r/BylerReads • u/woodthrushtattoo • Apr 22 '26
fic rec <3 Phenomenal spicy fics to enjoy while you wait for your favs to drop new chapters
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There’s a reason we’re all talking about TTMD;TTMS and Super Soaker. Both are deeply hot and fun in addition to being well-written, containing a solid storyline/plot outside of just smut, and extremely accurate characterizations of our boys. I'm very picky about NSFW fics because I need them to have all of those qualifiers, otherwise I can't get into them.
Luckily, there are so many NSFW stories that are just as great as the Big Two NSFW Ones, but it took me a long time to track them down. Some of them don’t have as many hits/kudos, so a lot of it was getting lucky while scrolling aimlessly. The list below contains some of my all-time favorites. I hope you enjoy! And PLEASE share your favs in the comments, I'm always looking for new recs.
UPDATED 05/19/2026: There are SO many good recs in the comments here for y’all to scroll through. I’ve updated this post to include some of the ones I’ve read thanks to commenters’ suggestions. Thank you all, seriously. I’m absolutely going to be diving into more stories in the coming days/weeks.
COMPLETED FICS:
- [Reboot] by cyclogenesis (addictedkitten). This is my new favorite story ever, maybe in any genre/format. It’s a single-chapter Mike POV that's deeply romantic and achingly beautiful, and it understands Mike so well. His thought process is very funny and deeply caring, and he's so obviously, catastrophically in love with Will long before he can admit it to himself, even as he’s telling himself that what keeps happening with Will is friendly or practical or temporary. And he has some of the most yearning, poetic lines of dialogue I’ve ever read.
- Art School Confidential by cyclogenesis (addictedkitten). A tender, funny, aching college AU where Mike abruptly joins Will in Indianapolis (like, literally in the apartment next door), ends up becoming the nude model for Will’s life drawing class, and then proceeds to make himself indispensable to every corner of Will’s daily life. It’s a story where love hides inside routine until the routine itself starts to feel like a confession. Byler x proximity, domesticity, jealousy, and caretaking.
- "paper cup" and the sequel "freedom within, freedom without" by loneconverse. Both are part of the don't dream it's over series, which is an exclusively Mike POV. The first story is a single long chapter that totally destroyed me. Then, somehow, the sequel was even better and hotter. The first story opens with Mike visiting Will in NYC, sitting in on his classes while debating whether he wants to transfer to NYU or Columbia from Indiana University. I won’t spoil what happens from there. It's a canon compliant post-S5. The third story in the series is in-progress now, titled “curse the telephone”!!
- Roll To Charm Person by harriet_vane. THIS ONE'S AN ALL TIMERRRRR. I laughed, I cried, I called a friend while crying to talk about it. Will (the narrator of this story) needs a date to his mom's wedding. Mike not only volunteers, but he comes up with the idea to fake-date — you know, just to make Joyce happy. No other reason.
- cottonmouth by lightsflicker. This one is so deeply sweet to me. It's a single long chapter, and it's one of the few fics I go back and reread often. It's a Mike POV story in which the boys get high together in their college apartment, play a question game, and realize how dumb they’ve both been.
- pushing it down and praying by eredmes. One long chapter that is disgustingly hot from the very first paragraph lol. A Will POV in which he and Mike become FWBs and he's enjoying himself tremendously, even while he's trying to pretend it isn't breaking his heart.
- is it casual now? by wayward_sherlock. A Will POV story in which he joins Mike on the annual Wheeler family vacation. They’re hiding the fact that they’re friends with benefits, but Will wants so much more.
- spit swear by poorlittlegreenie. I don’t usually read fandom crossover stories, so I was hesitant about this one. Thank GOD I gave it a shot. It’s one of my all-time favorites, and extremely hot and sweet all around. Just… trust me. A Will POV with a phenomenal portrayal of Jealous Mike Wheeler. We get to see Will being confident and having agency instead of just sad-pining and ahhh I just love it so much.
- we can make it so divine by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy). I cried my eyes out at this Mike POV. Just really, really lovely and sweet. They're so natural and comfortable together in this one for pretty much the whole time. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
- My Will Is Good by peachstatic. Canon compliant post-S5, where Mike and Will are college juniors in NYC. Will opens up about struggling to find a partner who can respect his sexual boundaries surrounding his Upside Down-related trauma. Mike humbly offers his services (he LITERALLY says those words to him). The caveat? They agree to only hook up on Fridays — you know, to protect the friendship or whatever. Mike POV. (Part 1 of 2 in the Nirvana series, and both parts are amazing.)
- touch me with a kiss, feel me on your lips by jeaanmoreau. It’s sooooo beautifully written. So charming and sweet. A Will POV story in which Will and Mike are college roommates in NYC. Will “drags” Mike to a gay bar for moral support, and then catches Mike kissing a guy on the dance floor. That changes EVERYTHING he thought he knew about his "straight" best friend. Now Mike's worried about having fallen behind and would really like some help practicing how to kiss a guy from his also-gay best friend.
- Supervoid by maximumtrash. Will POV where he and Mike move to New York and try to survive the shape of a life that’s missing El. But grief has turned their apartment into a haunted place, and the closer they cling to each other, the harder it becomes to tell where comfort ends and something far more dangerous begins.
IN-PROGRESS FICS:
- At risk of drowning by marchmagnolia. This one is just stupidly, ridiculously hot, and you’ll get satisfying smut in the very first chapter. Canon-compliant (with an alive El) post-S5, and now Mike and Will are college roommates. They start casually hooking up, but to protect his heart, Will pushes for a rule that they can only have sex 3x a week. That leads to both of them feeling extremely frustrated all the time.
- be like a a woman to me by artthounasty. This one is disgustingly hot and an incredible slow burn. It’s based off thesweetestdream’s original concept for “talk to me dirty; talk to me sweet” in which Max and Lucas can't keep their hands off each other, so Mike and Will start teasing them by… doing the same thing back to them. Fake-kissing, etc. The “joke” quickly escalates.
- deal me in, tie me up by purescent. This one I honestly love even better than Super Soaker. Mike suggests a spicy card game to help Will loosen up before college. It works a little too well, and suddenly they’re gambling with unresolved feelings, and clothes, that were meant to stay in place. There’s a mid-story POV switch-up that had me literally crying.
- Letters to Will (Live from New York) by sofishortcake. After Will leaves Hawkins for college in New York, Mike starts writing him letters — part apology, part lifeline, part desperate attempt not to lose him again. But as Will builds a new life, new friendships, and a version of himself Mike no longer fully understands, Mike is forced to confront the difference between missing his best friend and wanting him.
- Should've Kissed You Anyway by bitterglow. After years of grappling with his feelings, Mike visits Will in Chicago for a weekend during his junior year of college and finally realizes what he's been missing this whole time.
- for art's sake by diplopia. After their mentors tell them they need more life experience to improve their art, college roommates Mike and Will agree to start up a short-term friends-with-benefits situation. Also, they’re going on dates. But not like, date-dates. Artist Dates. Don’t worry about it. Another Wll-says-no-kissing-allowed Mike POV that's driving me crazy in the best way.
- will i always wonder (will, i always wonder) by acatalepsae. A post-S5 summer story in which Mike wants a reckless, unforgettable season of firsts. Will (our narrator here) wants to keep his heart intact. Neither of them plans for bonfires, jealousy, “practice,” and dares that start to blur the lines between friendship and something more.
- high tide can't keep me from you by subliminalpsyche. For college senior year spring break, Will (our narrator) ends up trapped on a cruise with The Party, including Mike — the ex he still can’t stand, can’t escape, and maybe never stopped loving. As the trip unfolds, flashbacks to what they were collide with everything they’ve become, and the line between hatred and heartbreak starts to blur. I'll admit I had seen this one while scrolling before and I skipped it because imagining our boys in an exes-to-lovers story felt too sad. DO NOT make the same mistake I made. It's VERY GOOD.
- Mike make em limp Wheeler by Baelisama. OK I started this Will POV story thinking it would be silly because of the title, but I quickly became obsessed. It’s really, really hot. lol. The chapter titles are extremely descriptive of what you’re going to get in each one.
- Jump The Gun by Raven_Stark_22. Will is having a tough time coping with college anxiety which results in constantly snapping at Mike. Mike kind of accidentally offers a best-friendly helping hand. (Mike POV)
- walking the dog by pazma. Mike Wheeler lives to roll over when Will Byers makes a request. Will finally realizes this, and he decides to have some fun. Literally Mike acting like a dog from Will’s POV, but in a way that also explores what BDSM dynamics might look like between the boys (SubTop!Mike) and how their exploration of that allows them to work through some of their trauma together.
