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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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missjashin · 10 months

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Gareth being the last one to accept Steve into their little group. He was wary and probably little too mean to Steve even when the guy obviously tried his best to be nice and friendly to him, to them all really. He had his reasons.

But he also kinda kept it going even after he figured out that yeah, Steve Harrington is a good dude. Simply because it was kinda fun to make Steve squirm a little. And see how easily he could turn Eddie back to docile with a simple “Eddie please” when the guy turned into a feral dog trying to defend his bf honor or whatever. (Tho that was also kinda weird to witness, considering how headstrong Eddie is)

Gareth is regretting his hostility quite a bit tho when they finally meet ✨Will✨Because oh my god that boy is cute. And nerdy. And cute. And adorable. And smart. And beautiful. And okay okay yeah you get the point… Did he mention cute? Little sweetness to his grumpiness. And oh yeah he is getting ahead of himself again.

And suddenly he is no longer up against Eddie’s gentle and sweet pretty little princess of a boyfriend. No, he has to deal with the mama bear Steve Harrington now. And that’s scary.

(Actually Steve thinks Gareth’s crush on Will is cute. But you know, he can have little fun with this. He knows how to be menacing too and it’s payback time✨)

#Steve asking Eddie if he thinks he is being little too mean to Gareth #and Eddie’s like oh hell no I’m loving this #Steddie #greatwise #steve Harrington #Eddie Munson #stranger things gareth #will Byers #I just think they’re neat okay #greatwise is super cute and I’ll offer this as a little treat #gareth stranger things #gareth the great #will the wise #gareth emerson #<- I know that’s not his canon last name but that’s what we all agreed on right?#I’ll get my focus back on Steddie now don’t you guys worry

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thegoblinboy · 10 months

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I’m going to toss my hand in and try something new let me know if it makes sense. Also, I wasn’t sure what to tag so I tagged a little bit of everything lol.

Gareth was on book return duty. Taking a book from the over-growing pile of books, opening the back to check when it was taken out. Before going to the persons name and stamping that they returned the book.

Moving his ringed fingers up he swooped his hair off to the side a bit. Not sure if he enjoyed the middle part yet, deciding to give up on the product and just let it fall loosely down the sides of his face.

Moving he picks up the hobbit next. Tapping his fingers to the rhythm of a Black Sabbath song. While Eddie seemed to be going through a hard core Metallica phase Gareth was enjoying the stonerish vibes of early Black Sabbath. While he preferred Ozzy, Eddie enjoyed Dio more. If the Dio shirt sewn on the back his vest said anything.

Flipping the book over, a piece of paper falls out of the book. Groaning Gareth rolls his eyes as he moves bending down and picking up the face down page that had landed itself on the carpet. Kids really needed to fucking learn how to remember to pull shit out of their books before returning them because Gareth was not going to go on a witch hunt to return shit.

Glancing down he raises a eyebrow feeling rather impressed with the drawing in front of him. Looking around he was curious to see if who ever returned this book would still be here. He moves rolling back to the desk quickly as he checks who had the book last.

Will Byers.

The kid must have forgotten to pull it out, using it as a book mark. It was a pretty sick drawing of a boy. Who after a moment or staring Gareth recognizes as Mike. He snaps his fingers as he spins in a celebratory circle of knowing who it was. It was a very detailed piece of work, a little sad as he looks closer. Noticing scratch marks from where the pencil dug into the page a little to much, leaving not only scratches but little idents as well.

He carefully folds it back up, hoping that it wasn’t to weird to be carrying around a fellow hellfire club members portrait. Gareth had heard Will also played but it seemed like he was avoiding the club.

Who knows and who fucking cares.

Gareth decides to make an acception just this once. It would be a pity if this drawing was thrown away. So he uses his library access to look up the kids locker number. Abusing his powers if you will, as the stupid thing makes a soft beeping noise as it loads up. Rolling his eyes he slams the side of the computer a little before groaning loudly when he realizes he’s only made it go much slower.

Huffing to himself he begins to work on returning the other books. Forgetting about the whole thing until he went to shut the computer off. Quickly scribbling the number down and sliding that along with the drawing as he gets ready to leave. Picking up his flannel vest and sliding it over his shoulders as he picks his bag up and starts to leave. On a mission to get this drawing slid into the locker. But his plans are forgotten as Eddie stumbles in a run, nearly knocking him over in the process.

“What the fuck Eddie!” He sounds annoyed, glaring his best resting bitch face at the other who simply grins. Softening Gareth’s reaction just a smidge as he shakes his head trying to stay annoyed with the other as he begins to close the library doors. School had been let out almost a hour ago, so why was Eddie still in the school.

“I need your help, I have this friend right. And I’m trying to get him to read the hobbit. And well he has this problem. Where he can’t see the tiny words … and read at all because the words move. I heard there were talking books. Hypothetically where would I get one of those Gare bear.” His ringed hands are clamped shut, in a sign of pleading. He’s pretty sure the guy was going to drop to his knees and start begging for his help.

Gareth rolls his eyes as he pops the library key in his pocket. Forgetting about the two papers inside as he raises a eyebrow. “You mean audiobooks?” His tone is a smidge patronizing but that was just Gareths lack of self awareness when it comes to tone.

“Yes that!” Eddie snaps his finger as he moves to wrap his arm around Gareths shoulder, slowly beginning to move him around a bit. Ignoring the uncomfortable look the other has just for a second before quickly pulling back when he realizes his mistake. “Sorry Gary, wasn’t thinking.”

“Kind of hard to do that with no brain.” Gareth says in a slightly dull tone. He was exhausted and ready to go home. Curl up in a ball and watch Voltron or something that was really easy to digest because there was no working brain cell in his head right now. Something that was very typical of him after reading so many names in one sitting.

“Oh you pain me Care Bear. You pain me so.” Eddie dramatically tosses his head back before he straightens up a bit more serious. “Though where would I find these ‘audiobooks’?” He puts quotations around the name as he does a side shuffle down the hall so he could keep looking at Gareth.

“Hawkins free library, should be a small pile. If they don’t have the hobbit then you’re going to have to read it to this person.” Gareth says, grin pulling its way to his face as he watches Eddie grow flustered.

“No can’t do that, um- okay! Thank you Sir Gare’alot, you’re character shall have many rewards if this pans out.” Eddie salutes before he’s stumbling backwards and sprinting down the halls before a teacher caught him.

Gareth rolls his eyes as he leaves the school, forgetting all about the drawing until it fell out on his bedroom floor. Pinching his eyebrows together he groans as he realizes that he was going to have to return it first thing in the morning or else it was never going to be returned.

Which he does as he fiddles with his drumsticks in one hand and carry’s the folded paper with the other. Grumbling under his breath as he realizes the boy was currently at his locker. Silently pulling books from the top shelf as he gets ready for first class. Gareth should be to but this was something he had to do, his brain was refusing to let him back out.

Sliding up against the lockers he tries to muster his best Eddie impression but instead he ends up seemingly more bitchy then before. “Think you forgot this in your library return.” He says tilting his head a little as he holds the paper out between his two fingers. Watching the shy boys eyes grow wide, face blooming red as he snatches it quickly and hides it in his locker. Hands shaking and he looks like he’s about to piss himself.

Gareth realizes now that this situation could be misread, he really should start to look out for every outcome possible as he groans. Pulling his flannel out like a drug dealer with a trench-coat. Revealing the little rainbow pin that hides itself on his belt loop. Wills shoulders relax a bit as Gareth moves awkwardly patting his back.

“It’s cool man, but Mike fucking Wheeler?” He teases with a amused smile. “Way more sheep in the sea or whatever,” he grumbles a little with a soft flush to his cheeks as he stumbles over his words with the way the other looks at him.

“Freak!” A fit of laughter is heard right before Gareth is slammed into the locker. Groaning as he glared at the guy who did it. Moving to throw his drum stick at the back of the assholes head before Will stops him. Hand barley wrapped around his wrist to stop him.

“Not worth it man, only going to get your stick broken.” Will says gently as he lets go of his hand before stepping back a little closing his locker door. Gareth felt so embarrassed, heart racing as he wished he could meet someone new without some asshole ruining it for him.

“So, freak huh?” Will asks gently with a soft smile. “I don’t know if you’ve heard but I’m Zombie boy.” He awkwardly holds his hand out for the other to shake.

Gareth furrows his eyebrows before he decides the other wasn’t picking on him. Wrapping his hand around the other in a shake as he grins gently. “Sounds like we are from some marvel comic, freak and zombie boy.” He jokes. Watching the way the others eyes bright up with excitement.

The damn breaking as they both start to talk about everything and anything they can within ten minutes. Info dumping as much as possible.

So I set this up to where that it could be purely platonic greatwise with byler in the background or romantic greatwise with one sided byler. It’s up to interpretation (: for that, I just wanted Will to make a friend.

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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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pinacolada-posts · 1 year

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Greatwise content bc these gays live in my head rent free and it's giving me brainrot so badly

I love them <3 idc if it's a crackship/rarepair

#will byers #gareth emerson #gareth stranger things #will stranger things #greatwise #still a fucking amazing ship name 10/10 #fanart #stranger things #will the wise #gareth the great #pls I love them sm #i need more content of them #don't like don't interact #it's not hard /lh #:)

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fvcking-panda · 1 year

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Just thinking in big nerd of comics Gareth who LOVES Marvel and went to every movie premier when the MCU started.

He used his fame as CC drummer to get tickets every time and it get a regular meme how people waited for his photos instead of the main cast, because he was photographed before and after every movie, Is kinda funny how some fans score the movie with that, if he's crying then the movie will be amazing, if he's not the movie perhaps is funny but not spectacular, If he's just smiling awkwardly then that's the lame movie even witnessed (it only happened with Iron Man 3 tho).

The first photography after Avengers wasnt Robert Downey Jr or Chris Evans or Scarlette Johansson, it was Gareth Emerson crying in Will Byers arms because he was overwhelmed for seeing his favorite heros in screen for the first time.

He eventually open his social media accounts and people though it was fake because he immediately started discussing about the MCU and the comics, his social meddia accounts are divided between Corroded Coffin news, embarrasing stories about Eddie, Will Byers n. 1 fanpage and Marvel.

He's always the most excited with new material, and when Infinity War came, Gareth had to take some days out internet before and after the movie to avoid spoilers and then because he was absolutely devastated crying in bed, Will had to post a photo where you could see him in bed cuddling his Spider Man plushie with a caption saying: "worst time to be Marvel fan but he'll survive."

Will also shares in ig stories how he's taking care of him and Eddie films himself going to the Byers-Emerson house with what it looks like buckets of ice cream saying to Steve: "dont wait for me tonight, my best friend is probably dying" and post it in tiktok.

Corroded Coffin also had the chance to record a song for the MCU and Gareth still believes is his biggest achievement, the next one is marrying with Will (and Will doesn't feel offended because he says his biggest achievement was meeting "The Clash" and then his marriage)

#gareth is a big nerd about comics #i know he told me himself #he LOVES Marvel #he likes DC too but is more a Marvel fan #i feel like he as Eddie wanted to gatekeep his favorite things but eventually matured and realized it was stupid #like he can have more material of his favorite things if that thing becomes popular #he's always answering to the new fans welcoming to the fandoms #he is like a true fan who loves saying about his favorite heros and likes the changes in the movies #hes known as the favorite geek on the internet #once someone draw him as punk Spider-Man and he not only comissioned the artist but he framed the fanart in his studio #he loves when people draw him in superhero contexts #also when his fans draw his husband #in this AU Will is a comic illustrator #and in case you havent noticed this is a greatwise post too #also Gareth admitted in one livestream that he read fanfics often #CC fans doesn't know his username and they are still looking for it #gareth emerson #eddie munson #implied steddie #greatwise #social media au #st social media au #gareth stranger things #corroded coffin #gareth the great #steve harrington #will byers

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incorrecthawkins · 6 months

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Will: I have edge.

Gareth : You really don't. You are literally the most wide-eyed person I've ever seen. You have the face of a cartoon lamb

#incorrect stranger things quotes #stranger things #gareth emerson #greatwise

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sp0o0kylights · 6 months

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Ooh, no. 17 (Gareth climbing in Will's window) for the WIP meme?

This is a lil Greatwise oneshot I started the end of last year! I figure I'll finish it out and put it up when Mariah Carey thaws out a bit more.

Snippet:

"Oh my god you're going to wake everyone up!" Will hissed, one hand yanking on Gareth’s arms while the other grabbed the back of his shirt.

"It’s fine." Gareth said,as he clumsily rolled to the floor. "Though dude I have some complaints about you picking the upstairs bedroom in this fancy new house of yours. I know damn well there's two rooms in the basement."

“One is Jonathan’s and the other is a guest room.” Will muttered, quickly closing his window as frigid air rolled in. “Which you also know.”

Gareth popped up, shaking his head like a dog. Little flurries of snow rained about off his hair, and exasperated, Will just stared at him with his arms crossed

#greatwise #I think thats the name for it I honestly lost track #this is the only WIP I have that DOESNT involve Steve lmao #gareth emerson #will byers #asssss always when I ship 'em Will gets to be secret oldest of the party and I age Gary down a year #him secretly skipping a grade is cute anyway #gonna be real and say theyre the only people I do this for #and I dont even do it for the reasons people get all weird about it I just think its cute if Gary was secretly A Child TM #gareth/will

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taschamix · 1 year

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Gareth teaching Will how to play the drums. Will is also growing his hair out which is why it’s a little wild. Gareth likes that. Thinks it looks pretty metal. Will may or may not has just realised he has a crush on Gareth..

Inspired by heartstopper and some greatwise edits on TikTok!

#greatwise #gareth stranger things #gareth emerson #gareth the great #will byers #will the wise #stranger things #stranger things 4 #greatwise fanart #stranger things fanart #my art

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devyns-post · 1 year

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the newest corroded coffins instagram post, posted by gareth, is a picture of him, will, steve, and eddie with a sappy ass caption about love because it’s his and wills anniversary and steve and eddie had surprised them. idk i just love steddie and greatwise

#lgbtq #steddie #stranger things #greatwise #eddie munson #steve harrington #will byers #gareth stranger things

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dwobbitfromtheshire · 1 year

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Will and Gareth? Will and Gareth?! WILL AND GARETH?!! I did NOT know this was a ship I needed until now. No offense to Mike "it's not my fault you don't like girls," Wheeler, but Will deserves better. I have a feeling that Gareth can be a bit of a grumpy bear like Hopper, and Joyce notices when Will brings him around.

"It looks like we have the same taste in men," Joyce joked.

"Mom!"

Though Will was the one who started calling Gareth his grumpy bear, Joyce loved that and started to call Hopper that as well.

"Aw, look at our grumpy bears!"

"Joyce! We can hear you!"

#stranger things #will x gareth #greatwise #will byers #will byers deserves happiness #noah schnapp #joyce byers #jim hopper #winona ryder #david harbor #gareth emerson #gareth the great #gwydion lashlee walton

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your-stranger-halfblood-things · 1 year

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I think the first person to ever compliment Will's hair is Gareth, and he 100 percent speaks the truth. He actually likes Will's hair, he thinks it's cute. And when he tells Will that he has cool hair, Will just stammers on his words and blushes. He eventually gets out a thanks, to which Gareth grins at him. Will then compliments Gareth's jacket and all his pins. He doesn't recognize any of the bands, but it starts a conversation.

#stranger things #will x gareth #gareth x will #will byers #gareth emerson #bowl cut #his jacket is a metal #jacket just like Eddie's #greatwise

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bifuriouswaterbender · 9 months

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It Sends You Spinning

Will/Gareth - 4,325 Words, Rated T

Gareth’s been staring at the Google Form for over twenty minutes now, and he’s starting to feel a little ridiculous. He can do this. He absolutely can.

The university hosts this event every year in collaboration with a local queer activism group. He knows it started as a way to raise awareness about HIV prevention, and while the info packet mentions that testing will be available at one of the booths, it’s grown much larger, and the drag show is the major draw. There will be actual professionals in the second half, but it’s the amateur competition at the beginning that has him preoccupied now.

Gareth could. He should. He can. He just needs to fill out the stupid form to enter.

Eddie picks up on the third ring. “What do you want?”

Gareth starts with a joke, partially for the mood and partially to stall. “I didn’t interrupt sex with your boyfriend or anything, did I?”

“Hardy har,” Eddie says, and Gareth can practically see him roll his eyes. “It’s cute you think I’d let you interrupt that by answering.”

“And here I thought I was special,” Gareth coos.

“I’m assuming you do have a reason for calling, though.”

Gareth hesitates. The silence must speak for him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Gareth starts, then cuts himself off again. “I’m being stupid, and I need you to tell me that.”

“What did you do?” There’s a teasing lilt to Eddie’s voice, like he knows he isn’t about to scold Gareth, just verbally knock some sense into him.

“It’s what I haven’t done.” Gareth bites his lip, staring at the computer screen for a few seconds before admitting, “I’m looking at that drag show signup, and I can’t bring myself to do it.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Gareth says, “that involves getting into drag in front of people.”

Eddie snorts, and okay, fine, Gareth can admit it’s funny even though he doesn’t appreciate that he’s the joke here.

“What’s so funny?” he asks anyway.

“You literally performed for people all the time in high school. You’ve been up on stage plenty of times!”

“Yeah, but the drummer’s at the back.” Gareth knows he’s arguing just to argue, to stall, but that doesn’t stop him. “And that’s with others, not by myself.”

“You’ve been practicing your intricate little makeup looks for months.”

“And only let like three people see it.”

“You wore a dress out in public last month when we went clubbing! That has to take more courage to go out on the street confidently in a dress than up on stage.”

“I didn’t even have a bra and padding on, though.”

“But you tucked,” Eddie points out. “You did the most awkward part and proved you can be around people without thinking about it constantly.”

“I’m starting to be sorry I told you that,” Gareth grumbles.

[Read the rest here]

#greatwise #gareth emerson #gareth (stranger things)#will byers #background steddie #st fic #stranger things fic #my writing #my fic

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irishleo13 · 2 months

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Stranger Things version of Tyrus (New Will Byers crackship)

So I've been thinking of a possible pairing for Will if Byler doesn't happen and the Duffers do want to give Will a BF in S5. One of candidates I've thought of was someone on Basketball (and I'm going spefically with Andy since he's biggest living member left). I know Greatwise has become somewhat prominent crackship but personally I don't think the idea of that relationship is interesting and pairing Will with another DnD fan feels like lazy (and also actor age-gap is a decade, unlike Andy which is just a few years).

Now some might be unaware of ship a refer to in the title of this post, Tyrus is canon gay ship of Disney Channel Andi Mack. I've always really enjoyed the dynamic of the ship which consists of a gay Jewish nerd who's struggling with his sexuality and crush on his male bff who ends falling for a Jock who starts as a antagonist in another storyline and who's ususally a jerk to everyone but has a heart gold that is first shown with his treatment of the other boy (Cyrus) . Definitely sounds fitting with Will's story and so far Andy seems like a jerk but he's flat enough of character you can give him a redemption arc and reveal he's actually good guy underneath (I mean witchhunt does make sense from basketball team's perspective especially after Patrick's death). He also works as kinda of dark foil to Mike, someone who's a snarky shit but taken up to eleven (accidentally ST pun lol) due to lack of genuine friendship ( except for Patrick giving good angst opportunity) or even shittier parents.

Andy does seem like he'll have a role in S5 but unfortunately, he'll probably play the role of generic psycho bully but I honestly even if we don't get this crackship, hope they give him some depth. Hell if they want a psycho bully, just bring back Troy. Could even start this ship with a resuce romance moment of Andy standing up to Troy for Will.

Finally tell me what pontential ship names sound the best:Wandy, Andill, or Willdy. Or something more creative like BasketballCleric