Author's note:

This story was inspired by 'Do You Love Me Too' by Enigma.

First off, to all of you who provided an actual review that said what you liked about this story as well as meaningful feedback, I wanted to finish this for you guys. It's a happy ending. She doesn't stay, but it's still happy.

There's a lot of symbolism in this, and I'm sorry if you don't get it, but I really don't want to explain it for fear of spoiling its mysticism. So make of it what you will.

It's taken me a long time to get back on the fanfiction wagon, and I'm so glad I did. Thank you all who reviewed this. I hope you enjoyed it, as well as this ending chapter, as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Mike didn't remember the last time he was able to drift soundly off to sleep without the white noise of his insecurities cackling in his ear. At first he seemed to sink, his entire being blessed with tranquility as a great darkness, not of nullity and despair but of solace, began to envelope him. All the while, Eleven's arms remained stubbornly linked around the slender angles of his waist, as though she too was witnessing his dream.

And together, they then ascended, away from the void, away from any material form, into a world of orange and rose pink glass. Mike's eyes fluttered, consciousness returning to him in a manner unfitting of a normal dream, and he found himself wide awake in seconds as he observed his surroundings. Widened, amazed eyes consumed the sight, the sheer wonder instilled within him far outweighing any disbelief.

Eleven shifted beside him; goodness, he nearly forgot she was still there. He quickly began nudging her.

"El...El wake up...look where are are..."

She sat up slightly, breathing deep the bracing, oceanic air in their midst, despite there being no sign of an ocean anywhere. If he were to guess with any shred of logic, they were engulfed by the clouds and the sky during perpetual dusk or dawn, possibly above an endless sea.

"I wanted you to see where I went." She said dreamily, her distant stare tranquilly roving the surreal horizon.

Mike remembered, a little too well unfortunately, the details divulged unto him by both Eleven and Will Byers regarding the horror of the Upside Down, let alone his close encounter of the third kind with the Demogorgon. All of the horrific imagery planted within his mind via the events seemed to dissipate into nothing as the humid wind and warm glow of this eerie, yet heavenly place seemed to heal him from the inside out.

He turned his gaze on her again, completely understanding why it would take a domain like this to turn the frightened, unsure, and broken girl beside him into the confident youth he came to know so very well that night. This was who Eleven really was; the raw untainted part of her that somehow persisted through all the abuse, the crooked perspectives, and the skewed cognition.

All which became so much weight to bear, she risked her life the first time for the sake of her freedom. It was like she knew her sanity would not be waiting for her outside those walls, but at least she would be given the dignity to be able to search for it on her own.

"So you've been...here all this time?" Mike whispered shakily.

She nodded, her serene smile widening.

"I thought I had died...at the school." She said. "But I came here instead. I just...felt so warm, and then I woke up here."

Mike blinked, mildly stupefied. El hadn't stuttered, or cut short a sentence at all since she brought him there. And yet to that think she would find herself here, after everything she had went through, of all places another unknown realm of mythical beauty and peace instead of poison and decay. It was no wonder she would feel comfortable enough to speak freely in such a celestial gift to the senses and soul alike.

"So, uh...what exactly is this place?"

She pondered for a moment's time, before testing her answer. "The Rightside...Up?"

Mike exhaled heavily, chuckling afterward, amused at how much ridiculous sense it made. He reached for her hand, gripping its smooth, elegant bones and skin firmly, lovingly.

Eleven turned to lock stares with him, her velvet brown eyes shining and reflective of the surrounding pink clouds whose hues were slowly turning from vivacious pink and coral to the twilight colors of sunset. Night was falling here. And it was just as beautiful, if not more so, as the day.

"Eleven, can I ask you something personal?"

She nodded, her brows furrowing, obviously unsure of what he meant by 'personal'.

"How...did you know how to do it? I mean...us, earlier...you know?" Was his stumbling query.

She smiled shyly in return. "Papa showed me pictures...gave me books to read. But I never knew what it all meant."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "...That's it? He didn't give you like, 'a talk'?"

Expression suddenly forlorn, she shook her head, and stared out into the distance. But she did not shut down, and continued to speak.

"I spent a long time here, thinking about things." She said softly.

"Like what?" He asked, unsure of why he was afraid to hear the answer, whilst his grasp of her hand remained ever steadfast.

"I thought about you...always. The more I grew, I just changed. I would..."

Her words ceased short, a blush so fiery spreading upon her pebble smooth face it nearly set her aflame.

"I-I would...touch myself...and think about you."

By then Mike's own face was also blushing violently, and he couldn't help but avert his gaze, humbled by her trust in him that she would tell him something like that. To add insult to injury his lips could not help but smile on their own knowing such intimate details about the girl he loved.

"After a while, the books and diagrams made sense..." She further explained, her own mouth slightly pursed to stifle her delight at his reaction as she leaned over and affectionately kissed him sloppily on the cheek.

Mike cleared his throat, his temporarily evading senses returning. "Well uh...thank you for telling me. It's...it's nice to know."

Several moments past in a strangely emanated silence.

"Mike..." She said, this time more hesitant, but ever still pensive. "Did you dream of a white doe?"

"Y-yeah...I did actually. What about it?"

"I saw it too...I see it all the time here. I follow it sometimes...I don't get too close, it's very shy."

"What...is it? Is it really a deer?" Mike pressed, his dark, infinite eyes wide with curiosity.

"...It's just...a native." She said, vague once more, but he somehow understood the underlying meaning. As the Demogorgon was a native to the Upside Down, the doe was native to the Rightside Up.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get back." Eleven said abruptly, her words solid with meaning in their tones.

"What the hell do you mean?" Mike squeezed her hand almost painfully tight, but she did not show any sign of discomfort. "You saved all of our lives, El. You have nothing to apologize for."

"But Mike...I could see you. I watched you. You were so sad. You cried at night. You didn't eat."

He was temporarily stunned by her blunt, and accurate description of him during her absence.

"And that's my fault." She said, her voice final. "I tried to come back...I tried to let you know...but I didn't figure out how to in time."

Eleven sighed in frustration, biting her bottom lip. "I could only watch over you...protect you."

He exhaled exasperatedly, before taking both of her hands within his.

"Look...we're both alright now. Don't you see that? I was sad because I thought you were dead, and that I would never see you again. But you finally made it back, and now that I know you're okay...heck, more than okay, I'm going to be fine. We're all going to be fine."

And then he kissed her, pressing his lips against hers, savoring the flavor of her mouth, the brisk, sea salt smell of her skin and hair for the last time until god knew when.

"I know you can't stay..." He whispered whilst pulling away, sucking in the full sight of her precious features. "And you don't need to. As long as it takes for you to come back for good...I'll wait for you."

Eleven smiled so wide, her eyes brimming with tears finally letting loose in wet sliding rivers down her cheeks. Mike kissed her again, but was startled as he drew back, seeing a thick smear of blood leaking from her nostril.

"I...I'm running out of energy keeping you here..." She said with slurred language.

Mike supported her with his body before gently laying her down and joining her.

"It's okay El...you can send me back." He said, a lump rising to his throat at the thought of parting with her again, but he swallowed, composed himself, and felt it wane.

Mike embraced and clung to her tightly, resting his chin upon her brunette head, knowing that sleep would both take them over again, and he would be back in the realm in which he belonged. Unconsciously, his hand found her left breast, desperate to feel her heartbeat as he drifted away from this place, and away from her. With squinted eyes, he noticed the doe of gleaming white in the distance, silhouetted brightly against the cosmic purple of this ambrosial dimension's night with its glass-like cloven hooves embedded in the dust of clouds.