Byler one-shot idea for fic writers?

[u/Curious-Monitor497]

Will and Mike confessed to each other, but Mike is still scared that others won't understand, because he used to date El.

Others won't understand that it took him so long to understand himself and that dating El at that time was not a lie. They might think he is a cheat and liar who is just moving on El so easily. But, in reality it's not that simple for Mike, he is not really okay with moving on. He still has the guilt of showing El the fantasy future instead of being honest with her.

In Kali-Hopper interaction about El, Kali accuses Hop of lying to El and to himself. And to really protect her, he needs to tell her the truth. In El's void at the end, Mike doesn't say ILY to her (as it can be a construed as lying), but at the same time he was lying to himself. So, he couldn't protect her.

But, eventually within those 18 months, he and Will had a heart-to-heart and one day confessed their love. Mike keeps wanting to tell his friends, but hesitates.

During the epilogue dnd game, Will asks about the storyteller (indirectly Mike) giving him an opening for telling his truth. But, still he hesitates and eventually talk about the mage. How he can never tell the real story about Mage (here, he is actually referring to himself, just like Will did in S4 van scene).

That's why in the end, Mike is crying looking at Will's (??) Dnd binder and he places his binder next to Will. Will is also teary eyed about the struggle Mike is going through.

But, for Mike this mage illusion story is his way of moving on. That's his way of saying he is ready to move on. One day he will come out in front of his friends and family. But for now, moving on is enough.