No Upside Down AU. During Mike’s visit to California over the happily uneventful spring break of ‘86, he and El agree to a friendly breakup, finally admitting to themselves that they’re better off as platonic buddies. But before Mike falls blissfully into the waiting arms of Will, he mentions a friend of his from Hellfire that El just might want to get to know— Gareth.
El and Gareth quickly progress from penpals to good friends, building a stronger bond with every letter they exchange. Soon both of them begin to wonder… is it possible to fall for someone you’ve never met face to face?
**NEW EDIT NOTE!!! AS OF 6/15/24, PLAIN TEXT VERSIONS OF EACH LETTER ARE AVAILABLE AS HIDDEN SPOILER TEXT!!!**
Words: 27427, Chapters: 17/18, Language: English
- Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
- Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
- Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
- Categories: F/M, Gen, M/M
- Characters: Eleven | Jane Hopper, Gareth (Stranger Things), Will Byers, Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Argyle (Stranger Things), Joyce Byers, Jim "Chief" Hopper, Eddie Munson, Chrissy Cunningham, The Party (Stranger Things), Corroded Coffin (Stranger Things), Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, Kali Prasad
- Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Gareth, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Background Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, background Joyce Byers/Jim “Chief” Hopper, Background Chrissy Cunningham/Eddie Munson, Background Maxine “Max” Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Byers Family & Eleven | Jane Hopper & Jim "Chief" Hopper, Background Barbara “Barb” Holland/Jeff (Corroded Coffin), Background Nancy Wheeler/Robin Buckley
- Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - No Upside Down (Stranger Things), Byers-Hopper Family Starts Out In California, Siblings Jonathan Byers & Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, greatmage, Penpal Letters, Love Letters, Epistolary, Diary/Journal Entries Too