever be a solid again.

Will starts spending an ungodly amount of time with Gareth, but it’s not his fault. His own friends are great, and he spares them every moment he can, but it’s been a long time since being with them has ever felt like this—totally and completely void of tension. His friends… they haven’t been giving him attention freely. It feels weighed down by this notion that they’re forced to hang around because everything they’ve been through.

It’s not fair to think of them that way—he knows they’d still care for him, regardless.

But that pity is stuck behind their eyes. And they won’t talk about things in front of him, like how they’re feeling, how they’re doing. Once, he was hanging around Lucas and Dustin, and they left the room after uttering some lame excuse. Curious and a little hurt, Will had pressed his ear to the door to find Lucas venting about Max, and how she was doing, and how he’s trying to hang out and have fun but she’s all he can think about—half-paralyzed and totally blind, all alone at home when he’s not with her.

It’s selfish, he knows, but he couldn’t help feeling offended. He can be a shoulder—he knows he can be a shoulder. He’s not going to break down the minute someone else needs a hand. They’ve been plenty good for him—he can do the same.

He just needs a chance.

But they won’t give him it, so he loses himself in the simplicity of a brand-new friendship. He and Gareth start just talking over the campaign, and the D&D stuff, but it soon evolves into much more than that. It starts with a book—

“Gertrude Stein,” Will muses, slipping the collection of poetry right off the shelf. He lets it fall open in his palm to a random page. Gareth had gotten bored of devising background and trying to locate biblical information without a bible—so he’d flopped over on the bed and hidden his face in his pillows.

Will had rolled his eyes at him, and went looking for something to entertain himself.

This is where he finds himself, now.

They read a little Gertrude Stein in English, and Will remembers it fondly. He’s not a huge poetry guy, but Stein’s poetry is so ridiculous it actually manages to interest him. It was also generally impossible for most of the class to read aloud, because of it’s insanity, but Will excelled at it. He read it so well, and so succinctly in class, the teacher herself had been shocked.

Maybe his trauma had rewired his brain for nonsensical poetry.

Book was there, it was there. Book was there. Stop it, stop it, it was a cleaner, a wet cleaner and it was not where it was wet, it was not high, it was directly placed back, not back again, back it was returned, it was needless, it put a bank, a bank when, a bank care.

Gareth looks up at him from the pillows curiously, and Will grins in his direction. He begins reading with the utmost conviction, as if anything he’s reading makes a lick of actual sense.

Suppose a man a realistic expression of resolute reliability suggests pleasing itself white all white and no head does that mean soap. It does not so. It means kind wavers and little chance to beside beside rest. A plain.

Suppose ear rings that is one way to breed, breed that. Oh chance to say, oh nice old pole. Next best and nearest a pillar. Chest not valuable, be papered.

Cover up cover up the two with a little piece of string and hope rose and green, green.

Please a plate, put a match to the seam and really then really then, really then it is a remark that joins many many lead games. It is a sister and sister and a flower and a flower and a dog and a colored sky a sky colored grey and nearly that nearly that let.

Will finishes the poem—called Book—and looks back up at Gareth, who seems to be stifling a laugh. Will raises an eyebrow.

“What?” he teases, “Didn’t get that? I’ll read another one.”

Suppose it is within a gate which open is open at the hour of closing summer that is to say it is so.

All the seats are needing blackening. A white dress is in sign. A soldier a real soldier has a worn lace a worn lace of different sizes that is to say if he can read, if he can read he is a size to show shutting up twenty-four.

Go red go red—

Suppose and Eyes is cut off abruptly by a pillow smacking into Will’s chest and falling over the book he’s holding out—an accident which has Gareth absolutely howling with laughter. Will retaliates immediately, tossing the book to the floor and going after Gareth with a pillow.

The rest is history.

They hang out after school, they go to record stores and diners and swimming in the pond behind his house. They have an absolute blast role-playing ex-best friends while becoming best friends, all the while, Will’s fondness growing exponentially every time they share breath. They spend nights at each other’s houses, they talk for hours, they read together, they listen to music together—Will even get’s a little bit into metal, even though it’s not totally his vibe. Weeks and weeks pass—then months. They know everything about each other like the backs of each other’s hands. Will’s friends start making comments about it—Mike especially—and light-heartedly complain that Will is “replacing” them when that is certainly not the case.

They could never be replaced.

But being around Gareth is like magic, up until the moment it’s not.

“Hey… can I talk to you about something?”

Famous last words, but Will is so full of pizza and so content with his back pressed into Gareth’s bed, head resting lightly against the outside of the boy’s knee, that he doesn’t quite grasp the connotation.

He wishes he had—that there had been warning.

“Sure.”

“So… after the earthquake—”

Will should’ve known then and there this was headed in a foul direction, but he was none-the-wiser. He was still half-engrossed in Emily Dickinson, who had grown to be his absolute favorite poet over the last few months.

“Eddie told me everything that happened. And he told me what happened to you.”

This is where it hits him. Will jerks away from Gareth’s knee like it’s scalding, hurt painting over his face as it all crashes over him.

None of this has been any different.

“Will?”

“Are you serious?” Will asks, horror growing in his chest, in his tone. Gareth’s face screws up, a look Will knows all too well—a look he only sports when he’s thoroughly confused.

He must be stupid—Will’s reaction shouldn’t be confusing to him at all.

“I just wanted—”

Everything is tainted. The way Gareth looks at him, acts with him, the way he chose Will out of everyone from that stupid table that first day of Hellfire—he knew. The whole time.

Will is some pathetic charity case who needed a real friend. And he let Will think, this entire time, that he actually liked Will for himself. Not because Will desperately needed to be liked, not because they were bonded by some shared hell, not because Will had suffered, but because Gareth liked him.

It had all been a lie.

“How could you?” Will asks, shakily. He feels tears gathering in his eyes, and he hates himself for it. Now he’s gonna cry like the broken, traumatized baby he really is. The one Gareth has always seen in him. He’s just proving a fucking point.

That’s all he ever does.

“How could I—”

“I can’t believe I let myself be another fucking charity case,” Will hisses, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand as he scrambles to his feet. Gareth seizes his wrist.

“Will—”

Will’s stronger than Gareth—he doesn’t look it, but there’s a lot of muscle beneath his clothes. He makes sure of it—he doesn’t wanna be the victim of anyone or anything ever again. He wrenches his wrist out of the boy’s grasp, pointing at him accusingly with the other.

“You. Suck,” Will snaps, doing his best not to yell. He doesn’t wanna get worked up enough that Gareth sees just how deeply this has stricken him, and part of him, a naive part of him, hates how devastated Gareth already looks. “I can’t believe I thought you actually liked me. I’m so fucking stupid.”

And with that, he snatches his bag up off the floor, and gets the hell out of there.

It’s only when he’s home, past his mom and his brother, and in his bedroom with the door shut tight, that he crawls into his closet and muffles his sobs with his teeth bared into a sweatshirt.

Heartbroken.

“Hello?”

“Don’t hang up!” Will should absolutely hang up. It’s been three days of nothing—avoiding Gareth at school, refusing to speak to him, neglecting to answer the phone even when he was nearest to it.

And now, just when it so happened that nobody else was home, Gareth was on the other end of the line.

“I should so hang up,” Will snaps, already angry. He didn’t wanna be reminded. He’s been so fucked up the last few days, it’s almost like Gareth dumped him. In a way, he kind of did. Or, Will did.

Whatever, the details aren’t important. What’s important is that Gareth lied to him. Extensively.

“Listen—I need to talk to you, but I wanna do it in person, okay? Please—just ten minutes of your time, and if it’s not fixed, I’ll never talk to you again. Except at Hellfire. But that’s it! Okay?” Will wishes he had the balls to say fuck no, but it’s too difficult. He allotted months of his life to Gareth, and as much as he hates it, can attribute a ton of his recent healing to him. Being carefree and spending time with Gareth had been exactly what he needed most days to get out of his own head, to stop thinking about things that couldn’t be helped.

A breath of fresh night air, one might say.

Looking back at that now makes Will nauseous, but he swallows it down. He doesn’t exactly want his and Gareth’s time being good friends to forever be tainted by the fact that it had all been out of pity, but Will doesn’t know what he could possibly say to make that better. He sighs into the phone.

“Get here ASAP. And ten minutes is all you get!”

“Sir yes sir!”

“Thank you for letting me talk,” Gareth says. Will crosses his arms over his chest. He’s got no intentions of letting Gareth step foot over the threshold, and Gareth seems to be able to tell.

“Ten minutes,” he says firmly, and Gareth nods quickly.

“The first thing I should’ve done when we started hanging out is tell you I knew about the Upside Down,” he says quickly, and yeah, he’s got that fucking right. “I’m really sorry that I hid that from you—I guess I didn’t think you’d wanna talk about it, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have talked about it. I’m sorry.”

“Decent start,” Will says begrudgingly.

“Second, I did not choose you as my D&D partner because I felt bad for you,” Gareth says, and then his face get’s all screwy, and he starts shifting his weight back and forth, like whatever he needs to say is really hard for him to say. He looks left, and then down at his shoes, and then crosses his arms over his chest and let’s out a breath he’d been holding—

“Spit it out.”

“I thought you were cute!” he says, all his words running together, so much so that it takes Will a second to process what he’s even just said, “And I wanted to hang out with you and I thought that if our D&D characters shared a backstory then we’d spend a lot of time together and I’d be able to make a move but I felt bad about making a move knowing stuff about you you hadn’t shared with me so that night I wanted to kiss you so bad but I wanted to talk about what I knew first so that I wasn’t kissing you and then bringing up your childhood trauma because that wouldn’t be smooth at all, but then I messed everything up and—”

Will’s not sure what happens to his body. First of all, he’s absolutely floored at the notion that he wasn’t a charity case or anywhere near that at all—this boy was attracted to him and wanted to be around him. That’s so far out in left-field it’s practically a home run. Second—Gareth likes him? Like that? In small-town, middle-of-nowhere Hawkins, Indiana, a cute boy likes him? And it’s not Mike Wheeler, feelings-denier extraordinaire, or someone Will would rather eat glass than hang around with?

God, it’s Gareth?

He completely loses track of his ability to command his own body—he steps forward, puts both hands around Gareth’s face, and kisses him right on the mouth to shut him the hell up. Will’s never kissed anyone in his life, save for one girl in California, just to prove his own disinterest, but he makes it work. Gareth certainly doesn’t seem to be complaining, the way his arms move securely around Will’s waist and he kisses back with fervor.

They break, both void of breath. The kiss wasn’t exactly long, but all the excitement has Will’s ribs heaving. He presses his forehead into Gareth’s, blushing like crazy and avoiding the eye-contact Gareth’s trying to prompt from him.

“You’re such an idiot,” Will manages between breaths.

“Kiss me again.”

“Definitely.”

It was only a few weeks later that things started getting bad again, but they were heavenly weeks of sneaking around, sharing looks when no one was paying attention, and kissing in dark corners. Will started feeling whole again, like the places and things that the Upside Down had stolen from him were things that Gareth could replace, curling up on couches with him, meeting his mom, holding his hand, and treating him like someone who was already whole.

And though he wished, ached to ignore the warning signs, he told Gareth immediately when The Mind Flayer felt like it was slithering closer, lifting the hairs on the back of his neck and tugging at the corners of his mind.

And Gareth had been there, as fresh as summer night air in his lungs, all the way until the end.

#will byers #greatwise #stranger things #fluff #hurt/comfort #angst #gareth emerson #gareth x will #fanfiction #fic #fic rec #ficlet #gertrude stein #emily dickinson #poetry #friends to lovers #lgbtq #gay

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your-stranger-halfblood-things · 1 year

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So, Eddie and Steve are dating, so obviously their friend groups meet. The spicy six meet Corroded Coffin and the Hellfire Club. Let's just say, Gareth and Steve hit it off- they hit it off very well. They talked about hair and music, Gareth being a former ABBA fan and everything. And it's all going well, and Eddie's just glad everyone's getting along.

Gareth also gets a long with Will once he joins Hellfire. The older boy is only one year above him, so he easily makes conversations with Will. And they too talk about music. They both love Queen and Motley Crue. And they also both have an appreciation for art. Will likes making art and Gareth likes observing it. They work well together, they make each other happy

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nburkhardt · 9 months

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🔀 greatwise aka Gareth/Will 👀👀👀

UGH tumblr ate my first attempt of posting this 😭

So Easy - Phillip Phillips + GreatWise + New Love AU =

🎲💙🥁💙🎨

In a different universe, The Byers never go to California. Will Byers enters Hawkins High with his best friends and a healing broken heart. Mike is with El and actually working things out.

Finding himself in a new dnd group named Hellfire, Will is hiding most of himself behind schoolwork and his art. Gareth befriends him and soon Will finds how free and easy it is to be with him, soon he finds himself falling for the drummer.

He doesn’t know what it is yet. Refuses to call it love but Will wants to believe whatever it is because life with Gareth is beautiful.

(Basically a fic with Will figuring out there’s more to life without the UD in his way. Also finding out how easy it is to love freely with someone like Gareth)

send me a 🔀 and a pairing, and i’ll shuffle my playlist and make an au based on the first song that comes up

#greatwise #gareth x will #fic idea #they are so important to me

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littlespringdandelion · 11 months

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I've just discovered that greatwise is a thing and I'm INSANE

#GIVE IT TO ME #gareth stranger things #gareth st #gareth the great #gareth x will #will byers #Will x gareth #Greatwise

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jcforsapphics · 1 year

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greatwise is keeping me alive right now

#don't know where they came from but I love them #I will write so many fics #stranger things #greatwise #gareth x will #will x gareth #gareth emerson #will byers #cal's basement

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shylemon0 · 2 years

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Gareth x Will Byers (Headcanons)

Hehehe my first ship headcanons ever and they don’t even know the other person exists 😎

(If the characters could read our fics or Headcanons of them in their world, I think Will would probably read my Gareth x artist!reader Headcanons because of course he would lol)

Warning: Gay shit, bullies, implied homophobia, Will being flustered, Gareth lovingly teasing Will, kinda in a world where the upsidedown isn’t a thing (I honestly just forgot to write about and just don’t feel like writing about rn lol)

———

· After Joyce decides to move her family back to Hawkins Will joined the hellfire club and there he met Gareth, a pretty cool guy that he totally didn’t get a crush in the second he saw him, Will started to hang out with him and rest of hellfire and quickly got over Mike, becoming really close with Gareth and almost seeing him as his best friend (besides Lucas and Dustin ofc)

· Basically after Gareth finally put the pieces together and realized that Will was gay he’d go all out with the subtle flirting and compliments, “Hello handsome” Gareth smirks “uh w-what- hi👋?” Will mumbled in flustered shock

· Gareth mostly was freaking out internally about his new crush and had to pry his own eyes off of Will every time they saw each other, ‘Holy shit he’s handsome’ ‘No stop it brain- this is not happening’ he’d continue to think over and over again, ‘oh fuck he’s perfect’ · The both of them was pretty shy about any physical affection at first, like if they were sitting next to each other and one of them slides his hand slightly touching the others hand with their pinky, both of them would be a blushing mess as they finally lock their fingers together

· Gareth introducing Will to more cool music that they can listen to together · Eddie would probably subtly write in love scenarios with their dnd characters so their characters might end up being partners in crime (boyfriends) in the campaign, some of the others in hellfire might find it odd if they don’t know about their rl relationship but Gareth and Will appreciates it

· Will has always been a big target for bullying his entire life and it all being mostly for homophobic reasons, but Gareth is here for him now and will defend him at all cost, especially since now bullies are being way more physical than before · Gareth really helping Will come out of his shell and try out new things he’s always wanted to, like go to a concert, play a instrument, be more open about his sexuality or maybe dressing a little punk to see if he likes it

· Shyly kissing each other every chance they get but also being paranoid about being caught · Jonathan thinks Gareth is pretty cool and that he’s a perfect fit for Will, basically he’s just their super supportive hype man that helps them keep their relationship secret

· Since Will is such a artist, you could only expect that he’d paint and draw a ton for his boyfriend, small doodles he’ll give Gareth during the day or a full blown painting with tons of small details for special occasions :) · After one of the shows Gareth’s band was playing he brought up Will to the stage and kissed him in front of everyone, and to Will’s surprise everyone cheered and “oooh😚” at them (since almost every single one of the people there were ally’s or queer themselves), Gareth just ended up chuckling at Will’s reaction and bringing him into a hug

· Will reading out loud to Gareth while he lays down his head in Will’s lap, and him recommending Fantasy books to Gareth, Also Gareth reading Horror books at night to Will when they have sleepovers which quickly ends up in Will being scared and paranoid and Gareth laughing while comforting Will, “oh shit- I think I heard something outside!” Will grabbed Gareth’s arm “it’s just a cat” Gareth laughs “you have nothing to be scared about, I’m here for you” he whispered as he put an arm around Will while laying back down

Taglist: @la-vaca

(I have a taglist now! It’s on my pinned post if you want to know more about it!)

#will byers #Gareth #will stranger things #gareth stranger things #gareth the great #stranger things #stranger things hc #stranger things s4 #stranger things headcanons #character headcanons #ship headcanons #gareth x will #will x gareth #lgbt #relationship headcanons #they’re Gay #they’re in love <3 #two boys in love

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mothrite · 1 year

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Hey, buddy. I'd like to make a request for a Greatwise one-shot.

Something like Will meets Gareth for the first time because he got invited at a Corroded Coffin show or because he got invited to play with Hellfire.

It was just a random idea.

Thank you in advance.

I would love too! I hope you like this short one shot, wrote it in class lol

Night Owls Dancing In The Dark

SUMMERY: That weekend all of hellfire had been invited to a party, hosted by Mike while his parents, Holly and Nancy were away. Being Hellfire’s most recent member Will hesitantly arrived and mostly kept to himself. Eventually everything felt a bit overwhelming with so many people talking all at once so he stepped out to catch his breath, little did he know he’d find another in the backyard of the Wheelers.

WARNINGS: Some One-sided Byler angst, an appearance of one of my many ST OC’s and Greatwise!

A/N: AAAAAAH THE SKRUNKLES !!!!! Also all comments judging me for adding my OC will be deleted, I love Noelle sm she’s my little skrunkle scrimblo. It’s kinda rushed and not proofread so like enjoy!

The various metal bands blared through the two story house, Will had heard it as he started walking towards it. Sporting his new hellfire shirt that he received the same time as Erica and his blue flannel. He nervously approached the front door of the Wheeler’s house, normally he’d ring the doorbell with joy, waiting for Mike or Nancy to answer so him and Mike could hang out on the weekends, but now there were so many people he didn’t know like how he knew Lucas, Dustin, Mike and Erica. All his friends may know these people but he doesn’t and it scares him.

His palms were sweating and the way his hand had moved towards the doorbell was hesitance. Quickly he had rung it and pulled his arms to his sides. Will had heard some light footsteps before the door swung open and he was greeted with Mike’s smiling face.

“Will! You’re here! I got worried that you couldn’t make it or something, come on in lemme introduce you to all the members you haven’t met yet.” Mike happily took Will’s hand in his own and lead his best friend towards the living room where a large group of people were talking over loud music blasting from one of Eddie’s cassette tapes. Mike looked around and caught the attention of Eddie and Grant who were listening to the music and relaxing.

“EDDIE,” Mike had yelled over the metal song playing “WILL IS HERE!”

Will gave a gentle wave towards the two seniors, paired with a calming smile. Eddie and Grant both smiled back and nodded, waving as well. Mike once again lead the way to the kitchen, away from Eddie, Grant and Jeff who he had already met. This time Will was greeted with two new faces. One was a boy who had short brown hair and freckles covering his face and arms. The boy with freckles wasn’t wearing his Hellfire shirt unlike Will and most of the party attendees but a black shirt with the sleeves cut off, showing his slightly muscular arms, still adorned with the same freckles that spotted his face. He had a sort of grunge, punk vibe that Will couldn’t quite place, but he knew that he liked this guy. The other member he didn’t recognize was a short girl with two long pig tails, and curtain bangs. Similar to the freckled boy she had a hellfire shirt with the sleeves cut off but unlike all the other members she wore a medium length jean skirt and many pink bracelets.

“Guys! Will is here!” Mike let go of Will’s hand to gesture over to the freckled boy. “That’s Gareth, he doesn’t talk much but he’s nice to chill out with.”

The boy named Gareth’s gaze softened as he looked at Will, giving a pleasant grin and waved before cocking his head to the side and listening to whatever rant Dustin was going on.

“And the girl over there is Noelle, try not to piss her off she’s kinda mean.” Mike lowered his voice a bit to say that last part but obviously Noelle heard it because she had said something in foreign language that he can only assume is Russian based on the slight accent.

Lucas looked over at Will for a moment. “Oh yeah also she speaks like 4 languages so that’s cool!” Noelle smirked and flipped her hair to the side before leaning against the counter.

“My dad insisted I learned Russian from a young age and my mom is Chinese so I learned all three languages growing up”

Will smiled and looked at everyone. “Well it’s nice to finally meet you two, I’ve heard a lot about you!”

All the members of hellfire —Minus Erica since she’s only 11— had been in the living room of the Wheelers, talking while music played. It was overwhelming, it felt stressful yet he had barely spoken a word since he got there. Will had never been with so many people in such a small space before, he had to get out and take a breather. He silently stood up, stretching his back and stepping out to the backyard. He took a second to lie down in the grass, staring up at the dark sky. He looked at the stars and how they glimmered. There were so many of them and so close together. It reminded him of the freckled boy, Gareth. He could still hear the music from inside, he assumes that Dustin or Lucas changed it because Eddie would never willingly listen to The Smiths. With the sound of This Charming Man playing, Will heard the glass door open and then closing along with soft steps in the grass until he saw a glimpse of curly brown hair. The figure sat down next to him in the grass.

Will looked to his side to see Gareth fondly looking at him. He gave a confused look towards the drummer and it caused Gareth to giggle a bit before speaking up. “Did you need to get away too?”

Will thought for a second before responding.

“Yeah..I- I mean I love my friends and all,” He paused, not sure if he should have said anything at all. “But they’re just a lot sometimes. And I like looking at the stars.”

Gareth laid his head back and stared at the sky with Will for a few minutes before turning on his side to talk to Will.

“So Will The Wise, would it be too much to ask you to dance with me? This is one of my favorite songs.”

Will let out a small laugh, assuming that Gareth was joking. That was until he stood up, dusted off his pants and reached out his hand for Will to grab. Will hesitantly laid his hand in Gareth’s before being quickly pulled up, their chests meeting and their faces inches from eachother. Gareth smiled before taking a couple steps back and the two spun for a second. The two danced through songs, from Blondie and Kate Bush to Queen and KISS.

By this time most everyone was gone, as Gareth was getting ready to leave as well, Will offered to walk him to the door and when those words left his mouth Gareth perked up and held Will’s hand. When they got to the front door Will stood in the threshold of the door as Gareth stood at the bottom of the single step. Light enveloped Will’s body, cascading down his back and arms.

“You look like an angel from here..” He hadn’t realized what he said until Will’s face had flushed a light pink. Gareth quickly rummaged into his jacket pocket, pulling out a scrap of paper and handing it to Will.

“Call me angel!” Gareth calmly sped walk down the walkway and into his car, driving away. Will opened the folded paper and it had Gareth’s number written on it.

“Maybe coming here wasn’t a mistake..”

#gareth emerson #strangerthings fanfic #stranger things ships #stranger things #will byers #greatwise #gareth x will #stranger things oc

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ranwithscissors · 2 years

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*Makes grabby hands* Gimmie the Gareth/Will rarepair content 👀

#stranger things #will byers #gareth #gareth emerson #will x Gareth #will/Gareth #Gareth/will #Gareth x will #rarepair #rare paring #rare ship #gay will byers #gay Gareth Emerson

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totallynotawes · 6 months

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Rainy Night

Ship: Gareth Emerson/Will Byers(GreatWise) || Rating: T || Tags: Tooth Rotting Fluff, wholesomeness, Gareth read The Hobbit to Will, First 'I love you', sweet kissing, playful fighting || Word Count: 691

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

The raindrop hits the window lightly and the fireplace flickers light in the living room, where Will and Gareth are at, sitting on the couch in Hopper’s cabin. Gareth is leaning against the armrest as Will lays against his chest, reading through the book the other is holding.

“Of course they soon came down after him, hooting and hallooing, and hunting among the trees. But they don’t like the sun: it makes their legs wobble and their heads giddy.” Gareth reads out loud, “They could not find Bilbo with the ring on, slipping in and out of the shadow of the trees, running quick and quiet, and keeping out of the sun; so soon they went back grumbling and cursing to guard the door. Bilbo had escaped.” He hums quietly as they finish chapter six of The Hobbit.

Gareth leans down and kisses his head as he closes and lays the book on the coffee table. Will chuckles and looks up at the man, kissing him gently. They were home alone, El at Max’s, Jonathan with Argyle, and Hopper and Joyce out on a date. They never get to have alone time like this and they take advantage of it whenever they can.

“So why do I have to read you The Hobbit when you’ve read it like what? Thirty times?” Gareth chuckles and cuddles Will.

“Because you have a nice, soothing voice, I could honestly fall asleep to it,” Will admits.

Gareth gasps, “Fall asleep?” He grabs his heart, “That’s so mean why would you fall asleep? Get bored of me that you sleep instead of listening to me talk??” He huffs and leans down, blowing raspberries on Will’s neck.

“NooOOoo!!” Will laughs out loud and tries pulling away from his boyfriend. “I didn’t mean it that waayy!” He snorts as Gareth nuzzles his face into Will’s neck. “No, babe, I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” He says through small giggles.

“I know, I like teasing you about it though,” Gareth admits and kisses Will’s neck affectionately.

“Your voice is calming, it’s comforting, and when I’m around you I feel safe and when you talk I know you’re still with me and I’m not imagining things,” Will says quietly and lays his ear against Gareth’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I love laying on your chest and listening to your heart, it tells me you’re alive and breathing.” He says, hugging the man below him and nuzzling into his chest.

Gareth stares at Will with tear-filled eyes, “Oh- Starshine,” He hugs his boyfriend tightly and nuzzles into his hair. “You are the most perfect boyfriend ever, you know that, right?” He asks and Will nods before looking up at him. “Hi~” He hums as he looks at his most perfect boyfriend to exist. “You’re so handsome, you’re an amazing artist, amazing storyteller, don’t tell Eddie but I like it when you DM campaigns, you get so into the story and make everything happen count.” He praises and kisses Will on the lips.

The younger man blushes as he kisses back, “I love you, Sunshine.” He says without thinking. He only realized what he said when Gareth pulled away, looking at him with hopeful eyes. “Wait- I didn’t-” Will started panicking.

“I love you too, Starshine,” Gareth says and kisses Will again. “I’ve been waiting for you to say it, I’ve been waiting to tell you since day one that I love you.”

Will tears up, wrapping his arms around the older male neck and hugging him tightly. “I love you, I love you so much, more than you realize,” He cries out and nuzzles his neck.

“I know, I know, I could tell,” Gareth says quietly and rubs Will’s back.

After a moment, Will shifts a bit to look up, “Could you continue reading, please?”

“Of course, baby.” Gareth reaches over and grabs the book from the table. He kisses Will’s forehead and opens the back. “Chapter seven, Queer Lodging.” He starts reading as Will slowly starts falling asleep with Gareth’s calming and soothing voice and the hand petting through his hair, he felt safe and at home.

꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷

Note: This was supposed to be an angsty OneShot, but it became super adorable and I didn't want to ruin it... But I am! Theres gonna be a part 2 sometime soon, it's going to be a follow up on this one, it's called Stormy Night. But otherwise, thank you all for reading I hope you guys liked it.

#stranger things #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #gareth x will #gareth stranger things #gareth emerson #will byers x gareth #will byers #will byers x gareth Emerson #greatwise #greatwise fanfic #will x Gareth fanfic #tooth rotting fluff #wholesome

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loudsnapdragon · 1 year

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BUILD YOU A CASTLE, CALL IT HOME Rated Mature. 100k. Greatwise. Gareth x Will.

Chapter 3/13.

‘Don’t talk to me like that.’

‘Like what?’

‘Like I’m a kid.’ Takes another drag. ‘Like I’m a stupid kid who kissed you when you obviously weren’t into it.’

Gareth blinks, pinches his brow, turns his nose up, in that way that always makes him look judgemental. The park is too quiet now. Will hears a duck quack. He knows it’s stupid to have an argument like this outside.

Gareth says his name, he ignores it.

‘Is that why you told me to stop?’ Will ashes on the bench railing. ‘Because you see me like some kid, like Baby Byers?’

‘It wasn’t that, I promise, seriously-’

‘It is the reason I stayed away. It made me feel like shit.’

He wants Gareth to know, not just that it hurt, what he did, but he needs Gareth to know that Will Byers isn’t nice. He’s not nice now, maybe never really was, because survivors aren’t nice.

Gareth breathes heavily. They’ve locked eyes, unable to look away, and Will thinks about that time at Steve’s house, when Gareth looked at him like this, and Will worried about Gareth seeing the rottenness inside of him. Thinks it’s easier now that’s it out on display.

#greatwise #gareth x will #stranger things fanfic #ao3 #rareship #angst #they go off to college #it's a whole drama #complete fic #will byers character study

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squeezetheduck · 1 year

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Fell down a rarepare rabbit hole again 🙃

#I have discovered greatwise and I am not ok #stranger things #greatwise #gereth (stranger things)#will byers #gareth x will

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crystalizedirongoblin · 2 years

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Hospital Waiting Room (it’s not the place to get a crush)

Rating: Teen Pairing: Will Byers/Gareth, Will Byers & Gareth Tags: Comatose Maxine “Max” Mayfield, Eddie Munson Lives, He's also in a coma, Pre-Slash, i don't know how to write romance, just so you know, I'm in rarepair hell, No beta we die like Barb, Siblings Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Of Course No One Dies, no one dies, Fix-It of Sorts, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence Summary: It takes Gareth almost two weeks to convince her mother to let him go visit the hospital, another four days to gather the courage to actually do it, in the end he can't make himself open that door. At least he won't be alone in the waiting room, and hey, the guys keep talking about Will Byers, maybe he can say hi? Or, I've been watching @my_ownhell Will/Gareth tiktoks and if no one is writing about this rarepair, I might just have to do it myself.

Read on AO3

It takes Gareth almost two weeks to convince her mother to let him go visit the hospital, and another four days to gather the courage to actually do it.

He doesn’t know what he’s expecting, he doesn’t know what he wants to say, the only thing he knows is that out of all of the members of Corroded Coffin, he’s the only one who’s even going to see Eddie, and that makes him so, so incredibly angry.

He thinks of Carver’s foot on his hand, pressing hard, hard, hard , he thinks of selling Dustin Henderson out and wants to punch himself. Henderson’s a year younger than him, he’s small, way too bubbly to stand up for himself, and he sent Jason Carver after him, the same psychopath that murdered his girlfriend and tried to frame Eddie for it. He thinks how betrayed he’d felt when he saw Lucas with them, of the broken skin above his eyebrow when they said Carver had punched him, trying to get rid of a witness after breaking Sinclair’s girlfriend bones. Had he outed Lucas as one of their club members then? Had he put him in danger?

He tells himself he’ll only work himself up more if he keeps like this, he had no idea of what was going on, still doesn’t, to be honest, but he knows that his friend is in a coma they don’t know if he’ll wake from, that he saved Henderson and that band chick during the earthquake, that he’d been hiding for days before that and Jeff and Grant, who are supposed to be his best friends are nowhere to be seen. So he steels himself, takes the stairs to a surprisingly empty hallway and marches on.

Outside the room where he knows Eddie is there’s two people; Erica Sinclair, curled up on one of the chairs, sleeping, and a guy he’s never seen before.

The guy tenses and turns when he hears him, and he looks incredibly familiar, but Gareth is not sure where from, but he seems to recognize him because he deflates and offers a tired smile.

“Hey” Gareth’s not sure what to do, he’s never been the best at social interactions, that’s why he always admired Eddie so much, even when he was in Middle School and he was just some dude four years older playing the guitar in the bar across the street from his apartment, even when the only reason he ever looked at Gareth was because his drummer had graduated and they needed someone to fill in, and a middle schooler who could hit the drums somewhat on beat was better than nothing.

Luckily the guy seems to notice he’s incredibly lost, because he offers;

“Hey, I’m just waiting for my sister, she’s in with Max, Mayfield. If you want to go see Eddie just know Dustin and Mike are in the room right now” He darts a quick look at the two closed doors, he swears he can hear Henderson from the one closest to him. The thought makes him remember the freshmen talking nonstop about someone else, the Byers kid, the one who went missing a couple years back. He looks older, but definitely the same guy, same bowl cut and everything, what was his name?

“You didn’t go in with them?”

“Ah, not really, I mean, I’ve heard a lot about him but I haven’t met him yet. The guys talk a lot about him but, you know, I’m not really comfortable going in when he’s not awake, you know?”

“I get it” Thinks of going in himself, watching Eddie laying on the bed. At least he could see him alive, but is it really? Is Eddie really Eddie without that manic energy, that constant noise? He sits on one of the chairs.

“The guys talk a lot about you too, Will the Wise, right?” He really hopes he’s right.

“Yeah, they mentioned me?” He looks surprised, Gareth can’t fathom why, the way they talked about him, he was the missing fourth of the whole person the younger kids seemed to turn into some days, knowing what each other were thinking and holding entire conversations without making a single noise, he feels the sudden urge to make Will understand this.

“Mention you? They wouldn’t stop talking about you, they made you out to be so great that for a while I thought you were as imaginary as Henderson’s girlfriend”

“I’ll let you know Suzie is a very real person.” Will smiles at Gareth’s incredulous snort and holy shit he has a nice smile “I know, it surprised us too”

After that, getting to know Will is easy, the guy is incredibly sarcastic and doesn’t hold anything bad, gareth finds himself almost laughing more than once, and the only thing that stops him is the muffled voices on the other side of the doors, Eddie’s and the Mayfield girl’s rooms.

As it tends to go with him, the conversation moves to music, Will asks about the pins on his vest, and Gareth asks him what he listens to.

He doesn’t understand how that’s a sensitive question, but it clearly is, because Will goes silent. He opens his mouth, tries to talk and changes his mind one, two, three times; in the end he settles for

“I haven’t been listening to a lot of music lately” Gareth’s not sure if he should push, but music’s never been a taboo topic before (unless it’s someone trying to preach something non metal to Eddie, then it’s kind of a bloodbath)

“But there has to be something you like more than others, come on, give me a genre”

“I guess I listen to most of what my brother does, you know? So Punk, I guess” He laughs at Gareth’s grimace “Don’t be like that, there’s more than Metal out there, it doesn’t stop being music because you can actually understand the lyrics, you know?”

“Sure, sure, but that doesn’t make them good!”

“Oh my god, you’re a snob”

“I’m not a snob! Have you thought maybe you just have bad taste? Another little sheep listening to The Smiths”

“What’s wrong with The Smiths?” Bless hi, he looks so offended , Gareth bits back a smile

Keep Reading on AO3

#Stranger Things #Will Byers #Gareth Emerson #gareth stranger things #GreatWise #Gareth x Will #Will x Gareth #Fanfic #crystalizedwriting #my writing

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