fuck will's new Vegas guy, but my head canon is that will and mike meet about ten years later (say, their high school reunion, lumax's wedding or something like that), reminisce their past and feel nostalgia, and eventually talk about their feelings towards each other, and THEN get together. this makes a lot more sense and really would be a slow burn instead of two 18 year olds running into a relationship (I knoooow, they've known each other foreverrr, but still)
as a Byler shipper, I think that this is the most realistic way for Byler to happen, because literally no one should be in a relationship after what they went through (except for Lucas and max, I think because of the way their relationship is portrayed, it's not based on trauma like jancy and they're already established unlike Byler). this is like Harry Potter all over, where all of these traumatized child-soldier 17-18 year olds are getting into relationships straight after what they went through. its not realistic, and certainly not healthy
by this point they'll be in their mid or late 20s, a lot more mature, wiser and well travelled. they'll be more settled and comfortable in themselves. everyone, especially will and mike, would have healed a lot in a decade or so
I absolutely think the writers could have, and SHOULD HAVE included a five year or ten years later epilogue to really show the characters, because this is straight up queer bait. we see that Jonathan and Nancy-despite having broken up earlier-are together, and Joyce and Hopper are getting married. they didn't rush into anthing with all that trauma and focused on themselves for a while, which I think mike and will have to as well, but Hopper still got to propose to Joyce and they live together, similar to Nancy and Jonathan who are definitely something. BUT PLEASE DUFFERS, WHY DIDN'T YOU MAKE THEM CANON????
anyway, im going to live in my delusions that mike and will meet in a few years after discovering themselves as individuals, matured and healed, and still realize that they're madly in love with their best friend
